Page 140 of The Temptation

As soon as we enter the house, Lucia leads me into our bedroom, strips me down to my boxers, and pulls back the covers, instructing me to get in.

It’s amusing to be honest, because I didn’t even have this type of thing as a kid, so being a grown-arse man makes it feel surreal. Like I’m being looked after in a way I didn’t even know I needed.

Once she’s tucked the covers up around my chin, she leans down to brush her lips against mine. “I’ll go get your pain medication.”

I want to reach out, grab her hand, and tell her not to bother. But the truth is, I need them.

If I’ve got any chance of following through with what needs to happen tonight, I’ll need something to take the edge off the pain that’s currently drilling into my side.

Lucia wanted this from the beginning. I was the one who held back. Not because I didn’t want her, but because I didn’t believe any of this would last.

But now I do, and I want it more than anything. She believes in us, and I want to believe in that too.

This isn’t about sex. It’s about claiming the life I didn’t think I could have. Consummating this marriage is about showing her—showing us both—that what we have isn’t a facade anymore.

It’s real.

Maybe it always was, and it’s time I faced the truth andstopped running from it. I’m going to be selfish for once and take something I want.

I’m keeping her.

With a groan of pain, or maybe several, I manage to wriggle out of my boxer briefs and toss them onto the floor beside the bed. My little vixen is in for a surprise when her fingers go wandering tonight, and my cock is already starting to swell with the thought.

My arms are stretched behind my head, elbows relaxed, and my fingers are loosely laced when she walks back in. Her eyes lock on mine as she approaches with a glass of water in hand. But the moment she notices the smug curve of my smile, she slows, narrowing her eyes with that look that’s half suspicion, half challenging.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” she asks.

“Like what?”

“Like that,” she answers, pointing to my face. “Like you are up to something.”

I chuckle, but continue to feign innocence. That is, until she starts moving again and spots my discarded boxers now lying on the floor beside the bed.Shit.I never considered that scenario.

Her eyes widen as she places the water and two pills on the bedside table, tugging back the covers with a gasp.

“Why are you naked? And why is yoursalsiccia grossa(Big thick sausage) hard?”

I shrug and bite back a groan as I push myself up onto one elbow, reaching for the pills she just placed down.

Her eyes follow my every move as I pop them in my mouth and use the water to wash them down, my gaze never once leaving her.

“Are we …”

“Are we what, sweetheart?” I ask when her words die off.

“Doing it?”

I arch an eyebrow. “It?”

“You know, bumping uglies.”

I bark out a laugh. “Bumping uglies?”

“Having sex?”

I lie back down, settling into the pillows. “We can if you want.”

The smile that lights up her face is answer enough.