Chapter 25
I had felt Thor was different for a few weeks now.
Something wasn’t right. He was overprotective.
Well, he was like that, but this was beyond.
At first, I associated it with the pregnancy, even though I was having a super smooth pregnancy, complete with all the pampering I hadn’t received during the first. I thought it was his way of making up for the absence he’d had during that phase.
So I let it go. I even had guards, which was a unique exaggeration, but there wasn’t a living soul who could get the idea out of his head.
Soon his rigidity became abnormal. My husband was a master at hiding things, but I knew him better than that.
There was an insistent shadow of worry filling his eyes whenever I caught him distracted and unguarded.
I left the bottle in the sink and walked to the living room.
Lucca and Lola were distracted watching Finding Nemo in the bedroom.
Thor wasn’t going to escape this time. His too-serious expression, looking at his cell phone screen, relaxed as if it had never existed when he noticed me watching him closely.
“What’s going on, love?”
“Nothing. Why?”
I gave him a look, planting my hands on my hips.
“Heithor Castellammare, I know you far too well not to say with certainty that you’re lying to me. So are you going to keep hiding things from me, or are you going to treat me like your woman and share what has you so worried? Or would you rather fuck your hand until then?”
The ghost of a smile appeared on his face.
“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”
“No.”
Thor set his phone down on the table and held out his hand to me.
“Come here… Please… No… in my lap.”
I sat. He wrapped his arms around me and caressed my belly.
“What’s this business about threatening me by depriving me of what’s mine?”
“Only fair,” I dismissed, looking at my perfectly painted pink nails. “You’re depriving me of something that’s mine too.”
He laughed, then kissed me.
“You can stop right there, Mr. Castellammare,” I grumbled, pulling away when he tried to deepen the kiss. “You’re not going to distract me with all this hotness.”
“I’m hot?”
“Yes. You know that very well.”
“I do?” I gave him a bored look. “Yes, I do, but I like hearing you say it.”
His mouth scraped over my neck, his soft tongue wetting the path to my ear. He bit gently. I sighed, caught off guard by his sensual attack. Thor pulled, pressing my ass against his penis while his mouth traced my jaw. Oh, sì! This was good… I got a little excited and rubbed my ass against him…
He was distracting me again, and I was falling for it.
… I flattened my hands on his chest, trying to push him away.
“Thor, stop… let’s talk… Open up to me, or am I not trustworthy?”
He pulled back, angry, looking me in the eyes.
“What nonsense is that now? Of course you are.”
“Then tell me the truth and stop trying to distract me. I’ve been watching you for days and trying to talk to you, but you always dodge me. You’ve been different since that call. There’s something worrying you, something you don’t want to tell me, but I want to know what it is.”
“I always call you at work. That isn’t new.”
“You’re doing it again,” I accused, upset.
As we stared at each other, I didn’t waver in my stance.
“All right…” he said moodily after a while, with a heavy sigh. “First, I want you to know that never, not for one moment, will I let anyone hurt you or our children. I failed you once, and that will not happen again.”
Those words made my heart leap with fear. Any trace of sexual fog that had still lingered disappeared.
“I know, love.”
My husband was too serious, his face unreadable as he continued.
“Second, I don’t want you to worry. I have everything under control.”
“Oh, Dio mio, is it that serious?” He gave me an assessing look, and I shrugged. “I’m a woman and I’m pregnant, but I can handle anything. Andiamo, what is it?”
Thor swallowed, visibly worried.
A century passed… He picked up his wallet, took out a card, and handed it to me.
“I can live without happiness, but never, never without love.
I’m sorry. I need my war… you.”
I breathed deep, for a second, speechless.
“Well, well, well… You have an admirer at work,” I said, filled with jealousy, but I didn’t let it show, or so I thought. “I need to meet the new receptionist.”
“It’s not an admirer.”
“A man, huh?”
He huffed, no trace of humor in his face or voice.
“Should I be worried?” I insisted, joking. “Because I don’t know if I can fight against that… With a woman, we have options, but a man?”
“It wasn’t anyone from the company. Everyone knows I’m very well married, and I don’t allow that kind of behavior in my workplace.”
“But outside, yes?”
“I’m saying I have control over my work, not outside it.”
“You’d better. This cock and this whole gorgeous body, inside and out, are mine.”
“There’s no reason to be jealous, Ella.”
I saved that discussion for later.
“So?”
Thor breathed deep, letting his weight fall back against the couch.
“I never stopped looking for Norah. She simply vanished off the map, as if the earth had swallowed her. This is the first concrete clue I’ve had to her whereabouts in months… I think she may be closer than I thought.”
“Are you sure?”
Thor nodded slowly, studying me, and I went cold.
“You think she’ll come after me?”
“I don’t know, baby. But I’m not taking risks.”
“I don’t think Norah would be crazy enough to try something…”
“Ella, she already made an attempt on your life and Lucca’s. I don’t know if Norah is a threat, but I’m not going to underestimate her again. I did that once and almost lost both of you. The fact that she’s showing her face now, if it really is her, is one more reason to keep us on alert.”
“That’s why the guards,” I murmured, thoughtful.
“I know you hate it, but we can’t relax our security, at least not until I know if it’s Norah and what her real intentions are.”
“What will you do with her when you find her?”
Thor didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. I didn’t think about it either.
“I’m scared,” I admitted quietly, hugging my belly.
He nestled me tight, brushing his hand along my spine, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bad feeling in my chest.
“Norah won’t get near any of you.”
“I’m not worried only about myself, love. I think about our family, too. About what she could do to you, to Lucca, and the others. And at the same time, I wonder if Norah is really capable of appearing even knowing that you know everything and what that means.”
“Norah would only hurt one person.”
“Me.”
Thor held my face, his gaze soft inside mine.
“I don’t want you to be afraid. I hate having to ask you to be careful, but there’s no other way while we verify whether Norah is around. I spoke to the guys and some contacts. I’ll have an answer soon. But until then, don’t leave the guards’ sight.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised.
“I will protect you and our children. Always. Trust me.”
“I trust you, love.”
I stopped, thinking for a moment.
“Ella?” he asked when I made a move to leave his lap.
“I need to get something,” I answered, going to the bedroom.
With the picture frame in my hand, I joined Thor.
“What’s in there?”
“Why is it incomplete?” I shot back, handing him the object.
Thor looked closely, his forehead creasing deeply.
“Who gave you this?”
“You?”
“I didn’t give you this, Ella.”
We both froze, and then I felt my legs go weak.
Thor pulled me onto his lap, and I collapsed against him, stunned and silent, looking at the image that had both fascinated and intrigued me.
It was a drawing of our family done in pencil, or so I thought.
The outline of who I assumed was me and our baby was incomplete, while Thor and Lucca were clear, and beneath it was the caption “soon.” But as I looked, with Thor doing the same, the more I had the impression it wasn’t me.
Thor went tense beneath me.
“When did you receive this, Ella?”
“That day you called me and were acting so strange.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think I had to tell you about the gifts you give me. I mean, I showed how grateful I was for all those treats…”
“What are you talking about, Ella?”
“The flowers and the sweets. Actually, about that, please stop. I love that you want to pamper me and everything, but you’re making me bigger than I’m supposed to be.”
Thor still sent me a vase of tulips religiously every day.
“Ella, love, I love pampering you, but I haven’t been sending you anything except the flowers.”
The smile on my face died when realization hit.
“Oh, Dio…”
Thor buried his face in my hair, and we stayed together for a while.
“It’s all right, darling. Nothing is going to happen to any of you.”
I nodded against his shoulder.
I started walking while looking over my shoulder. It was hard to pretend there wasn’t a black cloud hanging over our heads, but I was trying not to overload myself with the pressure of that tension. Having the guards there to protect me was a good thing.
Norah was crazy. And if she had the courage to come back into our lives despite the risks, it could only be for one thing: vendetta.
No one could guarantee that revenge would be aimed only at me.
Thor was the object of her desire, not me.