“Before I spoke to you and held you the first time, I would have taken a motherfucking bullet for you. Standing back and watching you be strong, brave, and so innocent in the midst of the shit life you had been handed was so damn hard. But you survived. I respected that. You were loyal. I wanted that. You loved without question. I fucking needed that. My need to keep you safe pushed me to keep you from me. I tried to protect you from this life. From danger. From all your mother had fled from. But I couldn’t. Because I needed you more than I needed my next breath. So, baby, when I say that you’re mine, that isn’t just your hot little pussy. That’s all of you. Because I want it all. Not for now. Forever.”

  The tears I had fought so hard not to shed were running freely when he finished. Why he had chosen me I didn’t understand, but then I realized he saw me differently than I saw myself. I wanted to see me the way he did. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so insecure.

  “Madeline, are you pregnant?” he asked me, holding my gaze.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. I buried my face and let out a sob. It was a relief to cry. His arms tightened around me, and I was home. Safe. He made everything better.

  II

  “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

  —William Shakespeare

  Twenty

  Blaise

  “You need to handle shit better, son,” Garrett said over the line.

  My gaze was on Madeline, curled up asleep on the bed. Not wanting to wake her, I moved to the stairs. She had fallen asleep in my arms after we got home.

  “I saw the fucking feed from the cameras at the entrance. She was crying. That’s my grandchild she’s carrying. I told you about the pregnancy test because it’s your job to keep her safe. If you can’t do that, I’ll have her moved into this house.”

  The moment Madeline had taken her purse and left the office today, Garrett had been alerted. He’d had her followed. Something I should have expected.

  “The fuck you will,” I growled. “She stays with me. I keep her safe. Her and my kid.”

  Garrett sighed. “Then, don’t make her cry. That was fucking brutal to watch.”

  My hand gripped the phone tightly. I should have gotten away from the damn cameras before talking to her. I had been so tied up in knots about her keeping it a secret and not understanding why she would lie about it that I hadn’t been thinking straight.

  “She was emotional. I didn’t make her cry,” I replied, hating him for accusing me of it.

  “You need to make a decision about Angel. She can’t stay there, and you know it. This is going to upset her. Madeline doesn’t need that.” Garrett was only voicing what I’d already thought about.

  “I know,” I replied as I reached the top stair. “I’ll talk to Gina tonight. I’m not sure she’s going to want to move out with Angel.”

  “If she doesn’t, I can hire a full-time nurse and sitter,” he replied.

  “It’s time Gina has her freedom. She can’t stay with Angel forever,” I said.

  “Agreed,” Garrett sighed. Then, the line went silent.

  I slipped the phone back into my pocket and went back down the stairs, not wanting to be away from her. Knowing she was carrying my baby made finding out what Liam was doing this close to her even more important. If he was a threat to her, I’d end him. I’d kill any son of a bitch that got too close to her.

  Madeline was sitting up in bed with her arms wrapped around her knees when I walked back around the corner. Her hair hung over her shoulders. She looked so fucking young. Soon, she would be twenty, and I was already making her a mother.

  “Hey,” I said as I walked over to the bed.

  Her face looked flushed when she lifted her eyes to meet mine.

  “Did I wake you up?” I asked her.

  “No,” she said, then bit her bottom lip.

  Why did she look embarrassed? What was I missing?

  I sat down on the bed and reached over to tuck some hair behind her ear so I could see her face clearly.

  She shivered, and goose bumps covered her bare arms.

  “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head.

  I ran a finger down her arm. “These aren’t from being cold?”

  “No,” she replied.

  I moved my hand to her calf and pulled it toward me, opening her legs, then ran my hand up the inside of her thigh. She shivered again. My cock pressed against the zipper of my jeans. When my fingertips reached the crotch of her panties, I felt the dampness.

  “No, this isn’t cold at all,” I told her before slipping a finger under the satin fabric.

  She sucked in a sharp breath, and I watched as her eyes fluttered closed. My girl was horny. Her slick entrance felt swollen as the warmth of her arousal coated my fingers. It was different down here, I realized.

  Why hadn’t I figured this out sooner? When I’d buried my face between her thighs two nights ago and eaten her like a man possessed, why hadn’t I noticed?

  I stood then and grabbed the sides of her panties and pulled them down. She was in one of my shirts. When we had gotten home, I’d undressed her and slipped this over her before having her lie down and rest. Seeing her in my clothes made the possessive monster inside of me calm down. It eased me.

  Tossing the panties to the floor, I pressed her back, opening her to me. I took in the view. She always had me so fucking out of control that I hadn’t taken the time to realize her body was changing.

  “What are you doing?” she asked. I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

  I lifted my gaze from her sweet, hot cunt to her beautiful eyes. “Looking at this pussy I own and how it’s changing.”

  She blushed then and covered her face with her hands. “Don’t do that,” she pleaded.

  I slid my hand up her thigh, then ran a finger through the swollen pink folds.

  Madeline let out a gasp and jerked. “Ah!”

  I smiled as I slid a finger inside and felt her muscles clench as it pulled at my finger. Even as her hips moved toward me, she kept her face covered.

  “Look at me,” I told her.

  “No. It’s embarrassing. Do I—does it … is it weird now?”

  I reached up and pulled her hands from her face, forcing her to meet my gaze. “It’s hot, swollen, pink, and smells like heaven,” I said. “Now, lie back because I need to taste you.”

  She blinked several times, as if she was unsure.

  “Now, Madeline,” I demanded.

  She inhaled, and her breasts bounced under my shirt as her hard nipples showed through the soft fabric. When she lay back, I moved in and slowly began to lick her from back to front. Her soft cries and moans made it taste even sweeter.

  “Please,” she begged as I continued my slow pace. “Blaise, please!”

  I pressed a kiss to her clit, and she jumped, then cried out, “Oh God!”

  “What does my girl want?” I asked her, then slid my tongue inside her entrance.

  “I need you,” she breathed.

  “What do you need?” I asked her, continuing to enjoy her sweetness on my tongue.

  “Fuck me,” she moaned.

  She was learning. I grinned as I gave her one last lick, then sat back on my knees and began to undress while she watched me with hooded eyes. She didn’t close her legs and kept my view of her wide open. Her hips shifted restlessly, and she panted.

  “Hurry,” she begged. “I need you inside me.”

  Damn. I stood up and discarded my jeans and briefs, then went back to cover her body with mine. The tip of my engorged cock pressed against her tight entrance, and I teased us both, loving her soft, little whimpers. They made me crazy.

  When she lifted her hips, I thrust into her, filling her up hard and fast. She wasn’t just swollen along the lips of her pussy. The tight little hole that brought me so much pleasure was even tighter.

  “FUCK!” I growled as I began to pump inside her.

  Her hands grabbed my arms, and she threw her head back as she cried out with each thrust of my hips. I had never seen anything sexier in my life. I could stay inside her, fucking this tight little snatch, for the rest of my life. Nothing else mattered.

  “Oh! Oh! GOD!” she cried and began to tremble as her orgasm started breaking free.

  “That’s it, baby. Come for me,” I said as she bucked beneath me and her nails bit into my arms.

  I wasn’t done. I wanted to feel her pleasure squeeze my dick one more time before I filled her.

  I moved slower until her eyes opened and she blinked up at me, sated.

  “Roll over and get on your hands and knees,” I told her as I pulled out and moved back so she could do as she had been told.

  She didn’t ask questions and did exactly that. Her round ass was stuck up, and my hand itched to spank it. I did, and she cried out, then looked over her shoulder at me. I held her gaze as I slapped the other asscheek, then moved my eyes to see the pink handprint forming.

  As much as I wanted to see her ass bright red from my hand, my dick was throbbing to sink back inside of her. My hands grabbed her hips, and I plunged back inside her, groaning loudly as she sucked me in tightly.

  “Holy fuck, you feel good,” I groaned. “Pussy shouldn’t be this damn addictive.”

  She cried out as I began to slam into her harder. I wanted her to feel me the next day. To know that her pussy was sore because I’d fucked it thoroughly. She cried out my name, and the sound of it made me want to beat on my chest.

  “What are you doing to me, woman?” I growled out.

  “I’m gonna come again,” she shouted as the wave hit her and she began to tremble underneath me.

  The spasm in her inner walls pulled my release from me. I pumped my hips as my sperm shot out, filling her over and over.

  “GAAAAHHHH!” I roared as the intensity shook me.

  Every nerve in my body tingled as I came down from the euphoria only Madeline could give me.

  I pulled out of her slowly, and when she started to fall onto the bed, I grabbed her ass and held it up, opening her legs with my knee.

  “I want to see my cum leaking out of you,” I told her.

  “Oh,” she said breathlessly. “Why?”

  I ran a finger over her slit. “Because you’ve made me fucking crazy. I feel like a Neanderthal. I want to mark you and see my seed in your cunt.”

  She shivered at my touch, and I let her go so she could fall onto the bed. The possessive monster she brought out in me needed to let her rest. I could fuck her again later. I would fuck her again later.

  Lying down beside her, I pulled her back against my chest and kept my arm wrapped around her waist. “Even if I wasn’t so fucking in love with you, I’d be owned by your pussy,” I admitted to her.

  Her body shook as she laughed softly.

  Smiling, I closed my eyes and let myself be content. It was a rare thing.

  Twenty-One

  Madeline

  Blaise had held my hair back as I threw up this morning. Then, he wiped my face clean with a cool cloth before carrying me back to bed and bringing me a glass of ice water. He was so gentle with me that it made me tear up, but I was finding that I did that a lot these days. Crying and nausea were becoming common for me.

  When he pressed a kiss to my forehead and told me to rest until he got home, I sat up and said I needed to go to work. However, Garrett wasn’t allowing that the rest of the week. Blaise said that until the vomiting stopped in the mornings, Garrett didn’t want me coming into work until it eased. Even if that was lunchtime.

  While I had been aware how ridiculous they were being, I’d been too tired to argue.

  The next time I opened my eyes, I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t there. I sat up and yawned, then looked around to see where I had left it. Reaching for the television remote, I turned on the massive flat screen to see what time it was that way—11:23 a.m.

  Well, crap. I’d slept for four more hours.

  Hoping Blaise was upstairs, I hurried to get a shower and get dressed. Other than being hungry, I was fine. Maybe that meant I could go to the office today. I had just started back, and I didn’t want to get behind on things.

  When I reached the top step, I realized I never found my phone and glanced back down the stairs but decided it was possible Blaise had it. Besides, I wasn’t leaving right now. Unlocking the door, I stepped into the main part of the house and closed the door behind me. There were no voices coming from the kitchen, but then breakfast had been over with for hours. The guys had all gone to their jobs.

  Stepping into the kitchen, I found Gina sitting at the table, texting on her phone with a bottle of water in front of her. She smiled brightly at me. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she said. “I was about to text Blaise to see if he had a key hidden so I could go make sure you were alive down there.”

  I laughed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep that late.”

  She shrugged. “Wish I could sleep like that. I have terrible insomnia,” she told me. “Anyway, Blaise left your phone on the counter. He had to do some update to it or something. He also sent you a text, according to what he just told me.”

  I looked at the phone, relieved I hadn’t lost it. “Thanks. I couldn’t figure out where it went.”

  I picked it up and opened it to read his text.

  Good morning, baby. I hope you slept well. I’ve put a new tracking system in your phone, so please keep it on you. Gina is going to take you to get lunch and do some shopping. I’ll have someone shadowing the two of you to keep you protected, but you won’t see them or feel smothered. Go have fun. You need a break.

  I smiled down at the text. He was trying to give me some freedom. He did listen to me. Even when he was angry about it and scowling. I lifted my gaze from the phone to see Gina grinning at me.

  “I’m ready when you are,” I told her, although I didn’t plan on buying anything.

  I was not going to spend Blaise’s money, and he had bought me more clothes than any one woman needed. I would enjoy watching Gina shop though. Going out with a female friend and having lunch wasn’t something I was accustomed to. I’d been out with Melanie, but that was different. This felt like I had a friend.

  Gina sent a text and then stood up. “I need to get out! I am so glad he agreed to this,” she admitted. “Life here all the time with Angel can be tiring.” Her voice sounded sad just then.

  I wondered if she ever got a life outside of being with Angel or taking care of the guys. It didn’t seem fair, and it also sounded lonely. This would be good for both of us.

  We didn’t take my SUV, which surprised me. I knew it had a tracker, but I assumed so did Gina’s car. It was a black sedan with tinted windows. I imagined it stood out less. I’d sent Blaise a text, thanking him for today, but he hadn’t responded yet. It always made me nervous when he was silent. Believing he was invincible was hard. Everyone else acted as if he couldn’t be hurt, but he was human, and he was always a target.

  My stomach growled, and I winced.

  Gina laughed. “We’ll eat first,” she said, glancing over at me before she turned left at a red light that I was used to turning right at.

  Today, I would see more of the city. What I had seen was limited.

  Gina turned on some music. It was some alternative stuff I wasn’t familiar with, and she began to tap the steering wheel like they were drums. I turned to look out the window, seeing more open land than anything. It didn’t feel like we were driving into town. If anything, it felt like we were driving away from it.

  I started to ask Gina and saw her glance in the rearview mirror. I turned to look behind us, and a black SUV was following us. Must be our shadow we weren’t supposed to see. I glanced back at Gina, who was smiling. She must be thinking the same thing.

  If the guy who was keeping us safe didn’t see anything wrong with where we were headed, then I was overthinking it. Blaise had made me paranoid. Besides, it was Gina. She was part of the family. I was fine.

  Just as I had that thought, Gina slowed and turned onto a dirt road. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Something was wrong. I could feel the change in the vehicle. Gina opened her door and gave me a smile that wasn’t friendly at all. It looked more like she’d won something from me.

  “Get out,” she said.

  I didn’t move, but watched as the black SUV pulled up beside her. She walked over to it, and the window rolled down on the passenger side. I could see her talking to whoever it was. My attention was so focused in on her mouth and trying to figure out what she was saying that when my door was jerked open, I didn’t even have time to scream before I was gagged and pulled from the car. My eyes went to the purse sitting on the floorboard. My phone was in there. I panicked, kicking my legs, trying to get free.

  “You’re fine. Easy, sweet thing,” the deep male voice said in my ear. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He didn’t? Then, what did he want to do with me? Rape me? Oh God, no. I was pregnant. The baby. What would they do when they found out I was pregnant?

  I began to struggle against him again, but he was stronger than I was, and it did little good.

  Gina opened up the back door of the SUV for him, and he put me inside, took a rope, then began to tie my wrists together before taking the rope and tying it to the seat in front of me. I tried to wiggle my hands, but there was no budging.

  “Don’t pull on them. It’ll make them tighter, and I don’t want those pretty little wrists raw,” he said, making my stomach twist in a sick knot.