“No. He’s my father, and I don’t want you to control that. You can’t control everything in my life, Blaise,” I said angrily. “I am not a child. He isn’t going to hurt me. If he had planned on it, wouldn’t he have done so by now?”

  Liam covered his mouth with one hand but I could see the smile in his eyes.

  “Fine. Fuck, fine. But if this puts you in harm’s way, I will kill every motherfucker remotely connected to that damn club,” Blaise replied with a deadly calm.

  “You won’t have to kill anyone. Liam wants me safe too,” I told him gently.

  “Just let me come get you,” Blaise said.

  I looked at Liam. “Can he come here to get me, or would you rather take me to him?”

  Liam held out his hand for the phone. I handed it over.

  “Hughes,” he said. “If I let you come here, I am placing my entire club in danger. So, understand this is me telling you that I intend to make sure Madeline is safe. I want my daughter and grandchild to be free to come see me. If that means the Devil has to come with them, then so fucking be it. As long as you would die for the both of them. That’s all I ask.”

  He listened, and then I saw a smile tug at his lips.

  “I will text you the address from my personal phone.”

  He held the phone back out to me.

  “We might be one big, happy family before it’s all over,” Liam said.

  I cradled the phone to my ear. “Hey.”

  “Have him send the damn address now. I’m coming to get you.”

  “But what did you say to his offer?” I asked.

  He sighed. “Madeline, what do you think I said? If having that man in your life makes you happy, then I’m gonna fucking do it. I don’t have to like it, but I will do it.”

  I smiled as tears stung my eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Just get that fucker to send me the address. I need you.”

  Thirty

  Madeline

  Three black SUVs pulled up outside as I stood beside Liam, waiting on Blaise.

  “How many people did he bring?” Liam muttered.

  The middle SUV’s passenger door swung open, and when I saw his black boots hit the pavement, I went running to him. Blaise took three long strides and grabbed me as I threw myself into his arms. I let out a sob as his smell and warmth filled me. He buried his head in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply.

  “I missed you,” I told him.

  He took a deep breath and held me tighter. “I don’t think I have words for the hell I’ve just lived through,” he finally said before pulling back and holding my face in his hands. He searched me, as if he was sure he’d see a mark or a scratch.

  “I’m fine. I promise,” I assured him.

  He pressed a kiss to my lips before finally lifting his gaze and looking back over my shoulder at Liam. He nodded his head once, then pulled me to his side before walking toward my father. I saw Micah standing outside now beside Liam, and I prayed silently to a god I wasn’t sure existed that he didn’t say anything stupid to upset Blaise.

  “Can’t say I ever thought the day would come when I willingly let you walk into my sanctuary,” Liam said as we approached. Then, his eyes went to me. “But seems we never expected to love the same woman. Differently, of course.”

  “You could have come to me. Asked. Instead of taking her.” Blaise’s tone wasn’t friendly, and I realized I was going to need to step in.

  “And I’m sure you would have shared a beer with me and we’d have chatted like old friends,” Liam drawled.

  I put my hand on Blaise’s chest. “Be nice. He’s apologized for the way it was handled.”

  Blaise looked down at me, and the steely look in his eyes softened.

  “I don’t know what the right way would have been, but there had to have been a better one than what I chose. I wanted to know my daughter, and until I spent time with her, I wasn’t sure she was safe. With you. I had only heard that Blaise Hughes had a woman. I didn’t know how important she was to you until I spoke to her and, of course, you.”

  Blaise’s hand tightened on my side. “She wants to know you, then she can know you. That doesn’t mean I let my guard down.”

  Liam nodded. “I understand.” He motioned to Micah. “This is Micah Abe. My VP.”

  Blaise cut his eyes to Micah, and I held my breath.

  Micah, however, wasn’t like the guy I’d been around earlier. He wasn’t smiling. He simply nodded his head at Blaise and said nothing. I let out a relieved sigh.

  “She has your number when she’s ready to see you. We need to go,” Blaise said to Liam.

  I tried to step forward, and Blaise’s hand tightened on my waist.

  I glared up at him. “Let me tell him goodbye,” I said through clenched teeth.

  Blaise’s nostrils flared like they did when he was controlling himself. “Tell him from here.”

  I pushed my fingernail into his chest. “Back off and let me do this my way. He’s my father, Blaise. He trusted you to come here. Now, stop it.”

  Blaise took a deep breath, and his hand finally released me. I gave him a grateful smile, then stepped forward to Liam. I felt awkward now, but I had to do this. Our time had been short, but I had a promise of more.

  When Liam opened his arms for me to step into for a hug, I went willingly and tried very hard not to let my emotions get the best of me.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “I’m here. Always. Don’t be a stranger,” he replied.

  “I won’t. I promise,” I told him.

  Then, I stepped back, and he let me go. Blaise’s hand was on my waist immediately. I rolled my eyes at Liam, who looked like he was fighting not to laugh. Then, I waved one last time and turned with Blaise to walk away. Back to the life I belonged in.

  Thirty-One

  Liam

  “She doesn’t have a fucking clue, does she?” Micah whispered beside me. The note of awe in his voice was understandable.

  “Nope. I tried to warn her, but she refuses to believe anything bad about him,” I told Micah.

  “She just poked his chest with her fingernail and scolded his ass in front of us,” Micah said. “And the bastard didn’t flinch. He took it. She won,” he said, shaking his head. “Damn, she’s a badass.”

  I chuckled. “No. She is in love with a man we don’t know. I doubt anyone does. He will go out tomorrow and probably blow some motherfucker’s head off, but she won’t know it. She’d never believe it.”

  I watched as the daughter I’d thought I’d never know punched a massive man holding the door open for her in the arm and said something to him with the same sass I remembered in her mother. She trusted the monsters that were known as The Family, and it was clear they adored her.

  Damn, Etta would be proud of her. My throat burned as I thought of the fact that she was missing it all. She deserved this. She’d have been a damn good mother.

  “Do you trust him?” Micah asked me.

  “With my daughter, yes.”

  He sighed. “What about us?”

  I glanced over at Micah. “Because of her, we’re safe. Well, I am. If you open your damn mouth and piss him off, I don’t think you’re safe. In fact, I’m not sure Madeline likes you much. Walk the line, son,” I told him and turned back to watch the black SUVs drive away.

  She’d come back to visit. I knew this wasn’t goodbye. But it still made my chest ache to see her go so quickly.

  “Does she know he killed nine men for her?” he asked me.

  I shrugged. “She thought his men had killed two. I told her it was five, that he had gone after the others.”

  Micah laughed. “So, she thinks he killed three?”

  “I wasn’t sure she could handle the truth or if she’d even believe me.”

  Micah nodded. “Yeah, it’s hard to believe one man could walk into a meeting and take out nine armed men alone, then walk out like nothing had happened. Word was, he’d used a silencer, and no one knew they were all dead in there until hours later, when they hadn’t come out.”

  “I tried to tell her he was the Devil, and she got pissed.” I chuckled. As if I had come up with that name for him.

  “Fucker is obsessed with her,” Micah said.

  “He really is,” I agreed.

  Micah sighed then. “I’d been willing to face your wrath for her, but I’m gonna choose life and let that one go.”

  I laughed loudly as we walked back into the house. One thing that Blaise Hughes was good for, for sure, was keeping my whore of a VP away from my daughter.

  “Damn, it’s a shame though,” he muttered. “Women like that don’t come around often.”

  Damn if I didn’t know it. No one had ever been like Etta. I’d live this life with a void that could never be filled.

  Thirty-Two

  Madeline

  Blaise held me against him the entire ride to the private airport. He said little, and I left him alone with his thoughts. I knew seeing me touch Liam and being that close to other men had been hard for him. He needed to work through it because I intended to see my father again.

  I turned my face to his chest and took a deep breath. I loved his smell. It made everything that had been wrong right. I moved to place a hand on his chest, but his fingers wrapped around my wrist.

  Lifting my face to look up at him, I saw his jaw working. “What’s wrong?” I asked him, now worried that there was something I had missed.

  I was so happy to be back with him that I hadn’t realized he wasn’t feeling it the way I was.

  “Huck is driving,” he said through clenched teeth. “We aren’t alone.”

  I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  Blaise looked down at me. His eyes full of something that made the area between my legs tingle. “I won’t fuck you with an audience. No one sees or hears your pleasure but me.”

  I bit my bottom lip, and his eyes flared with a hunger that excited me.

  “The plane,” I told him.

  He didn’t say anything as his fingers tightened their grip on my wrist until it was almost painful. “Not sure I can make it that long,” he bit out.

  This was hot. He was struggling with it, and that made me ache. I squirmed in my seat, trying to find some release. His hand moved to my thigh and held me still.

  “Don’t,” he warned.

  I wanted to whimper, but the look in his eyes kept me silent. I stared up at him, biting my bottom lip, unsure I could wait now. This was his fault. He was the one who had gotten me worked up.

  He shoved my legs open, uncrossing them. “Don’t look back here,” he growled out at Huck. Then, his other hand covered my mouth.

  Blaise shoved my sundress up and jerked the crotch of my panties over, then pushed two fingers inside of me. My eyes rolled back in my head, and my moan was muffled by his large hand.

  He bent his head down until his lips were on my ear. “My pussy.” His claim sounded angry.

  I wasn’t going to argue. He pumped the two fingers in and out of me, and I moved the leg closest to him over his lap to open myself wider.

  “You keep that shit up, and I’m going to fuck you in this backseat, then kill Huck because he heard you scream out in pleasure.”

  I knew he wasn’t going to kill his friend, but it still made me afraid to push him.

  “Sweet pussy juices are running down my hand,” he groaned, making me shiver. “I’m going to bury my face between these thighs and eat you until you are begging me to stop.”

  Yes. That. I wanted that.

  Lifting my hips to his hand, I moaned again, and his hand pressed harder against my mouth. He shook his head at me in warning. If he wanted me to calm down, then he needed to stop talking dirty. It was driving me crazy.

  “If any of them touched you, I’ll have to kill them.” It didn’t sound like a threat. He said it as calmly as if he were telling me a fact.

  My father’s words that Blaise was evil and the Devil began to come back to me. Haunting me while I still drove closer to the orgasm my body was craving. I wasn’t sure I cared at that moment. No one had touched me. They were safe.

  “Pull over,” Blaise shouted at Huck.

  The SUV turned and went for a few more minutes before it stopped, and Huck all but jumped out and closed the door behind him.

  Blaise’s hand was gone, and I cried out at the absence of his touch. His eyes burned bright, and I watched him unfasten his jeans and jerk them down with his briefs in one tug.

  “Lie back and open those pretty legs,” he ordered.

  I scooted back and did as I had been told. Then, he grabbed my left leg and pulled it up and over his shoulder as he shoved inside of me, making me cry out in pleasure-pain.

  “FUCK!” he growled, and his face looked like a man who had lost all control.

  He began slamming into me over and over as I lifted my hips to meet each thrust.

  “Did anyone touch you?” he shouted.

  I shook my head.

  “No one put their hands on what is mine?” he asked me again.

  “NO!” I screamed.

  He leaned down as his pumping slowed and ran a finger over my bottom lip. I smelled my arousal on him.

  “No one had better ever touch you. Do you understand? When it comes to you, nothing else fucking matters,” he whispered.

  I nodded frantically, needing him to start moving again. I lifted my hips, and Blaise grabbed my leg and jerked it up higher as he began thrusting into me again. My back arched off the seat as I cried out.

  I had feared I was twisted and dark because I had loved him even when I thought he had killed my family. But I knew I was those things now because his threats and the dangerous gleam in his eyes as he was fucking me had turned my arousal up, making my pleasure skyrocket. I was getting off on his power.

  When had I become so messed up in the head?

  “That’s it. Squeeze my dick with that tight pussy. Fuck me until I don’t want to go kill some son of a bitch because you were taken from me.” His voice was low as he spoke.

  I looked up at him, and those green eyes resembled a storm about to cause destruction.

  “I’m going to fill you up with cum now and in the fucking plane, then shoot it all over your tits and ass when we get home. I want you covered in me. FUCKING MINE! No one takes what is mine!”

  His words sent me into a spiral, and my orgasm exploded. The world around me faded away as I rode it, gasping for air.

  Yes, I was definitely twisted in the head.

  Thirty-Three

  Madeline

  The house was quiet when I came upstairs for breakfast. Blaise had already left the bed. I pulled the black belt on my robe tighter as I walked through the house toward the kitchen. The smell of coffee was all that hit me when I entered the room. Blaise was sitting at the table with a cup in his hand and the phone to his ear. His eyes met mine, and they softened.

  “Let me know what they say,” he said into the phone, then ended the call and put it on the table, never breaking eye contact with me.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked him, glancing at the clock to see it was only eight in the morning.

  “Gone. Everyone is gone. They’re relocating,” he replied, then stood up.

  “Relocating?” I asked, confused.

  Blaise walked toward me and nodded his head.

  “Where?”

  I wanted more answers. He, however, was looking at me like he intended to have me for breakfast.

  “Temporarily, they’re moving to other properties I own. Except Angel. She’s moving into Garrett’s,” Blaise replied as he took the belt I had tied tightly and used it to pull me to him.

  He buried his face in my hair and sighed, causing me to shiver.

  “Why are they temporarily moving?” I asked him, afraid he was about to distract me.

  “Because we’re staying here alone until our house is ready. Then, we will move into it, and the guys can move back here.” Blaise said, then began a trail of soft kisses from my temple down to my neck.

  My hand went up to touch his hair as he bent down over my shoulder and took a gentle nibble.

  “Our house? Where is our house?” I asked breathlessly.

  Blaise tugged on the belt hard one more time until it came loose and fell open. “It’s on Hughes Farm property, but set back farther from the big house. You can’t see it unless you drive back there,” he replied, then continued his trail of kisses until he was at the top of my left breast.

  I was losing focus.

  “Wait. Stop. Tell me what is happening first,” I said, although I didn’t sound very sincere about the stopping part as my hands fisted in his hair.

  Blaise lifted his head up, then licked at my nipple while looking at me. He stood up then, and his hands took my waist, and he placed me on the island behind me so that we were eye-level. “Well, baby, I’m about to lay you back and eat your pussy because I’m hungry and you look really fucking sweet.”

  A small laugh escaped me, and I felt my nipples harden to the point of sharp pain. “That’s not what I meant,” I replied, and he ran his thumb over my chin.

  “Hmm, okay,” he said in a husky whisper. “I’m done sharing you. This, us, it’s forever. My baby is inside you. I want a home with just us. Somewhere that I will know you are always safe. I don’t want motherfuckers in my kitchen in the morning when you come walking in, looking like this. I want just us. That’s what is happening,” he told me.

  His hands slid up the insides of my thighs.

  “We are moving? You don’t want to stay here?” I asked him, afraid he was giving up somewhere he loved because he was concerned about me being safe.

  His hands stopped just as his fingers were about to find out I hadn’t put on panties. I looked into his eyes, and although I was sitting, the way he was looking at me made my knees feel weak. I got butterflies in my stomach.