Cassio’s grip on me tightened as he thrust up again, driving me against the wall. I dug my heels into his lower back. “No, honey,” he rasped, and that word warmed me like hot cocoa. “It’s a warning.”

I laughed. It wasn’t a good one. The words never left my lips because Cassio started pounding into me, harder and deeper than before, forcing my body to yield to him, and it did. Soon I was so slick around him, the wet sound of our bodies joining filled the hallway. Cassio’s harsh kiss swallowed my cries of release when I came in a violent shudder. He lowered me to the floor and my legs almost gave out. “Down,” he ordered.

My eyes flashed up in indignation at the demand, but his dominant expression and the primal hunger in his eyes spoke to a part of me that definitely didn’t mind his commanding attitude. I dropped to my knees.

His fingers tangled in my hair as he took my mouth.

I kept my eyes on his face, loving to watch him let loose.

Afterward, he pulled me up to my feet, tilting my head up. “Okay or too hard?”

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my face into the crook of his neck, touched by the consideration in his voice. I was slightly sore and would probably continue to feel that way until tomorrow, but it felt good in a naughty way, as if Cassio had left his mark inside of me.

“Giulia?” The low rumble of his voice penetrated my thoughts. “Too hard?”

I shook my head with a small sigh. He cupped the back of my head then pressed a kiss to my crown. The gesture was so loving, it kindled emotions in me I was scared to allow. After all, this was a marriage of convenience before all else. I didn’t want to love him before he loved me.

What a silly thing to think. As if you could postpone your love until it was convenient. I pulled back and allowed him to lead me into the bedroom.

Later in bed, I snuggled against Cassio, my cheek on his chest, his fingers tracing my upper arm. We had already extinguished the lights and were trying to fall asleep. From the lingering alertness in Cassio’s body, I knew he wasn’t anywhere close to sleep. “You can’t with me in your arms, right?”

I didn’t want to sound hurt, but I did.

Cassio paused in his stroking, his ribcage expanding under my head in a sigh. “Let’s see. I promised you I’d try.”

“Okay. Like you’ll try to trust me.”

Silence followed. He was trying. I couldn’t ask for more.

“Did Daniele say anything yet?”

“No,” I said. “He communicates with nods. His birthday is in two weeks, right?”

“Yeah. Three years. I still remember when I first held him.”

“I saw a photo of a newborn. They don’t look very cute with all the grime on them.”

“He was already cleaned when I held him the first time a few hours after he was born.”

“Don’t the nurses hand the baby over to their parents right after birth?”

“I wasn’t there when Daniele was born.”

“Oh, work?” I guessed.

Tension radiated from Cassio, and I knew it hadn’t been that. “Gaia preferred to give birth alone.”

I was glad the darkness hid my expression. Why would a woman not want her husband with her when she gave birth to their child? “Oh.”

Silence filled the dark. “What about Simona?”

Cassio shook his head.

“Isn’t it unfair toward you not to let you experience the miracle of birth?” Wasn’t that what everyone called it, even though I couldn’t see the magic in squeezing something that big out of my vagina.

“I have a busy morning on Friday, but I want us to head out to my beach house in the afternoon, so we’ll have all of Saturday to enjoy our time there.”

“Why won’t you talk to me about the past?” I said softly.

Cassio shifted, his mouth hot against my ear. “Stop prying, Giulia. You won’t like what you’ll find. Now sleep.”

His words stung. I began to roll over to give him space so he could sleep, which obviously wasn’t going to happen with me close, but his arm around my waist tightened. He lodged me against his body once more. I swallowed.

“You’re young,” he said. “I worry about all the ways I’ll hurt you before you’ve grown into a jaded adult to survive in our world and at my side.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“I know, but eventually you will.”

I hadn’t been to my beach house in three months. The last time I went, I’d longed for peace and quiet after Gaia’s funeral. I’d come alone without Simona and Daniele because every look at them reminded me of the woman I wanted to forget.

Giulia’s eyes widened in awe when we pulled up in front of the splendid white bungalow on the beach. Mia owned the house beside it, but we rarely visited this place at the same time, even if she’d been insisting on a family vacation for a while. Simona had fallen asleep in her seat, but Daniele’s face flashed with recognition. He’d loved this place in the past. I worried even that had changed.

The wind nipped at our clothes. November wasn’t the best time to spend time outside around here, but I wanted to show Giulia this house. I wasn’t even sure why. It would have been more impressive in spring or summer.

Another gust tore Giulia’s black cowboy hat from her head. My hand lashed out, snatching the thing out of the air.

Giulia let out an astonished laugh. “That’s an impressive show of reflexes.”

I held the hat out to her, and she took it with a sweet smile. “Quick reflexes are required to survive if you have as many enemies as I do. But I don’t know why I caught this thing. It’s ugly.” Giulia had once more chosen an outfit I decidedly hadn’t chosen for her. Cowboy boots, black shorts with suspenders, a bright pink sweater, and an oversized coat that would have fit me as well. It was a fashion nightmare.

Worry tightened her face, her hand frozen on the door. “How many attempts at your life have you survived?”

I tried to remember. It was difficult to say. There had been so many. Only a couple had gotten close.

Giulia shook her head. “Never mind, if you have to think about it this long, I probably don’t want to know. Just promise to be careful, okay?”

I walked around the car and opened the back door then lifted Simona out. Giulia and I had already fallen in a sort of routine where my children were concerned. She handled Daniele and I handled Simona. It made our life easier, even if it turned my heart to ice that my son refused to be close to me.

“Can you take Loulou’s transport crate?”

I took it from the trunk. Giulia had insisted we take the dog with us, even if I’d have preferred to let Sybil watch it. Refusing Giulia was more difficult than it should have been.

Pressing Simona protectively to my chest to shield her from the cold, I led Giulia toward the front door. She had trouble carrying Daniele on her hip. Even though he was a thin boy, he was tall for his age and Giulia was petite. It would have made more sense for me to carry him.

She set him down the moment we were inside and looked around in wonder. The interior, like the outside of the house, was white. The back of the house facing the beach was almost entirely made of glass windows, giving views of the dunes and ocean. The marram grass bowed down under the force of nature, and dark clouds hung low over the water. Even on tumultuous days like this, the white of the furniture illuminated the house without electricity.