Because I was Gio motherfucking Bellini, and I was fucking bulletproof.
“What do you say we go away this weekend to celebrate?” My thumb ran over Rory’s knuckles with our hands clasped over the center console of my car.
The dreamy smile that had been a permanent fixture on her face since the ultrasound faded slightly. With a sigh, she replied, “Sounds amazing, but I have to work.”
“You can’t take a few days off?”
Her lips pulled into a thin line. “I think sometimes you forget that I don’t have the type of jobs that offer paid vacation. I can’t afford to skip out on any of my shifts, not when I won’t get maternity leave either.”
This shit again. She was so fucking stubborn, clinging to her independence.
Enjoy your last few days of freedom, sweetheart, because pretty soon you’re going to be locked back up in your gilded cage until you’ve given birth to my heir.
“Ro, we’ve been over this . . .”
She pulled her hand away, folding both arms over her chest. “Yes, we have, John. I’ve moved in with you, but you promised I could keep my safety net. That doesn’t just extend to my apartment. Letting you sweet-talk me out of continuing to work simply because you make enough to support both me and the baby defeats the purpose.”
“I just want—”
“Did you ever think that I lie awake at night, worried that something might happen to you? That someone might run a red light while you’re crossing the street, or God forbid, you suffersome kind of medical emergency?” She clutched at her swollen stomach. “What are me and this baby expected to do then, if we’ve become solely reliant on you?” Pulling in a deep breath, Rory confessed on the exhale, “I need to know we can survive on our own. Is that too much to ask?”
“Of course not.” I laid my hand, palm-up, on the console, curling my fingers in a silent request for her to take it, which she did. “But I want you to understand that I’ve already taken care of everything in the unlikely event that something takes me away from you and our baby boy. There’s life insurance, investments, my retirement savings. All of it would go to you, and it’s more than enough that you wouldn’t have to work three jobs to support our son. I don’t want you to worry, Ro.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, she apologized, “Sorry. It’s just that I’ve been fighting so hard for so long to keep my head above water, and there are too many days when it feels like I’m drowning.”
“I’m throwing you a life preserver. Don’t be afraid to reach out and grab it.”
A sad smile curved on her lips. “It’s hard for me to accept that an offer of help comes without conditions.”
“The only condition I have is that you give yourself a break and take it easy. You’re growing a whole person inside you, and that’s all you should have to focus on for the next few months.”
“Fine,” she agreed grudgingly. “I’ll take the weekend off, but I’m not quitting any of my jobs. That’s non-negotiable.”
“Fair enough.”
Parking behind my building, I rounded the hood to open her door.
Once inside the apartment, Rory shucked her jacket and kicked off her shoes. “Not sure if you had a destination in mind yet, but Vail’s less than an hour away, and fall’s the perfect time to visit before it’s overrun with tourists for the ski season.”
I pulled her into my arms, and a surge of primal possession streaked through my bloodstream, feeling the hard swell of her pregnant belly press against my upper thighs. I had thoroughly staked my claim, planted my seed, and now she carried my son, cementing my legacy.
The only thing sweeter would be the moment when my deception was revealed and Rory realized that she had walked right into my trap. Her world would come crashing down around her while I got everything I was owed and more.
I trailed kisses down her neck. “Is it okay if I keep it a surprise?”
“Mmm.” She gasped when I sucked on a particularly sensitive spot. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
Walking her backward into the bedroom, stripping away her clothing piece by piece, I gave her my body.
But the whole time I was balls deep inside my wife, I couldn’t stop counting down the seconds until I could shed the façade and reclaim my kingdom.
It was so close I could taste it.
Chapter 8
Gio
“Mmm.Thisisdelicious,”Rory purred from the passenger seat after taking a sip of tea from her travel mug.
