Page 112

HALLIE

Song- Supermassive Black Hole, Muse.

A shiver runs down my spine as I hear his heavy footsteps approaching.

The sun is just starting to set behind the trees lining our track.

I’ve already slipped off my heels. I know what’s coming.

He stops behind me, grips the back of my neck, and leans close, his breath warm against my ear.

And he says one word.

“Run.”

He releases me, and excitement floods my veins as I take off.

He doesn’t follow. He’s giving me a head start. Hopefully a decent one, considering I’m nearly four months pregnant.

As I reach the tree line, I veer toward the pond.

Jesus. I’m already out of breath.

I slow to a jog and slip behind the biggest tree I can find, pressing my back against the rough bark.

“You can’t hide from me, trouble,” Conan calls out.

I hold my breath as his footsteps draw closer, my heart hammering, my sex drive spiking to a level that should probably concern me.

Then silence.

I turn, peering around the trunk, searching for him.

Where the hell…

I let out a scream as he grabs me by the hair and yanks me back against his chest.

His hand clamps over my mouth.

“Be quiet,” he growls, his voice a dark caress. “We don’t want our family to hear what I do to you in the woods.”

I tremble as he slides his hand under my panties.

“Soaked. As always, wife.”

I nod, breathless.

He spins me, pinning me to the tree, his eyes black with hunger.

“Mine.”

He thrusts two fingers inside me, making me moan behind his hand.

“All fucking mine.”

He uncovers my mouth, and I gasp for air.

“Yours,” I pant.

“You wanted me to catch you easily, didn’t you?”

His tongue drags along my throat, and my head tips back on instinct.

“Y-yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I need you inside me.”

“Hmm. I need my cock inside your tight cunt.”

“F-fuck!” I cry out.

“Hear how wet you are?”

He crushes his mouth over mine, stealing every ragged sound.

“I’m always wet around you, Conan,” I whisper when he pulls back.

His gaze holds mine, and it’s feral.

“Turn around.”

I hesitate, my breathing ragged.

“Now.”

I swallow and slowly turn, pressing my palms against the bark. The cold air skims my flushed skin.

He takes his time, sliding his hands down my sides, over the curve of my hips, pausing to tug my panties to my knees.

“Keep your hands where they are.”

I hear the soft metallic jingle of rope unclipping from his belt.

My stomach flips.

“You knew exactly what this would turn into,” he murmurs behind me. “Didn’t you, trouble?”

“I knew,” I whisper, cheek pressed to the tree. “I knew you’d make me yours out here.”

His palm lands, a sharp smack that makes me gasp.

“And you love it.”

Another strike.

“Yes. God, yes.”

He binds my wrists gently, threading the rope around the trunk so my arms are stretched high above me.

“Can you feel how vulnerable you are?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

“Good.”

His palm smooths over my belly. His touch gentle. A reminder that even in these moments, he’d never hurt me. Not really. Only what I beg for.

I hear his zipper slide down.

“You’re going to take every inch of me,” he rasps, pressing the thick head of his cock between my thighs.

A whimper escapes me.

“Beg for it.”

“Please,” I pant. “Please, Conan, fuck me.”

He groans, gripping my bound wrists with one hand, the other guiding himself to my entrance.

“Mine,” he snarls, and drives into me in a single, claiming thrust.

I cry out, the sound echoing through the trees.

“Say it.”

“Yours,” I sob. “I’m yours.”

“Every fucking part of you.”

He starts to move, deep and unrelenting, and I arch back into him, craving more.

“Don’t you dare come until I say,” he growls, each thrust punishing and perfect.

“I—I can’t.”

“You can.”

His hand slides to my clit, circling it just enough to make me shake.

“You will.”

I’m trembling so hard my knees nearly buckle, but he wraps an arm across my chest, holding me steady.

“You’re so fucking tight,” he hisses. “So wet. You were made for me, wife.”

I can’t form words. My mouth is open, no sound but shattered gasps.

His pace slows, drawing out every delicious friction until I’m teetering on the edge.

His thumb teases my clit again—slow, patient torture.

“Come for me, trouble.”

I shatter, the orgasm ripping through me so violently I scream, my knees giving way as he holds me up.

He thrusts deep, grinding against me, drawing out every trembling aftershock.

“Fuck, Hallie.” His breath hitches, and I feel him spill inside me, warmth flooding deep as he growls my name against my neck.

For a long moment, all I hear is the wind in the trees and our ragged breaths.

He eases out, unties my wrists, and turns me in his arms.

He kisses my tear-slicked cheeks, then crashes his mouth over mine.

“You okay?” he whispers.

I nod, too exhausted to speak.

He smooths my hair back, resting his forehead on mine.

“Good. Because the night isn’t over yet, trouble.”

He grins as he slides my panties back up and adjusts my dress. I yelp when he scoops me into his arms.

“Conan—what are you up to?”

“Getting you cleaned up so you can marry me again. This time in front of our friends and family.”

“What?” My eyes fill with tears.

“You deserve the best, darlin’. And as special as it was getting married by a priest who fancied me, we both know I can do better.”

“You’re incredible, beastie. You know that?”

He smiles, kissing me softly. And the moment our lips meet, those same sparks ignite inside me, like they always have.

This man would do anything for me.

He’d burn the world to keep me safe.

He’d chase me to the ends of it.

And no matter how dark or chaotic life becomes, all he cares about is making me smile.

That’s how I know it’s real—the kind of love people spend lifetimes searching for.

Because he isn’t the villain in my story. He’s the storm that washed all the pain away.

Conan Quinn didn’t just spark something in me—he struck a match and set my soul on fire.

I started breathing again the moment our lips touched.

He set me free and claimed me in the same heartbeat.

I’m exactly where I’m meant to be—wrapped in this man’s arms, ready to watch him become the kind of father every child deserves.

We both spent too many years hiding in the shadows, letting grief rot us from the inside out.

It’s as if we were destined to drag each other into the light.

And for the first time, we don’t just get to survive.

We get to live.

And I am so damn lucky I get to do it with my beastie by my side.

I get to call him mine.

Forever.

THE END.