“Then why did you run in the first place?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing for both of us…”
“I hope you realized the safest place in the world is by my side. I would never let anything happen to our child. I would protect them more fiercely than anyone else I know. That’s something you never have to worry about.”
“I know…” My hand moved against his chest, and I felt his strong heartbeat.
“I want you to apologize to me.”
My eyes flicked back to his.
“You heard me,” he whispered. “You took my child away from me. You subjected me to loneliness. You betrayed me—again. And you should be sorry about that.”
My fingers rested against his thumping heartbeat. “You’re the one threatening to kill me all the time. Can you blame me?”
“And you’re the one who believes I won’t do it. So what is there to be afraid of?”
“Doesn’t matter what I believe. Why would I want to be with a man who talks to me that way? No, I won’t apologize.”
His eyes bored into mine again, a subtle threat of hostility beneath this gaze.
I stood my ground and refused to give in. I refused to bow to a man, regardless of how much I’d missed him.
He didn’t press me on it. Slowly, his anger died away and the tightness in his shoulders relaxed. His fingers moved back to my stomach and over my belly button. “I hate it when you pull that shit. But I also respect you for it.”
I woke up the next morning with a beautiful man beside me.
His chest was pressed against my back, and his arm rested over my belly, like he was protecting it with his powerful arm. Our breaths were in sync. Every time his chest rose, mine did the same.
It was so comfortable, I wanted to stay there forever.
Sleeping alone in my bedroom here never felt right. My mind always drifted down the hall to the man who slept in an enormous bed alone. When I stayed with Landon in France, I always wondered where Cato was sleeping, if he was alone or with someone else.
It was a relief to know he’d been alone—thinking about me.
The baby started to kick, making my tummy vibrate. Without touching it, I could feel it. It was a visceral sensation, an incredible one. I’d been pregnant for a few short months, but it seemed like a real person was inside me, someone I already knew so well.
Cato must have felt it, because he stirred a moment later. His hand gripped my stomach to get a better hold of my belly. He sat up and propped his body up on one arm as he focused on the child we made together.
The kicking continued.
With sleepy eyes, Cato stared at his hand, enjoying the feeling of his baby alive and well. “Boy or girl, they’re strong.”
“I know. I’m only half way through the pregnancy, and they’re so ornery.”
“I wonder where they inherited that from…” He gave me a playful look.
I swatted him on the arm. “Both of us. Not just me.”
“I’m just arrogant. You’re ornery.” He kicked back the sheets then placed kisses over my tummy.
As I watched him, I forgot what we were talking about. I watched Cato kiss me with those soft lips while his eyes looked so sleepy. His hair was pointed at odd angles because I’d fingered it so much last night. He went from being a cold dictator to being a loving father—and a gentle lover. Sometimes it didn’t seem like he was the same person.
They said pregnancy changed you, turned you into a more selfless and caring person. It changed me dramatically, since I could feel my child inside me every single day. But it had started to change Cato too, turning him into a more human man than monster.
“We’re going to the doctor this afternoon,” he said as he rose on his arms and held himself on top of me.
“Really?” I’d tried getting in to see someone, but I had to wait weeks at every place I called. Cato got me in to a great doctor instantly. It was one of the luxuries I missed, having a man who could take care of my needs so quickly.
“Yes. Time for a checkup. But first…” He grabbed my arm and slowly turned me onto my side. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen that asshole.” He lifted me above the bed and put me on my knees. Unlike the gentle way he took me last night, he gripped me by the back of the hair and tugged until my neck curved toward the ceiling. As he pushed his dick past my entrance, he moaned. “There it is…beautiful as always.”
Cato was in the shower, so I went downstairs to visit Giovanni.
He was cooking in the kitchen, like usual, probably preparing lunch. “Miss Siena, it’s so good to see you again.” His eyes moved down to my stomach. “Both of you. It seems like that baby is coming along well.”