Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
My husband for the past seven months.
And undeniably the love of my life.
I sat on the chaise lounge in the corner, sketchbook balanced on my knees. Another change that I owed to Aston.
In high school, I sketched all the time. But when I went to college, I neglected my art to focus on my studies. And that hadn’t changed after I finished my master’s and moved to Atlanta. Not until Aston gave me room to breathe…to pursue the things I loved.
Absently shading in the background of a rough concept piece, I listened to the low, rhythmic cadence of his voice. He sounded amused. Maybe even a little incredulous.
When he finally hung up, he shook his head with a crooked smile.
“What?” I asked.
“That was Dario.” His smirk grew. “You’ll never guess who came to him asking for protection.”
“Melanie?” I wasn’t sure why her name popped into my head, except I didn’t know many people in Atlanta outside of those I’d met through Aston. My heart skipped when he nodded. I dropped my pencil. “Wait—what? Why would she go to Dario? That man is terrifying. Couldn’t you—”
“I offered,” he said, holding up a hand. “He threatened to cut me into little pieces and feed me to the pigs.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better about my best friend going to him for help,” I deadpanned.
Aston chuckled. “Relax. He’d never hurt her.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because,” he said, his voice dipping lower, “he’s already claimed her, whether he knows it or not.”
That left me blinking. “What does that mean?”
Aston only shrugged, too pleased with himself to answer. He crossed the studio and plucked the sketchbook off my knees, setting it aside before crouching between my legs.
“I’m changing the subject,” he announced, his eyes glinting with mischief.
“Oh, are you?” I asked, trying to look skeptical even as heat coiled low in my belly.
He reached behind him and pulled a cloth off a canvas I hadn’t realized he’d been working on. “I finally finished it.”
I leaned forward, curious—and then froze.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed. “Aston.”
The painting was…beautiful. Bold. And unmistakably me.
It was a nude, like he’d originally wanted. There was no missing that I was the centerpiece of his obsession, captured in every rich stroke of color and shadow. And I wasn’t just naked—I was pregnant.
My figure was soft and glowing, belly full and round, my hands curved protectively over the swell. My hair tumbled down around my shoulders in wild waves. My face…
He’d painted me smiling. Glowing with joy.
I stared, stunned and emotional, my throat tight.
“Why the heck did you paint me like that?” I finally asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Aston rose slowly and stepped between my knees, placing both hands gently over my very rounded belly.
His voice was hoarse and reverent as he murmured, “Because you’ve never been more beautiful than you are right now.”
My breath caught as his palms slid down, possessive and warm. “Because I want the whole damn world to know you’re mine. That no one else gets to touch you. That I did this to you.”
He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth. The edge of my jaw. Then lower, brushing his lips along the side of my throat as his hands cupped the underside of my belly.
“You’re carrying my child, Kerrigan. I’ve never wanted to claim anything more in my life. Every man who looks at you will see this and know—I’ve marked you from the inside out.”
My pulse skittered, his effect on me only stronger now that I had pregnancy hormones coursing through my veins. “You’re really leaning into this caveman era, aren’t you?”
He nipped at my neck. “You love it.”
I tried to hide my grin and failed. “I do.”
Twining my arms around his shoulders, I tugged him closer until our foreheads touched. “I’m already wearing a giant ring on my finger. You don’t think that gets the message across?”
Aston glanced down at the huge diamond in an antique setting on my hand and shrugged, totally unrepentant. “It can’t hurt to have extra reminders that you’re off-limits.”
I rolled my eyes. “I won’t always be pregnant, you know.”
His grin was devilish. “We’ll see.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “That sounds like a threat.”
“It’s a promise, ma petite miette,” he murmured, dragging his lips down my collarbone. “One I’m very happy to keep.”
“I’m starting to think you just like knocking me up,” I teased, breath catching as he kissed a trail across the tops of my breasts.
“Not true,” he murmured against my skin. “I like owning you. Watching you grow round with my baby is just a very satisfying bonus.”
“Possessive much?”
“Entirely.”
I laughed, but my heart was so full it felt as though it might burst. Eight months ago, I couldn’t have imagined this life. I never thought I’d end up in a world where beauty and danger lived side by side. Where trust had been earned in hard-fought pieces. Where I had become Aston’s voice in the light, while he worked his magic in the shadows.