Mountain Captive by Cassie Mint
Ten
Carver
Three Years Later
I prowl silently through the forest, pine needles carpeting my steps. The crisp air of fall swirls around my cheeks, and birds call out overhead in the trees, but I ignore it all. My eyes are fixed on one thing.
My wife.
She’s up ahead at the stream, our baby girl balanced on her hip. She stands at the edge of the water, pointing at something and talking to our daughter. Ava kicks her legs and waves a pudgy arm, her cheeks ruddy with excitement, and I hide a smile as I step closer. A twig snaps under my boot and I duck behind a tree, heart slamming in my chest.
It’s a game we play. My wife likes to be followed. And I like to stalk her through the mountains.
“Oh!” She splays a hand on her chest and laughs when I finally step out of the trees, just a few feet down the bank. “You got me that time.”
Ava spots me and cries out too, a happy, gurgling noise.
Has any man ever been this lucky? I come to stand with my chest to Natalia’s back, smoothing a hand over her rounded belly. Over our next son or daughter, just waiting to join us.
“Did it work?” Natalia’s words sound light, but I can hear the nerves burning beneath them. When I told her my plan a few months ago to get my father’s shares in the Volkov empire back, I’d worried that she would balk. That her loyalty to her father would finally win out. But my princess smirked and nodded, pulling my notes closer so she could add her thoughts.
“You’re sure?” I’d asked her. Her family may have cut her off when she stayed with me, but they’re still her blood. I’d never do anything that might hurt her.
“I’m sure.” Natalia had cuddled Ava close, bending to sniff the crown of her downy head. “The Volkovs have enough money.” She smirked, wicked and bright. “I want Ava to have a slice.”
Stress had dogged my every waking moment since that conversation, but this morning, several million dollars landed in our bank account. I came here to tell her. To see the relief in her eyes.
Natalia doesn’t disappoint.
“Carver!” She throws her free arm around my neck, squeezing tight. “Oh my god. I can’t believe it.”
I can. Anything is possible with Natalia by my side.
“What do you think, baby girl?” She jiggles Ava on her hip. “Will you want to go to college?” Ava giggles, her little chin wet with drool, and I throw my head back and laugh. A bird bursts out of a nearby tree, the stream rushes past over the rocks, and everything is perfect. Perfect.
“Don’t pressure her,” I warn, and Natalia gives me a scathing look. Just like I knew she would. After growing up under her parents’ tight control, Natalia is determined to let our daughter choose her own path.
“Of course not.” Natalia blows a raspberry on Ava’s cheek. “Us Ennox women know our own minds.”
Ennox. Hearing her call herself that, hearing Natalia take my name… Joy and pride and hunger surge in me, and I press a searing kiss to her neck.
She’s mine. Mine. Forever.
I’m hers.
And we’re never letting go.
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