Free Let Him Reign: An Underworld Romance by Lane Hart Page B

lack of remorse.
    "We've wasted enough time and I'm ready to go home. Someone clean this shit up," I tell my men after shaking off the concern, or lack of concern, for my actions. There's nothing to worry about with local cops since the Coughlins have paid the entire police force’s overinflated salary for years, but it's just decent to remove the mess we made.
    On the ride home my thoughts are on Hope. What will she do now that her boys are safe? Leave town? If that’s what she wants, I’d give her whatever money she needed to make it happen, but I really don’t want to let her go after finally finding her again. Which is ridiculous, since there’s no future for us other than her warming my bed. That’s all I can offer her since I have no choice but to commit to someone else.
    When I walk through the front door I find Hope kneeling down in the entryway with her arms around her two boys.
    I don't know a damn thing about kids since I was an only child, but I’m almost certain that they're somewhat traumatized from the past few hours.
    "Thank you," Hope says when she looks up at me with glistening emerald eyes.
    Relaxing her hold on the twins and getting to her feet, she swipes away the tears, then she's on me, holding onto my neck like I'm the only thing that's keeping her grounded on Earth . I'm not sure what to do with her gratitude at first other than return her embrace. Actually this may be the first time in my life that someone's been appreciative of me. Of something I did. Not that I'd gone alone. It's easy to be brave and take on a few vampires when you're flanked by a few dozen armed military men.
    "It was nothing-" I say.  
    She shakes her head, burying her face in the crook of my neck. "It was everything."
    Holy shit. I think I'm drowning. There's a flood of warmth and... something else that I've never felt before, trying to smother me. And I don't want to fight it or escape whatever it is. No, I want more of this even if it kills me. That's when I realize that I'd rather die than hurt or disappoint this woman in my arms. It doesn't matter that I just met her and don't know a damn thing about her other than her horrid profession. All that's irrelevant. She's mine to protect. She's mine period.
    When her lips place a moist kiss on my neck lust burns and spreads like a wildfire through me, making me desperate to take her to bed and claim her, possess her, and hear her scream my name.    
    "Mommy, I'm thirsty," one of the boys says, reminding me that we're not alone and this is not the time or place for those carnal thoughts.
    I reluctantly let Hope go, and giving her a second to recover, I squat down to get eye level, offering my hand to the red headed boy that's stepped forward. "Hey, I didn't get to introduce myself earlier. I'm Eric and I'm a friend of your mom's."
    He looks up at his mom, and only after she nods, does he place his tiny hand in mine. "What's your name?" I ask him.
    Again he gets permission from her before answering. "Noah."
    "Noah? Like the man who built the ark?"
    He nods enthusiastically and smiles. "He had two of every animal!"
    "Is that right? What's your favorite animal?"
    "Dinosaurs."
    I smile at his response and don't even consider breaking his heart by telling him they're extinct. "Well, mine is the lion," I tell him, pointing to the huge Coughlin Coat of Arms hanging on the wall. The one with a silver knight's helmet at the top and three identical red lions with gold crowns above their heads running down the center.                    
    "Lions go raar," the little boy says.
    "They sure do." I laugh and shift my attention to the carbon copy boy behind him, wearing a tattered blue shirt instead of green to tell them apart. 
    "And what's your name?" I ask, offering my hand which he takes.
    "Riley."
    "It’s nice to meet you, Riley." Unlike his brother his eyes never drift to his mom's for permission.
    "Is this your house?" he asks me.
    "Yeah, it is."
    "Do you