Page 43 of Make Me Your Hitta

Adonis hissed as I peeled the fabric away from his vest. “It’s not as bad as it looks, Xenobia,” he said, but his voice was strained as he pulled the bullet fragment out.

I grabbed a first aid kit from the nightstand, grateful for Adonis’s paranoid preparedness. As I cleaned his scrapes and cuts, I couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles tensed under my pressure. Even brutalized, this man was a work of art.

Adonis’s hand suddenly covered mine, stilling my movements. “Xenobia,” he said softly, his eyes meeting mine. “I’m sorry.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “For what?”

He swallowed hard, his stoic mask crumbling. “I failed you. I was supposed to protect you, and I couldn’t—”

“Don’t.” I cut him off, my throat tight. “You didn’t fail me. You saved my life and put life inside me too.”

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant, Nobi.”

“I know. I never intended for you to find out like that, but I couldn’t hold it in. Not when I knew everything was on the line.”

“I bet you feel it now, don’t you?”

“Feel what?” I quizzed.

“Important. Standing up to my father the way you did? I hate you for playing the hero, but I’ve also never loved you more.”

My eyes welled up with tears. “I do. I do feel it, but all I care about is you… and our baby,” I choked out, tears threatening to spill.

“I never imagined it would happen so fast, but I couldn’t be happier. You’re the only woman I want to bear my children.”

A wave of relief crashed over me as I leaned into him, feeling his warmth and love. “I really did want to tell you first,” I admitted.

Adonis eyed me with a stern yet tender expression as he shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t knowthe first thing about being a good father. What if I’m not strong enough to protect our child? Not fast enough. What if—”

I pressed my hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at me. “There is no one I trust more than you to look after me and this baby, Adonis. No one.”

I held Adonis’s gaze, my thumb tracing the scar on his chest. His vulnerability hit me hard, laying bare the feelings he had to hide around his men. Around my father. This was the man who’d faced down death a hundred times, who’d stood between me and danger without flinching. To see him doubt himself like that fucking hurt.

“Don’t talk about my bodyguard like that,” I said, my voice low and fierce. “You’re the strongest person I know. And I’m not some delicate flower that needs protecting. And yet, you do it anyway. Selflessly. You stand in the line of fire so I don’t have to, and I love you for that.”

Adonis’s eyes widened, and I saw a flicker of something there—a mixture of hope and surprise.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I continued, pressing my lips to his heart. “You and me, we’re a team now. Whatever shit your father or anyone else throws at us, we face it side by side.”

A ghost of a smile touched Adonis’s lips. “You sound like a proper mafia princess now,” he murmured.

I snorted. “Fuck that. I’m my own woman. But I’m choosing to stand with you.”

Adonis’s hand slowly came up, fingers tangling in my hair. The tension in the room shifted, electricity crackling between us. I leaned in, my breath catching as our foreheads touched.

“Xenobia,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I—I love you. You and our baby are my top priority now. I’ll protect you both with every breath left in me,” he promised.

“I love you too.”

Our bond, forged in the heat of battle, felt unbreakable now. As long as we had each other, we could face whatever the world—or the mafia—threw at us.

Adonis

The shadows in Don Hawthorne’s office seemed to writhe and twist, matching the churning in my gut as I stood before his massive desk. Outside, the muffled sounds of my crew disposing of bodies and scrubbing away evidence echoed through the mansion. The copper tang of blood still hung in the air, a grim reminder of the night’s carnage.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.Fuck. This is it.The moment of truth. Would he see me as family, worthy of being the father of his first grandchild, or just another expendable soldier? My heart raced, but I kept my face a mask of cool indifference.Show no weakness.

His eyes bore into me, unreadable as stone. His gravelly voice sent a chill down my spine when he finally spoke. “Adonis, my boy. You've proven your loyalty time and again.”

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