Page 37 of Taken By the Enforcer

But she conquered me too.

Every night she let me hold her belly, each morning she let me feed her, all the times she laughed when she thought she shouldn’t—she broke me down without ever trying.

Now she looks up, catches me staring, and my chest tightens in that way I’ve learned not to fight. She lifts Cosima slightly, as if presenting her to me. My blood, heir, proof that fate bowed to my will.

I cross over to them, laying a hand on Paolina’s waist, bending to kiss our daughter’s tiny head. Then I press my lips to my wife’s temple, murmuring so only she hears: “Forever,bella mia. You and her. Always.”

She leans into me, sighing like she believes it. And that’s all I’ll ever need.

The world can fear me. Men can whisper my name with dread. But at the end of it all, here under Sicilian stars, the truth is simple?—

I took her. She kept me.

And I’ll never let her go.