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Leaning over her, I cup her stomach beneath my palm. My touch is both reverent and protective as I imagine that secret place of a woman where life grows. “I need to put a baby inside you, Sabella.”
My words have the effect of a glacier that crashes into a warm, tropical sea. Her eyes go wide. Wild. She pushes up on her elbows and closes her legs. Closes herself off to me. “You can’t be serious.”
She sits up and shoves me away.
The rejection is like a slap in the face. It stings, but I don’t give her the satisfaction of showing her how much that bothers me.
My actions are casual as I unbutton my waistcoat and slip the garment over my arms. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You want to bring a child into this?” She waves between us. “Whatever you call this agreement you’re parading to everyone as a marriage?”
I kick off my shoes and strip my socks. “I need an heir.” My pants and briefs follow next. “My father had a contract drawn up for this purpose.” Then my shirt. “You would’ve been familiar with the contents if your father hadn’t hidden it from you.”
“Do not bring my dad into this.” Her nostrils quiver. “Not now.”
“You can look it over. You’ll find it makes adequate provision for you and any children you’ll bear me. In fact, you’ll find me more than generous, but you’re welcome to add your own demands.”
“Do you hear yourself?” She studies me with a pitying look. “You’re talking about a human being, not an object whose life you can neatly project with a formal contract. A child needs a loving and safe environment.”
“Which he’ll have.”
“A child needs parents who love and respect each other, not a fucked-up business deal.”
“Your father didn’t do a great job of respecting your mother, and you turned out well enough.”
Hurt flashes through her eyes, making an expressive portrait of pain. It’s too raw to hide. I don’t like it. I don’t like that I did that to her with my words. “Sabella.”
She jumps up and heads toward the bathroom. “The answer is no, Angelo.”
Agitation pours into my veins. If she thinks she can shun me and have the last word, I have news for her. This is the bargain she struck on her knees before God. This is what she owes me. My father was good to me. I’ll be a good father too. I don’t give a fuck what she believes or thinks about me.
I catch her wrist. “I didn’t give you permission to speak my name.”
She looks back at me, her mouth dropping open. “So, I’m only to utter your holy name on command.”
Her spite is getting to me. I’ve got her too deeply under my skin. She affects me too much. “Correct. But you may use it freely when you come.”
“In that case,” she says with a stiff little smirk, “the answer is no, Mr. Russo.”
I lean closer, simultaneously pulling her hard enough to me to make our bodies collide. My armor is cruelty, my defense for her repeated rejection the power I hold over her.
My words are soft, but my smile is cold. “You’re making the mistake of thinking you have a choice.”
Her beautiful face pales as she stares up at me. Her shock is evident in her breathless reply. “You can’t.”
“I can, wife.” I rub my thumb over the delicate skin of her wrist. “And I will.”
She knows it’s true. The vein that throbs in her delicate neck tells me so.
I let her go. “You can have a shower and sleep in your bed.” Walking to the door, I add, “You earned it.”
“You’re a monster,” she says to my back.
I chuckle. “I’m glad you’re finally figuring me out.”
Her frustrated cry reaches my ears as I shut the door between our rooms and turn the key. When I walk to my shower, I should feel victory. As it turns out, winning this round brings me no joy.
Chapter
