She was sitting cross-legged on the couch typing when the sound of Connor’s vibrating cell phone captured her attention. “Master,” she called in the direction of the en-suite bathroom. “Your phone.”
Connor emerged from the doorway, nude save for the small green towel secured at his hips.
Holy hell, she thought as her eyes devoured the look of the man. After all of this time, she still couldn’t ever imagine getting used to be being around someone so devastatingly gorgeous all the time.
“Get down from there,” he chastised her playfully. “Pets don’t sit on the furniture.”
He threw her a wink as he strode toward the buzzing device, and answered the call, but it was already too late. Connor’s words had resonated, and Molly’s clit was already throbbing again, despite its rather recent satiation.
She slid from the seat obediently. Leaving the laptop on the couch, Molly crawled as seductively as she knew how to across the carpet to where he stood.
“Great,” he was saying to the unidentified caller. “Good news on both fronts. I’ll let her know.”
Molly lifted her chin at his words, Connor’s eyes narrowing at her wickedly.
“Yes, sorry,” he replied. “We meant to come up and see you.”
She approached his shin demurely, leaning her head into him and rubbing her body against the soft hair of his legs. Connor hesitated above her, and Molly bit her lip to suppress the giggle which wanted to escape from her throat.
“We’ve just been getting Molly settled in since then,” he continued, and quick as a flash, he swooped, walloping her prone ass with his free hand.
Molly yelped, grinning at him as she gazed north to find Connor shaking his head.
“Would you like speak to her now?”
She froze at that, her heart beginning to pound furiously. Speak? Her mind repeated. Speak to whom, about what?
“Of course, she can talk!” Connor laughed. “I don’t keep her gagged all the time, you know. Only when she begs me nicely enough.”
Molly’s face erupted in a hot blush, her embarrassment making her cringe, even though there was no one there to witness it except Connor.
“Sure,” he went on. “Hang on one minute.”
Connor’s face appeared in Molly’s line of sight as he dropped to his haunches in front of her. Assessing her no-doubt scarlet face, he smiled. “Saul would like to talk to you,” he told her quietly.
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t spoken to another soul since they’d returned from his office. Apart from Peter, of course.
“Be a good pet,” Connor warned her, thrusting the phone out in her direction.
Molly sat back on her stinging bottom, grateful that she wasn’t wearing her tail as she took the device from him. “Hello?” she whispered, aware of how croaky her voice sounded.
“Molly,” began Saul Morrison. “I just wanted to check in with you, since Connor has been so remiss in not bringing you back to see me.”
Her eyes flitted up at the face of her lover. “I’m fine, thank you, Mr. Morrison,” she answered. “I think he just lost track of time.”
Saul snorted from the other end of the phone, but the smile on Connor’s face was reward enough. “I’m sure that’s right,” Saul responded. “But don’t worry. He can’t keep you locked in that room forever. There’s a whole world of people out here dying to meet you, starting with his brother.”
Molly startled at that, her gaze once more flying back to Connor. Brother? she thought wistfully. Did she even know he had a brother?
“Anyway,” continued Saul without waiting for her to answer. “I called to let you know we have a secure line for you now.”
“For me?” she replied, uncertainly.
“Yes,” he said with a small sigh. “For your family. Just let Connor know when you want to use it, and he can set everything up for you.”
Molly’s heart pounded loudly in her ears at the news. In the haze of the last day or so, she had completely forgotten about the quandary that had led to the need for that secure line. And now, as her guilt-ridden mind crumbled, it all came crashing back over her. Her friends, her family, and the fact she’d never be able to see or speak to them again. How could she have forgotten?
“Th-thank you,” she managed eventually.
As though he sensed she was struggling, Connor gestured for Molly to hand the phone over again, and she complied, pulling her knees into her chest as she considered Saul’s words.
“Yes, we’ll do it,” Connor was saying as he rose to stand by the counter again. “And yes, maybe, if she’s up to it, but not in your office.”
There was a pause, and slowly Molly lifted her gaze to find Connor’s scintillating stare drilling into her.
“Okay fine.” He was nodding. “I’ll text you to confirm.”
Connor ended the call before making his way to the place she was huddled.
“Kitten?” His voice was inquiring, and she reached for his legs instinctively, wrapping herself around him.
“I hadn’t thought about any of them since we came back here,” she whispered. “How fucking selfish is that, Master? I didn’t even think of them.”
Molly bit back the sob that threatened to rise in her throat, and at the same time, Connor fell to his knees next to her.
“Your family?” he probed, opening his arms just in time as she clambered up his body.
“Yes,” she sobbed, burying her face in the soft hair at his chest.
Something about that expanse of muscle was always so damn alluring to her, but at this moment, it also felt like the safest place in the world to be.
“That’s my fault,” he goaded softly. “I’ve kept you busy since we came back down here.”
Molly smiled in spite of herself. She knew he was trying to cheer her up, and she wanted so badly to resist. She owed her parents and the others that much at least.
“That’s not the point,” she countered quietly. “What sort of a daughter am I? What sort of a friend? I don’t deserve them, any of them.”
“Hey,” Connor’s voice was firmer now. “Enough of this self-deprecation shit, kitten. I know this is hard. I get it. I know how hard it is to not have your parents in your life, but this is your choice. They’ll have to learn to respect it, and in time, they will.”
Connor’s words made her pause, and she blinked against his chest as they resonated.
“Did you lose your parents, Master?” she asked, her heart thundering inside her chest as she pried. It was probably the most personal question she’d ever asked him, and even at this moment, Molly had no idea how Connor would respond.
There was a moment of silence when all she could hear was the sound of her own panicky heart mingling with the consistent rhythm of Connor’s, and then the noise of a deep breath as his ribs splayed beneath her face.
“Yes,” he answered eventually in barely a whisper. “When I was just a teenager.”
His voice sounded pained, and something about it made her shift in her place and lift her head to meet his eyes. Connor looked pensive, but he didn’t look away, meeting her gaze with his usual determination.
“I didn’t know,” she replied. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why would you, kitten?” he said with a shrug. “And anyway, it doesn’t matter. I had my brother, who wants to meet you by the way, and The Syndicate became my family. It’s not perfect, Molly, but then, you show me a family that is.”
He was right on that one. Just about every family she’d known was messed up in some way or another, including her own.
“But, what if they don’t?” she asked, her mind flitting back to his earlier statement about her parents.
Connor’s brow furrowed. “What if who doesn’t what?” he inquired.
“My parents,” she clarified. “What if they don’t respect my choice?”
His arm tightened at Molly’s middle. “Then that’s up to them, I guess,” he offered. “You’re all adults at the end of the day. None of you can
compel the other into anything.”
Molly snorted. “That’s kind of ironic coming from you, Master,” she giggled.
Connor’s expression softened at her words. “Yep, I suppose it is,” he agreed, nuzzling into her neck as he spoke. “Life can be like that sometimes.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Connor watched the phone tremble as she clasped it in her small palm. It had been an hour since Saul’s call, and she was finally calm, but he had the feeling that state-of-mind might be short-lived.
“You don’t have to do this now,” he told her again. “You can do it anytime you like, kitten.”
Blue, teary eyes flitted north to meet his gaze. “I know,” she breathed. “I just feel like I need to…” She hesitated, evidently unsure how to conclude.
“Get it over and done with?” he offered, lifting his hand to stroke her face tenderly.
“Yes, Master,” she replied, leaning into this hand as she always seemed to. “I can’t move forward until I’ve done it.”
Connor nodded. He understood all about the need to move forward, after all. Only a short time ago, he’d received a text from his old friend, Malone, confirming he was just about to get on a plane from Ireland. And once Malone was here, that would mean he could start laying his own ghosts to rest.
“Go ahead then,” he prompted gently. “The line will be secure whenever you’re ready.”
Molly stared at the phone in her hands. “Secure?” she repeated. “What does that mean?”
“It means it can’t be traced back to you, back to us, or back to The Syndicate, kitten.”
She inhaled, nodding her head as though she understood.
“Do you want some privacy?” he asked suddenly. “I mean, will that help?”
It was a funny thing for him, of all people, to ask. Connor had never allowed her much privacy in the past, and even now, there were only a few moments he’d let her out of his sight, but somehow, it seemed important. If he was somehow gifted one more phone call with his dead parents, would he want to speak to them alone? He just didn’t know.
Molly looked just as uncertain. “I’m not sure, Master,” she began. “Maybe…”
Connor reached toward her, pressing a sensual kiss into her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed out of instinct, her mouth parting although he had no plans to probe any deeper. “I’ll just be over by the counter,” he told her, ensuring she met his eyes before he left. “If you need me, just let me know.”
She nodded. “Thank you,” she replied in a desperate, tiny voice.
Something about the sound made his soul ache. All the time he had wanted to inflict pain on her, and all the times he’d enjoyed doing so; none of them had prepared him for this moment. This moment when he had to endure her very real suffering; all for him of course, and knowing there was nothing he could do to help her endure it at all.
Somehow, he forced his feet to carry him in the direction of the kitchen, and by the time he’d reached it, he could hear the start of the conversation.
“Mom.”
Molly sounded sad, but her tone was more one of resignation than apprehension now. Connor had heard both from her, and he knew the difference.
“Yes,” she continued. “Yes, it’s me.”
He turned, leaning against the marble top as he eyed her from the other side of the room. Molly was almost curled up into a ball, her limbs inadvertently covering most of her nudity as she clutched the phone to her right ear. Connor kept her naked all the time they were in the room now, and she didn’t seem to mind one bit anymore. In fact, based on how she’d responded when he’d stepped out of the shower earlier, he was starting to wonder if he, too, should give up clothes. It seemed to please them both. Connor had never seen her so relaxed and blatantly seductive in all the time he’d known her, at least until the notion of this phone call had come up again.
“I’m fine, really,” she was saying as she leant sideways against the back of the couch. “Nothing bad has happened to me.”
There was a pause as her mother presumably asked a barrage of other questions, and Connor sighed, lowering his head. He had done this. He had taken her and made this happen, and whatever hell his kitten was going through now, it was all down to him. There was a time last year that would have made him feel good, proud even, but not now. Now, he was only weary with the weight of the misery he had caused her, and desperate to somehow, make amends.
“I can’t,” Molly went on. “I know, Mom, I love you too, and I’m sorry, but I just can’t. I just wanted you to know I’m safe, and I’m happy.”
Her voice broke then, and Connor’s feet were moving back toward her on reflex.
“Yes,” she croaked. ‘Yes, I am with him, but it’s not like that. It’s different, Mom. He’s different, or maybe I’m different, I don’t know. I just know this is what I need; what I want.”
Connor reached the couch, gazing down at her with worried eyes as she buried her face in her knees.
“Please try and understand,” Molly pleaded. “No, he’s not telling me to say this, Mom. I’m saying it. It’s Molly; it’s me, and I’m saying it!”
He crouched down beside Molly, not wanting to disturb her, and yet not able to tear himself away from the scene.
“No,” Molly sighed wearily. “I can’t give you the number here, Mom.”
Connor reached out and pulled her toward him gently. She came without any resistance, shifting the phone to her other ear as she practically collapsed against his chest. From this proximity, he could hear the shrill tone of her mother, and it sounded desperate.
“Maybe,” she said after the longest time. “I don’t know, but maybe.”
Molly pulled away from him slowly, her tear-stained eyes blinking up at him. “I think maybe yes, but I can’t say when.”
Connor eyed her intensely, wondering what she was agreeing to.
“I love you, too, Mom,” Molly murmured. “And Dad, and everyone.”
There was a brief pause, and then the sound of the woman at the other end of the line sobbing. Molly shifted the phone from her ear a little, gazing out into the London cityscape for a moment. With one final deep breath, she returned her focus to the crying woman.
“Goodbye, Mom,” she whispered. “I love you.”
It had always been her mother who’d told her to go with her gut, and trust her instinct on things. For a long time, Molly had never understood what she’d meant by that, but in the last twelve months she had slowly come to, and the reality sliced through her now like a blade. Molly’s every instinct told her to be with Connor; to trust Connor, even after everything he’d put her through, but hearing her mother’s response to that decision was crushing. As she listened to the woman sob, Molly turned her head in the direction of the window, her mind flitting back to all the memories of her parents; the childhood holidays, the family Christmases, and all those sacrifices they’d made to provide for her. And now, she was repaying them with this. It fucking sucked. At that moment, she was grateful that she had never become a parent. To invest so much into another person, just to have them walk away seemed too much for any person to have to bear.
Pressing the device back to her ear, Molly inhaled quietly. This was over. She had called, and tried to explain, but understandably her mom didn’t get it. Molly wasn’t surprised by that, but she was also shrewd enough to know when to give up. Perhaps, if she worked on Connor, she could make her mom’s plea a reality, and still be in touch with her family intermittently, even if the communication could only be one-way. For now though, there was really not much else to say, and hearing her mom’s heart break on the other side of the Atlantic was breaking Molly into pieces, too.
“Goodbye, Mom,” she whispered, closing her eyes as the words resonated. “I love you.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
He held her for a long time after the call, time lapsing into insignificance as Connor pulled her onto his lap and waited. Who knew how long hurt like this would last. Perhaps, it woul
d never end, but if it did, then he wanted to be the one with her, soothing her, and at least trying to ease the pain.
At some point, the tears stopped, and then the silence came. Molly clung to him, as though he was the life raft that was going to keep her afloat. Connor supposed he should enjoy the irony of that thought, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to. Seeing the woman he loved this miserable and despondent seemed to suck any joy from the situation.
After an unquantifiable period of time, Molly finally shifted, pulling away to gaze up at him. “So, it’s done,” she said softly. “And now I have a headache.”
Connor took her plaintive little face between his palms and brushed his lips over her mouth. “I’m sorry, kitten,” he told her. “Wait here, and I’ll get you a drink.”
She nodded, climbing from his lap before he stalked back to the refrigerator, and collected a fresh bottle of chilled water. Connor eyed her sullen face as he crossed the space back toward her and pushed the bottle in her direction.
“You mean I get to drink it myself?” she quipped dryly as she took the water.
He smiled sardonically. “This time,” he told her. “But don’t get used to it.”
Molly flipped the lid and drained most of the contents in one go. “Thank you, Master,” she replied as she finally passed it back to him.
“So, tell me, how did it go?” he asked.
Connor had a pretty good idea of how it had been, but it only seemed right to inquire. He had caused the hurt, so he should be the one to offer some comfort.
“It was awful,” she responded. “As I expected. Dad was out, so I didn’t even get to speak to him, and Mom was just inconsolable. She thinks you’ve taken me again, and that this is your doing. She wouldn’t believe me when I told her it was what I wanted.”
“I suppose it was always going to be a terrible shock for her,” Connor conceded. “But she’ll be okay. She has your father.”
Molly stared at him blankly. “Fuck, I hope she’s okay,” she murmured. “What if the news gives her a heart attack or something? And what about my dad? He’s been unwell already, and I never even got to speak to him, Master!”
Entwined: (A Dark Romance Kidnap Thriller) (The Dark Necessities Trilogy Book 3) Page 19
