Bound by Duty (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #2)

by Cora Reilly

“Thank you.” I pulled my hand away again and rested it in my lap, but Dante took me by surprise when he reached for my hand, brought it up to his face and pressed a kiss against my knuckles.

“I don’t give a fuck about the seat, or the car, or anything right now. You are all that matters.” He reached out and took my hand, which was resting on my belly. “We’re almost there. Are you in pain?” “It’s not as bad as before,” I whispered. Then, because I just couldn’t let it drop, “It is your baby, Dante. I never cheated and I never will.”

“Her?” Dante nodded. “I asked the doctor. They could see it when they did the ultrasound. It’s a girl.”

“I’m not sugarcoating anything. I told you the truth. I’m happy that we’re having a daughter. I’ll be happy about every child we have. I’m not going to lie—many people in the Outfit will see it as something less desirable. They will only really congratulate me once you’re pregnant with a boy, but I don’t care about them. You’re still young, and we have time. We’ll have more children and maybe there’ll be a boy among them. But for now let’s be happy about our daughter.”

“Since I told you I was pregnant, you never once asked about the baby. You pretended it wasn’t there. You made me feel horrible for something that should have been cause for joy. Why did you change your mind? Because I almost lost our baby?” “I didn’t change my mind. I’ve been happy about your pregnancy for a while now.” I gave him a doubtful look. “That’s not what I saw.” “I’m good at hiding my thoughts and emotions,” Dante said regretfully. “But I shouldn’t have done it in this case. You are right, I ruined your first weeks of pregnancy for you. All because I was too proud to admit I’d been wrong.”

“You were right during our fight after you told me about your pregnancy. I never wanted Carla to see a doctor about her inability to conceive because I didn’t want to find out it was me who was infertile. I’m a proud man, Val. Too proud, and somehow I had convinced myself that I couldn’t become Capo if I found out I was incapable of getting my wife with child. I would have been half a man.”

“I treated you badly. You did nothing to deserve it. When you gave yourself to me for the first time, I should have held you afterward. It would have been the decent, the honorable thing to do. Instead, I left. I didn’t want to allow myself to be close to you. I’d allowed myself to love once, and after I had to watch Carla die a slow, horrible death, I’d sworn to myself that I wouldn’t let a woman into my life again.”

“She wanted me to shoot her because she thought it would be easier for me, less personal. I couldn’t do it. Not like that. Not the same way I dealt with traitors and scum that wasn’t even worth the dirt under her feet. I injected her insulin, and she fell asleep in my arms and never woke up again.” “I didn’t know. I was always told that she died because her organs failed in the end.” His eyes settled on me, dark and haunted. He brushed his thumb under my eyes, wiping away my tears. “That’s what I wanted. I never told anyone.”

“I thought you’d be reluctant to allow closeness so shortly after your first husband died.”

“I’m not blaming you for wanting something real after how Antonio used you. Which makes it even worse that you married another man who used you for his own purposes.” He let out a low breath. “So when you decided to marry me, you never intended to sleep with me?”

“I’m not that honorable. No, I thought I’d consummate our marriage and then sleep with you whenever I felt like it, without any kind of emotional attachment.” “Then why didn’t you sleep with me on our wedding night or in the days after?” “I wanted to. When I brought you into my bedroom on our wedding night, I wanted nothing more than to rip your gown off and bury myself in you. I was angry. I wanted to fuck you until I got that anger out of my system, but then you stepped out of the bathroom in that modest silk nightgown looking every bit the lady, and you were my wife, and you had that fucking hopeful and insecure look in your eyes, and I knew I couldn’t use you like that.” My lips parted in surprise. “Did you suspect that I had never slept with a man?” Dante shook his head. “No. I could tell you were unpracticed in your advances and attempts at seducing me, but I guessed your first husband had been dominant in the bedroom and didn’t let you take the initiative, although it didn’t match up with my assessment of Antonio.” “Was I that bad at trying to seduce you?”

“I’m a man who prides himself on his self-control. Believe me, most men wouldn’t have been able to resist your charm. To be honest, when I found out I would be your first, I had an even harder time holding back. It’s probably a male thing, but I wanted to put my claim on you.” “That sounds very animalistic.” “It is. Before I married you, I didn’t want an inexperienced bride, but once I knew the truth about you, I had a hard time thinking about anything else other than making you mine.” Dante’s eyes darted to my round belly where his hand was still resting. “And the knowledge that you’re carrying my baby makes me proud, though it really isn’t something that should cause that notion in me. After all, it’s not a great achievement to impregnate your wife.”

“I love this. I love talking to you like a real husband and wife. Please don’t pull back from me again. I can’t go back to being lonely.” Dante cupped my cheek. “I won’t. Today was the wake-up call I needed. I’ll try to be the best husband I can possibly be, which probably is still much less than you deserve. I’m not an emotional man, and I hate public displays of affection, but I won’t go back to ignoring you. That I can promise.”

“Thank you for never giving up on me, Val.” “I knew my stubbornness would come in handy one day,” I said with a small laugh.

“Anna,” I said, for the first time calling her by the name Dante and I had chosen only days before. “Your dad will always love you and keep you safe.” Dante kissed Anna’s, then my forehead. “You and Anna, both.”

“Look at me,” he demanded hoarsely. My eyes flew open, meeting his heated gaze. “I love seeing your eyes when I’m in you.”