He held her face, their eyes locked, and he went over the edge.
Corinne would always remember the way it felt to have Paris pouring himself inside of her as he looked at her with love and pure passion in his eyes.
It was so powerful that her spine flared into life, and she followed him into the abyss of release.
Later, much later, when they had gone a few more sexy rounds, Corinne fell asleep with her head on her man’s heart, and her hand on her kids.
She was finally complete.
Chapter Nineteen
Paris
A full two weeks had passed since Corinne had told him everything about her past.
Though Paris’s penthouse would have been suitable enough for security reasons, he preferred staying at Johanna’s home. Corinne felt safe there, and she would never be alone. Paris very rarely left her side, but Johanna and Armstrong were always there as well. As solid backups.
His mate had admitted that she had felt followed a few times, but she couldn’t be sure if it was paranoia and fear…or if she had actually been followed. Paris was sure that if Gustave Comtois knew where Corinne was, he would have taken her.
Now that she was keeping to the house, not really leaving the grounds of the estate, it would be damn near impossible to get to her. Paris would make sure of that.
Johanna and Corinne were often busy during the day, discussing the upcoming showcase at the Warwick Art Museum. Johanna had been planning the event all by herself for years now, but he was happy that his mother was including Corinne. It gave his mate a job, something to do, so she didn’t sit around obsessing about Gustave or the twins all day.
Corinne was very well protected.
Gustave would have to be downright suicidal to attempt breaking into Johanna’s home to take Corinne away.
For the most part, Corinne was calm and felt secure enough in the house. She trusted him with her safety, with their children’s wellbeing, and that was comforting to him. If Corinne didn’t need the knowledge that there were other shifters around to protect her and the twins, he needed to know that. If anything happened to him, he knew that Johanna and Armstrong would fight like hell to defend Corinne, and the precious lives she was creating deep in her womb.
Since Paris had learned about Gustave Comtois, and the despicable way in which he had treated Corinne and her parents, Paris had been in contact with Interpol.
Agent Amy Porath had a history of helping the Warwick family, and since his brothers trusted her, Paris would, too.
For Agent Porath, learning from Corinne which paintings had been stolen and replaced with a fake had been a great piece of information to bring to her superiors. There was a full investigation launched against Gustave now, and Corinne was an invaluable part of it. She had given Interpol Gustave’s whereabouts, and the location of his home, but during the bust, nothing had been discovered. He had always been an elusive gangster, always doing just enough not to get caught. He never got his hands dirty, but hired plenty of people to do it for him.
Gustave Comtois had abandoned his mansion before the raid, leaving it empty.
There was no way of knowing where the man was staying now.
Paris didn’t like that. He wanted that man behind bars. The strain of the stress he was under was starting to make it difficult for him to sleep. It was one thing to find out he was a father of twins. That he could deal with, having Corinne by his side. He was excited about this new adventure, but it was another thing entirely to let his kids be born in a world where someone might be after them. After their mother.
Paris wouldn’t stand for it. Gustave Comtois had to be caught and destroyed.
Nothing would threaten Paris’s family.
He paced the entryway of his mother’s home. He knew he had only a few short moments before he had to bring Corinne to her doctor’s appointment, but he really wanted to check in with Agent Porath.
“Well, well, well,” Agent Porath said by way of greeting when she answered his call. “You’re calling me early today,” she teased. He had been calling her every day for the last fourteen days at the exact same time.
“We have a doctor's appointment for the twins soon. I don’t want to call you in front of Corinne. I don’t want to upset her.” Paris knew that Corinne would chafe at the thought that he felt like it was his job to protect her and the kids, but it was his truth. He was a dragon, for heaven’s sake. It was in his DNA to be overly protective of his mate and children. “I was just calling to see if you have any new leads on Gustave.”
Agent Porath sighed. “You know we don’t, Paris. There’s a reason why he’s been able to operate for so long without us even noticing. He is good. He seems to have more money than your family.”
Paris knew that was pretty impossible. “If he has that many resources, he has to be a shifter.”
“Yes, that thought did cross my mind. I have to say, I am still quite uncomfortable with the knowledge that your kind exist. It makes my job all that much harder. Now, when I’m on a case, I always wonder if I’m walking into shifter business.”
“If that’s the case, you know the Warwicks have a debt of gratitude toward you. We will gladly let you know if you’re dealing with a shifter.”
“But you don’t know if Comtois is.”
He blew out a breath. “No. I mean, we do tend to know each other or, in the least, recognize each other’s names. But Comtois isn’t a name I recognize, unfortunately.” Something flashed in his mind. “Wait.” How had he missed it? Paris wanted to kick himself for being so dumb. “You need to check the last name Franche-Comté. Comtois might just be a variation of that name.”
He could hear Agent Porath writing it down. “Okay, why?”
“The Franche-Comté family is a family of mouflon shifters.”
“Of what now?”
“Mouflons,” Paris repeated. “Wild sheep with huge, long curved horns.”
“Huh,” Agent Porath snorted. “That’s not quite as impressive as dragons.”
Paris chuckled. “No, it’s not. Especially not since historically, dragons have always loved eating sheep. Mutton is delicious.” Paris relished the idea of letting his dragon munch on a mouflon Gustave.
“Okay, that’s my cue to end this conversation. We’ll run the Franche-Comté name through all of our usual channels. Hang in there, Paris. We won’t let anything happen to your family.”
“Thanks.”
He clicked off the call, meaning what he had said to Agent Porath about helping her, if need be, with shifter identities. He was thankful for Interpol. They had agreed that Corinne wasn’t responsible for her actions, seeing as she was held captive since birth. She had never been given a choice but to forge the paintings. It had all been done under duress and under pain of death. With Corinne’s help, Interpol had made a long list of crimes which Gustave had committed. Not only against Corinne and her family, but his other victims as well. Even if they never got proof that Gustave was stealing original paintings and replacing them with fakes, he would still be going to jail for a very long time for what the man had done to Corinne and her parents.
Paris could hardly wait for the man to be behind bars.