Chapter 18
Connor Pen
I lunge forward, reaching for Hilary as she flies over the table, but the gun retorts and an immense force smacks into my still healing chest and pushes me backward. I trip on the CEO chair and hit the ground.
My seized diaphragm refuses to relax, and without fresh oxygen, my brain buzzes. A cop’s concerned face hovers over me. I reach for him, and he takes my hand.
I prop my other elbow underneath me. He tries to push me down, but I suck down a much needed breath and push him off me.
Hilary’s screams bounce around in my skull. I roll onto my side and rise without help as my strength returns.
It’s not fast enough. I need my warrior queen. Now.
Several cops rush across the room toward her. I push past them and reach her first.
Punch after punch, Hilary rips Jocelyn’s face open with the ring she so coveted as she straddles her on the ground.
My gladiator goddess sobs with every swing. I catch her wrists and pull her to her feet. She wobbles but blindly swings at me, still trapped in fight or flight.
“Hilary, it’s me. I’m here. I’m okay,” I rasp.
She meets my eyes. All the fight drains from her. She slumps against my chest.
“Connor. You were shot. You were—”
“I’m fine. Bulletproof vest. See?”
The strain in my voice belies my words, but I poke a finger into the hole a few inches below my heart.
Hilary sobs and whacks my arm.
“Don’t do that again! I was so scared.”
I wrap her in my arms and squeeze.
“I don’t plan to. We’re done. We did it, Hilary.”
“Alex is dead,” she whispers.
“Yes,” I confirm.
“I punched Jocelyn,” she says.
“Multiple times. It was glorious. My gorgeous goddess avenged my mother in true gladiator fashion, just like I knew you always would.”
She shudders.
“I thought you wanted to do it,” she mumbles against my shoulder.
“As long as she ended up bloody, behind bars, and miserable, I didn’t care,” I murmur into her hair.
She roams her hands over my back and sides as though confirming I’m fine. After a few moments, she lifts her head and steals my soul with her rich brown eyes.
“Can we adopt Destiny? If she’ll have us?” Hilary asks.
I smooth my hand down her hair and work through the emotions barreling through me.
Before Hilary can launch into a speech about it not being Destiny’s fault Jocelyn is her mother, I tilt her head back and nip her bottom lip to ensure I have her full attention.
“She’s sixteen. Only two more years until she’s an adult. If she wants to spend those years with us, then hopefully she’s willing to learn the trade and take over the business when we’re old and grey.”
Hilary’s joy overflows into my soul, and the abandoned child inside me basks in her unending love.
I will never regret placing my trust in Hilary. From her sisters to me and now to my archnemesis’ daughter, she will always protect those who deserve it.
I love her. I need her.
We’ve waited too long. I almost lost her. The memory of her launching herself over the table toward a gun replays in my mind.
After slogging through reports and forcing an emergency vote to make me interim CEO of the Koch empire, Hilary calls and explains things to Destiny first, then Aisha and Momo before the news spreads to the media outlets.
Aisha and Momo greet us at the door, but after ensuring we’re both fine, they close themselves in Momo’s room together.
I weave my fingers through Hilary’s and tug her toward the stairs. She follows without hesitation, but her uneven strides concern me, so I cradle her to my chest.
“You’re injured! Let me down,” she demands.
“No. Mine,” I growl.
I kick the door shut behind me and toss her onto the bed. She squeaks, bounces, and wraps herself around me when I crawl on top of her.
Her fervor matches mine. We tear at each other’s clothes until naked flesh meets naked flesh, and still I need more.
She slaps a hand to my three-time-bruised chest.
“Stop. Wait. Condom. No babies, remember?”
“You’re on the pill,” I growl.
“That’s not enough. Condom.”
“I’ll get snipped. I need you, Hilary.”
“No, Connor. Condom. Now,” she demands.
I snarl and yank open the bedside table. She takes the condom from me, rips open the package, and fits it onto my cock with impatient hands.
My control shatters. I capture her wrists in one hand, pin them to the bed above her head, and sink into her glorious depths.
Her gasp of pain shames and encourages me. I roll my hips. She arches and tightens her legs around me.
I devour her cries of ecstasy as I pound in and out of her. Every stroke is its own life and death. I give her all my strength and attention, worshipping her with my entire body until we both find our release and shatter the world together.
She’s mine. All mine. Only mine.
I whisper words of comfort and devotion until her sobs cease, then lick the tears from her temples and roll us over.
Flat on my back with my cock buried deep inside the only woman I’ve ever wanted, I wrap my arms around her and cup the side of her face. Her glazed eyes shimmer with pleasure, and her swollen lips glisten in the darkness.
“I love you, Hilary. Be mine forever. My wife. My gladiator goddess. My warrior queen.”
She threads her fingers into my hair and smiles.
“I love you, Connor. My king of vengeance. I’m keeping you. Always.”
My chest tightens, but it isn’t until she brushes her lips through my tears that I realize I’m crying.
She heals the terrified, lost little boy trapped in nightmares, soothes the monster seeking revenge, and completes the ruthless businessman I’ve become.
Hilary Pen is perfect. She’s mine and I’m hers.
Forever.