by Cox, Paula
“Pipe down,” she said as she nodded her head in proud agreement. “But this night isn’t all about me. And I think that Ken here has something to stay.”
Sophia waved him to the center of the room, and he stepped forward with Sally’s hand in his. With her golden brown hair tied over her head in a soft bun and some color in her cheeks, a little more meat on her bones, Sally looked healthy. When she held Ken’s hand tighter and gazed into his eyes, she looked overjoyed, all the bad memories fading into her past to never torment her again.
“Well… uh… yeah,” Ken started. Sophia patted his back and handed him a beer. He took a quick swig and seemed fortified enough to continue.
“Like Sophia said. We’ve come a long away. But it looks like we all landed on our feet. Right smack where we’re supposed to be.”
He shared a warm look with Michael before gazing back and Sally and bringing his hand to her smiling face.
“Exactly the place,” he said.
As he leaned closer and pressed his lips to her ear, Lily strained forward and heard him a mutter a single word in the form of a knowing question.
“Happy?” he asked.
Sally nodded slowly, and as her mouth expanded into a soft, relaxed grin, Ken reached into his pocket. Revealing a small box of beige velvet he sank to one knee and flipped open the lid. Sally wasn’t the only one in the room to gasp at the sight of the diamond set in a band of white gold, and Sally trembled as she slapped her hand to her mouth.
“So what do you say?” he asked. “You want make an honest man out of an old timer?”
“Stop selling yourself short,” Sophia hissed through her teeth as she nudged his back with her elbow.
Ken either didn’t feel her touch or didn’t care. His eyes were only for Sally as he pulled the ring from the box and offered it with a smile. “It’d make me happy,” he said. “As happy as I want to make you.”
A pin could have dropped and sounded like a cracking mirror crushing into a million jagged shards. But when Sally nodded and let him slip the ring on her finger, Lily knew that there was no risk of bad luck. Not anymore. Ken was on his feet in two seconds flat, and as he kissed Sally quickly, and the room burst into applause. Some of the boys surrounded the pair, slapping Ken on the back as they kissed Sally’s flushed cheeks. Lily surveyed the scene happily as Brendan cranked the music to full volume and Sophia sauntered to her side.
“Happy news, ain’t it?” Sophia asked.
“Well worth a party,” Lily answered.
Narrowing her gaze, Sophia looked up at Michael and tilted her head to the side. “You better get on the stick, boy,” she said. “Time’s a wasting.”
As she stepped away from him, Michael eased Lily into a dark corner and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Sophia has a point,” he said. “I mean… maybe we should…”
“Not now,” Lily teased. “If… when we do it, I want to look like a princess.”
“You always look that way to me.”
Taking her into his arms, his kiss blazed against her lips, and Lily started to fall into his arms when he held her back and studied her face carefully.
“What?” she asked.
“No regrets? For any of it?”
Not for leaving home. Not for falling into his hot hands and learning every curvature of his taut frame. And not for pulling up stakes for one more ride and following him to this point in time.
“Well…”
“What?” Michael asked as he shot up straighter and grabbed her arms.
“I sort of would like to see the baby right here and now,” she said as she brought his hands to her rounded belly. Michael stroked her ever-expanding middle and buried his face in her hair.
“Only three more months,” he crooned. “Flash in the bucket compared to always.”
Leaning away from him, Lily rested her hands on his arms and flashed him a smile.
“I guess I can wait,” she said. “Because there’s always going to be a tomorrow night.”
As he kissed her deeply, Lily basked in Michael’s embrace. The party swirled around them, and tomorrow couldn’t get here soon enough.
THE END
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More Books by Paula Cox
I’M HERE TO RUIN HER LIFE.
I’m the farthest thing from a nice guy.
I’ve done things her pretty little mind can’t even imagine.
But if she wants to get out of this hellhole alive…
She’ll have to follow my every command.
I bought her because I wanted to.
Plain and simple.
But it’s just like they say: greed is good.
Because if I didn’t come along and snatch her off that auction block…
The devils around me would have eaten her alive.
They’re merciless.
I am, too – in my own way.
I want what I want – and right now, I want a taste of her.
Her sweetness.
Her innocence.
Her fear.
She might think she’d be better off without me.
But one look around will confirm the truth:
I’m the only chance she’s got.
So bare it all, princess.
I’ll give you your freedom at a price.
But never forget:
You belong to me now.
***
There’s only one rule: Obey.
I should’ve kept my eyes to myself.
But I couldn’t stop looking.
That was before I realized the consequences:
Once I have a taste of Griffin’s world, I can never go back.
It was innocent at first.
But I’ll never forget how he stared back at me.
How his eyes undressed me.
His words seduced me.
Every touch made me hungry for the next.
I begged for his kiss, pleaded for his touch.
Here, there, now, whenever – all I knew was that I had to have him.
I should’ve never fallen for him.
But I did – right to my knees.
I’m scared.
Not just because the tatted biker owns me now.
Not just because he demands I submit to him completely.
I’m scared that, when he demands obedience, I won’t be able to say no.
Because Griffin always gets what he wants.
***
I break everyone who challenges me. This girl will be no different.
Whether on the battlefield or in the cage, it makes no difference:
I always come out on top.
Tiana thinks she will be the one to strip away my defenses.
But the only one stripping is her.
I’ve got a body count that’s hundreds deep.
It’s what soldiers do:
We take down what’s in front of us.
I simply refuse to lose.
But Tiana is different than anyone I’ve ever faced.
She’s tough, but fragile.
Smart, but scared.
She’s seen hell, too.
A different kind of hell than the bloodbaths I’m used to.
I want to fight for her.
To protect her from the bastards in her past…
And the devils in her head.
For that to happen, she has to let me in.
She wants to refuse, to keep me at arms’ length.
But one way or another, I’m going to break her down.
I won’t rest until I make her mine.
***
I’ll make her give in to my darkest cravings.
She wanted an adventure.
I needed someone to control.
She was so innocent.
So pure that it’d almost be a shame to ruin her.
Almost.
She should have stayed away.
S
he should have kept her distance.
But now she’s mine to do with as I please.
I destroy beautiful things, and she’s going to be my masterpiece.
Every touch.
Every breath.
Every moan.
Until she can’t remember her own name.
Because she’ll be too busy screaming mine.
***
I won’t be denied, no matter how loud she screams.
She says she’s not scared, but she should be.
Because I’ll show her just how far I can go.
How deep she can fall.
How loud she can scream.
I left her behind when I joined the Marines.
When I came back, I built a fortune off my blood, sweat, and tears.
I didn’t think I’d get a second chance with her.
Until she crashed back into my world.
The only problem is, she’s more off-limits than ever.
But I won’t be denied.
She tells me she’s not scared—not scared of me, not scared of the consequences.
She should be, if she knows what’s good for her.
Because I’ll show her just how far I can go.
How hard she can fall.
How loud she can scream.
***
SHE DID THE UNTHINKABLE, AND NOW I’LL DESTROY HER.
I came to take her brother’s life.
She offered herself in her brother’s place instead.
Now there’s no turning back.
Because once I have her, I’m going to destroy her.
I'm a gun-for-hire. No questions, no hesitation.
I came to take a life—her brother’s life.
But then she did the unthinkable.
She offered herself to a monster like me.
Said she’d do whatever I want.
However I want. Whenever I want.
As long as I let her brother live.
She should have known better than to trust me.
She should have known better than to let me close.
Because I’ll destroy her.
Her full curves. Her innocent eyes. Her quivering lips…
I’ll make her scream.
I’ll make her beg.
I’ll make her mine.
And I’ll kill anyone who thinks they can stop me.
***
I WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE HER. INSTEAD, I TOOK HER AND BROKE HER.
I was a hitman who wanted to leave that life behind.
She was a good girl who just wanted to get by.
I saved her, but once I got a good look at her, I couldn’t hold back.
So I took her and broke her—night after night, until she’s mine.
She didn’t think she needed someone like me by her side.
I didn’t think I’d have to kill again.
I wanted a family—a wife and child.
I wanted to leave the hitman life behind.
She brought that world back in the worst possible way.
I saved her that night, but she made it impossible for me to pull away.
Neither of us was prepared to be in each other’s life.
Once I had her in my hands, I knew I won’t ever let her go.
Not after I’ve tasted her lips.
Not after I’ve broken her innocence.
Not after I’ve stripped her bare and left her trembling beneath me.
But that was before the same bastards who used to hire me put a target on her back.
Now it’s war.
And I won’t back down.
Not until they’re all dead.
Not until she is mine.
***
I TOOK HER, RUINED HER, AND LEFT MY BABY IN HER BELLY.
She was biker royalty—the Desert Knights MC president’s daughter.
I was trash as far as her family was concerned.
So I took her, ruined her, and made her scream.
I put my baby in her belly—and no-one, not even her family—can take them away from me.
Tory Walsh was the daughter of the Desert Knights MC President.
Sweet, innocent, and totally off-limits.
She was a drug I couldn’t quit.
A thirst I couldn’t quench.
Once wasn’t ever enough, so I took her and corrupted her.
Night after night, again and again.
Until her voice was hoarse from screaming.
Until her body quivered at my slightest touch.
Everything changed when I put a child in her belly.
I knew her family would come after me.
But I never thought they’d go after her and the baby.
Now, nothing is sacred and nothing is off-limits.
I’m keeping Tory, and I’m keeping our baby.
I’ll keep them safe. No matter what.
***
I SAVED HER. BUT SHE NEVER THOUGHT THAT I’D OWN HER
She was a firefighter who never thought she needed saving.
I was looking for the b*stards trying to destroy my club.
She didn’t count on me to save her.
But I’ll do more than that—I’m going to own her.
My enemies tried to kill me by setting my world on fire.
Dani was a firefighter who never thought she’d need a biker like me to save her.
I pulled her out of the fire, but now I can’t get her out of my head.
I know women like her.
She’s tough, but there’s no way she could ever hide her innocence.
I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me.
I can smell it in the air when she’s close.
She brings out the animal in me.
She makes me lose control.
She’s the match that lit the fire in me.
And nothing in the world can stop me from making her mine.
***
I WASN’T A HERO AND SHE DIDN’T ASK TO BE SAVED.
She's fought tooth and nail to survive.
I take what I want.
She didn't ask for a savior.
But she doesn’t know that I saved her for myself.
I f*ck and leave, simple and sweet. But when I saw her surrounded by those animals, something in me snapped.
Watching over some chick ain’t the kind of thing I do.
But Aimee was something else.
A spitfire with a body begging to be tamed, and a smart mouth I wouldn’t mind wrapped around me.
She knows I’m a monster.
But this monster’s her only chance of survival out here.
And I won’t stop until I make her MINE.
***
THIS JOB DIDN’T ASK ME TO TAKE HIS DAUGHTER, BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’LL DO .
I was supposed to kill the Don of our oldest rival crime family.
But that was before I got a glimpse of his daughter.
An untamable spitfire hiding under an innocent spoiled princess.
Once I saw her, I had a different plan in mind.
I plan to put her under me—night after night, again and again
Her father thought I was here to negotiate a truce between our crime families.
He had no idea I was sent to destroy them from the inside.
His innocent daughter was the only one who suspected me.
A princess who’s been sheltered from the world her father built.
One look at her, and the last thing I wanted was to keep her quiet.
I’ll finish this job, and then I’m taking her as a bonus.
She may try to uncover me for who I really am.
But not before I take her.
Strip her.
And leave her throat raw from screaming.
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