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I place her dinner on the low coffee table in front of her and take a seat in the armchair opposite. “You don’t need my permission to light the fire, Bianca. This suite is yours.”
“This dungeon, you mean.”
A thrum of anger coats her voice. It makes my inner monster purr. She should be careful, lest she push too many of my buttons. I cannot guarantee what will happen if she pushes me too far.
“Call it whatever you wish. This is the price you pay for running from me.”
“The price? Theprice?” She launches to her feet, and I wonder if she’s about to run at me, but instead, she begins to pace. Her bare feet sink into the thick carpet, and her toes scrunch as if even they hold hidden rage. “I’m yourwife, Rio, not your mortal enemy. You can’t keep me locked down here forever.Can you?”
The last question comes out sounding like a wail. She stops pacing and wraps her arms across her middle as if trying to contain her angst. I’ve noticed she does that often, when she’s upset.
The action pushes up her breasts, which are more rounded and fuller-looking than I remember them. The pregnancy, presumably, but the result is enticing, and I steeple my fingers in front of my lips, trying not to show a reaction.
“You have created a conundrum for me, dear wife.” I’m not sure she will accept my explanation, but it’s the only one I have.
I almost laugh at my own vulnerability. I do not explain myself to others. Usually.
“As the boss of a large and powerful organization, my enemies are many, and most are waiting in the shadows to pounce the moment I show any weakness. You ran from me, Bianca, with my child in your womb, and if I do not take any action because of that, then not only will my enemies perceive me as weak, but they will recognize that you mean something more to me than perhaps they realized. They will useyouas an opportunity to move against me.”
Her brows knit as she considers my explanation. “So, does everyone know you’re keeping me imprisoned down here?”
“Everyone who needs to know.”
She pinches her bottom lip between thumb and forefinger. My cock twitches into life at the sensual action.
“It is a complex situation,” I add. “You should not have run.”
She huffs out a breath and drops her hand away from her mouth. “You’re punishing me in a way that everyone can presumably respect, but in doing so, you’re also keeping me safe? Because…you care about me?”
How can she doubt that? I treat her differently—with far more leeway—than I would any other human being. “I have not hidden the effect you have on me, Bianca. But one might deduce, from the fact thatyoucontacted the Feds and then ran, thatyoudo not care aboutme.”
“I… Well…”
“Hmmm?”
“You know that’s not true, Rio. I left you that note. To explain…”
“Ah, yes. The note. You said you loved me. That’s right.”
“I did say that. Because it’s true.” She gently rubs her baby bump.
I’m not sure if the action is deliberate, to curry my favor, or unconscious. From her slightly unfocused expression as she shifts her gaze back to the flames in the fireplace, I suspect the latter.
“I always will love you,” she says, after a minute of silence. “Even though I ran. Even though I’m mad as hell that you’ve brought me back and locked me up down here. My feelings for you—aboutyou—are very…complicated, Rio.”
“Yes. As are mine for you.”
Everything about Bianca unsettles me. I clamp down on my swirling thoughts, breathe slowly and steadily to calm my system, and point to her food.
“You need to eat before your dinner grows cold.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Bianca. Your stomach has growled twice since I entered the room.” I stare at her, and she throws her hands up in the air.
“Fine.”
She stomps back to the couch and sits once again, staring at the tray in front of her before finally taking up the utensils and eating. There is silence in the room while she does so, the hiss of the fake fire making a surprisingly restful background noise. I lean back in my chair and concentrate for a while on the dance of golden orange flames in the grate, understanding why she wanted the fire on even though the temperature down here is kept at an even keel.
