Chapter Ten
Morgan had lost count of the number of mornings she’d woken up to some kind of present. In the last few days, she’d woken up to find Carver still in her bed, which she had loved.
This morning, after he made love to her and had given her two orgasms, Carver told her to meet him in the dining room when she finished getting ready. So, her current outfit was a dress, a sweater, and a pair of tights, along with some flat shoes.
The small, flat box on the bed caught her eyes. It hadn’t been there this morning, so Carver must have left it for her to find. She opened the box, and inside she found a very small collar. It was so tiny, she didn’t know if this was supposed to be a joke, something to wrap around her wrist, or if this was for a cat or a tiny dog? She finished getting ready as fast as she could, for whatever Carver had in store for her. Rather than leave the collar back in the room, she held it within her grip and made her way downstairs.
Andy came out of the dining room, and he nodded toward her. She offered him a good morning and then waited a second. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. It made no sense to her at all. She wasn’t afraid of Carver, and everything he’d ever done for her had been to make her life better. Although the gifts had been sweet and lovely, and she loved all of them, she didn’t need them. Her true gift was Carver. To everyone else, this man was a beast, a monster, evil, but to her he was everything.
Entering the dining room, she suddenly came to a stop, as she caught sight of the sweetest thing—Carver, holding a very pale Chihuahua. The tiny puppy looked so content within his grasp. It seemed almost surreal to see Carver holding something so gently.
She gasped, which drew his attention, and she covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about,” he said. “Come and meet your puppy.”
“Mine?”
“Yes, all yours. I’ve heard it is good to put the collar on her quite soon so she can get used to it.”
Morgan stepped forward and reached for the little pup. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“It’s a girl.”
“Oh, my,” she said, as Carver placed the little girl in her arms. She was so tiny, but the little pup settled with her just as she had with Carver. “She’s mine?”
“Yes.”
She felt this overwhelming sense of love, not just for the little pup in her arms, but also for the man who had just given her this most precious gift.
“I don’t … I have no words.”
“You like your gift?” he asked.
“I love her. I love her so much.”
“That is all I need.”
Carver kissed the top of her head, and then took the collar out of her grip. The pup didn’t wriggle or fight as he slid the tiny collar around her neck, checking to make sure it wasn’t too tight.
“Perfect,” he said.
“What should we call her?” Morgan asked.
“What would you like to call her?”
“My precious,” she said.
Carver smiled. “You can call her Precious.”
The little pup did a cute little doggie yawn, paws outstretched, and opened her small eyes.
“What should we name you?” she asked, kissing the top of the little pup’s head. She looked into her tiny dog’s eyes, and then it came to her. “Roxy,” she said. “That’s her name.”
“Roxy?” Carver asked.
“Yep.”
“Don’t you think that is a little … strong of a name. I feel like a Rottweiler would have that name.”
Morgan laughed. “This is perfect because beneath her weak-looking exterior there is a Roxy there. A Rottweiler in disguise.” She kissed the top of Roxy’s head and knew it was perfect.
“Then Roxy it is. Hello, Roxy,” Carver said.
He was so sweet with her. He reached out to stroke her paw and was so gentle with her. Morgan fell a little more in love with this beast of a man.
“Come on, it’s time for you to get some breakfast,” he said.
He put his hands on her shoulders and walked her toward the breakfast table. She sat down, expecting Carver to take his usual position, but he took several steps away. When he returned, she saw why. In his hands were a tiny dog bed, a few toys, and some blankets.
“This is to get you started,” he said.
Morgan didn’t want to put Roxy down, but she also knew she couldn’t spend the rest of her life holding her. She wanted to, but that wouldn’t do any good. She placed the little pup on the bed, and at first Roxy was very shy, then settled down. She placed the small blanket on top of her, as the tiny pup seemed to be shaking a little, and she didn’t want her to get cold.
Lifting up, she looked toward Carver and smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said.
“You can have everything you want,” he said. “All you have to do is ask.”
She was tempted to ask him if she could have his love, but she didn’t want to spoil the moment they were sharing. This had been an incredible morning. In fact, every morning, waking up as Carver’s wife, within his world, had been wonderful.
Her parents bringing her here had been the best decision they had made for her. She wondered if they even knew before Carver had killed them, that they were sending her to a good life, or if they even cared.
It no longer mattered. They were gone, and she was happy.
And she had Carver, as well as Roxy.
****
Carver stared into the game room where Morgan and Roxy were playing. The little dog had become part of their world very fast, not that he had any problem with that. She stayed in the corner of their room at night, and the first night had been a pain, but Morgan had told him what to do.
They were supposed to ignore her cries for attention. He hated to say it, but he found that difficult. A great deal of his life was spent torturing people—chaining them up, beating the shit out of them, hurting them—getting information out of them by any means possible. He’d listened to many people promise him millions, billions, willing to do whatever he wanted. None of it had mattered to him. Yet, he hadn’t been able to deal with tiny little Roxy, crying for attention.
Of course, he had responded. Morgan had laughed as he picked little Roxy up and carried her down to take her out.
Morgan hadn’t stayed in bed, so for a good hour on the first night, they had stood out in the freezing cold, wrapped in blankets, waiting for Roxy to do her business. What did Roxy do? Play in the snow. She had on a tiny sweater, and Morgan had insisted on her wearing her little shoes. Again, he didn’t complain, because the truth was, she was so freaking cute.
They did the same the second night. By the third night, Roxy must have gotten bored, because she slept the whole night through. Even as he made love to his wife.
He watched her now, how sweet and tender she was. Her family hadn’t destroyed her, and for that he was grateful.
“You wanted me, sir,” Andy said, coming into the room.
“I want you to alert everyone to keep an eye out for any suspicious movements on the property. I no longer want deliveries at the door. Everything must be checked at the gate,” Carver said.
“Yes, sir.”
After the death of Rigel and a couple of other investors, the tables had turned on Romone. His enemies were coming after him, and Carver knew it was only a matter of time before Romone came for him. He was betting on it.
Carver didn’t play a cat-and-mouse game. He wasn’t going to leave to go hunting. He’d allow Romone to come and do the work.
“He doesn’t get into the house,” Carver said.
He looked at Morgan and Roxy. There was no regret for what he’d done. This is what he had to do. People wanted him to pay for what he did to the Rose family, and now they were begging him to take over from Romone.
What they didn’t understand was he’d been determined to take down Romone from the very beginning. Every single little fuckup had brought them to this moment because he’d orchestrated it.
Many years ago, he and Romone had fought side by side. They hadn’t been brothers. They’d been two souls O’Neil had discovered. Romone was never as good as him. Although Romone always won each fight, he didn’t have the skills to go against him. There was always something holding him back.
Carver knew that. It was a fear of losing for Romone. A fear of dying. Carver, on the other hand, didn’t fear anything. He didn’t fear death or the end. He was more than ready for it. Death was part of life. It was a cycle, and he reveled in it.
So, to Romone, there had always been a fight he wanted to be part of, but O’Neil had always told him not to be stupid, to only take the fights he knew he could win.
Carver didn’t do that. He took the fights with no guarantees. This was the path he chose, and it suited him. With nothing to lose, he didn’t care if he won or lost. It was just money, just a fight, a means to an end.
Romone accepted what O’Neil did. That the boys who wanted out, had to die. There was only one way, and that was O’Neil’s way. Carver didn’t agree. He always knew there was going to be another way, and he took it. Romone had vowed that there would come a time when it would come down to a fight between them, and only one of them would be victor.
Carver smiled. There was no competition, not for him.
“Don’t worry, sir, we all know nothing can happen to Morgan,” Andy said.
“Nor to any of you.” He turned toward Andy. “All of you put your faith in me for my protection and I’m not going to let you down.”
“You never could, sir,” Andy said. “We all stand by you.”
He looked toward Morgan again. He’d been taking her shooting for an hour every day. She hated leaving Roxy at home, but he wouldn’t take the dog to practice. She was already too much of a distraction inside the house. Also, Morgan was a terrible shot. She could fire a gun, but she had not gotten many targets. At best, it had been one in ten. Today had been a fluke, as she got two out of five. But she’d not been able to repeat it.
He looked at her, seeing how sweet and kind she was with Roxy. Morgan was going to make an amazing mother. He knew it was only a matter of time before she got pregnant, if she wasn’t pregnant already. She wasn’t taking anything to stop conception, and he wasn’t wearing condoms, nor was he slowing down when it came to feeling her wrapped around his cock.
Fucking Morgan, making love to her, spending time with her, was his favorite thing to do, and Carver wasn’t used to having favorite things or favorite people. This was all new to him.
“Look, there’s Daddy,” Morgan said, catching his eye.
“Daddy?” he asked.
Morgan giggled. “Yep, Daddy. He will love and protect you always, won’t you, Daddy?”
“Yes,” he said.
And he meant it. He’d love and protect Morgan and Roxy, along with any children they might have for the rest of their lives.