ログインRavenRoman called me ten minutes ago, just to say he was on his way. No explanation for where he’d been, no apology for the timing. Just his voice, low, telling me he was coming.I didn’t ask questions. I just held the phone and felt something in my chest unknot. I was almost worried about him. Vivienne has been holding court near the entrance for the last hour, her smile working progressively harder as the evening goes on. She’s good at it, I’ll give her that. To anyone not paying close attention, she looks radiant, relaxed, a bride in her element.But I’m paying close attention. I watch her laugh at something one of her friends says, then slide her phone from her clutch and check the screen in the same motion. The laugh doesn’t quite reach her eyes when she looks back up.Anaya appears at my elbow.“Girl where Is your Dad? He got a cold fit and ditched her,”“Roman doesn’t run from problems.” I take a sip of wine. “If he wasn’t coming he’d have said so without apology. He
RomanI’m in Kingston’s territory.Tomorrow, I’m about to make the biggest decision of my life, one that will change the course of everything.But before that happens, there’s something I need to do.An old score that needs settling.Kingston’s territory hasn’t changed.Same warehouse on the waterfront, same two guards at the door who step aside the moment they see my face because they’ve been told to, same smell of salt and something industrial underneath it. Kingston likes to meet on his own ground. He always has.He’s standing at the far end of the space when I walk in, a glass of something amber in his hand, looking out through the high windows at the water below. He doesn’t turn around immediately.“I heard you’re hosting some fancy party tonight before the wedding,” he says. “Funny place for the groom to be.”My grip tightens around the folder.“I have something more important to deal with first.”That gets his attention.He turns then, his gaze sweeping over the fol
RavenI take my time getting ready.That’s new for me. I’m usually the kind of person who decides what to wear in five minutes and spends the rest of the time looking for my other shoe. But tonight is different. Tonight I want to look like someone who cannot be broken, because someone tried very recently and failed, and I want Vivienne Marie Cole to see that the moment I walk through the door.I choose a deep emerald dress that hits the floor, simple in cut but the kind of fabric that moves like water when I walk. My hair is down, loose waves, the way Roman always reaches for it first. My makeup is minimal except for my eyes, dark and deliberate.I look at myself in the mirror for a long moment, my hand drifting to my belly. There’s no visible bump yet, but it feels tighter than before.Then I pick up the single glass of wine I’ve allowed myself tonight.I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since I found out about Mason. But tonight is special. Tonight I’m going to watch Vivienne Cole
RavenThe sonography room is dim and quiet, the kind of quiet that feels volitional, like the whole world has agreed to hold its breath for a few minutes.I lie back on the table while the sonographer, a soft-spoken woman with careful hands, prepares the equipment. Roman stands slightly back from the bed, one hand tucked into his pocket, watching the screen with the focused stillness he brings to everything that matters to him.The cold gel. The probe. The familiar process I’ve been through twice now, except this time my heart is in my throat differently because twenty-four hours ago I was on a cold floor and I don’t know what that did to what’s growing inside me.Then the image appears on the screen.And the sound.That heartbeat.Strong. Fast. Completely healthy.Something releases in my chest so suddenly my eyes fill before I even decide to cry.Our baby. My precious little miracle.,“Everything looks perfect,” the sonographer says, moving the probe slightly, measuring, c
Roman“You need to control yourself.”“Yeah.” She grins, rolling her hips against the bed the way she knew always makes me go crazy. “I know you want this as much as I do. You are hard. I can see the bulge from here.”She is damn right. I’m painfully and visibly hard. But only a depraved man would fuck a sick patient in the hospital ward.“Fuck, sweetheart. You’re not making this easy.” I palm my dick, trying to regain control of my body before I snap and fuck her like I’ve been wanting to since last night, when I had her against my car.God, how I wanted to strip her bare on the street and fuck her in front of all those moving cars.“Oh, really? I thought I was being pretty easy. Let me simplify. I want you to fuck me, Roman. I want to feel you deep inside of me, stretching me and marking me. I want you to remind me what it means to be yours.”My body is vibrating with need, my cock leaking pre-cum all over the fucking place. My hands ghost up her body in those damn hospital
RavenI open my eyes slowly.The ceiling is white and unfamiliar for exactly three seconds before I place it.Hospital. Again. Fuck. Roman is pacing the length of the room, jacket off, sleeves rolled, his phone face down on the chair beside my bed. He found me in the tub. I must have passed out. Roman stops the moment he sees me looking at him and crosses the room immediately, sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes moving over my face with that particular intensity he gets when he’s been frightened and is refusing to show it.“You scared me,” he says quietly.“I’m okay.”“You were unconscious in the bathtub. That’s not okay.” His jaw tightens. “Did someone do this to you? Tell me what happened.”Vivienne’s heel pressing down on my shoulder flashes through my mind immediately. The cold marble beneath me. The cramping. Her crouching down with that wine glass, her voice low and certain, telling me the baby was better off gone.I open my mouth.Close it again.He’s marry
RavenDr. Robin’s office looks exactly the same as it did six years ago.Same beige walls. Same potted plant in the corner that’s probably fake. Same leather couch that’s supposed to make you feel comfortable but just makes you feel like you’re in a therapist’s office.Dr. Robin sits across from
RavenI stand in front of the bathroom mirror and touch my bottom lip.It’s swollen. Split in two places where Roman’s teeth broke skin. The blood has dried but the marks are still there—evidence of what we did on that kitchen floor.I can still feel him inside me. Still feel the stretch. The ac
Raven“Harder,” he growls. “Pinch them harder.”I do. The pain is sharp and bright and somehow it makes everything else fade.Jack’s face. The guilt. The fear.All of it dims under the overwhelming sensation of Roman destroying me.“You fuck me so good.” I’m still crying. Still shaking. “Feels so f
Raven“Roman—”“Did I stutter?”Something about the way he says it makes my pussy clench so hard I almost whimper.I lower myself to my knees. The tile bites into my skin, cold and unforgiving. I press my palms flat against it and wait.I hear him moving behind me. The clink of his belt. The rasp







