The next couple of months passed in a blur. Dimitri gave his lecture in Beth's class, which I missed, and Lissa returned to Los Angeles that following weekend. She made us promise to come visit soon, and Dimitri had to pry Katerina out of Lissa's arms.

Halloween came and went, with Katerina making the most out of our neighborhood Trunk or Treat. We were forced to raid Katerina's candy that night when we got home so that she wouldn't end up in a perpetual sugar high. Dimitri joked that it was the parent tax and told Katerina that we were taste-testing the candy when she asked why we took some.

Before I knew it, the university was closed for Thanksgiving break. We invited Mia over for Thanksgiving dinner since she was on her own in Austin. I also coordinated with Audrey and her, Nate, and their children flew in from California. They got here first, and when Mia walked through the door and saw Audrey, I thought she was going to collapse from crying so hard.

We spent the entirety of the break together, exploring Austin with the kids and catching up. Audrey and her family flew back to California the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with us promising to visit them in California soon.

Levi's first birthday was the following week, and we hosted a small party with some of Levi's and Katerina's park friends. The party went well, with Levi smashing his cake as he tried to eat it. Dimitri made sure to take a bunch of photos, and I knew I'd end up framing some of them later.

The fall semester ended the week after that, and Dimitri and I started making plans to visit Lissa and Christian for spring break at the end of March. We had considered going for Christmas but ultimately decided to spend Christmas in Austin, just the four of us. The rest of December passed in a blur, and we were in the new year before I knew it.

"I want to try something new," I said as Dimitri walked into the bedroom after putting Katerina to sleep. I had taken the time between putting Levi down and Dimitri finishing with Katerina to slip into one of my lingerie pieces that Dimitri hadn't seen yet. It was a silk slip dress, and underneath the slip, I was wearing a matching lace bra and underwear. I saw his eyes widen as he took in my slip, and I smiled. "I want to try you on top."

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked, sitting on the bed next to my legs.

"I can do this," I said. I leaned forward to kiss him and pulled him closer to me. Dimitri shifted his weight so that he was hovering over me, his knees on either side of my hips. "Please."

Dimitri pulled back, studying me. "We can try, but you have to say something if you start getting uncomfortable or triggered. You have to promise."

I nodded. "I promise."

"Lay back, Roza," Dimitri said, scooting back on the bed to give me room. I watched as he took off his shirt as I stretched out, my brow furrowing when I saw that he had left his jeans on.

Dimitri shifted so that he was hovering over me, his forearms supporting his weight so that he wasn't lying directly on top of me. He kissed me softly, and I wound my arms around his neck as I kissed him back. A moment later, Dimitri broke the kiss.

"How's this so far?"

"Okay," I said, nodding. "I'm doing good."

It wasn't the full truth, but it was close enough. There had been a small spike of fear when Dimitri first moved over me, but it quickly faded. Dimitri studied me, the look on his face telling me that he didn't believe me.

"I promise that I'm doing fine," I whispered. "I'll tell you if that changes."

He nodded and kissed me again. He shifted his weight back so that his knees were on either side of my hips, and he was kneeling over me. He pulled back, breaking the kiss. Dimitri's hands landed on my hips, and slowly, he peeled the silk slip up until I could wriggle out of it. He groaned as he spotted the lace lingerie under the slip.

"You're going to be the death of me, Roza," he murmured, leaning down and kissing me again. It didn't take long for him to trail the kisses downward, pressing kisses against my neck and soon my shoulder. Dimitri's hands slipped underneath me, unlatching my bra so that he could toss it across the room.

"You're beautiful," Dimitri said, meeting my gaze. "So beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."

I squirmed under the weight of his stare. "Dimitri. Please."

"Relax, Roza," Dimitri murmured. "I'm going to take care of you."

That was the only warning I got before Dimitri's mouth was on me. He lavished one nipple with his mouth while using his hand to tend to the other. I squirmed again as pleasure shot through me. Dimitri released my nipple and started trailing kisses down my stomach until he reached my underwear. He made quick work of them, tossing them in the same direction as my bra.

"Spread your legs for me, Roza," Dimitri murmured in a low tone.

I did as he asked, bending my legs, and letting them fall open so that he had easy access to me. The sensation of his warm breath was the only warning I had before his mouth was on me. I arched off the bed as the sensations rushed through me, my hands moving to grip Dimitri's hair as I rode his face.

I felt Dimitri's hands on my hips a moment later, holding me down as he continued to eat me out. A rush of panic swept through me from being held down, and I squirmed, trying to free myself.

"Don't," I gasped out.

Dimitri immediately pulled back. "Roza?"

"Don't hold me down," I said. "Please."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," I said. "Everything else is great."

Dimitri leaned down and kissed me, letting me taste myself on his tongue. I broke the kiss with a groan as I felt him slide a finger into me. He quickly added a second one, the palm of his hand rubbing against my clit. Dimitri trailed kisses down my neck again, stopping once more to lavish my breast, taking the opposite nipple into his mouth this time. I tipped my head back, letting the sensations wash through me. It didn't take long for the pulling to start in my stomach as my legs began to tense.

"Dimitri," I whimpered. "Please."

"Come for me, Roza," Dimitri murmured before sucking my nipple back into his mouth.

Dimitri moved his fingers faster, the base of his palm still rubbing against my clit. I cried out as my orgasm washed through me. Dimitri continued to work me through it until the aftershocks had faded. He withdrew his fingers, shifting so that he was kneeling over me. Dimitri's gaze never left mine as he sucked his fingers clean.

"I figured making you come first would help you be more relaxed," Dimitri said, climbing off of the bed to remove his jeans. He climbed back on the bed a moment later, not quite hovering over me. "If you tell me to stop, I'll stop, Roza. I promise."

"I trust you."

Dimitri shifted his weight over me, carefully supporting his weight on his forearms again so that he wasn't holding me down. He shifted again, moving his weight to one arm while he used the other hand to guide himself. His gaze met mine, and I nodded.

"I'm ready."

Slowly, Dimitri slid into me, pausing once he was fully sheathed. I groaned at the feeling of fullness, so different from what I was used to.

"Please," I begged."

Dimitri started moving, keeping a slow pace. I shifted, my hips meeting his every time we came back together. As we got used to the new position, Dimitri picked up the pace, thrusting faster.

"Dimitri!" I cried out, begging for more as pleasure spiked through me. My hands were gripping his shoulders as my nail dug into the skin there.

Dimitri's lips claimed mine, swallowing my moans, as he continued to move within me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, changing the angle, and we both groaned at the deeper feeling.

"I love you." I gasped out as I felt my orgasm swirling in my stomach.

"I love you too, Roza," Dimitri whispered before kissing me again.

A few thrusts later, Dimitri groaned again as my walls tightened around him as the first waves of my orgasm hit. He came a moment later, working through both of our orgasms. Dimitri pulled out of me carefully and collapsed next to me on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

I laughed. "I'm feeling great. Thank you."

I curled up towards Dimitri, reveling in being close to him. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Get some sleep, Roza. I love you."

Classes started back up a couple of weeks later, halfway through January. Katerina and Levi started at their new daycare the same week that the spring semester started, and Dimitri and I juggled getting them dropped off and picked up between class and work.

I was walking out of my last class of the week when an alert on my phone went off, reminding me to track my period. I clicked open the app and started counting back the days. According to my app, I should have started my period over a week ago. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself, reminding myself that there were pregnancy tests at home from when I was pregnant with Levi, and Dimitri had bought a couple of different types.

The house was empty when I got home, Dimitri was still at work for another hour before he'd be picking up Katerina and Levi from daycare. I dropped my bag right inside the doorway and had to physically stop myself from running to our bedroom to get the pregnancy test. It was buried in the back of one of our cabinets, and I pulled it out, checking the expiration date on the package. I was about to rip the package open to take the test when I decided that I wanted to wait until Dimitri was home to take it. I wanted him to be next to me when I got the results. I left the test on the counter in the bathroom and walked back out to grab my phone from my bag.

I texted Dimitri to let him know that I was going to pick up the kids early. He responded by calling me.

"Hi."

"Hi Roza," Dimitri murmured.

"Mommy!"

I laughed. "Is that Katya I hear?"

I could hear her laughing in the backseat, and Dimitri laughed a moment later.

"I decided to come home early," Dimitri said. "We'll be home in about ten minutes."

"Okay," I said. "I'll see you soon. I have something for you."

"Oh?"

I nodded even though Dimitri couldn't see me. "It's a surprise."

Dimitri laughed again. "Okay, Roza. See you soon."

When Dimitri got home 10 minutes later, I was nearly bursting from nerves over the test. I also had to pee really badly by that point. Dimitri carried in Levi, with Katerina following behind him. I took Levi from Dimitri's arms, cuddling him close for a moment. I carried him to the living room and put him down inside of the Pack 'N Play that we kept set up in the living room. He immediately grabbed his toys from inside it to start playing.

"Dimitri? Will you put on Bluey for Katerina?"

Dimitri's brow furrowed, but he did as I asked. When I turned around, she was sitting on the couch, watching the TV intently as Dimitri cued up the next episode of Bluey.

"What's going on?" Dimitri questioned.

I grabbed his hand. "Come on."

I led him through our bedroom and into the bathroom when the pregnancy test was still sitting on the counter.

"My period is late," I said as we entered the bathroom. I watched as Dimitri's gaze immediately went to the test on the counter. "I wanted to wait for you to take the test."

"Are you being serious?" Dimitri asked, glancing back at me.

I nodded. "I've been tracking my period closely over the past few months. It's late by over a week."

"No matter what this test says, I love you," Dimitri reminded me as he handed me the test.

I ripped it open and quickly took the test, relieved to finally be able to pee. After taking the test, I set it face down on the counter and quickly washed my hands. I set a timer on my phone and placed that next to the test too.

Dimitri and I both sat on the ground, our backs against the cabinets. A sense of déjà vu hit me as I realized that we were in a similar position when testing when I was pregnant with Levi. Neither of us spoke for the three minutes that it took for the test to give a result, and instead just found comfort in being with each other.

I jumped when the timer went off and silenced it quickly.

"I can't look," I said. "You do it."

Dimitri stood and grabbed the test off of the counter. He flipped it over, reading it quickly. I couldn't make out anything from his expression until a smile broke out on his face.

"We're having a baby."