Dream. It was all a dream.

I looked next to me to find Lila inches away, staring at me with wide, worried eyes. The constriction around my chest loosened and a strangled croak escaped me. She moved closer and wrapped her arms around me, holding me close.

“Shhh, I’m here. I’m with you, baby. We’re going to be okay.”

That was the moment I knew Lila held my weight on her shoulders. I was dragging us both down, and it made me face with the horrible truth I’d denied—Lila wouldn’t live without me.

The only way to save her was to save myself, and there was no way to do that.

CHAPTER 23

The day was long, and I was ready to get home. My workout with Jared left me exhausted and in desperate need of a shower. He was pushing me harder, to beat all the pain, fear, and anxiety that consumed me out and into the pads and the bag.

It helped a lot, and I was thankful for another physical release, but it didn’t change the truth. Marconi was coming for us.

In the back of my mind, I’d been working on a contingency plan—a getaway. Working it out in real life without them finding out was harder than I imagined. Who could I trust, and of those few, who wasn’t being watched?

When I stepped into our condo, dread washed over me.

Silent.

Black.

Nothing.

“Lila?”

I closed and locked the door behind me, then set my bag down. Silence remained. Her car was in the parking lot, so I knew she had to be here.

The echo of my footsteps on the tile accentuated the quiet, along with the hammering in my chest. I flipped light switches as I moved through the condo, scanning rooms for anything out of the ordinary. The anxiety rocketed, adrenaline pumping through me as I fought off my fears.

Everything was right where it was supposed to be. I didn’t know if that was good or bad.

Glowing yellow drew me to our bedroom, the light from the bathroom spilling out into the room. Lila sat against the wall. She was biting her lip, her hands tangled together, fidgeting.

“What happened?” I asked, rushing to her side.

She blinked back tears as she slid up the wall. “Nothing… Well, not nothing.”

Her eyes fell down, staring at my chest. A buzzing fear wrapped itself around me. Lila usually told me everything. The only time she’d pause was because she was afraid I’d fly off the handle.

I swallowed hard and raised her head so that our eyes met. “Lila, tell me.”

She was cautious, her expression pleading and scared.

“I’m late.”

I blinked at her, the fear that was building falling from me and my lips twitching up into a smile. The words weren’t foreign—I knew them well. It was another life, so long ago, but the weight of them was the same.

“Really? Do you think…”

She blinked up at me and swallowed. “I took a test. It was positive.”

Her eyes were trained on me, studying my reaction. A smile grew on my face and excitement coursed through me.

Lila was pregnant.

We were going to have a baby.

My hand moved to rest on her abdomen as my mind imagined it ballooning out from her hips, full with my child. The beast in me purred, excited about the development. It was territorial, the possessiveness growing in me—Lila was mine in every way.

Time seemed to stop as reality set in and the duality of the situation reared its ugly head.

The Marconi were watching.

The smile slid from my face. I stared down to where my hand lay. My fingers flexed against her skin as her reaction began to make sense. She was waiting for it, braced for it—my meltdown.

My eyes snapped to hers and I froze, staring at everything I wanted and loved, and feeling the sheer terror of it all being taken away the same horrific way as before. Vincent Marconi wouldn’t hesitate to kill my pregnant wife. In fact, I was certain the symmetry would be poetic in his eyes.

A strangled sound escaped me, and I fell to my knees. My arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight to me. My heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest. It refused to believe it was all happening again.

“We have to go to the doctor,” I said against her skin.

Her fingers moved through my hair, each stroke trying to soothe the crippling fear that was ripping through me, but it couldn’t keep up with the waves of despair.

“I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow.”

I took a deep breath, then nuzzled her stomach. Time had changed me, and for the better. The unexpected was expected. I wasn’t the carefree, naïve man anymore. This time I could protect my world, and I would.

I had to.

My lips pressed against her abdomen as I looked up at her. “I won’t let it happen again.” I stood up and cupped her face as my arm wrapped around her. “No one will take you from me. You’re mine, now until forever. We’re going to be a family. We’re going to be happy. I won’t let anyone take that from us.”

I didn’t give her a chance to respond. My lips crashed to hers, silencing whatever she would say. I needed her to believe me. I would find us a way out.

The desperation fueled my need to have her, to feel her wrapped around me, to consume her. She whimpered against my mouth, nails digging into my shoulders. I growled as I pushed her up against the wall.

I slammed my hips against her, begging for the friction of her body against mine, the calming release for all my ailments, all my anxiety. Celebration for the life we created.

“Fuck.” I pulled back and led her over to the bed. She pulled her cami over her head, leaving herself in only her tiny panties, knowing what was coming next. “Now, bend over, baby.” I pushed on her back, and she bent at the waist, her forearms resting on the bed. I tugged her panties off her ass and slipped a finger in her pu**y, making her squirm against me. “Good girl. I’m going to make you come so f**king hard. Have you cream on my cock.” I hissed as I rubbed my clothed c**k against her ass. “Mmm, my good little slut loves it when I talk dirty to her.”

She whimpered and pushed back against me. “Yes.”

“Turns you on so much when I call you my whore, my c**k slut, doesn’t it?” I pushed my shorts down enough to pull my c**k out and slapped it against her ass before sliding it between her cheeks.

“Fuck, yes!”

“Why is that?” I pulled back on her hair, exposing her neck and making her arch against me. I nipped down the column of her neck and latched on at the base.