Boss Empire

by Victoria Quinn

  And she would forever be mine.

  The elevator doors opened, and Bridget stepped out with her husband by her side. Her eyes immediately went to Tatum, the only person she really cared about. She turned her gaze back to me. “Hello, Diesel. Thank you for inviting me.”

  “Of course.” I didn’t shake her hand or hug her. It felt too strange.

  When Tatum finished speaking to my father, she noticed me standing next to her mother in the entryway. Her eyes narrowed, and she immediately turned pale. She handed her glass of water to Brett and slowly joined me.

  “I asked her to come,” I explained.

  Tatum masked her look of anger once the surprise dissolved in her veins. She’d done the same thing to me when she tried to repair my relationship with my father. She never gave up on us—and I was grateful she didn’t.

  Bridget stared at her, treasuring Tatum’s expression. “I didn’t mean to intrude. When Diesel invited us, I couldn’t say no… I always love to see you.”

  My arm circled Tatum’s waist, and I spoke on her behalf. “I think we’re going to have to take this slow…but we’re open to a new beginning.” I turned to Tatum, silently asking her to agree with me.

  Tatum nodded. “Yes…my father would have wanted that.”

  Moisture immediately sprung to Bridget’s eyes, and her hands went to her chest. “That’s… Thank you so much.”

  “Would you like to tell her?” I looked at my wife.

  Bridget kept her eyes on Tatum.

  Tatum paused for so long it didn’t seem like she would say anything. Everyone else in the room picked up on the tension, so they watched us. Her hand immediately moved over her stomach. “Diesel and I are having a baby…”

  “Oh…” Bridget gripped her chest harder. “That’s…that’s so wonderful. Congratulations. I’m so grateful you shared that with me.” Her hands moved toward Tatum in an attempt to hug her, but she quickly withdrew her embrace, obviously thinking it would be inappropriate.

  I dropped my hand from Tatum’s waist in case she wanted to move into the embrace. The choice was up to her.

  Tatum nodded. “Thank you…we’re very excited.” She didn’t cross the space in between them and kept her distance. Physical affection was obviously too soon for her. “Please, let me get you something to drink. Be comfortable in our home.”

  The offer wasn’t much to a regular person, but coming from Tatum, that was a big deal. She was officially opening the door and letting Bridget walk inside. Her guard was up, but her walls weren’t nearly as high as they used to be.

  She was taking a risk.

  She took a risk on me.

  I took a risk on my father.

  Thorn took a risk on Autumn.

  My father took a risk on Scarlet.

  We all had to take risks sometimes. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t find the things that brought us the most joy. Opening the door allowed bad things to get inside, but a lot of good things too.

  Opening the door to Tatum was the greatest decision I ever made. I knew she felt the same way.

  And I knew this was another door that needed to be open.

  Epilogue

  Titan

  “Isabella, stop running.” I placed my hands on my hips and stared down at my five-year-old daughter. She’d been running around the house with crayons in her hand because she refused to put on her shoes so we could leave.

  Isabella stopped in her tracks, timid with fear. She dropped the crayons on the hardwood floor.

  “Put on your shoes.”

  “Can you help me?” She hopped onto the chair and looked at her pink sneakers.

  “You know how to tie them.”

  “It’s hard…”

  “You can do it, sweetheart.” I showed my little girl how to do everything, but I didn’t baby her. She needed to learn because I wouldn’t always be around to help her. She needed to stand on her own two feet as quickly as possible.

  Isabella sighed before she began the long process of getting each shoe on and taking forever to tie each one correctly.

  I didn’t rush her.

  Diesel called me for the third time.

  “I’m leaving right now. Isabella is putting on her shoes.” I shut my laptop on the desk and grabbed my purse from the table. I’d worked all day at the office with Isabella strapped to my side. Our nanny was sick, so I had to run business with my daughter in tow.

  “We’ve been here for fifteen minutes. You want me to come help you?”

  “No. Just be patient.”

  Nathan yelled over the line. “Dad!”

  “Shh,” Diesel said in the background. “Mommy is coming.”

  “Mommy!” Nathan yelled.

  Whenever our nanny called in sick, I took Isabella and he took Nathan. We couldn’t handle more than one kid at a time while we were focused on our projects. Nathan behaved better with Diesel, and Isabella was a lot quieter with me.

  “I’ll be there soon.” I hung up.

  Isabella was done with her shoes, so we both left the office. I didn’t pick her up and carry her to the elevator. We walked whenever possible. If I were willing to pick her up all the time, she would be the happiest little girl on the planet. But I wasn’t doing that.

  My driver took us to the restaurant, and we finally made our way inside. Since there were too many people around, I scooped her up in one of my arms and carried her to the table where everyone was waiting.

  “There’s my girl.” Diesel stood up with Nathan in one arm. He leaned in and kissed Isabella on the forehead.

  “I thought you were talking about me,” I teased.

  “Then let me do that again,” Diesel said with a chuckle. “There’s my girls.” He kissed me on the forehead next.

  We traded kids because we hadn’t seen either one all day. I held Nathan against my chest and smiled down at my three-year-old son. He looked so much like Diesel that my heart melted every time I looked at him.

  “There’s my granddaughter.” Vincent came to Diesel’s side and took Isabella away. “Beautiful, as always.”

  “Hello, Grandpa.” She covered his nose with her hand.

  “Hello, sweetheart.”

  Scarlet stood beside him and grabbed her small hand. “I like your dress. You look very nice today.”

  “Thanks, Grandma.”

  Scarlet took her next, her wedding ring shining in the restaurant.

  Vincent eyed both of them with a smile on his face.

  “Sorry we’re late.” Thorn came in next, his twin boys sitting in each arm. “We had a toy emergency. Don’t ask.” He rolled his eyes then greeted me with an awkward hug since he didn’t have any arms to embrace me.

  Autumn came in behind him with their daughter. “Brittany couldn’t find her stuffed bear, and you know she can’t go anywhere without it.” The dark-haired girl in her arms had it held tightly to her chest.

  “It shouldn’t be an emergency,” Thorn said. “But it was absolute chaos.”

  Autumn hugged me next. “Hello, Nathan.”

  He waved.

  I took Brittany from her arms, and she took Nathan. “Hey, Brittany. How are you?”

  She just held the bear to her chest and stared at me. She was very shy, which was unusual since both of her parents certainly weren’t. But she was adorable, looking like a perfect blend of Autumn and Thorn.

  “Let’s eat.” Thorn sat down. “I’m starving.” He looked around the table and saw that Vincent was the only one without a baby. “Vincent, take one.” He handed Connor across the table into Vincent’s arms.

  Vincent didn’t seem to mind at all.

  Now we all had a baby except Diesel. His eyes were on me, and he watched me hold our son against my chest. His eyes were soft, just as they always were when he saw me hold our children.

  “What?” I asked, feeling his gaze intensify.

  “You want to have another one?” he asked right in front of everyone. “Make it three?”

  “Don’t. Do. It.�
� Thorn pointed at me. “Don’t even think about it. Two is plenty. Don’t go for three. Two parents and three kids doesn’t add up.”

  Autumn rolled her eyes. “He’s exaggerating.”

  “Hell no,” Thorn snapped. “I had to take all of them to work with me one day… Let’s just say it was one of the worst days of my life.”

  “Shh,” Diesel said to him. “I’m trying to convince my wife to let me knock her up again.”

  “Keep your legs closed, Hunt,” Thorn barked. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  There was no way I could keep my legs closed around my husband. Even if I wanted to, he would force them apart. “A third baby doesn’t sound so bad…”

  Thorn shook his head then grabbed the menu. “I need a big-ass beer.”

  Scarlet held Isabella until she started to cry in her arms. She handed her back to Diesel.

  “See?” Thorn said. “It never stops.”

  “You’ll regret the day it does stop,” Vincent said quietly. “So enjoy it every moment you can.”

  Thorn turned his gaze on Autumn and shared a look with her. His features noticeably softened, and he brought his son closer to his chest. “Yeah…you’re right. Vincent is always right.”

  Diesel hummed under his breath until Isabella stopped crying. Within a minute, she was back to being her calm self. She grabbed Diesel’s nose and chin.

  He was used to their hands constantly touching everything, so he was immune to it. He read his menu without being fazed by the constant touching. When Isabella slipped her fingers into his mouth, he playfully nibbled on them.

  When I saw the way he was with our kids, there was nothing I wanted more than to have a third one.

  Diesel caught me staring at him, so he stared back. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “Probably.”

  He chuckled then adjusted Isabella to a different leg so he could grab his water glass. “Dad, what are you and Scarlet doing tonight?”

  “You want us to babysit?” Vincent held Connor in one hand while the other rested on Scarlet’s thigh. “So you can make me another grandchild?”

  “Pretty much,” Diesel said. “Our nanny has the flu.”

  “And you have to do this tonight?” Vincent asked incredulously.

  “Hey, you want another grandkid or not?” Diesel asked. “Jax isn’t even close, and Brett and Natalie just got serious. I’m all you’ve got right now.”

  “Now he’s threatening us with grandchildren,” Scarlet said. “Well played, Diesel.”

  “I’m just yanking your chain,” Vincent said. “We’d love to babysit, and not so we can have another grandchild. We love watching them.”

  “Yeah?” Thorn asked. “You want to watch ours too?”

  “Thorn,” Autumn said with a laugh. “Stop it.”

  “Hey, it was worth a shot,” Thorn said. “When Autumn’s parents watch the kids, it’s impossible to get them back. They hog them too much.”

  “Aww, that’s sweet.” I thought of my father and how much he would love to meet his grandkids. But at least my mom was around. She came over once a week to spend time with the kids. Our relationship had progressed, but it was nowhere near perfect. It seemed like we were friends rather than mother and daughter, but it was better than nothing.

  “Or do you want to watch them now so Tatum and I can sneak off?” Diesel asked.

  I grabbed a piece of bread and threw it at Diesel’s face.

  Isabella laughed.

  “Sometimes I feel like I already have three kids,” I snapped.

  Diesel grinned back, loving the way Isabella laughed. “That’s pretty accurate, actually.”

  The waiter finally arrived with children’s menus and took our orders. When everyone was distracted, I stared at my husband and reminded myself not to take anything for granted. I had the perfect life, luxuries that couldn’t be bought. I had a wonderful husband and two beautiful children. My life was perfect.

  I treasured it every single day.

  I treasured it even more because it could have been so different. I took a chance on love, and I was rewarded with happiness I never thought I would experience. I got something people dreamed about but never actually experienced.

  Letting go of Titan was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, but combining my life with someone else’s brought me more joy than I ever could have imagined. Diesel and I were one person, and we had two wonderful kids to show for it.

  I couldn’t be happier.

  Diesel must have known what I was thinking because he gave me a soft expression.

  I gave him the same look in return.

  And we both just knew.

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  Muse in Lingerie

  by Penelope Sky

  Chapter One

  Sapphire

  I sat alone at the bar with a scotch sitting in front of me. The amber liquid was strong down my throat, but not strong enough to fill me with the warmth I needed to survive this nightmare.

  My mother’s house had been repossessed by the bank. The single asset I inherited had been taken away from me with the snap of a finger. Now I didn’t have a place to live, and what was worse, I still had to pay off the loan.

  All because of my brother, Nathan.

  His girlfriend left him, he got mixed up in the underworld, and he made a gamble he couldn’t afford to lose. The guys killed him once his pockets were empty, and since Nathan had so much debt racked up, the government took the house to pay off everything he owed.

  I couldn’t believe this bullshit.

  The house had been left to both of us, so we were both on the deed. Since I had better credit, and I was the more responsible one, the loan had been made out in my name. Now I had to pay for his stupidity by losing everything.

  And I mean everything.

  The house was gone. I still owed five hundred thousand dollars to the bank. My financial aid for college had been canceled because my credit was shit. Now I owed money for an education I couldn’t afford to finish.

  But that wasn’t the worst part.

  The crew that Nathan got mixed up in hadn’t been compensated for the money they were due. They couldn’t take the house because the government beat them to the punch. Knuckles, the leader of their organization, was one of the biggest crime lords in the world. Everyone spoke of him like a myth because they hadn’t seen him in person.

  Lucky bastards.

  He was untouchable by the police because he had more power than any man should.

  They called him Knuckles because that was his weapon of choice—his bare hands.

  And I was his next victim.

  I stared at the piece of paper sitting in front of me. Scribbled in black ink were simple words.

  Three days, sweetheart.

  Knuckles liked to play with his food before he went in for the final cut. He was torturing me, watching me struggle without a penny to my name. In random places, I would find these notes, usually slipped into my backpack when I rode the subway. Since I was homeless, I was crashing on people’s couches.

  And lying about my circumstances. They thought my place was being fumigated.

  It was such a stupid lie I couldn’t believe people actually believed it.

  I only had three days of freedom left before Knuckles closed in on me.

  And turned me into his personal sex slave. He promised there would be whips and chains. He promised there would be pain and pleasure. He promised he would get every cent he was due between my legs.

  It was the final punishment for Nathan—even though he was long gone.

  Knuckles warned me not to leave, that there would be dire consequences if I did. He had the resources to find me, and once he did, there would be a lot more pain than pleasure. There would be brutal torture along with his cock ramming me in every hole I possessed.

  Fuck, I couldn’t believe this was happening.

  I wasn’t sure
who I was more pissed at. Nathan, Knuckles, or myself.

  Myself because I should have known what Nathan was up to. I shouldn’t have been so absorbed in my studies and work. I should have had a clue to what was going on around me. Nathan lived with me… How did I not see it?

  I finished my scotch and ached for another, but I simply couldn’t afford it. One was enough for the day.

  The TV in the corner switched to Entertainment Tonight, and Lacy Lockwood appeared on the screen. One of the most beautiful models in the world, she was blonde with blue eyes and a body that would make every man fall to his knees. She modeled the most luxurious lingerie created. It was the kind of stuff that every woman wanted a man to buy her. It was beautiful, simple, and elegant. “Conway Barsetti is a genius. Everyone compliments my appearance, but he’s the man who deserves your praise. He’s the most meticulous and brilliant man I’ve ever known. Even on my worst days, he makes me feel beautiful.”

  With a size zero and a smile like that, how bad could her worst day really be?

  The image changed to Conway Barsetti, standing for pictures outside one of his fashion shows. In a gray suit that fit him like a second skin, he stood in front of the cameras with pure indifference. It was like dozens of people weren’t taking his picture at all, the bright flash hitting his eyeballs over and over. His hands rested in his pockets, and his broad shoulders contrasted against his narrow hips. For a man who designed clothes, his tastes were very simplistic. He turned his head slightly to give another angle for the photographers, his intense expression hardening like he was annoyed.

  Not once did he smile.

  And he obviously wasn’t going to.

  He had deep brown hair that looked black without the sun hitting it directly. Green eyes smoldered in vibrant intensity. His jawline was chiseled like the bone had been molded from a sculpture. His face had been cleanly shaven, but it was obvious he could grow facial hair overnight. A large Adam’s apple protruded from his throat. Instead of looking like the designer who belonged behind the camera, he looked like he should be the focal point of everyone’s attention.