Page 27 of Recaptured by the Crime Lord

Lyla’s eyes flicked to his in the mirror. He was stark naked and apparently, fine with it. Well, why shouldn’t he be? He could be Brad Pitt’s stunt double in Troy. Lyla played with the ends of her hair before she turned to face him. She loved the brutal, unapologetic lines of his face and the hungry look in his eyes whenever he focused on her. Gavin Pyre was a lot of man and he was hers legally and emotionally.

“My whole focus has been to get through each day and now you’re talking about kids.”

“You don’t want to have kids?” he repeated.

Lyla tapped her fingers on her thigh and imagined a little boy in Gavin’s image or a little girl with her father’s eyes and her knees went weak. “I do want kids. I just... didn’t realize that was on the table.”

“Everything’s on the table,” he said and pulled her against him. He ducked his head and kissed her. “I told you, I want everything that we promised each other before.”

“And you want kids?”

“We don’t have to have them right now, but I want to know if it’s possible or not. I’m not getting any younger and I’m out of the underworld so...”

“You want kids,” she said and blew out a long breath. Holy shit. She was married and her husband wanted kids. Most women would be jumping for joy. She felt as if she’d been slapped across the face. This was a huge step. They just slept together for the first time in almost two years and the first thing on his mind was kids. For some reason, she thought of Carlo and how he got his girlfriend pregnant to marry her. She considered Gavin, wondering if he had an ulterior motive.

“You don’t have to get pregnant tomorrow,” he said with an easy smile she didn’t trust. “I just want you to think about it.”

If she didn’t want to get pregnant, she needed to see a doctor for birth control. There were dozens of reasons not to get pregnant, but she didn’t want to think about them now. She wrapped her arms around Gavin’s neck and he carried her back to bed. He tore off her robe and they slid under the covers. Gavin pulled her against him and buried his nose in her hair.

“Dad would have been so proud of you,” Gavin said.

“Manny tried to protect me that day and my dad...” She closed her eyes and fought the tears always so fucking close to the surface. “My dad could care less about me. He’s a selfish bastard and doesn’t deserve your money or my concern. I’m done.”

“I’m glad.” His hand cupped her breast as if memorizing the texture and weight. “And you defended me.”

She looked at him when she heard the strange note in his voice. “Of course I did.”

“You’ve run from me twice.”

“For good reason.”

“And yet you defend me in front of your family.”

“You did what you’ve done out of loyalty, duty and love, which makes you ten times the man my father is. He cares for no one but himself.”

Gavin stared at her for a long moment. “So you forgive me?”

“You’d kill yourself before letting harm come to Manny or me,” she said solemnly. “Maybe the hit would have come even if you didn’t go after Vinny’s killer. We’ll never know. I understand why you didn’t want to let go of the underworld. I don’t like it, but I get it. But you’re out, now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we don’t need to talk about it.”

Gavin kissed her long and deep and positioned himself between her thighs. “I love you.”

“I know.”

He lifted her thigh and slid inside of her. She moaned in delight and he closed his eyes in ecstasy.

“I’ve been wanting to make love to you for over a year. I’ve wanted to apologize, to touch. I didn’t know if you would ever let me in again.” He moved gently as his eyes opened and drilled into hers. “I won’t take you for granted.”

“You better not,” she said breathlessly.

“You won’t run from me again,” he stated.

“No.”

“Promise me, Lyla.”

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