going to throw me out, baby, least of all you. Youâre going to have to come to terms with that fact. You know everything I said to you was bullshit, so move on.â
âOh. My. God.â She forgot about the painâprobably because it had subsidedâand she lifted her head, glaring at him. âYou are so arrogant. And idiotic. Seriously idiotic if you think Iâm just going to forget what you said to me. I can repeat it word for word if you like.â
âI wouldnât like,â he said, his eyes nearly glowing at heras if he had every right to be angry. âAnd lie down before you hurt yourself.â
âYou can stop giving me orders and get out of my room.â
He put a hand on her shoulder and applied pressure until she had no choice but to subside against the pillow. For a moment satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. She saw the leopard there, and she knew he was one of them. She
knew
it. His temper. His arrogance. The sheer power he exuded just walking into a room.
Siena narrowed her eyes at him. âI canât believe you. You have no right . . .â
He leaned so close her breath caught in her lungs and her angry retort caught in her throat. His mouth skimmed her ear. âI have every right.
Every
right, Siena. Youâre mine. Your leopard accepted me. You gave yourself to me. You have my child growing inside of you. Believe me, baby, you belong to me. I donât give up whatâs mine. So move past the bullshit and letâs deal with what weâve got going on now.â
She stared at him, feeling another body blow. A hard one.
You have my child growing inside of you.
Did he just say that? Did she hear him right? She opened her mouth but the only sound that emerged was a soft cry of anguish. She closed her eyes, jammed her fist back in her mouth and bit down hard. It didnât help. Tears started. Once they did, she couldnât stop them.
She cried silently, a storm that couldnât possibly be held back. She wept for the men who had died after sheâd distracted them, allowing a hit man to get into place. She wept for her grandfather who she loved more than anyone on earth. She wept for the fact that her beloved grandfather had used her to do something that vile. She wept because sheâd given herself to Elijah Lospostos and heâd thrown her out his front door naked.
âBaby, enough,â Elijah soothed, his hand back in her hair. âWeâll work this all out. No one can get to you. Weâve got the team in place . . .â
She couldnât stop the tears. There was that awful first time. The only time. The
worst
heâd ever had, and now there were consequences because she had been so out of control and burning up for him that she hadnât thought about what could happen. A child. Elijahâs child. If Paolo or Alonzo found out theyâd move heaven and earth to get to her. Theyâd do something terrible.
She lost sight of Elijah and then felt his weight on the bed. He actually stretched out beside her, careful of her back, but his arm went around her waist and his breath was on the nape of her neck.
âBaby. Go ahead and cry, then. Let it go. All of it.â
âGo away, Elijah.â It came out muffled and teary because of her fist. She also sounded a little desperate.
âYou need to cry, then cry, but youâre going to do it in my arms.â
She didnât fight him. What was the use? Right then she felt too raw and exposed, and truthfully, there was comfort in his closeness. She didnât want to feel that way, not when he was the cause of her total humiliation, but still, he made her feel as if she really were safe, and she hadnât felt that in a long while, not even as a child. Not since the kidnapping attempts.
There had always been rumors about her grandfather, but even the Feds hadnât found anything. His businesses all had appeared legitimate. Sometimes
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