Chapter Six #3
His cheek pressed into hers as he tucked his chin onto her shoulder. “It is good to hear you laugh, bella.”
She nodded, refusing to look into those penetrating eyes.
Slowly, he hefted her until her butt was resting on the lip of the tub, and he waited until she had her balance.
Once he was sure, he got up and moved around the bathroom, pulling out his shaving kit and shedding his damp shirt.
Mimi watched the smooth planes of his muscled back without blinking, those tendrils of warmth encasing her again.
His chest was lean and sculpted with a smattering of wiry chest hair that she wanted to run her fingers through.
Then there was the way his black trousers hugged his butt and his thighs.
God, the man was sexy enough to make a corpse feel things. And she was very much alive, her body coming back to itself with delicious little pangs.
He shaved in quick, deft movements, washed, pulled on another crisp white shirt. As if remembering her presence, he turned and frowned. “Get into the water. It will get cold.”
“I will, after you leave,” she said, pulling the lapels of her damp robe together. The motion only caused his gaze to slip down, noting how the silk hugged her breasts.
His eyes darkened, and satisfaction that she pleased him made her flush. God, was there anything this man didn’t make her feel?
“I watched you give birth to our son. There’s nothing to…” He stopped himself and shook his head. “Forgive me. Two more minutes and I’ll be out of your hair.”
She nodded, soft heat streaking her cheeks.
Intimacy swirled around them like an invisible dome, trapping them inside.
Plus, it was intensely pleasurable to watch Renzo dress.
He did it with a meticulous efficiency, like he did everything else.
Still, the thought that only she was getting a behind-the-scenes show filled her with perverse, unjustified satisfaction.
Until another thought struck. “You’re going out,” she said, following him into the bedroom, her voice sharp enough to make him pause.
A black jacket lay on the chaise behind him, and the gleam of polished leather shoes by his feet told her everything she needed to know.
He looked up, his fingers busy fastening the cuff links on his shirt. “It’s a business dinner. Something I can’t skip tonight.”
Mimi stared at him and nodded slowly. Her throat tightened, and she let out a shaky breath. “Those Japanese investors that your assistant was talking about.”
Surprise painted his features. He finished his cuff link with a decisive snap and stepped toward her. “I’ll only be gone for a few hours. Unless you need me here. Or there’s something I haven’t thought of.”
His gray eyes held hers for several beats, willing her to say something. Anything.
“No,” Mimi said, sounding more decisive than she felt. “You’ve arranged everything I could possibly need. There’s nothing more.”
His Adam’s apple moved. “I’ll see you in the morning then,” he said, picking up his jacket.
The door closed behind him with a soft click, and Mimi stared for long minutes at the space he had just occupied. The room felt cavernous without him, the quiet pressing down on her like a weight.
Would it be just the investors he was seeing? Or would he seek other forms of entertainment? And if he did let loose after the last stressful month, did she have any right to question in what form he sought that relief and release?
She had admitted the inevitable conclusion of their attraction, but that didn’t mean a virile, attractive man like Renzo would wait for her, did it?
Nor would a sophisticated man like him limit himself to her.
It wasn’t as if their vows actually meant anything.
Not unless she asked him for exclusivity and fidelity in their marriage.
She clenched her hands in the folds of her robe, her heart warring with itself. How much of her whirling thoughts was the truth and how much was her self-preservation kicking in?
He had clearly admitted to wanting her, to wanting to make this marriage real. Would he be so cheap as to pursue another woman while she was recovering from childbirth?
At least she could have asked him to stay and keep her company on this first night away from their son. He had wanted her to ask him. She was sure of that too.
But her stubbornness, and the knee-jerk instinct to protect herself, had stopped her.
This marriage wasn’t about love or comfort or their individual needs.
It was a convenience, a practical solution to their complex situation. Already, the pregnancy and the delivery had made a maudlin fool out of her. But enough was enough.
Luca was getting stronger every day and would soon come home. It was better all around if she started planning her life separately from her husband’s. For that’s what they would lead.
And yet as she shed her robe and sank into the deliciously hot water, her heart ached desperately for him to hold her just one more time. To give herself into his capable arms completely. Her entire being yearned to make this marriage, their relationship, real on every level possible.