MasukTHEA°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・The rest of the day after Mia and Paul’s visit went by in a soft, golden blur. Gage made it home just after they left, walking through the front door and scooped me up without a word, carrying me straight to bed. Mrs. Harlan fussed over all of us with a fresh pot of tea and a tray of plain biscuits, while Mia texted me heart emojis from the car and promised to come back tomorrow with more “pregnancy survival kits.” Gage stayed glued to my side the whole afternoon, one big hand resting protectively over my stomach, murmuring low praises and future plans between kisses to my temple. By evening I was actually keeping down broth, and the mansion felt warmer than it had any right to be.The next few days settled into something almost normal. Mornings were still rough, coming with waves of sickness that had me bolting for the bathroom but Gage worked from home as much as he could, canceling what he couldn’t. We spent quiet hours in the study with his laptop open and my he
Do they see a desperate, broken idiot who’d jump at the first offer of power or revenge or whatever the fuck he was selling? The thought made my hand clench around the glass again, the condensation making my fingers slip.“If you hold any grudge against my father,” I continued, “then do whatever the fuck you want, but don’t involve me in your shit. I’ve got enough problems without some mafia recruiter thinking I’m the perfect mark for whatever game you’re playing. I don’t need another person trying to use me as a pawn in their revenge plot against Gage or anyone else. I’m done being pulled into other people’s messes.”Marco held my gaze for a long moment, and then he shook his head slowly, almost like he was disappointed but not surprised. “No,” he said. “There’s a misunderstanding here. We’re here to offer you a place where you don’t have to carry everything alone anymore. A family.”When was the last time I heard something so funny?I laughed so hard that it scraped up my throat an
NOAH°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・I sat at a bar, nursing a glass of whiskey. The place was half-empty at this hour, just a few people hunched over their drinks and the low hum of some old rock song playing from the speakers in the corner, the kind of dive where nobody asked questions and everybody minded their own fucking business, which was exactly why I’d come here after Lex and Ellis finally left me alone earlier. I hadn’t seen Thea since that confrontation in the hospital room, and I know I told her I was going to have my revenge on her for everything she’d done but honestly, I didn’t know anymore if I even wanted that revenge or if I was just saying it to hurt her the way she’d hurt me, because the truth was a lot uglier and a lot more complicated than I wanted to admit, even to myself. I took another sip, the ice clinking against the glass, and let the whiskey burn its way down, trying to drown out the loop in my head that kept replaying her voice. The bar was quiet enough that I could hear m
“Yes,” Mr. Paul breathed out quietly, his voice carrying that same calm tone. He gave a small nod, almost like he was filing the information away somewhere important. Then he straightened, glancing toward the tall windows that overlooked the garden. “If you’ll both excuse me for a moment, I think I’ll step outside for some fresh air. The drive over was a bit stuffy.”He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to Mia’s forehead. Mia tilted her face up to meet it, but the second his lips left her skin, her expression shifted. Her brows pulled together just slightly, and she stared after him with open worry glued across her face as he crossed the room and slipped out the French doors into the garden.The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the sitting room quieter than before.I watched Mia’s gaze linger on the spot where he’d disappeared, her fingers twisting together in her lap. “Mia?” I called softly, shifting in the armchair so I c
Being pregnant was certainly not easy.I had never felt this nauseous in my entire life. I lay curled on my side in the massive bed, one hand pressed protectively over my still-flat belly, the other clutching the edge of the pillow like it could anchor me. The ginger tea Mrs. Harlan had brought up an hour ago sat untouched on the nightstand, steam long gone cold. Even the smell of it made my throat tighten.Gage had left for work at dawn so I was alone. Well, not Alone alone. The mansion hummed quietly around me, Mrs. Harlan checking in every twenty minutes with crackers and cool cloths and that fierce, grandmotherly worry in her eyes. She’d already threatened to “march down to Mr. Ashford’s office herself and drag him home by the ear” if I didn’t start keeping something down soon. I loved her for it but right now, even her soft footsteps in the hallway made my head throb.My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I grabbed it fast, ignoring the way the movement made my stomach lurch.
I stayed there on my knees for what felt like forever, the porcelain cool under my palms, my body still shuddering with the aftershocks. Another weak heave ripped through me, but nothing came up this time, just bitter acid and the ghost of that perfect osso buco I’d been so smug about stealing from him. When the wave finally eased, I slumped back against his chest, gasping. He was shirtless—had been since we’d started stripping each other in the bedroom—and his skin was warm to my cheeks.“Second time I’ve ruined a perfect moment by throwing up on you.”A soft, rumbling chuckle vibrated through him. “I might have to get used to it.” His lips brushed my temple and then he wiped my face with a damp cloth. After that he helped me stand, and guided me to the sink, squeezed toothpaste onto my brush, and held me steady while I rinsed the taste of regret from my tongue. When I was done, he scooped me up and carried me back to the bed. The sheets were still rumpled from where we’d started
Trigger Warnings Dub-con °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ I pulled out only to flip her onto her stomach, ass up, the ties pulling her limbs taut. I lubed up with spit and pressed into her ass, slow at first to savor the resistance, then hard, burying myself. She thrashed, screams muffled, but pushed back. I grabb
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ The drive home was quiet, but not the awkward kind. Gage’s hand stayed on my thigh the entire time, thumb tracing slow, absent patterns through my jeans. Every once in a while he’d squeeze lightly, a silent reminder that he was thinking about me. I stared out the window, watching the
NOAH°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・I stumbled out of Mia’s apartment building, the door slamming shut behind me like a final fuck-you from the universe. The cold air hit me like a brick wall, slicing through my coat and straight into my bones, but I barely felt it. Honestly? I don’t feel a fucking thing anymore.The
I shook my head against his neck, tears threatening again. “Please. Just… don’t stop.”He went still for a heartbeat. Then his arms tightened around me, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, the other pressing firm against the small of my back.“You’







