The Tyrant (Banker #3)(56)

“I’ve been working out every day, but I’m not a fan of it.”

“I’ve noticed. Your legs get sexier every time I see you.”

She smiled. “Well, I need to work on this gut right now.”

I scoffed. “You don’t have a gut.”

“It’s a baby gut. It’ll take a while to go away.”

“It’s not a gut. You’re perfect.”

“Well, that’s nice of you to say, but I still need to hit the gym.”

“Unless you become pregnant again.” As far as I knew, she hadn’t started her birth control again, and we were having lots of sex every night. She seemed hesitant to have another baby right away, but at this rate, we were bound to make one. I’d knocked her up when she was on birth control. I could only imagine how quickly it would happen when she wasn’t on it.

“I guess that would give me an excuse to stop the gym,” she said with a laugh.

“Especially if you’re just going to get sexy again.”

“I don’t know if being pregnant is sexy…”

“It is to me.” I’d never been more attracted to her, watching her waddle around the house and touch her stomach every time the baby kicked. “I hope we have a son this time. If these are the only children we’re going to have, I want to have one of each.”

“I’d like a son too. I guess we’ll see.”





20





Siena





I’d considered telling Cato how I felt.

But it seemed like a moot point to me.

He already knew my feelings.

He knew I didn’t want anything to do with this life.

I already had a daughter with him, and considering how much we screwed every night, I was probably having another child soon. Our family had already begun, and I was loyal to him. But I still didn’t want this.

I wanted something simple.

Something safe.

I wanted him to give up everything and walk away.

But I knew he never would.

He came home from work that day at his usual time. He walked through the door, gave me a kiss, held Martina, and then stripped off his clothes and got ready for his workout. “You want to have dinner with me tonight?”

“I always have dinner with you.”

“But I thought we could do something, just the two of us.”

It would be nice not to hold Martina while I tried to eat. She was too young for a high chair, so we had to take turns holding her. The only time we were truly alone was when she was asleep in the next room. And during those times, we didn’t talk much. We just made love—over and over.

Not that I was complaining.

“That would be nice. Where do you want to go?”

“I thought we could eat here. We can sit in the backyard and look at the stars.”

It was summer, so it didn’t get dark until late, but it would be nice to do something different. It would be wonderful to sit by candlelight and look into each other’s eyes. Maybe I could forget about the real things that were bothering me. “Oh, that would be lovely.”

“Great.” He pulled on his t-shirt then kissed me on the lips. “I look forward to it.”





After I stepped out of the shower, I found the little black dress lying on the bed. Cato wasn’t there, but there was a note from him.



Wear this. No panties.



A pair of black heels lay there too.

I smiled as I folded the note. The black dress was short and backless, definitely too slutty to wear out to a restaurant. Maybe that was why he wanted to stay here, so his eyes would be the only ones to look at me.

When I put it on, I realized I couldn’t wear panties anyway.

Too sheer for that.

I slipped on the heels, did my hair and makeup, and then made sure Martina was asleep before I headed downstairs. The baby monitor was in my hands because I couldn’t go anywhere without it. Even when Martina wasn’t with me, she was always in my thoughts. I’d become one of those obsessed mothers who thought only about their children and nothing else.

I wasn’t ashamed of that.

“Miss Siena, you look lovely.” Giovanni stood in the kitchen, the pots and pans sizzling with whatever he was making for dinner.

“Thanks. Cato picked this out for me.”

“He has great taste. And I’m not just talking about the dress.”

“Aww…thank you.”

Giovanni took the baby monitor out of my hand. “I’ll keep an eye on her while you two enjoy yourselves.”

“You don’t have to do that. I know you’re cooking—”

He held up his hand to silence me. “It would be my pleasure. Now, please enjoy yourself.”

“Thank you, Giovanni. You’re a sweetheart.”

“No, Miss Siena. I just like you.”

I smiled. “Have you seen Cato? I haven’t seen him since he went to the gym.”

“He’s outside waiting for you.”

“Thanks.” I walked out the back door and onto the terrace to find him standing in a deep blue suit. He wore a black tie, the watch his brother gave him, and the smile he gave me was brighter than the stars overhead.