I gesture to the sliding doors. “I want to show you what I got done in the garden this morning.”
Lucian follows me outside, and as I sweep my hand over the flower bed, his arms wrap around me from behind and his hands settle on my abdomen. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he says, “You’ve been busy. It looks beautiful.”
Pulling free from his hold, I walk to the next flower bed. “The St. Joseph lilies are flowering.”
I planted them because they were Lucian’s mother’s favorite.
Lucian stares at them, then he smiles at me. “My parents would’ve loved you.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and stare up at him. “And you, Mr. Cotroni?”
A loving grin begins to tug at the corner of his mouth. “You’re my obsession, amore mio. The more I want you, the more I love you, and I’ll never stop wanting you.”
I lift on my toes and press a kiss to his jaw, and then I hug him. With my gaze on the ocean, I soak in the feel of my husband’s strong arms around me, his undying love wrapping me up in a bubble of safety.
“You’re my life, Lucian,” I whisper.
My husband is one of the biggest villains in the world.
But he’s my hero.
My avenging angel.
The man I would follow to the bottomless pits of hell because, by his side, I will live and die.
Lucian pulls a little back and tilts his head, just staring at me.
“We’ll have more than one child, right?” he asks.
“As many as you want.”
He lifts an eyebrow at me. “In that case, we better get to work.”
“I’m already pregnant,” I laugh as he pulls me back to the house.
“Practice makes perfect.”
Not that Lucian could get any more perfect in bed. “I like the sound of that.”
When we head toward the stairs, Aunt Ursula sighs happily, “To be young and in love.”
The moment we’re alone in our room, Lucian shows me how much he loves me, and in return, I worship him.
When I lie spent in his arms, drawing lazy patterns on his chest, I ask, “Will you show our children how to be strong like their father?”
Lucian presses a kiss to my hair. “I will.” He turns me onto my back and stares down at me. “And you’ll show them how to never give up.”
I lift my hand to Lucian’s face and cup his jaw. “I will.”
Together we’ll show our children what love is.
The End