Chapter 29 Deanna
By the third time the nurse came into the private sleeping cabin to check my blood pressure, I’d become fed up with her hovering.
True, she was doing her job, and it was clear she was overwhelmed by the luxury of the private jet, not to mention the shock of being on her way to Europe with a mere couple of hours’ notice, but I desperately needed quiet.
“If I need you, I’ll use the call button,” I said from where I sat on the sofa. She nodded and left, closing the cabin door behind her.
I took another sip of water and tried to focus on my novel, but the words blurred together. Across the cabin, Aris stood by the window, staring out at the clouds. He’d barely spoken since we boarded.
“Talk to me,” I said softly.
He turned from the window, and I saw the fear he’d been trying to hide. “What if we don’t make it in time?”
I set down my book and held out my hand to him. “Then we don’t. But you’re going to her now. That’s what matters.”
He came to the sofa and sat beside me, taking my hand in his. “She was fine when I spoke to her two days ago. Complaining about roses in the garden, asking when we would be in Greece.” His voice roughened. “I told her soon. After the babies came.”
“Domna understood why you’re here.”
“She did, yes.” He looked down at our joined hands, at the wedding bands we’d worn for only a few hours. “She was happy for me. For us.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “She was.”
“This, it was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, yes. Our day.”
“It still is.” I shifted carefully, my belly making it awkward, until I could lean against his shoulder. “We’re married, Aris. Nothing changes that.”
He wrapped his arm around me. “I am terrified of losing her. Of something happening to you on this flight.”
“I know.” I pressed my lips to his jaw. “But Dr. Bedi is here. The babies and I are fine.”
He held me tighter. When he spoke again, his voice was steadier. “Promise me you’ll tell her immediately if you feel anything. Anything at all.”
“I promise.”
“You will rest, yes. No reading thrillers that will get your pulse racing.”
I smiled. “Yes, Aris.”
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his dark eyes searching mine. “Thank you for coming with me. I know it is risk—”
“You’re my husband,” I said simply. “Where else would we be?”
I felt one of the twins move and slid my hand down my belly to soothe them. It was wild to think I was both newly married and fully pregnant. Wild, but good.
My body was tired, but my heart was full. The babies moved again, reminding me how close we were to everything changing.
“Come,” he said gently, standing and offering me his hand. “You should lie down.”
I let him help me to my feet and guide me the few steps to the bed, where I sank down gratefully. I looked up at him and caught him staring down at me. What I felt for him was too big to put into words.
I leaned up and kissed him, softly at first, then deeper while I reached for the buttons of his shirt.
“Dede.” His hand caught mine. “You should rest.”
“I don’t want to rest.” I kissed him again, working the second button free. “I want you.”
“The doctor said…”
“I’m fine.” I got the third button undone. “And this is our wedding day, remember?”
His resolve was weakening. I could see it in his eyes, feel it in the way his hand loosened on mine. But worry still creased his forehead. “You are supposed to be lying down.”
“I will be.” I freed another button, spreading his shirt open to press my lips to his chest. “With your dick inside me.”
He groaned. “Dede, if anything happens to you because I couldn’t control myself—”
“Nothing is going to happen.” I looked into his eyes. “I need to feel my husband touching me, loving me.”
He closed his eyes briefly, clearly torn between desire and concern. “You will be death of me.”
“Not today.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “Today we’re celebrating. You and me. Our marriage.”
“Dede…”
“I love you.” I slid my hand up his chest. “And we need to consummate our marriage.”
His last resistance crumbled. He cupped my face. “I cannot deny you anything. You know that, yes?”
“I know.” I smiled against his lips. “It’s one of the things I love most about you.”
He kissed me then, deep and thorough as he guided me to the edge of the bed. “If anything feels wrong—”
“I’ll tell you immediately,” I promised. “Now stop talking and make love to your wife.”
His answering smile was the first genuine one I’d seen since Santo called. “Yes, Mrs. Christakis.”
We undressed in a haze of slow, deep kisses, his hands peeling away my dress while I eased his shirt off his shoulders, our mouths meeting in languid presses that lingered, tongues exploring with unhurried passion.
Lips parted only to reconnect, drawing out each moment as fabric whispered to the floor.
Aris lowered his head, capturing one nipple in his mouth, sucking gently at first, then harder. He stilled suddenly, pulling back just enough for me to see the surprise on his face.
He lifted his head, his thumb brushing across my nipple. “Your milk, it has come in.”
I looked down and felt my cheeks go hot. “Really?”
“It’s sweet,” he said, as if he were commenting on wine at dinner, and lowered his mouth again.
“Aris!” I half-laughed, trying to push his head away. “That’s for the babies.”
“I was here first, yes.”
His tongue circled one nipple before he switched to the other, lavishing it with wet kisses that sent heat pooling between my thighs.
“You are disgusting,” I said without any real conviction.
“Mm-hmm.” He didn’t lift his head.
My fingers threaded through his hair as his mouth moved between my breasts, unhurriedly.
When he finally lifted his head, he said, “Lie down.”
Aris helped me onto my side and tucked a pillow beneath me to cradle my belly. He settled behind me, his chest warm against my back. I felt his erection against my ass before he pressed inside me.
He rocked into me steadily, one arm wrapped around to play with my clit while kissing and sucking the tender skin of my neck. When I turned my face towards him, he claimed my mouth in a languid kiss. Our tongues danced lazily as our bodies moved together.
Pleasure built to a feverish crescendo, and I exploded first, crying out into his kiss as jolts of ecstasy surged from my core. He followed moments later, spilling inside me as we clung together, breathless and sated.
We lay there in the aftermath, our breathing gradually slowing. Aris kept his arm wrapped around me while pressing soft kisses to my shoulder, my neck, anywhere he could reach.
“Are you alright?” His hand moved from between my legs to my stomach. “Babies?”
“We’re perfect,” I assured him, covering his hand with mine. “All three of us.”
He exhaled. “The depth of my love for you... intensity of it... it overwhelms me.”
“I know.” I threaded my fingers through his. “I feel the same way.”
We stayed like that for several minutes, wrapped in each other, the hum of the jet engines the only sound. Eventually, I felt my eyelids grow heavy.
“Sleep,” Aris whispered, pulling a blanket over us. “I will wake you if anything changes with my mother.”
I wanted to stay awake, to keep him company in his worry, but exhaustion pulled at me. “Don’t leave,” I mumbled.
“Never.” He kissed my temple.
Aris’s breathing slowed as exhaustion finally caught up to him. Then a dull ache tightened across my lower belly, different from the usual Braxton Hicks contractions I’d been having for weeks. I waited, but it faded just as quickly.
Probably my body protesting the long flight, the stress, and the activity we’d just shared.
As I drifted off, I felt him tighten his hold on me, as if he could protect me and our children from everything the world might throw at us through sheer force of will. And maybe, I thought drowsily, he could.
When we landed in Athens, the air was hot and dry.
The limo met us on the tarmac, and Aris helped me in while Dr. Bedi and the two nurses accompanying her climbed into another car headed for their hotel, where Aris had arranged suites for them.
The doctor wanted to spend two days sightseeing in Athens before flying back to Montrose on one of his planes.
“I am taking you to the estate first, yes,” Aris said as the driver pulled away. “You can rest there while I go to hospital.”
“No way.” I turned to face him, and a sharp twinge made me catch my breath. I waited a beat, but it eased. “I’m coming with you.”
“Dede, you need to rest.”
“I got sleep on the plane. I’m fine.” I squeezed his hand. “Besides, if you’re so worried about me, wouldn’t a hospital be the best place? There’s doctors everywhere.”
He didn’t find that funny. “This is not joke.”
“I know.” I softened my voice. “But I’m not letting you go alone. I’m your wife.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, I knew I’d won.
“Please,” I said softly. “Let me be there for you.”
He exhaled, then spoke to the driver in Greek.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He pulled me against his side without a word.
I shifted, trying to find a comfortable position. My lower back throbbed, and there was a persistent heaviness low in my pelvis that hadn’t been there on the plane. The car’s movement over uneven pavement didn’t help.
“Dede?” Aris pulled back to look at me. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” I managed a smile as it subsided. “Just the babies moving.”
He studied my face, unconvinced, but I kissed his jaw before he could question me further.
The Christakis family filled the private waiting area of the hospital. Every head turned as Aris and I walked in. Tia rushed forward with a sob, arms outstretched. Santo followed close behind her.
“Mommy! You came!” Tears shone in her eyes as she hugged me. I felt her trembling and wanted to hold her tight, like I used to when she had nightmares, but my belly prevented that.
“She’s still in surgery,” Santo said quietly beside us, his voice hollow. “They’re working on one of her heart valves.”