Chapter Eight
Olivia
I wake up mid stretch. Lucien’s watch is laying on the bedside table and I reach over and grab it. It’s almost ten.
I forgot to text my sons goodnight. I snatch for my phone, checking to see if they texted. There’s a series of photos of them out in the snow in the dark, looking like they’re having the time of their lives. The last picture is all three boys lined up in front of the fireplace. I can tell Iris made them stand still for the photo because they’re all scowling and Ettore has his hand pulled back like he’s about to deck Hugo.
They’re impossible.
Lucien’s sons through and through.
Despite my best efforts to make my sons gentle, their bloodline came through strong. They’re hotheaded troublemakers. All except Marco, but he’s his own set of problems.
I push myself upright and send a group text to all the boys wishing them a Merry Christmas. Lucien is still dead asleep on his side, facing away from me. Being as quiet as possible, I slip from the bed and go to the bar to make up an ice water. I’m not hungover, but my mouth feels fuzzy. Bare footed, I pad to the window to the pull the curtain open.
It must have snowed even harder last night. The mountain is carpeted in snow. It sits in huge drifts over the hotel and the quad where we sat by the fire. Guests and staff are moving about and the mood is jovial. A group of children are having a snowball fight by the drive.
My mind drifts to our dinner with Marco and Freja. He’s been so secretive this past year. I brought it up with Lucien once several months ago and he released a long sigh and pulled me into his lap. Giving me that patient look that means I’m worrying the subject to death.
“I’m sorry, Liv,” he said softly. “I think your rose-colored glasses might be slipping.”
“What does that mean?” I frowned.
He rubbed my back. “It means…Marco grew up under your protection. You did such a good job, but he’s a man now. He’s wrestling with his dark side.”
“Marco doesn’t have a dark side,” I protested.
“Marco is my son.”
I stared at him, still confused.
“I don’t get it, Lucien,” I sighed.
“You raised him to be soft, gentle. If he’s going to accept his legacy, all that has to burn away. It’s painful to pick the person you’re going to be, it hurts to come of age.”
“Did…you do that?”
“I did it in the opposite order,” he said. “My father raised me to be an animal, no thoughts, just cruelty. You burned all that away and I had to find a balance and pick who I wanted to be for you.”
I stared at him for a long time. The older he got, the more he said things like this. A lot of them I didn’t understand, maybe because I was seventeen years behind him.
He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “He’ll come back to us. You just have to love him enough to let him get hurt first.”
Lucien stirs in the bed and I jerk from my memory and turn. He’s sitting up in the bed, face half shadowed with stubble. His hair is tousled and it looks so sexy that I can’t keep from biting my lip.
“What’s funny?” he said, his voice raspy with sleep.
I shake my head. He gets up and crosses to me, spinning me around and pulling my body back against his. His mouth presses kisses up the side of my neck and he grinds his hips against my ass, pushing his morning erection into me.
“Let’s get you downstairs and have some breakfast,” he murmurs.
I lean back against his shoulder. His kisses my shoulder and warmth spreads through my body.
“What are you doing? Watching the snowfall?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I was thinking about Marco. I hope he ends up with Freja, I feel like she’ll balance him out.”
“I think there’s a good chance he will,” Lucien says. “He’ll be easier to marry off than Hugo at least. Hugo’s only prospect will be an arranged match, although I already feel sorry for the girl who has to marry him.”
I turn around and give him a severe look. “Lucien, that’s mean.”
“It’s honest. He’s a fucking psycho.”
“And he’s your son.”
“He’s also the son who spent the last seventeen years terrorizing me in my own home. I should have sent him to a military school.”
“Lucien!”
“I’m joking, baby.” He bends and kisses me, effectively shutting me up. “The boys will all be alright, Liv. Let’s not worry about anything. I think there’s a hot coffee calling your name in the cafe downstairs.”
I can tell part of him believes what he says and the other part likes to shock me. I roll my eyes once he’s safely in the bathroom. It’s too early to be bent over his lap. He showers while I dress and do my makeup and hair. Then I get the luxury of standing in my lace bra and panties, applying lipstick, while I watch him put on a sharp, tailored suit. He’s a little leaner than he was on the island and the suit fits him perfectly.
I put on a sweater dress and wind my hair into a demure bun at the nape of my neck. His eyes follow me, always hungry when he watches me get ready, as I slip my earrings in and put my wedding band on.
“Wear your diamonds, baby,” he says.
I shake my head, turning and leaning on the sink.
“Those are a bit fancy for breakfast,” I say.
He steps up, looming over me. His hand rests on the side of my neck, but he’s careful not to mess up my hair.
“Alright, wear them for dinner then,” he says.
He bends and kisses me, parting my lips for a second so I feel his tongue burn against mine. My body melts against the front of his suit as I let him take me into his arms and kiss me deeply. I feel my heartbeat slow and my body relax. He has that effect on me still.
I stay wrapped up in his arms for as long as possible. It feels natural, it feels so easy it’s hard to believe I was ever uncomfortable around him. Beneath my ear, I can hear his blood pump. Thump, thump, in his chest. It’s a familiar rhythm, one that I would recognize anytime, anywhere. It’s one half of the heartbeat that makes up our home, our family.
He pulls back, kissing my forehead through my bangs.
“Let’s go down and have breakfast, baby,” he says. “ We have places to be later, but right now I want to spend time with my wife.”
I slip my hand in his and let him lead me out into the hall. The hotel glitters as the morning sunlight catches the snow. I can tell the temperature dropped because the top layer is powdery and lies over everything like sparkling dust. We enter the lobby and take the elevator to the top floor where the dining room is set with white and silver tablecloths.
Lucien leads me to the table reserved with our name and pulls out my chair. I love the way he spoils me, the way his hand always lingers on my lower back, how he opens my doors, how he guides me through every doorway.
I must be giving him bedroom eyes as he sits beside me because his brow twitches. He leans in and presses a kiss to my temple and to my cheekbone, sending a slow warmth creeping to my bones.
“Feeling horny again?” he murmurs.
“Different kind of horny,” I say under my breath. “I love you, Lucien. This has been such a nice Christmas, thank you for planning it.”
His tattooed hand, faded from the sun, runs up my arm and his fingers thread through mine. My heart skips a beat as he lifts my hand and kisses the tips of my fingers.
“Anything for you,” he says.
I can feel that I’m flushed as the waiter appears with a silver coffee pot and fills our cups. He glances down at the way Lucien is holding my hand.
“You must be the newlyweds we have staying this weekend,” he says cheerily.
I laugh and a ghost of a smile passes over Lucien’s face. “We’ve actually been married for a while,” I say.
“Well, could have fooled me,” he says. “What can I get for you? I suggest the soufflé, it’s our most popular item this morning.”
Soufflé sounds perfect. He takes our order and when he’s gone, I bend in and turn my face up so Lucien can discreetly kiss my mouth. I don’t want to make a scene, although I know Lucien doesn’t care who sees us. He’s always lavished public affection on me regardless of where we are.
“Are you happy, baby?” he says.
I just nod. I am, I’m so happy that these days life feels like a dream I’m afraid I’ll wake up from. I know someday we’ll have problems again. With four wild sons, they’re bound to come up. But having Lucien at my side, I realize I’m not afraid to face them.
But this morning isn’t for worrying about the future. That will come regardless so this morning I’m going to enjoy every second I have with him. I lean in and let him kiss me again, in front of everyone in the dining room because after all this time he still makes me as giddy as a newlywed.
THE END