Lazily, I ran a hand down her spine, between her cheeks, and removed it. She sagged, panting, and with her body so close to mine, I could feel the electric current running beneath the surface of her skin.
I gripped a fistful of her ass. “Do we have an understanding?”
“Mmm?” she mumbled into the bedding.
“You will only come in my presence from this point forward.”
Even blissed out of her mind, sass leaked into her tone. “At this point, you might as well just put a damn collar around my neck with a tag that reads: Property of Gio Bellini.”
“That can be arranged, but I’d settle for seeing your rings back on your finger.”
She cracked one eye open. “No, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” I shoved off the mattress, headed for the shower. “But keep in mind, you won’t be leaving this house until they’re back in their rightful place.”
My back might be to her, but I knew my wife well enough to know she was giving me a one-fingered salute.
The woman was as stubborn as they come. But I wasn’t budging.
She either played by my rules or she suffered. Her choice.
Chapter 12
Rory
“Ineedtobeserviced,” I declared, waltzing right into Gio’s home office. Only to stop short when I saw that he wasn’t alone.
Oops.
My husband’s dark eyes flared as he scanned me from head to toe, and I shifted on my feet, tugging on the short hem of the lace babydoll nightie I wore to keep it from riding up since it was stretched tight across my growing baby bump. It was a piece that I’d owned pre-pregnancy, and it didn’t exactly fit my changing body, but confined to the house with my phone confiscated, shopping for new clothes was off the table.
Dragging a hand over his jaw, Gio shook his head. “For fuck’s sake, Rory. Ever think of knocking?”
Heat flooded my cheeks, but I stood my ground, folding both arms over my chest. “Why the fuck would I knock when the door was wide open?”
A chuckle sounded, and the man seated across from Gio’s desk rose to his feet. Then he turned around, a mischievous sparkle in his familiar hazel eyes.
“Feisty as ever,” Enzo remarked, a smirk on his face.
I popped my hip and shot back, “Still asking ‘how high’ when that one tells you to jump?”
My husband’s cousin clutched his chest, his smile never slipping. “You wound me, Rory. I can do so much more than jump. I can sit, roll over, play dead.” He used his fingers as he listed off each trick.
I bit back a laugh. Enzo’s quick wit and sarcastic humor made him easily my favorite Bellini man.
“I might be here against my will, but it’s good to see you.” I stepped forward for a hug.
Gio stood suddenly, his palm coming down hard on his desk. “Don’t even think about it.”
A peek around Enzo’s shoulder showed how tightly Gio’s jaw was clenched.
“Seriously?” I arched an eyebrow. “I get that you’re an overgrown caveman, but he’s your cousin.”
“You’re more than welcome to hug him after you put your tits away, Rory.”
I glanced down at my breasts, which were spilling over the pale blue cups of my lingerie. Gio had a point. I was almost indecently exposed, my nipples visible through the lace. And he’d probably lose his fucking mind when he realized I wasn’t wearing panties.
A wicked grin curved on my lips, the idea of pushing him over the edge too tempting to resist.
