I held my breath. How did Bradley get inside? What was he doing?
“I thought you were done with these games, Lydia. You ran from me. You let someone fuck what was mine. You made a baby with someone else, Lydia.”
I itched to get closer and take Viviana far away from him, but I couldn’t risk angering him. “I’m sorry, Bradley,” I whispered, trying to appeal to his insanity. “You know I only love you.”
His shoulders relaxed some, but he was still clutching a long knife, the threatening blade glaring at me in the dark room. Viviana stirred some and I winced. “I’m sorry I killed your cousin, Lydia. I didn’t like him hugging you. Why did you let him into your life but not me? I’m the only person you need.”
Bradley took a step closer to me, away from Viviana. I needed him to get as far away from her as possible. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. Bradley stepped into the light, illuminating his terrifying face. He had a full beard now and scratches on his face. The whites of his eyes were large, and he cocked his head to the side while looking me up and down.
“He tried to take me away from you. But he can never take me away. We’re meant to be, Lydia. God made us perfect for one another. I am yours.”
Another step away from Viviana. Fuck. Nico, come in here, please.
My daughter stirred and let out a whimper. Bradley turned to look at her. No, fuck. Look at me, Bradley. “She’ll always get in the way between us. You’ll always love her more. I can’t have that, Lydia.”
No. No, no, no. “I’ll leave with you right now. She can stay here, and we can go. How did you get in here? Why don’t we leave?”
Bradley turned to look at me. “I can’t have you loving someone more than me, Lydia,” he said, his voice terrifying.
I knew what I had to do. I had to rush him while screaming and tackle him to the ground. I could only hope I could fight him until someone came to help. Nico was just down the hallway.
“Billy. Let’s go. I love you so much. I don’t want to be here anymore,” I said, desperately trying to put more space between him and Viviana.
I heard movement down the hall. I prayed Nico was coming to save us, but I didn’t dare look. Bradley raised the knife in his palm, and I took a step closer to him, prepared to save my baby at all costs. I love you, Viviana.
A loud bang pierced through the air. He collapsed on the ground. Viviana started sobbing uncontrollably, startled from being woken up with such a loud sound. Bradley jerked on the ground as I ran to my baby and pulled her out of the crib. In the doorway stood Nico, surrounded by his men. The gun in his hand was trained on Bradley.
“Thank you,” I sobbed. I had been so scared, but it was finally over. I ran from the room, desperate to keep Viviana as far away from the scene as possible. How could this happen? How did he break in?
“Is she okay?” Nico asked while following after us. Viviana let out a wail.
“She’s startled but will be okay,” I whispered.
“Are you okay?” Nico asked.
“No,” I cried out before spinning around and running into his open arms. The three of us held one another until Viviana calmed down. I was so thankful to Nico in that moment. We had truly made the right decision in coming here.
He rubbed my back. “You’re safe. You’re both safe. He’ll never bother you again.”
I let his words soothe me, and I spent the next few hours in the arms of my hero.
Chapter Twelve
“She’s finally asleep,” I said while walking onto the patio where Nico was standing. His team had everything cleaned up so efficiently, that I wondered how often Nico Mariano had dead bodies in his home. The thought made me shiver. The sun was rising outside, and we looked out over the city. People were just now waking up, as if last night my entire world didn’t almost end.
We moved into Nico’s bedroom because I didn’t want to be away from him. Even with Bradley dead and gone, I felt safer at Nico’s side.
Nico was clutching a drink in his hand and I stared at the amber liquid.
“What’s your poison?” I asked while nudging him.
He looked down at his drink and smiled at me. “Glenfiddich Grand Cru, twenty-three-year-old luxury scotch.” I was suddenly drawn back to two years ago, with Nico saving me and me telling him what drink matched his personality. “I’ve had a glass of this every night since I met you, Lydia. I’ve sat on this porch, thinking about the girl I pushed away trying to save, and what this drink is supposed to mean.”
I moved until I was poised at his back. Carefully, I rested my cheek against his spine and wrapped my arms around his middle. He used his free hand to pat my intertwined fingers at his stomach. “Now that Bradley is gone, are you going to run away from me again?”
“No,” I whispered. “We still have a lot to learn about one another. But I want to try, Nico. I want to be a family.”
He sighed in relief, then set down his glass on a nearby table, spun around, and wrapped me in a hug. “I’ll always protect you and our daughter. Seeing you today with that maniac terrified me. I’d burn the world down to save you, Lydia.”
I licked my lips, drawing his eyes to the movement. “You’re my hero,” I said.
He slammed his lips to mine. I melted. Fucking melted in his arms—in the safety of his embrace. Nico nipped at my lips with his teeth and roamed the expanse of my back with his strong fingers. It felt like finally coming home. All the pain, all the uncertainty and fear. It was washed away, and I knew with complete certainty that Nico would never hurt me. It might be difficult to navigate. We had so much to learn about one another, but I had a feeling the two of us were stubborn enough to make it work.
“I’ve been thinking about these lips for way too long,” he murmured before lifting his thumb to drag it along my bottom lip. I closed my eyes. “I’ve dreamed about your skin. About your tight cunt. About feeling you again.”
Heat pooled between my legs at his words and I lifted up on my toes to kiss him again. Moaning into his mouth, he pulled at my shirt as the sun started to rise. Like a God, he didn’t care who was watching. He wanted me. Only me.
We stripped out of our clothes and he shredded my panties in a frantic effort to remove all the barriers between us. We collapsed onto his lounge chair on the patio and I straddled his hips. We were clawing at each other, moaning, frantically arching to be closer.
“Condom?” I asked. Unprotected sex was what got us into this mess.
“I want to feel you completely. If I have my way, I’ll put ten babies in your belly. We can have an entire house full of adorable kids just like Viviana.”
I bloomed at his words. The idea of another baby should have terrified me, but the fact that he was so thrilled by our family had me position myself over his hard cock and sliding until I was fully seated on him. It was crazy, but I just wanted him. All of him. “Fuck,” I cried out while stretching to accommodate him. He was so big. I felt so fucking full.
I started riding him. Sunbeams illuminated us, casting a baptism of light on our sweaty skin as I fucked him. There were no secrets between us now. Everything had come to light. A car honked on the street below, and I moved faster. My legs burned. My body tensed with the impending orgasm.