Page 71 of His Vow
I need to find the guy in charge so I can get us out of here and safely back to her father’s place.
***
Fuck, for once, I’ve got no idea how to help her.
Lucia stands at the bathroom sink, arms wrapped around her waist, her posture stiff like she’s afraid to move a muscle. It’s been a rough wake up, with morning sickness having taken a toll on her body, even though it’s late afternoon. I guess with everything else going on, it’s not surprising.
While I’m confident in my ability to keep Luce safe, make her happy, and love her the way she deserves, knowing how to help my pregnant wife now is well beyond my skills. I hate watching her battle against the waves of sickness that had her racing from the bed, barely making it into the bathroom before she lost last night’s dinner.
“What can I do, sweetheart?” I ask from behind her, my hands on her shoulders.
Her eyelids flutter open and our gazes lock on each other in the mirror’s reflection. A faint smile tugs at her lips.
“Crackers and water,” she mumbles. “The crackers are in my tote bag. But let me brush my teeth and get back into bed first.”
I stride back into the bedroom, the same one she had during our summers as a teenager, and which luckily has a double bed. It doesn’t take me long to find the box of crackers, and I’m placing them on the bedside table as she walks back in carrying a glass of water.
“You’re looking a lot better already,” I say, noticing the color has returned to her cheeks as I pull back the covers and adjust her pillows.
“The queasiness goes just as quickly as it comes. And the crackers seem to settle my stomach, so I normally keep them beside the bed.”
“Right, noted. Crackers and water by the bed every night before we go to sleep.”
She gives me her first smile of the day, and it goes straight to my heart. “This should get easier when I reach the twelve-week mark.” She sits propped up in bed, nibbling on the unappetizing cracker, a few flakes falling onto her tank top. She glances down. “And then no more crumbs, I promise.”
I give her a cheeky grin. “Let me help with that.” Leaning forward, I start to lick up the bits that have fallen. I’m extremely thorough in my cleanup, swiping my tongue over what sections of skin are exposed, and placing kisses over her nipples, which have formed peaks underneath the thin cotton.
“So very helpful.” Her voice is raspy and soft.
“What else can I do to make you feel better?” I ask, lifting my head. Her grin tells me all I need to know; she likes my brand of distraction.
Slowly, I trace a path down her body, rolling up the cotton to reach her smooth, warm skin. Lucia’s fingers thread through my hair, urging me lower. But right as I reach the band of her sleep shorts, my cell buzzes.
I try to ignore the noise, but as soon as it stops, it starts back up again. “Fuck!”
Luce’s hold tightens as she lifts my head up. “You should probably get that. It might be important.”
She’s right. We’ve been deliberately blocking out the events of last night—or, more accurately, the early hours of this morning. By the time I finally climbed into bed beside my sleeping wife, the sun had been up for a couple of hours.
Dante and Lucia’s father wanted a full rundown on what had happened, while her mother insisted on being the one to help her to bed.
Parker had messaged to say that Will was doing okay. Luckily, the knife hadn’t hit any major arteries, even though the pools of blood around him seemed to indicate it had. Then Gio called. He and Nico were going to fly to Capri today. And knowing that my brothers would be here soon was the only reason I was able to eventually climb into bed and fall asleep.
I groan as I stretch my arm out to grab the annoying device off the bedside table.
“It’s Gio,” I say, flipping onto my back and shuffling up in the bed, before answering the call on loudspeaker.
“Hey, bro. Where are you?” I ask as Luce turns and my arm wraps around her, pulling her flush against my side, her head resting on my chest.
“Nico and I are at your villa, and the carabinierihave just left. Sorry, but your bedroom is a fucking mess.”
“I’ve got you on speaker,” I warn him. After everything we’ve been through, Lucia’s still holding strong, but if she’s anything like me, we’ve still got a lot of processing to do to understand exactly what happened in those terrifying moments.
“Are you both okay?” Gio asks, and I expect he means Lucia and the baby, so I look to her to answer.
She focuses her gaze on me as she says, “Sì. We’re all fine. It was scary at the time, but now I’m glad it’s finally over.”
“It’s definitely over. Bruno has confessed everything to the carabinieri. And I mean everything. He hasn’t stopped talking,” Gio says.
