The Unwanted Wife (26 page)

“Don’t say anything,
cara
. Just give me a chance…” He looked like a man perched on a ledge with her as his last chance of redemption. How did she resist that? How
could
she? “I know I’m asking you to make yourself vulnerable again and I’m so sorry for that. But I want you to trust me. Just one more time… allow yourself to trust me.” She bit her lip, before taking a deep breath and stepping out onto that ledge with him.

“We need to name this little one before we take her home,” she said lightly, ignoring the way he released the breath that he’d been holding for countless moments. She felt the tension drain out of him and his relief was so overwhelming it was an almost tangible thing.

“Any ideas?” He asked huskily, reaching over to stroke the top of the baby’s soft head with his thumb, somehow managing to brush the sensitive skin of her breast too and she shivered at the contact. “Well, since she has all this fuzzy black hair, we should probably stick with Lily,” his face lit up with pleasure and he dropped a quick kiss on her smiling mouth. “I only hope she has the temperament of a Lily and not that of a Sofia.”

“If she takes after you, we’re in for a bumpy ride,” he joked and she rolled her eyes.

“Please, you’re no angel yourself,” she retorted without any heat. “Let’s just name her Lily and hope for the best.”

“Hmm, if she
does
have your stubbornness and fiery temper, I’ll adore her even more,” he admitted. “It’ll certainly make life interesting.”

“Why did you keep buying girl’s toys and clothes, Sandro?” She asked after a short silence and his thumb paused its stroking for an infinitesimal second, before continuing on. “I mean, I’m grateful for them now, of course. But
why
?”

“Why?” he shook his head and hesitated again before raising his eyes to meet hers. “I was just…
hoping
for a girl,” Her jaw dropped as she simply gaped at him for a few moments. That thought had never once crossed her mind.

“You were
hoping
for a girl?”

“Yes. Very much,” he staggered her by confirming, his eyes remaining steady so she was in no doubt as to his sincerity.

“I don’t understand…” she shook her head slightly. “Why?” He didn’t respond, dropping his eyes to the suckling infant at her breast.

“Sandro?” She prompted and he raised his eyes to hers once more. He smiled cryptically before shrugging.

“This is neither the time nor place to be having that particular conversation, Theresa,” he frustrated her by saying.

“But…”

“We’ll discuss it soon but right now I think Lily is ready to be burped,” he pointed to the infant whose tiny mouth had slackened. She awkwardly dragged her bodice back up and then clumsily repositioned Lily until the baby was draped over her shoulder.

“Could you get the nurse?” She asked Sandro, putting his previous comment from her mind for now. “I’m not sure how to do this.”

“Rub your hand on her back in a circular motion,” he noted the surprise in her eyes before shrugging. “The nurse showed me how to do it last night after I’d bottle-fed her while you were asleep.”

Theresa complied with his instruction and was soon rewarded with a tiny burp. The sound was adorable in a way that only a new parent could appreciate and they grinned at each other when they heard it. In that one glorious moment of solidarity, Theresa started to believe in the possibility of a happily every after again… and it frightened her to death.

The thin sound of a distressed infant’s wail jerked Theresa from a restless sleep. She sat up and fought her way out of bed before groggily trudging to the nursery. When she got there she blinked up at the already-present Sandro who was cradling his crying daughter tenderly in his strong arms. He was wearing only a pair of boxers and held the tiny baby up against his strong, naked chest. He was crooning gently to her and Theresa was transfixed by the sweet picture they presented.

He looked up suddenly and saw her standing in the doorway. His hair was messy and standing up in spikes.

“Hey,” he smiled over at her. “I was hoping you’d sleep through this. You looked exhausted earlier. I don’t think she’s hungry. Just cranky, I think her wet nappy woke her up. I changed her and she’s all dry and comfy now but she hasn’t worked the bad mood out of her system yet,” Theresa walked over to them and peered over one bulging bicep into Lily’s scrunched up little face and smiled in amusement.

“
Very
cranky,” she leaned over to drop a kiss on the baby’s damp forehead and felt Sandro tense when her cheek brushed against his chest in the process. They both paused awkwardly before Theresa cleared her throat and stepped back. She dropped into the padded rocking chair and tucked her feet up beneath her and watched as Sandro continued to pace and gently talking to the crying baby.

He eventually sank down into the second rocking chair beside Theresa’s, while continuing to soothe the baby. Lily’s wailing eventually decreased down to a few sad sniffles before she dropped back to sleep. Theresa looked over and smiled when she realised that Sandro had fallen asleep too. Lily was firmly anchored to his chest and held in place with a broad hand on her tiny back.

She looked from the man to the infant and smiled at the similarities between them. Lily had his mouth and something about the set of her brow was one hundred per cent Sandro. Theresa got up quietly and went over to pick the baby up. Sandro’s brow furrowed when she tried to move his hand and instead tightened his grip slightly.

“Sandro,” she whispered. “Let me put her to bed.” His eyes fluttered open and he smiled when he saw her leaning over him.

“Theresa,” he murmured and in that unguarded moment, Theresa saw a depth of emotion in his liquid brown eyes that she couldn’t quite fathom. She blinked and in that split second he came fully awake and his eyes shifted back to neutral and slightly distant. Theresa wasn’t sure if she’d imagined the intensity of the emotion or not. He relinquished his hold on Lily and ducked his head to drop a loving kiss on top of her downy soft black hair.

Theresa was aware of him getting up and following her to the crib. He stood directly behind her and watched over her shoulder as she put the infant to bed. Theresa was intensely aware of him and of the fact that all that stood between them and total nudity was her nightgown and his boxers.

“She has your nose,” he whispered into her ear and she jumped, surprised and disturbed to feel his hot breath on her skin.

“Do you think so?” She asked casually. “I can’t tell.”

“It’s an unmistakable nose…” his hand came to rest on her shoulder and she tensed at the feeling of his warm hand on her bare skin. Her breathing went shallow. His hand swept down her shoulder in a gesture that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a caress and shackled her upper arm loosely, he brought his other hand up to grip her free arm in a similar fashion. He gently dragged her back until she was leaning against his hot, hard chest and he released his grip with a rumble of satisfaction. His strong arms encircled her waist and he simply held her as they both watched their sleeping baby.

The tension eventually left her body as she allowed herself to relax against him and tilt her head back to rest against his shoulder.

“Look at what we did,” he murmured into her ear, his low voice brimming with love and pride. “She’s perfect.” Theresa smiled at the awe she heard in his voice.

“It’s been said that any fool can make a baby,” she teased and he snorted.

“Yeah but have any of them made a baby as absolutely perfect as this one?” Theresa looked down at the sleeping baby, with her wrinkled face and the slight milk rash that pinkened her cheeks and her patches of soft spiky hair. She looked like a wrinkly, grumpy little old lady… but she was
their
wrinkly, grumpy little old lady and she was adorable.

“No… I don’t think any of them has,” she concurred smugly.

“Theresa…” his voice took on a serious tone and she tensed again. “I just… I wanted…” he seemed at a loss for words and Theresa frowned wondering if they would finally have that promised conversation. It had been more than a month since Lily’s birth and they hadn’t yet discussed his claim that he’d hoped for a girl.

“
Thank you
,” he finally said and she turned slightly to look up into his face, visibly surprised by his words.

“For what?” She asked in confusion.

“For giving me everything I never knew I wanted,” he said after a long pause. His voice was thick with emotion and he met her eyes directly. His own gaze was burning with intensity as he willed her to believe him.

“What have I given you, Sandro?” She asked turning fully in his arms.

“A life,” the two words frustrated her because they told her nothing. She was about to ask him to elaborate, when more words came tumbling out. “Happiness, contentment and a beautiful daughter…”

“And are happiness and contentment all you ever wanted from life?” She asked after giving his words some thought. He smiled slightly.

“No… I want more than that. But it’s a good start.”

“What else do you want?” She asked curiously.

“You.” No hesitation.

“You have me.”

“No, I don’t. Not the way you were before, when we first married… before I stupidly proceeded to trample your heart and ego into ground.”

“I’ve changed since then, grown up. I won’t ever be the same woman I was back then.”

“Yes, you haven’t changed in fantastic ways but you’ve just become more guarded. And I don’t blame you, I really don’t. But I want you to trust me again.”

“I do,” she whispered.

“No, I want you to trust me with your heart, Theresa. I want you to allow yourself to love me again. I won’t hurt you.”

“Why should I trust you that way again, Sandro?” She asked on a whisper and he smiled, before cupping her face and staring levelly into her eyes.

“Because I love you, Theresa.” The words staggered her. She should have expected them, should have known he would say them… but for some reason she hadn’t and now had no idea how to deal with them or how to process them or worse, how to believe them.

He smiled bitter sweetly.

“I know you don’t believe me yet,” he whispered. “But I’ll make it my life’s work to convince you.” He bent his head and kissed her gently, his lips moist, gentle and sweet on hers. He raised his head much too quickly and Theresa went up on her toes to prolong the contact.

“Sandro…” she didn’t know what to say but he shook his head and smiled gently.

“It’s okay. I just wanted you to know.” He kissed her again, a little bit more urgently this time and she could feel his erection straining against her stomach. It startled her because she hadn’t really felt him in so long and she suddenly realised how many months it had been since she’d last felt him moving inside of her. Her dormant hormones sprang to life in an instant and she pushed closer to him, deliberately rubbing herself again his hard penis. He deepened the kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth in clumsy desperation and his lack of finesse made her even hungrier for him.

“The doctor gave me the all-clear for sex last week,” she reminded and he groaned harshly at her urgent words.

“I didn’t tell you how I felt because I was trying to get you into bed, Theresa,” his voice was thick with desire and she smiled up into his flushed face.

“I know that, Sandro. Now hurry up and take me to bed, will you?” He shuddered and lifted her into his arms before carrying her out of the baby’s room into hers next door.

He gently deposited her onto the bed and watched as she dragged the nightgown over her head and tossed it aside, his dark eyes going slumberous with desire. Suddenly self-conscious, Theresa remembered that she’d gained weight and acquired some stretch marks during her pregnancy. She wasn’t the same slender, smooth-skinned woman he’d had sex with last. She lifted her hands to cover herself but when Sandro swore reverently, she paused and looked at him. He couldn’t take his hot eyes off of her; he looked like a starving man staring at a feast while wondering which dish to start with.

She watched in fascination, her shyness forgotten, as he fumbled with his boxers and kicked them aside. He was so hard it looked painful and she could see how his heart was racing with every throb of his gorgeous penis.

“God,” he groaned slightly, his voice awed and a little disbelieving. “Oh God, oh God, oh God… you’re more beautiful than I remembered.” He stumbled to the bed and gathered her into his arms, kissing her hungrily. His usual finesse was gone; the hungry kiss was almost adolescently awkward with bumping noses and clashing teeth. But neither of them cared as they went at each other with a ferociousness that bordered on animalistic.

Theresa had one brief moment of lucidity, when she asked him to wear a condom. In the past, Sandro would have been infuriated by the request, this time he stumbled from the bed in a daze and made his way to the en-suite where they stocked a new box of condoms every six months, in case their guests needed any. He was back in seconds, box in hand but was shaking so badly that the packaging defeated him.

“I can’t…” he growled in frustration and she took the box from him with slightly steadier hands. She managed to extract a condom, tossed the box aside and ripped open the foil package. She held up the little rubber circle with a questioning glance and his pupils dilated even further.

“You do it,” he urged huskily and she smiled before, with agonising slowness, rolling the condom down his length. She gave him one more stroke for good measure but he arched himself away from her touch.

“Don’t… baby… I’m going to come.” She lifted her hand to the nape of his neck and dragged him down for another urgent kiss. Without breaking the kiss, Sandro flipped her onto her back and parted her thighs with his own. Despite his obvious desperation he entered her slowly and with infinite gentleness.

“Am I hurting you?” He asked against her mouth and she murmured a negative, pushing back up into him, to make it clear that she wanted more of him inside of her. It was all the invitation Sandro needed before he sheathed himself completely. They both groaned and he tilted his head back, his eyes closed in ecstasy.