Six months after the wedding, Sienna woke to an empty bed. She frowned, reaching for Luca's side, feeling so cold. He'd been up for a while.
She found him in his home office, staring at his computer screen, tension radiating from every line of his body.
He was shirtless, wearing only pajama pants, but the predatory edge was back, the one he'd softened over the past months.
"Luca?" She approached carefully. "What's wrong?"
He looked up, and the darkness in his eyes made her breath catch. "Volkov's dead."
"What?" She gasped with fear.
"but how?"
"Someone killed him last night.
Execution style, outside his restaurant." Luca's jaw clenched. "And now the other families think I did it."
Sienna's blood ran cold. "But you didn't."
"No. But I had a motive, He threatened us before the wedding, and everyone knows that." He stood, started pacing. "Whoever killed him is trying to frame me, start a war."
"Who would—"
"I don't know. But if the Russian families come for retaliation, it won't matter that I'm innocent. They'll burn everything we've built to the ground." There was panick in his voice.
Fear spiked through her. "What do we do?" cold sweat dripping all over her.
Luca pulled her into his arms. "You don't do anything. I need you safe. I'm sending you to your mother's—"
"Absolutely not. We're partners, remember? We face things together!"
"Sienna—"
"No." She pulled back, looked him in the eye. "I'm not running. We figure this out togethe, together."
He studied her face, realized it wasn't going to work, then nodded slowly. "Together. But you do exactly what I say when it comes to security. Deal?"
"Deal."
---
The next week was tense. Luca increased overall security, had his people investigate Volkov's murder, and met with the other family heads to plead his case. Sienna stayed by his side, her weapon always within reach, trying not to think about how quickly their peaceful life had been shattered.
They barely had time for each other anymore. Quick kisses in passing, Exhausted collapses into bed, too tired for anything but sleep. The distance was killing Sienna already but everything was in danger already.
Finally, seven days after Volkov's death, Luca came home with news.
"We found who did it," he said, pouring them both whiskey. "One of Volkov's own men.
He was stealing from the organization, Volkov found out, so he killed him and tried to frame me to cover his tracks."
Relief flooded through her. "The families know?"
"They know, Crisis averted." He downed his whiskey. "For now."
Sienna set down her glass, moved to stand between his legs. "It's over?"
"Yeah. It's over."
"Good." She kissed him, slow and deep. "Because I've barely seen you all week, and I'm going crazy."
His hands gripped her hips. "I know. I'm sorry. I just needed to keep you safe."
"I'm safe now. And I need my husband."
Something heated flashed in his eyes. "Yeah? What do you need, *tesoro*?"
"You. Inside me. Making me forget about Volkov and threats and everything except how good we are together."
Luca stood, lifting her easily. "I can do that."
He carried her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and proceeded to worship every inch of her body. His mouth traced patterns on her skin—her neck, her breasts, her stomach. When he finally settled between her thighs, she was already trembling.
"I've missed this," he murmured against her inner thigh. "Missed tasting you. Taking my time with you."
"Then stop talking and—oh god!"
His tongue found her clit, circling with perfect pressure. Sienna's hands fisted in the sheets as he worked her slowly, thoroughly, like they had all the time in the world. When he added two fingers, curling them just right, she came with a cry.
But Luca wasn't done. He continued, building her up again, until she was writhing beneath him, begging.
"Please, Luca. I need you inside me."
He kissed his way up her body, positioned himself at her entrance. "I love you," he said, pushing inside slowly. "I love you so fucking much."
"I love you too," she gasped.
They moved together, finding their rhythm, relearning each other after a week apart. It was intense and intimate, every thrust a promise that they were okay, they'd survived, they were still solid.
When Sienna came, it was with Luca's eyes locked on hers, his name a prayer on her lips. He followed seconds later, groaning into her neck.
After, wrapped in his arms, Sienna felt the tension finally leave her body.
"We're okay," she said quietly.
"Yeah. We're okay."
"No more threats?"
"For now." He kissed her forehead. "But Sienna, you need to understand—this life, even the legitimate version, it's always going to have shadows. People who want what I have. People who see me as a threat."
"I know."
"And you're still okay with it?"
"I'm okay with anything as long as we're together." She looked up at him. "Are you okay with it? The constant threat?"
"I'm more okay with it than I'd be without you." His hand slid to her stomach. "But I've been thinking, maybe it's time to step further back. Let someone else run the day-to-day operations.
And we focus on the legitimate businesses only."
"You'd do that?"
"For you? For the life we're building? Yes." He paused. "And for our future children.
I want them to grow up without constantly looking over their shoulders, without fear"
Children. They'd talked about it in abstract terms, but hearing him say it so concretely made her chest tight.
"How many children?" she asked.
"Two, maybe three. Enough to fill a house with noise and chaos." He smiled. "Dark-haired little girls who look like you and give me hell. Or boys I can teach to be better men than I was."
"You're a good man, Luca."
"I'm trying to be. For you."
She kissed him softly. "When do we start? Making these hypothetical babies?"
His eyes darkened. "Are you asking me to get you pregnant, Mrs. Marchetti?"
"Maybe I am."
"You're not on birth control anymore?"
"I stopped taking it last month. I was waiting for the right time to tell you."
Luca's expression shifted—surprise, joy, desire all mixed together. "Last month? So we could already—"
"We could. But probably not yet."
"Then we should make sure." He rolled them so she was on top. "Practice makes perfect, right?"
She laughed, but it turned into a moan as he pulled her down onto his hardening cock. "Again? Already?"
"You just told me you want me to get you pregnant. That's the hottest thing I've ever heard." His hands gripped her hips, helping her move. "I'm going to fill you up every night until it takes, Going to watch your belly grow with my child, I'm going to make you a mother!"
The possessiveness in his voice, the promise, pushed her arousal higher. She rode him hard, chasing another release, loving the way he watched her—like she was everything.
When she came this time, it was intense and overwhelming. Luca followed, spilling inside her with a groan, his hands tight on her hips.
"I love you," he said as she collapsed on his chest.
"I love you too."
They fell asleep tangled together, and for the first time in a week, Sienna slept peacefully.
---
Two weeks later, Sienna woke feeling nauseous. She barely made it to the bathroom before she was sick.
Luca appeared in the doorway, concern etched on his face. "Baby? You okay?"
"I think I have food poisoning."
"From what? We ate the same thing."
That's when it hit her, the nausea, the tender breasts she'd noticed yesterdar, and her period was three days late.
"Luca," she said slowly. "I don't think it's food poisoning."
Understanding dawned on his face. "You think—"
"I might be pregnant."
He was out the door and back in seconds with a pregnancy test from the bathroom cabinet. "Take it. Now."
"Do you keep pregnancy tests?"
"I've been keeping them since you told me you stopped birth control. Just in case." He handed it to her. "Please, Sienna. I need to know."
She took the test, both of them waiting the longest three minutes of their lives.
When the timer finally went off, Sienna looked at the stick with shaking hands.
Two pink lines.
Positive.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered.
Luca's face transformed—pure joy, wonder, love. He pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the ground, spinning her.
"We're having a baby," he said, voice rough with emotion. "We're having a baby."
"We're having a baby," she repeated, starting to cry.
He set her down gently, hand going to her still-flat stomach. "There's our child. Right here. Growing inside you."
"Are you happy?"
"Happy? Sienna, I'm fucking ecstatic." He kissed her deeply. "You're giving me everything. A life I never thought I'd have. And now a family."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Both of you." He knelt, pressed a kiss to her stomach. "I love you so much."
And in that moment, Sienna knew with absolute certainty that choosing Luca—choosing love over revenge—had given her everything she'd ever wanted.
A husband who adored her. A baby on the way, and a future full of promise.
She was having her greatest triumph.