by Izzy Sweet
Shit, that’s right. Still, he’s one of the guys I trust the most to get a shit job done.
“Five large to do a pickup.”
“What the fuck do you want me to grab?” he asks, and I can tell he’s getting clear-headed.
“I need you to—”
He interrupts me before I get to finish. “Fuck it, dude. You pulled me into a job last night a half hour after I got off an eighteen-hour flight. I’m fucking drained and need to sleep.”
“Six large and get the fuck up, asshole. It’s a simple job, and one I can call on the higher power to have assigned if I need it to be.”
“Seriously? Fuck, this better be good, Andrew.”
“I need you to go to the girl’s house and grab clothes for them. Then I need you to go to Abigail’s bedroom, there’s a little…”
I trail off as I hear Johnathan muttering very dark words about my parentage.
Smiling at Abigail, I ask, “Exactly who is Molly, princess?”
“She’s my panda!”
“Grab one Molly the Panda bear from the bed. Get some clothes of hers too… anything else, Abigail?”
“She likes her pink umbrella!” she giggles as she goes back to placing her silverware by her plate.
Sitting there so prim and proper like, she looks like a little cartoon princess. Big blue eyes, chocolate brown hair, and fair skinned.
“Get Molly’s pink umbrella too.”
The mutterings of my parentage have changed to my empty brain capacity.
“Have James drive you too, and keep an eye out. I’m thinking there’s going to be some serious heat around the apartment.”
Instantly he stops his muttering.
I can hear a grin in his voice as he asks, “What kind of heat are we talking?”
“Russian kind. We borrowed one of their big backers. The guy was sweet on Amy.”
“Hmph, should I expect a welcome party?”
“Probably. But I want you to keep this as quiet as possible. If there are any obstacles, you need to get rid of them. I want this quiet, ghostly fucking quiet.”
“Got it. I’ll take Peter instead, he’s better at the quiet job types. Fucker would be a hell of a cat burglar.”
“Sounds good. I want it all before bedtime.”
“Dude, you sound like such a pussy.”
“Fuck you, biker-boy-asshole.”
He hangs up his phone and I only realize my side of the conversation wasn’t so quiet when I turn around to see Abigail’s eyes go wide.
We stare at each other for a moment and then she says….
“I’m hungry, Andrew. That ice cream was yummy last night; do you have any?”
Laughing at her big blue puppy dog eyes, I shake my head. “Sorry kiddo, no ice cream here. I have stuff for breakfast though if you feel like you would want some of that.”
We’re about halfway through breakfast when I hear feet running across the upstairs. A second later, I hear them coming down the stairs.
“Your mother is awake,” I announce to Abigail as Amy comes to a screeching halt in the kitchen. She looks wide-eyed at both me and the little girl.
“Hi, Mommy!” Abigail giggles as she jumps out of her chair and races to hug her mom.
Hugging her daughter tight to her side, Amy looks at me with worried eyes. “What have you two been up to?”
“Andrew made me pancakes and bacon! Lots of milk, too!”
Tugging away from her mom, Abigail grabs Amy’s hand and pulls her to our table.
Grinning at Amy, I point to the plate I set for her. “Yeah, you missed out on our early breakfast. But I can make you some too if you want.”
As soon as Abigail slips from the table and shoots off to the couch for her morning cartoons, I stand up from my place at the table. Amy hasn’t moved from her spot near where Abigail was sitting. She looks pissed and scared at the same time.
I see the fight in her but I can tell she genuinely fears for her life. She has a right to be both, but not with me. I would never do anything to hurt her or Abigail, they’re mine now.
Standing up from the table, I walk over to Amy. I take her by the hand and she stands up hesitantly. Abigail can see us from the living room and I think right now we need a bit of privacy.
Leading Amy to the counter area of the kitchen, out of Abigail’s sight, I give her a good once over. She looks far too good in just a long t-shirt.
“What we did last night,” she hisses at me with an angry look. “You totally took advantage… I… we can’t do that again.”
Snickering, I cross my arms over my chest. “That’s not what you said when I stuck my tongue in your—”
Her eyes go wide and her face flushes a bright red. “I’m so never allowing you to—”
Grabbing her by the hips, I pull her into my body. She isn’t wearing a bra right now, and as soon as I press her to me, her hard nipples press into my chest.
Leaning down, I cover her mouth with mine and turn us toward the counter. Lifting her up, I set her down on top of it and push my hips between her legs.
She’s as resistant to letting me between her thighs as she is in kissing me back. I don’t stop though; I know what she needs. It’s like that old saying, her lips are saying no but those eyes are saying fuck yes.
Slowly her hands stop beating at my chest. They latch around my neck and her mouth opens. Her tongue comes out, tentative at first, before meeting me lick for lick.
I can feel the warmth of her pussy pushing against my jeans and I can barely contain my desire to claim her right here, right now.
Two things keep me from unzipping my pants and thrusting myself deep inside her tight pussy. A giggling little princess behind me and my phone suddenly ringing.
Pulling my lips away from Amy’s, I growl. “Shit.”
Turning around, I stare at a laughing Abigail. “I’m going to get you, little princess!”
“Mommy said you weren’t her boyfriend, but you are! You are!”
“Oh god…” I hear Amy mutter behind me.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I look down.
Fuck.
Pushing connect, I look back up to Amy. “Gotta take this, babe, but I’ll be back.”
“Please tell me you aren’t calling me babe now, Andrew,” Lucifer says in a quiet voice.
“No sir, that would be someone else,” I say.
“Good. Though if you are calling the young lady I charged you with taking care of last night, babe…” he trails off and for the life of me I have absolutely no clue what his tone is.
Because right now I’m in foreign waters. I’ve never been in a position like this before, and I really don’t know how he’s going to handle me claiming Amy as mine.
Honesty with Lucifer is always the best way to go though. “Yes, sir, I am.”
There’s a very long, pregnant pause. Like two minutes of silence. No breathing, no mutterings, no anything. I’m half tempted to say something, but I keep my peace.
Anything I say now just sounds like excuses.
I glance over at Amy and I can tell she knows who I’m speaking to. Her body is rigid and her previous blushing skin is pale white.
Pulling the phone away from my mouth, I grab her by the back of the neck. Pushing my lips right next to her ear, I murmur quietly, “Mine.”
She looks from me to the phone twice before she quietly hops down from the counter. “I’m going to go play with Abigail for a bit. Give you some privacy.”
Nodding my head, I wait for Lucifer to finally speak. “You do know I could go without these kind of complications, these kinds of headaches.”
Laughing, I say, “Life isn’t fun for you, Lucifer, without this kind of thing. You’d be bored stiff.”
“How serious is this, Andrew?”
“How serious were you?” I don’t need to say Lily’s name; he knows what I am talking about.
“Very well. But we need to talk about your timing some time.”
“Probably… nothing I can do
about it though.”
“Probably,” he sighs. “So this is why when I called Johnathan to get a report about his most recent trip I find out he’s already on a job for you with Peter?”
“Yeah, my girls need some of their personal assets and Molly the Panda.”
“What is Molly the Panda?”
“Abigail’s panda bear.”
“Please tell me you will be taking pictures of Johnathan holding that?”
“Like I could stop myself.”
“Sounds good. He will be keeping this a simple job, I hope? The Russians have to have an idea of what happened to Ivan by now. But I don’t want to leave a giant calling card.”
“It will be a quick grab. I think it will also give us a chance to find out who’s watching her place and how far they want to take things. They have to be careful right now, they can’t be seen going on full defense. Nothing is really known beyond Ivan was snatched, and why would they blame us… We’re their friends, right?”
“Sounds good, keep me abreast of it all.”
“Will do.”
“Is there anything you need for them to be more comfortable?”
“No, I think we’re good for right now. I’m going to take them shopping tomorrow for clothes and toys. I want them to feel at home.”
“Hmm. Why don’t you come out to the compound with your girls tomorrow night for dinner? We can have a talk while the wives get to know each other.”
Well, fuck. Looks like Amy and I just got hitched by the devil himself.
Fuck, did I just get a readymade family? I think I did. It’s not like I didn’t already claim her as mine… this just makes it real.
“Yes, sir. I’ll see you there.”
Disconnecting the call, I set the phone down on the counter. That went better than I could have possibly hoped for.
Turning towards the living room, I go searching for my princess and the woman who’s mine now.
8
Amy
God help me, I don’t know how I’m going to get Abigail and I out of this mess. I don’t know how I’m going to get us away from this crazy man…
Especially now that he’s calling me his.
Just what the hell does he mean by that? I wonder as I take a seat beside Abigail on the couch.
He called me his in the kitchen as if he thought the concept would give me comfort, but all it does is fill me with dread.
Does he intend to keep us? Like we’re pets or something? Does he really think he can get away with it?
Fuck, he probably can.
Just because I slept with him once… okay, twice, doesn’t mean I like the man. It was just a mistake made in the heat of the moment. A mistake I seriously don’t intend on repeating—despite what just happened in the kitchen.
All I have to do is keep my distance from him. Avoid letting him touch me. Avoid touching him.
But until when?
Why, dammit?
Why does my body turn on me every time he touches me? Why, even now, do I still shiver with the memory of his kiss. Why can’t his touch feel cold and disgusting like Ivan’s? What makes him different?
At least I knew Ivan, I could predict him. Andrew is a complete wild card. I have no idea what he’ll do next.
Abigail smiles and bounces beside me as she watches her show, and something about it just makes me want to scream in hysterical frustration. She’s already adapting to this madness. The stuff that’s going on is probably even starting to feel normal to her.
I’ve got to get her out of here.
I glance towards the front door. I’m dressed in only a t-shirt, and we don’t have the necklace, or any money, or anything we could trade, but…
Fuck it, we should just make a run for it. Anything is better than staying here.
I rise to my feet and Andrew steps out of the kitchen.
My luck can’t be this bad, it can’t…
As if he can tell exactly what I’m thinking and he’s amused by it, his lips curl up into a smirk as he regards me.
“Going somewhere, Amy?” he asks.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Abigail tear her attention away from the TV to look up at me.
“Actually…” I drawl out just to see that smirk on his face fade away.
“Don’t even think about it,” he warns, taking a menacing step towards me.
Would he hurt me in front of my daughter?
I stare into his dark eyes for a long moment and come to the conclusion that yes, yes he would.
Whatever there is between us, I don’t think it protects me. No, if anything, it makes my situation that much worse.
I’m no fool, I know he has all the power here.
He can do anything he wants to me, and who’s to stop him? Me? Abigail?
“Amy…” he says, taking another step towards me.
Just the thought of him coming closer is enough to send me into a panic. I don’t know what will happen if he gets close but I know it won’t be good. And it’s not because I’m afraid he’ll hurt me. No, I’m afraid he’ll do something worse… like kiss me again. I’d rather submit than endure that.
I’ll take humiliation over the confusing attraction to keep him at a distance.
At least for now.
With a sigh, I look away and drop back down to the couch.
Andrew seems to relax, the tension going out of him. His shoulders drop and he cracks his neck.
He stares at me for a long moment, the air crackling between us, then walks over to the dining room table.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
I shake my head. My stomach is so twisted up just the thought of food is making me feel sick.
“You should eat,” he says and looks at me pointedly.
It takes me a moment to realize what he’s trying to say. When I realize he’s looking at my stomach, my face burns with mortification. He can’t be seriously suggesting… Oh my god, he is… He’s totally eluding that I could be pregnant.
I can’t even.
No.
Hell no.
Oh god.
But maybe I am…
My brain just shuts down, having reached its limit of acceptable craziness.
Over the next few minutes, I’m vaguely aware of Abigail bouncing up and down beside me, singing along with a cartoon princess.
Pregnant. I could be pregnant.
In the kitchen, Andrew cleans up the mess from breakfast.
If I am, then what?
I’m so paralyzed by my thoughts, I just sit on the couch in stunned silence. I didn’t think my situation could get any worse, but now it’s about as bad as it could possibly get.
It’s not until Andrew is done cleaning up and almost upon me that I feel like I can move again. All my muscles tense up and I’m prepared to bolt.
He drops down on the couch and wraps his arm around me just as I try to stand.
Bicep tensing, his arm squeezes around me to drag me closer to him. I try to push up. I try to scoot away from him. But my desire to move away only seems to make him that more determined.
I know this drill, we did this last night, but I can’t seem to stop myself.
The more I fight him the more his hold tightens.
He traps me against his side, arm wrapping around my shoulder, and his heavy hand coming to rest on my arm.
Abigail glances over at us and he grins at her.
To my dismay, she smiles back at him.
I take a deep breath, hold it, and count to ten. If I just relax, maybe eventually his hold will loosen enough for me to escape.
I exhale the breath I was holding, and tired of staring off into space, I take a good look at him, familiarizing myself with him. After all, it’s always good to know your enemy.
Last night, in the dark, I couldn’t see him though I got to know him quite intimately.
In the light of day, he seems to loom even larger, if that’s even possible. It must be because he’s so close, practically breathing dow
n my neck.
I look down at the huge hand upon my arm and note the scars on his knuckles. I wonder how many men he’s hit with his hands. How many women? How many children?
Shivering with that thought, I jerk my gaze away only to have it fall upon his lap. I definitely don’t need any reminders of how big he is in that department.
I drag my eyes up until they fall on his face.
He stares down at me with a dark, hungry intensity that takes my breath away.
Why is he looking at me like that?
And why is his big head growing even bigger?
Oh, it’s because he’s dipping his face, coming in for a kiss.
Leaning back, I blurt out, “If you’re going to keep us stuck in this house, Abigail will need more to do. Watching cartoons all day isn’t good for her.”
He frowns, pausing a breath away from my lips, looking chagrinned.
“I don’t know how long you intend for this to go on,” I continue, now that I’ve got his attention. “But we’ll also need some clean clothes and all our toiletries.”
He nods his head, his eyes locking on my lips, and murmurs, “It’s already being taken care of.”
“It is?” I ask with some surprise, not expecting that answer. “In what way?” I press, more warily.
Is it being taken care of because he intends to release us? Or is it because he doesn’t expect us to be alive long enough to need more than what we already have?
“Johnathan is bringing—” he starts only to be cut off by someone knocking loudly on the front door. “Speak of the devil,” he mutters and unwraps his arm from around my shoulders with a look of regret.
As soon as his hold on me loosens, I pull away from him. He stands and I sink back into the couch cushions, grateful for the interruption.
Really, just sitting next to him was dangerous. I was afraid that at any moment he was going to start kissing me right in front of Abigail and I wouldn’t be able to resist him.
It’s not until he’s halfway to the front door that I realize I’m half naked. Grabbing one of the couch pillows, I pull up my knees and hug it close, hiding my lack of pants.
“Johnathan,” Andrew says coolly and steps back, giving the other man room to walk in.
Johnathan walks in and grunts before dropping the box he’s carrying to the floor with a loud crash.