Mag-log inChloe shook her head, still smiling. "No. He won't let me do a threesome.""Really?" Lisa's brow arched."Dead serious," Chloe answered. "Dami flirts at the club, but it's all for show. It's his way of controlling the room, especially when his enemies are there. Val and a few others play along to make him look like a king. He hasn't been to the club much lately, though."Angie scowled. "He shouldn't be with other women, even for show."Chloe laughed softly. "This is Damian Scott we're talking about. I've always known I can't change him. And honestly? I don't want to. I like that edge of danger about him. I know where his heart is. And his cock."Lisa burst out laughing, nearly choking on her drink. "Obviously. His cock is why you've got a baby girl now!"Angie's jaw dropped in mock horror. "Lisa!""What? Just sayin'." Lisa shrugged. "Anyway, collar and leash?"Chloe reached up and turned her diamanté choker, rev
Chloe felt like a train wreck. Scratch that—shewasa train wreck.She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror while rocking Dawn, who wailed loud enough to summon the dead.Her reflection told the truth: hair twisted into a messy "mom bun," skin puffy with exhaustion, and her maternity bra barely holding it together after another day of leaking milk. The scent of Damian still clung to her—musky, masculine, intoxicating—from their early morning foreplay. That and the faint tang of baby spit-up on her shirt created a less-than-appealing perfume.Parenting wasn't a fairytale; it was war. And some nights, Chloe felt like the losing side."Dawn," Chloe groaned, patting her baby gently on the back. "What is it now, huh? What more could you possibly need?"Fed? Check. Changed? Check. Walks in the pram? Three times today. Still, Dawn cried like her world was ending. Chloe paced the room, trying everything she could to calm her, but no
The buzzer crackled."Yeah?" Hahn's voice rasped through the intercom."Damian Scott," he answered, running a hand through his damp hair, the drizzle clinging to him like a second skin. He removed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his navy Henley while he waited.There was a pause before the response. "First floor above, second door on the right. Two knocks. Come on up."The door clicked. Damian pushed it open and stepped into the musty hallway, the scent of damp concrete and mildew wrapping around him. The walls bore decades of neglect, paint peeling like old wounds. He jogged up the stairs, his shoulders brushing the narrow walls.After knocking twice at the second door, it swung open. Agent Hahn leaned against the frame, a tissue pressed to her nose, smudged with streaks of crimson. Her dark curls sprang free from a messy bun, and her T-shirt hung loose at the shoulder, torn and smeared with blood."You're late," she muttered, waving him in.Damian stepped through, his gaze sc
"C'mon, Mina! Move your feet!" Damian's voice echoed through the volleyball court on a Saturday morning. They decided to continue practicing after the team finished their game. Mina scowled, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm. "I am moving my feet!" she shot back, hustling toward the volleyball Damian had just spiked her way. "Not fast enough," he replied, smirking as he lobbed another ball over the net. "If this were a real match, that'd be a point for the other team." Mina dove, brushing the ball as it hit the ground with a dull slap. She groaned. "This isn't a real match, Dami. It's practice. I'm allowed to suck." "No, you're not," he said, walking around the net to offer her a hand. "We don't do 'suck' in this family." She rolled her eyes but let him pull her up. "Okay, Coach Hard-Ass. One more round, then I'm calling it." Damian barked out a laugh. "Hard-Ass? That's what you're going with?" Mina shrugged, brushing dirt off her knees. "It fits. Don't act like you'r
Six weeks later."Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop," Chloe sang softly, her voice a soothing melody. She sat on their bed by the cradle, swaying it with one hand as her daughter's tiny fingers flexed and stilled again. The first rays of sunlight streaming through the window kissed Dawn's soft features."Keep going." Damian's voice came from the doorway, low and gravelly.Chloe froze mid-verse, her head tilting toward the sound. Diva's nails clicked softly against the floor as she rose from her spot by the cradle and approached him, wagging her tail. Damian scratched behind her ears absently, his eyes locked on Chloe."When the wind blows, the cradle will rock," he hummed."I didn't hear you come in," she said without turning around."I'm good at staying quiet," he replied, stepping inside. His tie was gone, the buttons of his shirt undone to his navel, revealing the edge of the dragon tattoo winding along his left ribs and abdomen.Chloe glanced at him over her shoulder, her hair twis
Two months later."Can you believe it? Our little girl is three days old," Chloe whispered under the soft light of their private room at Saint Andrew's Hospital. Her fingers smoothed the blanket wrapped snugly around the tiny baby in her arms.Damian sat beside her on the bed, his gaze locked on them both. "You're incredible. You know that, right?""You didn't leave my side." Chloe's voice softened as she looked at him, her eyes glassy with emotion. "You should rest. You look like a wreck, and the nurse told us to sleep when the baby sleeps."Damian chuckled, his hand brushing against her knee. "You've earned the right to call me that after nineteen hours of labor and two nights of zero sleep.""Welcome to parenthood," Chloe teased. She rested sideways on the bed, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders in messy waves. The pale blue hospital gown hung loosely on her, and the blush on her cheeks made her look radiant, even in exhaustion.This was the woman who carried his child for ni







