Page 41 of Savage Reign

There was a small heart pendant hanging from it, and hopefully, she’d think it was pretty, considering she was going to be wearing this piece of jewelry for the rest of her life.

The clasp to close and open the chain was uniquely designed.

I had it made the day after we realized she left and had someone as psychotic as Zoe cut her open to take the tracker out. She wouldn’t let me insert another tracker under her skin—at least, not for a long while, so this was a better alternative.

I closed the clasp around her ankle, smiling at the sight.

I was shackling her to me, and the only way to open the clasp would be with a key that only I owned. Satisfaction mademy heart light. I put her foot back down and covered it with the blanket.

Frederick moved to the side of the bed, catching my attention. His face was impassive. He didn’t care that what I asked him to do might not be sane or ethical. I gave him a job, and the man was just here to do it. It was fortunate that aside from looking at her a little too long when we first got in, he hadn’t glanced at her again. I wouldn’t have to kill him.

I nodded, and he carefully placed his tools on the bed around her body. I gritted my teeth as I pulled the blanket off her and sucked in a sharp breath when I pushed it off a little too far, showing me exactly what she’d decided to wear to bed. She was wearing an oversized shirt with some sort of cartoonish design on it and gray pajama shorts. And these fucking shorts? They wereshort. They accentuated her legs and brought attention to her fair skin. Fucking hell. I pulled the blanket back to cover her legs and pulled her shirt up slightly, exposing one side of her ribs.

“Right here,” I said, letting my fingers run over her warm skin there.

He nodded and pulled out the stencil he had drawn up already.

I was going to tattoo my girl.

Make sure the rest of the world, along with her, knows that she belongs to us and no one else. Now and for as long as the last of us stayed breathing.

I sat down on the bed close to her and watched Fredrick get to work.

I watched him clean the skin with alcohol wipes before placing the stencil on her rib.

When he pulled away, I could see the blue ink it had left behind. I didn’t react to the sight, but fuck me, if it wasn’t worthit, even with another man seeing her skin—seeing what was mine.

“Let’s get this done,” I said when it looked like Frederick was hesitating.

He nodded once and silently got to work. I stayed by her the entire time.

She didn’t wake but frowned slightly when the tattoo needles pierced her skin, but quickly relaxed her expression when I whispered to her.

The tattoo didn’t take long. Twenty minutes later and the buzzing noise stopped.

“Clean up and leave us,” I told him.

“Yes, sir,” he said quietly.

I didn’t look at him while he did it, keeping my eyes on Mila’s sleeping face. She would be mad when she woke up tomorrow morning, but that was a battle I was prepared to fight.

I looked up when Frederick left for the door, closing it quietly behind him. I would have to get up and lock the door, but not at this moment.

Not now when I have her in my arms. And I doubt anyone would come in here and interrupt my time with her. Anyone who valued their life, that was.

Anyone who wasn’t my brothers, but both Maverick and Silas had left and headed back to Chicago. Dealing with Lorenzo Cadorna, the newly appointed, nineteen-year-old head of the Cadorna Famiglia. A tinge of guilt settled in my chest. Things wouldn’t have been so fucking busy had I not given into my murderous urge and killed the Cadorna fucker. And I didn’t fucking regret it one bit. In fact, the only thing I would have changed about the entire thing was prolonging his death a little longer. Way I saw it, he got mercy from me.

But this meant Maverick was dealing with this shit. I could deal with my own shit, but Maverick thought it would be betterif I didn’t show my face around the Cadorna men for a while, especially since they were having such a hard time controlling everyone with Lorenzotryingto take on a leadership role.

Not that I could fucking complain. After all, it gave me this time with Mila.

I wrapped my arms around her soft, pliant body and pulled her in closer to me, turning her so that her face was buried close to my neck. So close, I felt her lips on my skin.

Electricity pulsed throughout my body from the simple contact. I pulled her in even closer to me, taking in her sweet scent.

My phone beeping brought me out of my musing, and I thought it might be Maverick but found Finley’s name on the screen instead.

What the fuck did our cousin want with me?

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