The Skull Ruler Read online

  I didn’t even realize I was crying. Tears had emerged from my eyes and now dripped down my cheeks. All I wanted was for this man to love me. Now he did. He loved me with his whole heart, sacrificed everything to be with me. There was nothing else I could ask of him. “Balto…there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Alright.” He rested his arms on his knee, his muscular physique tight with anticipation. “But if you slept with someone, it doesn’t change anything. I’d rather not know about it, though.”

  “No…that’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Then stop torturing me, baby.”

  Both of my hands moved across my distended stomach. “When I went to your apartment a few months ago, I wanted to tell you that I was pregnant.”

  “And I was an asshole and threw you out. I know.”

  My hands rubbed the sides of my belly. “Since you behaved like such a jerk, I didn’t bother telling you the truth. If you couldn’t stand having me in your apartment for a few minutes, why would you want to be involved with me with a child in the mix? When you saw me on my date with Alessandro, you realized I was pregnant. I didn’t know what else to do…so I lied to you.”

  “Lied to me about what?”

  I was surprised he hadn’t figured it out. “Balto, the baby isn’t Lucian’s. It’s yours…”

  He finally went quiet, his eyes flinching in surprise. He clearly hadn’t been expecting that news because his chest stopped rising and falling. He was still like a statue, his eyes not blinking at all.

  I didn’t see any kind of dramatic reaction.

  He slowly turned his gaze to my stomach, staring at the swell of my belly. He blinked several times as he looked, studying the life underneath the skin.

  “It’s not possible for it to be Lucian’s…because I’m only six months along.”

  Balto didn’t seem to be listening.

  He moved closer to me then lifted up my dress without asking for permission. He pushed it up over my belly then rested his forehead against the curve of my stomach. He wasn’t angry about the lie I’d told him. All he seemed to care about was the baby growing inside me, the life we’d made together.

  My hand moved into his hair as the tears fell down my cheeks.

  His hand pressed against the side of my belly, and he kissed my belly button. A man like Balto was incapable of being gentle, but now he was the gentlest I’d ever seen him. He gave me tender kisses everywhere, worshiping my belly like a father who couldn’t wait to meet his child.

  It was a moment I would never forget.

  He grabbed my panties and slowly pulled them down my legs, still kissing my stomach as he stripped me. It was presumptuous, but I didn’t stop him. He rose to his feet, and just the way he used to, his hand snaked up the back of my neck until he fisted my hair. His lips moved to mine, and he kissed me hard, a direct contradiction to the gentle kisses he gave my stomach.

  I hadn’t been kissed like this in so long. I’d missed it so much, fantasized about it every night when my hand was between my legs. Without using my words, I forgave him. And he seemed to forgive me for the lie I’d told. My hands moved underneath his shirt and felt his rock-hard abs and powerful chest. I’d missed feeling this man, missed feeling his protective weight on top of me. My lips moved with his, and I breathed into his mouth, falling in love with him all over again.

  He pulled the dress over my head then paused our kiss to look at me. His eyes immediately went to the necklace that plunged between my breasts, the necklace I hadn’t removed since the day he’d given it to me. His eyes studied it for a moment before they moved farther down, looking at my tits with stark lust. “Baby…I’ve never wanted you so much in my life.” He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing muscles that were even more ripped than before.

  I felt insecure with my large stomach and the other changes my body had gone through. I hadn’t felt sexy since the last time we’d been together. But all my self-doubt disappeared when he looked at me like that, like I was the only woman he wanted.

  He backed me up into the hallway until we found my bedroom. He unbuttoned the top of his jeans then pushed everything down, revealing a monster cock that was thicker than a pipe. He was rock-hard and eager, aroused by my belly rather than deterred.

  It’d been three long months since I’d been with a man. That felt like an eternity, especially when Balto was the last man I’d slept with. Alessandro was a great guy, but he would have been a disappointment in the sack simply because no one could compare.

  Balto moved me onto my bed and held himself on top of me. He already knew how he wanted to take me because he pinned his arms behind my knees and parted me wide. My belly was against him, but it wasn’t big enough to make this angle impossible. He pointed his head toward me then slid deep inside, pushing through my wet tightness. He closed his eyes and groaned as his dick became saturated with my slickness. “Jesus Fucking Christ.” He stopped when he was balls deep.

  My hands slid against his chest, and I rolled my head back in joy. It felt so good to feel him inside me once again, to love the father of my child, to love the man who loved me in return.

  He thrust three times before he came, releasing a mound of come inside me that wouldn’t fit. He moaned loudly as he reached his threshold so quickly, his face turning red with desire.

  It always turned me on when I felt this man come inside me. It made me feel owned, made me feel sexy. Watching this man crumble apart for me showed me how much he wanted me, that he’d really been alone for the last three months.

  He finished, but his cock never softened. He looked into my eyes without apology, not feeling ashamed for lasting five seconds. “Three months is a long time, baby.” He started to thrust again, moving through his come.

  I cupped his cheek and felt my climax rise to the surface as he made love to me. “You know I love feeling your come inside me. You know it gets me off.”

  “Then you’re going to get off a lot tonight.”

  31

  Balto

  When I woke up that morning, I was a new man.

  I wasn’t the ruthless Skull King anymore. I wasn’t the man who crushed the skulls of my enemies. I wasn’t the man who collected taxes from the criminals I ruled.

  Now I was just a man.

  A man with a woman.

  Not just any ordinary woman. But my woman.

  I spooned her from behind with my arm just above her stomach. My chest was pressed against her small back, and every time I breathed, she breathed too. When I woke up, my hand moved to her stomach, and I felt the sign of life underneath my fingertips. My fingers brushed over her soft skin, unable to believe we’d made this little person together. I never asked her how it happened because it didn’t seem to matter. Women got pregnant from sex—and we had a lot of sex.

  My face rested against her soft hair, smelling the scent of her shampoo and perfume mixed together. I hadn’t woken up like this in three months, sexually satisfied with my woman beside me.

  It nearly felt like a dream.

  I wanted to wake her up so I could fuck her again. All the rounds we enjoyed last night simply weren’t enough. I never knew how sexy a pregnant woman could be. The second she told me the baby was mine, I was so hard, I thought my dick would rip through my jeans. All her curves drove me crazy. The way her stomach made her waddle was sexy. Knowing she was so uncomfortable because I’d made her that way turned me on for inexplicable reasons.

  I’d never wanted kids, but I was so relieved when she told me the baby was mine.

  That meant I would be a father. That meant I would have to raise a son to be a man or raise a daughter to be a lady—who could fight like a man. I would spend my days in a house somewhere, having more children with her in peace and quiet. It had sounded boring at first, but now I was grateful I got to experience it.

  Money stopped being important. My ambition completely dried up. There was no more blood lust either, not with Lucian gone. Everything else seemed po
intless, especially when I stopped caring.

  The only thing I cared about was there with me.

  My woman and my baby.

  I let her sleep because I knew she needed to rest. Otherwise, I would roll her over and fuck her whether she was ready for it or not. I slipped out of bed and made my way down the hallway. I didn’t have any clothes there, so I pulled on my boxers and stepped into the other bedroom.

  It was the baby’s room.

  With a wooden crib in the center and a dresser stacked with diapers, it was the place where she’d imagined raising this kid on her own. There was a box of toys in the corner, and the drawers were filled with baby clothes, unisex outfits with tiny socks.

  Standing in that room made me realize how real this was.

  In three months, I would be a father.

  I heard her footsteps a second later. Practically running, she headed to the bathroom and opened the toilet lid. Then I heard her vomit.

  Must be morning sickness.

  I joined her in the bathroom and watched her lean over the toilet. I came up behind her and pulled her hair back so she could get some air on her face as she puked up her dinner. Naked and on the floor, she gripped the bowl and breathed through the nausea.

  I felt like shit for not being there for the last six months. I should have been holding her hair back every morning. I should have been the one to set up the crib. I should have been the one who bought all the diapers. Someone carried furniture into her apartment—and that should have been me.

  But I’d missed all of it.

  I’d missed the doctor’s appointments. I’d missed her moments of fear and doubt.

  I rubbed her back as I held her hair.

  When she finished, she sat up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I didn’t want you to see that…”

  “Baby, I’m going to watch you give birth. You think a little vomit is going to bother me?”

  “It’s not sexy…”

  “You carrying my baby is sexy.” I grabbed a towel and handed it to her.

  She patted her forehead then wiped her mouth before she flushed the toilet. “I’ve been getting morning sickness every day since I hit three months. The doctor said it’s normal.”

  I released her hair and let it blanket her shoulders. “Anything I can do for you? Need ice or anything?”

  “No. I’m gonna take a shower and brush my teeth.”

  I helped her stand up before I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll make some breakfast.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t have anything you like to eat. All I have is the bad stuff.”

  “Then I’ll cheat for the day.” I gave her ass a playful smack before I walked out of the bathroom. I headed into the kitchen and found pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I would never eat any of those things if I had a choice, but since it was a special day, I stopped counting the carbs and fats.

  I cooked everything on the stove, and by the time I finished, she joined me. With her hair and makeup done, it seemed like she was trying to mask the moment when she’d thrown up in the toilet, not that she needed to. “Wow, that smells good.”

  I set the plates on the table.

  “And you’re actually going to eat it…that’s a first.”

  “I’ll make an exception—this one time.” I made myself a cup of coffee and sat across from her.

  She dug into her food like she was starving and not the least bit nauseated. “This is good.”

  I cut into my pancakes and tried not to get attached to how good it was. It was definitely better than fish and vegetables.

  She picked up a slice of bacon and bit it between her teeth. The crunch was audible. She chewed it then swallowed, her eyes locked on mine the entire time.

  Just last week, I was waking up still drunk from the night before. Now, I woke up sober and felt good about it. A cup of coffee was in my hand, and the woman I loved stared at me without an ounce of hatred.

  The second I was reunited with her, I felt better.

  Much better than I had in three months.

  She finished her breakfast then absentmindedly rubbed her hand across her stomach, showing her supernatural connection to the baby. She’d been carrying it every day for six months, and there was an obvious bond between them.

  A bond that I’d missed. “You did a good job with the baby’s room.”

  “Thanks…”

  I assumed Case and Dirk were the ones who helped her do everything, but I didn’t ask. I was ashamed it hadn’t been me.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you—”

  “Don’t be. I don’t blame you.” I was a complete asshole when she came to my place. I guarded my heart so fiercely that I lashed out at her to keep her at a distance. I was afraid I would get her in my bed and we’d be screwing like rabbits. “I didn’t give you any reason to tell me.”

  Her eyes fell in sadness. “I just thought you wouldn’t want anything to do with the baby since you wanted nothing to do with me.”

  I nodded. “That’s a logical assumption. I’m not upset with you.”

  “Really?” she asked. “I felt terrible for lying, but I didn’t want you to be with me just because I was pregnant.”

  I probably would have used it as an excuse to be with her, a justification to leave the Skull Kings so I could spend the rest of my life with her. It was the exact opposite of what she’d feared, but I didn’t tell her that. “That’s not why I’m here now, and you know that.”

  “Yes…I know.” She rubbed her hand across her stomach. “So, you’re really okay with being a father?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She stared at me with uncertainty. “Well…I’m terrified.”

  “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’ll take care of you like I always do.”

  “That’s not what I’m scared of. Once I become a mother, my life will be totally different.”

  “It will,” I said in agreement. “But you’re going to be a great mother.”

  “You know, for not wanting kids, you seem awfully confident about this.”

  “I’ve never been afraid to have kids. I just didn’t want them. I’ve had to pull off some incredible stunts in my lifetime, survive attacks that left most of my men dead. Honestly, raising a kid is easy compared to that. I’ll provide for both of you, I’ll always keep you safe, and I’ll always love you. There’s nothing to stress about.”

  She smiled. “You make it sound so easy.”

  “It will be easy. You’ve always wanted a family, right?”

  “Yes…but it’s a big responsibility. And I didn’t expect you to be so good about it…”

  Because I’d been too busy being an asshole. “I have a lot of making up to do.”

  She took a few more bites, her eyes watching me. “My brother told me what you did…about Evan.”

  I thought we’d agreed we would keep it a secret. Case must have told her for a reason. Maybe he was trying to convince her to take me back, putting in a good word for me like he said he would.

  She watched me as if she expected me to say something. “He also told me the truth…that Evan betrayed me.”

  “I would have killed him, but Case told me you wouldn’t want that.”

  “I wouldn’t. He’s a father… It wouldn’t be right.”

  “But I’m glad I put him in the hospital for a few days. He deserved worse, but I showed him some mercy.”

  She watched me quietly, her eyes shifting back and forth. “I don’t know what to say…”

  “There’s no reason to say anything. He got what he deserved. No one betrays my woman and gets away with it. Punishment will always be served…even if it takes a few years.”

  She stared down at her plate without eating. “When did you do that?”

  “When you started to live with me.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “I told you I’ve loved you far longer than you’ve loved me.”

  She raised her gaze and looked at me, beautiful in the morn
ing light that filtered through the window. Her pregnancy gave her a glow so bright that it was undeniable. Pregnancy suited her. “So now what?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you want to live separately while—”

  “No.”

  She pressed her lips tightly together at my answer.

  “We’ll sell this place, and move back to my apartment.”

  “That doesn’t seem like an ideal place to start a family.”

  “It’s safe.”

  “But we would share that space with the current Skull King. That doesn’t sound smart.”

  I’d forgotten that Heath would be taking on new responsibilities. He would be the new target of the organization. “You’re right.” I’d been living in that building for a decade, and it felt like home. Now I would have to leave it.

  “I’d prefer not to live in an apartment anyway. I moved here because this was all I could afford.”

  “And where would you like to live?” I asked.

  “In the countryside, like my brothers. A place with a nice yard and a wall with a gate to keep unwanted people away. Somewhere the kids can play outside without wandering too far. A place with enough room for all four of us.”

  She was already talking about having our second child, but the idea didn’t scare me. I was already going to have one baby on my hands, but quickly, I would have two. I was already becoming a family man, a man who had traded in a life of crime for peace and quiet.

  She studied my face. “Unless you had something else in mind…”

  “No. My woman gets what she wants.”

  “But I also want you to want it.”

  “And I do.”

  “And having a second baby? That doesn’t bother you?” She studied my face like she couldn’t believe how different I was.

  “Having two can’t be that much different from having one.”

  A smile slowly spread across her mouth. “It’ll take me some time to get used to this…”

  “Used to what, exactly?”