“It’s the truth. I stopped taking them because we’ve been getting along and we’re so much closer. I didn’t see the point anymore.”
“So you deceived me,” he growled. “You led me to believe you wanted to start a family, when all along you were on The Pill—giving me your body and lying to me with your lips.”
“I needed a little time to…to get used to the idea, that’s all. I didn’t want to bring a baby into this marriage if we weren’t going to stay together. You wouldn’t give me a choice, so I…I did something I shouldn’t have. I admit it, but I’ve changed, Cyrus, I swear. Please, you have to believe me.” Her entreaty fell from lips that trembled with the fear that all was lost.
His eyes glinted down at her, as cold and hard as marbles. “You made a fool out of me. You, the one person…I trusted you.”
He still hadn’t let her go, and she didn’t dare try to tug away. “You can trust me. I just made a mistake.”
“No, Dani. I was the one who made the mistake of thinking I could trust you to keep your word.” He let her go and tore the foil piece containing the pills from the packet. He ripped it into four pieces. He tossed the fragments into the toilet and flushed.
He looked at her, and she waited for him to speak, unable to read his expression because she’d never seen such a look on his face. Her heart was racing, and her arm had gone numb where he’d gripped her. She was numb.
“Cyrus…” she said, breaking the silence. She ached to reach for him, but the look of disgust on his face held her back.
“You win,” he said.
She shook her head vehemently. “I wasn’t trying to win anything. I don’t want to win.”
He walked out and she followed.
“Where are you going?” He kept walking, and she kept following. Out the door and down the staircase. “Answer me. Where are you going? What are you doing? Don’t leave. Let’s talk about this. Please.”
Her voice broke at the end, and a braid of fear knotted in her stomach.
“Cyrus, please. Don’t go.”
He ignored her and slammed the door on his way out. She hurried to the window in time to see the motion lights come on. He couldn’t get far on foot in the dark. Clearly he just needed to walk off his anger.
She pressed her palms and face to the cool glass. For the most part, he looked the same, but there was one notable difference. His shoulders, normally straight and square, were no longer so.
She closed her eyes and came to the sudden realization of what the unfamiliar expression on his face had been.
Pain.
And she was the cause of it.
****
Daniella waited for him into the late hours of the night, but Cyrus didn’t return, and when she called his phone, he didn’t answer. Restlessly, she channel-surfed, seeking distractions that failed to get her mind from the problem at hand. Every sound had her hitting mute on the remote and sitting upright in bed, ears cocked for the sound of his footsteps. But each time it was a false alarm.
Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, she was awakened suddenly by his presence in the room. He stood beside the bed, looking down at her. His silence unnerved her.
She sat up. “I know I shouldn’t have taken the pills,” she started in a rush to explain, “but I changed my mind. I swear to you, I’m not taking them anymore. I want a baby with you. I want a family, like you do.”
“Do you?” he asked. He sounded as if he didn’t believe her.
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe a word coming out of that beautiful mouth of yours.”
When he yanked the covers off her body, it was completely unexpected. Her underwear was disposed of quickly, dragged down her legs and tossed aside. He fell on top of her, his mouth fastening onto one covered nipple. The suction of his lips made her pulse between her legs. His teeth raked her cheek, neck, and jawline. He wasn’t gentle, but his rough touch didn’t keep her from getting aroused.