Page 95 of Shield

He’s talking about the baby as much as he’s supporting Vin, and I smile up at him. Fuck, I love this man. I still haven’t said those words out loud to him yet. Something I’ll have to remedy soon.

Vin clears his throat, and we turn our attention back to him. His eyes are steely, his voice cold. “I’m glad this is happening, too. It’s been a long time coming. And I’m fucking ready. As soon as Tommy gets what he needs from Aurelio, we are going to burn this mother fucker to the ground.”

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Epilogue - Siena

THREE MONTHS LATER

“Good morning, baby,” I whisper, nuzzling into Matti’s warm, naked body. He’s sound asleep, despite the sunlight pouring in through the open balcony doors, the ephemeral cream curtains billowing in the ocean breeze.

We’ve been in a fully staffed villa on a private beach in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the south of France for the past two days, a surprise date that turned into a long weekend.

Without opening his eyes, he slides his arms around me, pulling me closer. His velvety skin emanates heat, his body hard and comforting at the same time. I press my lips to his chest softly, dropping little kisses as I work my way up to his neck.

Matti groans and I can feel his hard cock pressing against my leg. “Mmm, my favorite way to wake up.”

Sliding his hand over my large pregnant belly and down to my ass, he squeezes softly, then brushes down over my thigh, pulling my leg over him. Snaking his fingers between my legs,he drags his finger tip along my wet slit and groans again, but I take hold of his wrist, stopping him.

“My love?”

His eyes pop open, and he looks up at me in alarm. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

I smile and let go of his hand to cup his cheek. “I’m fine. We’re fine.”

He exhales sharply, relief flickering across his face, immediately replaced by concern. “What’s going on? Do you need to go home?”

I pause for a moment, looking at his beautiful face. His blue eyes that are as clear as the water outside our door, that mouth that kisses me like no one has ever kissed me before. That strong jawline, his thick hair that has grown a little longer since we first met.

It’s been less than a year since I first laid eyes on him, but he gets more breathtaking every time I look at him. Not just because he’s physically beautiful, although he is, but because he spends every waking minute protecting, providing for, and loving me—and now, our baby.

“You didn’t have to do all this, Matti,” I say softly, smiling.

“You don’t like it here?” He frowns, looking around the room. “We can go to another villa or were you thinking of going to a big city, like Marseille?”

I put my finger on his lips to quiet him. “No, nothing like that. It’s just, you do so much to take care of me. I don’t know what I did to deserve all of this.”

Matti’s expression softens, and he presses my finger harder to his lips, kissing it gently. “Siena, you don’t have to do anything to ‘deserve’ me taking care of you. You’re mine. You have been since the second I laid eyes on you. It’s that simple.”

“So it could have been anyone who fought with you on the dock that day? If my cousin had shown up, you would be with her right now?” I’m teasing him, my voice light, but deep inside, it’s been bothering me. Why me?

Matti’s face darkens. “I’ve been with a lot of women in my life, Siena, but that just means that I knew right away when I saw you that you were different. You’re gorgeous, obviously—”

I don’t think it’s obvious, but okay.

“—but you had a fragility to you underneath your tough exterior that grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. You were about to jump a cop if I didn’t stop you! When I saw what you did to fight for your sister—putting yourself in harm’s way with me, Valentina, Aurelio—I knew that you were like me, that there’s nothing you won’t do for someone you love. And though I didn’t realize it for a long time, the truth is that I wanted you to love me like that. Siena, you killed your brother to protect our baby. What kind of man wouldn’t do anything and everything to make sure that you’re taken care of for the rest of your life?”

I’m speechless and cup his face with my hand, hoping that my expression says everything for me.

He smiles to himself, then pulls me on top of him, holding my hand. “Ididknow when I first saw you that I wanted to fuck you. And I was right about that: you’re pretty good in bed.”

I swat at him and roll my eyes. “Very romantic. Glad to see that you hit on my best qualities: murderous and sleazy.”

He squeezes me to him, laughing, and I melt into him, his strong arms warm and tight around me. “Sleazy, but not easy. You were made for me, kitten.”

The baby is growing bigger every day, my belly swelling more and more. Dr. Rossi says I’m due in the next few months, but it’s just an estimate. For all I know, this little girl was conceived while I was shackled to the wall the first time I had sex with Matti at the Edge. Now,that’sa conception story I’m sure she’ll never want to hear.

I thought my birth control implant was effective for five years. Turns out, that’s not the case. I hadn’t had sex in so long that I had no way of knowing that it wasn’t doing the job and probably hadn’t been for a long time.

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