Page 90 of Born into Sin

He lets out a soft laugh. “Plus, I’m not getting any younger, and I kind of have my heart set on a big family.”

I pull back so I can see him and give him a wide-eyed look. “Since when?”

He shrugs his broad shoulders and smiles. “Since the moment I came inside you, sweetheart. It’s all I can fucking think about.”

He laughs at my shocked look and kisses me again. “Do you feel well enough to see your family? I’m guessing your dad’s about to tear down the door in just a few seconds.”

At the mention of my dad, I start to worry again. I don’t know how I’m going to tell him everything, and the last thing I want is to see anger or disappointment on his face. Dominic hears the machine that I’m going to detach myself from as soon as I figure out how, and furrows his brow in worry.

“I really hate that thing,” I tell him.

“I’d know you were upset even without it,” he tells me, and I believe him. He reads me so damn easily. “You don’t need to worry, though. Your dad knows about us.”

“He does? Is he mad?” I run my eyes over his bruised jaw. “Did he hit you? Is that where the bruise came from?”

I reach up to touch him, running my fingers lightly over his sore jaw before he grabs my hand and kisses it.

“I’m fine, baby. He was angry with me at first, but we’ve come to a sort of truce about it. Your Uncle Vitaly helped smooth things over.”

“He’s pretty good at that,” I say, easily imagining him cracking a joke in an effort to diffuse the situation. “I’m kind of surprised he did, though. I can’t imagine he’s thrilled about us.”

“He wasn’t at first, but I made sure they all know how much I love you. Once they realized I wasn’t just fucking around and being a dick, they decided it might be better to not kill me.”

He smiles, but I’m guessing he’s not completely joking. If my dad and uncles thought he was using me, they’d definitely try to kill him.

“Do they know about the baby?”

Dominic shakes his head. “No, I wanted to tell you first.”

I sigh and try to muster up some courage. “Okay, let me go to the bathroom since I’m about to burst after sleeping so long, and then we can bring them in.”

He helps me get out of bed, and then I have to spend several minutes convincing him that I’m okay to pee by myself. He still insists on standing right outside the door, but I’m too exhausted and sore to worry too much about him hearing me use the bathroom. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting.

Once I’m settled back into bed, he makes sure my IV pole is back where it should be and still dripping fluids into me, but when he goes to reattach my heart monitor, I shake my head.

“I’m fine. I don’t need that thing.”

He raises a dark brow at me, but I don’t budge.

“If Dr. Bianchi thinks I still need it, I’ll reattach it, but I’m fine for now. I don’t want that damn thing beeping at me while I talk to my family.”

He looks like he wants to keep arguing with me about it, so I holler for my dad before he can get the words out. His mouth drops open right before my dad comes barreling in to see me. Dominic cups the back of my head and leans in close, pressing his mouth to my ear so only I can hear him.

“Oh, principessa, be happy I love you more than life itself.”

I let out a soft laugh and kiss his cheek. “I love you just as much.”

He kisses my ear and then pulls back so he’s standing beside my bed. My dad stands at the end of it, looking between the two of us but not saying anything. He looks as exhausted as Dominic does, and my heart breaks at the sight of him.

I look up at Dominic. “Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”

He kisses my forehead and tells me he loves me and to call when I need him. I smile at him and squeeze his hand before he walks out, leaving the two of us alone. I’ve always been close to my dad, and it kills me to have this distance between us. I meet his eyes, and when the corner of his mouth lifts up, moving his lip ring in a smile that’s as familiar to me as my own, I start to cry.

“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I start to say, but before I’ve even gotten the words out, he’s sitting on my bed and pulling me in for a hug.

“I’m the one who’s sorry, princess. I’m your dad. It’s my job to keep you safe, and that bastard just took you. Hell, I’m the one who assigned him to the house.”

“It’s not your fault. No one could’ve known he’d switched sides, and I’m okay now. That’s all that matters.”

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