She spoke her vows a short time later, basking in the light of her husband’s gaze. She looked to their future without trepidation and told him as much in their candlelit honeymoon suite.
“I don’t know what our life will look like in ten years, but I can’t wait to find out.” He drew her into his arms.
Their kiss began sweet and unhurried, so tender she grew choked with emotion. He was every bit as thorough as he usually was, ringing pleasure through her again and again, but with a new quality to each touch, each kiss, each caress.
It was commitment and worship and love. So much love.
EPILOGUE
SOME MIGHT CALL it spoiling, but Dante held their son until he fell asleep.
Leo was tall for two, all arms and legs as he dangled against Dante’s shoulder. His chubby limbs dropped to the mattress as Dante gently put the boy into his toddler bed.
Cami hadn’t said a thing as her husband had spent the evening doting on their son, bathing him and getting him into his pj’s, then reading and finally holding him and rubbing his back until the boy’s head had been heavy on his shoulder.
Leo wasn’t upset or ill. No, Dante was the one who had had a very difficult day. Arturo had been sentenced and taken to prison.
When Dante had come home drained and withdrawn, seeking comfort by coddling their son, Cami had done her best not to intrude. She knew how healing a child’s love was, so innocent and unconditional and pure. Anytime her own ghosts reared their head, she looked at her son and fell in love with her husband all over again for giving her their child.
Children.
This entire week had been busy and difficult, so she had kept the news to herself. They weren’t consciously trying for another one, and she wasn’t entirely sure how he would react. With his mind in turmoil along with his heart, she hadn’t wanted to put something else on him. Maybe it was even a bit selfish of her. She didn’t want something that brought her so much joy to be linked in his mind with something that was nothing but pain.
He turned and saw her watching him from the doorway to Leo’s room. He checked briefly, then hitched his shoulder in a rueful shrug.
She smiled her understanding. It was the sort of telepathic communication that came between parents who didn’t dare risk waking an infant by speaking aloud.
As he carried the baby monitor from their son’s room and closed the door, he caught her hand and drew her toward their own room.
Her heart took the skip and jump it always did when he touched her. A warmer, more tender emotion flowed through her. It was her turn. He needed her now.
They didn’t speak when they entered their room. He only closed the door and drew her into his arms. The baby monitor clattered onto the dresser top so he could use both hands to remove her clothing.
His urgency sent a surge of need through her. She needed this, too, she realized as their mouths met in a clashing kiss. She hadn’t felt threatened by these latest events exactly, but it had been a test, taking up Dante’s time and attention. She needed this conflagration to fuse them back together again.
It was frantic and quick against the wall. He exploded with a muffled cry at the same time that she did, which wasn’t like him.
As he stood panting and damp against her, he said, “That was a lot more intense than I meant it to be.”
With a lurch that seemed almost drunken, he straightened, pulling her with him so she clung with her thighs to his waist, keeping them joined as he took them to the bed.
“I don’t mind,” she told him, kissing his jaw and neck. “I like knowing you can’t resist me. That I can still undermine your control.”
“But you’re pregnant. I should be more careful.” He lowered her to the bed and came down on top of her, hardening afresh within her.
“You know?”
He frowned. “You think I don’t know your body as well as you do?”
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel,” she admitted, revealing the tiny wrinkle of doubt on her heart. “If you were ready for another.”
“Past ready. Elated. Aren’t you? Is that why you haven’t said anything?”
“I’m thrilled, but I was worried it was, I don’t know, more than you wanted to hear when you were dealing with so much this week.”
“Are you kidding? Having good news was the only thing that kept me going. If anything, I needed to know that you and I were stronger than ever.” He cupped her head in two hands, touching his lips to hers. “I needed to know you were tied even more tightly to me, so you wouldn’t let the past cause you to give up on us.”
“I would never do that,” she vowed.
He smiled. “No, you won’t. And neither will I. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now let’s have a do-over. See if you can last a little longer this time.”
“I will take that challenge, bedduzza,” he chuckled, then set about proving his staying power.