Missed her?The thought made him draw back. She had left him. She didn’t want him. She was here for what he could give her—money. Abby had not understood who and what he was. She’d come back for the money, nothing more.
She looked at him in disbelief. Whether it was disbelief that she’d let him kiss her or disbelief that she’d wanted it, he couldn’t tell.
“I think I’ve proved my point.”
He watched her shift weight from one foot to the other, as if about to flee. She plainly didn’t want to be in the same room as him, but she’d stay, he was certain, because she was desperate.
He wouldn’t lie to himself. He wanted her back in his life for more than one reason.
Even now his body hardened as he remembered the erotic image of her spread naked across his bed in the drowsing heat of the afternoon. Her glorious blond curlscascading in a tangle, her lush pink mouth begging for his, while she writhed and moaned with pleasure beneath his expert hands. She’d always been so responsive. Their initial lovemaking had been fast and furious. It had taken him several months to learn to appreciate her body without losing himself in her passion.
Her eyes drank him in, sending longing coursing through him. But just as he had at their wedding, he suppressed his feelings. His family was about duty, honor, and tradition. Strength was admired, weakness forbidden. And romantic love was weak.
Dante shoved the arousing memories from his mind. He took in her fighting stance and knew he would lend her the money. He believed in family and he was proud of the way she’d sacrificed her pride to ask him for this favor. Her selflessness and honor were two of the reasons he’d selected her as his wife in the first place.
“How much money do you need for your grandmother’s operation?”
She turned a startled gaze his way. “You’ll help me?”
He ran a hand through his hair and kept the annoyance out of his voice. “You knew I would; that’s why you came.” He watched her shoulders sag in relief. “Before you get too pleased with yourself, you’d best hear my terms.”
She cringed. “Terms?”
He remembered how Abby had coldly left without even a good-bye. The cracks in his heart’s fortifications hardened. “What are you prepared to do for this favor?” Dante saw the pulse at the base of her throat quicken in apprehension.
“You weren’t serious before, surely? You can’t be suggesting that I…”
He walked to the window, looking down on his estate. His domain. Something Abby seemed to have forgotten. Time for a reminder.
“A son. I want my wife by my side andI want a son.” He cast his eyes over her petite form, lingering on her pert breasts, leaving no misunderstanding of what he was suggesting.
“Don’t do this.”
He spread his hands wide. “Do what? I’m a businessman. According to you, I’m heartless and cruel. I’d hate to disappoint. You want money from me?—”
“A loan.”
“And how do you expect to repay this loan?”
Her hands were once more clasped tightly in front of her. “I’ll manage somehow, even if it takes me a lifetime.”
“Waiting is not one of my strong points. A lifetime seems too long to wait, even for you.”
“Stop toying with me. What is it that you require in return? My blood?”
He watched suspicion sharpen her eyes. “Not blood—this time. I want my wife back in my life and in my bed.”
Abby’s lips parted and closed again. “You expect me to move back in here as if the last three years never happened?”
He said nothing.
“You’re more cold and unfeeling than I imagined.”
His eye began to twitch in anger. “I’m still your husband.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.” His offer was the last thing she’d expected. “Why on earth do you want me back? You told me you weren’t lacking for company.”
“You and I were married in a church before God, Abby. You are still my wife. And I,” he added, “am still your husband.”
