Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(49)

He could say it now. She lifted her head slightly and pressed her lips to his. She’d known deep down that he cared about her. Baby steps. He was such a good man. She just had to give him every opportunity to find himself again. “I love you, Master.”

He moved his hips, grinding down on her clit. It didn’t take more than that. Her breath fled as the orgasm took her. He drove into her * again and again, taking her higher and higher. She couldn’t escape. The pleasure was everywhere. It started in her core and shot out until it invaded her veins, making every inch of her skin feel awake and alive.

He shuddered over her and she felt him come, filling her up as he ground out his orgasm.

Her arms were full of two hundred pounds of muscular man. He fell on top of her and didn’t bother to move. He simply settled his face into the crook of her neck as though this was where he belonged.

She held on to him and prayed he never left.





Chapter Twelve





He stared up at the ceiling, his mind running in a hundred different directions, every single one of them leading him back to one place.

He loved her.

Ashley stirred beside him, turning away and then settling back down. He watched her in the darkness, only the moonlight illuminating the room in little shafts of silvery light.

She was so beautiful. She was smart, too. She’d given him every out. She hadn’t placed conditions on the contract. She’d just turned those gorgeous eyes on him and asked for what she needed. He hadn’t been able to resist, didn’t even want to anymore.

He wanted something more. He wanted her to marry him but after asking her pretty much every day for the past month, he was beginning to wonder if she was going to say no to him forever.

There was a little sound from the baby monitor. A hiccup and a sigh. It reminded him why she kept saying no.

It wasn’t that he ignored the baby anymore. He said hi and everything. Sure, he tended to show up late, after she was already in bed, but that was because he worked late.

Stop being a prick. You’re lying to yourself. You’re scared out of your mind that you’re going to resent that kid.

He didn’t want to. He wanted to be okay with her because being okay with Emily meant he could have Ashley, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wanted her more than anything. The last month and a half had been a calming time. He felt more like himself than he had in years. He was willing to do just about anything to get her installed in his house. If she really wanted to work, he’d get her a job with his company once she got her degree. He’d even give on the whole adoption thing, though he wondered if he would ever be ready for that. He still wasn’t sure what he could give to any kid.

But he couldn’t get her to move in with him and he couldn’t get her to marry him. His sub was stubborn.

A little cry came through the monitor.

He sat up and stared at it. That was just a warning cry, as he’d come to know. First it started with little snuffles and then the short warning shout, and then that kid could blow down the house.

Ashley sighed and turned over again. “Just another five minutes.” Her hand came out as though trying to hit some alarm clock that wasn’t there.

She was dealing with midterms. She’d stayed up half the night studying and then he’d made love to her twice before he let her fall asleep. She had a philosophy final in the morning. If she got up with Emily, she could be up the rest of the night.

He didn’t even have meetings tomorrow. He had a lunch with Ryan but that wasn’t until noon.

Another sharp cry came from the monitor. Ten seconds. He had ten seconds, twenty at most, before the Emily bomb went off and Ashley was up and awake.

He should let it happen. He could pretend to be asleep. She wouldn’t say a damn thing to him. She would just get up and deal with her baby and never say a thing to him about helping out. Yes, that’s what he should do.

Except he loved her and she was never going to marry him if he didn’t get used to that kid. She was his sub. He owed her his help and he’d been selfish about giving it to her.

He gritted his teeth, pushed out of bed, and shut off the monitor. He had no idea if Emily would even accept comfort from him. He pulled on pajama bottoms and shrugged into a T-shirt. He closed the door behind him. It was a stupid plan. What the hell did he really know about babies?

She was crying pretty freely by the time he stood outside her door. He stopped, staring at it like it was the gateway to hell.

She’s a baby. That’s all. If John Michael had lived, you would have been a pro at this by now.

It was odd but suddenly that thought didn’t pierce him the way it had once. It wasn’t a knife through his heart. It was an ache and it always would be, but there was more distance now. Talking about it had done something odd to him. He’d kept it inside because he thought any acknowledgement would hurt, but telling Ashley about his lost son had the opposite effect. It had been a slow drawing out of the poison that had infected his system for years. Somehow, in the telling of his story, he’d found himself lighter, freer than he was before.

And ready to go into battle with the demon behind that door. Because she kind of sounded like a demon now. She was in a full-on rage and Emily Paxon didn’t do little mewling cries. Nope. She was a screaming baby warrior when she got going.

He opened the door. He couldn’t leave her like that, and Ashley needed some sleep. He just had to man the f*ck up and deal with his issues. He’d faced down angry investors and tycoons who threatened to ruin his career. He was known as the Dom to deal with the most difficult of subs because of his deft touch. How much worse could a baby be?