Page 35 of Reign of Fate

“Daddy, stop. Please, stop!” she cries, happily squirming in her father’s arms.

He sets Adriana down on her feet. “Can you go play with your dolls in your room for a little while? Daddy needs to talk with your mama.” I suck in a breath. He’s definitely heard everything we said.

Adriana takes off, the pitter-patter of her footsteps tapping as she climbs the steps. I find Ivo gazing at me. I hold my breath as he nears. I tilt my head back to keep my eyes locked with his. He bends at the waist and gives me a crooked smile, then brushes his mouth over mine.

“You handled that well, Mama.”

I exhale. “I want Adriana to be happy. I want that for you too.”

“As you can see, Adriana is happy. And as for me, I’m as happy as I know how to be,” he replies. That’s not the answer I wanted, but it will have to suffice.

“Shall I pull together something light for dinner?” I change the subject, not wanting to ruin my good mood.

“I won’t be able to join you for dinner. I have to go hunting,” he says, raising a brow.

“Hunting?” Curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, “What are you hunting for?”

“Ruggero has gone missing. We’ve had a man watching his house, but when Leno dropped by to deliver a message from Raffaele, his wife informed us that he wasn’t home and hasn’t been since yesterday.”

“Danilla must be out of her mind with worry,” I say. Guido’s sister, Danilla, has always been a shy woman. She’s refined and beautiful and dotes on Ruggero and their children. Danilla was a very good friend to me throughout my marriage to Guido. After Guido’s death, Danilla mourned her brother’s death, and we cried together. Then suddenly, she stopped calling and has been elusively unavailable whenever I tried calling her.

“We suspect that Ruggero’s dirty. I hope to God Danilla isn’t aware of his unsanctioned trips to Italy. Leno and Massimo are checking out all the places Ruggero is known to frequent. Francesco and I are going to the streets to see what we can find out.”

He clasps his hand around the back of my head and gives me a slow, wet, long kiss. “I’m fucking pissed that I have to leave my wife so soon. I’m not sure when I’ll be home. Raffaele has men standing guard, and he’ll be calling to check in.”

“I’ll wait up for you,” I tell him, still recovering from his kiss.

“Regina mia, get some sleep. I’ll be waking you when I get in. I have every intention of making love to my wife.” He lowers his voice and growls in my ear. “I’ve imagined fucking you a hundred different ways. I’m going to get creative, so sleep, baby. You’re going to need the rest.”

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but also the wetness pooling between my thighs. He gives me one more swift, hard kiss before going upstairs to see his daughter. A few minutes later, he comes back down with Adriana. Adriana gives Ivo a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek and grabs on to my leg as we watch him leave.

“Be good for Mama while I’m gone,” he says.

Adriana looks up at me with sheer happiness. My heart melts.

TWELVE

In the Wind

ELISA

This afternoon, we made an egg carton caterpillar, painted a bright pink with purple pipe cleaners for antennae, which now sits on Adriana’s bedside table. After cleaning up our mess, and a bowl of cereal for each of us, plus my java fix, which is an absolute must, we continue on with our day. An afternoon packed with activities to keep Adriana busy. We play in the yard, bake chocolate chip muffins for our afternoon snack, and Adriana helps me with chores.

Adriana is an active little girl, and I could make millions if I could harness her exuberance as a new energy source. I think I’m more tired than Adriana when it comes time to get her in the bath.

I’m tempted to crawl into a tub myself, but I put Adriana in the bathtub instead. Somehow, she managed to get paint behind her ears and in her hair.

Fresh and squeaky clean, Adriana is in a pair of soft flannel pajamas, I read her the story of Cinderella. She loves the idea of living a magical life filled with castles and fancy dresses. I hope that Adriana can keep her innocence for a long time. I used to believe in magic too, then the harsh reality of life stepped in and slapped me right in the face. I realized adversity will come to everyone, and it’s how we work through it that molds us into the person we want to become.

I tuck Adriana in and go back to make sure the kitchen is nice and tidy. I’ve always hated waking up to clutter. I make myself a fresh cup of coffee and indulge in two cranberry shortbread cookies.

Since I have the time, I pull out the boxes from the spare room and begin hanging my belongings, filling the closet with my things. I’ve begun a new chapter of my life as Ivo’s wife. My marriage with Guido was quiet and reclusive. I’ve grown accustomed to the solitude. I hang the rest of my dresses and find that it’s much later than I thought.

As promised, Raffaele called twice to check in with me. I tell him all is well and want to ask if he’s heard from Ivo, but I don’t want him to think I’m checking up on him, so I remain silent on the subject. I try to stay up, but my eyes are growing weary. I glance at the clock and find it’s well past midnight. Adriana is an early riser, and I’m going to need all the energy I can muster to keep up with her.

I put my cell phone on the pillow beside me, just in case Ivo calls, and close my eyes before falling into a peaceful sleep.

“Baby,” a deep, sexy voice rumbles in my ear. “I need to fuck you.” I don’t have time to respond before the sheets are yanked away. My short nightie is pulled up over my hips, and I’m drawn to a sitting position as it’s lifted over my head and off. My sleepy eyes focus on my naked husband with his immense cock standing before me. “Panties off, regina,” he orders. I push them down and slip them off. “On your knees,” he demands, guiding me exactly as he wants me. His hand presses my back, nudging my chest to the bed with my ass up.

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