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They started down the hallway, oddly quiet with Anthony, Carmen, and the rest of the daily staff gone for theholidays.
When they reached the top of the staircase, Farrell came into view, standing near the door and looking patient in spite of his aforementioned stance on the subject. They locked eyes, a slow smile appearing on his lips as he watched her descend thestairs.
He always looked at her like that — like he hadn’t seen her for ages — and she was immediately transported back to the moment after her father’s funeral when he’d found her on her mother’s backporch.
They hadn’t seen each other in five years, and in spite of her concerns about his lifestyle, she’d been his all over again the second their eyesmet.
She’d always beenhis.
She and Lily stepped off the stairs and Farrell took the toiletry bag from herhands.
He looked down at her, his gray eyes like molten steel. “Ready, mylove?”
She smiled up at him. “I’mready.”
His eyes turned a shade darker, the word moving between them, its meaning expanding into memories of the nights they’d spent tangled in each other’sbodies.
She was always ready for him and he knewit.
She stood on her tiptoes to slide her hands around his neck and was immediately sheltered by the massive wall of his body, his muscled arms slipping around herwaist.
He was a giant of a man, and she never stopped being thrilled by the raw power that emanated from everypore.
Other people saw danger when they looked at him. She could see it in the way they shrank from him, the way they averted their eyes from the scar that ran down the left side of hisface.
She didn’t know what it said about her that his violent energy only excitedher.
It was true that she knew him, that she knew he would protect her and Lily with his life. But even when she’d first met him at the seedy bar outside London, she’d wanted nothing more than to mold herself to him, to truly know the man who looked at everyone in the world like they were hisenemy.
Everyone buther.
“Mummy, Daddy,” Lily said. “We’re going to missChristmas!”
Farrell’s laugh vibrated through Jenna’s body as he dropped a kiss on her lips. It was probably supposed be G-rated for Lily’s benefit, but even here — even now — she was instantly wet for him, her body primed to feel his lips travel over herskin.
“I would never let you miss Christmas, love.” He scooped her into his arms. “But you’re right: the heli’swaiting.”
Now that Jenna was in the foyer, she could hear the idle of its engine, the slow whomp of its blades cutting theair.
“And Stella, too!” Lilysaid.
“Well, we mustn’t keep Stella waiting,” Farrell said, leading them out thedoor.
His pretend horror was for Lily’s benefit. Stella, Nico and Angel’s daughter, had been gifted with Nico’s reserve, Angel’s steely calm. She was only five years old, but Jenna could already see her sitting on the Syndicate’s throne someday, calmly blinking her green eyes as she made complicateddecisions.
Lily, on the other hand, was cursed and blessed with Farrell’s fiery temper, Jenna’s passion. Both would serve her well if they were tempered with a healthy dose of discipline. Jenna was working on it, but her success had yet to bedetermined.
They crossed the lawn toward the waiting helicopter, Farrell holding Lily in one arm while he held Jenna’s hand. They were a perfect party of three, Farrell’s two arms easily sheltering themboth.
How would another baby change things between them? Would she be able to give Lily all the attention she deserved while also nurturing a second child? Would Farrell welcome thenews?
She was still pondering the questions as they climbed into thehelicopter.
Leo, Farrell’s right-hand man, was in the pilot’schair.
Farrell got Jenna and Lily buckled in, then climbed into the copilot’s seat. A couple minutes later, they were rising into the air, Lily squealing as they banked over theproperty.
The ground disappeared beneath them, followed by the house and barn, the rolling Tuscan hills passing in a blur of gold andbrown.
