“Thank you.” Her words hang in the air as she stares at me. Her eyes are heavy.
There’s a brokenness to her that pulls at my heart.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Her tongue darts out and swipes across her lips. “I shouldn’t have run. I was doing what I thought was best for my son.”
“Our son,” I correct her. He’s as much my child as he is hers. Maybe I didn’t raise him for the first few years, but that was only because she didn’t tell me about him.
I would have been there for my kid from the moment I found out she was pregnant. I may not have been happy about the news, but I wouldn’t have abandoned her or the kid.
“Do you understand why it’s imperative that you stay here with Ashton?” I want her to know that I’m not keeping her here locked up because I want to. It’s out of need and necessity. She and my son’s safety take priority over their freedom.
It’s not as though I don’t take him to private school daily and make sure that he’s inside the building before I leave. And when the school day ends, I’m right there to pick him up and bring him back home with me.
Karina nods. “Will you ever be able to stop the Bianchi’s?” she asks. “That man in the prison, did he help you?”
“We’ve been feuding for a long time, but we’re getting close.” I can’t elaborate. It’s not safe for her to know the details. Matteo did give us a wealth of knowledge in his last few moments.
I pull her to sit beside me on the bed, my hand gripping her wrist. Slowly, I draw my thumb in light circles against her soft skin. “How about I take you out Friday night?”
“Like a date?” her voice squeaks.
Is she nervous?
We’re married. There are plenty of opportunities for dates and other things. I have the rest of my life to woo Karina and convince her that I want to be married to her. Maybe it happened out of desperation and the need to save her life, but my desire isn’t any less real.
“Is that a problem?” I ask.
She tugs on her bottom lip. “Does that mean we get to leave the house?”
I can’t help but chuckle. Is that all she’s thinking about?
Escaping.
“Yes, but Ashton stays behind. Ivy can babysit him.” While I don’t like or trust Ivy, Karina trusts her sister, and I believe Ivy wouldn’t hurt a hair on Ashton’s head. That’s good enough for me.
Plus, if Ashton is at the house, Karina won’t try to escape. After our date, she’ll want to return home to be with her son.
“I can work with that,” Karina whispers.
Reaching for her jaw, I stroke her soft, supple skin with the pads of my fingers. “Do not fear me, Micetta.”
Her breathing hitches, and she gives the faintest nod. A slight blush spreads across her cheeks and down the dip of her shirt toward her cleavage.
I try not to stare, but I’m not a gentleman. The redness makes her even sexier, whether she realizes it or not.
Her lip’s part, and it takes all my strength not to run my thumb over her ruby lips.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Karina whispers.
“Good, because I would never hurt you.” She should know all that I’m doing to protect her. There would be no reason to harm my wife.
It’s a strange notion that I’m married. I stare at her lips, refraining from leaning in and taking a taste. My breathing deepens, matching hers.
“Is it warm in here?” Karina asks.
Yes, it feels like the sun is baking me. “There’s a way to fix that little problem,” I say with a smirk. “You have too many clothes on.”
She snorts. “Wow. Your mind went right for the gutter.”