‘What?’ she croaked, her face raised to his.
‘In the water, you said you’d failed at many things.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyes darkened further and tears brimmed her eyes. ‘I have. I failed to get my parents to love me, for instance.’
Her naked pain slashed him hard, despite thinking he’d steeled himself adequately against further unsettling emotion. ‘That is their fault, not yours. I’ve learned the hard way that, with the best will in the world, you can’t get someone to love you if they’re incapable of it.’
Her eyes widened, questions swimming in her eyes. Questions he felt too raw to answer right then. He shook his head and briskly rubbed the towel in her hair. ‘You’re a huge success at the things you’re passionate about.’
Her eyelids swept down, hiding her expression from him. Her laugh was hollow as she tried to take the towel from him. ‘I wish I could agree, but sadly the evidence states otherwise. For one thing, you insist on calling what we have a marriage, but has it really been? Or have I just been the body to warm your bed while you burrow your way into your son’s life? The woman you didn’t trust enough to let her know how much legitimising your son means to you.’
His arms dropped. ‘Maisie—’
‘Don’t, Romeo. I don’t want to hear your slick excuses. The moment you found out about Lucca, you wanted him, regardless of who stood in your way. You scooped me up for the ride because that was the easiest option for you.’
He stepped behind her, and his gaze was dragged helplessly over her body, down the enticing line of her spine to the twin dimples at the top of her buttocks, and the alluring globes below, perfectly framed by the wet lace caressing her skin.
‘Easy? You think any of this has been easy?’ He shook his head in self-disgust. ‘I’m stumbling round in the dark, pretending I’ve got my head screwed on straight when the reality is that I’m terrified I’ll irrevocably mess up a four-year-old boy’s life. And, believe me, I’m perfectly equipped to do it. Whereas you know the answer to every question he asks. You know what he wants before he does. So yes, I exploited your devotion to him to help me get to know my flesh and blood. Condemn me for that, but believe me, none of this has been easy for me,’ he rasped.
Her head fell forward with a defeated sigh. He told himself to remember that she intended to walk away, take away the only thing resembling a true family he’d ever known. She was the reason he couldn’t take a full breath without wondering if his organs were functioning properly. Somehow, she’d taught him to hope again, to dare to dream. And she’d smashed that dream with a handful of words.
Romeo tried to remember that.
But he couldn’t help it. He lowered his head and brushed his lips against the top of her spine, where the wet hair had parted to reveal her creamy skin.
She made a sound, part arousal, part wary animal, but he was too far gone to heed the latter. The thought of her leaving, of never being able to do this again, scattered his thoughts to a million pieces, until only one thing mattered.
Here and now.
‘Maisie.’ He heard the rough plea in his voice. He dropped the towel and trailed his mouth over her shoulders, down her back, anxiety hurrying his movements. She shuddered under his touch.
‘Romeo, please...’
He dropped to his knees and spun her around. ‘Tesoro mio, don’t deny me this. Don’t deny us this.’ He wanted to say more, bare himself with words that were locked deep, but it was as if the language he needed to express himself was suddenly alien to him. But he could show her. He would show her.
He held her hips and kissed her soft belly, where his son had nestled, warm and loved. She gave a soft moan. Empowered, he deepened the caress, his tongue tasting her intoxicating skin. When she swayed and her hands clutched his shoulders, he groaned.
Roughly pulling her panties to one side, he fastened his mouth to her sex, caressing her with his tongue as he lapped at her.
‘Romeo!’
He drowned beneath the heady sensation, of his wildcat digging her fingers into his skin. He dared to entertain the thought that there might be a way through this landmine that threatened to destabilise his world. He went harder, desperate to bring her pleasure, unashamed to hope it brought him something more, something lasting.
She gave another cry and shattered in his arms, her head dropping forward as she shuddered. Rising, he caught her in his arms, saw the dazed but almost resigned look in her eyes, and his stomach hollowed.