by Anna Antonia
Adrian helpfully asked, “You mean a C.P.A.?”
“Yes! Mommy is smart and I’m going to be just like her when I grow up.”
Adrian had been unable to resist touching the top of her head. Her hair was silky and long, reminding him of the china dolls he’d seen in his mother’s cabinet while growing up. Adriana was as beautiful, but unlike them, she wasn’t cold.
She was love, fire, and warmth.
“You’re already so smart like Mommy, Adriana, and I know you’re just going to keep getting smarter.”
Adriana clapped her hands, apparently happy about being compared favorably to her mother. Adrian felt a twinge of regret in knowing he’d never felt the same about his parents.
Even though she froze me out, I can already see that Victoria is such a good mother. This little girl adores her so much. I can only hope she one day feels the same about me.
After Adriana showed him everything, including the storage closet out in carport, she sat him down on the couch with the promise of being right back. Charlie jumped up on the couch and claimed his lap, completely uncaring that Adrian’s suit was getting covered in cat hair.
He would’ve taken the opportunity to talk to Victoria then but she seemed content with staying, or more accurately hiding, in the kitchen. Adrian refused to chase after her, deciding it was best to let her stew in her juices longer.
Adriana came running back into the living room less than a couple of minutes later. “Watch me!” Victoria took the opportunity to start dinner while he observed Adriana practice her flippies, which were forward rolls, and katas in the living room while dressed in her white gi.
Once he was sure Adriana wasn’t going to get hurt with her tumbling, he settled down and watched her, hand resting on his chin. Sitting in Victoria’s nice and cozy house, he couldn’t deny nostalgia tugged him hard. He’d loved the domestic simplicity of his and Victoria’s life together before and with Adriana there, it just showed him how much he missed being away from her.
It wasn’t just because of her cooking or the TV running softly in the background. Besides, he could have any number of highly-decorated chefs prepare his meals, snacks, and desserts with finer ambiance.
It was because Victoria’s food had been love and she had been his home.
No wonder he’d been so closed off after Victoria left. Adrian had lived like an exile after being banished from the only place he’d ever wanted to stay.
Adrian raised an eyebrow when the three of them later sat down at her small kitchen table. Roast chicken, mash potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and rolls—his favorites.
After meeting his mocking gaze for a split-second, Victoria’s pretty face flushed. “Like father, like daughter. It’s Adriana’s favorite meal too,” she murmured as way of explanation.
It felt indescribable to hear her say that.
Anger and frustration aside, Adrian felt more alive in the last twenty-four hours than he had the whole four years they were apart. Even though a large part of him still wanted to curse Victoria out until he was blue in the face for what she had done, there was no way he was ever going to give up feeling this alive again.
Victoria and Adriana were his. Somehow, someway he was going to have to make peace with her.
That was the mantra Adrian carried with him for rest of the night. It stayed with him through dinner. He heard it in his blood when Victoria left the room to give Adriana a bath. It fired his heart when they put their daughter to bed and read her two bedtime stories. And most importantly, it imprinted on his soul when Adriana sleepily whispered, “G’night, Daddy. Stay with me until I sleep?”
Adrian entered the living room to find Victoria sitting on the couch. The TV was on, a book lay across her lap, and Charlie was sprawled out on his back next to her. Victoria looked up at him, gaze shuttered but watchful.
She had every right to be wary of him. Adrian had a lot to say and he was positive Victoria wasn’t going to like the majority, if not all of it. Still, as long as she ultimately did as he wished, he’d be satisfied.
At least for now.
“We need to talk.”
Victoria sat straighter. “I’m listening.”
He took a seat on the other end of the couch. Adrian was taking a gamble that she’d react the way he’d already mentally predicted. “We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon. That should be enough time for you to give notice at work and withdraw Adriana from school. The sooner she gets used to her new life, the better.”
Victoria’s jaw clenched once. “Abrupt change isn’t good for a child. She needs routine, Adrian.”
“I’m not asking.”
Her voice quickened, words tumbling over each other faster and faster. “Look, what difference will a few months make? She just met you today and if we move too quickly then she’ll associate you with a negative change. You don’t want that and neither do I.”
“I’ll tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want you both here a day longer without me than necessary.” Seeing she was about to argue, Adrian held up his hand. “I haven’t backed down from my demands, Victoria. I already told you how things were going to be before we ever got here.”
“Yes, but I never agreed to them.” She stood up and paced, careful to keep her voice low and even. Charlie jumped down, apparently irritated, and padded his way into the kitchen. “Adrian, we have a whole life here. You can’t expect us to pick up and move in one day. It’s not reasonable.”
“Neither was you keeping my daughter’s existence from me.”
Score.
She dashed away an angry glitter of tears. “I’m willing to pay the price for what I’ve done to you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you, but what I won’t do is make life difficult for Adriana. She loves her life here and if you try to force us to move like this—I’ll fight you every step of the way.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.”
Adrian smiled. It took on wolfish proportions when she visibly lost her composure. “How long will you need to settle things here and move back with me?”
“Maybe a couple of months.”
“No. Try again.”
“A month. I can’t go any lower, Adrian. I mean it.”
He paused long enough for her to fidget in place. “I can accept that.” Relief visibly swept through her. Adrian went in for the kill. “However, I have two conditions that must be met or this all ends and we do it my way.”
“What?”
“The first is we’re getting married. Tomorrow.”
Victoria wrapped her arms around her waist. “We’re back at this again?”
“Yes, we are.”
“But why do you want to marry me? You’re obviously still so angry with me, Adrian. You can’t really want this.”
“Oh, but I do.” He stood up and walked to her. He carefully brushed his hand against her cheek. “You can’t be trusted to run free, kitten, so I have to collar you.”
“Adrian, you can trust me. You don’t have to do this—”
“Ssh!” he admonished while laying a finger against her lush lips. “Don’t say that to me, Victoria. Not yet.”
She stared at him mutely. Unhappiness glittered in her liquid-black eyes.
“Now come tomorrow we will get on a plane. We will meet with my lawyers. We will be married, Victoria. This is non-negotiable.”
Victoria laid her head against his chest. Her unconscious need of comfort from him thrilled Adrian. It was all he could do to keep from enveloping her in his arms.
Her voice came to him in delicate whisper. “Asking me to marry you is such a big decision and commitment, Adrian. This is all just moving too fast.”
He knew his next words would prick her like a thousand little claws. “I asked you once before, kitten. I told you then I wouldn’t do it again. I’m keeping my word because this time I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
Victoria took a step back. He missed the heat of her body against his. He watched as h
er lush mouth pressed into a hard line. “What’s the second condition?”
Adrian brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. She truly was as soft as a kitten. Still, he prepared for her bite, knowing it was going to be deep.
“I want another baby. Not in a couple of years but now.”
***
Shock jolted right through Victoria. She couldn’t believe what he had just said. “A baby? We already have a baby.”
“No, we have a little girl. I want us to have a baby.”
She took a giant step away from him. Disappointed colored her tone. “Adriana isn’t a thing to replace.”
“There you go again.”
“What?”
“Making assumptions about me and then deciding on your own what we’re going to do.”
Victoria’s felt her face flush with chagrin. “I’m sorry.”
He put his hands in his pockets. “Ask me why.”
“Why?”
“Because you stole from me the opportunity to be there for Adriana. To be there for you. I didn’t get to take you to your appointments and I didn’t get to go out in the middle of the night because you craved pickles and ice cream. I didn’t get to hold your hand while you pushed our daughter out in the world. I didn’t get to protect either of you and the only way you can ever make this even close to okay is to let me have another chance.”
Victoria couldn’t deny the trembling in her body wasn’t due to outrage. Hearing his words brought out a visceral reaction that she couldn’t ignore on a primal level. Remembering last night and all the nights years before that, Victoria imagined herself pinned beneath his hard sexy body, legs wide open as he filled her.
“You like the idea, don’t you?” Adrian took a step towards her. His eyes glittered with open desire.
“I’m not saying that,” she denied while taking a step away.
“Liar.” He wagged his finger. “You’ve become such a little liar, kitten. It’s been such a shame to see how you turned out. You were once the most honest girl I’d met.”
“Don’t you get tired of insulting me?”
His lips parted in a wolfish grin. “Not yet. How can I when you’re so fun to poke and prod?”
Victoria bumped up against the wall. “Adrian, you already know what I’m going to say.”
Adrian put his hands on either side of Victoria, essentially trapping her. “Yes, you’ve become tedious that way. Go ahead. Tell me anyways.”
“Having another baby so soon is just madness—”
His hand covered her mouth. “Better yet, don’t tell me.”
Victoria’s senses drank in his scent. It was a delicious mixture of expensive cologne, Adrian, and familiarity. She closed her eyes, feeling herself melt into his will.
What was she fighting for anyways? Her pride? That’s what got her into this bitter tangle to begin with. She wanted Adrian, had always wanted him, and here he was giving her the means to have him on a silver platter.
I should accept his terms. I already know it’s what I really want.
Besides, maybe this could bring them closer together? Maybe he wouldn’t hate her as much if she just gave into his will?
I’d give anything to make this right with Adrian. I still love him that much. And this is obviously the right thing for Adriana. She already adores her daddy and he’s over the moon for her. Can I let my pride come in once again and ruin this?
Things could’ve been so different if she’d had just opened her mouth that fateful night on the sidewalk. Why couldn’t she have had the wisdom to really understand how far the consequences would reach? Kathy tried to warn her, but she didn’t listen.
Oh, Adrian. I’m so sorry for all of this. Why couldn’t I trust you more—especially when you’d never really given me reason not to? I should’ve stood there with you instead of running away because of your distance…because I was afraid. Just like I am right now. Not because I don’t want these things with you, but because I’m afraid it still won’t be enough.
Victoria always knew how to do things on her own, but this was torturous because she had no real control. Trust couldn’t be scheduled or quantified. It had to be earned and lived.
The first step in earning Adrian’s trust was understanding and giving him what he needed. Doing it this way, when he was still so understandably furious with her—it just didn’t inspire a workable plan. All Victoria could do was hope for the best and in her experience—hope was rarely a good enough plan.
But being without a plan terrified her because it showed that for all her accomplishments and hard work, Victoria was still a woman who was scared that if she didn’t plan every detail and control every little thing then it would all fall apart.
One tear rolled down her cheek. If she had to choose between control and Adrian again, she’d choose Adrian. All she wanted was for him to forgive her and love her again. But was she going to be stronger than her fear?
“Ssh, kitten. It’s okay. You can just give into this because I’m just a bastard, hmm? I’m making you play nice with me so just agree, okay?”
“That’s not it,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Then what is it?”
Victoria didn’t look away, even though Adrian’s gaze seared her. “Maybe I don’t have the right to say this to you anymore, but I still love you. I love you so much, Adrian, and maybe this makes me a weak woman…”
Her voice trailed off for so long that Adrian came closer, his mouth only a hairsbreadth away from hers. “Go on, kitten. Tell me. I want to hear everything you have to say. Good or bad.” He pulled away, but stayed close enough to stroke her cheek with one finger.
Victoria’s heart fluttered. She sank into his warmth, wishing he could touch her forever. Would there ever come a time when this man didn’t affect her like this?
I can’t put it all into words. I can’t tell him everything I feel. Not yet. Not until he’s really ready to hear me. Right now he’d probably just throw it back in my face or tell me I’m lying.
And yet, the way Adrian was looking at her was absolutely intoxicating. It was almost like before. Staring into his beautiful hazel gaze, Victoria felt like she could lose herself in Adrian and not ever want to be found again.
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
Victoria waited for him to say something more but he just looked at her as if he had all the time in the world to wait for whatever she had to say. His finger kept stroking. High up to the top of her cheekbone, low to the curve of her chin. Over and over again.
“You’re serious, Adrian? Anything I have to say? It doesn’t matter? You want to hear it?”
“Anything, kitten.”
Victoria took a deep breath and let the words flow. “I don’t want to be one of those couples that gets divorced in a year.”
“It’s till death do us part for me, kitten.”
“I know you said that two people can be married and hate each other.”
His finger paused right at the corner of her mouth. “Yes, it’s true.”
“I don’t want that.”
Adrian gifted her a sultry smile. “I don’t want that either.”
“Why?”
He drew a line straight to her heart. “Isn’t it obvious yet? It’s because I still love you.”
Victoria reached out for him, praying that it wasn’t a game for punishment where he was going to pull the emotional rug out from under her. “That’s not what you said this morning.”
“I meant those words when I said it.”
Adrian offered nothing else as explanation so Victoria dug deeper. “And now?”
He splayed his hand across the space between her breasts. The center of his palm was over her heart. “Can’t I feel both? Can’t I hate what you’ve done and still love you?”
It stung. She couldn’t blame him though. The fact that he was holding a civil conversation with her was more than she could’ve expected when he blasted her with ice just that very morning.
“Yes, you can.”
Adrian leaned down and asked, “Don’t you feel the same about me?”
His feathery whisper brought a rush of emotions to the surface. “No.”
“No?”
“I could never hate you, Adrian.”
He kissed her earlobe. “You’re such a sweet kitten, but are you sweet enough to give me the answer I want?”
It’s now or never. Everything changes after this.
“I agree.”
Adrian pulled back. His beautiful mouth turned up in a smirk. “You agree to what?”
“I agree to your terms.”
“Which are?”
“Damnit, Adrian!” Now he was just teasing her just to get a reaction. Although she frowned and pushed at his chest, just seeing the playfulness of his expression made everything a thousand times better than before.
He shook his head and kissed her far too quickly on the mouth. “No, I don’t remember that one.”
Victoria licked her lips, trying her best to keep her voice steady. “I agree to marrying you tomorrow and I…” she trailed off.
“And you…?”
“I…ah…I…” She let out another long breath and then straightened her shoulders. She met his mocking gaze without flinching. “I agree to try to have a baby with you.”
Adrian’s triumphant expression made desire curl hard in the pit of her stomach. “Try, kitten? I don’t think we’ll have to try at all.” He nuzzled the base of her throat with his mouth. “I bet it won’t take more than a few times to fill you up with my come before I get you pregnant.”
Victoria’s tentatively placed her hand on his chest. The feeling of his flexing muscles caused her to press her palm harder. Carnal thoughts raced through her mind as she imagined herself overflowing.
Adrian tipped her chin with one finger. “You liked hearing that, didn’t you? You liked the idea of being filled with my come, kitten. Tell me you don’t.”
