by Nikki Ash
“There we go,” the doctor says, drawing my attention back to our daughter.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“STOP SAYING FUCK!” Talia warns through gritted teeth.
I gape in part horror, part fascination as I stare at the head sticking out of my wife’s body. A film of something covers her face and she’s as purple as her mother. Birthing a baby is a fucking miraculous thing.
I gently caress Talia’s thigh. “I can see her head, moró mou. She’s so perfect.”
Talia sobs but then she’s pushing again. And again. And again. Until the baby seems to slide out of her body and into the doctor’s waiting arms. Bloody and messy. Screaming at the top of her little lungs.
“Big baby girl,” the doctor praises as he shuffles the squirming infant onto Talia’s stomach. Blood is everywhere. The good kind of blood. The blood of miracles.
Talia’s whole body trembles as she cries and admires our daughter.
“Want to cut the cord?”
I snap my eyes over to the doctor, who offers me a pair of scissors. Sure enough, the thick umbilical cord that’s attached to our daughter needs removing. Will it hurt if I cut it? Can Talia feel it?
“Cut the cord, Kostas,” Talia urges, her words no longer laced with violence. They’re gentle and sweet and encouraging.
Frowning at the doctor, I shakily accept the scissors. “Are they going to feel it?”
“No, son, they’re not going to feel it,” he says, chuckling.
I’ve cut off limbs and eyeballs and every other body part imaginable.
So why the fuck do I feel like I’m going to pass out?
It’s a cord. A tiny passage of nutrients our daughter no longer needs.
With bile rising in my throat and sweat coating my flesh, I start to snip through the cord. But it doesn’t cut smooth and easy. I have to hack through the thick rope.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This time, Talia laughs.
“Baby ears are listening,” she teases.
I manage to sever the cord, making Nora officially ours to take care of and protect. The weight of the responsibility nearly crushes me. But I’ve managed to do it with Talia and Zoe. What’s one more?
As they continue to deliver the placenta, I abandon the scissors and opt not to watch that part. I may be a fucked-up mobster who’s seen some shit, but I haven’t seen that, nor do I fucking plan on it. No, I’d rather keep my eyes glued to our perfect daughter and her adoring mother.
“Zoe is going to be so proud,” Talia tells me tearfully. “You think she’s giving Uncle Fee hell?”
I snort. I hope so. Phoenix is a pussy-magnet player who’s corrupted Adrian with his manwhore ways. When they’re not working, they tear up the fucking town looking for women. I’m glad one little girl owns his heart. Now he’ll have another one soon wrapped around his finger.
“I hope she tells him the names of all her stuffed animals,” I say with a chuckle.
She has tons. Too many. Talia and I both have been the victims of her lengthy sessions of telling us the name of each and every one of them. If you interrupt, she starts over. If she forgets a name, she starts over. I’ve tortured many a men, but Zoe has invented a form of torture all on her own.
I’d say she got it from me, but that has Talia written all over it.
We admire her until they take her away to clean her up a bit and run some tests. Then, they hand our daughter back, bundled in a warm blanket.
“Want to hold her?” Talia asks, her smile serene.
I nod as I pick up the tiny thing. She weighs nothing. So light and fragile. As I pull her to my chest and cradle her, my eyes burn with emotion. I’ll protect this little one like I do her sister and her mother. With everything I own until the day I die.
Nora scrunches her face and makes a crabby whining cry that has me chuckling. She’s so damn cute. When I glance over at Talia, her bottom lip wobbles as tears streak down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, alarmed at her crying.
She shakes her head. “Nothing, Kostas. Everything is right. Better than right. It’s perfect.”
I let out a relieved sigh and kiss my daughter’s forehead. “I love you, prinkípissa.” Princess.
“You’re a good man,” Talia mutters, reaching her hand out for me.
Taking it, I give it a squeeze. “Only for you.”
Our eyes lock and a million emotions pass between us.
Talia and I are the earth, the sun, the stars, and everything in between. We’re evil and good, wrapped in one complicated ball of love. She challenges me. I provoke her. Vases get broken and words get said. Sometimes we fight like hellions straight from the bowels of the Underworld.
But we love hardest of all.
Fully. Passionately. Dangerously.
Our love is violent and messy, destructive for those who dare near it. It slaughters and slays. Powerful and intimidating to those around it. Love between a Demetriou king and queen is chaotic like the tropical storms that often ravish our seaside properties. We’re a pull of two forces of nature, only working when orbiting the other.
Fate drew us together—victims of a complicated history of our parents.
Love kept us there.
“What are you thinking about?” Talia asks, her blue eyes gleaming with adoration and utter loyalty.
“You. Always you.”
The End
***If you loved this duet, you’ll love Heath also by K Webster and Nikki Ash!***
Head Above Water by Avril Lavigne
Complicated by Avril Lavigne
I’m a Mess by Bebe Rexha
Broken-hearted Girl by Beyoncé
Reason to Stay by Brett Young
Never be the Same by Camila Cabello
Consequences by Camila Cabello
The Scientist by Coldplay
Let it Go by James Bay
In Case by Demi Lovato
i hate u, i love u by Gnash
Desire by Meg Myers
Stay by Rihanna
Back to You by Louis Tomlinson
Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello
Love on the Brain by Rihanna
Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfeld
The Monster by Eminem
So Good by Zara Larsson
Remind Me to Forget by Kygo & Miguel
Him & I by G-Eazy & Halsey
Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
Mad by Ne-Yo
I’m a Mess by Ed Sheeran
Apple
Spotify
Thank you to my husband! Love you, honey!
Nikki Ash, thank you for creating magic yet again with me! I always have so much fun writing with you!! These characters hold a special place in my heart…right next to you!
A huge thank you to my Krazy for K Webster’s Books reader group. You all are insanely supportive and I can’t thank you enough.
A gigantic thank you to those who always help me out. Elizabeth Clinton, Ella Stewart, Misty Walker, Holly Sparks, Jillian Ruize, Gina Behrends, Rosa Saucedo, Ker Dukey, and Nikki Ash—you ladies are my rock!
Thank you so much to Misty Walker for being the best friend a girl could ask for! Love you!!
Thank you so much, Wendy Rinebold, for proofing this book! You’re a star, lady!!
A big thank you to my author friends who have given me your friendship and your support. You have no idea how much that means to me.
Thank you to all of my blogger friends both big and small that go above and beyond to always share my stuff. You all rock! #AllBlogsMatter
Emily A. Lawrence, thank you SO much for editing this book. You rock!!
Thank you, Stacey Blake, for being amazing as always when formatting my books and in general. I love you! I love you! I love you!
Lastly but certainly not least of all, thank you to all of the wonderful readers out there who are willing to hear my story and enjoy my characte
rs like I do. It means the world to me!
Thank you to my children. Your love and support is everything. To Bret, thank you for being the peanut butter to my jelly. Kristi Webster, thank you for believing in me and in this story. You make me a better person and a better writer. Thank you for your friendship. Nikki Ash’s Fight Club reader group. In this crazy world, you guys are my safe place. Thank you! Thank you to all of the ladies who have my back. Stacy Garcia, Ashley Cormier, Brittany Ridge, Andrea Hebda, Tabitha Willbanks, Shannon Voyles, Kaylee Ryan, Lisa McKay, and Kristi Webster. I can’t imagine doing any of this without you. Emily A. Lawrence, thank you for editing this book. Stacy Blake, thank you for making the book so pretty! Ena and Amanda with Enticing Journey, thank you for keeping me sane! I don’t know what I would do without you guys! To all of the bloggers who take time out of their day to share their love of books, thank you for everything you do. And a huge thank you to the readers. There are so many books out there for you to read. Thank you for opening your hearts and allowing my words to speak to you. It’s because of you, I get to continue to do what I love.
K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.
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Nikki Ash resides in South Florida where she is an English teacher by day and a writer by night. When she’s not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand. From the Boxcar Children, to Wuthering Heights, to the latest single parent romance, she has lived and breathed every type of book. While reading and writing are her passions, her two children are her entire world. You can probably find them at a Disney park before you would find them at home on the weekends!
Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out.– Pam Allyn
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Website * Nikki Ash’s reader group
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Psychological Romance Standalones:
My Torin
Whispers and the Roars
Cold Cole Heart
Blue Hill Blood
Romantic Suspense Standalones:
Dirty Ugly Toy
El Malo
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KKinky Reads Collection:
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Choke Me
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Watch Me
Hurt Me
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Paranormal Romance Standalones:
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This is Love, Baby (Book 2)
This Isn’t Over, Baby (Book 3)
This Isn’t You, Baby (Book 4)
This is Me, Baby (Book 5)
This Isn’t Fair, Baby (Book 6)
This is the End, Baby (Book 7—a novella)
Lost Planet Series:
The Forgotten Commander (Book 1)
The Vanished Specialist (Book 2)
The Mad Lieutenant (Book 3)
The Uncertain Scientist (Book 4)
2 Lovers Series:
Text 2 Lovers (Book 1)
Hate 2 Lovers (Book 2)
Thieves 2 Lovers (Book 3)
Pretty Little Dolls Series:
Pretty Stolen Dolls (Book 1)
Pretty Lost Dolls (Book 2)
Pretty New Doll (Book 3)
Pretty Broken Dolls (Book 4)
The V Games Series:
Vlad (Book 1)
Ven (Book 2)
Vas (Book 3)
Four Fathers Books:
Pearson
Four Sons Books:
Camden
Elite Seven Books:
Gluttony
Greed
Not Safe for Amazon Books:
The Wild
Hale
Bad Bad Bad
This is War, Baby
Like Dragonflies
The Breaking the Rules Series:
Broken (Book 1)
Wrong (Book 2)
Scarred (Book 3)
Mistake (Book 4)
Crushed (Book 5—a novella)
The Vegas Aces Series:
Rock Country (Book 1)
Rock Heart (Book 2)
Rock Bottom (Book 3)
The Becoming Her Series:
Becoming Lady Thomas (Book 1)
Becoming Countess Dumont (Book 2)
Becoming Mrs. Benedict (Book 3)
Alpha & Omega Duet:
Alpha & Omega (Book 1)
Omega & Love (Book 2)
All books can be read as standalones
The Fighting Series
Fighting for a Second Chance (Secret baby)
Fighting with Faith (Secret baby)
Fighting for Your Touch
Fighting for Your Love (Single mom)
Fighting ‘round the Christmas Tree: A Fighting Series Novel
Fighting Love Series
Tapping Out (Secret baby)
Clinched (Single dad)
Takedown (Single mom)
Imperfect Love Series
The Pickup (Secret baby)
Going Deep (Enemies to Lovers)
On the Surface (Second chance, single dad)
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Bordello (Mob romance)
Knocked Down (Single dad)
Unbroken Promises (Friends to lovers)
Through His Eyes (Single mom, age gap)
Clutch Player
Co-written novels
Heath (Modern telling)
Hidden Truths
Stolen Lies