A Vow of Love and Vengeance

Her fingers intertwined with mine against her skin. “I love you,” she gasped out as I rolled my hips, pushing my semi-hard dick and my come back inside her, wanting it to stay there, to mark her, claim her, take root…

Soon.

* * *

We went home, and I went into the office and worked; the same way I always did. Emilia tended to watch TV with Tommy, paint, or draw. Sometimes I hung out with her, but between The Outfit, the Famiglia, and my ever-growing portfolio of legitimate businesses, my workload was ever-increasing.

I picked up my burner and sent a text to Luca about Rafe’s next shipment. I kept my word and still bought from the Pérez brothers for New York. All Rafe’s product went to Chicago, effectively doubling our business. Of course, we only took a cut of Chicago’s profits, but Nero was thrilled with how it had all gone.

We rarely heard from the mob, but I tried to organize the occasional get-together. We were going to Chicago next week for a barbeque at the lake house. Nero and Una would bring Dante, and Liam would bring his daughter. Emilia got to see her brothers, which she loved. It was good. It had taken a few years for things to settle down, but everything was finally good. Peaceful. Prosperous.

Which meant it was time.

I turned my laptop off and left the office, making my way upstairs. The shower was running when I stepped into the bedroom, and it cut off as I stripped out of my suit. When I went into the bathroom, Emilia was in a towel, wet hair clinging to her shoulders and dripping over her tanned skin. She was searching through the vanity drawer frantically, and I couldn’t help but smile as I leaned against the doorframe and watched her.

“Have you seen my birth control pills?” she asked. “I always leave them here. Maybe the housekeeper moved stuff around.”

“The housekeeper didn’t move them, piccola.”

She turned to face me with a frown, and I moved closer.

I crowded her against the vanity before scooping up her tiny frame and placing her on it. “They’re gone.”

Her brows rose. “Gone?”

I said nothing, waiting for her to realize my intent.

“Wait. You took them?” Her eyes went wide, and I nodded. “You… you want a baby?” she whispered.

I pressed between her thighs and scooped her wet hair off her neck before kissing her throat, licking moisture from her skin. “I want to fuck you.” I nipped her ear, then her jaw. “And fill you with my come.” I kissed the corner of her mouth, her lips. “And watch you grow round with our child.”

“You said you don’t want a baby with me.”

“Three years ago…” I clasped her face. “You were young and hadn’t experienced life.” And now she had.

We’d traveled; she’d been to college. Anything she wanted, I made it happen because I loved her. Because I wanted to erase her life before me and replace every bad memory with good ones. Because I wanted her to live.

“You didn’t want to marry me, piccola. I wasn’t about to trap you with a child.” I smirked at the memory of how hard she fought me.

“You just bought me an art gallery.”

“I did.” I pulled her towel loose and let it fall to the vanity, slipping a hand between her legs. “We’ll figure it out.”

“You want a baby,” she repeated. “With me.”

I pressed two fingers inside her, and she sucked in a ragged breath, nails biting into my shoulders. “I do.” I’d been patient, waited for her to finish college, created peace within the mafia. And I’d never wanted anything more than this—her and a child. “You can have it all. We can have it all.

“How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Since the first time I fucked you,” I said truthfully. That first time, part of me had hoped I had gotten her pregnant right then.

I watched her with Una and Nero’s children, the way she smiled at them, held them when they cried. My little kitten had spent her whole life fighting, but when she was around them, she just stopped. That purity and innocence I loved so much were never more apparent than in those moments.