I kiss him harder.
His hand slides beneath the sheet, fingers hooking into the silk at my hip, and I'm about to forget every promise I made myself about keeping my distance when his phone shatters the moment.
The sound is sharp and insistent, cutting through the haze of want like a blade.
He doesn't even flinch. His mouth stays fused to mine, his hand tightening on my hip like he can block out the world through sheer force of will.
"Luca." I break the kiss, breathless, my palm pressing against his chest. "Your phone."
"It can wait." He chases my mouth, capturing my lower lip between his teeth, and the scrape of it nearly undoes my resolve.
"It can't." I turn my head, and his lips land on my jaw instead, trailing hot and hungry down my neck. My eyes flutter closed. Focus, Ilona. "That ringtone. Is it important?"
He stills against my throat, his breath coming in harsh pants against my skin. A low growl of frustration vibrates through his chest.
"It's for emergencies only."
"Then you need to answer it." I force the words out even as my body screams at me to pull him back. "You have people whodepend on you. Brothers. Responsibilities. You can't ignore that for..." I trail off, not sure how to finish the sentence.
For me. For this. For whatever reckless thing we're about to do.
He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes, and the conflict in his gaze makes my chest ache. Hunger wars with duty, desire with responsibility. For a long moment, I think he's going to ignore me and kiss me senseless anyway.
Then his jaw tightens, and he pulls away.
The loss of his warmth leaves me cold despite the silk sheets. I watch him grab his phone from the nightstand, watch his shoulders tense as he reads the screen.
"I'll be right back." He leans down and presses a hard, brief kiss to my lips, his voice rough with promise. "Do not move."
He disappears into the hallway, and I'm left alone in his bed, my body thrumming with unspent desire.
Thank God.
The thought crashes over me like cold water, dousing the flames he stoked so easily. Thank God something stopped me. Thank God I didn't make another mistake, didn't give him another piece of myself I can never get back. My hand drifts to my belly, to the life growing there, already proof of what happens when I let desire override sense.
I needed that interruption. Even if my body hates me for it.
By the time he returns, I've lost the battle with exhaustion. I feel him slide in beside me, feel his arms wrap around me, feel his lips brush my temple.
"Sleep, jungle flower," he murmurs against my hair. "We have time."
His heartbeat is steady against my back. His breath is warm against my hair. And despite everything, despite the lies and the blackmail and the trap closing around us both, I feel something I haven't felt in years.
Safe.
I hate how right it feels.
I hate that I don't want him to let go.
Nine
Luca
One week of marriage, and my wife still sleeps three inches away from me like the space might save her.
The morning light filters through the bedroom curtains, casting pale gold across Ilona's sleeping form. Her black hair spills across my pillow, those blue tips bright against the white cotton like streaks of midnight sky. One hand curls beneath her cheek, the diamond and ruby ring catching a stray beam of sunlight. The other rests on her stomach, protective even in sleep, guarding the life we created together.
My chest aches just looking at her.