Sweet Temptation

by Cora Reilly

“If Cassio wants a lady, he should stop robbing cradles,” I muttered. Mom gasped, clapping a hand over her heart like I would single-handedly put her into an early grave. Dad tried to mask a laugh by coughing.

“We shook hands on the engagement, Felix. We settled matters with Luca. Everything is agreed upon. Given that we decided against a separate engagement, that makes Giulia my fiancée, and I’m telling you now that nobody, least of all you, will prevent this marriage.”

Now, as her soft lips touched mine and her sweet scent hit me, a deeply buried desire kindled inside me. Claiming her tonight wouldn’t be a problem. Being a better man definitely wasn’t in my future.

As a woman, your only job is to raise my children, but I can’t afford that luxury.” Anger flared in her eyes, but she turned and left.

Giulia raised her chin. “While I understand your need for me to look like a lady in public, I can’t see why I can’t wear the clothes I love in private. Only because I’m your wife now doesn’t mean I’m not still me. I won’t become someone else only because you don’t like who I am. You chose to marry me. You can’t form me into the wife you want. You can’t control everything, even if you think you have to.”

She regarded my arm then looked up. She stepped closer until we were almost touching, throwing me off. “What will you do if I don’t obey?” That goddamn strawberry scent filled my nose. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I jerked her toward me and lowered my head for a harsh kiss. She stiffened in my hold, gasped into my mouth. What the fuck was I doing?

Nothing in this world would make me give up Giulia now that I had her. Maybe she wasn’t the mother my children needed, but fuck, she was what I craved.

“This was a mistake.” Me. He meant I was a mistake because I wasn’t what he’d expected. But he and his family weren’t what I’d expected either.

“I suppose it’s very convenient for you to have me as your nanny and for your personal pleasure without the burden of having to talk to me.”

“Goddammit it, yes, just like that, honey,” he growled, and I almost came again. Had he just called me honey?

It infuriated me, but beyond that, it made me really sad. If Cassio trusted me this little, we had a long way to go for this marriage to work.

“You treat me like a nanny and whore, Cassio. I deserve better.”

“I doubt you can recover from seeing your mother being killed by your own father.” “Are we still talking about our uncle, or are you trying to hint at something else? If you’re trying to subtly tell me something, it’s not working.”

“Why would I cheat with any of those women? All I can think about is you.”

Almost eight years. That was how long Gaia had been cheating on me.

“If you want an heir, you need to keep Gaia alive because Daniele and Simona aren’t yours. They are mine.”

The next day, their maid found them dead in their bedroom. They’d shot themselves, unable to bear the death of their son and daughter. That was the official statement.

I desire you, and I’m loyal. Can you get it through your thick skull?”

“You said our children.”

She wasn’t what I’d wanted in a wife, but hell, if she wasn’t exactly what I needed.

Lies had a way of catching up with you eventually. I hoped this was one of the cases where they didn’t.