OBEY: Lucky Skulls MC

by Sophia Gray

  All of it. And then some.

  Did I want to go back, to make things solely business between us? My hard, throbbing cock wanted her, but what did I want?

  I wanted her. Again and again. It was so easy for me to find women, but I never talked to them about anything important. I never talked to any of them about work, so in that regard, they were identical to Lily, but I had confided in Lily far more than any of the others. She knew which school I wanted to send my son to. She knew which tutors I had already lined up, which activities and sports I hoped he would partake in. She knew other matters, too, like that I had a dog growing up and had thought many times about getting another one but never had. She knew I preferred to drive stick shift and was willing to teach her if she wished to learn. She knew my taste in movies and music, which was something I didn’t broadcast. I did not often make time for such trivialities, but we had actually watched a few movies together. And I had talked to her, albeit with hardly any details, about my parents. She understood loss. She didn’t look at me with pity but with sympathy.

  My time with her was changing me.

  But was that a good thing? I could not risk being softened. I had to be hard, to be brutal, to be ruthless, if I were to have my revenge. Afterward, we could watch movies and listen to music and dance and fuck all we wanted. After. Not yet. Not now.

  Yes, I did want her around. She kept me in touch with my humanity. She would help prevent me from becoming the monster Vanya Golovkin was. Maybe I shouldn’t go after his family after all. Should one family rise and grow on the bones of another? It was what Golovkin had done to my family. Did I want to be the same as him? Having Alec seduce a daughter was one thing, but could I really have her and the others killed to get back at Golovkin? Before, that hadn’t been a question. Now, however, I was rethinking things.

  If Golovkin made a move on me, I would not hesitate to defend myself and my people, but he hadn’t. Yes, I was sure that was only a matter of time. I hadn’t gained my father’s men by waiting around, though. I tended to act first. Better to plan and strike than to be hit first and be left scrambling to defend yourself.

  But my son would be here in eight or so months. That changed everything. I didn’t know what to do, what to plan, but I knew I would not hesitate to give my life to protect my son’s.

  And to protect Lily’s, too.

  I stared at her, at her beauty. After a moment, she reached up, and I steeled myself, anticipating another slap. Instead, she caressed my cheek. I nuzzled against her palm and turned toward her hand to kiss her. Lily sighed, the sound happy and content, and something inside of me wound up tightly.

  Nothing would happen to her. Nothing would ever happen to Lily or to the child she carried. Boy or girl. Nothing would ever happen to Lily after she gave birth. I would protect her like she was family.

  How had this happened? Lily was never supposed to mean anything. And I knew that sounded terrible, but it had been meant to keep her safe. Involving a woman in my life specifically with the intent of impregnating her meant she could possibly be targeted as it was, but if that woman should actually mean something more to me like Lily did, that introduced a whole new level of terror that could be brought down on both her and me. One of Golovkin’s men had already tailed her, followed her, instructed her to give me a threating message. She was already in the crosshairs. If Golovkin should learn she was pregnant…I was willing to kill a dozen or even more to protect her.

  I hadn’t meant to fall for her. With all of my carefully laid out plans, the idea of that happening had never occurred to me. But she brought out a side of me that I hadn’t thought still lived. A part of me — the carefree and easygoing side — had died when my parents had. I used to enjoy my studies, but I had friends and enjoyed fun and games. After their deaths, I went almost a year before I laughed again. I gave up my school, left behind my friends, and went into hiding. I didn’t bother to make new friends. I didn’t bother to have fun or to enjoy life. All I did was work hard on honing my skills and daydreaming and planning for the day when I would take down Golovkin.

  Yet here Lily was, bringing it back to life. Bringing me back to the light.

  My chest was feeling tight. Nervous. Uneasy. On edge. I hadn’t felt like this since the day my parents were murdered.

  Lily sat up and stripped me. Once I was naked, she removed her bra and underwear. She traced my lips with her finger, and I kissed it. Her eyes closed, and I brought her finger into my mouth, sucking it. I would make myself forget my worries. I would make her forget everything, too. We didn’t need anything but each other.

  She was pregnant, not made of glass, but things were different this time around. I took things slowly, gently, tenderly. It wasn’t about fucking. It wasn’t about the money.

  The kisses, the licks, the tiny bites, the rubbing, the scratches, the touching…neither of us could get enough of each other, and I didn’t last long at all, but as soon as we finished round one, round two started.

  Chapter 23

  Lily

  Not the way I had planned things. At all. Anton had stared down at me and, for once, his face was so easy to read. I could see how much he cared for me. His eyes had even trailed down to my belly, and it hadn’t been to admire my body. He already cared about the child I was carrying. He was frightened, and that frightened me all the more. What was he afraid of and for whom? Himself? His child?

  His nose was still swollen and bruised. It served as a visual reminder of the danger he was in, of the danger the baby and I could be in, and his nose had been the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes when we finished having sex.

  This time had been goodbye. This time had been the last time. I couldn’t stay. I just couldn’t. I might have fallen for him, but that wasn’t enough. I had to run. For the baby’s sake. It didn’t matter if Anton had bodyguards. It didn’t matter that he assigned some to me. The baby would always be in danger if I stayed.

  My eyes fluttered closed and I fell asleep in his arms. More times than not, I fell asleep in his arms afterward, and it was going to be something I’d miss. Despite his job, despite his mysterious side, I always felt safe in his embrace.

  When I woke up, I kept still, feigning sleep since Anton was still asleep himself. My mind had been made up. I would run. I would find a way to disappear. I couldn’t let him have the baby, no matter what contract I signed. He was a dangerous man. Yes, he might have feelings for me, and I definitely had feelings for him, but that he could kill without any regret…that was a deal breaker. No child should be raised by a man like that. Mine sure as hell wouldn’t be.

  It wasn’t easy, staying in his arms, pretending to sleep, pretending everything was fine, but I managed, thinking and planning my escape. I’d leave Mom with most of the money. I would only take what I needed to get away, and then I’d figure something out. I was resourceful. I would make things work. Somehow.

  Finally, Anton woke up. He stirred and kissed my forehead, and I had to suppress a sigh. How could a man be so tender at times yet also be such a ruthless man who would kill others without batting an eye? He was Jekyll and Hyde. That was my biggest issue, and had been all along. Reconciling the two sides of the elusive, enigmatic Anton Kovalsky. He was dangerous in every sense of the word.

  Tenderly, gently, he climbed out of bed and dressed. He was trying not to wake me. I couldn’t risk even peeking with my eyes. If he saw I was awake, he might pounce back on top of me, and I would give in again, and I had to be strong. I had to get away.

  Only after the door quietly shut behind him did I open my eyes. I was alone, and I had a feeling I was going to be alone a lot for the next eight or so months. Take a deep breath, Lily. You can do this. My hands trembled as I gathered my few belongings. Anything Anton had bought for me I ignored, so there wasn’t a whole lot I had to grab. It wouldn’t be right for me to take them.

  I eased the door opened and made my way downstairs, careful to avoid any servants and especially Leo. While Leo had become
a friend, I doubted he would help me with my escape, and even if he would be willing to, I didn’t want to risk him getting in trouble with Anton. Who knew how he would react when he realized I had gone and taken his baby with me, that he had gone to so much trouble and paid so much to have an heir and for that heir to then be stolen away? Since he would kill his enemies, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to think he might be willing to also kill his employees, or anyone who stood in his way.

  But for so long, I had worried about others and not myself. I would see to it that Mom was settled in. It wouldn’t be fair to uproot her, though. She would stay here, with her doctors. I would pay Clara to stay on with her. No matter how angry Anton would be with me, I did believe he wouldn’t take anything out on my mother, not after he told me about his parents.

  Once I had Mom and Clara set up, I would find a way to take care of myself, and the baby. The leftover money from Anton should be enough to keep Mom up to date with the hospital and its many bills, and if that money did happen to run out, I’d go back to taking care of her, too. Everything would work out. Somehow.

  I called a cab, instructed the driver to meet me a few blocks away and, after making sure no one saw me, left the house behind. The entire time I walked those blocks, I had to fight the urge to look behind me. And that was when it hit me. That I’d be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

  But I didn’t have a choice. I had to leave now, before the baby was born.

  The cab arrived a few minutes later, and I instructed the driver to take me to my mom. I wasn’t sure where I would go afterward. I only knew I had to get away.

  Funnily enough, I didn’t regret signing the contract. My hands rubbed my still flat stomach. I was going to be a mother. Anton had given me that. I had him to thank. Even if I was going to raise the child alone.

  Goodbye, Anton. Please don’t hate me.

  Chapter 24

  Anton

  My head was swimming. My body felt lighter than ever. Lily had a way of relaxing me, of making me forget about all of my troubles. Lily Nevison, the woman I had impregnated. The woman I had already paid one million to so I could have sex with her for the sole purpose of getting her pregnant.

  The woman who drove me crazy and the woman I had fallen for.

  The woman I just had sex with…or had it been lovemaking? I normally fucked women. I had never allowed myself to fall in love. In my business, it wasn’t wise to fall in love. Not when you had enemies like Vanya Golovkin.

  So while my body felt lighter than ever, my head was filled with doubts and worries. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, and it wasn’t something I was used to. I would have my revenge against Golovkin. And sooner rather than later.

  Things were changing between Lily and I — for the better and for the worse. I had always wanted to keep her safe, to keep her separate from my lifestyle. Would she understand my life, the hard calls I had to make to keep my men and me safe? It was doubtful, though she might, if I were willing to give up my quest for revenge. No one would be able to get me to stop, not even Lily. That was just not going to happen.

  If I knew Lily, and I did, she was going to bring up the man I’d killed, and we might fight again. If it led to more sex, well, I wouldn’t complain, but this was definitely an issue. I had to figure out what to tell her, but not right now. As much as I wanted to go right back upstairs to her room, to crawl beside her beneath the covers, to hold her and explain everything, I couldn’t. I refused to let everything that happened with her distract me. In my line of business, distractions led to mistakes, and mistakes led to deaths. It was too big of a risk.

  She was too big of a risk.

  Enough worrying! I was a man of careful planning and precise action. I needed to focus on Golovkin, and Golovkin alone, if I wanted us all to survive.

  What then, though? What if I did survive? What if Lily and I both came out of this? What if my revenge cost me her, even if she didn’t die? I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. The power of meditation was not to overlooked. It was powerful, a useful tool.

  But clearing my mind proved almost impossible. I kept imagining scenarios in which bleak outcomes resulted: the thought of Lily not being in my life, the thought of the goodness she brought into my life being blotted out, and not even through death but through my own actions…it all made it hard for me to breathe.

  No matter what, I had to ensure she would not die. Even if it meant we would go our separate ways. If she lived, nothing else mattered.

  Opening my eyes, I squared my shoulders and marched down the hall to my bedroom. As quickly as I could, I stripped out of my clothes and showered, imagining Lily was the one washing my body the entire time. I got so hard thinking about her that I had to find my release. Between the soapsuds, the hot pulsating stream of water, my strokes, it didn’t take me long to orgasm.

  My shower finished, I toweled off and changed my clothes. Then I called Nicolai and instructed him to have everyone come over to my place immediately. Most of my men lived nearby.

  After I hung up, I settled myself for breakfast to give the men time to arrive. Lily didn’t show up, and I found myself looking toward the doorway every few minutes, hoping she would come. We had started to eat a fair amount of meals together, but maybe I had worn her out from all of the sex last night and she was still sleeping. Whatever she needed, I would take care of it. Speaking of which, she needed a doctor’s appointment scheduled. I wondered how far along she was. I’d have to have someone go out and get her prenatal vitamins. Weren’t there foods she should avoid while pregnant? Maybe I should get her some literature. Hell, I’d read it, too.

  It seemed no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep her in the back of my mind for very long.

  Once I finished eating, I stood. A servant stepped forward to clear the plate and started to hurry away. I cleared my throat, and she paused, waiting expectantly, a slight smile on her face. Olivia had been working for me for a long while. She was competent and was saving her money to be able to go to college. Even though she would be twenty years older than the other freshman, she wouldn’t let that stop her. I admired her determination. I tried to always surround myself with people who wanted something more out of their life, and that included my servants, not just my men in the mob.

  “Make sure Lily gets whatever she wants,” I instructed.

  “Of course.” She started to leave again.

  “And if she wishes to eat in her room, that is fine.” Normally, I preferred meals to be eaten at the table, but comfort would be Lily’s middle name if I had my way.

  “Yes, sir. Anything else?” Olivia asked.

  “That is all.” I hesitated, and she lingered. “Do you have enough yet?”

  Her face brightened. “I should by next fall.”

  “That’s terrible,” I grumbled. “I hate to lose you.”

  “Thank you, but, no offense, I really want to be a nurse.”

  “You’ll make an excellent one. If you need anything, a connection to a hospital for hours, a referral, anything, let me know.”

  “I will. Thank you. And…” Olivia cleared her throat. “I like Lily. I’ve always wondered if you would ever settle down, but I see why you waited.”

  I’d never brought a woman to my house before. I always either went to her place or we fucked at my bar or in a hotel room. Lily had broken a lot of barriers for me, and obviously I wasn’t the only one to realize that. “Lily was worth the wait,” I said simply.

  Olivia grinned and left, and I departed the dining room for my largest office. All of my men were already there, crammed and waiting for me.

  “I apologize for the delay,” I said as I closed the door behind me. I adjusted my sport coat sleeves. For some reason, I had dressed up today. I needed the boost I got from my suit. Power. Control. Domination. I craved respect. I desired revenge. I would have results. I strolled around the room to make my way behind my desk. I didn’t bother to sit, just leaned down, my hands near the edge. �
�I have finally made some headway against Golovkin. He has been paying off transactions of a Garcia Trucking company.” My gaze rounded the room, and I shut my mouth when I spotted Alec. I hadn’t expected him to show up.

  Alec nodded from his perch in the back corner of the office.

  “Do you have any news?” I demanded, paranoid his appearance meant ill news.

  The men near Alec moved away so he could be clearly seen. “Isabella has mentioned her father does a lot of business with them,” he said.

  “Interesting.” I rubbed my chin. I hadn’t realized just how much information we would be able to get out of the girl. Hadn’t thought Golovkin would be the kind to tell his daughter everything. Yes, she had voiced discontentment to Alec, which was why she was feeding him intel as it was. Was she giving us bad information? Was she her father’s daughter after all?