Chapter 1

One

Oliver

I am in love with a woman that I will do anything to protect. Even if it means destroying her love for me. Amethyst Stone is my sanctuary. Her love, her scent, her laugh, and her kindness ease the darkness living in my soul.

For those reasons I am about to kill everything good we share in the name of protecting the sweet soul who trusted me with her life.

I knew better than to think she could have a full life at my side. If that makes me a bastard, then so be it. Another day with her life in jeopardy can't happen. By this time tomorrow I will be a ghost and she will be safe.

But not yet.

Tonight, I get to watch her sleep one last time. Every muscle in my body aches to go to her, but I stay cemented in place. I don't dare touch her. If I do, I won't be able to let her go. I understand myself well enough to know the young beauty lying between my sheets is my ultimate weakness.

Your brother crossed us, Stone. We will ruin everything you treasure and love. Steal from us and we return the favor threefold.

I run the words of my enemy through my mind as I sip on a bourbon. The dark amber liquid washes down the acid eating at the back of my throat, but the taste of betrayal lingers on my tongue all the same.

Cold, calculated, and to the point. The fucking Callahans never had an understanding bone in their bodies. They'd rather take blood than talk things out.

Fallon stole from anyone stupid enough to trust him and in the end skimming from our enemy cost my younger brother more than he bargained for—his life. We often took high risks with large payouts if everything went well. It is part of our life. Crime pays and I make damn sure the scales are tipped in our favor. But steal what belongs to someone else? No. I'm no fucking thief.

Fallon on the other hand…

I rub a hand over my chest to ease the pain that is weeks old but feels fresh. I should have kept a tighter rein on him. I became too lax and lowered my guard. Now I am on the hook for a debt with a high price tag—blood. Not mine, though.

Hers.

Amethyst Stone. A woman too innocent for a life at the side of a criminal. Yet there she is. In my bed, wearing my ring, carrying my name.

"Oliver."

A breathy sigh. Sleepy voice. My balls clench, and the air in my lungs turns solid for a fraction of a second.

I move to cross the room, but pause, exhaling slowly. Amethyst sighs heavily and rolls to the edge of the bed, asleep once again, her hand coming to rest on my second treasure.

Our unborn baby.

My plan solidifies. No matter how hard it is, I have to walk away.

Another mouthful of bourbon does nothing to wash down the regret knotting around my windpipe. I would down the entire bottle if it helped ease the pain burrowing deep in my chest. But I can't afford to dull my senses. Not when her life is on the line.

I use the shadows of our bedroom to watch my jewel sleep for the last time. Another throaty moan slips from her lips, pushing aside my warring thoughts. I silently ease forward in my chair, resting my elbows over my knees. She's restless tonight, tossing and moaning in her sleep. Something in her dreams torments her. Maybe she senses the change coming. I swallow back the rest of my bourbon and set the empty glass aside. The night has grown late; the sun isn't far off and yet I can't pull myself away from her bedside. Our bed. We spent our wedding night here only four months ago.

Four months. It feels like a lifetime, but that is just the night talking. A lot has happened since we took our vows. And now I have to give her up.

You shouldn't have crossed us, Stone. We will ruin everything you treasure and love. Steal from us and we return the favor threefold.

The poison of those words forges my plan. Until the man who wrote them is dead and gone, I can't have her close to me. It's too dangerous. If anyone were to find out how much I care for this woman, they would use her against me. As long as they believe she means nothing to me, she is safe.

Raven hair spills across peach-colored silk sheets. She's kicked aside the large comforter, leaving nothing more than a thin swath of fabric to cover her delicate body. The edge has drawn down to barely cover the tip of a rosy nipple I've tasted too many times to count. Yet, I know if I had my lips on her skin one more time, it would feel like the first time.

My fingers tighten into the arms of my chair as I watch her roll to her back, drawing the sheet over the swell of her rounding belly. Leather creaks under my punishing grip.

Some deep, primal part of me swells with pride.

I own her now. She's mine and no one else's.

The truth is, I own her for a few more minutes and then I have to let her go. Blood runs like fire through my veins. My chest tightens. Suddenly feeling deprived of oxygen, I loosen my tie and pop the top button on my shirt.

Amethyst moves, shifting the sheet down her body another inch causing my dick to ache to feel the heat of her juices. The outline of the forbidden fruit tucked just out of sight is alluring. No man, no matter their strength, can walk away from such temptation without one more taste.

Moonlight gently brushes over the glistening locks and I wonder if God realizes heaven has lost an angel. It doesn't matter. Heaven can't have her back. No one can. Not the angels nor the demons—of which there are plenty biding their time to rip away my one treasure.

I raise a hand and place it about three inches to the right of my heart. I search for the scar there and feel my nerves settle a fraction when the tips of my fingers brush against the puckered edges. I got this saving her life once. Walking away should be easier than taking a bullet, but it is not.

I move from the shadows and cross the room, my footsteps silent over the white carpet. I strip my jacket and cuff links, depositing them on the corner of the bed.

I look down at her as I roll my sleeves over my forearms. It wouldn't take much to steal a parting look. A taste. My bride loves sleeping naked, and tonight is no different.

I slide a finger under the edge of the glossy fabric and brush a knuckle against the tip of her nipple. Nothing too hard. Only a faint whisper of a caress.

"Mmm. Daddy."

Low, sensual. Amethyst's voice brushes over me like a lover's caress but slams into my chest with a force that has me taking a step back for balance.

I draw in air. Hold.

My heart thumps erratically. The word hits me like a wall of heat and takes over my senses until my thoughts are consumed with that one word.

Daddy.

My vision shimmers and turns black along the edges. Muted shadows turn to nothing more than a blur as my focus draws to the smooth complexion of her face. The slow parting of her lips as she mumbles something else I can't make out.

I have nearly five decades on this earth and not once has anyone called me…daddy.

Motherfucker. Boss. Son of a bitch. Yes. But never daddy. Hearing that one word from her lips is like pulling a trigger inside my brain. There's no going back from the damage left in its wake.

A slow smile draws over my lips.

I'm ruined.

Despite my silent vow to look and not touch, I reach for her and caress the back of my inked-up knuckles down the soft slope of her cheek. I have no place touching someone so pure, much less bedding them. Next to her I am nothing and yet she calls for me in her sleep.

Daddy.

I adjust my length in awe at the power she holds over me even as she dreams.

Amethyst turns into my touch instinctively, causing my dick to turn rock solid. The voice inside my head screams for me to possess her one more time, but I force it into silence. But one thing I keep hearing go off in my head is true. I can't leave my sweet girl forever. I swore to protect her, love her, and cherish her the day she took my ring and my seed. I'll walk for now, take care of the danger, and then I'll be back.

My fists clench at my sides as she moves again and this time the sheet slips to reveal her full breasts. Their heavy weight will feed my child in a few months. Until then, they are mine to play with.

Were mine, the voice in my head reminds me.

I press a knee onto the side of the bed and gather the weight of her breasts in either hand before pressing them together. The hard length of my shaft threatens the strength of my zipper. She loves it when I slide my arousal between these mounds.

My grip tightens a fraction. Beautifully bowed lips part with a whimper though she's yet to wake. Temptation to call her to me eats a hole in my soul. The need to see her eyes and feel the warmth of her gaze on me is hard to resist. My fingers curl into her softness. Lashes flutter and just when I think my jewel will show me her beautiful eyes, she drifts back to sleep. My fingers rasp over her nipples, causing them to harden further, my reward a shuddering sigh.

Fuck me, but my mouth waters for a taste. She's the definition of original sin. Beautiful, and delicate, if she had known what I dreamed about doing to her, she probably would have never agreed to her father's arrangement for us to marry.

I lower my weight over her and gently wrap my lips around the extended peaks, drawing one into the warmth of my mouth. Sucking and licking until her dreams are filled with only the fantasy of me. My tongue flays over the tender tip, sucking, biting, and kissing before moving to the other.

"Daddy."

I strain to hear her slumbered moans. Her breathing hitches. A knee rises. The sheet falls and takes my heart along with it.

There is no saving my soul. I knew I would be addicted to her beauty, but never did I think she would become my reason for living.

It is always the beautiful jewels in this world men like me crave.

It's the fact that they are forbidden to the likes of us that makes owning such rare beauties the pinnacle of our existence. Who are we, you might ask? To you, we are wretched men of crime. Monsters born to cause pain and suffering to every human we touch.

We deserve death. I've known that truth every decade I commit crimes in the name of my family. Three of them I've spent with a gun in one hand and blood on the other. I know what I am talking about.

But her. My jewel makes me want to be a good man. We both know I'm not. I never will be. And maybe that is for the best. A good man wouldn't do what I am about to do.

"My sweet Amethyst," I murmur against her smooth flesh. "You make me too weak to resist. Forgive me, my jewel."

My touch lingers on her breasts a moment longer before tracing the outline of her swelling middle. My mouth follows, caressing over taut flesh until my tongue tastes the sweetness of her bare folds.

Amethyst shudders in her sleep as I move between her thighs and slowly spread them to fit my shoulders. I dip for a taste and groan at already finding her honey slipping from her core.

"Sleep, my jewel and let me take care of you." My cock pulsates with the need to have her heat wrapped around me. I am hard, ready, and damn I'm so hungry for her it is tempting to forget about all the outside problems. I ignore the voice in my head telling me to get my ass moving and savor the sweetness of my wife a little longer.

Mine.

That word plays through my head over and over as I sip from her core. I drag my tongue up her seam without a care that my wife sleeps as I taste her juices. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt letting her have this fantasy dream is better than waking her to the heartache my words would cause.

Gently holding her open, I drag the wide pad of my tongue through her slit all the way to her sweet little nub. Flicking it, I take my time wrapping my lips around her pleasure spot, and then sucking it between my lips.

Watching her react to me in her sleep is the most depraved fucking thing I can do, but I can't stop myself.

Her head falls from side to side, those pretty lips of hers parting as she breathes heavily for me. Searching fingers come between her thighs and I kiss each one as my jewel strokes her clit.

Gripping her inner thighs with my callused-roughened hands, I hold her open and pleasure her core with my tongue. Greed takes over and I drive the tip into her, matching her rhythm until she stills.

A throaty moan draws me up short and I think she's finally awake, but I'm too consumed by the way her walls pulsate to verify one way or another. Hot juices spill and I curl my tongue into her, savoring her honey.

Damn, I'm a sick bastard for this. When I finally raise my gaze, I find a flush coloring her cheeks and her chest rising and falling heavily. Her hand lies between her legs and her lashes still touch the tops of her cheeks.

I didn't think I could fall more in love with a woman. I stand corrected. I peel the back of my zipper from my rock-hard length and grit through the throbbing pain.

A primal sound rumbles up my chest and thickens with a soul's deep need to have her release on my cock.

I pop the button and ease my hand in, drawing out my length. Stroking the thickness, I work my cock and pre-cum coats the bulbous head. Keeping my moves slow, I ease her hand aside and spread her folds. With my other hand, I guide the head of my cock to her entrance.

A fine sheen of sweat breaks out across my body and every muscle I have trembles under the effort to not wake her. This moment is for me and when she wakes… well, what my jewel finds is all for her.

Guiding the swollen head of my cock up and down her slit is heaven and hell. Veins bulge and heat hotter than lava burns me from the inside out. I dare take what I own, slipping inside her pussy. At first I give only an inch, then two.

"Oliver."

Her lips move with a whisper of my name. "Sleep baby. Sleep. Daddy has you."

I feed her dripping little pussy another inch and more until my balls caress her ass.

I pull out to the mewls of her moans and push back in. I could make this last all night but if I fuck her with the savagery of my hunger, she'll wake, and I will never leave.

Stroking her clit, I push in once more and release hot ropes of seed into her claimed womb as she joins me in climaxing. Before I'm fully finished, I pull out and smear the rest of my seed over her shaved, bare folds in a way that makes me feel I've marked her.

I lean my head down and press a kiss over her abdomen. "My sweetness, you have no idea the gift you have given me."

I rise from the bed and adjust my clothing. With only moonlight as a source of light, I slip the band on my ring finger off. I set it on the nightstand next to hers. It will be a clear enough message. A promise. I can only hope she remembers the vows we took.

"Sleep my beautiful jewel and know I will be back to reclaim you and this ring when the time is right."

My soul darkens. I have never cursed another human being before. Killed them for their sins, yes, but never cursed them. Right now, I want to lay the blackest curse I can conjure up on my brother's soul for putting me in this predicament.

I dare one more touch and thread my fingers through her hair. Silky blackness falls through my fingers, and I can't help thinking this is the last I will have her this close to me.

I press a kiss to the top of her head. "Our shared blood tethers us together. Remember that." I carefully drape the silk over her sated sleeping form and gather my jacket from the edge of the bed.

Fear coils around my gut and it takes everything I have inside me to cross our room. I slip from the door with the taste of her on my tongue. I silently vow my life for hers if God only lets me live to see her again.

Enforcers are on either side of the elevator when I finally make my way to the front of my penthouse. Their attention snaps to me as I draw closer.

"Boss."

I fasten one cufflink and then the other. "Lock this place down. Double the guards on all entry points and make sure she has what she needs. Let her believe I have left with instructions to care for her and that is it. She'll have questions. Tell her I've moved on." She has to believe I've gone in order for my plan to work.

"Boss?"

I hear the pain in my enforcer's voice and turn my black eyes on them. Grim expressions look back at me. "It has to be this way, Tomas. Don't question me."

"How long do we have to lie to her? She'll be crushed. What about the baby?"

My Amethyst makes friends wherever she goes, and my tough-ass enforcers are no more immune to her gentle nature than I am. I can't blame them for looking like they want to kick my ass for hurting her.

I step into the elevator. "She can handle more than you think, and you lie to her for however fucking long it takes to deal with the Callahans."

"Yes, sir."

I stab the button for the basement of my Chicago high-rise. Guilt presses on my shoulders. I'll have to grovel for weeks, maybe even months, the next time I stand in this elevator. And I'll gladly pay whatever price she asks to stand at my jewel's side again when that day comes.

Daddy will be home soon, my jewel. I only hope you wait for me.