I dropped the bathrobe and pressed my hands against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. His hands trailed down from my cheeks to my shoulders, then down my back and to my ribs. So close to my bump. He pulled away.

“Your ribs,” he said quietly. “Aria, you need to eat. I won’t let you starve yourself. Let me help you.”

I smiled up at him. “There’s nothing you can do, Luca.”

He got it wrong. His face twisted with raw fear. “Are you really sick?”

“God, no,” I said quickly. I took a step back but he only looked into my face, uncomprehending, and not at the small bump. I grabbed his hand and put his palm on my belly.

The look on his face was priceless. Utter shock. Disbelief. His eyes shot down to his hand on my bump. It wasn’t big yet and looked even smaller compared to his strong hand, but it was unmistakable.

“What?” he asked, his voice breaking.

“I’m pregnant with our baby, Luca.”

Slowly his eyes rose back to mine. He didn’t say anything.

Uncertainty filled me. “I’m sorry. I forgot to take the pill when everything was a mess because of Lily’s wedding to Brasci. I know you didn’t want to bring a baby into this world. That’s why I hadn’t told you yet. And that was the reason why Dante let me leave Chicago unscathed. I was pregnant then, and I told him. I’m sorry, Luca.”

With a low sound in his throat, he knelt down, startling me, his hand still on my belly. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against my stomach, then rested his forehead against my naked skin, breathing harshly.

I exhaled in a shudder, and of course began crying again.

He raised his gaze to mine. “Oh, Aria. I will burn down the world for you and our child. I wish I’d apologized sooner. I wish I hadn’t let you go through this alone.” He got up and kissed me lightly. I deepened the kiss and slid my hands under his shirt and over his six-pack. I needed him, needed his closeness more than I’d ever needed anything.

He returned the kiss then pulled away. “What about the baby?”

“It’s okay. We can have sex. I talked to the gynecologist.” Then I hesitated. “Or don’t you find me attractive with a bump?”

Luca laughed. “You are the sexiest and most beautiful woman in the world, Aria, bump or not.” He lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the bed.

Luca put me down on the mattress and let his eyes take in the sight of me. “Oh fuck. You are so gorgeous, Aria.”

His fingers brushed across my trimmed curls but then he paused, expression uncertain, as if he was asking for permission. I parted my legs for him. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he slipped his fingers between my folds and stroked me expertly, knowing every touch and flick I enjoyed. My breathing turned ragged as I watched that strong, powerful man, my man, kneeling between my legs, his hands giving me pleasure.

He heaved a breath, expression darkening with desire as he lowered his head between my legs and my center tightened in anticipation. I gasped when I felt his tongue slide along my flesh. I was already so ready for him. It had been too long since I’d been with him. “Luca, I want you inside me.”

But he didn’t let himself be deterred and settled completely between my legs, his eyes on my face as his lips closed over my clit and he suckled. I cried out as my orgasm hit me, unexpected and forcefully. It had been too long, too long without his touch.

Luca groaned against my center, and the vibration made my eyes roll back, but he didn’t stop his gentle assault. I relaxed under his tongue and mouth, let him guide me toward sweet oblivion as a new wave of pleasure raced through me. After my second release, I could take no more. “Luca, please, I need you.”

Luca trailed kisses up my body, over my hip, my stomach, ribs before he lingered on my breasts, which had grown. He smirked and I let out a small laugh, which brought his attention back to my face and smile. “I missed this.”

“Sex?” I asked, feeling hot and wet and desperate for more.

“Your smile,” he murmured before he lowered his head to my breasts and began lavishing them with kisses. His mouth closed around my nipple and I moaned, feeling another release approaching. He nibbled and sucked for a while, his gray eyes on my face as I squirmed and moaned. “Luca, please.”

He straightened and tugged his shirt over his head, revealing the muscled torso I always wanted to run my hands over, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. His hands moved to his pants, which did nothing to hide the bulge beneath them, and pulled them and his briefs down. He needed this as much as I did. I shivered in anticipation as he climbed back on the bed and up my body as I opened my legs wider for him.

He supported his weight on his elbows as he lowered his mouth for another kiss. Reaching between us, he lined himself up, his tip pressed up against me. I bucked my hips so he slipped in a couple of inches and we both moaned at the sensation.

He slowly eased into me until he was almost all the way in, but I could tell he was holding back. I peered into his eyes and gripped his firm backside. “I want all of you inside me.”

The tendons in his throat flexed, his expression reflecting his turmoil. “I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

“Luca,” I said, tightening my hold on his ass. “You can’t. Trust me, as long as you don’t turn all out-of-control rough with me again.”

As if he remembered that day, his lips twisted with self-hatred, but I didn’t let him. I reached for the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss, and finally he slid the rest of the way into me and we groaned as one.

“Fuck,” he rasped, pressing his forehead against mine, chest heaving. “I forgot how tight you are, how fucking perfect you feel.”

He retreated a few inches, only to slide into me again. I moaned at the sensation of fullness. His strong body over me, his length inside of me, his eyes burning into me with love and need and hunger. I felt like bursting. He thrust slowly, as if he was savoring every moment, and I could feel myself spiraling out of control, but I didn’t want to let go. I wanted this moment to last forever.

He slammed into me a bit harder, his skin covered in perspiration, his mouth set tight as he fought for control. “Aria, it’s been too long. I’m not sure how long I can last,” he said through gritted teeth.

I touched his cheek, holding his gaze.

That he had stayed faithful to me, despite who he was, despite what he’d thought I’d done at first—it meant the world to me. Perhaps it was nothing I should have been thankful for, nothing normal women were grateful for, but I knew what many Made Men did behind their wives’ backs, and they weren’t even Capo. Luca could have a new girl every day if he felt so inclined. He could have more than that.

“I’m close,” I gasped as he angled his thrusts upwards to reach my G-spot and I clutched his shoulders. My toes curled, my fingers twitched against his skin. So close.

Luca tensed and then he came with a violent shudder, and took me with him over the edge. I cried out my release, clinging to his shoulders as he slammed into me a few more times before his forehead collapsed on the pillow, his breathing harsh against my throat. He still kept his weight off me, probably worried he’d crush the baby.

I wanted to relish in this moment forever, in the feel of his warmth and power, listening to his rapid breathing, but my body had a mind of its own, and obviously intended to eject whatever small amount of fruit tea had remained in my stomach. “Luca,” I pressed out, already fighting off the rising sickness.