“Come here.” I adjust so that her back is leaning against my chest. My dick’s only partially hard, but it still presses against her ass. She doesn’t seem to mind, though.
I rub her shoulders and knead the muscles around her neck. She lets out a satisfied sigh of pleasure, and we sit in quiet for a while. I think about the shooting, how close she got to getting hurt, and how she was all I could think about in those moments.Protect Fio. Keep her safe. I was ready to die for her if that’s what it took.
But now the situation is a fucking mess. Raf thought those men were going to raise him to the head of his Famiglia; instead, they’re all fucking dead, and he’s on life support. The doctors think he’ll pull through, but he’s not going to be leading anything for a while.
Which leaves everything wide open for Corrado.
All that old bastard has to do is step in and take control. I’m sure the remaining Capos are all freaking out as news spreads of what happened. The Don is dead, his son is dying, and four of the most powerful members of their organization slaughtered each other.
It’s the goddamn worst-case scenario. And if Raf doesn’t make it?
I have a feeling we’ll go full nuclear.
“Luca?” Fiorella sounds calm and sleepy. I hold her tighter, leaning down to kiss her neck. I don’t want to think about themess we’re in and all the blood it’ll take to dig our way back out. I want to feel my wife against my chest. I want to comfort her and try to find some way to drag her back into the light. Today’s been hard for her, and I need to be harder still. I have to be her rock.
“Yeah,mia cara?”
“I need to tell you something.” She turns, the water sloshing around us, until we’re facing each other. There are tears in her eyes, but she’s smiling, and a strange bubbling feeling fills my stomach. It’s part dread, part terror.
“What’s wrong?”
“I should’ve told you right away, but I’ve had this plan for a long time. Ever since I was young, honestly. Since the whole panic room thing happened. I thought one day I’d get enough money, and I’d leave this city behind. I wanted to fix up the Spider, then hit the road with Elisa. I was going to steal from you to make it happen.”
My eyebrows slowly raise. “You do know I would’ve come after you, right?”
She grins back, blinking as the tears roll down her cheeks. I don’t understand what’s happening, but I’m not surprised by this. I could tell from the second we met that she wasn’t going to sit still for anything. No big surprise she wanted to run away.
“It doesn’t matter now. All my plans are changed.” Her hand moves to her belly. I stare at it, slightly distorted through the water. “I was going to run, but I don’t want to anymore. I wantthis. I wantyou.”
“I want this, and I want you too.” I reach out and wipe a tear away. “But why are you so upset? Did you think I’d be angry?You can try to run as much as you want, but I’d always bring you back. You’re my wife. You’re all mine.”
“I know that. But I’m more than just your wife.” She leans in, her lips brushing against mine as she whispers in my ear. “Luca, I’m pregnant.”
I jerk back in total shock.
She’s smiling and crying, and a thousand feelings burst through my body all at once.
My wife is pregnant, she’s carrying my child, I’m going to be a father.
I take her hands as the most intense and pure joy I’ve ever felt before in my life bursts down along my spine and fills me up with an incredible glow.
“This is fucking incredible,” I say, kissing her again and again. I kiss away her tears. I kiss her while she laughs. “This is good, this is so good. You’re fucking pregnant! We’re having a baby! We’re making a family!” I laugh with her, overjoyed, and pull her into my arms, not caring if water sloshes over the edge of the tub. I kiss her and kiss her, and I can’t believe this is happening.
“I was so worried about how you might react,” she says, grinning madly, so beautiful and flushed pink from heat and joy. “But this isn’t what I guessed.”
“Did you think I’d be angry? Disappointed? Anything but absolutely fucking crazy with happiness?”
“I guess so.”
“Then you were wrong.” I squeeze her face and kiss her. “You are fucking perfect, Fiorella. And you are all mine.” We kiss for agood long time, tasting each other, enjoying this perfect, blissful moment, and I almost keep myself in check. I almost manage to enjoy it for more than a few minutes without spiraling into bad thoughts. I almost make it, but then I’m picturing my poor dead aunt, all the dead bodies I’ve left in my wake, how many of those were my fault, and how much suffering I’ve caused, and I know what’s coming with her family.
The civil war is going to be bloody, and she’s going to be a target.
Even worse than she was before. Now it’ll be both Fiorellaandour baby in the crosshairs.
“I need something from you,” I say as we’re getting out. I towel her off gently and kiss her belly. She laughs and swats me away.
“What is it?” She frowns when I look her in the eye. “You’re getting all serious. What’s wrong?”
