I was left alone in the kitchen with Hailey still perched on the pillow, now with the tablet on her lap, and Lisa who squirmed in her high chair. These two kids were now mine to take care of. The weight of the responsibility sat squarely on my shoulders as I watched them. I didn’t feel like a mother. Would they ever accept me? Maybe I should lower my expectations and start by becoming their friend. That was the first step.I approached Hailey and smiled. She eyed me curiously. “Hello, Lisa I’m Ayla.” Some of the banana oatmeal she’d had for breakfast stuck to her cheek. I reached for a tea towel and wetted it with water before I wiped at Haileys skin. She squirmed but didn’t cry. I marked it down as a small victory.“All done,” I declared. “Now we need to get you out of this chair and ready for a shopping trip.” I grabbed her under the arms, lifted her out of the chair, then balanced her on my hip like I’d seen other people do. She was silent, but her eyes had become big; she wasn’t
Elia’s face closed off at once. He nodded toward the garden. “Is the dog supposed to dig a hole?”My head twisted around. “What?” Fleefoot was indeed digging a hole, half of her small body disappearing in the ground already.I rushed outside. “No! Fleefoot, don’t.”She peered up then continued as if nothing had happened. I snatched her up, grimacing when I saw how dirty she was, and now I was too.I moved back into the house. Dirt rained down on the floor and me. Fleefoot’s fur was beyond saving, that much was clear. “It’s bath time.”To my surprise, Fleefoot didn’t fight me when I put her in the tub. She just stood there and let it happen. After the bath and towel-drying her, I grabbed the trimming scissors I’d bought and settled on the floor of the entrance hall with Fleefoot in my lap. It was the room that seemed the easiest to clean. There weren’t any rugs. At first, when I brought the scissors near her body, she squirmed, but eventually when she realized I was trying to help her,
“I can accept that as long as you promise that she won’t end up like Maya .”I jerked up and bent over the table, grasping him by the throat and shoving him back against the bench. His face turned red, but he held my gaze. “Careful, Christian. In this city, my word is law. The protection of your father, and even that is limited, ends at the borders of Baltimore.”“I don’t need Jaxon’s protection or I wouldn’t be here, working under you,” he pressed out. “Ayla is my little sister. I’m going to try to protect her as well as I can.”I tightened my fingers on his throat. “Ayla is safe with me. She doesn’t need your protection.” I released him and sat back, pushing my tie back under my vest and smoothing my jacket.Christian massaged his throat. “No wonder that Luca likes you so much. You and him have very similar tics.”“The bikers are planning something. Look what they did in New Jersey and New York. We’ll have to keep an eye on them.”“I’m doing that. It’s not easy to establish contact
“I don’t see what we need to talk about.”She stomped toward me, stopping so close that the strawberry scent flooded my nose again. “A lot. I want this marriage to work, but that won’t happen if we don’t spend time together. Do you usually come home this late?”“Yes, frequently. I’m Underboss, Ayla.”“Jaxon’s Underboss and so are many of my uncles, and trust me, they have more than enough time to waste on golf courses or on top of their mistresses.”A laugh wedged itself in my throat, but I suppressed it. “My work ethic is very different from theirs.”“As your wife I have a right to make demands so this marriage can work, and I’m asking you to be home for dinner so the kids and I can spend time with you.”My anger rose again, even as a small part of me was pleased that she wanted to spend time with me. “This marriage is one of convenience.”Ayla’s eyes flashed anger. “I suppose it’s very convenient for you to have me as your nanny and for your personal pleasure without the burden of h
I frowned until I realized what he meant, and then I could have wept from relief. He pushed up on his palms, and I lowered my legs from his back. Looking down at his body, he brushed his fingers over his lower abs glistening with my lust for him. Then he brought them to his lips. “As sweet as I remember. Perfect.”I could only agree. But I meant the sight of him, of this strong muscled man peering down at my body as if it was a revelation.He moved down until his face hovered right over my intimate part. Last time, it had made me feel insecure because I hadn’t known what to expect. Now it made me feel nervous for another reason. “What if I don’t… come again?” The last two words were whispered. Jaxon had spent fifteen minutes between my legs on our wedding night, and while it had been pleasurable, I hadn’t been close to orgasm.He lowered himself to his elbows then slid his palms under my thighs. Tearing his eyes away from my center, he looked at me, and the hunger on his face alone al
I clenched at the intrusion, even as my body begged for more. Watching me, Jaxon licked his thumb and began to stroke my body with it. Round and round his finger swirled, tugging at that knot inside my core. Without thinking, I grabbed his firm ass, feeling it flex with every thrust. his hips parting from me for him, his abs tensing, and the harsh lust on his gorgeous face blasted my knot to shreds. I cried out as pleasure radiated through me with a force that had me clench so tightly that Jaxon exhaled sharply from my grip on him. He slammed harder into me as I sunk my nails into his backside, lifting my hips almost frantically to meet his thrusts. Jaxon gripped my hips in a bruising hold, jerking me faster against him until the slapping of our bodies and his grunts filled the room as he pounded into me. Soreness thrummed through me, battling with the low hum of pleasure.Jaxon fell forward, bracing himself on one elbow. He gripped my leg, pushed it up, and drove harder into me.
I lay awake long after Ayla had fallen asleep, curled up on her side, facing me. This time she’d accepted it quietly when I’d pulled back after sex to sleep. I could still feel her warmth, smell her sweet scent, sense her closeness, and briefly, I considered pulling her toward me. Instead I stared up into the dark. Ayla surprised me again today, in more regards than one. She was stubborn and kind. She stood up for herself without being bitchy.And the sex… that had caught me completely off guard. I’d expected her to avoid the physical aspect of our marriage as long as possible until I eventually approached her because my desire couldn’t be suppressed anymore. I didn’t want to cheat, and I wouldn’t. The mess with Maya … it had ruined everything. I didn’t want something like that to happen again and it wouldn’t.I would not allow it.I didn’t know Ayla, and she didn’t know me, but in bed, we worked well together. When she’d finally come for the first time, it was the sweetest triumph
We slept off while cuddling each other after the whole Maria's shenanigans, I still can't believe that she could try to do such a thing to me, the only thing that's still baffling me is why on earth will she try to make me lose my memory. Who's the mastermind behind her actions? Why did the person want me to lose my memory? Could that person be someone close to me? I was scared and worried but I don't even want to talk about this issue with anyone not even my friends cause I don't know who the mastermind is.So, Jaxon told me to keep it a secret between us, since the mastermind can be anyone. I don't know why but the only suspect on my mind is my dad but Jaxon assured me that he'll never go as far as trying to hurt me, I was tempted to tell him about how he raped me countless times but I kept shut.The other maids excluding Ruby were fired because he said that they might also be her accomplices."You look so beautiful, madam. And I'm sure that your husband won't be able to take his