Page 1 of Once A Crime Lord

1

Lyla

Lyla Pyre rockedher four-month-old daughter as she ran her fingers through the full head of jet-black hair Nora inherited from her father. Nora’s eyelashes fluttered as she nursed, revealing silver blue eyes identical to her own. Nora was perfect from the top of her head to her tiny, pudgy toes. She couldn’t imagine life without her, yet she had come so close to never experiencing this. She held a miracle in the crook of her arm.

Something that sounded like a snorting pig interrupted Lyla’s thought. She glanced down at Beau, a gray pit bull who was fast asleep at her feet. She saved Beau from a dog shelter after volunteering there for several months, and he had become a loyal companion. She ran her foot down his back and felt the ridges from bullet wounds. Beau was shot trying to protect her when a handful of bodyguards turned on her. It had been a long recovery for Beau, but he was alive, and that’s all she cared about. He spent most of his time in Nora’s nursery, keeping guard.

She switched Nora to her other breast so she wouldn’t have to pump. She wasn’t proud of many things, but creating a human being was a pretty big deal. Having a baby with Gavin Pyre, the man she loved, was a blessing. She wanted to offer Nora the world, but first, her daddy had a few things to take care of. Gavin's mission was to track down the man who bribed her guards to kill her while she was seven months pregnant and who brutally murdered his father, Manny Pyre, two years ago.

Nora fell asleep with her mouth open. She dabbed her mouth with a bib and rested the baby on her shoulder, rubbing her back lightly. She closed her eyes as she rocked, taking comfort in the quiet. The nursery had become her sanctuary in the past four months; a peaceful room untouched by the horrors of the outside world. Here, they were safe.

Beau’s head rose suddenly, which caused his dog tags to clink together. A man stood in the doorway. Even as her heart jumped into her throat, she recognized her husband. She’d only seen him a handful of times over the past four months. His scruff made him look even more dark and dangerous than normal. The air around him simmered with a coiled tension that made people get out of his way.

Beau trotted over and sat in front of him. Gavin looked down at the dog for a moment before he patted him on the head and then scratched him under the chin. Sometime during Beau’s recovery, Gavin had finally accepted him as part of the family.

Gavin strode forward, hazel eyes glinting in the dim light. He set his hands on the arms of the rocking chair and stared at her. Her heart stuttered.

“Gavin?” she whispered.

His eyes moved to Nora. He reached for her, gently lifting the baby from her shoulder. He cradled Nora’s head in one hand and her body in the other. He scanned his daughter, taking in every detail he’d missed in the three weeks he hadn’t seen her. Nora frowned, hands reaching out for an anchor. He kissed her forehead and then placed her on his chest with her little face tucked against his neck. Nora relaxed instantly and let out a shuddering breath as she drifted back to sleep.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

It was hard to determine his mood. When Gavin came home, he was capable of anything. The aggression and brutality he exerted in the underworld clung to him. Most of her communication with him was over the phone, and that was infrequent. He spent ninety percent of his time in the underworld and the rest in the business world where he was CEO of Pyre Casinos, a chain on the notorious Las Vegas Strip. When he could carve out time, he spent a handful of hours at home before he was gone again. It had been hard on them, but she reassured herself this was temporary.

He stared intently at her. “Did you have a good day?”

She rose from the chair. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

He cupped the back of her neck, and hauled her against his side.

“Gavin—”

He kissed her, a deep and carnal kiss that made her body go up in flames. She clutched his arm and dug her nails into his chest, very aware of Nora’s weight against her arm. Apparently, he was capable of kissing her mindless and holding Nora without a problem because he did so until she forgot her own name. When he pulled back, she stared at him with her body throbbing.

“I watched you in our bedroom this afternoon,” he said.

“What are you—?” Her voice died out, and her face went up in flames. “Oh, my God.”

She tried to push away, but he kept her banded against him. He kissed her forehead, cheek, and then jaw.

“You had your checkup with the doctor, but you didn’t say we could have sex,” he said against her temple.

“I...” she fumbled and then swallowed. “You’ve been busy.” She couldn’t ask her husband to come home to have sex when he was trying to find a serial killer.

“I’m never too busy to make you come.”

“Gavin!”

“What?” He captured her lips again and squeezed her ass. “You’re ready, right?”

She still had her pregnancy weight, and her body definitely wasn’t something most men would call beautiful since her chest and abdomen were marred by gruesome scars. It should have been impossible for her to feel sexy in sweatpants and a loose top, but the way Gavin was looking at her made her feel like the most desirable woman in the world. She winced as her breasts began to leak. That was definitely not sexy.

“I’m, um—” she stammered.

“I’ll make you ready,” he said and moved toward the crib.

Deprived of his support, she swayed before she found her balance. Gavin nuzzled Nora and kissed her on the mouth.

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