The sun was setting on her day back in Tuscany, and it had been far more pleasant than the previous ones. With the quick kiss that Antonio had pressed on her lips still tingling there, she scrambled out of his Jeep as they stopped in front of the house.

Every warning bell in her head was going off, telling her to not get lost in the moment as eagerly as she currently was. It came too easily, too naturally, and she couldn’t afford to fall for a man whom she could have no future with. After all, if he was so blasé about kidnapping people when it suited him, what else could he do?

And that wasn’t even taking into account that he was a dragon, and a royal one at that, whatever that meant.

Still, watching him gently pick up Tony and carry him into the house, whispering to him in Italian as he did so, it was almost impossible not to fall in love with him more.

Love? Is that what this is coming to? she asked herself idly, trailing after him and dropping the picnic basket in the kitchen.

This time, there was a servant waiting for her there, his clever, dark brown eyes considering her with some curiosity.

Guess I’m not exactly a secret at this point, she thought, thanking the man and scooting after Antonio.

A crib had been set up in her room for the baby, and he had already set Tony down. When she found them, Tony was sleeping soundly, and Antonio was watching over his sleep with all the attentive affection of a loving father. It was enough to make her heart ache, knowing how much he had already missed in the boy’s life, and how much he was likely to miss out on moving forward.

“I’ll be leaving you for the night, la mia bellezza,” he whispered, though the look he gave her spoke in no uncertain terms that he would have rather been staying. “Take good care of my old bedroom.”

“This used to be yours?” she asked, suddenly seeing the grand, but comparatively to the rest of the house, fairly understated room in a different light now.

“It did,” he nodded, then pulled her in for a slight embrace.

Her heart beat heavily in her chest, and unless she was mistaken, so did his. He didn’t kiss her this time, but he held her close for longer than he should have.

“I loved our day together, Julie,” he said, and it sent shivers down her spine.

“I did too,” she admitted, knowing that she shouldn’t have been telling him these things if she sought to uphold any sort of front of not wanting to be with him.

“Good,” he said, releasing her finally and leaving her wishing he hadn’t. “Good night, la mia bellezza,” he said, before closing the door after him and leaving Julie and Tony alone.

She’d barely managed to start considering how truly idiotic it was to find herself falling in love with a man who was promised to another, and who had violently removed her from her home and was now refusing to allow her to go back, when a short knock at the door broke her train of thought. Julie was given no opportunity to answer, because Amira Capirelli stepped in a moment later, needing no invitation in her own home.

Julie had only seen the matriarch at breakfast, which she was forced to attend, but the woman hadn’t so much as shared a word with her. Nor had she taken any interest in her grandson so far. Now, however, she strode right over to the crib, not even acknowledging that Julie was in the room.

“Excuse me?” Julie said, her brows furrowing. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“This is my son’s child, you claim,” Amira said, not looking at Julie. “You have chosen a curious time to come forward with this.”

“I can’t say I came forward with it,” Julie said, stifling the desire to roll her eyes. “More so as one of your sons took the matter upon himself to come forward with it.”

Little of what had happened lately had been her choice, and that was something that she was growing tired of.

“He could never be the rightful heir of this family’s fortune,” Amira said, finally sparing Julie a glance.

Her gaze was steady, unwavering. And completely golden.

“I have not asked for anything, nor will I, other than our right to leave. I would be happy if Tony would get to have a relationship with his father, but I’ve taken care of the two of us so far, and I intend to keep doing that. I wouldn’t accept any handouts,” Julie said, sticking her chin forward.

She hated the way that Rossella, and now Amira, looked at her. Like she was some sort of a gold digger, suddenly made aware of the net worth of her one-night stand. It was insulting, and most of all, untrue.

“And none shall you receive,” Amira nodded. “It would have been wise to never come here, girl.”

“Again-”

“Do not start with that story. You must have known the child’s father was a dragon, he must have been showing signs already, and his blood would have told you as much. You could have hid better. You could have run.”

“I didn’t need to run from anything,” Julie scoffed, feeling anger heating her from the inside out now. “And I didn’t hide from Antonio. The night we shared, he made it clear that I knew it could only be that one night, and that was fine. It was all I wanted.

“I had no intention of getting pregnant, but the condom must have broken. I did not come after him because I assumed he would not want to be a part of Tony’s life, because there could be no more than one night between us.”

The look on Amira’s face told her that the woman didn’t believe a word she was saying.

Then again, she didn’t need to explain herself to Amira either. So why did she want to, regardless?

“I do not think you understand the danger you’ve put your child in, girl,” Amira said then, turning away from the crib.

Unlike her son, the matriarch of the Capirelli family didn’t seem to have an ounce of interest in her grandchild, other than for the trouble his existence was causing her.

“Are you threatening me?”

“I am simply telling you what is the truth. My son will marry Rossella. They together will have his heir. And it will be his firstborn son.”

Amira’s expression didn’t change as she uttered the words, quirking a brow at Julie as if to prompt a response of understanding from her.

“For that to happen, your son can no longer be.”

Julie’s stomach dropped. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Where Rossella had offered to buy her son off of her, his grandmother was telling her in no uncertain terms that he would need to be disposed of. Soon.

Every moment she spent under that roof could be a step closer to tragedy.

“Simply something to remember,” Amira said lightly, offering Julie a mirthless smile.

The older woman brushed past Julie, and she could feel the heat of the dragon emanating off of her. Instead of heating her, it chilled Julie to the bone.

I have to get out, she thought, scrambling for the diaper bag the moment the door clicked shut behind Amira. I can’t stay here with these fucking insane dragons!