“Again.” I pushed deeper.
“You love me.”
“Again!” I needed her to say it until she fucking believed it.
“You love me!” She cried out, my rhythm increasing, my thrusts going deeper, harder.
“This is my last and final rule for you, Tatum.” I traced my hand down her side, over her hip, wrapping my arm around her ass, and pushing her up closer against me. “Never will you forget that I love you. Do you understand me? Never.”
“Never,” she whimpered, her body trembling beneath me.
“Your name is engraved on my soul…and not even the flames of hell will be able to erase it.”
And then I lost myself in her. Two bodies became one, our hearts and souls melting together like priceless elements of the Earth. Everything shifted. Everything changed. Doubt and uncertainty got expunged with every thrust, with every touch. It was just us, and the love that had managed to bloom out of all this cruelty.
I whispered the words one more time. “I love you, Tatum.” And then I felt her clamp down on me, gripping me tight. She cried out, and I buried my face in the crook of her neck as we reached our release together.
My body trembled, my heart pounding like a jackhammer against my ribs.
It was final. I loved her, and she loved me. And nothing in this goddamn world was strong enough to change that.
Chapter 21
TATUM
It had been two weeks since I told Castello about the pregnancy. Two weeks since he asked me to marry him. Everything still felt surreal.
Uncle Gino and Angelique were thrilled about the pregnancy, although I still think Angelique figured it out the night of the party when she took my champagne glass from me.
As for other people, Castello didn’t want anyone else to know. With Vico’s twisted vendetta against his brother, Castello didn’t want to chance Vico finding out about me carrying Fattore blood inside me. Vico was a twisted son of a bitch, and even I knew Vico would raise seven sorts of hell if he had to find out.
The security around the house has tripled, leaving no hall, no room, no square inch without eyes and cameras. I’d gotten used to seeing huge men with big guns patrolling the house and grounds of the estate. It was clear that Castello was a man on a mission, and that mission was protecting his family—me.
I still wasn’t allowed off the estate. In fact, I could barely move around without having a shadow behind me. I didn’t like it, and I made sure Castello knew that. But it was like talking to a wall. There was no negotiating with him, especially when it came to me. And I couldn’t blame him, even though I yearned for a little freedom, just to go out in the world again. It was starting to feel like the entire world just consisted of us. That there was nothing or no one else but us and Vico.
Castello included me in more business discussions, allowed me to witness some of the initiations of new associates, as well as the executions of those who betrayed him—who betrayed us. The more I started to become part of the family, the more I embraced my place as a soon-to-be Fattore. And the more I realized how much power this family had, the more convinced I became that this was where my child and I belonged. The baby growing inside my belly would have everything he or she would ever want, the best of everything. And that was what every mother wanted for her child.
It was clear that Vico was building an army, plotting against Castello. He was power hungry. He wanted to rule, and while Castello was still alive, Vico would never have it all. And then there was also the threat of Vico’s bloodlust…for me. Even though Castello had pulled the trigger that killed their mother, Vico blamed me, and he would not rest until he had his revenge against me—which was why I accepted the fact that these walls would hold me prisoner for a very long time, at least until the war with Vico was over.
I placed my hand on my belly as I walked past all the painted canvases. I’d spent a lot of time in my studio, painting, thinking, daydreaming of what the future held in store for us.
Since I wasn’t allowed off the estate, Castello gave Doc orders to have everything he would need to assist in me having a healthy pregnancy brought to the house. An entire room was fitted with medical equipment so it wasn’t necessary for us to go into town.
The ultrasound confirmed I was only a few weeks along, but so far everything seemed fine with the little blip on the screen. It was daunting to think that the little shape with a pulsing line on a black and white screen would turn into a fully formed, perfect human being.
Castello had changed. Sex had changed. He was afraid to let out the darkness that brought us together. He was afraid it would somehow affect the pregnancy. At first I thought it would change the bond between us, but it didn’t. Making love was just as powerful. In fact, every time we worshipped each other, it felt like we only grew closer, forming something so strong, something no one would ever break. But as soon as it was done, he would cradle me in his arms and whisper, “Soon, little mouse.”
Those words would set free a thousand butterflies inside my stomach, my core tightening, my soul yearning for “soon” to come. He made it clear that once our baby was born, he would possess me again. He would give me the relief I craved by allowing it to flow out of me in tears of crimson. He knew I needed it, and that it was something I would always need. And he vowed to give it to me, promised me I would never need to do it to myself again. But he made me swear that for the duration of the pregnancy we would not take chances, we would not allow our mutual darkness to touch the life growing inside me.
The door opened, and I immediately knew who it was. True to his word, no one was allowed inside my studio without permission—not even him. The only problem was, Castello didn’t know how to knock, and he definitely didn’t like the idea of him asking for permission to haveaccessto me…his queen.
“Still not knocking, I see.” I smiled, my back turned to him.
“I regret not excluding myself when I saidno onecould enter your studio.”
The way my spine started to tingle all the way up to my neck, I knew he was standing really close to me.
“All you have to do is knock.”