“Getting out of the life, getting a job, going straight, saving innocent lives—mine and others, by turning Darius over. And just being with me, with us.”
“But you want more. You want the picket fence.”
“I want a family,” I say. “But I would never ask you to do anything you didn’t want to do. You know that.”
“I know,” he says quietly, stroking the back of my head. “I know, Lily. I just—sometimes I don’t feel worthy of your love. Yours or Isaac’s.”
“You’re very worthy of our love, Roman. You’re the only person I’d ever dream of giving it to now. Your Isaac’s father and he adores you. I adore you.”
Roman swallows, and then kisses me on the forehead. “And I love the two of you,” he says. “Of course I do. After everything, how couldn’t I? It’s just—it’s hard for me to believe sometimes.” He disentangles himself, and then smirks down at me. I still love that smirk; it still takes me to dark, heated places. “Do you think the sitter will watch Isaac for a little while tonight?”
“Why? What do you have in mind?”
“I want you to meet me at that restaurant, you know the one . . .” His smirk gets wider. “Seven work for you?”
“Of course I know the one,” I say. “I’ll be there.”
Sam
I’m nervous when I walk into the restaurant, nervous like I never used to be. I reckon it’s ’cause I’m about to start a new life, a life where I leave all that blood and pain behind, a life where I be a good father to Isaac and a good partner to Lily. A life where I do what a man is supposed to do: step up to the plate when it matters. But it’s more than that. I want it. I want it deep down in my core. I just need to try and get past all this bullshit that’s holding me back: this pain, this self-doubt.
Seeing Lily goes a damn long way toward that. She looks incredible, as beautiful as the first time I laid eyes on her. More beautiful, even, because now she radiates with our shared history, radiates with motherhood, radiates with love. She’s wearing a sparkling green dress, her legs on display, and green heels. Her face is untouched by makeup, as usual, and her hair mussy around her shoulders. As I approach, she’s got her pinky finger in the cleft of her chin, cute as hell.
She looks up when I reach the table.
“Hey,” she says, smiling.
“Hello,” I reply. I offer her my hand. “I’m Sam.”
She giggles, but takes the hand anyway. “Okay, Sam.”
I reach into my pocket, take out the ID, and show it to her. “No, really. I’m Sam. Sam Stone.”
She squints at it, and then tilts her head up at me. “I don’t understand.”
“I think it’s time I left my old life behind, Lily. I think it’s time I left the blood and the heartache behind. I think it’s time I left the violence behind.” I swallow, nervous, more nervous than I ever was on a job. Lily must be able to tell. She stands up, presses her body close to mine. “I think it’s time . . .” I hesitate, and then push on. “I think it’s time for me to become a new man. I don’t want anything from my old life rearing its ugly head. So I’ve hit the reset button. If you’ll have me, I want to make a new life—with you, with Isaac. I want a picket fence with you, Lily. I want a picket fence and a mortgage and . . . and a place in the suburbs.”
Far back in my mind, a voice whispers: “But that’s not for men like you, never, never.”
But then Lily wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I want that, too.”
After a moment, I hug her back. For the first time in my life, I feel truly accepted. Like coming home after a life spent in a lashing storm.
THE END
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OTHER BOOKS BY KATHRYN THOMAS
THEY TOLD ME TO STAY AWAY. INSTEAD, I PUT MY BABY IN HER WOMB.
Impossible. Off limits. Suicidal to even try.
But that’s never stopped me before.
I want the president’s daughter to carry my baby…
And the devil himself won’t be able to stop me.
Her father’s got a temper that’s as famous as him.
No one in the state would dare defy his orders.
No one except for me.
Call me what you want: a rebel, a lone wolf, or a straight-up a**hole.
But following rules has never been my strong suit.
He can warn me, threaten me, do everything in his power to stop me.
But it ain’t gonna work.
Because I want Vanessa.
I want her now and forever.
In my bed and on my bike.
Naked and in a wedding dress.
Most of all, I want her round with my baby.
So do your worst, you S.O.B.
She’s mine now.
We’re a family.
Me, Vanessa, and the baby in her belly.
***
MY BLIND DATE IS A HITMAN. AND HE JUST PUT A BABY IN MY BELLY.
It all started with a lie.
I’m terrified of how it’s going to end.
Because I let myself fall for the hitman…
And now I’m pregnant with his baby.
LILY
He said he was my blind date.
I guess I just wanted to believe him.
He was tall, dark, handsome – and dangerous.
So I let him take me to bed.
But the best night of my life turned into the worst morning.
Because Roman is gone…
But he left his baby in my belly.
ROMAN
A gorgeous girl alone at a bar?
I’ll be whoever she wants me to be.
It’s not the first time I’ve lied.
And it sure as hell won’t be the last.
Because lies are my profession.
I hurt.
I torture.
I kill.
Compared to all that, lying is the nicest thing I do.
Lily doesn’t have to know all that, of course.
After all, she’ll only know me for a night.
I plan to disappear as soon as the sun’s up, never to be seen again.
But when I end up on her operating table a month later with a bullet in my shoulder,
I realize what I left behind with her.
From now on, I won’t let her out of my sight.
She belongs to me now.
***
HE’LL PUT A BABY IN ME SO HE OWNS ME FOREVER.
The artist in me wants to admire him.
The bad girl in me wants to strip for him.
But Bo Braxton doesn’t care about what I want.
Because he’s about to put a baby in my belly.
A man like Bo is used to getting his way.
He doesn’t say please.
He doesn’t say thank you.
He just sees what he desires and claims it as his.
And his sights just landed on me.
From the moment he walks into my tattoo parlor, he owns me.
I can’t say no.
And I wouldn’t, even if I had the chance.
He’s just too much in every way.
Too much man.
Too much power.
And far, far too much danger.
It’s not enough for Bo to own my body, my heart, my mind.
He’s got to brand his mark on me – permanently.
By putting his baby in my womb.
But what I didn’t know is that he has enemies.
And they’ll do whatever it takes to hurt him.
Even if that means hurting me.
Now, I’ve got a child growing inside of me and a war raging around me.
I’m gonna give Braxton a piece of my mind…
As long as we both get out alive.
***
THE DEVIL HIMSELF PUT A BABY IN MY BELLY.
I let things go too far.
But I couldn’t stop him – the mystery man who owned me for the night.
Submitting to him was a welcome escape from my horrible life…
But there’s no escaping the baby he put in my belly.
It was a wild Halloween party where I met him.
The masked man with a kiss like fire and a body like a god.
I wanted to feel alive again.
And when he held me down, I felt freer than I had in years.
I wanted his touch, his kiss, his power.
But I didn’t ask for what he gave me:
A child in my womb.
He left as suddenly as he came.
Now, I’m worse off than I ever was.
Pregnant and alone.
No hope in sight.
Even though he was masked, I swear I’d recognize him if only we crossed paths again.
There’s no mistaking that aura.
Danger.
Freedom.
Strength.
If I could only find the devil who did this to me…
I’d make him pay.
But as I soon discover…
The devil might be closer than I ever could have imagined.
***
I CAN NEVER LET HIM KNOW THAT HE GAVE ME A BABY.
Submitting to Leon was heaven and hell all in one.
I’ve tried my hardest to put it behind me.
Because if he finds out that he gave me my son…
He’ll never let me out of his sight again.
I’ve had a lifetime’s worth of bad luck in my twenty-five years.
Dead parents.
An abusive older brother.
The list goes on and on.
Everything I do ends in pain and disaster.
But I can’t let that happen to my son.
He’s the one good thing that ever happened to me.
And I’ll be damned if this harsh world lays a finger on him.
But just when I think we’re finally safe…
The past comes hurtling back into the picture.
In the form of one dangerous, sexy man:
Leon.
The biker, the rebel, the bad boy.
The one who took me to the peaks of pleasure…
And then left me – alone, sixteen, and pregnant.
But even the devil himself deserves a second chance.
And somehow, against all reason, I feel safe in his arms.
But if he finds out that Jack is his son…
That I’ve been lying to him…
There will be hell to pay.
With his hands, his mouth, his dark, stormy eyes, he’ll make me see the truth:
We both belong to him.
***
CARSON WON’T REST UNTIL HE HAS ME BENT OVER.
He’s a violent man.
And he’s here on a violent mission.
If I want my family to live…
I have to give him all of me.
There was no hiding from him.
Once his eyes landed on me…
That was the end of it.
No running.
No avoiding what was to come.
And when it came –
When HE came –
It was as brutal and rough as his reputation.
He took everything he wanted from me.
And the craziest part was…
That I didn’t want it to end.
Carson didn’t come here to help me.
But now that he’s had a taste,
He sure as hell isn’t going to leave without me.
I belong to him now.
***
HAWK WANTS MY BODY… AND I’M ABOUT TO LET HIM HAVE IT.
He looked like a bad boy.
Turns out, he was worse than I ever imagined.
Violent, angry, a criminal, a killer.
But when he stares me down, all I want is to submit to his darkest desires.
Letting myself fall for him was the worst mistake I could have made.
But how could I say no?
He was sexy.
He was dark.
He was everything I’d ever dreamed of, wrapped in a leather jacket and seductive smile.
And when he showed me the person inside that grizzly exterior, I knew there was no going back.
But this one-way road might lead straight to hell.
After all, Hawk isn’t the only one with shadows in his past.
I’ve got demons, too.
And just when it seems like I’ve finally escaped them,
The bastards come roaring back into the picture.
This time, they might not let me out alive.
And they might damn Hawk to the grave with me.
***
I’M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER, BUT I’M ABOUT TO CORRUPT HER.
She was pure until she met me.
But her innocence was no match for the darkness I carry within.
Still, there’s good somewhere deep inside.
I’m going to take her, break her, make her mine… but I’ll keep her safe until the day I die.
I’ve done bad things.
Bloody things.
Things no man should have to do.
Now, I want to put that life behind me.
The problem is, the underworld has a way of dragging a man back down into its depths.
But if I can’t make it out, I’ve got to make sure that she does.
When our bodies burn together –
hot, sweaty, and delicious –
nothing else matters.
She’s the only thing in my life worth saving.
And even that might be impossible.
At first, I tried to be her protector.
But by the time all this is over, I might be the cause of her downfall.
***
By the time I’m done, everybody will know she belongs to me
Ten years ago, I broke her heart.
I thought I’d never see her again.
Never thought I’d hear her soft moans or feel her body trembling against mine.
Until now.
And this time, I won’t ever let her go.
I’ve spent my entire life breaking things.
Bones, hearts, and my opponents.
She was the only thing I regretted breaking.
I thought I’d lost her for good.
I thought I’d never see her again.
Until I saw her again.
Saw those same innocent eyes.
Saw those same irresistible curves.
She says she wants nothing to do with me.
She says she can’t re-open the wounds of the past.
She’s wrong.
She’s been mine—she’s always been mine.
And by the time I’m done with her, everybody will knows she belongs to me.
Forever.
***
SHE TRIED TO RUIN MY CAREER. NOW, I’LL RUIN HER.
I’m this league’s worst nightmare.
Good looks, hard body, and a scandal sheet a mile long.
She was here for her next big story.
I’ve got something else big for her to get her hands on.
The media says I’m everything wrong with professional basketball.
Pure talent and athleticism can’t bury the scandals and ghosts from my past.
The last thing I needed was another reporter looking for their next big story.
But that was before I saw who they sent.
She’s here to uncover my latest scandal.
But one look and I know she’s going to be that scandal.
She wants to use me for her next big story?
I’ve got something else big I want her hands on.
I’m going to show her just how bad I can be.
Just how far I can push her.
Use her.
Until she can’t decide if she wants to beg me to stop.
Or beg me for more.
Until she’s begging me to stop.
I STOLE HER, RUINED HER, AND FORGOT HER. BUT THAT WAS BEFORE I FOUND OUT ABOUT OUR BABY.
I wrecked her, used her, and ruined her for other men.
I thought that was the last time I’d see her.
Until I heard the rumors that she’s pregnant…
And that the child is mine.
She was a small innocent thing who should’ve never been around a bunch of animals like us.
I made her my trophy.
I paraded her around for everyone to see and then I took everything I wanted from her.
I wrecked her, used her, and ruined her for other men.
I thought that was the last time I’d see her.
That was before I heard the rumors:
She’s pregnant, and everything screams that the baby is mine.
The only problem is, she’s now the property of someone else.
A real filthy bastard who lives up to his club’s name.
He thinks that she belongs to him.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
Nobody takes my woman and child from me.
BAD BOY’S SURPRISE BABY Page 62