Marriage by Blackmail - Book 1

Chapter Eighteen

Damian

As fate would have it, I didn't have to tell Lia she was pregnant because my mother's not so subtle hints got the gears turning in her head and she soon put two and two together and ended up tracking her cycle back to her last period, which was shortly before we got married. On one hand it saved me from Lia's constant pestering to find out what I was hiding from her but on the other hand it also meant that my entire family now knew we had a baby on the way and were in full on party mode, preparing for every birthday to come in the next eighteen years. Lia was in shock for the first day, then she slowly started accepting it and now on the last day of our trip she and her accomplices also known as our mothers and Naia along with every female in my family were planning the baby shower to end all baby showers.

"Lia, come on we're going to miss our flight! You can plot and scheme with my family via Skype when we get home!" I said in exasperation.

It wasn't like I couldn't get another plane or better yet a private one to take us at our whim but I had pressing matters back in America to tend to if I wanted my family to live a peaceful life. I knew if Lia was aware of this she would wrap up the powwow in no time and come with me but she didn't and I wanted to keep it that way, especially now that I knew she was pregnant. I didn't want anything to upset her during this time.

She pouted and gave me her best puppy dog eyes but I refused to yield so I glared at her in return. She sighed and turned to whisper something to the group of women all of whom turned around to give me puppy dog eyes. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes to ward of the power of those stares. I then reopened my eyes and fixed them with a hard look.

"Ugh fine!" Lia huffed as she shoved past me to sit in the vehicle with a deep scowl on her face.

I got in right behind her not minding if we left her mother and her menacing best friend behind. Her father looked just as anxious to leave as I felt. Unfortunately the rest of her posse piled into the SUV grumbling unkind things at me while the vehicle carrying our luggage pulled out of the villa ahead of us. The drive to the airport was a quiet one as Lia tried to give me the cold shoulder. Not caring much about her sulking I pulled her up against my side and kissed the grooves on her forehead formed by the intense frown she was wearing. She didn't pull away which told me my troublesome wife was only pretending to be mad. She soon relaxed against me, resting her head on my shoulder and fiddling with the buttons of my shirt. I kissed the top of her head then spent the remainder of our car ride to the airport trying to figure out how to get Zandre Alexander to willingly come to a sit down with me.

Lia

I was finally embracing this whole being pregnant business and my grumpy husband just had to ruin my planning. Seeing that it isn't in my nature to be docile I had to try and get my way, obviously it didn't work since I was now cuddled up against him and we were on our way to the airport to catch our flight back home. I should have known better than to try and guilt Damian. I mean, he was raised in a mafia family there was no way he would have let me undermine him in public but it was worth a try. I would simply have to revamp my methods and keep this war of wills confined to our bedroom. I was sure he'd let me win there, I couldn't help but smile as devious thoughts crossed my mind.

I peeked up at him to see if he was watching my face like he usually did only find him staring out the window with a hard look on his face. I could tell he was in deep concentration which only made me wonder what could possibly be occupying his thoughts so much. I figured since his mother gave the pregnancy secret away he would stop acting weird but apparently there was a lot more going on than my husband dearest was willing to share and I was not going to stop until I knew what.

Ten hours, twenty minutes and two bouts of nausea later I was back in our bed and thinking that this baby stuff was so not fun after all.

"Want some more ginger ale, cara?" Damian asked, rubbing my stomach trying to ease the pain caused by my retching.

I whimpered pitifully not caring how much this damaged my thug reputation. I thought I was suppose to be glowing with radiant beauty and happiness! You know, like a princess or at least like the pregnant women on TV. This sucked, throwing up sucked and most importantly Damian sucked because he did this to me.

"Go away, I hate you," I grumbled weakly, he kissed my damp forehead and brushed my hair back from my face.

"Okay baby, I'm going down to the study to make a few calls," he said, gently stroking my face.

I grunted in response, he understood that I wanted to be left alone and exited through the passage in the closet. I spent the rest of the evening drifting in and out consciousness, occasionally sipping on the water he left on the bedside table.

When next I opened my eyes it was prompted by the delicious scent of the chicken Alfredo that Damian was carrying towards me, my stomach growled in anticipation. I scooted over making room for him so he could sit on the edge of the bed. I couldn't stop my eyes from following the steaming dish as he put in on the night table so he could prop me up on the pillows, I liked the pampering so I didn't tell him I could sit up just fine on my own. After adjusting me to his liking he proceeded to feed me with the mouthwatering meal, effectively cheering me right up as I savored the taste of the creamy cheese. When I finished he gave me a glass of fruit punch with a bendy straw. As soon as he put the glass down I crawled into his lap, wanting to cuddle to show my appreciation. He kissed me tenderly on the lips and smiled at my blush.

"I knew you could move, you know," he stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh really? Then why did you feed me anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Because I like taking care of you," he pressed a kiss to my nose, "especially when you aren't mouthing off," he grinned.

I glared playfully at him, "how did you know?"

He nodded towards the almost empty glass of water and I couldn't help but blush at how easily I'd given myself away. He laughed at my embarrassment and hugged me a bit tighter.

I decided to just enjoy this moment and pester him with questions about what was bothering him later on or tomorrow, whichever really. At this moment in time, nothing else mattered.