Prologue

Priest

" B aby," I whisper, my heart aching at the sight of my wife curled up on the cold bathroom floor, her face pale. I immediately drop to my knees beside her, scooping her curvy body up into my arms.

"Grayson," she complains, pushing weakly against my chest. "Don't. I might infect you."

"Don't give a fuck." I brush strands of fiery red hair away from her face. My lips graze her forehead. It's cool to the touch. I don't think she's feverish. "Infect away. I'm not leaving you on the bathroom floor while you're throwing up."

"You have a plane to catch."

My stomach twists at the reminder. Fucking hell.

"I'll cancel." There's no way I can fly to Mexico while she's here alone, sick. I'll just worry the entire fucking time I'm gone. I'm not sure if she realizes it yet, but she's late. This may be a little bit more than a virus. I don't want to get her hopes up in case I'm wrong again, but fuck. I hope I'm not wrong.

Besides, her dad already hates me. It's not like missing a show will make matters worse between the two of us. I doubt there's much of anything capable of accomplishing that at this point.

Two years ago, I was Lionel Cordova's golden boy. He heard me playing my guitar outside his law office and saw a fucking star. He was willing to give me the world in exchange for watching over his daughter…right up until his daughter became the center of my world.

But fuck. I never stood a chance against her.

She's full of fire, burning as hot as the goddamn sun. No one tells her what to do. No one holds her back. She's a force of nature, her own little hurricane. As soon as she marched into my room, demanding to know who I was and why I was living with them, it was all over. And the minute she told me there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to let me follow her around like some guard dog, my cock was hard.

For most of my life, girls like her avoided me. I grew up rough, bouncing from group home to group home when I wasn't fending for myself on the streets. I look the part—with long, dirty blond hair, hard gray eyes, and tattoos. She's a pretty little princess who had a silver spoon in her mouth the moment she was born.

I had no business in her world, no business wanting to make her my own. And yet…that's exactly what the fuck happened.

I tried like hell to keep a safe distance while meeting the terms of my agreement with Lionel, but safe isn't in Mina's vocabulary. When I wasn't working with Lionel, we were together.

By the end of the first month, she was sneaking into my room at night to hang out. By the end of the second, I was pinning her to every flat surface we came across.

Somehow, we made it a full six months before her dad found out about the two of us. When he kicked me out, she packed her shit, too; she said she goes where I go. We got a shithole of an apartment together.

The six months we spent making a home of it were the best fucking months of my life. We didn't have much, but goddamn. Who needs it when you've got Mina? I look at her, and my heart feels like it's beating out of my chest to get to her. I touch her, and my entire body lights up, sparking like crazy.

I don't believe in fairytales. But Mina? Well, I believe in her. And she had me convinced happily-ever-after existed. That we'd found it. Right up until Lionel showed up again four months ago.

Guess he found out I put a ring on her finger and made her my wife.

He's mad as hell about it, but he wants his daughter in his life, so he's tolerating me. Said he isn't going to let her slum it in some shitty apartment for the rest of her life, so I'm back in. I've spent the last four months playing guitar for a new band his law firm represents since their guitarist was arrested on drug charges.

The details don't matter. The point is that sending me out with them is his way of keeping me away from Mina as often as possible. Most of their shows are out of town. Half of them are in Mexico. I'm biting my tongue and playing his game for now. But he isn't going to break us apart. This shit between us can't be broken.

Mina is part of my soul, embedded so deeply inside me that nothing will ever get her out again. And it's the same damn way for her. We tried to fight it. We both knew he'd lose his goddamn mind about us together. But it was a losing battle from the word go. She was meant to be mine, and there's nothing I'm not willing to risk to keep her.

Sooner or later, Lionel is going to realize that. He'll back off. But fucking hell, I'm tired of playing his game. I just want to be home with my wife, holding her, loving her, and giving her the future I promised when I put that ring on her finger.

"You will not cancel, Grayson McGregor," Mina growls, her voice raspy as she narrows her eyes at me. "I don't need you here to nurse me because I have a virus. I'll be fine. But if you don't go, we're never going to hear the end of it." Her expression softens. "And I'd really like for him to forgive us sooner rather than later so he stops sending you to the ends of the freaking earth every other week."

"He's not mad at you, baby girl," I murmur, brushing my nose down the side of her face. He has a soft spot for his daughter. He just has this fucked up idea that he made her, so he gets to decide how her life plays out. Mina isn't the kind of girl willing to go along with that antiquated notion, though. She was born with fire in her soul and an independent streak a mile wide. I never met her mom, but I think she got her fiery Irish spirit. "He's pissed at me. I took his daughter away."

"I'm not property to be taken. I made my own choice. And I chose you." She places her palm against the side of my face. "I'll always choose you."

"Christ." I rest my forehead against hers, my heart pulsing. "I love you forever; do you know that?"

"That's good," she says, her voice steeped in weariness. Poor baby feels awful. "Because I have papers on you now, McGregor. That means I own you."

"Oh, yeah?" I grin, lifting us both to our feet to carry her back to the bedroom. "You own me, huh?"

"Mmhmm."

"We'll see about that, sweetheart." I nip her earlobe before laying her on the bed. "As soon as I get home from Mexico, I intend to show you exactly who owns who. And I want to hear you screaming my name while I'm showing you."

She smirks up at me, heat in her eyes as she snuggles in, stealing my pillow like always. "Have you ever noticed that your plans always end with me screaming your name?"

"Mmhmm. It's by design." I lean down over the bed, brushing my lips across her forehead. "I fucking love how good you sound screaming for me, Mina. Especially when that hot, wet pussy is wrapped around my cock while you're screaming it."

She's my first, my last, my only. And I'm hers. This love between us is wild and endless. It burns hot and bright. And goddamn, I don't ever want to stop wanting her the same fucking way I do now.

She whimpers softly, shifting on top of the bed, and I know she feels the same exact way.

I smile against her skin. Fuck, she's too tempting, too beautiful, even when she's sick. "Rest, baby. I'll be home before you know it."

"Promise?"

"Always. I love you forever."

"Love you forever," she breathes, her eyes fluttering closed.

Forever isn't long enough for me and her. I want whatever comes after that.

I kiss her again and then pull back, striding toward the door. At the threshold, I pause to grab my bag, glancing back at her. She looks so sweet in our bed, hugging my pillow like it's me. I hesitate, rooted to the spot. My feet won't fucking move as the desire to say fuck this job surges through me hot and fast.

I just want to crawl in beside her, pull her into my arms, and hold her. Fuck her father. Fuck the show. Fuck everything. This is where I should be—right here with her, taking care of her, loving her. This is where I belong. This is what matters.

We'll find a different way to get Lionel to back off. I'll go see him, plead for forgiveness, whatever it fucking takes to get him to see reason. But this—leaving her all the goddamn time on his whim—this isn't the answer. It can't be.

"Make me proud, husband," she mumbles, our tiny bed creaking as she shifts.

Shit.

Without Lionel, I'll never be able to give her the life she deserves. It'll be years, even decades, before I can make the kind of money these shows bring in. And she misses her dad, even if she'll never admit it. I owe it to her to pay my penance and fix this shit to ensure she has the future she deserves. She's what matters here—the only thing that matters.

For her, I'll do anything. Endure anything. Survive anything. No matter how long it takes.

"I love you forever, Mina," I murmur, dragging myself away.

Like always, I leave my heart behind…beating in her chest.