"Nah. Your boys in blue didn't get me. But it's nice to know you're paying cops to do your dirty business."

  "A man tries to kidnap my daughter, then I have every right to call that in," he said smoothly.

  "She came with me willingly. Couldn't wait to get out." I laughed. "What is it you're afraid of, Brown? Huh? Are you worried that this is gonna fuck up your election? That's spineless, cowardly—"

  "What do you want, boy? You wouldn’t have called me after victory if you didn't have something to tell me. Is it a ransom price? Are you already tired of having my slut daughter in your care?"

  "I'll forget that little comment if you can remember this: I'll keep Evie's pregnancy a secret for you. Don't think I'm dumb; there's plenty of people who would go after her because my kid's in her and she's your precious little girl. I don't wanna flaunt that."

  "What do you want? I'm listening."

  "Evie stays here. I keep her pregnancy secret, out of the media, and all that shit. I also keep quiet about how you were trying to keep the pregnancy a secret yourself. I'll keep her safe, her and that baby. And when she has it, that baby stays here. No one has to know it's your grandson. Hell. Maybe I adopted." I laughed at the thought. "But you try to interfere in my child's life, I'll ruin you and then I'll kill you. We both know that I'm fully capable of doing so, don't we?

  I could practically hear the wheels turning in Rick's head. It gave me a sense of satisfaction. He was thinking about it, which meant that I had something to hold over his head. I had leverage—leverage gave me power.

  "Say I agree to this. What about my daughter? You can't hope to keep her ...living with you in secret forever. I have an image and a reputation to maintain."

  "That's be up to her," I said with a shrug. "Maybe you should work on getting her back in your good graces, Governor."

  With that, I hung up the phone.

  Chapter Five

  Evie

  I wake up in a bed that's definitely not mine. That isn't saying much, as I haven't woken in my own bed in weeks, but this bed is different. It's warm, soft, and it smells like a man. A man that's pressing close against me and behind me.

  Nico's arm encircles me and his face presses into my neck. It warms me low in my belly, but I roll over, not wanting to get too comfortable with this. I've broken from my father's attempt at hiding me—but now what? Nico seemed so carefree last night as he was talking about bringing me here, about our child, and about all this. It was exciting, thinking about finally leaving that horrible home my father had put me in. Now I wondered if I'd jumped the gun too soon.

  "Nico?"

  He grumbled in his sleep, muttering. It was kind of cute, if I had to admit it. I didn't want to, but just ...God. Mafioso was waking up like a child would.

  "Five more minutes."

  "Come on Nico ...it's morning. We should wake up and talk."

  He grumbled again and blinked his eyes at me. I, embarrassingly blushed. I cleared my throat.

  "Nico. Please?"

  He blinked some more, tilting his head. He sighed.

  "Mkay."

  I smiled at him and disentangled myself from his arms. I was still in my clothes from the night before, and I desperately needed a shower to wake up. I slipped out of the bed, stretching.

  "Do you have a bathroom I can use? I'd like to take a shower and get dressed."

  He sat up, running his hand through his hair. He was bare-chested and had an intricate koi-fish tattoo on his chest. I found myself staring; I hadn't gotten to see him naked when we'd had our one-night stand. I hadn't known that he had ink, but it was beautiful, especially on the darkness of his skin. I'd always been interested in tattoos, but my father would have killed me if I'd ever gotten one.

  "Evie?"

  "Huh? What?" I had gotten a little distracted. He laughed.

  "Bathroom is that way. Towels and stuff, too. Your suitcase is over there."

  I nodded, blushing some more, and grabbed an outfit from my suitcase before heading to the bathroom.

  Nico's room was, in a word, huge. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to; father loved living lavishly and over-the-top. But there was a different kind of opulence that filled up Nico's space. It was all deep, dark colors, hints of bold and rich reds. Modern. I liked it, and I loved the bathroom when I entered. There was porcelain, marble, and chrome everywhere. What drew me, though, was the huge shower with several different water speed settings.

  "Oh my."

  I undressed quickly, turning the water on. It was so hot when I got in, but I loved my water scalding. I sighed and stood under the hard and soothing spray, enjoying how it rolled over my body.

  "Oh, Evie. What are you even doing?"

  I selected a soap from the few bottles of liquid and lathered up. The scent was soft and clean, relaxing me further with the aid of the heat of the water on me, as well. As I washed, I idly wondered what the day had in store for me, or what the next day would. What Nico planned to do with me now that he had 'freed' me from my father's clutches.

  When I was done showering, I got out and dried off. Nico had these huge, impossibly-plush towels. They were thick and soft, and if I hadn’t known any better, I'd have just walked around in one all day. Instead, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, brushed out my hair, and went back into Nico's room.

  "Oh."

  He was naked, pulling on a pair of boxers. I couldn't help the out-loud comment, but hell if it wasn't embarrassing to have burst out like that. He raised a brow, looking over his shoulder. His head tilted and he smirked as he slid his pants on next.

  "Like what you see?"

  I had enough shame to scoff indignantly.

  "Well, I won't complain, but that's the only bone you're getting," I told him.

  "Shame. I was hoping for a little more than just that for a bone."

  I felt myself flush more under the implication of his words and shook my head.

  "You're impossible."

  He smirked.

  "Come on. I wanna show you around. Apparently, my father left early for business, so we have some time before he comes around again."

  He pulled on a simple tank and held his hand out to me. I looked at it hesitantly before reaching out to slip my fingers into his. His hand was warm and soft. And—dear Christ—was that my heart fluttering?

  Probably just remembering what those nice, soft hands could really do when given the chance.

  I fell into place beside him easily, and he led us hand-in-hand out of his room. It seemed that he had a complete wing to himself, and he pointed out various rooms.

  "I have a couple of guest rooms that way.” He gestured down the opposite end of the hall. "In case we have any parties and there are crashers. Then I got the game room that way, the piano room—"

  "You play piano?" I asked, a bit surprised. I could play. It was one of the few things my father had gotten me into that I had actually enjoyed and done because I liked it, not because he thought that I should like it.

  Nico laughed. "Hell, no. I don't have a musical bone in my body. It used to be my mother's. She could play."

  "Used to be?"

  "She passed a few years back."

  "Oh, I'm sorry." I regretted asking about it, but Nico surprisingly shrugged.

  "Don't worry about it. We knew it was a long time coming. She went happy, enjoying her family and what it had built over the years."

  "That's lovely."

  "It was. Ah, and here's the main part of the house."

  Nico showed off everything, telling me about art pieces that his father had bought and about furniture that had been important. Oddly enough, he talked about it all from the perspective of his father's possessions instead of things that were his own as well. I wondered how much he and my father were alike, but didn't ask.

  "And out here ..." He led me out the front. I gasped a little, not having expected the sprawling grounds. There were several additional buildings dotted here and there, spreading over the property. "Out here is everything else. I could show you to the pool or even to a couple of the 'guest' homes. Those closest to the family live in those."

  "Wow," was all I could say. It was a little overwhelming. I felt Nico squeeze my hand and pull me a little closer.

  "You good?"

  "Yeah, I'm good," I said. "I just. Ha. I thought my father had it made."

  Nico grinned.

  "Your father wishes he had it this made. Come on. Pool."

  We passed by a few people walking the grounds, here and there. Some were in suits with earpieces—obviously security of some sort. Others were more casually dressed—men of the Esposito employ, perhaps? Their eyes turned on me curiously, some lustfully. It made me press closer to Nico, and oddly enough, doing so made me feel a little safer, especially when we came close to what I assumed was the pool house; I saw that there was a tall, ominous-looking security fence, and as I followed the line of it, I realized that it enclosed the entire property.

  I felt a little uneasy at that. Would I be trapped here too?

  I filed that away with things to ask Nico when he wasn't obviously intent on showing me around.

  I heard laughter and voices coming from the pool area. Splashes, too. Nico pushed open the gate leading us into the enclosure. The same man from the night before and another I hadn't seen before were fooling around in the pool, tossing a ball back and forth. The one from last night looked up as Nico led us in.

  "Aye, Nico! Evie! You two are up. What's up?"

  "Just showing Evie around. Evie, this is Allan. You met him last night. He's my boy. This is Peaty. He's a bit of a son of a bitch, but he's a damn good shot and can outdrink an alcoholic."

  "He is an alcoholic—"

  "Shut your shit, Allan. Aye, cuteness." Peaty, a good-looking man, though definitely thinner in frame than Nico, treaded the water over to us. He grinned. "Nico being nice to you?"

  "As nice as I think he can manage," I said with a small smile. Peaty laughed.

  "Ha! Girl got some jokes. I like her already, T. I like her already."

  "Yeah, well, you better not get any bright ideas," Nico said with a pointed look. Peaty waved him off.

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep your dick in your pants. I'm not dumb."

  I blushed at the implication.

  "Aye, so, Evie, you wanna join us or something? Ain't shit going on the rest of the day—"

  "I'm still showing her around the compound," Nico said. "Maybe later." Allan pouted.

  "Maaaan. Don't keep her all to yourself! She seems nice. Oh. Oh! Papa G said be ready for him this evening. He wants to, ah, talk to the both of ya'll." Allan nodded as if that was that and pushed off back into the water, going to dunk Peaty under it. Nico shook his head.

  "I'm sure that will be fun."

  "Does your father not want me here?" I asked, curious.

  Nico shrugged.

  "I hadn't actually asked him."

  "What?"

  He rolled his eyes and walked us from the pool house, back towards the main home. "I don't need his permission—"

  "Nico, we can't just do rash things like this—I can't just do rash things like this."

  "Listen." He closed the front door of his home and turned to me. "I told you I would get you out of that shit hole your father was hiding you in—"

  "And I'm grateful for that."

  "And I told you that baby is my responsibility. You think I was just bullshitting you or something?"

  "No, that's not it."

  "Then what is it, Evie? What is it?"

  I sighed. It was a lot of things. I thought, finding my words.

  "I just don't understand. We were just a one-night stand. But you risk yourself, your men, and your standing with your father just to help me when you could have easily just let the problem go to someone else? You could have left me to my own devices to figure this out on my own."

  "I'm not that kind of man, Evie," he said. "I told you—that kid is mine. I'm gonna have a say in what happens to it."

  His conviction, I think, was what surprised me the most. I had no idea what to make of that. Men like him ...did they have convictions? Morals? Did they care about the children they put in this woman and that woman's belly? I hadn't thought so. I had only called Nico as a courtesy to him to know he had a child, not thinking he was actually going to take responsibility.

  "I—thank you, Nico," I said. I placed my hand on his cheek. I didn't know what else to do other than show my gratitude in a soft way—a way that seemed to make the most sense. His hand covered mine, his fingers warm.

  He leaned forward, pressing me back against the door as he kissed me.

  It was like a romance. Two wayward souls, young, dumb, making bad choices, and facing the consequences of their actions together. He tasted like cigarette smoke, and damned if the weight of him and how solid he was didn't make me quiver.

  "Nico ..." I breathed against his mouth. My hands found his shoulders, clinging to him and drawing him closer. I needed the contact. I was desperate for comfort. And that ...itch that had been there since the first time I had let him take me was there. That fire that burned—

  His hands came to my ass and jerked me to him as he ground his cock against my middle. I rolled my hips against his, moaned again, and tugged his lip. Only when I felt his hands come around to the front of my shorts and move to pop the buttons did I have a small amount of sense come back to me.

  We couldn't do this. This temporary comfort wasn't what I needed. I needed answers. I needed to know I wasn't just here for this—he talked so much about taking responsibility, but I heard how he had spoken about what was his. Did this baby make him think he had claim to me too?

  A dirty part of me hoped it did. The logical part of me knew I had to say no.

  "Nico ..." I put my hands on his, pulling them from me. "Nico, wait."

  "Why? You want me. I know you want me. I want you." His mouth pressed against mine again, claiming. I was ashamed to admit it, but it was harder to pull away than it should have been.

  "We can't."

  He grumbled.

  "Why not?"

  "Because ...because ..." I shook my head. "Because this isn't going to be what I'm here for. I'm not ...I'm not property, Nico."

  "I never said you were."

  "You said you were coming for what was yours."

  "My child and the mother of my child. You're my responsibility now."

  "Nico—"

  He put his hands on either side of my head. I didn't know what to do—I felt angry at him for trying to trap me, but it excited me too. This possessiveness ...it was different than my father's. Was it a kind I wanted?

  "You and I both know," he said, putting his face inches from mine, "that if that baby wasn't in you, you'd still have come crawling back to me. I would have too. Your pussy has been aching for me, I bet, just like my cock's been thick for you. That baby just made it happen a little sooner and little surer, and it ensures no one else gets that sweet, little piece of yours—"

  I smacked him.

  "I'm not some whore just because we fucked—"

  He turned me around, putting his teeth at my nape. He growled, and I wasn't even afraid when he held my hands above my head with one hand and forced my shorts down with the other. I was dripping wet. What the hell was wrong with me?

  I didn't stop him as he kicked my feet apart and bent me a little closer to him. I gasped when he shoved his fingers inside me.

  "Tell me you don't want it now, Evie. Tell me you're not mine."

  Chapter Six

  Nico

  She wasn't gonna tell me no—because she wanted it and I knew that she wanted it. Her pretty, tight pussy convulsed around my fingers when I plunged them in, her curvy, supple body trembling. I wasn't one to beat around the bush for something that I wanted. Evie was mine. That baby was mine—she knew it. It would just take time showing her not to let her silly, little head get in the way of us.

  I had no notion as to why I wanted her so much. I'd only fucked her once. I didn't even know her past what you could learn from the news. But she was mine, and I couldn't shake the thought. Especially not when she rutted back against my fingers instead of trying to push away.

  "Tell me you don't want it now, Evie. Tell me you're not mine."

  She didn't answer as I curved my fingers in her, assaulting that patch of nerves with them. She gasped, her slick wetness flowing out around my fingers.

  "I thought so."

  "Nico ...Nico, please ..."

  I continued to work my fingers in and out of her.

  "Please what?"

  She turned her face into her arm. I could see how red her cheeks were. I chuckled a little and put my face back into her neck.

  "That's okay. I know what we both want."

  I bit her neck like a beast. Taking my fingers out of her, I undid my pants and took out my cock. I was hard and aching. I needed to be inside her like I was born to do nothing but fuck her. I jerked her back against me, sliding my cock along her pretty ass.

  "One day I'll claim that, too," I told her before I shoved inside her tight, wet pussy.

  She screamed out, the pleasure making her convulse around me. I let go of her hands in favor of grabbing her by the hips and slamming into her. We were in a pretty public place—the front of my father's home. Servants could pass by. Hell, dear dad himself could try to walk through that door.

  It only made me fuck her harder. Only made me drill into her deeper. She moaned and panted, and I kept her wedged between me and the door.

  "Nico ...Nico ..."

  It was Goddamn music to my ears, just like when I'd bent her over in the alley. Just like when I'd had her suck my cock. Just like when I’d pushed her against the wall again and fucked her and fucked her, until I couldn't get it up anymore, and then I’d still finished her off another round.

  Not mine.

  Bullshit.

  She was mine on merit that she got me hard.

  I went at Evie with abandon. I made her cum, but I didn't stop. Not even when she was sobbing and twitching.

  "Fuck, Nico—Nico!"