"Yes!” she breathes, but her hips are moving with mine now, chasing it.
"You like it when I talk to you." I dip my head to her throat. "Want me to tell you how good you feel? How fucking perfect?" I feel her shudder. "How I've been thinking about this since the moment we walked in that door?"
"Axel—"
"Say my name again." My hand slides between us, finds her clit. "Go on."
"A-Axel." Broken this time, desperate. "I'm going to—"
"I know." I work her faster. "Come on. Give it to me."
She shatters.
I follow seconds later, burying my face in her neck, her name in my mouth, her hands holding me to her while everything else disappears.
We lie tangled in the ruined sheets afterward, the fire across the room painting everything amber. The window still shows the sky, the lights dimmer now, softer, like they're winding down for the night. Aurora is on her back, one arm across her eyes, breathing slowly back to normal.
I pull her into my side.
She comes without resistance, tucking her head under my jaw, one hand flat on my chest.
"I miss my father," she says.
The words come out quietly, no warning. I feel them land.
"I know," I say.
"I keep thinking about calling him." Her thumb moves absently against my chest. "Then I think about what he said and I can't." A pause. "But I want him to know us. The real us. Not what he thinks we are." She tilts her head back to look at me. "Do you think he'll come around?"
"He loves you," I say it because it's the only thing I know for certain about Luca right now. "Men like your father don't stop loving their daughters. They just need time to stop being proud first."
She's quiet, considering. Then: "I want him there. When the baby comes."
"Then we'll get him there."
"Promise?"
"I'll kidnap him if I have to." And I mean it.
She holds my eyes for a moment, checking for the truth in it, then nods and settles back against my chest.
The fire cracks softly. Outside, the lights keep moving.
"Can I ask you something?" she says.
"You're going to regardless."
She pinches my side lightly. "I asked about her before, but I’m just still curious. Your wife. It seemed a lot went on before she died. Do you still have fond memories of her?"
I go still. "What wife?”
She lifts her head. Frowns at me. "I’m talking about Leo's mother?"
Oh. I smile. It’s time I tell her the truth. "Leo isn't my son."
The frown deepens. She pushes up onto her elbow, looking at me properly. "Wait… What?"
I look at the ceiling for a moment. Then back at her.
