Chapter 433

"Mommy, you and Daddy are acting weird today." Little Lily had always been perceptive beyond her years.

Sophia forced a gentle smile. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

Weird? Of course they were weird. When had they ever behaved like a normal couple?

Normal couples laughed together, fought passionately, made up tenderly. But them?

She barely spoke. He was even more tight-lipped. His thoughts remained an impenetrable fortress.

Just like now, she couldn't predict his next move. Not that it mattered anymore.

The precocious child suddenly whispered conspiratorially, "Mommy, do you have a secret boyfriend?"

Sophia choked on air before bursting into incredulous laughter. "You little rascal! Where did you learn such things? What do you even know about boyfriends?"

Lily pouted stubbornly. "I know everything! A boyfriend means Daddy's scared someone will steal you away. He's terrified you'll leave with another man!"

Sophia's smile froze.

The tiny traitor giggled, pressing closer. "Don't worry, Mommy. I won't tell Daddy I noticed. Honestly, I'd be happy if someone took you from him!"

Sophia gaped at her own flesh and blood. What kind of demon spawn had she birthed?

Yet Ethan remained oblivious. After dinner, he played with Lily as usual - the same man who could freeze hell with one glare now building block towers with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Sophia watched from the doorway, baffled. She'd stopped trying to understand him long ago.

Later, freshly showered, she stepped out of the bathroom straight into a wall of icy masculinity. Ethan loomed in the hallway, damp hair curling at his temples, his bare torso radiating cold from his habitual frigid showers.

"You—" Her voice caught as goosebumps erupted across her skin. "What are you doing?"

His smirk was unfamiliar. "What does a husband usually want from his wife at night?"

The playful tone threw her. This wasn't the cold, commanding Ethan she knew.

When she didn't respond, his expression darkened. "Going to explain why you were with Liam today?"

She stiffened. "No." Explanations were pointless—he'd never believed her before. Not during those two agonizing months caring for his sick mother six years ago when misunderstandings piled up like fallen leaves.

His jaw tightened. "Fine. Don't."

Silence stretched between them until she edged sideways. "May I go to bed?"

Without warning, he scooped her up bridal-style.

"Ethan! Not again—" Her palms flattened against his granite chest, the contrast between his hardness and her softness painfully obvious. Her resistance was laughable.

His dark chuckle vibrated through her. "Who said I wanted sex? Is that all you think I want from you?"

"Then what—"

He carried her past bewildered staff, into the elevator, up to the penthouse she'd never seen—a secret rooftop Eden with a glass solarium and, inexplicably, a massive porch swing.

Depositing her on the swaying seat, he pulled her back against him. The sudden motion made her gasp and clutch his arms.

"Scared?" His breath was warm against her ear as he pushed the swing higher, until the city lights blurred beneath them.

Sophia squeezed her eyes shut as vertigo seized her. A scream tore from her throat—only to be swallowed by his crushing kiss. His mouth moved with possessive intensity until she melted boneless against him.

When he finally pulled away, his voice was rough with amusement. "Screaming at midnight, Mrs. Blackwood? What will the neighbors think?"

Dazed, she blinked up at him. "Think...what?"

He nipped her earlobe. "That I'm making my wife scream for very different reasons."

Her cheeks burned. In retaliation, she attacked his ribs with tickling fingers—only to find unyielding muscle. "Why aren't you ticklish?!"

Ethan merely arched a brow. Did the Lion of Wall Street look like someone who'd succumb to tickles?