CHAPTER 83 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
MY CHEST SWELLS with pride. Arianna’s pregnant? She’s having my baby?
Pulling her back towards me, I cup her face. “That’s fantastic.” My lips brush hers, all anger and annoyance over the rest of the day - my whole life in fact - disappearing. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy. This is great news.”
“No, it’s not.” Arianna’s tear-stained face is pale and, dare I say it, frightened.
Suddenly, a horrible thought dawns. I don’t want to voice it and taint the most wonderful thing to happen yet in my life, but I must. “You’re not worrying that it’s Luca’s, are you? You know it can’t be. He didn’t touch you.”
“I know, I know.” Arianna sniffs loudly. “I didn’t remember that wrong. It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” My happiness explodes into tiny fragments, and my life starts spinning.
I knew there was something else wrong. Arianna doesn’t want me anymore.
She’s got my child inside her, but she doesn’t want it.
She doesn’t want me either. “You... you don’t want a child. My child. Is that it?”
“No!” She grasps the lapels of my suit jacket. “Of course I want the child. I want you! But... but how can we have a baby with all this going on around us? The Eredità della Luce and Luca. A war is coming and...”
“Because...” My relief extends to my hand moving to Arianna’s flat stomach - one that will soon grow with my child.
This woman I love, carrying my child, is the most beautiful image I can think of.
“Not only have you made me the happiest and blessed man in the world, it will all work out fine. I’ll make sure of that.
The Eredità della Luce isn’t interested in Luca.
He’s working alone. Like you said before, he’s a nobody.
He can’t touch us. He can’t touch you or our baby. ”
Staring into Arianna’s violet eyes, I hope mine convey just how much this means to me and how much she means to me. There are no words to explain how I feel at this precise moment, but I’ll try. “Christ, princess. I think I may burst with happiness. I love you.”
Arianna sags with relief and leans into my chest. “I worried... I thought because of everything, you wouldn’t want a child. We... we hardly know each other really and...”
Tilting her head back up, I press my lips to hers. “I’ve known you long enough to guarantee you’re the only woman I’ll ever want. I don’t need time to tell me that.”
“But what about today? My brain is mangled. I can’t think straight. I’m an emotional wreck. I’m scared I’ve screwed everything up.”
Taking her hand I mine, I raise her hands to my mouth and kiss the ends of each fingertip one at a time.
“You’ve screwed up nothing that can’t be fixed.
It’s a rush of hormones, which will pass.
Not that I’m a fount of knowledge where women’s hormones and babies are concerned, but I have a sister and I saw what happened to her at the start of pregnancy.
This, my most beautiful wife, is just the beginning. You’ll be back to normal soon.”
And if she isn’t, then I’ll ensure I’m with her every step of the way.
I slip her blouse off her shoulders, my fingers trailing down the soft skin of her arms. “Everything will be fine. No one can harm you or our child. That will not happen.” Reaching around Arianna’s back, I deftly unclip her bra to release her breasts.
Tracing my fingers over her hardening nipples, I smile. “You don’t need to worry about any of that, so that’s one less thing to stress about. I want this baby, Arianna. More than anything. I also want you, and that will never change.”
Arianna’s eyes half-close, her hand reaching towards my hard cock pressing against her. “Red...”
Moving to the door, I lock it. “Now we’ll take some time out for ourselves...”
Scooping her up, I carry her over to the bed.