Savage Queen
Page 18
“I’m going to go change,” I tell my men as we walk into the kitchen. It’s almost three in the morning, but they’re already pulling food out of the refrigerator, Ciro grabbing more drinks from the bar top.
“You going to join us afterward?” Lucas says as he clicks on the gas stove, putting his hand over a pan to test the heat.
“Sure,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. Calm. Normal.
Nothing in me feels steady, calm, or normal right now, but I can’t let them suspect anything is up until I know for sure. It might be nothing.
Or it might be what I think it is.
What I hope it is.
I leave them behind in the kitchen, quickly taking the grand staircase up to my bedroom, heading down the long hall. I’ve really got to convince them to put an elevator in this place, because I’m completely out of breath by the time I make it to my room.
That might just be the nerves though.
I let out a shuddery breath as I stride into my bathroom. I bought a pregnancy test a couple days ago, but it’s taken me a few days to work up the courage to even open it.
Sliding the drawer open, I reach into the back. My heart thunders in my chest as my fingers snag on the blue and purple box holding the test. Forcing myself to pull it out, I glance over the instructions. My hands shake as I pop open the box and look at the test. Actually seeing the little white stick makes me realize exactly what I’m about to do, what I’m about to find out.
I might be pregnant.
I might be pregnant in the fucking mafia.
There was a time, once, when I would’ve thought twice about having a child in the mafia. Even though I loved my upbringing and childhood, it’s hard to look back on it with the same rose-colored glasses now.
But that’s mostly because of my mother. And she’s no longer a threat to any of us.
The truth is, I want a baby. I want to feel the love between me and these four men manifested as a child who might have Ciro’s gorgeous eyes or Hale’s strong jaw or Zaid’s humor or Lucas’s easy confidence. I want to watch these men become fathers, want to see them dote on a tiny little thing who’ll have them all wrapped around his or her little finger.
I want all of that more than I’m afraid of it. The good outweighs the bad.
I look at myself in the mirror, seeing a woman who’s changed so much in one year.
One year. Has it really been that long?
The funny thing is, I look the same on the outside. My hazel eyes are still large, hair still the exact same shade of blonde. But those eyes hold a brightness to them, a life I never thought I’d see restored, a happiness I never thought I would feel again.
I’m no longer helpless. I’m a powerful woman, surrounded by powerful men who would do anything to protect me—just like I would to protect them. I’ve never been so content in my life, so at peace with everything around me, with who I am.
“I have everything you wanted, Camilla,” I say softly to my reflection, to the face that looks so much like hers. “And everything you lost.”
I didn’t have to murder, betray, and ruin lives to get where I am now, unlike my mother. I haven’t seen her since the day I shot her, and even though that murderous glare still haunts my dreams, she can’t touch my life anymore.
Which is why we were celebrating tonight.
Camilla is officially behind bars, convicted for life. Right up until the moment of her sentencing, she still fought and betrayed, backstabbed and bribed. She not only tried to get in contact with me, but she also tried several times to make plea bargains with the DA’s office, trying to get a lighter sentence in exchange for dirt on the men of her syndicate.
The only problem was, they were just as willing to turn on her. Her organization was founded on manipulation, lies, and intimidation, and it crumpled under pressure like a wet napkin. There was no loyalty, no drive between the syndicate members to protect each other—or their leader.
So they all fell.
Some faster, some slower, but in the end, they all fell down.
Tearing open the small box, I quickly follow the steps and wait a few minutes like the instructions tell me to.
When I see the results, tears well in my eyes for a moment, the emotions surging inside my chest too powerful to contain.
This is how it was meant to be, I tell myself. And it will all be okay.
I wash my hands and compose myself before leaving the bathroom, taking the test with me.
I don’t remember walking down to the kitchen, but I get there somehow. I don’t linger in the doorway either. I walk right in to where the men surround the island, chatting and joking about random shit while they eat leftovers from the other night.
Zaid notices me first. “There you are, I was wondering where…” His words trail off when he catches sight of the test in my hand. “What is that?”
The shift in his tone draws the other men’s attention, and suddenly, four pairs of eyes are gazing at me intently. For a moment, all four of the men are frozen in place, their eyes wide as they stare.
Hale recovers first.
“You know exactly what the fuck that is,” he says, dropping his fork with a clatter against his plate before he strides toward me. He plucks the test from my hands, not seeming to care that I just peed on it. He looks at it, then at me. Then back at the test.
“Grace.” There’s a tremor to his voice that I’ve never heard before. “Tell me you’re not joking right now.”
“I’m not.” The happy tears that welled up in the bathroom spill over my eyelids now, and I have to blink them away to see him properly. “It’s why I wasn’t drinking tonight. I haven’t had my period in a week, and I just thought… I mean, that test shows exactly what I thought.”
Ciro steps forward, and I turn my gaze toward him. I can see the shock in his gray eyes, and a hint of fear. I know out of all of the men, he’s the most scared of becoming a father. Which is funny, because I’ve never known anyone more kind and devoted to the people he loves than Ciro. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I had to be sure,” I tell him, stepping forward to wrap my arms around him. I rest my cheek on his chest, feeling his heart crash against his ribs. “Are you happy about it?”
He finds my chin with his fingertips, tilting my head up as we loosen our embrace, and even though the worry still lingers in his eyes, I see so much love and hope staring back at me that it nearly knocks me over.
“There will be more of you in the world, sunshine,” he murmurs. “And that’s the best thing that could ever be.”
I rise up onto my tiptoes, and when I kiss him, he doesn’t hold anything back. His lips move against mine, possessive and hungry and demanding, and I fucking love it. When we break apart, I’m gasping.
“Holy fucking shit.”
That’s the only warning I get before I’m tugged out of Ciro’s embrace and spun around to face Zaid. He’s grinning from ear to ear, his green eyes glassy with emotion as Lucas steps up behind me, enclosing me between them. Like they so often do, they consume me, trading off kisses until I’m dizzy and breathless. Then, for a long moment, they both simply hold me, and I let myself relax completely against their bodies.
“A baby.” Lucas sounds almost awed. “We’re having a baby.”
They step away from me, Zaid pressing several more quick kisses to my lips, cheeks, and nose. When I turn back to face Hale again, he’s still standing right where I left him, still holding the test. His stormy blue eyes meet mine for a second, and then he strides across the small space that separates us.
One hand grips my jaw a second before his mouth descends on mine.
Every-fucking-thing is in this kiss.
Our past.
Our present.
Our future.
I can feel every moment that’s led us here, both the good and the bad. Every moment that’s led us to this.
To a love that burns so bright it chased away the darkness.
To a love that wi
ll outlast time.
“This is the best fucking day of my life,” he whispers, his lips still brushing mine, his voice rough and low.
Unconsciously I put my hand on my belly, even though there isn’t any bump there, not yet. There won’t be for a couple of months. But even though I can’t feel the baby growing in my womb yet, I swear I can feel my heart expanding, making room for this new addition to our family.
And as my men surround me again, kissing me and murmuring words of love and happiness in my ears, I make a silent vow to our unborn child.
No matter what, I promise the little life growing inside me, we’ll keep you safe.
Thank you so much for reading The Dark Elite series! Want a little peek into Grace and her men’s future? Click HERE to join my newsletter and claim your free bonus scene, or copy and paste this link into your browser:
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For more steamy reverse harem goodness, check out my dark new adult series, Sinners of Hawthorne University. If you enjoyed this series, I think you’ll love that one! Turn the page to check out the cover and blurb.
Sin isn’t supposed to feel this good.
I never wanted to come here.
The scholarship to Hawthorne University is my ticket to a better life, but I don’t fit in with these rich, privileged students.
I’m the daughter of a drug addict.
A girl with a half-remembered past.
A foster kid who’s seen too much of the wrong side of humanity.
My tattoos are my battle scars, and my heart beats for no one.
Until I meet them.
Gray, Declan, and Elias.
The Sinners.
They run this school, and one day, they’ll run this whole city.
They snap their fingers, and the world falls at their feet.
They breathe a word, and that word becomes law.
I’ve been numb my whole life, but when they touch me, sparks dance across my skin.
For the first time in years, I feel.
I feel so much.
Confusion.
Desire.
Anger.
Need.
Too bad there’s only one thing the Sinners feel for me.
Hate.
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Books by Eva Ashwood
Clearwater University
(college-age enemies to lovers series)
Who Breaks First
Who Laughs Last
Who Falls Hardest
Magic Blessed Academy
(paranormal academy series)
Gift of the Gods
Secret of the Gods
Wrath of the Gods
The Dark Elite
(dark mafia romance)
Vicious Kings
Ruthless Knights
Savage Queen
Slateview High
(dark high school bully romance)
Lost Boys
Wild Girl
Mad Love
Sinners of Hawthorne University
(dark new adult romance)
When Sinners Play
How Sinners Fight
What Sinners Love
(contemporary romance standalone)
Say Yes