“Gabriel?” Ava softly asked and drew him into a hug.
“I haven’t met him, I promise,” her best friend sobbed.“It’s okay, I believe you.”“But he keeps asking me to meet, and he tells me things and I don’t know if they are true or not. But if they are, I think I should do something,” he then said.“What has he been telling you?” she asked.“He said that when we were together, he went on one of his trips and he felt so lonely, so he spent the evening drinking in the bar. There was a woman there, and she seduced him.” Gabriel paused to collect himself.“Let me guess, he had no choice and it was all her fault?” Ava said. She knew she should be softer and more mindful, but she was just so angry at Jonas and his constant bullshit.“That’s what he said.” Gabriel nodded.“Do you believe him?” Ava asked.“No,” he said in a whisper.“Good.”“But there is more. He said that she go pregnant and that’s why he acted like he did towards me, becauseAva wasn’t surprised when Zane decided to follow her when she left the office to check on Gabriel and Ryder. She knocked on the door to her former room. “What are you doing?” he asked.“It’s rude to just barge inside,” she told him. “Why are they in the guestroom?”“Gabriel and I had our talk there?” she said as she got a reply to come in. She was about to open the door when Zane leaned his hand on it and towered over it.“Why?”“Because unlike you, I don’t have an office here and some things I don’t want to use our bedroom to discuss and even though it’s rare someone is in the library, it happens. So the best solution is to use the guest room,” she explained. Zane looked dumbstruck for a moment. Then he bent down and kissed her.“An oversight on my part,” he told her and took his hand of the door.“What?” “Nothing, don’t keep them waiting, angel.”“I’m not the one who stopped me from opening the door,” she pointed out.“Now you are jus
The look on Jonas’ face was almost comical as he saw Gabriel.“Gabriel?” he asked in disbelief. Ryder had his arm around Gabriel, and when Jonas spoke, he pulled Gabriel closer to him. Gabriel was looking down, but took a deep breath and looked up at Jonas.“Hello, Jonas,” he said. “Who are these people, Gabe?” Jonas asked. Gabriel flinched at the nickname and Ava wanted to hurt the tied up man. Zane seemed to sense her mood and put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “They are my family,” Gabriel said. He straightened his stance and his voice was now stable. Ava smiled. “You don’t have a family,” Jonas said. There was a moment of silence before Ryder let go of Gabriel and walked up to Jonas and punched him in the face. Ava was worried the hit would snap Jonas’ neck by the way his head flew to the side. Zane and Jax had closed in on him as well. First Ava thought they were there to hold back Ryder from inflicting more damage. But she realised they were c
Ava joined Zane and Jax in Zane’s office. Zane pulled her into his lap as Jax got comfortable on the couch. “What did you find out about the child and his mother?” Ava asked Jax as he seemed to have done his homework on Jonas.“The kid’s name is Loka, at least that is the name he gave Laya. I couldn’t find any information about him or his mother. There is no record of the shithead being registered as a father to any child. That doesn’t mean he isn’t the father, it just means no one put it on paper,” Jax said. “How old is he?” Ava asked.“How should I know? I don’t know shit about kids. Four maybe, but he is skinny, so he might look younger than he is.”“I’ll join the doctor when he comes. Maybe I can make a new friend,” Ava said. “He’ll be here any moment,” Zane told her and kissed her. “Maybe I should join you,” he added.“No, you most certainly will not,” Ava said.“Why?”“Why should you?” she countered with.“Maybe you’ll need me. What i
Somehow Anna had found some stuffed animals, children’s books and pyjamas that fit Luka. After they had dinner and Luka had devoured both his dinner and dessert, Ava followed him up to the room that was next to hers and Zane’s bedroom. She helped him change and get comfortable in the big bed. “Me and Zane sleep in the room next to this. If you wake up and feel scared, you can come to us. Or if you call out, we will hear you,” she told him. “And Zane won’t be mad? Jonas always got mad when I had nightmares,” Luka asked.“No, he won’t be mad. And if he scares you, I will put him in time out,” she told him. He smiled and nodded. Ava read him a story, but two pages in and Luka was off like a light. He had had a busy day. She tucked him in and left the door a little opened as she walked into Zane’s office, leaving that door a little open as well. Zane and Jax looked at her questioning, they never left the door open when they were working in there. “It’s in case Luka gets ou
Ava stopped and looked at him. “Why do you ask something like that?”“Because you know that my childhood wasn’t exactly perfect and you know what kind of man I am.”“Okay, come with me,” she told him, took his hand and walked him into their bedroom. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have standing in the corridor. She made him sit down on the bed and sat next to him. “First, you need to stop thinking of yourself as a bad man without redeeming qualities. I have told you before, that isn’t the case. Yes, you may do things outside the law and some of those things involve hurting people. But I have never heard of you doit it to someone that hasn’t been deserving of it. And you have never, ever even made me fearful of you. Maybe with the exception of our first meeting, but that was just a high adrenalin night,” she told him. He huffed.“It’s different with you,” he said. “Why?”“Because I love you.” Ava smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Just like y
Luka was in a good mood at breakfast the next morning. He was allowed to have cereal because he promised Ava to eat four pieces of the cut up fruit which was in a bowl. He held up his end of the bargain and even ate a couple of extra pieces as he tried some of the fruits for the first time. “Luka, I need to run a couple of errands this morning. I won’t be gone for more than two hours. Would it be okay if Anna looked after you?” Ava asked him as they were almost finished eating. “Sure,” he agreed.“Why can’t Jax and I look after him?” Zane asked. Ava was so surprised it took her a moment to collect herself.“I just thought you had business to take care or,” she said. “Nothing that can’t hold off for an hour or two. Right Jax?”“Right,” Jax agreed as he walked into the dining room. “What am I agreeing to?” he then asked. Ava smiled at him.“That we have time to keep Luka company for a couple of hours this morning,” Zane explained.“Sure thing, that s
Ava could hear laughter as she stepped out of the car in front of the mansion. It made her smile and she followed the sound around the house into the back gardens. On one of the perfectly manicured lawn, Zane and Jax were teaching Luka how to throw a ball. All three were smiling and laughing. Ava stood watching them for a moment. She let the stress and uneasiness drain from her. Zane looked up and saw her standing there and his smile got even bigger as he walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug and a kiss. Ava melted into him and let the feeling of his closeness wash away the last of the unpleasantries from the visit. “What’s wrong?” he asked as the kiss ended. “Nothing,” she said. He looked at her and took a hold of her chin.“Don’t lie to me, angel. You know what happens to liers,” he said in that dark voice, which always went straight to her core. “I will tell you later, when we don’t have an audience,” she promised him.“I will allow it. You’re okay
It had been two days since Ava had talked with Fatima and she hadn’t heard anything back. She spent her days with Luka, and he seemed to settle into life in the mansion. Zane would usually find them when he had a break in his work, or when he decided he wanted a break. Ava was sitting in the garden crocheting; it was a nice day and Luka was sitting on a blanket with his Legos. It had fast become his favorite toy after his bunny. The pink bunny was laying by his side, it was his constant companion. He may have been a bit old for a security stuffy, but with everything he had been through, Ava thought he deserved it. Her phone rang and she saw it was Fatima calling.“Hi, Fatima,” Ava answered.“Hello, my friend. I hope you are well,” Fatima said.“I am, thank you. And you?”“I’m good. I have good news as well.”“I’m happy to hear it, I hope it’s regarding the thing we talked about,” Ava said.“It is. I have found his mother. I talked to her most of t
After Ava’s surprise visit by the detectives, she found herself with stricter rules than usual on where she could go and with whom. Zane usually saw it as good enough if Ryder, Tom or Marco were with her alongside one or two of their other men. But now she was back to only be allowed out in the company of Tom and Ryder. It was a throwback to her first weeks in the mansion. But she accepted it as she wanted Zane to not work himself up. He was stressed out as it was, and the long hours of work didn’t help. Gabriel was complaining that Ryder had become grumpy and closed off and Linda reported the same were true for Jax. They all three knew their men was overworking themselves, but they also knew it was necessary and the only thing they could do was to help their men to de-stress.“Me and Gabriel will have to work a little late tonight,” Ava told Zane as they were getting ready for the day.“No, angel. Both Tom
"Are you okay, angel?” Zane asked Ava and gently took a hold of her chin and tilted it upwards to make her look at him. Ava smiled at him.“I am. You are here and that makes me okay,” she answered him. He chuckled and kissed her lightly.“Tom has cleared some time in your schedule. You and Gabriel are coming with us, we will have lunch and there are things we need to talk about,” Zane told her. She nodded and saw Ryder and Gabriel walking out of Gabriel’s office hand in hand. Zane took them to In Cavea Aurea where a private table had been set up for them. Jax was waiting for them at the table.“I heard you had an exciting morning. Are you okay?” Jax asked Ava. She smiled at him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.“I’m fine, and so is the baby,” she told him before letting Zane guide her to a chair. Once everyone had sat down and the food was ordered, Zane asked Ava to tell them abou
Ava had been back to work for a few days, and it was starting to feel like she never had been away. She was pleased to see that whatever improvements had been made to their security system, it wasn’t visible. Zane and Ava had decided it was time to let people outside of the closest circle know she was pregnant. They had discussed the possibility it would make her even more of a target. But she was not worried. Ava had Tom and she knew Zane had other men stationed in the building and probably outside it as well. She was sitting in her office, looking at the latest budget for the LGBTQ+ safe space. Gabriel’s dream was slowly growing and becoming a reality. Her intercom buzzed.“Mrs. Velky, two police detectives are here. they want to speak to you,” Tom told her. Ava felt a moment of fear, had something happened to Zane? But she pushed that thought to the side. If something had happened, she wouldn’t be told by the police, someone in the organisation
Zane looked at his angel as she kneeled on the black satin sheets on the bed. The way the gold chains emphasised the growing baby bump had him drooling. He hadn’t thought it would be possible for Ava to become sexier and more alluring. But the fact that he could see their child growing inside of her, it stroked a primitive part of him. He caressed her belly with his hand. He had made sure to read up on suitable positions and punishments for his angel as they moved forward. He wanted their baby safe, but he knew neither him or Ava would do well without their playtime. “Ready, angel?” he asked as he let his hand move from her belly to grip the nipple vibrator and tug on it. Ava’s breath hitched and then a small moan escaped her.“Yes, Sir,” she said. The way she called him Sir made his cock twitch. He picked up the silk rope and started tying it to her ankles. He worked in silence, sometimes letting his hands travel up her legs, almost all the way to where he knew she wanted his touch.
Tom helped Ava out of the car at the club, she did her best not to reveal anything when she stepped out. It wasn’t easy with the way the trench coat was designed and with what little she had on underneath. She squared her shoulders and walked past the queue of people waiting to get inside. She could hear someone starting to cat call her and she heard the man’s huff as the air left his lungs. Tom would have landed a punch in the man’s gut; she knew it without looking. Just as she knew the man wouldn’t be let into to the club this evening, and if Zane got wind of the incident; probably never again. The man at the door smiled at her.“Good evening Mrs. A, it’s nice to see you back,” he told her.“Good evening, Luther. It looks packed tonight,” Ava said.“It is. Let any of the boys know if you have any issues,” he reminded her.“Thank you.” Ava walked into the club with th
Ava was nervous when she showered and got dressed, she was nervous when Zane took her downstairs, and she was nervous as they ate dinner with Miguel. She had a hard time focusing on the conversation and while she usually didn’t have a problem with small talk, she now found it hard to follow along. Zane hadn’t given her even a hint at what her punishment would be, and Ava was becoming obsessed with trying to find out.“I think we will retire early tonight, my wife seems tired,” Zane told Miguel as they had finished eating.“Of course. Have a nice evening, Mrs. A,” Miguel said.“Thank you,” Ava said. They all stood up and Miguel left the room first. Ava was about to do the same when Zane stopped her.“You will go up to our room, you will pick out some sexy lingerie that you think I will enjoy and you will sit down on the edge of the bed and wait for me. I will join you in twenty minutes. If I d
Miguel joined Ava and Zane for breakfast the following day. Both him and Zane made sure to keep the conversation casual and light. Ava didn’t mind, she knew Zane would talk to her in private if he felt she needed to know why Miguel had come. “We will probably be in meetings or out on business for most of the day. Will you be okay?” Zane asked as they were done with breakfast. “Linda and I figured so we have booked a girls day at the pool for some relaxation,” Ava told him. Zane bent down so he could whisper in her ear. “You better not be thinking about going skinny-dipping, angel. I will check in on you and I better see a bikini on that body of yours.”“I would never skinny-dip without you,” she whispered back. “Fucking right,” he agreed, kissed her and then he and Miguel left. Ava took a moment to collect herself before going upstairs to change. She and Linda met at the pool. Both were wearing big fluffy bathrobes that were tightly tied at the waist. “So,” Linda said.“Yes,” Ava
Ava and Linda had a nice and quiet dinner. As none of the boys made it down before they were finished, the two of them decided to have a game night on their own. They moved to the living room and started playing Canasta. Anna made sure they had snacks and they gossiped as they played.“Let’s make it interesting and play for something other than just bragging rights,” Linda suggested.“Like money?” Ava asked. She was uncomfortable at the idea of gambling; it had never worked out well for her.“No. With the two men we live with, playing for money just doesn’t seem fun,” Linda said, and Ava agreed.“How about we do a dare? Whoever has the lowest score by the end of the evening have to do the dare?” Linda proposed. Ava thought about it, it sounded fun. She had played quite a lot of Canasta with Anna and Linda; she was almost confident she could win. She just needed to keep a straight
Life returned to its normal state after Luka left. Ava spent her days being spoiled by Zane and the staff. Her two weeks staying home would soon be up and she prepared to go back to the office. To be on the safe side, she called Gabriel to check if something major had happened she needed to be aware of.“Nothing big. We have a new client that I was planning for the two of us to have lunch with when you get back and we are all leaving early on Friday for the renovation,” he told her.“Renovation?” she asked.“Hasn’t the boss told you? Jax called the other day to tell me Zane had ordered some extra security to be installed. I guess he is a little worried about you going back to work,” Gabriel explained.“He didn’t tell me.”“I, on the other side, am thrilled that you will be back. I miss you, and it’s so boooooring to eat lunch with the others,” he said. Ava laughed