Page 13 of Brutal Secrets

“Mia is ready for her feed.”

Jace drops his head back dramatically. “Can you feed her one Thalia pumped? We’re busy.” He bucks beneath me again for emphasis, rubbing his hardening cock against my wetness.

“No can do. We’re all out. We’re all out of Mommy’s milk, aren’t we, little Mia,” he coos through the door.

“He’s all out?” Jace raises an eyebrow.

“Guess so.” I shrug.

He sighs. “Great, just fucking great,” he grumbles.

Chuckling, I throw my leg off him. “At least you came.” I shrug again as I head toward the bathroom for a quick shower.

I glance over my shoulder, and Jace rolls and faces me. “I wanted to fill you with my baby.” He pouts, and I choke at how adorable his expression is—a look reserved purely for me and the girls.

“Try again later?” I chew on my bottom lip.

“Nah, I think I’ll join you in the shower.”

I squeal when he untangles himself from the sheets and lunges forward, then lifts me around my waist and sinks his teeth into my neck as we move toward the shower.

Stepping into the shower, Jace flicks on the warm water. It runs between us, and I wrap my legs around him while he holds onto the tiled wall behind me, then he places his forehead against mine, and his cock rests at my hole. He presses his lips against mine, and our kiss is slow, passionate, and deliberate. Once I’m panting for breath, he pulls away and glides his lips down my neck, with small bursts of pain hitting me as he sinks his teeth into me. Marking me as his.

Each mark is a promise of things to come.

A brutal promise of more.

Chapter

Seven

TIA

We walk the entire mall before we find a new pair of pink glitter cowboy boots for Harper. Of course she insists on wearing them straight away, and she looks cute as hell with her rainbow tutu and unicorn T-shirt on. I love that she can finally embrace a style suitable for her age now that she’s not being suppressed by the Lancasters.

A shiver runs down my spine at the memory, but I shake it off and glance around at my family. The here and now.

Cole pushes Mia in her buggy while my fingers are entwined with Jace’s, and Harper holds Lucas’s hand while chattering away about becoming an artist like her mommy. I smile with pride as warmth spreads through me, and when Jace brings our entwined fingers to his lips and places a tender kiss to the back of my hand, I practically melt on the spot. He shoots me a wink, as if knowing how much his touch affects me.

“We should get some food,” Cole suggests, breaking me out of our hypnotic stare.

“Sure,” I agree, knowing Mia is due a feed soon anyway. Lucas’s gray eyes scan the area calculatingly before landing back on me, and something about the action makes my eyes narrow, as I realize this is something he has been doing all day.

My eyes examine the area, and as uncertainty creeps up my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

A loud squeal breaks me out of my thoughts. “There. Can we go there?” Harper points toward a diner while bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“We can go wherever you like, little T.” Cole tugs on her ponytail, and she giggles. “I bet they have big ice-cream sundaes in there too,” he tacks on with a panty-melting smile that makes me swoon no matter how many times he’s done it.

Her eyes light up as she tugs Lucas toward the diner. Cole follows behind, and I watch with intrigue as Lucas scans the mall again, then his eyes land on Jace, as if having a silent conversation with him. My body tenses, and I immediately regret not controlling my action. Even if Jace wasn’t holding my hand, he’s so in tune with my body, he probably would have noticed.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, and I lift my eyes toward his. I take in the concern etched on his face and the way his shoulders are bunched tight with awareness. He licks his lips while flicking his gaze over my shoulder, as if looking for something.

Someone.

I open my mouth to ask him why they’re acting so strange, but Lucas pokes his head out of the diner door, interrupting me. “We have a table.” He tilts his head toward the entrance.

Jace relaxes and opens the door to the diner for me. Just like that, my thoughts are preoccupied, because sitting at a table with a beaming, proud smile is Cole, with Mia on his lap andHarper placing a paper chef’s hat on his head. Her laughter permeates the air, and even Lucas can’t help but react to her infectious, bubbly personality. She’s everything I wanted to be as a child, and the fact that the Lancasters didn’t stifle her individuality like they tried has me counting my blessings once again.

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