Page 188 of Salvatore

“Say something,” I beg, not sure how to read him.

“You’re having our child?” He stares at me, those earthy eyes transfixed, the shock in his gaze burning through me like a fever.

“Yes.”

He holds me captive with the intensity of his awe, the sight of it punishingly brutal in its savagery. He shoves a rough hand through his hair, his attention traveling to my abdomen. “Say it again.”

I bite back a smile. “We’re going to have a baby.”

His eyes snap to mine. “We?”

I swallow, hard, my pulse chugging like a freight train, my entire body in upheaval over what has to be the most monumental decision of my existence.

I want to say something stupid. Something sassy and outrageous to steal some of the weight from the moment and make this a whole lot less terrifying. But I’m also irrevocably drawn to reciprocate the vulnerability peering down at me. I want to meet him where he stands. To be just as unguarded. Equally exposed.

“Yes.” I nod, reaching for his fingers. “I don’t want to do this alone.”

39

IVY

He’sall over me in an instant, dragging me to my feet, stealing my mouth while a strong arm pulls me against his chest.

His kiss is desperate, severe, like he’s staking a claim, grounding himself in the reality of our entwined future. Then I’m lifted, carried, my boneless body placed in the middle of the mattress for him to ravage.

His lips leave mine, trailing a path of fire along my jaw, down my throat, over sensitive skin and tingling nerves.

My name is murmured, over and over. An oath. A consecration.

“What does this mean for us,mi reina?” He decimates my collarbone with his mouth, teeth grazing, tongue soothing. “Are you mine?”

I cling to his shoulder, desperate to concede, but still hesitant to let myself fall into whatever disaster this is destined to become. “I don’t know.”

“Then let me make the choice for you,” he growls against my sternum, his stubble grazing a line toward my cleavage. “Everything I touch is now mine.” He splays his hands over my ribs, dragging down my towel, his thumbs brushing the curves of my breasts. “Everything I see belongs to me.” He grazes hiscalloused hands down my stomach, circling my waist as he raises his gaze to mine. “Understood?”

I bite my bottom lip, my pulse chaotic with ungodly anti-feminist exhilaration.

“You’re mine.Bothof you.Mine.” He dips his head, his tongue tracing my pebbled nipple, his lips closing over the sensitive peak. “We’re not fighting this anymore. We’ll learn to trust it. To trust each other.”

I arch into him, already trusting him, already wanting everything he has to offer. It’s the trauma of my past that makes me hesitant.

A needy whimper is my only response while his mouth works its magic, his touch possessive yet reverent. Controlling but also exquisitely tender.

Then his hand delves lower, past my waist, over my abdomen to the place where our child grows.

Those steely eyes hold mine, blazing with the unwavering loyalty of an army sworn to defend.

“I will protect you both with my life.” He slides down my body, kissing the underside of my breast. Above my belly button. “I vow it,mi reina.” The third kiss is placed upon the healing scar on my stomach. A tender pledge.

“Your life won’t be put at risk for ours.” I glide my fingers through his hair. “We can’t live without you here to protect us.”

“You can if the Baltimore cartel are gone.” He crawls back up my body, settling his hips gently atop mine, his hard cock teasing between my thighs.

“And all the other factions of the cartel? What about those? What about the counterparts in New York or Seattle or LA? They’ll come for you. Forus.”

“Not when my actions are justified. Gabriel is threatening my child.”

“I’mhischild…” I rise onto my elbows. “At least, I was.”

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