Binding Rose: A Dark Mafia Romance(104)

“Thank you.”

I walk into the elevator, flipping through the envelopes, one by one, until a postcard with the Vegas strip grabs my attention.

Iris.

Hurriedly, I flip it over and smile at what she’s written.

I’m still alive and kicking.

Giving the Volkovs a run for their money.

Someone should have told them lady luck was a woman.

And Irish.

Xoxo

Iris.

I let out a relieved exhale, knowing that my sister still has her humor. She’s either found a way to coexist with them, or she has them eating out of the palm of her hand. Whatever she’s up to, I can breathe easy knowing that the Volkovs haven’t broken her yet.

You mean like you’re breaking Rosa?

Fuck.

Guilt immediately replaces the good feeling Iris’ postcard gave me, and once again I’m burdened with my conscience as well as my heavy heart. Once the elevator doors swing open to my apartment, my guilt strangles me further when I see my wife sitting on the hardwood floor, spinning something in front of her with her finger.

When she lifts her head up, I can tell she must have spent most of her day crying. I take off my suit jacket and loosen my tie.

“The only time I like seeing you on your knees is when you’re sucking my cock, acushla. Otherwise, the floor is off-limits to you. A queen should never be found kneeling in any circumstance.”

“Is that what I am? Your queen?” she scoffs.

I kneel down beside her and lovingly caress her cheek with my knuckles.

“You are my heart, wife. Far more precious to me than the crown on your head.”

“I wish that was true,” she mumbles, gripping in her hand whatever toy she was playing with when I walked in.

“What can I do to make you believe me?” I plea softly.

“Give me what I want, and I will.”

I pull my hand away from her and sit on my legs in front of her.

“I can’t do that.”

“Then you don’t love me.”

I run my fingers through my hair and pull on its strands. It’s obvious that my wife will only be satisfied once she has successfully turned me into a raging lunatic. I breathe in and count to ten just so I don’t hurt her with my frustration and words I don’t actually mean. I’ve been hurting her enough as it is.

“Let me help you off the floor, love. I’ll give you a bath and order some food for us. How does that sound?”

When she doesn’t move, and I verify that her face is awfully pale, my hackles rise with new concern.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

She snaps her eyes at me like I should know better than to ask that question.

“I meant physically, wife. If you’re hurt or sick, I need to know so I can call a doctor.”

“If that’s your only concern, then yes. I’ll be sick for the foreseeable future. At least I think I will.”

I pull out my phone and immediately start dialing our family doctor. I pay him a small ransom to always be on call in case one of my men needs tending to. When he picks up, I don’t even greet him.

“Come to The Avalon now. My wife needs to be looked at. You have ten minutes.”

“Tiernan,” she whispers, latching her hand over my wrist once I’ve hung up. “You didn’t have to do that. I already know why I feel sick.”

“I’ll feel a whole lot better once a professional has a look at you.”

I slide my hands under my love and lift her up off the floor. Her arms lace around my neck while I walk her over to the kitchen island and set her down.

“I’ve tried to be patient with you, love, but if you’re sick you need to tell me,” I beg, scanning her body up and down to see if I can figure out what ails her.

“It’s just morning sickness, Tiernan. Women don’t die from it. It just sucks throwing up all the time.”

“Morning sickness?” I repeat, puzzled, not fully understanding what she’s saying, but as I do, she picks up my hand, places a kiss to its center, and then places the white gadget she had been fiddling with earlier in my grip.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a pregnancy test, Tiernan. You’re going to be a daddy.”

“Are you serious?” I exclaim in utter glee and excitement, completely taken aback by how this news just brought with it new hope.

“I am, husband.”

I grab her face and look into her big brown eyes, sadness as well as joy all mixed in together.

“I thought this was what you wanted,” I utter in confusion.

“It was. It is.” She shakes her head. “Starting a family with you is a dream come true, but I can’t pretend that there isn’t something missing.”

“Fuck, acushla! Not this shit again!” I shout and then hate myself when she flinches away from me. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I thought when this day came, we would be happy. You would be happy.”

“And I am,” she says softly. “But I feel like I’ve been cheated out of the happiness that I could have felt today. And that’s because of you. Your pride and ego are killing us. Are killing the life we could have had. This baby could have been surrounded by pure love, and now all he’ll know is resentment.”