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“Haven’t I taken care of your every need so far?” I stayed with her as she flipped the pancakes.
“You have. But your doing anything for me is contingent on my giving you my child.” She leaned back to look at me. “And if I weren’t to give you my child… then what? I’m out on my own and figuring out how to pick up the pieces.”
I scowled down at her. “Are you infertile?”
She lowered her gaze and shook her head with a slight laugh. “No. I mean, I’ve never had a reason to think I am…”
“Then why would you worry about not being able to give me the heir I need?”
She didn’t reply, moving calmly as she set the pancakes on a plate. Before she could walk toward a stool at the island, I picked her up and rested her on the edge of the counter. Standing between her legs, I waited as she cut the pancakes on her plate. Instead of taking the first bite, she fed it to me.
“Should I trust you?” she asked as I sampled her food.
Hedging, I ate and didn’t answer. If I told her that she could trust me, that would imply that I could expect the same from her, that I could trust her.
And I doubted I ever could.
My fear of sticking with a woman forever wasn’t something that I could overcome that easily.
“You can trust that I will keep you safe,” I replied once I swallowed.
“And if?—”
I closed the distance between us and kissed her quiet, not wanting to discuss the matter of trust any further. It was too difficult of a subject for me, and I liked her compliant and not argumentative for a change.
When I pulled back, I nodded at the plate in a silent request for more.
“Good?” she asked.
I snatched the next bite off the fork as she offered it for me.
She cleared her throat before taking a bite for herself. Back and forth, we ate the first cake. Before eating another, she looked at me and said, “I get the impression that your grandmother wasn’t pleased to meet me.”
I shrugged. “She’s hard to please.” I didn’t mean to sound flippant, and I was glad that she was bringing up that meeting. I intended to have her meet my grandmother so I could see how she reacted to Sloane being here. But she hadn’t given me anything to work with. She was closed-lipped and almost ignored Sloane during that breakfast we shared. I got the sensethat she saw Sloane as different and perhaps not good enough–but that was her opinion in terms of Sloane not being a typical Mafia princess. Sloane’s background wouldn’t be something Grandmother would want to celebrate. She hadn’t acted warmly toward Sloane, but it wasn’t something that made me worry about ever trusting her.
She raised her brows. “Is it because I’m not like other women you’ve brought home?”
Probably.“You’re theonlywoman I’ve ever brought home.”
She paused, watching me with a slow smile. “Really?”
“Really.” I leaned in for another bite even though she had it poised for her own mouth.
“How come she’s so hard to please?” she asked.
“She has high standards. She’s been on my case to settle down with a Mafia princess, one of the daughters of the other families.”
“Ah.” She set the empty plate down.
“But none of them have interested me.” I stepped closer so we could hug without the plate between us.
“I suspect that she thinks I’m inferior to her. Less than.”
I laughed once. “You got all that from one breakfast with her?”
She nodded. “I can tell when I’m not wanted.”
I cupped the back of her head. “Then you can guess what I’m thinking right now.” Kissing her slowly, I relished the lift of her lips against mine as she smiled. There was no way she couldn’t feel the erection getting hard in my shorts.