Page 98 of Dirty Little Christmas

"You can't tell me no, princess," he says, getting worked up. "You're mine. Our baby is mine. You have to make an honest man out of me, so the goddamn press doesn't think I got you pregnant and expect you to live in sin for the rest of your life."

They were too busy gossiping about Abel to worry about us too much, but they haven't left us alone entirely. Our pictures have been splashed across every gossip website in existence for the past few days. Despite Kaiden's fears, they've been…kind. Their story about my weight disappeared as soon as news about my pregnancy broke. They're too busy trying to figure out how long Kaiden and I have been together, how far along I am, and whether I was MIA because of pregnancy complications. They're shameless, honestly. But they aren't talking negatively about Kaiden, so I don't really care what they say. Damen's statement about what happened to Kaiden embarrassed a lot of people. They're facing a public reckoning over how they treated him and the horrible things they've printed about his scars and body in the years since.

I have no sympathy for any of them. Perhaps I should. Maybe I should be gracious and forgiving, but it takes zero effort to be kind. They had ten years to treat him with the respect and dignity he always deserved. Regardless of what happened to him or how he was hurt, words and what we do with them have power. It shouldn't have taken the truth for people to realize that he deserved better.He always deserved better.

"Say yes," Kaiden growls.

"I already said yes!" I cry, laughing softly. He's so bossy. Lucky for him, I don't mind. There's something damn sexy about this man when he's being all commanding and demanding.

He goes entirely still behind me, and then his big body shudders. "Fuck," he whispers. His lips touch the back of my neck in a reverent, worshipful kiss. "You mean it, princess? You aren't just fucking with me?"

"I mean it," I whisper. "All I want for Christmas is to be yours, Kaiden. You're all I've wanted since the day I met you."

"Jesus." He exhales a shaky breath. And then he starts to move.

I cry out as he fucks me, bucking his hips into mine in powerful thrusts. I bounce with each one, unable to do anything but take what he gives me, and cry out for more. His thumb presses against my clit, his free hand wrapping around my throat as he tilts my head back to claim my lips.

He swallows my sounds, breathing them into my lungs and exhaling them back into my mouth in grunts and curses. I take each one eagerly, tasting their shape on my lips, marveling that I have this much power over someone so much larger than life. I wreck and ruin him without even trying, shaking him all the way to his foundation.

He's beautiful when he's discomposed and raw.

He's beautiful when he's vulnerable.

He's beautiful, period.

If I'm a star, he's the sun, eclipsing me with his light. It's so damn bright that it's blinding. And I get to spend the rest of my life basking in it. I get to spend the rest of my life just like this.

Epilogue

Laura

Christmas Eve, Five YearsLater

"You hab to be quiet!" Clara whispers to her three-year-old sister, Noelle. "Otherwise, mommy is going to find us!"

I bite my lip, trying to contain my laughter as I stand outside of the coat closet, listening. I put them to bed two hours ago, but when Kaiden went to check on them, they were missing in action. Neither of us was surprised. Clara has been peppering us with questions about Santa for days now. She's highly suspicious of the jolly old guy. As far as she's concerned, someone coming down the chimney with a sack of toys made by little people has to be seen to be believed.

She's spent far too long in Hollywood to be dazzled by magic. Unless she sees it with her own two little eyes, it's fake news.

I don't think her daddy is going to fit down the chimney, but he refuses to let the magic of the season die for either of our girls. As soon as he realized they were out of bed, he put two and twotogether. He's on a mission to satisfy her suspicious little heart and save Christmas.

I swear, he gets sweeter every year. There's nothing he won't do for his girls. We're the most pampered princesses in Hollywood, guarded closely by our stuntman. A lot has changed in the last five years…and some things haven't changed at all.

Kaiden no longer relegates himself to the shadows. It took him a while to readjust to life in the spotlight, but the first time I had to attend a premier dressed to the nines, he quickly decided he was going on my arm. He spent the whole night glowering at anyone with a penis who even tried to get too close.

He's spent every premier and party since doing the same thing. It doesn't bother me in the least. I adore seeing him out in the world again, interacting and socializing. I love seeing him commanding the respect he deserves. And I especially love knowing that when the night ends, I get to go home with him.

I don't care who might be looking at me because he's the only man I see. I know he feels the same way about me. His gaze never drifts far. We're two magnets, constantly drawing one another nearer. I love every minute of it. He's everything to me.

His scar made people nervous at first. But with the truth out in the open and the true depth of his sacrifice known, it changed how people see him. He carried a huge secret for such a long time, and he did it in silence, regardless of the whispers and unkindness tossed his way. He didn't do it for recognition. He didn't do it for an award, applause, clout, or anything people in this town chase daily. He did it to protect a man trying to protect his sister.

I think people in this city look at him now andknowthey'll never measure up. They'll never be half as good as him. It's been a humbling experience for a lot of people. You can't compete where you don't compare, and a lot of people simply don't compare to Kaiden. They never will. He's one of a kind.

And he's all mine. Gossip rags and photographers still bug us once in a while. But it's rare now that the new and shiny has worn off. We're old news, boring news. My life revolves around my husband and my babies. It's hard to make a target out of people who just can't be bothered. Celebrity Tea TIme tried once to run a story questioning the status of our relationship right after we found out I was pregnant with Noelle.

Since we weren't out in public much, I guess they thought it was the perfect time to claim our marriage was on the rocks and we were hiding out because of it.

We shut them up two months later when we announced my pregnancy. Kaiden looked like a fierce, possessive warrior with one hand on my belly and the other wrapped around me. He stared into the camera so defiantly he nearly set it on fire. Everyone remembers those pictures. They don't remember the dumb gossip that came before them.

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