Axton Read online

  Not too far along, but she’d taken a test, then gone to the doctor, who confirmed it. She had a baby growing inside her.

  Placing a hand on her stomach, she leaned back on her knees and just shook her head. It seemed so surreal.

  Falling for Axton wasn’t part of the plan. Being with him wasn’t either. She had fucked up in a big, big way.

  “This seems more you than that apartment back in the city,” Axton said.

  Twisting around, she saw him standing just inside her back yard. He had a large bag over his shoulder, and he wasn’t dressed like she was used to.

  She got to her feet, her heart starting to pound as she looked at him. “You’re not wearing a suit.”

  “I decided to take a few days. Relax. Get my head together.”

  “Oh.”

  “I got your letter,” he said. He reached into his bag, which was one of those massive sports bags that opened at the top. “You should have these.”

  He held the box where she had kept all of his letters. Staring at him, aware of her how she must look, covered in dirt, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

  “You know, I first saw you in kindergarten. It was our first day, and you were on the swings. Going higher and higher. You had the most amazing giggle. I couldn’t look away from you, not that I wanted to. You were so beautiful. So different. The other kids were trying to copy their parents. You weren’t standing around copying your parents. You were real. You wore a pair of dungaree shorts, and as you fell off, you scraped your knee. There was a little blood, and you were crying.”

  “Carla came over to me.”

  “And she helped you. I wanted to be the one to help you.”

  “You never said anything.”

  “I couldn’t. I was to be a good boy. To do as I was supposed to do. I wasn’t allowed to have what I wanted. So, I spent the entire time watching you. You never knew that I was always there, waiting to see you. That I’d arrive at school, hang out in my car just to see you arrive, and watch you walk into school. I loved walking behind you. You always tried to hide it, but you had a fucking great ass. You have no idea the number of times I wanted to take you for myself. No one else deserved you.”

  “I never knew.”

  “I know. I didn’t want you to know.”

  “All this time.”

  “You have no idea what it felt like to see you walk toward me that day. Coming for a job,” he said.

  She saw him grit his teeth, and tears filled her eyes.

  “I don’t do feelings, Taylor. I don’t. Life is a lot fucking easier without them. My dad made sure of that.”

  She wiped away the tears that kept on falling. Her heart was breaking for him.

  “When it comes to you though, I can’t seem to stop. You make me want to forget everything, and I don’t care about anyone else, just you. Just us. So, I’m telling now, Taylor. Not because of the baby, or anything else. I love you more than anyone else in this world, and I have loved you from afar for a really long time. You are my everything. I will give up the Four Kings’ Empire, I will do whatever it is you ask of me, so long as you’re mine.”

  She sniffled. “But I lied to you. I did what I did. I was an awful person. You shouldn’t forgive me. I was going to ruin you.”

  “I don’t care.” He dropped the bag and placed the box on the ground. Within seconds he was holding her face, tilting her head back. “I don’t care about any of that. I get it, okay? I do. I forgive you. I was even going to tell you everything. From the past to now. I love you. I even … I forgot the condom on purpose just so that I would have a reason for you to be mine. That’s how fucking much I want you, Taylor. I’m through with all the bullshit. All I want now, is you and me, and no one else.” He stroked his thumb across her bottom lip.

  “You would give up everything to be mine.”

  “Yes.”

  Before her eyes, she watched the mask he put in place for the world fall. He stared at her, and she saw the love that he spoke of. The passion, the need. It was there, burning in his eyes, shocking her to the core.

  Cupping his shoulders, she went onto her tiptoes and kissed him. “I love you too, Axton. So much that it scares me. It’s why I couldn’t go through with it. Not after I knew. I couldn’t do that to you. You’ve already paid so much. Thank you … for not … prosecuting me for everything I did. For stealing and lying.”

  “If I could go back and stop it, I would. For you. I would never want you to go through what you did. You … you’re the strongest person I know. I would never hurt you, nor would I dream of letting anyone take you away.”

  “I fucked up,” she said. “I … ten years I wasted becoming this person. You love that person?”

  “No, I don’t. I love you, Taylor. I knew you were there all along. The bullshit was just, it doesn’t matter. We’re here now, and we’re together. The way it’s supposed to be. It’s you I love. Nothing else.” He pushed some of her hair off her face. “And I don’t know if you know this, but they arrested Nial Long for Carla’s murder.”

  “What?”

  “I’m done paying for others’ mistakes. The Four Kings’ Empire will continue, but it will be on our terms. We’re also in the process of merging with Paul. To put it back the way it was supposed to be.”

  “Five kings?”

  “Pretty much, but our name won’t change. We’re merging, and Paul will oversee our technology division. I also reinstated his father as a CEO as well at Paul’s request. Out of everyone, he had a right to the company, and I won’t see him brought down any further.”

  She couldn’t believe it. “I … I don’t want you to stop being you. I love you, Axton Farris. Suit or not.” She ran her hands down his chest.

  “I’m going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you, Taylor.”

  “No, Axton, you owe me nothing. This is me. I will make it up to you. I’ll be the woman you deserve.”

  “How about we just agree to start fresh, to never hold anything back?”

  “For the rest of our lives?”

  “Yes.” He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket. “So long as you’ll have me.”

  “You’re proposing?”

  “Yes. I want us to get married before the baby is born.”

  She chuckled. “This is really fast.”

  “I know, it’s the way I like to work. I’m not going to give anyone the chance to steal you away from me. Also, you and David are not allowed in the same room together alone.”

  “You do not need to be like that.”

  “You’re my woman now, and I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

  “Fine. The same goes for all women,” she said.

  “That’s more than fine with me.” He gripped her ass and pulled her in close as she slid the ring he’d purchased for her on her finger.

  She tilted her head back, and as his lips brushed hers, she closed her eyes. Not holding back, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with a passion where she gave him everything. She gave him her all, and in doing so, she felt his love even in his kiss.

  There’s no way she could have ever seen this coming.

  “Now, tell me how to get my hands dirty.”

  “You want to garden?”

  “I want to fill this garden with roses for you.”

  He gripped the back of her neck, and she smiled up at him. She could certainly handle the next fifty years of him.

  Epilogue

  Five years later

  “But Daddy, I want to hear your and Mommy’s story again,” Carla said. “It’s so magical.”

  Axton smiled. Lying down on his daughter’s bed, he smiled over at his wife, heavily pregnant with their second child. The last five years had been a blast, and when he thought about the time they’d missed together, he knew he wouldn’t take any moment for granted.

  “You’re not bored of this story?”

  “No, Daddy, I love how you fell in love with Mommy, and wouldn’t tell
her, and that it took ages for you to get together.”

  “Okay, let’s start this. It was a hot day in kindergarten, and I had to go to school even though I didn’t want to…” He told the story with Taylor laughing along with him at certain points.

  He skipped the part of the lake like he always did and moved on to when they saw each other again.

  “When I looked at her, I knew she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

  He didn’t need to finish the story as their little girl was fast asleep.

  They both eased out of the bed and left the nightlight on. Carla was a heavy sleeper, and they wouldn’t hear from her until the morning.

  Gripping his wife’s waist, he pressed her against the wall.

  “I want to fuck you again.”

  “We did that in the shower.”

  “You think once is enough?”

  “Look at my king, can’t get enough.”

  He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head. “I can never get enough of you, not that I’d want to, Taylor. You are fucking perfect.”

  With one hand holding both of hers above her head, he claimed her lips, sliding his tongue into her mouth, tasting her.

  Gripping her neck, he used his thumb to tilt her head back. “I can have you whenever I want, that’s the agreement.”

  He saw her eyes flash with desire.

  This was why he knew they were perfect for each other. No matter what, their hunger rivaled everything. In the past five years, he’d taken the Four Kings’ Empire to a new level, one that didn’t involve the scandal and pain of the past with his father lurking over him. That time of his life was over, without fear of repercussions. His father was rotting behind bars for blackmail and extortion while Nial Long served his own time for killing Carla.

  Against all odds, he had defeated them, with Taylor’s help. Without her coming back into his life, he’d have never made his father face the charges that he should have.

  Now, he also got his happily ever after. What he’d been dreaming of having since the first day he saw her.

  He’d vowed that day she would be his.

  Now he had her, and there was no way he was letting her go.

  The End

  www.samcrescent.com

  Other Books by Sam Crescent:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/sam-crescent

  If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

  Hawk by Lynn Burke

  Taken by the Kingpin by Winter Sloan

  Cardinal’s Sins by Mackenzie Williams

  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  TAKING HER INNOCENCE

  Killer of Kings, 1

  Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “You think you can handle it?” Boss asked.

  Viper stared out across the parking lot. A lot of shoppers were milling around today, going about their own pathetic lives, believing they were the most important thing in the world.

  None of them had any idea that one of the world’s deadliest killers was amongst them. He was part of an elite group of mercenaries. He killed for the money. Whoever offered the highest bounty, he took it. He never asked questions, and he never cared about the people he killed. This was a job to him, something he was good at.

  “Why can’t I handle it? Send me a picture of the girl. I’ll do the rest.”

  “She has to die of natural causes.”

  Viper snorted. “No problem.”

  He had one month to find a woman, and to end her life. Piece of cake. He had lots of ways of killing a woman, and this would be no different.

  “Deposit the money, and I’ll call you if I need more.” Viper whistled as he made his way toward the car. He put the groceries in the trunk, got behind the wheel, and waited.

  Her picture came through his cell phone, and he stared at the girl in question. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but from what Boss had told him, she was nearly twenty-one years old, and had been on the run for nearly six months. Curious.

  The picture showed her cuddled up next to her mother, and she looked happy. Pepper was chubby, her cheeks looking like the kind you could pinch, and grandmothers cooed over. Boss had given him all the details over the phone. Viper didn’t do paperwork, reading, or worrying about something being tracked.

  He memorized everything. All the little details were up in his head, and that was where they would stay until the job was gone.

  Viper didn’t know why the woman in question, Pepper, was running, and he really didn’t care. The moment Boss called him and gave him an assignment, he did it. Now he just needed to figure out where she was staying.

  Good news for him, he had a special guy who owned equipment that could find him this woman. Leaving the grocery store, Viper made his way across the city toward the guy who he knew would hook him up.

  Whenever he was in between jobs, he would always stick around where his people were so that he didn’t have to worry about endless traveling. Working for Killer of Kings was rather lucrative. They were a company known for getting the job done. Nothing was too much, no job too hard. He had traveled all over the world to do what needed to be done, from killing people, to fucking women, to even rescuing people. If the price was right, he would do anything.

  From a young age, younger than any child should ever have to deal, he had been taught to hunt, to kill, and to do it without feeling a damn thing. There were scars on his back that all bled together that reminded him a past he wished he could forget. When he saw children with their parents, for a split second he felt envious, jealous that they could be having a wonderful life, a better one than he ever had. Of course they were having a better life than he had. None of them had ever gone through the hours of pain or the training that had made him one of the deadliest men on earth.

  Parking his car outside of one of the shittiest apartments in the city, he made his way toward his contact, Maurice. The guy was thirty years old, a slob, but damn good when it came to computers. He was the only one who gave Viper the facts without giving him files thick with writing and shit. Viper didn’t want to be studying. Cold, hard facts were what he was after, and he didn’t need paperwork that could be traced.

  Maurice lived on the top floor. He was a tall, skinny man who wore big, thick glasses. Banging on the door, Viper waited, and when Maurice opened the door his shirt was covered in ketchup and mustard stains.

  “I’ve told you to change,” Viper said, entering the room.

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d see you for a couple more weeks. You usually take time off. Why are you back after just a week?” Maurice asked.

  The apartment was littered with debris. Only the sitting room, the place where all the computers and equipment were set up was spotless.

  “You need to get a cleaning lady,” Viper said. He hated mess.

  Mess equaled mistakes.

  He was clean, efficient, and he didn’t have anything to leave behind. Even his apartment where he stayed during his vacations didn’t hold any personal mementos. Not that he would ever have those. Mementos would mean caring, and that wasn’t what he did. He didn’t have a family, a past, nor would he have a future.

  “Cleaning ladies touch stuff, and I know where everything is.”

  Viper looked around the apartment. “It stinks.”

  “So? It keeps everyone out, okay? This is my mess. My problem. Not yours. What do you want?” Maurice asked, shoving his glasses up his nose.

  “Fine.” Viper handed over his cell phone. “Get me everything on her.”

  “Do you have a name?” Maurice asked.

  “Pepper. I want everything on the face though. You’ve got your computers that can track CCTV. I want to know where she was last seen.”

  “This could take a while.”

  “Don’t care. I can pay.” Viper moved into the sitting room and took a seat. It was the only place he was willing to park
his ass while he waited, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was leaving until he got what he wanted.

  Something was bugging him about this assignment, which was strange because he usually didn’t care. Swift, efficient, done. That’s what he’d always been about.

  Maurice was humming as he got to work, scanning her picture, and then tracking it through the database. On the big screen in front of them, he saw several names and pictures as it did the recognition thing.

  The beauty about security and live feeds everywhere was anyone could be tracked or traced. Unless someone knew how to avoid the cameras and the recognition software, no one was untraceable.

  “She’s young this one.”

  “You’re not paid to worry about that.”

  “This isn’t a rescue mission though, right? I think I saw something about this girl’s mother a few weeks ago.”

  That made Viper pause. “What did you see?”

  “Only that her mother had died, and Pepper’s stepfather was taking over the company that should, by rights, go to this Pepper girl. We’re talking a billion-dollar company. Stocks, shares, and they have stakes in pretty much everything. I’m surprised you don’t know that.” Maurice munched on a potato chip as he spoke.

  Viper didn’t follow the news. He didn’t read the papers, nor did he care about pampered princesses. “Out of curiosity, what happens to this fortune if the girl dies?”

  “It goes to the stepfather.”

  Sitting back, Viper thought about the terms of his latest contract. Pepper needed to die of natural causes, and the stepfather would inherit everything.

  He didn’t like the twist in his gut.

  This was just another assignment like everything else, and he wasn’t going to let feelings or emotions get in the way. Patting his fingers on his thigh, he watched the computer screen as faces all seemed to roll into one. This was the one part of the job that he hated.