The Tyrant (Banker 3)

I sat up against the pillows and felt my entire body ache. Never in my life had I felt this terrible. Good thing the doctor was generous with the pain medication.

Siena sat at my side and ran her fingers through my hair. “I’ll take care of you. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

“I should be the one taking care of you…” I looked into her green eyes and treasured the sight. I could have lost her for good, and it would have haunted me every single second until I got her back. This woman had proved her love a million times, and I was too stupid to see it. Now I couldn’t unsee it.

“You will—one day.” She smiled at me as she continued to run her fingers through my short hair. “We’ll take turns taking care of each other. Then when we’re a hundred, Martina will take care of us.”

“And our other kids.”

Her hand stilled at my words, her eyes crinkling at the corners in emotion. “Our other kids?”

“You said you want two kids, right?”

“Yes. But do you?”

I nodded. “Maybe more than two.”

She released a deep laugh, her eyes sparkling in happiness. “Ambitious.”

“You know me, baby. I’m a very ambitious man.”

“Well, let’s get you better first. So that’s step one.”

“I want to make another baby as soon as you’re ready.”

“Two babies in diapers…that sounds like a handful.”

I shrugged. “Nothing we can’t handle. And if it is too much, we can make Giovanni take care of them.”

She laughed. “Poor Giovanni. We dump everything on that sweet man.”

“That’s what I pay him for.” I smiled as I looked at her, the woman who sacrificed herself to save me. The only other woman who would have done that was my mother. I didn’t want Siena to do that, but her loyalty touched me. Loyalty had always been important to me, along with trust. She’d earned both those things. “I’m sorry…for everything.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Cato.” She grabbed my hand and held it on her thigh.

“You were right. I was too scared to tell you how I really felt. I was a coward.”

“Coward is a strong word.”

“And it suits me.” I squeezed her hand. “You’ve had so much power over me since the beginning, and I hated that. Then when you tricked me…I felt foolish. I felt stupid and foolish. I was afraid to give you that power again.”

“Understandable.”

“But a real man shouldn’t be a coward. A real man should wear his heart on his sleeve. I’m sorry I didn’t do that sooner.”

Her eyes softened with emotion. “I always knew, Cato. So there’s no need to apologize. I saw it in the way you looked at me, the way you took care of me, the way you made love to me. You wore your heart on your sleeve…even if you didn’t realize it.”

16

Siena

Six weeks had come and gone, and Cato had improved significantly. He had the strength to move around again. He didn’t hit the gym or exert himself too much, but he was able to shower on his own and stand for long periods of time.

Even though he felt better, I forced him to stay in bed.

“Baby, I’m fine—”

“Stay.” I placed the sheets over his lap.

He rolled his eyes. “Come on—”

“No. Just because you’re feeling better doesn’t mean you should run around. You could reinjure yourself and make it a million times worse. So you’re going to stay in bed until you’re completely healed.” I placed Martina in bed beside him with her favorite colored plastic keys to play with. “And you have your daughter for company.”

“As much as I enjoy hanging out with her, I have other things to do.”

“Yes,” I said in agreement. “Like get better.”

He sighed under his breath.

“I’m gonna go get you some lunch. Keep an eye on her.”

“You’re just trying to make me feel useful.”

“You are useful.” I leaned down and kissed him. “Take advantage of this time you have with her. Before you know it, she’s going to be all grown up.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he said coldly. “I want her to stay like this forever.”

“I don’t,” I said with a laugh. “My nipples are raw because she sucks on them so much.”

“Even when she stops, they’re still going to be raw.” He gave me a playful look.

I left the bedroom and headed downstairs, trying to forget that last comment. Six weeks of convalescence was a long time to go without much action. Sometimes we kissed and touched each other in bed, but it’d been so long since we’d actually made love. It’d been about three months.

I missed it so much.

I went downstairs and found Bates in the conference room. He’d pretty much moved in to the space since he lived in the house with us. He handled the business remotely, rarely going to the office in Florence. “I’m gonna get some lunch for Cato. You want anything?”