Chapter 30

Rome, Italy, 1821…

"Good morning," Elizabeth murmured, gently raking her husband's sweaty hair from his forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm," he mumbled, smiling lazily as her hand roamed over his face. He'd forgotten how soft and warm her skin was and how it felt against hisis.

"I take it that's a yes," she grinned, leaning over to brush her lips to his forehead as his eyes fluttered open.

"Did you?" he asked, reaching out to stroke her swollen belly with the back of his hand.

"Yes," she replied, shivering when his hand slipped beneath her robe and pressed against her bare skin.

"Still sleeping with out clothes," he teased, his eyes darkening. He almost felt guilty for finding his wife so desirable, for wanting her thisthis much after everything he'd put her through. It'd been too long since he'd touched her and held her, and that was all that he wanted to do.

She blushed and laughed nervously under her breath. "I didn't leave your side much last night, and eventually I dozed off," she answered, her voice shaky. "I – I woke up and took a bath this morning, and Spinelli just left breakfast at the door. You should eat."

"As should you," he pointed out, slowly pushing himself up against the headboard.

Sighing, she reached for the tray of food on the nightstand, scowling when her protruding stomach got in the way. "It's frustrating," she admitted, scooting off the bed so she could get it. "It's good for propping some paper, but even then, it makes sketching terribly uncomfortable." Pausing, she eased herself back onto the bed, setting the tray between them. "Not that I would change any of it."

"I missed so much," he whispered, holding his hand out to her. She took it willingly, allowing him to pull her into his arms ass, and she settled against him, the tray of food resting crookedly on her stomach. "I will make up for all of it, I promise."

"You owe me nothing," she said seriously, handing him a piece of toast that was covered in jam. "We made promises and we kept them. It's in the past now."

"You're more reserved about all of this thahen I thought you would be," he confessed, gently combing his fingers through her damp curls.

"I was sad for months and months," she replied, tipping her head back to look at him. "I don't want to be that way anymore, Jason."

Her eyes fluttered closed as they filled with tears, and he eased the tray from her stomach, tossing his toast aside as he pulled her into his arms, his stomach churning when she started to cry. He hated to see her so distraught, so broken, but he wanted her to tell him how she felt – that she hurt and ached and was even furious – and he didn't want her to hold anything in.

"I'm so sorry," he said softly, burying his face in her hair as she curled against his side. "I never wanted to send you away, Elizabeth, but there was no other way." She nodded as he pulled her face away, cradling it gently in his palm. "We will never be apart again."

"I was so afraid that you – I can't think about the things you went through in order to come back here," she sobbed, every tear cutting into his skin. She wasn't supposed to hurt like this. "I went to my father and he – he told me everything about Sonny and Richard and you – oh, Jason, you were in prison, and I didn't even know."

"None of that matters," he said firmly, holding her tighter. "I don't want you to feel guilty about any of this. What happened – it cannot be changed, and though Sonny hadn't committed the crime-"

"At least, his brother won't sentence him to death," she murmured exhaustedly, giving him an apologetic look. "I know that Sonny – what he did to me was wrong, but I would never want him to die because of it."

"I suppose that is where we are different," he sighed, kissing her hair. "Your father told you everything?"

"Well, about you – you being in prison," she said, tearing up again. "And Richard and Sonny being brothers. How Sonny traded himself." She sat up suddenly, her eyes widening. "Oh, I didn't even think. How are Johnny and Nadine? He didn't get into any trouble, did he?"

Jason hesitated too long, and she fell apart all over again. "Elizabeth, it's okay. They're fine. He didn't get into much trouble, but they decided – they left London too."

Eventually he would have to tell her everything; how Lansing had arrested Johnny for nearly a week when he found out he was trying to track down Sonny. Nadine had been heartbroken and would have strangled Jason had she been able to get her hands on him. Ultimately, she was the one to find Sonny, and while the specifics were hazy, Johnny was released and he convinced Sonny to fix this before his choices tore everyone else's lives apart.

That didn't stop Lansing from coming after the husband and wife, and they decided it was best to pack up and leave London too. That much, he knew Elizabeth would feel guilty for, and she didn't need that on her shoulders. Johnny and Nadine didn't regret their choices. He knew that for sure because he and Jeffrey had stopped off to visit them, and thankfully Nadine had calmed down enough to express her relief that everyone was safe.

"Where did they go?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"They went to France. Nadine has family there, and we visited them on our trip. Stayed for a couple of weeks actually because of my wounds, and they promise to come to Italy next summer," he said, hoping that would soothe her.

""This – it's torn everyone's lives apart," she whispered sadly. "Nadine loved London as much as I did, and Johnny – his family was from there."

"But Nadine is his family now, and I don't think they give a damn where they are as long as they are together," he said firmly, running his hand up and down her back. "Just as I would go through everything again if it meant I would end up here with you." She eased back, settling into his arms again. "You shouldn't think about what I,myself or anyone else, haves been through. Your times hasve been hard too."

"I missed you more than – I didn't think I could hurt worse than I did with my father, but – Jason, there were so many days that I didn't even want to-"

"Me too," he cringed, hating that she had been that heartbroken, that desperate, to not wake up, but he knew the feeling. "I knew you were waiting and that made it okay."

"I know what you mean," she agreed, smiling through her tears. "So you – you aren't upset by any of this?" He didn't quite understand. "I was afraid you'd feel caught off guard to find me…like this."

"Elizabeth," he sighed, slipping his hand beneath her robe to touch her stomach. "I know I made things complicated by telling you I wanted you, but that I didn't want – I didn't want you forever."

He kissed her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose, and lastly, her mouth, his lips lingering longer than he intended, but she wouldn't let him go. "But I – I do wanthat you forever, and the way I treated you-"

"You were allowed to feel that way, Jason," she interrupted gently, and he was relieved that she seemed to understand what he was saying. "We didn't start out on the best of terms, and we were entirely unbearable on our best days, but…"

"But I loved you, even before I realized it," he murmured seriously, staring her in the eye. "And I will always love you." He paused, pressing his hand firmly against her their child that was nestled inside her. "This child and any others that we have."

"Others?" she asked, placing her hand over his.

"As many as you would like," he grinned, so thankful that he could be here for this.

"As many as you'll give me," she replied, stretching to brush her lips over his.

She started to ease out of his arms, her eyes lingering on the bandage at his side. "It doesn't hurt as much as you might think," he said, covering it with his hand. "Your father has taken great care of me."

"I know," she murmured, "but I wished it could have been me."

"Me too," he sighed roughly, sucking in a breath when she reached over to stroke his side, her hand trailing up to his shoulder. "I love you so much. And I – I think I have all along." She moved her hand to his face and smoothed her thumb over his cheek. "I remembered, you know."

"Remembered?" he asked, nuzzling her palm.

"You," she replied, shifting so she lay on her side, her bare belly peeking through the silk robe.

He mimicked her position, cringing slightly as he braced himself, careful not to hurt his shoulder or side. "How long did it take?" he laughed, his fingertips grazing her skin. He couldn't stop himself from touching her and thinking of the possibilities that rested with their child.

"I didn't realize it until we were here, I'm afraid," she murmured, her cheeks flushing. "But the moment that Spinelli and I walked into the foyer, I remembered."

"The painting," he nodded, unable to hide how happy it made him that she did.

"It was after your accident," she said, telling the story as she remembered it. "I had spent the summer with my grandmother, and when I returned, you were there with Johnny and Nadine. I don't know why it took me so long to recall of it."

"You came into the room at the far end of the upstairs hall. Papa once used it for storage space, and I finally convinced him to clear it out so, and I could used it to paint. It had the brightest and softest lighting in the entire house," she murmured fondly, clearly missing her former home. "I was painting."

"I got confused," he laughed, shaking his head. "I was disoriented for a while after I woke up and somehow I ended up in that room."

"And you liked my painting," she grinned, stroking his cheek. "No one ever paid attention to my paintings but my father, and he was supposed to like them, but you – you genuinely liked it."

"Does it count if I didn't understand it?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"There was nothing to understand because you felt something," she replied seriously.

"The colors – the streaks of them – they made me feel good, alive even, like I was seeing something for the first time," he murmured, closing his eyes as he pictured it in his mind. "I asked what it was and you said the wind. The morning that I left your home, you left the painting outside my bedroom door."

"Oh, gosh, you must have thought I was the silliest child," she frowned, embarrassed.

"You know that isn't true," he replied, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "It reminded me of London, of hope, and of Jeffrey. It was one thing I carried with me everywhere I traveled, and when I finally settled in Rome and bought this house, it was the first thing I hung on the walls."

"How I forgot that I'll never know," she said sadly, dropping her eyes from his face. "When I stepped into the house and sawy it hanging there, I – I remembered and I was so afraid I wouldn't get to tell you."

"None of that now," he scolded playfully, kissing her again. "You remembered, and you told me, and you can fill this house with paintings."

"And children," she murmured against his mouth.

"Lots of children," he agreed, slowly deepening their kiss, his stomach tightening when she returned his itkiss, her lips moving hurriedly, urging him not to hold back. "Elizabeth."

"You won't break me," she whispered, running her hands over his bare skin as she kissed him again. "I've missed this."

"I have too," he groaned, her hands settling at the waist of his pants as she traced a slow, seductive path to his tongue. "We can't-"

"We can," she murmured, pulling back to look at him with dark eyes. "You won't hurt me, and maybe it's selfish, but I want to be with you."

"The baby," he sighed, rolling onto his back when she gently shoved him. She fumbled with the clasp of his pants, undoing them in a way that was painfully slow;, her hand pressing against him in just the right spot. "We can't-"

"Can," she argued, slipping a hand into his pants and tugging them down with the other.

""We have to be careful," he growled, closing his eyes when his pants met his ankles, and she pumped him briefly in her tiny fist. "The baby-"

"Will be fine," she murmured, slowly straddling him, and laughing at how her belly seemed determined to get in the way. "I asked the doctor, Jason."

"You asked the doctor about this?" he asked, sucking in his breath when she untied her robe and let it hang loose.

"Yes," she murmured, a deep blush spreading down her face and over her chest. "I – I had to be prepared to give my husband a – a proper homecoming." She didn't wait for a response, smirking as she shrugged the robe off her shoulders, revealing her creamy, swollen breasts. "Though I must admit I'm not exactly sure how to go about it."

"Well," he replied thickly, "I'm sure I can help you figure it out." Carefully, he pushed himself up, bracing his weight on one hand while he settled the other at her hip. "Are you sure this is alright? I don't want to hurt-"

"Remember what happened the last time you attempted to stop me from seducing you?" she asked, slipping her hands over his and not so subtly skimming it up her side to her breast.

"I believe I do," he rasped, gently cupping her breast in his palm, his breath hitching as her hands started to roam over his skin.

"Good," she murmured, cupping his face and pulling it towards her. "Maybe you've learned."

"Oh, I have," he whispered, taking her lips in his, not hesitating to part them, and take what he wanted.

She gasped when he nipped her lip, her nails scraping across his skin. Her head fell to his shoulder as he pulled away, his tongue tasting, remembering every inch it could touch.

"Jason," she hissed, arching upward as he rolled her hardened nipple between his fingers. "Please…"

"Please what?" he asked, gently stroking his way from her breast to between her legs. He groaned under his breath when he traced her slit, her slick heat letting him know how badly she wanted him. "Tell me, Elizabeth."

"Make," she paused, her breath hitching as she raked her fingers through his hair, pulling his head back to look at her. "Make love to me, Jason."

"I intend to," he said, kissing her gently as he skimmed a hand up her back, and fisted it in her messy curls. "For forever."

"Mmm," she purred, resting her forehead against his, her eyes glistening with tears. "And ever."

The End