Happy Mother's Day!

‘Wild?’ she said, parting the front of his shirt with one fingertip—the buttons were scattered around the room—to reveal the red indentation where she had bitten into the smooth flesh of his shoulder.

She lifted an eloquent brow. ‘As for baby,’ she said, hand pressed to her tummy, ‘I asked the doctor about that area and he said no restrictions there.’

‘I know—I asked him, too.’ He grinned as she dissolved into laughter.

She slipped from the sofa and sat astride him.

He lay there, one hand flung above his head, the other on the curve of her thigh. ‘As much as I am enjoying being at your mercy, as you are the one who is meant to be recuperating should we not change places?’

‘I am quite flexible.’

‘This has not escaped my notice,’ he growled throatily. ‘You know, this and the baby—I don’t think life gets much better.’

‘I can’t believe we nearly got divorced.’ She went pale at the thought.

‘Getting your letter was a pretty big wake-up call for me.’

‘So you would have come even if you hadn’t found my phone and listened to the message?’

‘I would have come. It was only ever my pride that was stopping me. I will not die if you leave me, but I will never be a whole man again. You,’ he said, pressing his hand to his chest, ‘are here. You complete me.’

Erin’s eyes glowed with the love that lit her from within as she fell forward into his arms. She felt the sigh shudder through him as they closed tight around her.

She felt secure.

She felt safe.

She felt home.

She raised herself on her elbows and framed his proud, beautiful face in her hands. ‘I will never, ever leave you, Francesco. How could I when I love you?’

When he pressed his mouth to hers she kissed him back offering all of herself to him with no restraints. When he dragged his mouth away they were both breathing hard.

She lifted a hand to her flame hair. ‘God, I must look awful!’

The female vanity made Francesco grin. ‘You look beautiful, but exhausted. I know you have an aversion to bedrest but I was wondering.?’

‘How long did you have in mind?’

‘Oh, a minimum two days … maybe three.’

She sighed. ‘Well, if I have to.’

He ran a finger down the curve of her cheek. ‘Sometimes I can’t believe how beautiful you are.’ He sighed, shaking his head at the wonder of having her. ‘I came into the hospital that night just to watch you when you were asleep. I won’t have to do that anymore—all I’ll have to do is open my eyes because I warn you, Erin I’ve no intention of letting you out of my sight for a very long time. But right now we must obey the doctor.’

‘Two days’ bedrest?’ She looped her arms happily around his neck.

‘Minimum,’ he confirmed.

‘The bed part I think I could live with,’ she said, looking at him with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. ‘But I was wondering—does it have to be wall-to-wall rest? Can’t I have time off for good behaviour?’

‘Do you intend to be good?’

Erin, who had every intention of being quite bad, smiled into his eyes. He laughed. ‘You’re not going to be at all good, are you?’

Erin fitted her mouth to her husband’s and whispered against his lips, ‘It wouldn’t be me, would it?’

And the glorious thing was Francesco was the one man in the world she didn’t have to pretend to be anyone else with.