12.

TABBY

I heard Simon's voice outside my bedroom and then Ember's laughter. I laid there with my eyes closed and soaked in the sounds of my happy little family, as unconventional as it may be.

Simon had no idea how to handle children and didn't care to learn. He treated them like miniature adults and was flabbergasted when they didn't react accordingly. When Ember was an infant, I'd find him studying her like a lab specimen. When I finally asked him why he was doing that, he said he was trying to watch her grow. He insisted that she was a completely different child if he was away for even the smallest amount of time and was convinced that if he watched her long enough, he'd be able to witness her transformation.

Once Ember began to stay awake and pay more attention to her surroundings, Simon made it his mission to keep her eyes on him at all times. He turned into a walking, talking, sideshow of funny noises and faces with an audience of one little girl. The first time she smiled at him, he burst into tears of joy. After that, he was hooked on anything and everything Ember.

Strangely enough, he had no interest in other children and would go out of his way to avoid them, all the while still trying to find ways to make Ember happy.

I knew that she was just fine out there with Simon, although he was probably feeding her more sugar in one sitting than I usually allowed in a day, so I snuggled into my pillow and tried to go back to sleep. I wasn't sure why, since this hadn't happened before during this pregnancy, but I was way too warm beneath the covers. It felt like I was baking in an oven. I lifted my arm to flip the blanket off and realized that it was pinned against my side . . . and the source of all that heat was pressed against my back.

"If you don't stop wiggling, I'm going to embarrass myself," Luca mumbled. "I've been walking hunched over for weeks now because every time I think of you, my cock gets painfully hard, and now you're lying here all warm and soft in front of me. I'm just not sure how much more I can take."

I wiggled again, this time with intent, and heard Luca groan. I couldn"t help myself. I arched my back and pressed my butt against him. This time Luca's groan was met with my gasp because what I felt there was exactly what I'd been trying not to think about for weeks now.

At seven months pregnant, my hormones were all over the place. Up, down, and twisted around, like a roller coaster that I could barely hold onto. But the one thing about this pregnancy that was completely different than the one with Ember was my libido. When I was pregnant with her, I was sad and depressed. Sex was the last thing on my mind.

But this time, once my morning sickness passed, my sex drive took its place. I'd had so many erotic dreams in the last few months that I was surprised I'd gotten any sleep at all. More often than not, I woke up so horny that I couldn't stand it and found relief however I could. My hand, my toys, the shower head, the seam of my jeans - I'd brought myself to climax so many times at this point that I wasn't sure what I would do if I ever got the chance to have sex.

Right now, that chance was laying in the bed behind me with his very impressive cock hard pressed against my ass.

After we brought Ember home Friday night, we hadn't stayed up for very long. The stress of the evening with the rush to the emergency room and then my fainting fiasco had worn me out. Once my belly was full of the delicious food Luca ordered, I could barely keep my eyes open. Yesterday, we spent the day together in the apartment, helping Ember get used to living with a cast and entertaining the cranky little patient since her arm was still hurting. Luca's guards had delivered a bag of clothes for him, and he'd changed after taking a shower, which gave me time to talk to Simon for a little while before he went downstairs to cover my shift.

Luca and I ate sandwiches for lunch and leftovers for dinner and then watched television with Ember for a while before she went to bed. Once she was settled, Luca and I sat on the couch together for hours talking about anything and everything - our childhoods, dating history, previous relationships and what went wrong. Between kisses, we talked about Ember's father and my naivete that led to my heartbreak. We also discussed Luca's ex who had trampled on his heart when he found out she was only dating him for his name and position and not because of who he was as a person. We laughed about shared phobias - he didn't like spiders anymore than I did and wasn't afraid to admit it, but he promised that when the time came, he'd rescue me from one if he had to.

We had even talked about what life might be like if we did get married, as sudden as it may be, and how neither of us was going into this with any doubt about how much work it would take to make the partnership successful. He promised that we could take things slowly, one step at a time, and get to know each other this weekend before we took that final step and found a judge who would marry us - tomorrow, if Luca had his way.

I had never spent that much time with anyone, talking about our pasts and our futures. I felt like I knew Luca better than I'd known any man I'd ever dated. But the one thing I didn't know about him and was very eager to find out was what he felt like deep inside me and what he could do with those gorgeous lips.

As if he could read my mind, Luca kissed the back of my neck. He trailed kisses down my shoulder and then up again until I felt his teeth nip at my earlobe. His hand had been resting on my hip and now trailed up to cup my breast. When he brushed his thumb over my nipple, it felt like a jolt of electricity shot straight down to my core.

I slid my hand between us and rubbed it over his cock. The thin material of his boxer briefs, which I'd gotten a glimpse of last night when I invited him to sleep in bed with me, molded perfectly to the thick length. I ran my hand up toward the band at the top and found the head peeking out, weeping and ready for my touch.

Luca groaned in my ear as I slid my hand into his underwear, and I was elated when his hand trailed back down my side and then slipped under my T-shirt and tugged on the band of my panties. As I wrapped my hand around his cock, he slipped his hand between my legs, and I shuddered at his touch on my sensitive clit. I ground myself against the heel of his hand as he slowly pushed a finger into me and then gasped when he slowly pulled it out and then used two to enter me again.

"This is going somewhere I didn't plan on just yet," Luca murmured against my neck. "You ready for this, Lou?"

"If you stop, I will probably have to kill you."

Luca laughed softly and then nipped at my ear again before he asked, "Do I need to use protection?"

"Do you?"

"I'm clean."

"So am I, and it's not like we have to worry about you knocking me up."

Luca laughed again, but it turned into a moan when I ran my thumb over the tip of his cock.

"This is a first for me," he admitted.

I chuckled softly and called his bluff. "Bullshit."

"I'm not saying I'm a virgin, Lou, but I've never . . . I don't want to hurt you, and I'm not sure how to . . . Shit."

I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice when I said, "My bump is in the way."

"Yeah."

"Figure it out," I ordered with a pant as he brushed his thumb over my clit.

When Luca pulled his hand away, I groaned, not ready for him to stop, but I understood why when he pushed my underwear down. I shimmied my hips to help get them off and then let him lift my leg up and back. I used my grip on his cock to guide him into me and then gasped as he pushed deep inside.

"Oh, shit. That feels . . . Fuck," Luca muttered. He held still for too long to suit me, so I started moving my hips. He sucked in a deep breath and gripped my leg so hard that I knew I'd have bruises, but I didn't care. I needed him to move. I needed to move. I'd never been this eager or turned on before and knew it wouldn't take much to throw me over the edge.

Luca must have sensed my urgency because he finally started to move, and it was all I could do not to scream when he reached around and rubbed my clit in rhythm with his hips. I was so sensitive and it had been so long that it only took me a few minutes to reach that peak, and soon, Luca followed.

As soon as his hips slowed, his thrusts leisurely now that we'd both orgasmed, I took a second to catch my breath.

"That was amazing," I whispered, still panting.

"If the first time was that fucking good, the second is probably going to kill me," Luca groaned.

"Well, we have some time to . . ."

I gasped as Luca pulled out suddenly and yanked his arm out from under me. He moved my leg off his hips and straddled my lower one before he lifted my other leg up. In the next second, he was inside me again and thrusting harder than he had before.

I looked up at his face and found him watching me. His expression was one I hadn't seen before - very intense, almost angry. I knew that it was just the heat of the moment that had his gorgeous brown eyes so dark they were almost black, but it was almost disconcerting to see such a change.

Gone was the happy-go-lucky man I'd come to know. I'd come to realize that wasn't his usual demeanor at all.

Right now, in bed with me, thrusting deep as he played my body like a finely-tuned instrument, bringing me closer and closer to a second orgasm, was the man who could lead legions of men, an army of followers who would do his bidding. I was now part of their ranks because even as wild and tumultuous as the last twenty-four hours had been, I knew that this Luca was the man for me.

This man was my future.

"I'm going to marry you, Luca Russo," I whispered as I held his gaze.

He gave me a tight smile that let me know he had always known I'd bow to his wishes. It was a smirk that said he'd just been waiting for me to realize that falling for him would be inevitable. It told me he knew he held my life and heart in his hands.

As my body convulsed with a soul-shattering orgasm, I knew that I was making the right decision. I knew he really was the man for me.

And when he said, "Mi prenderò cura di te," I knew that I believed him. He would take care of me, and I knew that if it had to be, that would be enough. If I let myself give into my feelings completely, I'd love him enough for both of us.

◆◆◆

"It's about time you got out of bed, Sleeping Beauty."

"Thanks for letting me sleep in."

Simon gave me a knowing look and said, "Sleep is the story you're going with?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

"Mama! We're having waffles for breakfast, and I got to decorate them myself!" Ember said excitedly.

I noticed that she was still clutching her casted arm against her chest, so I asked, "Does your arm hurt, sweetie?"

"A little, but Uncle Si gave me medicine."

"What did you give her?" I asked Si.

"Three Percocets and a Valium." When I just stared at him, not falling for his joke, he motioned toward the bottle of children's pain reliever on the counter and asked, "What do you think I gave her, Bumpkin?"

"Look, Mama!" Ember insisted as I walked over to her. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Oh! Well, look at that! You put one in each square."

"Mm-hmm," Ember hummed as she smiled down at the waffle that was covered in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was also drizzled in caramel. "There's fruit too. Uncle Si said you gotta have balance."

I stared at the lone strawberry on her plate and then looked over at Si who just shrugged.

When I looked back at the waffle, my stomach growled loudly, and it took all I had not to snatch the plate across the counter and plant my face in it like I was competing in a pie-eating contest and had my heart set on first prize. Si must have seen the longing on my face because he laughed as he walked to the freezer, hopefully to get another frozen waffle out for me.

"One or two?" he asked.

I smiled gratefully and said, "I'll take two, please."

"Should I make one for Mr. Soprano, or did he roll over and go back to sleep?"

"He's nothing like the men on that show."

"Good. I can't abide anyone wearing a tracksuit in my presence, Bumpkin. Even I have my limits."

I burst out laughing and watched as he put four waffles in the toaster. He glanced toward the front door and asked, "Is it our responsibility to feed the wildlife or will he take care of that?"

"The wildlife?"

"The two men in the hall, and the others scattered in and around the building."

"They're still out there?"

"Bumpkin, if you do what I think you're probably going to do, you should probably start considering them a fashion accessory." Simon cocked a hip out dramatically and then tapped one finger on his lips as he pretended to study something over my shoulder. "I think I'll take the dashing blonde and the scowling brunette with me today. Their coloring coordinates perfectly with my handbag."

"You know good and well I carry a backpack I got at the second-hand store."

Simon laughed before he said, "Let's see how long that lasts."

"What does that mean?"

"I've been doing some research on that dashing prince of darkness you've got tied up in your room."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. He gets all dressed up and goes to charity events and rubs shoulders with millionaires. Billionaires, Bumpkin. I've seen pictures of him wearing tuxedos in ballrooms all over the city, sporting swim trunks on the bows of yachts in foreign places, and carrying shopping bags for a woman who is either his mother or his sugar mama. I'm not sure."

"Probably my mom," Luca said from the bedroom doorway. I looked over and found him shirtless, wearing a pair of pajama pants I'd borrowed from Simon a few months ago.

"Oh, Bumpkin, when I said I wanted to get into his pants, I didn't mean I wanted him to be wearing mine," Simon whined.

"They're a tight fit, Simon. I wasn't sure I could handle it, but I powered through. It just took some gentle encouragement, and I had to go slow. Maybe I should have called you to help me." Luca's grin was devious and got even more wicked when Simon groaned loudly. He walked over and stopped beside the stool where I was sitting and turned it so I was facing him before he leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss. "Buongirono bellezza. I didn't mean to go back to sleep." He reached past me and brushed Ember's hair back from her cheek. As he tucked it behind her ear, he said, "Buongiorno, piccola principessa. Posse fare colazione?"

"Huh?" Ember asked in confusion.

"Buongiorno, piccola principessa. Good morning, little princess. Posse avere un boccone della tua colazione? Can I have a bite of your breakfast?"

Ember giggled before she held a bite of waffle out toward him, the syrup it had been swimming in now dripping along the counter. "You talk funny."

"I'm going to teach you to talk funny too," Luca said before he took the bite off the fork. He growled low in his throat as he chewed and then said, "Delizioso. Un altro, per favore."

"Does that mean you want more?"

"Yummy. Can I have another, please?"

"Say yes."

"Si."

"Si altro," Ember said, putting together two Italian words without prompting as she picked up another bite for Luca. "Delizioso."

"Grazie."

"Grazie," Ember said cheerfully as Luca took the bite off the fork.

"‘Grazie' means thank you. You're welcome is ‘prego.'"

"Prego!"

When the toaster made its telltale sound, Luca looked up and found me and Simon watching him. "Any chance I can have some of those?"

Simon looked at me with a blank expression and said, "I hate everything about you right now."

Luca ignored Simon and walked around the counter. He opened cabinets until he found the plates and then started opening others as if he was looking for something specific. I watched him, speechless after witnessing his conversation with Ember, not sure I could even form the words to ask what he was looking for.

Simon jumped in and told Luca how to find it, and when he turned around with two plates, each with two waffles on them, he was also holding a jar of peanut butter. He slid my plate toward me and started talking to Ember in Italian as he spread the peanut butter over the hot waffles. It seemed like he was explaining to her what he was doing. After he poured syrup on one, he put them together and held them out toward her like a sandwich.

"Prova un boccone."

Ember leaned forward, took a bite, and grinned. "Delizioso! Grazie!"

"Prego, miele."

The scene was so domestic that I felt my heart swell. To an outsider, it would seem like a father making breakfast for his child while chatting like parents and their children do, but to me, it was so much more.

During the course of our conversations the last few days as we'd gotten to know each other and talked about our plans for the future, Luca had promised that when I became his wife, Ember would become his daughter. Right now, he was doing the things that a father would, sharing breakfast with her while he taught her to speak another language. He had no idea what that meant to me.

I had hoped and dreamed that I would meet a man someday, and he would not just fall in love with me, but my daughter too. I knew that could happen - over the years, several of my friends had found that. However, I hadn't dated since I came to New York. At first, I had to deal with my heartbreak while I waited for my daughter to arrive, and then after that, she taught me how to become a mom while I tried to finish school. When Rebecca had first asked me to be her surrogate, she'd tried to lure me with money. The thought of having a nest egg to live on while I finished my degree was tempting, but I didn't have a good feeling about the prospect because of everything Brett had told me about her mother.

But when Rebecca came to me in tears asking me to help her have another chance at motherhood so that she could make up for her past transgressions with Brett and offered me an even larger sum of money than she'd offered the first time, I took the bait.

Now I realized that Rebecca was even worse than Brett had described. Not only did she want the babies for her own personal gain, she was probably never going to pay me what she'd promised. Even if she had, it would have been dirty money - money she was going to get by using these babies the same way she'd tried to use Brett. Up until just a few days ago, I thought for sure that I could find a way to raise the twins and Ember together. I knew that I'd probably never be able to go back to school and we'd probably never have much money, but we'd have each other, and that was what mattered most.

However, what I hadn't considered was that the children weren't just precious because they were children but because different factions of people wanted to use them as pawns. Luca insisted that Zach wasn't going to do that and that his friend's motivation was to protect not only his empire, but the kids themselves. Somehow, I believed him. I just hoped that belief wasn't misplaced.

Now, with Luca standing at the counter sharing breakfast with Ember, I felt hope blooming in my chest - something I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to find again.

When I looked over at Simon, I saw that he felt it on my behalf, too, and realized that my cranky friend who guarded his heart with sarcasm and disdain for most every person he came into contact with was falling in love with Luca too. It wasn't hard, considering that Luca seemed like the kind of man who would be very easy to love.

Last night, he'd promised to keep me and Ember safe and give us an opportunity to be involved in the twins' life. I wanted more than anything to trust him to do that. I wanted it so much that it was hard to keep that bloom of hope contained, but I knew that I had to try. I wasn't just risking my own heart here, but my daughter's, too, and that was not something I ever wanted to put on the line.

I just hoped I was making the right decision by trusting Luca Russo.

Even if I wasn't, it didn't seem like I had much choice in the matter anyway. He'd already stolen my heart and was finding his way into not only Ember's heart, but Simon's too. I wanted so much to believe that he belonged there that I couldn't bear to think of the alternative. If that did come about and Luca wasn't the man I'd hoped, I would deal with it then and mend Ember's heart while nursing my own.

"What are you thinking so hard about, Lou?" Luca asked with a concerned look on his face. He reached out and touched my cheek, and I realized I'd been crying. "Don't cry, sweetheart. I'll share my waffle sandwich with you too."

"Will you share everything?"

Luca somehow knew what I meant when I asked that question, and his smile was sincere when he promised, "Absolutely."

"Please don't break our hearts, Luca."

"I promise you, sweetheart, that's the last thing I want to do."