Page 31 of Savage Claim

“That’s not entirely surprising. When did it happen?”

“A week or so ago.” Lorenzo drew in a sharp breath.

“So, when I came to the estate to check on you,” Dr. Coleman hummed and made a note in my chart. “You didn’t tell me at the time.”

“I was a little out of it.”

He smiled at me blandly. “I remember. How long did it go on?”

“A few hours,” I said. “But the morning after, I was totally fine, and I haven’t seen any blood since then until today.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it then,” Dr. Coleman said with a wide, look-at-me-I’m-such-a-friendly-doctor smile. “Since the pain and spotting stopped, and your ultrasound indicates a strong heartbeat, we can chalk it up to ‘pregnancy sucks sometimes’ and leave it at that.”

We thanked the doctor for his time—or, at least, I did—and headed back to the parking garage. I knew without looking at Lorenzo that he was upset. Pissed-off vibes practically radiated from him. “I didn’t want to worry you,” I said when he opened my car door.

He let out a sound that was almost a growl. “Not now,dolcezza.”

“But—”

Lorenzo grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it in the parking garage of our doctor’s office. Yes?”

I couldn’t nod with the grip he had on me. “Yes.”

He let me go and motioned for me to climb in. I thought the ride back to the estate would be a silent one, but instead, Lorenzo surprised me when he asked, “Did you like Jonathan’s design? Or should I start looking for a few different shops for us to visit? We have time with the pregnancy; we don’t need to settle.”

The stencil was still on my skin, and I lamented that I was going to have to wash it off in the shower tonight. “I really loved it,” I said. “Did you pick the theme?”

He nodded. “I wanted something to represent you enduring what you had and coming out the other side a stronger person. Jonathan took that and ran with it.”

Maybe it should have made me uncomfortable that Lorenzo planned so much of this tattoo himself, but it made me feel claimed. Like I belonged to him…which I hated…but also didn’t. I had long since accepted that how I felt about Lorenzo bordered on the edge of “too much.” He had awakened things in me that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with, even now.

“Get that look off of your face, Isabella,” Lorenzo grunted, eyes on the road ahead of us.

“What look?”

“You want me to fuck you.” He waited a moment for me to deny it, but I didn’t because he was right. “Wejustleft the doctor because you’ve been spotting, and you want me to find some darkened alley for us, don’t you?”

I deflated. He was angry, even if he was trying to tease. That bitter edge in his voice was unmistakable. “No, I don’t,” I said. “I just want to go home.”

Lorenzo agreed. “You’re going straight upstairs for a nap,” he said. “You need your rest.”

Lorenzo

Anger thrummed in my veins, like a drumbeat that I couldn’t hear, but I could feel it in my chest. Isabella had gone straight to our room, like she’d promised; it didn’t make me feel better in the slightest.

“How’d it go at the White Hart?” Damian asked. “Did she find a design?”

I grunted. “We’ll call after the pregnancy is over to set up the appointment.”

Damian studied me for a moment. “You don’t look happy,” he said. “I thought you’d come in here crowing if Isabella went with the idea.” He had been sure that Isabella would flat walk out ofthe tattoo parlor when she heard that I had set everything up and gave Jonathan the specs. But I knew mydolcezza; I knew how she would react.

Thinking about the tattoo parlor had me clenching my jaw. I explained a little bit about her spotting and cramps. “She didn’t tell me about that.”

“Did she explain why?”

“Give me something else to think about for now,” I said, ignoring the question. I didn’t want to talk about why I was upset or hear whatever excuse she made as to why she never told me anything about it. It would only make things worse.

A light flickered in myvicecapo’s eyes. “We got an interesting ping from our men at the Harbor,” Damian said slyly. “There’s a shipment coming that the workers all had to sign NDAs for.”

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