“You can’t die on me, Valentina. I’ve loved you for a long time, and I know I’ve been selfish picking you and wanting you all to my own, but I am a selfish man.”
She cupped his face and forced him to look at her. “I love you. I want you to be selfish because there’s no one else I want in this world. There is only you.”
The doctor cleared his throat, and she stood up, but Giovanni wouldn’t allow her to leave his side. They locked fingers, and the doctor came in close.
“How bad is it this time?” Giovanni asked.
“With everything else I’ve treated you for, this is just a scratch. The bullet is wedged inside. Whiskey, morphine, or nothing?” the doctor asked.
She winced as her husband picked nothing.
The doctor sighed, but clearly, he was used to having a pain in the ass like Giovanni because he got to work taking out the bullet. She was close to throwing up a few times, but she would turn away whenever it got too much.
There were no vital organs hit, or anything to worry the good doctor. It didn’t take long, and once the bullet was out, the doctor stitched him up and then was sent home.
One of Thomas’s men was waiting for them outside, and they were driven to a hotel to spend the night.
It was a luxurious room, one with its own bathroom, and within ten minutes, they were both naked in the tub. Valentina leaned back, moving to the side that wasn’t injured so she didn’t hurt her husband.
Linking their fingers together, she stared at their wedding bands.
Giovanni wore a ring, just like her. He’d insisted she pick a band out for him, and it was the only real contribution she’d made to their wedding.
“I … I don’t want to lose you,” she said. “I know when I first heard about our marriage, I was terrified. Why wouldn’t I be, right? But I … I don’t know, I just didn’t want to lose you. I’ve fallen in love with you, Giovanni, and I want to build a future with you.”
He kept their fingers locked together, but he wrapped his arms around her so hers were also crossed over her body.
His chin rested on her shoulder. “We’re going to build a future. I can’t tell you that I’m ever going to stop being this man, but I promise you, every single day that I leave you, I will also do everything in my power to make it back.”
“I’m not asking you to quit. All I’m asking is that you always come back to me.”
“Always because I love you.”
She let go of his hands, and he didn’t put up a fight as she turned in his arms and straddled his waist. The tub was large, and none of the water escaped.
Giovanni leaned back, and she felt the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her core.
“Do you feel what you do to me?” he asked.
She nodded.
“That’s you. All you. No one else.” He ran his hands from her ass, moving to her stomach.
She covered his hands with her own.
“Our little baby is in there.”
“Yes.”
“I never thought I’d want kids, a family, a life like this, but I do with you, Valentina. I am willing to do what it takes to make this world safe for you, for us, for our children.”
“Children?” she asked, raising a brow.
“Yes, children. I have a feeling when this little one comes, we’re going to want more. I want to have a big family with you.”
She chuckled. “Or you just want to keep me barefoot and pregnant.”
He wrapped his arms around her again, and she loved it when he did this. They were so close, and she felt like nothing could tear them apart.
“I want to keep you busy so you don’t realize what an asshole you married.”
“I already realize who I married, but, Giovanni, I love the man I’ve married. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if barefoot and pregnant is how you want me, then that is exactly how you’re going to get me.” She stroked his cheek and stared into his eyes, and she knew without any doubt at all, this was where she was happy.