Yes, he’d told her he wanted a child, preferably a son. An heir he could groom to carry on the Johnson name and take his rightful place at the helm of the company, the same way he had done. But after so much time apart, she didn’t think he would still demand the same from her. She’d hoped she could reason with him, but he remained as ruthless and irrational as ever.
His coffee-colored eyes bored into hers, and his face, handsome by anyone’s standards, was set in arrogant, unyielding lines that made it clear this one point was nonnegotiable. The angular planes were offset by a pair of lips that were sensual in design and soft to the touch. She almost shuddered at the memory of how those lips could make her unravel.
“We haven’t lived together as husband and wife in a long time.”
“Refusing to wear your rings and live in our house doesn’t make you any less my wife.”
Her eyes dropped to his fingers splayed out on the desk. He still wore his ring, a platinum band custom designed to match her engagement and wedding rings. The fact he still wore the jewelry, the symbol of their union, didn’t surprise her. Cyrus had never accepted their marriage was over.
She’d spent the last few years fighting to be free of him, but they weren’t any closer to the termination of their marriage than when she’d started the process. He’d told her he wouldn’t give her a divorce, and she’d disregarded his resolve, believing—no, hoping—once the proceedings started he would see she was serious and give in. But she’d learned the hard way that he truly never said anything he didn’t mean.
The first year after she’d left him, she’d thought they were simply ironing out the details. Her lawyer had assured her the time frame was typical, but halfway through year two she realized Cyrus had no intention of ending their relationship, no matter her concessions. Even his travel schedule had been used as an excuse to prolong the process. He had an infinite amount of funds at his disposal, and he used his money to pay a team of lawyers to create constant delays, filing motion after motion and requests for evidence to keep her chained to him.
“What you’re suggesting will never happen,” she said.
“If that’s your final answer, then as I said before, we’re done talking, aren’t we?”
“This is insane!” Daniella exclaimed. “How do you expect me to give you a child?”
“Do I really need to explain the birds and the bees to you?” he asked. “I thought I’d done a pretty good job already of showing you how the male and female anatomy worked together. Do you need a refresher?”
The flutter of her stomach testified to how her body managed to betray her time and time again. His voice had lowered to a silky timbre and brought back memories of constantly making love, where sleep and food were unwelcome interruptions, and the only sustenance she craved came from his drugging kisses and tender caresses. His eyes held a possessive gleam as they drifted over her. She fought back the sensual images creeping to the perimeter of her mind and the unwanted throb manifesting between her thighs—a not-so-subtle reminder that when they made love, almost nothing was off-limits.
“No, I don’t need a refresher,” she said huskily.