Bree slept hard courtesy of the pain meds the hospital prescribed for her broken nose but each time she whimpered or shifted I was instantly awake.

Purple and black ringed her eyes and her poor nose was packed with gauze following the surgery to repair her broken septum.

Each time the memory of seeing her on the ground, blood caked on her face, scratching and clawing at Jimmy as he tried to drag her down that hallway, fresh rage threatened to boil over.

My saving grace was Jimmy was dead.

The fucker got what he deserved for double-crossing me and for hurting my girl.

My only regret was that I couldn’t kill him twice.

Bunny Burke was in jail for conspiracy to commit murder — another contact of Travis’s, this time at the DA’s office — and my girl was safe from murderous family members.

She was also rich as fuck.

Not that she cared.

The last few days had been a dizzying circus with her Uncle David at the helm, eager to help in any way he could.

I’m glad I hadn’t killed him.

I kinda regretted not popping off that smarmy attorney for his part in Bunny’s Murder-For-Hire scheme but karma was a fucking bitch — the old timer’s ticker went kaput the night after our little tete-a-tete.

And I didn’t feel an ounce of shame or guilt. Fucker deserved it.

Everything had been set right.

Which meant there was only one thing left to do — say goodbye.

But I couldn’t bring myself to leave until she was coherent so I remained at her side for days to ensure she was properly cared for.

And maybe I was stalling, too.

I would miss the smell of her hair on my pillow.

I would miss the way her nose crinkled when she grimaced at food she didn’t like.

I would miss the way her glasses always seemed to slip down her nose until she remembered to push them back to the bridge moments before they fell off her face entirely.

I would miss her sighs, moans and unabashed enthusiasm when I was deep inside her.

Goddamn, I would miss so much.

But for once in my life, I was going to do the right thing — not what I wanted for myself — but what was best for someone else.

Someday she’d thank me.

Or not.

But I knew in my heart that I wasn’t good enough for her.

Especially now that she was a billionaire heiress.

Not that I was a broke-ass loser, but c’mon, we’re talking billions in her bank account — that’s life-changing money.

So, yeah, leaving on a high note was best.

I had a note in my hand.

An apology for what I was about to do as well as a promise of setting up an account for her in the event she was pregnant.

Not that she needed my money now but it was the least I could do to feel as if I was contributing in some meaningful way to my child.

Fuck me for being a selfish prick, I hoped she was pregnant.

She would know in a few weeks.

Just go. Don’t make it worse by dragging out the misery.

Bree would recover; she was in good hands.

Travis would keep his word and David Burke was so happy to have his long-lost niece returned, he would do anything to keep her safe and well.

I wasn’t needed anymore.

This was as happy an ending a man like me could expect to have.

So, go.

With nothing left to use as an excuse I knew it was finally time. I placed the note on the pillow next to her and turned to leave quietly but her scratchy voice at my back struck a blade through my heart.

“I love you, Dex.”

My legs were rooted to the floor even as my brain shouted to keep moving, to reach the door, and never look back.

Yet, I remained frozen.

“I love you, Dex,” she repeated, her voice strengthening. I slowly turned to see Bree regarding me with knowing in her eyes.

I love you, Bree.

The words burned on my tongue but I wouldn’t turn them loose.

I love you with everything my blackened and torn-up soul has to offer.

“You don’t know me,” I answered, my throat closing up.

“I love you, Dexter Lansing Whatever The Fuck Your Name Truly Is,” she said in a clear voice, daring me to walk away. For the first time in forever, the echo of an emotion I’d boxed away bubbled to the surface.

Fear of letting someone in.

Fear of giving someone the power to destroy me.

Fear of losing the single most wonderful gift the world had ever given me.

“I don’t care where you came from. I don’t care what you’ve done in the past. All I care about is building our future together.”

“I’m rotten, Bree,” I said, my voice cracking.

“You’re not.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It does and it will,” I said, desperately afraid of the revulsion that was guaranteed to creep into her expression when she learned the true depth of my sins.

“Nothing you could possibly say would change how I feel about you.”

“I killed my own father when I was thirteen years old,” I said bitterly. “How do you feel about me now?”

Bree shocked me by saying, “He must have deserved it.” I stared, unable to comprehend how she wasn’t repulsed or afraid of me. “You’re a good man, Dex. If I have to spend the rest of our lives reminding you of this one simple fact, I will gladly do it because it’s true.”

“You say that now but later...”

“No one knows the future. We’ll face it together and deal with whatever pops up. My father sacrificed his happiness for the love of his life. I won’t let you do the same. You are going to be here, by my side, through the thick and thin, through the shit and joy, and you are going to be my partner for life because without you...I’m missing the most important part of my soul.”

To my utter shame, unmanly tears pricked my eyes but I couldn’t stop the waterworks no matter how I tried.

This woman...she was unlike any I’d ever known.

How could she love me with such unwavering conviction when I didn’t deserve it?

I opened my mouth but Bree wasn’t finished.

“And you are going to change diapers. I don’t care if you’re gagging and throwing a huge hissy fit, you are going to be on diaper duty because our child deserves two parents willing to do the dirty work together.”

Wild, insane hope flared in my chest and I could only stare. How could she know? Was it possible?

I stared, unable to speak.

Bree graced me with a soft smile that melted me from end to end. “Before I went in for surgery, I told the nurse I could be pregnant...barely pregnant but still, I wanted them to do a blood test. So they did.”

“And...?” The word squeaked out of my mouth as the all the spit dried in my mouth. “Are you...pregnant?”

Bree’s smile deepened as she nodded in answer. “Barely. Like barely, barely but there was enough of the hormone to show up in my blood, which means, you’re not going anywhere Mister unless it’s back in this bed to celebrate your super sperm successfully going after my egg like heat-seeking missiles.”

I’m not sure how I managed to make it to the bed but within a blink I had Bree in my arms, unable to kiss her hard or deep enough to convey my utter joy.

A baby.

Bree was having my baby.

Suddenly, I pulled back in horror when I realized I was probably squeezing her too tightly. “Oh my God, I’m sorry,” I exclaimed, feeling like a bull in a China shop, flustered as to how to properly care for my baby mama. I didn’t know a thing about pregnant women.

I needed help.

Books. Or something.

I started to scramble from the bed but Bree grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me back with surprising strength.

“I said you’re not leaving this bed until we celebrate...long and hard,” Bree said, smiling as her hand went searching for my cock.

Instantly, my shaft thickened in her palm, eager to comply, but was it safe for the baby?

God, I had so many questions.

I wanted to be a good father.

I wanted to be a good man.

But did I have it in me to do so?

The fears and doubts started to creep back in but Bree wasn’t playing around and sealed her mouth to mine, her tongue demanding an audience with mine.

“Bree...” I breathed against her sweet mouth, a prayer, a promise, my hands filling with her gorgeous tits. “I don’t deserve you...”

Bree groaned as she pulled me on top of her. “Dex...you worry about stupid shit,” she said, her sultry voice drowning out the negative bullshit that threatened everything I ever wanted. “I need to feel you inside me. Now.”

I sank into her body with a deep moan, my heart bursting with an emotion I never thought capable.

And I realized in that moment, the truth of it was simple: I may never be good enough for her — I may never deserve the chance at happiness she offered — but I would damn sure never stop trying to be worthy of her love.

Travis was wrong. Bree was more than my redemption.

She was my everything — and I would fucking love her until the day I died.

* * *