She did as I’d said. I unzipped my pants and got my throbbing cock out. Picking her up, I turned and laid her down on the long boardroom table they kept in the clubhouse for meetings. She bent her knees and opened her legs. Those fucking heels right there in my face. I grabbed her foot and kissed her ankle while she watched me.

  “Where’s my bite mark?” I asked her, looking at her neck.

  “Gina is magical with makeup,” she replied, sounding breathless.

  I wanted to see it, but I knew we were going back into that ballroom after this, and it would embarrass her. She’d dealt with enough tonight.

  I removed my pants and boxers, then climbed over her, running my hands down her inner thighs. More men than I wanted to think about were going to jack off, thinking about taking her out of this dress tonight. But it would only be my dick getting to sink in this pussy. That gave me some comfort. Not enough. But some.

  I slid in slowly, savoring it. She arched her back and pressed deeper until my balls slapped against her wetness.

  “Mine,” I growled, and the crazed madness I’d felt earlier when she walked in with Trev’s hand on her back roared to life.

  Like a wild animal, I needed to claim what was mine. Grabbing her waist, I pulled her to me and began to fuck her hard and fast.

  “Oh God!” she cried as I pounded into her, wanting to make her sore. Needing her pussy to know who owned it. “BLAISE!”

  “Does that hurt? I want it to hurt! I want my pussy to be fucking bruised. No man touches this. You’re mine.”

  “Yes,” she agreed and arched her back.

  She liked the pain. My naughty girl was enjoying it. Fuck, she made me insane.

  “FUUUCK!” I shouted, feeling my release building. “Come for me, baby. I want that pussy to soak my dick.”

  She screamed my name and grabbed at my legs as her body jerked with the pleasure of her orgasm. Watching her sent me over the edge, and I buried myself as deeply as I could as I shot into her, filling her with my cum. Wanting her pussy to be wet with it tonight.

  When other men looked at her, I’d know my semen was between her thighs.

  Thirteen

  Madeline

  When we walked back into the house three hours later, I was exhausted. Blaise hadn’t taken his hand off me all night. I’d been introduced to so many people that I would never remember all their names.

  “Is Trev still alive?” Gina asked from the sofa, where she sat with a beer and a bowl of popcorn.

  “Yes,” Blaise replied.

  “You didn’t kill Garrett, did you?” she asked, frowning.

  “No,” he said.

  “I hope someone videoed you when she walked in, looking like that, on Trev’s arm,” Gina said, then tossed a piece of popcorn in her mouth and grinned.

  “Fuck off,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me through the living room.

  “Good night to you too,” she called out.

  We went directly to his door.

  “I’m going to let you sleep for a while, but if you wake up with my face between your legs, understand that I’m feeling real fucking territorial right now. Too many men enjoyed looking at you in that damn dress tonight.”

  I walked past him and down the stairs while he locked the door. “My panties were wet with your cum all night. That should have made you feel better.”

  “It helped. It also made me fucking horny.”

  I laughed. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I slipped the dress off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor before stepping out of it, and I continued to walk in nothing but my panties and heels.

  “Madeline.” His voice was husky.

  “Hmm?” I replied, adding a slight sway to my hips.

  “What are you doing?”

  I reached up and pulled out the pins holding my hair up, then shook it loose.

  “Getting ready for bed,” I replied.

  Blaise’s hand grabbed the back of my panties and jerked me back against him. “That’s not how you get ready for bed. That’s how you get bent over and fucked.”

  Enjoying the fact that I could get to him so easily, I bent over and put my hands on the back of the sofa. “Don’t make threats,” I told him, looking back over my shoulder.

  “Jesus Christ,” he growled and began stripping off his tuxedo while he stared at my open legs.

  I knew he could see between them. I’d left them open enough so he had a view.

  The loud sound of a phone ringing interrupted us, and Blaise muttered a curse. I looked back at him as he answered his phone.

  “What?” he barked out.

  While he listened, he ran a hand through his hair while his teeth were clenched. “Move them in, but wait. I’ve got to get out of this damn tux. I’ll be there in twenty. Make no move, but hold them.”

  He ended the call and jerked off his tuxedo jacket as his eyes met mine. “Have some mercy on me and cover yourself while I get changed. We’ve got an issue I have to go handle,” he said as he looked at me one more time with need in his eyes, then groaned before turning to go get changed.

  I grabbed the throw on the back of the sofa and wrapped it around me. He was going to do family business. I could see the hardness behind his eyes as he focused. I didn’t know what he was doing, where he was going, why he had to go. All of that was foreign to me. The fear that settled inside my chest, knowing it could be dangerous, was difficult. Before, when he’d rushed off, I hadn’t really dwelled on what he was doing.

  I wished I could go back to that. Maybe not knowing was easier.

  Blaise was pulling on a black leather jacket as he walked back out of the bathroom. I saw the flash of metal on his hip before the jacket fell into place, covering it. Swallowing hard, I lifted my eyes to meet his.

  “Is it dangerous?” I asked him nervously.

  The corner of his mouth lifted, but it wasn’t truly a smile. “For them,” he replied.

  That didn’t answer my question. Blaise stopped and grabbed the back of my head, then pressed a hard kiss to my lips before dropping his hand and putting distance between us.

  “Get some rest. Not sure when I’ll be back.”

  I wanted to know more. He was leaving, and the idea of him never coming back terrified me. This was his life. He didn’t seem scared. He was the opposite in fact. Blaise didn’t worry that he could make a wrong move and the bullet would hit him this time. Not only did he act invincible, but everyone else acted as if he were too. But Blaise wasn’t Superman. He was a human. That leather jacket did not make him bulletproof.

  He didn’t look back at me as he walked toward the stairs. I stood there until he was out of sight and I heard the door close upstairs. Dropping the throw, I made my way to the bathroom to get a shower and pray I could get some sleep.

  Tonight had been an emotional roller coaster, and it wasn’t over.

  After letting the warm water wash me clean, I was slightly more relaxed. However, until Blaise was safely back, I doubted I would feel relaxed enough to sleep. I chose a pair of panties and a nightgown from the closet and then dried my hair with a towel.

  My life had been so different one year ago. I’d just graduated high school. There were no plans to do anything more. I had thought Luke and Cole needed me. My life had been focused on getting by one day at a time.

  My closet had consisted of four different outfits, two pairs of shoes, an old T-shirt that I’d slept in, and five pairs of white cotton panties. I’d never had much, but I hadn’t been bitter about it. I had my family. I’d thought my family was something that we weren’t. I had noticed things started to change with Luke and Cole, but I’d overlooked it.

  Standing in the mirror now, I didn’t look like the same girl. I was starting to forget her. She had been brave and determined to keep her family together. She hadn’t made plans for her future. I had thought she was happy, but had she been? She hadn’t known the only person who cared about her safety was a man she had never met. One who would become the most important person in her life.

  Life was a funny thing. It came in waves and changed everything with finality, only to toss in something you didn’t expect or prepare for, believing you were strong enough to handle it.

  Fourteen

  Madeline

  It was two days later before Blaise returned. He’d sent me a few texts, but nothing more. Gina had said this was common.

  When my eyes opened this morning, I ran to the bathroom to throw up. There was no smell of bacon to trigger me. The nausea that I’d kept battling was growing worse.

  I would turn twenty years old soon. I lived with a man who would one day be the boss of a wealthy, powerful crime family. My future wasn’t something I was clear on, and now, I had to face the truth. I needed to take a pregnancy test. Somehow without Blaise knowing about it. I wasn’t sure how that would work.

  I cleaned up and dressed, then headed up to the kitchen. Gina had been busy cooking a full breakfast, and I knew then that they were returning. She had been alerted, but not me. I tried not to be hurt by that knowledge. There were too many other things going through my head. Starting with the fact that I had to get a job. I needed an income. And there was a very strong possibility I was going to be a mother.

  I watched as Gina pulled out the bacon from the fridge, and I thought about going back downstairs. I should offer to help her, but I knew I couldn’t smell that. If I was pregnant, I didn’t want anyone to know. At least not yet. Not until I had some security. A job, a plan for the future, something to call my own.

  Blaise was not going to want a baby. His life wasn’t exactly baby-friendly.

  Gina looked over at me and smiled, and I forced one of my own.

  “Gage texted. They’re headed home and hungry,” she said, holding up the bacon.

  I nodded and then glanced at the patio doors. “Good,” I replied, thankful Blaise was safe and returning. However, getting out of this house was my main concern at the moment. “I’ll come back and help, but I need some fresh air first,” I explained, hoping that was enough.

  She nodded. “That’s fine. No need to help. I’m almost done.”

  Relieved, I headed for the closest door to get out of this house and the smell that I knew would trigger me.

  I moved out of the backyard to make sure the smell didn’t make its way out here and get to me anyway when I heard the door on the patio open. When I turned around, my eyes found Blaise walking outside with his gaze locked on me.

  The smile that touched my face was genuine. I was relieved he was back and that he was safe. He was the only place I had to go for comfort even if I didn’t feel as if I could tell him why I needed it. Not yet.

  I stood where I was as he made his way down the steps and toward me. I fought the urge to run to him and wrap my arms around him. As I waited for him to reach me, my heart felt fluttery with excitement.

  Loving Blaise Hughes was one of the hardest and most wonderful things I’d ever experienced.

  When he was in arm’s length, he reached out and pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around him, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

  “Fuck, I missed you,” he said.

  My arms tightened, and I tilted my head back to look up at him. “I missed you too.”

  Blaise ran the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “I want these sweet lips on my cock, but first, we need to eat. Come inside with me.”

  I would go anywhere with him. He thought I was his weakness, but he had no idea just how weak he made me. Which made the future so complicated.

  “Okay,” I replied, knowing the smell was going to be difficult, but hoping since I’d already thrown up this morning, I’d be able to keep my nausea down.

  Blaise didn’t move. His gaze remained on my face as he watched me. “Something is wrong,” he said, moving his hand up to cup my cheek. “Tell me.”

  I shrugged. “Nothing is wrong.”

  His eyes narrowed, and he leaned down closer to my face. “Something is fucking wrong. We’ll eat, and then you can talk.”

  I sighed. He was too observant.

  I decided to go with a partial truth. “I need a job. Even if it’s working at the ranch. I need an income.” Which was even truer now than it had been a week ago.

  “What do you want? You have a credit card. There is no limit on it,” he said, frowning.

  I shook my head. “That is your money. I need to make my own. You can’t pay for everything for me.”

  Blaise slid his hand to the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. “I take care of you.”

  “But you shouldn’t financially. I can’t let you keep doing that.”

  He scowled. “We’ll talk about this after breakfast.”

  This was going to be a fight. He’d just gotten back, and I didn’t want to fight. But he’d pushed me to tell him what was wrong, and this was better than telling him there was a chance I could be pregnant.

  His hand grabbed mine, and he started toward the house. I went willingly, silently praying I didn’t vomit at the smells when the door opened. I inhaled slowly and then sighed in relief. Blaise kept my hand in his as we walked into the kitchen. The others were already around the table with their plates piled high.

  Gage held up a hand and saluted me, then stuck a forkful of pancakes in his mouth. Huck nodded his head my way in greeting. Levi was too busy cramming his mouth with scrambled eggs to care who had entered.

  Had they eaten since they’d been gone? They looked like ravenous wolves.

  “What do you want?” Blaise asked me.

  I glanced over to see Gina setting his plate of food at the table.

  “I’ll go fix mine,” I told him.

  His hand tightened on mine. “Not today,” he said.

  “I’ll get you some of everything,” Gina told me.

  I looked over at her and hated to know she was making my plate after cooking all of this alone. “I can do it,” I said.

  “No.” Blaise’s voice was hard. “Not leaving my side.”

  I sighed, and Gina winked at me. “I got it.”

  We were going to have to discuss this later too.

  “No bacon,” I told her then.

  When I turned back to the table, I saw Huck studying me with a frown. Dang Huck and his nosy self.

  “Angel,” Gina said with surprise.

  Blaise stiffened beside me.

  “I didn’t expect you to join us. Come here and tell me what you want to eat,” Gina told her.

  Blaise let go of my hand and took a biscuit from his plate, then handed it to me. “Eat this.” It sounded more like a command than a request.

  I took it and didn’t argue. He was tense because Angel was in the room and we were together.

  “Should I leave?” I whispered. “Or move to the other side of the table?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Okay then. This wasn’t awkward at all. I could feel the others glancing over at me, and I knew they were wondering what was going to happen.

  “You can sit on the other side of Blaise,” Gina told her.

  I glanced up from the biscuit I’d taken a small bite of to see Angel’s eyes locked on Blaise.

  “You were gone.” She said it so softly that I barely heard her.

  “Work, Angel,” Blaise said to her, but his voice was gentle.

  She shifted her eyes from him to me quickly. “She came back,” Angel whispered, but her gaze was locked on me now.

  I felt Blaise’s hand slide over the top of my leg and squeeze. “Yes, she did,” he replied.

  Angel’s eyes darted back to Blaise, but she said nothing else.

  “Eat, Angel,” Blaise instructed her, but his voice wasn’t hard or commanding.

  I didn’t want to be jealous of the gentle way he spoke to her. He had to speak to her that way. If he spoke to her harshly, then I doubted she could handle it.

  She reminded me of a beautiful porcelain doll. If she hadn’t been shot, would Blaise have ever come looking for me? Would he have ever loved me? I dropped my eyes back to the biscuit and mentally scolded myself for letting my thoughts go there. Those were pointless and made me sound shallow and self-centered.

  A plate was placed in front of me then, and I lifted my gaze up to Gina. “Thank you,” I said, and she flashed me an apologetic smile.

  This awkwardness was going to have to stop when Angel was in the room. It wasn’t fair to her. This was her home. I had to find a way to make it work.

  “Damn, you can cook, woman,” Levi said as he reached for his coffee. “I was fucking starving.”

  “You ate three chocolate bars and had a bag of chips three hours ago,” Huck pointed out.

  Levi shrugged. “Those were snacks. We’ve not had real food in days.”

  I wondered where they had been, but I didn’t ask. I knew by now that wasn’t something we discussed.

  “Eat,” Blaise said to me, and I lifted my eyes to meet his. “You need some energy.”

  I frowned. “What for?”

  He smirked, then raised his eyebrows.

  Oh.

  I picked up the fork and cut into my pancakes, then put a bite into my mouth. Blaise’s hand remained on my thigh as he ate. He spoke to Angel a few times, and I couldn’t hear her whispered reply over Gage’s voice, saying he was planning to go somewhere called Devil’s Lair later today. He wanted Huck and Levi to go with him, but he never mentioned Blaise.

  Gina pulled out the chair at the end of the table closest to me and sat down with her cup of coffee. “I was thinking that we should get out of the house today. Boys are back, and the nurse will be here soon to stay with Angel. We could go shopping,” she said to me, looking hopeful.

  “No,” Blaise replied before I could even open my mouth.

  Gina didn’t argue, but I turned my head to look at him.