Epilogue

EPILOGUE

GIO

Three months later

I was sweaty and sore as I stepped through the front door of my penthouse.

The scent of garlic and basil filled the apartment, and I heard the sounds of pans banging and dishes clanking together coming from the kitchen. Yet, it wasn't the promise of a home-cooked meal that enticed me but the very thought that my girl was here, and I knew she'd be just as anxious to see me as I was to see her.

I'd never felt as if any place was a real home, but I quickly learned that wherever Tatiana was, that's where home was for me.

It had been three months since I declared Tatiana was mine to her family and the revelation that she was pregnant with my baby came to light. And since then, I'd been inseparable from her. I couldn't help myself. Wherever Tatiana was, that's where I wanted to be.

After setting my gym bag on the floor by the front door, I took off my sneakers, tore my damp, white shirt off, and wiped the sweat from my face with the material. I'd made sure Tatiana had no choice but to move in with me the moment she told me about the baby. There had been no room for debate. No room for her to consider anything else.

It might have been an overbearing, dominating demand from me, but fuck, the very thought of not having Tatiana by my side was not an option I would live with.

I needed her close, and there was no shame in how I felt. I didn't try to hide or deny my feelings or emotions. Not where she was concerned. My PDA game with Tatiana was off the charts, and I fucking dared any motherfucker to make a snide remark about it or to even think I was weak.

In fact, I wanted everyone to know she was mine. I wanted everyone to know I would protect her above all else, that I'd keep her safe from the dark world that threatened us daily .

The kitchen was to the left of the front door, but I couldn't see my girl clearly. I walked over shirtless, my cock already thickening with the very idea I'd be able to touch her soon enough.

I leaned against the entryway to the kitchen and crossed my arms as I just watched her. Tatiana stood at the stove, her back to me, and my gaze traveled up and down her form. Fuck, she looked good in those little black cotton shorts and formfitting white shirt. She was a tiny thing, but her curves were even more generous since she was growing my baby.

She started humming to the soft music coming from her phone that sat on the counter to the side. But her humming was broken up by her occasional curse when she didn't like how something was going while she cooked.

I smiled, feeling this hard warmth settle deep in my chest. I realized I was rubbing the spot above my heart, that ache something I always welcomed.

My fingers itched to go over to her and undo her messy bun. When she turned partially to the side to grab a ladle, I could see the curve of her slightly swollen belly pressing against her T-shirt. She'd finally started showing over the past month, and it was hard to keep my hands off her even more now.

Knowing she was growing my child inside of her did something primal and possessive to me. The sight of her like this made everything male within me clench with ferocity.

I'd reached my limit staying back from her and just watching. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around my girl's waist, letting my palms slide to her front, and spread my fingers over her gently rounded belly.

"Mmm," she hummed and sank back into me, her head resting against my chest and her eyes fluttering closed. I dipped my head and kissed the side of her neck. "I've missed you," she whispered and set the ladle down before turning in my arms, rising on her toes, and kissing me softly.

"Mmm." It was my turn to hum. "I can tell dinner is gonna be fucking good."

She laughed. "Yeah? Why's that?"

I dragged my tongue along her lips and dipped the muscle into her mouth. "I can tell because you've been tasting the sauce."

She pulled back and gave me a mock scowl, but the corner of her lips curled in a smile. "I make one good-ass pasta sauce, baby," she teased.

"Let me taste that pretty pussy, little girl." I hadn't meant to be so fucking vulgar, not when she was in a lighthearted mood, but my cock was harder than granite. Yet, she surprised the fuck out of me when, instead, she sank to her knees and slid my sweatpants down my legs.

I groaned, my cock throbbing as she freed me, my dick springing forward and already leaking pre-cum. I groped the base. The only thing running through my mind was how good she looked, staring up at me with my cock bobbing between us and my crown leaking like a fucking faucet.

"Clean up the mess you're making of Daddy," I growled and aimed my cockhead at her mouth. She opened instantly and dragged her tongue along the slit, licking up the pre-cum and swallowing every drop. "Mmm, you're such a good girl."

"I'm only your good girl," she muttered around my cock before licking the tip again. "I can't get enough of you," she added, before taking my length to the back of her throat and gagging just the way I taught her how I liked it.

I had my hands buried in her hair and guided her head back and forth, controlling the pace and depth of my dick sliding in her throat.

"I don't deserve you," I groaned when she gagged again, spit dripping out the corner of her mouth. She tried to pull back, but I kept my hands in her hair and her mouth around my shaft. "But I'm a selfish bastard and not letting you go, even though you're better than me… deserve someone better than me." The last part was whispered too low, and I knew she couldn't hear.

She sucked me hard and long and to the point I was on the verge of coming. But I wanted to have a massive, full load for her tonight when I filled her little, pretty cunt with my cum and watched it slip out of her bared pussy.

So, using all the damn strength I had reserved, I stepped back, hearing my cock popping free of her mouth, and helped her to stand. I cupped either side of her face and kissed her long and deep, my cock throbbing and reminding me I could be draining my balls down her throat and into her belly right about now.

I tasted the salty flavor of my cum on her tongue and groaned because I loved knowing it was my flavor and scent overtaking her.

When she broke away, I was about to forcefully take another kiss from her. She gasped and placed her hand on her belly, and my desire faded fast as fuck. I could see how wide her eyes were as she ran her palm over her bump, and worry was at the forefront of my mind right away.

"What's wrong?" Gone was my arousal, and in its place was my readiness to fix whatever the fuck was going on.

She shook her head and looked up at me at the same time she grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to her belly. For a second, neither of us moved or spoke. All I could feel and hear was my heart racing in my ears.

And then I felt it… a slight tap beneath my palm. My eyes got wide as fuck as I stared at where I touched, then looked into Tatiana's eyes. I smiled, one of the rare, genuine ones that only my girl could pull out of me.

"We got to feel the first kick together," she whispered and rested her forehead on my chest. For long moments, we just stood there, and I could have gotten lost in this moment, just letting myself forget about everything except how good Tatiana felt in my arms.

She was the one to pull back and tipped her head, her gaze catching mine. Fuck… there it was—that connection I'd never felt with any other person in my life. And since I gave in to my girl and said fuck it, that connection had only deepened.

We broke apart and finished making dinner, and once we were seated and ready to eat, all I could do was stare at her and smile as she plated spaghetti and meatballs. Her wedding ring caught the light, and my cock jerked at the sight of that diamond.

It meant she was mine.

It had been an intimate ceremony in the heart of Italy with only our closest family in attendance. We'd decided to honeymoon for a month, starting out by spending half the time in Sicily and then using the remaining time traveling the Russian countryside.

It was a reminder that, despite the darkness in our lives, there was still beauty to be found when we had each other. And seeing how happy she was when we were away from the toxicity of the real world in which we lived, I made a vow to take her traveling frequently.

But even now, as happy as I was that Tatiana was mine and knowing she'd have our first child before we even knew it, I couldn't ignore all the bullshit brewing on the horizon where the Bratva, Cosa Nostra, and Carmine were concerned.

We still hadn't gotten concrete proof of him and The Stygian Syndicate being connected to each other, but we were getting closer. We wanted to make sure we had all our shit in place to take Carmine down.

The fragile alliance between the Bratva and Cosa Nostra wasn't about to be ripped away because of some selfish, arrogant motherfucker.

We ate, and the natural flow of conversation filled the space between us. I listened to her tell me how her day went and had a perpetual smile on my face just hearing the soft lilt of her voice.I couldn't help but be struck by how surreal this all felt.

Fuck , I thought. I—a goddamn piece-of-shit villain in my own story—had caused so much death and destruction in my life. Yet, here I was. With her . With a family on the way. And damn… getting my happily ever after like I was a damn fairy-tale princess.

"I don't deserve this," I whispered to myself.

I thought it had been barely audible, but when Tatiana frowned and sat back in her chair, I knew she'd heard my admission.

I saw the way her eyes filled with the kind of love I never thought I'd see directed at me. But she would never love me at the level that I loved her. Not even close. My feelings for her went so far beyond normal and rational that I was a fucking obsessed stalker for Tatiana.

"Yes, you do," she finally said, but there was a firmness in her voice that had me chuckling.

I didn't argue because I loved hearing her sweet words toward me. I didn't say shit, and instead, I rose, lifted her easily and sat back down, pulling her onto my lap. As I looked at her, I felt a wave of disbelief once again.

How had I, a man covered in ink to hide my scars, who bathed in the blood of my enemies, ended up being the luckiest fucking bastard in the world?

I took her hand in mine, loving the feel of her soft, warm skin against me, and knew one thing for certain. I'd burn the world down to keep this. To keep her.

But first, I was going to take her to our room, strip her naked, and rememorize every inch of her body with my tongue before I slid my cock deep into her tight, little pussy. If she wasn't already pregnant, I would have gotten her knocked up tonight.

I stood then and held her close as I strode down the hall. I laid her on our bed and spread her thighs wide to get to work at the best fucking job in the world. Making my wife come.

The End.