Page 88 of Monster

Not like I was with Emmy, and I wondered how Emmy would feel being my old lady.

She would fucking wear my patch, my mark. She would be mine, and I had a feeling, unlike with Veronica, that I would never let Emmy go.

I didn’t say any of that to her, though, so I fed her another bite.

She turned her head away and rubbed her stomach. “Full.”

Fuck, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she started cuddling in my chest and purring like a little kitten.

How fucking adorable.

I finished eating, feeling her eyes on me the entire time.

“Do Kai and Braxton have the same mom?” she asked.

I looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. She didn’t shy away from the intrusive question. Seemed only fair, I supposed, since I was keeping her here against her will.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“Where is she now?”

“The last I checked, she was stripping in Las Vegas,” I said casually.

Her eyes widened. “Why would you make your kids’ mom strip for a living? Surely you could take care of her with all the money you have, even if you’re not together.”

I nodded. “I would have married the woman. For my boys. But the bitch didn’t want that. She didn’t want kids to tie her down. She fucking abandoned them, and I told her that if she left, she wouldn’t have access to any of my money. That didn’t go over well with her, and she would have used Braxton to get to me.”

“Not Kai?” she asked quietly, her eyes directed at my chest.

“Kai was a wild teenager. Things were bad with him because… well, because of shit that happened. He wasn’t someone anyone could use. And he hates his mom. Not that I blame him. Hard for him to love the woman when she brought strange men back to my house to fuck in front of him.”

Her eyes widened at that. “And you didn’t do anything about it?”

“What would you have me do?” I asked. “Hurt my kids’ mom?”

Her expression told me that was exactly what she thought I would do.

I shook my head. I didn’t get off on hurting women. They were inconsequential in my world. Tight pussies to get my dick wet, and that was all.

But if there were someone who could drive me to anger, it would be Veronica. Being my boys’ mom offered her some protection.

I would never put my kids through what I’d been through growing up, watching my old man come back home in a bad fucking mood and taking it out on everyone in the house, including his wife.

That wasn’t the kind of shit anyone could get out of their mind.

I might be a terrible man, but fuck, I hoped I wasn’t a terrible dad.

“My boys are very different from each other. Braxton is softer than Kai, and he loves his mom. Which made it harder when the bitch looked at him and saw a fucking piggy bank. When she decided to abandon her kids, I kicked her out of California so she wouldn’t have any hold on them any longer. I told them she left the state because sometimes shit got too hard. Kai probably knew I was lying, and Braxton… well, I hope this won’t affect him later on in life, but he’s very close-lipped about anything that has to do with Veronica.”

She nodded, and I wished I hadn’t said so much.

Jesus, but since when was I so fucking talkative?

It wasn’t like Emmy could possibly use my kids against me, but I didn’t like showing this part of me.

Carefully, I shifted her off my lap. She stood in front of me, her beautiful two-colored hazel eyes set in confusion as she watched me.

I got up, took the plate to the sink, and quickly washed it.

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