Towering over her, a legion of emotions flooded in his eyes when she gazed at them. His dark eyes burned straight through her. She had seen the lustful glance he shot her but there was something more to his steely blue eyes. Something she could not make out. He trailed a finger down her neck, between her breasts, down to her stomach and rested his hand on her waist. His touch sent fire through her, and she shivered at the sensation.
His mind coursed with carnal lust, raw and insatiable. He had not touched a woman ever since she fleed. He missed the way she tensed and arched when he entered her. He lost control when he was inside, releasing the beast in him, possibly scaring her. He missed watching her legs quivering and convulsing underneath him as he made her come uncontrollably. He was obsessed with his inamorata. The one and only.
Xavier lowered his stance, leaning in for a kiss but came to abrupt stop when he realised Megan had covered her mouth with her hands.
"No..." she mumbled through her hands. She knew if they kissed right now, he would bring her to his bed and make love to her again which was the last thing she'd wanted. She hated the doubt and insecurity she felt in their ambiguous relationship.
With a groan, he dipped his head lower, placing a powerful kiss on the side of her neck, forcing a moan out of her. He continued to attack her neck with aggressive kisses until her hands left her mouth to shove him away. A wicked smile crept across his face and he took the chance to claim her mouth this time, not giving her time to react. The kiss was possessive, dominating and tenacious. And hungrier. As if telling her she was his.
Without breaking the kiss, he hustled her to the nearest wall, his hand seizing hers above her head while the other hand wrapped around her waist. Caging her in, he wanted to let her know he was not letting her go. He'd be damned if he let her escape again.
Megan whimpered and tried to turn her head sideway, denying his kiss but his massive hand released her hands and held her head in place.
"You're mine." He said in a deep husky voice against her lips and bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
She glared at him when he finally pulled away from the kiss, his lips turned up into a Cheshire smile when he stared at her lips in satisfaction and pleasure, admiring his work. She wanted to slap him for his smugness.
"I have missed you so much amore mio. Do you have any idea how crazy you have made me when I found out you were gone?" He said in a low menacing tone, pulling her towards him. "I dream of you every night." He whispered coarsely.
Her traitorous heart galloped a mile. She had promised she wanted to give them a chance. To start over for the sake of Rosa. She had wanted to devote her life only to Rosa. She was her everything.
Yet she was petrified with the insatiable handsome man now. She was afraid of falling deep in love with him and he would soon become her everything. She was afraid that he would not love her back and he would not be there to catch her when she fell. Just thinking about it made her heart ache. She thought she would be inured to him but he still held so much control and power over her. It was unfair and one-sided.
"I'm not doing this. I will not be sharing a bed with you. This is absurd!" Chastisement beneath all that velvety softness in her voice.
"You have no say in this." He growled.
"I'm not the old Megan anymore! I'm Rosa's mother. I have my own right. If you don't want me to leave again, then you will listen." She scolded, jabbing a finger into his chest.
Eyeing her in amusement, his brows lifted and his chuckle was deep and throaty. "Even if you run away, I would search to the end of this world until I found you bella. The only place you can stay is in these arms. So I suggest you come to terms with that. The earlier you accept this reality, the easier it is for you."
Megan shook her head in incredulity. "You can't force me."
"I'm not forcing you bella. We both know you want me just as bad as I want you."
"I'll be sleeping with Rosa tonight. I need some time to settle down."
Ignoring his remark, she freed herself from his grip and stumbled out the room, the after-effect of his kiss still lingering in her.
******
Xavier lay in his bed, listening as Rosa's cries lessened when her mother hummed sweet lullaby and comforted her. He had made sure Rosa's nursery was next to his bedroom so they could tend to her needs. Only, he did not expect Megan to reject his offer to share a bed with him. He saw it in her eyes too. She wanted him just the same. It was indubitable. Yet she had drawn the line between them and only referred herself as Rosa's mother—the mother of his child.
Why is she so hard to read now?
Sleep was not going to come any time soon. Throwing the sheets off, he climbed out of bed and clothed himself. He dialled Killian's number and asked him out for a drink at one of his nightclubs.
"What's on your mind, brother? You look like shit." Killian commented as he took a seat across him in the VIP room.
Xavier gulped down the glass of cognac in a second.
"I'm fucked. I don't know what to do with her." He replied and Killian knew he was referring to Megan.
"What do you mean? Shouldn't you be happy now that you have found her?" Killian frowned and took a sip on his cognac.
"She's distancing herself. She's putting up a wall between us and I don't know what to do. I've never met someone like her and it's driving me insane." Xavier groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, further dishevelling it.
"Well you brought her back against her own will. What do you expect?" Killian leaned back against the sofa, his legs splayed out.
"I expect her to stay with me and want me to fuck her senseless. I expect her to be my wife and to be deferential." Xavier complained.
Xavier wanted Megan to be a good acquiescent Italian wife, to respect him, to bear him children and nurture them, to take care of his family. He wanted to build a family with her. He wanted her to want him too. Why was it so hard for her to understand?
Killian eyed his brother thoughtfully. Xavier reminded him of himself when he met his beautiful wife, Mia in London. She was the one who taught him how to love and how to feel like a human again. She was his everything, his world. When she died, he died too.
"Brother..." he paused and pondered. "I was in your shoes once with Mia. Speaking from experience, they all want to be treated equally. You want her respect. She wants yours too. You want her to stay with you? Give her a reason to. You need to communicate."
Whatever Killian said, it sink deeply into Xavier's thoughts. Had he been doing it all wrong? Was that why she had run off?
"Why is it so complicated?" He grunted and gulped down his third glass of cognac now.
Killian gave him a shrug of resignation. "Love is always complicated."
"Love?" His voice trailed off, a pucker between his eyebrows.
Love.
Was it love? Sure he knew what love was. He loved his deceased family and Chiara. He looked up to Adalberto and Killian was like a brother to him. His heart swelled when he saw his own flesh and blood. But did he love Megan like that too? He had never given much thought to that. All he knew was he wanted her from the moment he laid eyes on her at the airport. He had no idea why or how. He only remembered imagining her in his bed and that imagination had acted like a magnet, his inner beast screaming at him to draw the visualised into reality.
Once back in his residence, Xavier went straight to the nursery. His heart twisted when he opened the door and saw Megan resting on the daybed next to Rosa's crib. Sleeping curled up, she seemed uncomfortable because the daybed was a little too small for her. He strutted towards her in silence and checked on Rosa. His toddler was still sound asleep. He then turned his attention to his beautiful lover, bent down and carefully placed his arms under her back and the bend in her knees, not wanting to wake her up. He carried her to their bedroom and placed her down gently on the feather bed.
That night, Xavier rested in his study room while his mind was relentless with Killian's words echoing in his brain endlessly.
******
Megan opened her eyes and blinked sharply at the sunlight streaming through the window. Realisation kicked in when she noticed the surroundings were too familiar. She was in Xavier's bedroom but he was nowhere to be seen and the space beside her didn't seem like somebody slept in it. Her guess was she slept alone in the bedroom the whole night. She cursed inwardly when the clock read 12:00 afternoon. Rosa must be wide awake and hungry now. The baby monitor was not with her so she would not know if she cried. Perturbed, she rushed to the nursery and noticed Rosa was not in her crib. She then scurried downstairs only to find the familiar faces in the living room. Rosa was in Chiara's arms and Ginevra was playing with her.
"Oh you're awake! Did you sleep well?" Chiara turned to look at her and grinned amiably. Ginevra only nodded smilingly.
"It was fine thank you. Rosa must be hungry now." Megan glanced at Rosa anxiously, making her way to their side.
"Oh she's fine! Xavier just fed her this morning." Chiara laughed gaily when she recalled her brother's attentive look when feeding Rosa. The little toddler had wanted to hold her own bottle and feed herself but Xavier pushed her tiny fingers away and held it for her instead. It was an entertaining sight to watch.
"You mean..." Wide-eyed, Megan asked. "You mean he fed her himself?"
Chiara nodded approvingly. "He's good. I should have taken a photo and show you but he will kill me for sure."
"It's alright. I'll be seeing a lot of that in the future." Megan chuckled softly.
"Oh and I already asked Caroline to make you some brunch. Please eat something sister. I can see you haven't been eating properly." Chiara rebuked.
Megan's face flushed with a sheepish smile.
"Don't worry about Rosa. We'll take care of her." Ginevra reassured.
"Thank you." Her stomach growling, she ambled to the kitchen to find Caroline.
She was grateful to them because this home felt alien and cold to her. She felt lonely and as if there was nobody else she could rely on. At least back in Phuket, she had Sofia. Xavier did not seem like the type who would sit down and listen to her struggles.
Sofia was there for her when she suffered from postpartum depression. Having Rosa had triggered a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety. Rosa was the best thing that ever happened in her life. Motherhood changed her.
She was afraid that Xavier would find them and take Rosa away. She was worried for her daughter's future and life, knowing her father was the boss. Her depression lasted for eight months before she could eventually put her mind at ease.
When Xavier had found them, that uneasiness came flooding back again. Her mind was in turmoil. He promised to protect them but that would mean locking the both of them up in this prison. She wouldn't mind if it was just her.
But Rosa... she deserves to live a carefree life, like a normal kid. She deserves to have her own childhood. In Xavier's world, they were walking on eggshells and waiting for the next shoes to drop. They had to be cautious and vigilant at all times. Rico and Antonio had to keep an eye on them 24/7. It seemed interminable.
Her thoughts were disrupted by a throaty cough. She lifted her head up to find two men standing there, watching her eat.
"It's good to see you have such a good appetite today tesoro." Xavier praised and walked to her side. The other man remained in his position. Megan tilted her head and studied him queerly. He held the same aura as Xavier but he looked different. His eyes were as gray as thick, prowling clouds in a thunderstorm.
"This is my brother, Killian." Xavier introduced. "Killian lived in London for five years and came back recently to help me out."
Megan nodded and smiled gawkily.
Killian gave her a half smile and went on to explain. "I only came back because he begged me to."
Xavier shot him a baleful glare and that made Megan giggle. She had never seen this side of Xavier. He always looked acutely solemn and stony around others.
"Megan..." Xavier paused, his brows furrowed as he tried to make out the verbiage. "Babbo wants to see you."
"Who?"
"Chiara's father. My foster father."
Oh no.
Author's Note—
I hope you like this chapter! :) I think communication is really important in a relationship. It kinda reminds me of myself when I had doubts about the other person but we were not willing to open up and talk about it. If we always assume the worst about our partner, then we'll get the 'worst'.
Anyway! Do comment and let me know what do you think! <3