Page 79 of Hard Lessons

She sat on the bench outside the cottage and stared out to sea, cradling a mug of steaming black coffee. A robin hopped on the ground nearby and in the distance a huge bird of prey circled the edge of the cliff as though waiting for something to teeter too close to the edge and fall.

Her attention fell on the shimmering outline of an island to the north of the horizon. Was that Hebridon? No, it was too close to the mainland. But Hebridon would be like that. A distant mound rising from the water. Its moat the ocean, its ceiling an endless sky that dazzled in every season.

Something in her bones told her it would be a good place to be. More than a dot on a map, but a home. A space in the world where she could exhale. Maybe Luca could exhale too. Oh, he’d always be dominant, strong, and a little feral, but maybe the wilds of Scotland would be the thing to tame him.

She hoped so.

She also hoped he’d make the right choice for their future family.

Serena found herself rubbing her belly. They’d had sex, lots of sex, something she hadn’t done in a year. And without expecting to have to worry about pregnancy she had no contraception cover. Was she pregnant now? Had they already created the first of the children they’d spoken of?

The idea thrilled Serena. From the first day she’d met Luca, she’d wanted him to be the father of her babies. What didn’t thrill her so much was raising that family in London. Nighttime visitors—with guns in their waistbands—creeping about to speak to Luca while she changed diapers. Next to the nursery a room full of boxes that weren’t to be opened. Peering from behind curtains every time a police siren sounded nearby.

Please let his answer be yes.

What if it isn’t?

She straightened, stretching her spine, and looked at the car beside the cottage. The keys were in the kitchen, on the shelf. If she really wanted she could get in it, drive away with all the money. Get on a flight to the farthest flung destination she could get a ticket to. A meal, a movie, and a few hours’ sleep and she’d be on the other side of the globe. She’d have the money, her future and, possibly, their child.

With a sigh she shook her head. There was no way she could do that to Luca or to herself. The pain she’d cause him, the anguish he’d go through when he came back to find her gone. That wasn’t something she wanted on her conscience. Luca had been through a lot in his life; she wanted to make him feel better, not add to that torment.

Torment. Huh. Her buttocks still smarted. He’d left his own brand of torment on her. The spankings had been humiliating and painful.

Did I deserve them?

Luca clearly believed she did, and spanking was his way of asserting his control, his dominance over her. She’d always liked being his, submitting to his will. This had just taken it to a new level.

A level she’d have to get used to going forward. Step out of line and she’d be over his knee.

It was all very medieval, but equally it let her know her boundaries. A small triumphant smile tugged her lips. At least he’d forgotten about the fifty swats of his palm she was owed for spending half of the money. Paulo turning up had been good for one thing.

And when he came back to Scotland, she’d keep him distracted with a good meal, a fine whiskey, and that sexy black negligee she’d packed for her trip.

* * *

Luca’s arrival in Londonwas late. The lampposts glowed amber and a fine misty rain surrounded each one with a halo.

Paulo had chattered most of the way, filling Luca in on the dealings of the family and the family’s enemies while Luca had been behind bars.

It was the same old stories with familiar characters and forgone conclusions of bad debts and bad deals, reckoning, reprisal, and vengeance. Violence was the not so unexpected plot twist in each story with the occasional chapter ended in court, jail time, or death.

Luca stared out of the window as they approached Hackney. His heart was heavy—his heart was in Scotland.

It made him physically ache to have so many miles between him and Serena. This new separation had been slam-dunked on him. It was like a Band-Aid being ripped from already painful flesh. A burn on top of a burn.

He folded his arms and gripped his biceps, almost as if holding himself together. The sooner he saw Giovanni, checked out the lay of the land, the sooner he could get back up north.

God, I hope she’s waiting for me.

There was no doubt he had trust issues with Serena. Oh, not that she’d cheat, but that she’d do what she was supposed to.

He’d already spanked her severely for two of her wrongdoings and he hoped that would make her stay put. But the woman was a runner; that much was clear.

“Here we are, finally.” Paulo pulled between two houses and into a small, cobbled back yard. Two big wheelie bins stood in the shadows of a brick wall topped with broken glass sunk into cement and beside them was a metal gate dented with what looked like a bullet hole. “Long fucking way, Scotland.”

“Si.” Too many miles between him and his bride to be. “Let’s get this over with.”

Paulo laughed. “Why? You in a hurry to get back to your bit of pussy?”

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