Page 113 of His Vicious Ruin
He settles me into the glider, kneeling between my legs so he can rest his head against my stomach. I feel the flutter of the baby—a sharp, rhythmic kick—and Rafael goes perfectly still. He presses a soft kiss to my dress, his eyes closing as he listens to the life we made.
"He’s going to be a menace," Rafael whispers against my skin. "I can feel it. He has your temperament, Gia. God help us both."
"Just like his father," I murmur, my fingers tangling in his dark hair. "Stubborn, arrogant, and entirely too fond of getting his own way. He’ll probably be demanding a glass of aged scotch before he’s out of diapers."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he mutters, though he nuzzles closer. "I'm the picture of restraint."
Laura wanders over, sitting on the rug by his feet, her doll forgotten for a moment as she watches us. "Gia? When the baby comes, can I teach him how to bake the almond cookies? Uncle Rafe says I’m the only one he trusts with the oven besides Carla."
"Of course, Sweetie Pie. You can be the cookie commander. We’ll even get you a little hat."
The afternoon sun stretches across the floor, painting the room in gold. It’s hard to believe that only half a year ago, I wassleeping with a burner phone under my pillow. I think about the "one wish" Rafael is still holding over my head from that horse race. I used to be terrified of what a man like him would ask for. I thought it would be a cage. I thought it would be a demand for total submission.
But looking at him now, kneeling on the floor, I realize he’s already used it. He wished for a home. He wished for a version of himself that didn't have to bleed every single day just to feel alive. And somehow, against all the odds of our bloodstained world, he got it.
"You're thinking again," Rafael says, his eyes meeting mine. They’re sharp, perceptive. He can always tell when I’m drifting back toward the ghosts.
"I know," I say, a small, genuine smile tugging at my lips. "I was just thinking about the cookies. And how lucky you are that I don't actually know where you keep your fountain pens."
He huffs a laugh and stands, pulling me up with him just enough to press a real kiss to my lips—one that tastes like a promise and smells like the future.
"I love you, you overbearing, clingy, beautiful brute," I whisper.
"I know," he says, pulling me into the crook of his arm as we look out the window at the meadows where Vindice is grazing peacefully. "And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret it."
Laura stands between us, grabbing both of our hands. We’re a family, built on the ruins of two houses that tried to destroy us.
"Can we go see the horse now?" Laura asks, swinging our hands. "Vindice looks bored."
I let him wrap the heavy cashmere around my shoulders. Because for the first time in my life, I’m not running. I’m walking right beside my man, into a silence that finally, mercifully, belongs to us.
Betrayal brought them together. Love made them unbreakable. Now, with a new life in their arms, the Romano empire has never felt more whole. Witness the beginning of their forever…
