Page 29 of Awakened by Sin

Nora flapped her arms.

“You’re learning a little earlier than I planned, but you’re going to take after me, so I guess it’s not that bad. Aunty Carmen and Uncle Marcus got a little carried away,” she whispered conspiratorially. “He was good. Better than good. He was fucking phenomenal if you want the truth.”

A cherry-colored dress with a tutu skirt caught her eyes. She held up the tiny dress and was dazzled by the cheery color. She dressed Nora in the lace dress and clapped her hands.

“Who’s the prettiest girl on the whole planet? That’s you, baby.” She picked up the grinning baby and put her on her hip. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

They made their way to the kitchen. She set Beau loose in the backyard and heated up a bottle. Her stomach yowled, so she stuffed a strawberry breakfast bar in her mouth as she fed Nora, who latched onto the bottle immediately.

Carmen finished her bar and looked around for something else to eat. She snatched a green apple from the basket on the table and stared at the shiny surface for a moment, mesmerized, before hunger won out and she bit. Taste burst on her tongue, and she hummed in delight. Nora stared up at her with wide eyes as she finished the apple in record time.

She tapped her feet restlessly as she waited for Nora to finish her bottle. The gray blur dashing around the backyard caught her attention. Beau, a normally staid pit bull was going nuts. He ran full out, barking madly. Somehow, he too sensed it was over.

The rising sun lit a different world today—one that was new and full of possibilities. For years, she didn’t recognize a new day as anything more than endless hours where she had to appear normal while her insides wept and bled. Vinny’s death sent her into a tailspin of grief-stricken madness and guilt. She could finally tell Vinny that he had finally been avenged.

After Nora finished breakfast, she took her outside for a breath of fresh air. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in sight. Rust colored mountains rose above the wall that enclosed the fortress. The temperature wasn’t hot or cold. It was just … perfect. Her heart felt lighter than it had been in years. She was full of energy.Thanks, Marcus, she thought and couldn’t hold back a satisfied smile. He definitely liked kink. Just thinking about his hand in her hair as she sucked him off or the way he forced her on her hands and knees was making her hot again.

“Your godfather is fine,” she told Nora as she swayed to the sultry beat playing in her head. She couldn’t stay still. “What do you think I should do about him, baby?”

She twirled and was rewarded with a delighted baby laugh. Beau’s warning growl made her turn. A man she didn’t know stood in the doorway that led into the house. Beau pressed against her side, and she gripped his collar as she took in the stranger. He was dressed casually in black jeans and tee with a worn leather jacket molded to broad shoulders.

The fact he was walking around unescorted was interesting. This guy would have been decorated with bullets if he wasn’t supposed to be here. The stranger started toward her. Beau tensed at her side, but at her firm, “No,” he sat on his haunches.

The sun highlighted the man’s rich chocolate brown hair styled in a fauxhawk and his deep-set blue eyes. He was dripping sex appeal, but she wasn’t fooled by his guileless smile. He had player written all over him.

“Please tell me you’re the nanny,” he said in a New York accent that made her insides clench.

Oh, hell yes. A smoking hot bad boy with a New York accent was an excellent way to jumpstart her day. “If I am?”

“Then, baby”—he paused for emphasis and looked her up and down—“you’re going to make one of my fantasies come true.”

She liked a man who had fantasies. “And if I’m not?”

“Then you can tell me one of yours, and I’ll make both our fantasies come true.”

She laughed. “I like that line. You don’t mind if I use it, do you?”

“Feel free.” His eyes switched to Nora, who eyed him curiously. “This is Gavin’s kid?”

“Yes. Who are you?”

“Angel.”

Carmen shook her head. “No.”

“No?”

“Your name can’t be Angel. It’s a stage name, right?”

“Stage name?”

“You have to be a model or actor.”

His eyes sparkled with humor. “I’ll keep that in mind in case I need a backup career.”

“Do you have a brother named Demon?”

He threw back his head and laughed. The sound was raspy and full of genuine mirth, which made him even more attractive.

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