Hard Time Read online

  “Yeah?”

  “We are going to talk about your bedside manner one of these days,”

  “Sure,” she smiles. “Congratulations, guys.”

  She leaves, and I kiss Jasmine as thoroughly as I can with a splinted septum.

  “You’re really happy?” She smiles breathlessly. “I mean, you’re not just pretending to be?”

  “I’m thrilled,” I reassure her. “This is the best news.”

  “It really is,” she beams. “We’re going to do this right, Rico. We’re going to be good parents. We’re going to make this baby feel loved, no matter what. And we’re never going to let it…” her voice cracks. “It’s going to be different for this baby than it was for me and Leon.”

  “It is,” I promise, holding her so close and yet so carefully. She’s so precious to me. She’s my everything. And the little life growing inside her is going to be protected just like she is: with everything I am, and everything I have.

  Jasmine

  If anyone had told me a year ago that the growly, stern as fuck agent who rode my ass and made me obey the law would croon like a woman and speak in baby gibberish, I’d have said they were lying. And yet here he is, our son all swaddled in blue blankets he’s kicked off, his face all red because he’s about to scream, because he’s stubborn like his daddy and feisty like his mommy. Then Rico, dressed in a t-shirt and boxers as if he doesn’t have to report to the office in twenty minutes, leans in and talks in low, soft tones until our squirming little boy stills.

  He talked to him throughout the whole pregnancy, right through my belly like a madman, but didn’t that baby know his daddy’s voice from the second he filled his lungs with air and howled.

  Rico protects both of us with the loving care and fierce possession only he holds. And we love him back. God, do we love him back.

  Bit by bit, day by day, Rico helps me forget the sins of my past. I’ll hold the scars forever, but they no longer rule me. They’re becoming woven into the fabric of who I am as a woman. Resilient. Fierce. Loved.

  So loved.

  Leon’s shown miraculous improvement under Eric’s tutelage, and all of the men who worked for us have either fled back to France or gone into hiding. My mother returned to America, and now crochets little baby blankets and booties as if she didn’t leave a past of crime and betrayal behind her.

  RIco was up for promotion, but he declined. A promotion would have meant longer hours, and he said he isn’t interested in more hours at work, apart from his family. God, I love him for that.

  I watch as he gathers our son up close to him and kisses his soft cheek.

  “Thank you,” he says. He’s given me everything I needed, everything I’d given up hope of ever having. And he’s thanking me?

  I respond without thinking. “I love you.”

  We forged our way to our union, and now that we’re together, nothing will ever tear us apart.

  THE END

  Criminal

  He's everything I hate. And he's going to break me.

  I thought I could take the law into my hands. I was wrong.

  When I trespassed in the territory of the FBI's most wanted, I thought I'd earn respect, maybe even a promotion. Instead, I was caught.

  He's going to strip me of everything -- my clothes, my pride, my limits. He's going to make me endure discipline and worse than that, pleasure.

  I can't help myself.

  I'm falling in love with a monster.

  Everything about him is just plain... criminal.

  Read Criminal now! Free in KU!

  About Loki Renard

  USA Today Bestselling Author Loki Renard lives in the South Island of New Zealand, where nobody is quite sure what she's getting up to. She writes sizzling hot stories of dominance, submission and discipline.

  Bestselling Books by Loki Renard

  Dark Romance

  Bought

  Brute

  Captive

  The Doctor’s Captive

  SCAR

  Shamefully Broken

  Dark Reverse Harem Romance

  Savages

  Shamefully Shared

  Dark M/M Romance

  House of Vitali

  Pet Play

  The Dragon's Pet

  The Alien's Pet

  The Barbarian's Pet

  A Short Leash

  The Hunter's Pet

  And many, many, many (really, many) more! Check out my Amazon author page for my complete backlist!

  Sign up for my newsletter and get a free book here!

  Check out my FB reader group, Loki's Vixens (fun, prizes, and the occasional goat) here!

  Official Facebook

  Bookbub

  Goodreads

  Oh, and my official website: www.badgirlbooks.com

  About Jane Henry

  USA Today bestselling author Jane Henry pens stern but loving alpha heroes, feisty heroines, and emotion-driven happily-ever-afters. She writes what she loves to read: kink with a tender touch. Jane is a hopeless romantic who lives on the East Coast with a houseful of children and her very own Prince Charming.

  What to read next? Here are some other titles by Jane you may enjoy. And don’t forget to sign-up for my newsletter for a free book!

  Contemporary fiction

  Dark romance

  Island Captive: A Dark Romance

  Criminal by Jane Henry and Loki Renard

  NYC Doms standalones

  Deliverance

  Safeguard

  Conviction

  Masters of Manhattan

  Knave

  Hustler

  The Billionaire Daddies

  Beauty’s Daddy: A Beauty and the Beast Adult Fairy Tale

  Mafia Daddy: A Cinderella Adult Fairy Tale

  Dungeon Daddy: A Rapunzel Adult Fairy Tale

  The Billionaire Daddies boxset

  The Boston Doms

  My Dom (Boston Doms Book 1)

  His Submissive (Boston Doms Book 2)

  Her Protector (Boston Doms Book 3)

  His Babygirl (Boston Doms Book 4)

  His Lady (Boston Doms Book 5)

  Her Hero (Boston Doms Book 6)

  My Redemption (Boston Doms Book 7)

  And more! Check out my Amazon author page.

  You can find Jane here!

  The Club (Facebook reader group)

  Website

  Amazon author page

  Goodreads

  Author Facebook page

  Twitter handle: @janehenryauthor

  Instagram