Page 55 of Hers to Control

Then I slide my cock back into her and hell, if that’s not even more fun.

This time, I lean down and kiss her as I rock back and forth, driving us both mad with the slow rhythm. At least with my mouth covering hers, Mia’s complaints are muffled and I can enjoy myself the way I want.

Eventually, though, the need takes over and I give her what she wants. Hard and fast strokes, each dipping into her wet heat,staying there for a fraction of a second before pulling away again, only to hammer right back in.

As Mia stares up at me, there are no shadows left in her eyes. There is only lust and something else.

Trust.

She’s letting me fuck her after god knows what they did to her. It’s like a chain that tightens around my heart. Painful, but right, because it’s her links binding me to her in a way that I doubt she’ll ever understand. Painful, because she owns me now. Body, heart, and soul. The last of which, until now, I never thought I had left in me.

I’m her slave and I’ll die before I let her walk away from me.

Chapter Twenty

Mia

The ultrasound is quick and reassuring. Dr. Hanes walks out the door and I look over at Eric who insisted on staying for the check. His eyes are glued to the small image that shows Peanut. When the doctor held it out to us, he snatched it and for some reason, I didn’t argue.

“Time to go, I guess.”

Eric nods and puts the picture into his jacket pocket. This time, I want to argue that I should have it, but again something holds me back. It’s probably the same thing that always made me answer the phone when my father called.

My father. He has no way of reaching me now, and I’m not entirely sure I mind that. His calls were always associated with about of anxiety, and after that last call, that would only get worse if I stayed in contact with him. And yet…

While we walk down the corridor to the exit, I stay quiet until Eric gives me a look. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t need to.

“I don’t know what’s going on with my father. I know he beat up a Russian, which landed him in isolation and me on the Bratva’s radar, but I don’t know what’s going on with him now that he’s back in gen pop. Do you think he would know anything that might help?” Given the things Tsepov said to me, I ask Eric the question, assuming the Russians haven’t killed my father yet. Not when they still want to get their money back.

Eric shakes his head as we head to the car. It’s parked in a parking garage a block down from the doctor’s office. “Doubt your father can be of much help, but I’ll have a chat with him.”

I shoot Eric a sideways glance. My own experience tells me that my father is unlikely to be of any help. Even if he could help, I hesitate to think he’d choose to do so if it would put him in further jeopardy. And I think Eric knows that.

Still, he wants to talk to my dad and the way he phrased it sounds a little like he’s planning a civilized conversation, which has me suspicious given Eric’s personality. But what could he really do with my father in Millhaven jail? And do I truly care at this point?

I decide to let it go.

“Did you text Gianna that we’re headed her way now?”

Eric shakes his head. “I’ll do it when we’re in the car.”

I nod. Just like me, he’s scanning the surrounding street, constantly assessing everyone that gets into our proximity. It’s both reassuring and unsettling.

We reach the car, and Eric unlocks it with a press of a button on his key fob. I slip into the passenger seat and buckle up as Eric settles into the driver’s seat beside me.

As we pull out of the parking garage and merge into traffic, I can’t shake the unease that has settled in the pit of my stomach. The mention of my father always brings a storm of conflicting emotions, and today is no different.

I should know better than missing his presence in my life, and for the longest time, I thought I was truly over the way he always put me second to the shit he was up to. My eyes flick over to Eric, knowing the ultrasound image of our baby is in his pocket. It doesn’t take a shrink to figure out what’s messing with my head right now.

Eric put us first – Peanut and me. When it was between following orders and playing it safe, he broke with his family and came for us, going so far as making a deal with someone he didn’t trust. He put himself at risk, and now it’s time for me to pay him back for it.

“I’ll have your back with Gianna. I might not have any great sway over how she feels, but whatever I can do to help you out, I will.”

Again, I look over at Eric. I really can’t control the urge to check him out constantly. It isn’t exactly a hardship either, since the man is smoking hot. His hands grip the steering wheel with a steady but firm grasp that I find oddly comforting. He might be violent, I certainly know that now, but I don’t fear him. Not when I know what else those hands can do.

Before long, we pull up to the gated entrance of Gianna’s sprawling estate. There are no men stationed at the gate today, so Eric punches in the security code, and the gates swing open with a low rumble. We drive through, following the winding driveway until the villa comes into view.

Anton, the butler, is waiting at the entrance as we step out of the car. He greets us with a warm smile, his Italian accent strong. “Welcome back, Eric. Signorina Mia. Signora Bruno is expecting you.”

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