Wedding Vow of Revenge(46)
“It’s not the same thing and you know it.”
“No, it is not. For that was a game and this is very serious. I don’t want you to have anything to do with Baron Randall.”
“Do you really think I’m such a masochist I’d want to?”
“So, you believe he could still hurt you?”
This conversation was taking some very bizarre turns.
“No. I don’t care about him, therefore he cannot hurt me.”
“You said—”
“It was a figure of speech and don’t think you’re going to sidetrack me from the original topic getting all fixated on it. I’m not your pet dog to order around.”
Suddenly she was under him and his lips were hovering just above hers. “Trust me, I see you as anything but a pet dog.”
She was relaxing beside their private pool the next day when it occurred to her that Angelo had never once mentioned the name of the man he wanted to take down. She didn’t dwell on that for very long because something else came to mind that had the power to blast all other thoughts from her brain.
“Angelo…we need to talk.”
The urgency in Tara’s voice sent dread skating down Angelo’s spine. What could be wrong?
He cut his call short and turned to face her. She was wearing a yellow bikini that set off the sexy lines of her body as well as the tan she’d acquired since arriving in Sicily. However, her expressive eyes showed none of the latent desire that usually shimmered there.
“What is it, stellina?”
“We never talked about kids.”
“And this is so urgent because?” Was she pregnant?
The thought sent warmth skirling through him. It had been a very long time since he had been part of an intimate family. He liked the idea of her being pregnant with his child very much.
“We haven’t been using any form of birth control.”
She was just now noticing this? “I know.”
“You know?”
“Well, we were both there.” He smiled lazily. “It wasn’t something I could miss.”
“I didn’t notice!” she shrieked, not sharing his humor at all.
“Why are you so upset?”
“What if I’m pregnant?”
“Don’t you want to be pregnant?” That prospect had never occurred to him.
There was more of the traditional Sicilian male in him than he thought sometimes.
“That’s not the point.”
“Then, what is?”
“We didn’t even talk about it and for all we know, it’s a fait accompli.”
“Would that be so bad?”
His question seemed to shock her. “Did you do it on purpose?” she asked accusingly.
He was trying to hold on to his temper, but it was getting harder by the second. “Did you?”
“You know I didn’t!”
“Look, honey, the last thing I was thinking about on our wedding night was preventing conception. I wanted you so much, you had me tied in knots. Or don’t you remember? We were in Sicily before I even thought of it.”
“How could you be so irresponsible?”
“Me?”
“You. The only other lover I’ve ever had was Baron and that ended two years ago. Birth control wasn’t exactly a blinking blip on my radar.”
“And you believe it should have been on mine?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“You’re my wife.”
“So?”
“So, if you get pregnant, it will be a celebration.”
“It’s not the idea of me getting pregnant that has me worried!”
“That’s what you came in here going on about.”
“It’s the fact you didn’t even think about it, which makes me wonder how many other times you haven’t thought about it.”
“The answer is never.”
“But…”
“Contrary to what you apparently think, I’m no more interested in casual sex than you are and since a relationship is pretty difficult to develop when you’re working sixty-plus-hour workweeks, I’ve spent a good part of the last decade celibate.”
“But you’re not the celibate type.”
“A man, even a man like me, only has so much energy. I’ve poured mine into work.” Which no doubt explained his explosive reaction to her.
“You don’t make love like a novice.”
“Who the hell said I was a novice?” Where did she get her ideas?
“Don’t start yelling at me again.”
“I wasn’t yelling at you.” But he had to lower his voice a few notches or he was going to bring one of the servants running.
“If you’ve been celibate for ten years…”