She lifted a surprised eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’d rather not know.”
“What about Marcello? I think he does.”
“I don’t care what he wants.”
“Luca,” she snapped. “Stop being so selfish. He’s your brother. Marcello let me go so that you could have me.”
“And I saved him from my father,” I fired back without meaning to be so nasty. “You don’t understand the relationship between Marcello and me.”
“Yes, I do. Because Marcello told me everything.” She clutched my shoulders, staring into my eyes. “He told me what you were like as a child, explained why you are so cold and cruel. He made me see past all of your flaws. When I wanted to give up on you, Marcello steered me in your direction. You should thank your brother for championing you. He loves you more than anyone, Luca. Why can’t you see that? We all do. But you make it so hard for people to love you.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” I fisted her curls and pulled her mouth to mine. “I’m trying to be more open with you. I have a hard time expressing emotions.”
She snorted with laughter. “No shit.”
“I love you, Drea. I would rather die than live without you.” Her tears wet my cheek as she kissed me. “You know I won’t survive without you, right? If I hadn’t gotten you back from Il Circo, I wouldn’t be here right now. I would have jumped off the cliff without a second thought. That’s how much I love you.”
“You’re no Romeo,” she said with laughter in her tone. “But I believe you. I love you so much I can’t breathe when you’re not around.” She sighed. “I need to know the paternity of this child. We all deserve to know the truth.”
“I’m afraid,” I admitted.
“I know.” She shoved her fingers through my hair. “I am too. So is Marcello. I will be a Salvatore. My child will be a Salvatore. No matter the outcome, I expect both of you to raise the child with me. I need you and Marcello in different ways. You understand that, right?”
I nodded in agreement. “After Marcello got shot, I was jealous. I didn’t want to share you with him. I didn’t realize you were so close. I was afraid I’d lost you to my brother, of all people. But now I see it. You love Marcello like a friend.”
“Exactly.” She glided her teeth across her lip. “Marcello is the light to your dark. I need both halves in my life. You each balance me out. When you couldn’t reach me, Marcello was there. He helped me through my nightmares and flashbacks. Aiden would have filled that role if he hadn’t disappeared. And so Marcello became my person.”
I grabbed her ass and squeezed. “I want to be your person.”
“You are my person.” She squealed when I rubbed her pussy against my hard cock. “I can have more than one.”
I pried her lips apart with my tongue. She tasted like oranges and mint, good enough to eat. Her sweet perfume floated into my nostrils, masking her usual scent of acrylic paint.
My beautiful artist consumed me, completed me in every single way. I hadn’t planned to have children so soon, but nothing with us had ever gone according to plan. It was only a matter of time before the dust settled, and we would have time to enjoy each other without the threat of my enemies.
“Does this mean you’re good with the baby?” Alex asked, breathless. “The paternity test, us raising the baby together, no matter what?”
“Yeah. I’ll talk to the doctor about arranging a paternity test.”
“Promise nothing will change between us if the baby is Marcello’s.”
“There’s a slim chance,” I assured her. “It was one time.”
I pushed her back to the mattress and climbed on top of her. Pinning her arms above her head, I kissed her soft lips as my hands roamed over every part of her body. With each kiss I placed on her delicate skin, she moaned my name, begging for more.
Alex laid back, her thighs spread for me, her hair wild and fanned out across the bed. She looked up at me, panting, her lips parted and slick with my saliva.
Rolling her tongue across her lips, she grabbed my tie. “You’ve been working all day. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, baby.”
“I think we should have the wedding ceremony on Thursday to throw off The Carver.”
I considered her brilliant idea.
Why didn’t I think of that?
“That could work.” I grazed her cheek with my fingers. “But is this what you want?”
“We’ve waited too long to have this lunatic ruin our wedding day.”
I nodded. “Just family and close friends at the ceremony.”
“That’s perfect. I prefer something more intimate, anyway.”
I sat up and straightened my tie. “We’ll continue this later. I have a new wedding to arrange.”