Page 43 of Brutal Husband

The four of us are sitting at an outdoor table on a restaurant terrace, eating eggs Florentine and granola and enjoying a family brunch. No Mom and no Isabel, as Isabel can’t stand Laz after what happened, and Mia refuses to see Mom at all. Rightly so, in my opinion.

“That’s enough hearing me go on about the baby,” Mia says with a laugh. “How have you been, Rieta?”

I play with a piece of wilted spinach on my plate and try to calm my suddenly pounding heart. Do I tell them Nero has returned? That will only invite follow-up questions that I’m not ready for like,When did you see him?andWhy are you blushing red to the roots of your hair?

“Um, I’ve been fine. No news, really. How’s the garage, Laz?”

That works to distract the conversation away from me for a little longer. I’m frantically thinking of more questions to ask them when Mia’s expression changes from listening to Lazwith a smile on her face to shock at seeing something over my shoulder.

She suddenly gasps and sits up. “Is that Nero?”

My hand clenches on my glass of orange juice. Don’t look. Don’t waste one more scrap of energy on that hateful man.

I look.

My head turns, and I seek out the man who was in my bed uninvited just a few hours ago. Yes, it’s him. Striding toward us in a dark suit and sunglasses, with dark stubble on his jaw and a predatory smile tilting his full lips, is my husband.

My gaze travels slowly down his body and then back up again. My husband was never this sexy. My fiancé? Yes, but that was a long time ago, and I never thought I’d see Nero looking so confident, dangerous, and delicious ever again. I desperately try to figure out what the difference is, but I can land on only one conclusion. The Nero I was engaged to was crazy about me, but he shut down and became hateful and suspicious ever since our wedding night. My fiancé was obsessed with me to the point of insanity, and now that man has returned with a vengeance. Apparently, that’s extremely sexy to me.

A hot sensation twines through my lower belly and flashes through my nipples. It feels wickedly good to have all of Nero’s attention once more. I swallow hard, reminding myself that I’m angry with him, and I can never forgive him for abandoning me and lying to me.

Laz sits up, his dark brows drawing together in a glare. “It can’t be. That man wouldn’t dare show his face around here again after so long.”

But Nero does dare, and he strolls onto the terrace and stands between me and my sister, smiling down at her. “Good to see you again, Mia. What an adorable little one you have. May I?”

Without waiting for Mia’s assent, he plucks Mirabella out of her lap and settles her in his arms. Mirabella gazes at her unfamiliar uncle with huge eyes as he tells her how pretty she is.

I’ve never seen Nero hold a baby before. Being around children always made him wince and move away, like they were an affront to his sensibilities. Now, he bounces Mirabella in his arms, his sleek dangerousness thrown into sharp contrast by her sweet innocence. Her chubby hand pats his jaw, and he smiles, showing off all his strong, white teeth.

A jolt goes through me.

How dare he come here and interrupt my time with my sister. He must have followed me when I left the house.

Nero reaches out and cups my chin, making me look at him. “Isn’t your niece so cute,cara mia? I can’t wait until we have an adorable baby of our very own. Can you?”

15

Nero

“Yeah, she’s cute, Nero,” Laz says in a flat tone as he stands up and takes his baby back from me. Antipathy and mistrust flash in the other man’s eyes as he sits down next to his wife, his baby held close to his chest.

I pull out a chair and sit down without waiting for an invitation. Laz glares at me in silence. Rieta averts her gaze from me and sips her orange juice. Mia hunts through her bag for something, and then draws Laz into a conversation about where Mirabella’s favorite toy has gone.

I don’t follow the chatter at the table because I’m too engrossed in Rieta. My wife looks as beautiful as she did on our wedding day. I can’t stop staring at her, drinking in the curve of her cheek and the way the sunshine lights her glossy hair. Every now and then she glances at me, her cheeks redden, and then she quickly looks away again.

I grin at her, remembering how beautifully she came as I fucked her this morning. God, how I’ve missed her. We didn’tget to have hours of sex on our wedding night, which I’ve been regretting ever since. We had a rocky start, she and I, but I was always able to charm her back into being such a good girl for me. This time it’s just going to take a little more charm and a few forceful reminders of who her husband is.

Eventually, Mia starts making noises about leaving. Laz pays the bill, and Rieta gets to her feet.

I put my hand on the small of my wife’s back. “Let’s go,cara mia. My car is just over there. I’ll send someone to pick yours up.”

Rieta steps away and turns her frosty gaze on me. “Who says I’m going anywhere with you?”

I give her a hard smile. “Marriage is forever, Rieta. I haven’t forgotten the day we exchanged vows. Have you?”

Laz gets to his feet and stands nose to nose with me. “You heard the lady. Rieta doesn’t want to go with you.”

I’ve had few interactions with my brother-in-law. The man is three years younger than me, and for a while, he was my father-in-law, which is fucking ridiculous, but it doesn’t mean he gets to play protector over my woman.

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