“You don’t know how hard it was to not take you, but you deserve better than to lose your virginity in some random bed while on the run from your father.”
“I think I have some idea how hard it was.” I gave him a squeeze for emphasis before dropping down to my knees.
“You don’t have to do this.” His voice was hoarse, his eyes darkening a shade as he gazed down at me.
“But what if I want to?” I asked. “Maybe even need to get a taste of you?”
“Damn, kitten. You drive a hard bargain.” He stroked a finger down my cheek, running it across my lips. “If you need a taste of me, that’s what you’ll get.”
I watched, rapt, as he unzipped his pants and tugged his hard cock out. His hand stroked up and down the shaft, working it lazily. His breathing picked up, coming in short pants through his lips. I licked mine, hungry for him.
“Open,” he ordered, running the head of his cock over my bottom lip. I parted them, my tongue darting out to lick away the drop of pre-come beaded on the tip.
“Mmm,” I moaned, opening my mouth wide as he slowly plunged inside. My hands slid upwards, along the back of his legs to grip his thighs and pull him forward.
“Damn, kitten! Your mouth feels so fucking good wrapped around my cock.”
I sucked him into my mouth as far as I could go until I bumped against the fist he still had wrapped around the base. I licked the ridges of his length as I released him. “More,” I moaned.
His fingers unwrapped from his cock and quickly tangled in my hair, gathering it up at the back of my head. Peeking up at him, I wanted to smirk at seeing how the cords of his neck were strained, his eyes riveted on my mouth. I licked the slit at the tip, slowly trailing it down his length, lapping at him. This time, without his hand to block me, I kept going until he brushed the back of my throat. It tightened around him reflexively as I tried not to gag.
“Relax your jaw,” he murmured, pulling back and thrusting back in even farther. His fingers dug into my scalp as he took control, withdrawing and driving forward at a leisurely pace. “You can take it deep for me, can’t you?”
I wasn’t sure how deep I could take it because I’d never done this before, but I wanted to make this good for him. To blow his mind. My lips curved up in a little smile at the thought of blowing his mind with a blow job.
“I see the laughter in your eyes,” he rasped. “I guess I’d better make sure I have all of your attention.”
He surged forward, holding me in place as he pumped his hips in short jabs. He let out a low moan of pleasure, fucking my mouth even as he swelled within it. He was getting closer, and the knowledge urged me on. I lapped and sucked at his length, feeling him start to twitch and pulse.
“I’m gonna come,” he warned, starting to pull out.
“No,” I protested, wrapping my lips around him and gripping the back of his thighs so he couldn’t get away from me. I sucked harder, my cheeks hollowing out, and then his erection jerked. His hot come poured down my throat, his hips still pumping and his husky cries of completion ringing in my ears.
When he pulled away, his chest was heaving and his dark eyes were heavy-lidded. He bent down, dragging me up his body and claiming my lips in another kiss. I blushed wildly at the thought of him tasting himself on my lips, making him chuckle darkly.
“I’ll take your mouth any damn time I want, kitten. It’s mine. Just like you’ll learn to take mine no matter what I’ve been doing with it.” His fingers slipped down my belly to glide across my pussy lips. I felt the heat of his touch, as though my clothing wasn’t between us.
“Whatever you say,” I mumbled, still a little embarrassed.
“Damn straight.”
He helped me to my feet, and I playfully slapped at his chest while he tucked himself back into his pants.
“My blowjob doesn’t seem to have mellowed you out very much.”
“It took the edge off, but I don’t think I’ll be mellow until I’ve had you at least a hundred times, babe. Maybe a thousand.”
“A thousand sounds like an awful lot,” I teased.
“Not when you consider I’m never letting you go,” he quipped, making my heart flutter again. “Now tell me, who is Mac Thomas and what does he mean to you?”
Crap, I’d only delayed the inevitable, and I didn’t think he was going to like my answer much. “Mac Thomas is one of Thomas McKinnon’s aliases.”
“Fuck!” he barked out, beginning to pace. “McKinnon is part of your father’s organization, Carly. Please tell me you aren’t naive enough to have kept in touch with someone who’s connected to the very man who’s been hunting you.”
“I’m not dumb,” I hissed, straightening my spine and crossing my arms over my chest while I glared at him. “Tommy would never do anything to hurt me. He’s risked a lot to protect me and he’s one of the only other men I’ve ever trusted in my entire life.”
Chapter 5
Brandon
I stopped pacing and gripped Carly’s biceps, backing her up against the wall and crowding her. “Used to be, kitten. As of now, I am the only man you trust.” I paused for a minute, thinking about her situation. “You can also trust Nic.” I would lay down my life for Nic, and I knew he would do the same, just as we would for each other’s families. But, it eased my tension knowing I didn’t have to worry about him trying to steal my woman.
Carly shook her head, her long mane of red hair brushing against her tits with the movement. She was so damn beautiful. I didn’t care what McKinnon had done for her, who he’d been to her, as of now, he wouldn’t be anywhere near her.
“Tommy is the reason I was able to run, Bran. He’s been my best friend since I was eight. He took punishment from protecting me from my dad and brother more times than I care to think about. His father is as big of a monster as mine.”
I gripped her chin, forcing her to pay complete attention. “I don’t give a fuck, Carly. I can appreciate that he played a role in keeping you safe until we found each other, but now you’re mine. And, I protect what’s mine.” I squeezed her chin a little harder, but made sure I wasn’t causing her pain. “You know my reputation, Carly. No one touches what’s mine. And that includes Thomas fucking McKinnon. Do you understand”
She stared at me, wide-eyed, unblinking, and for a moment, I worried I’d gone too far and made her afraid of me. I wasn’t in the habit of hiding who I was like Nic. I couldn’t be. Being the enforcer, and his number two, people had to know me because I needed them to fear me. Even so, for the first time, I considered whether I should have tempered my hard edges a bit.
Then she blinked. Fuck. Her lids raised and her green eyes were full of fire, burning with desire. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I backed up, my hands clenching and unclenching into fists, as I reminded myself to take it slow. To make things special. My cock was pissed at me for the decision and my zipper cut into the skin as he pressed against it, trying to get free.
I cleared my throat and glanced at the partially open door to the bedroom. “Come to the kitchen, babe,” I said, sidling toward the door. “We can talk while I make you some dinner.” Then, I turned and practically ran from the room before I threw her on the bed and fucked her until we both collapsed into a sexual coma.
For an apartment in a New York City, prewar building, mine was quite large. The kitchen and main room were one big space, and the back wall had two picture windows, facing a private courtyard. I’d chosen the apartment for the back and the kitchen. I loved to cook, it was something I’d done with my mother since I was a child. Nic used to give me shit about it until he tasted my food. Shut his ass up real quick.
I pulled out everything I needed to make chicken parmigiana, grateful that I’d had the foresight to send a text to one of the guys to make sure the kitchen was fully stocked for our return. My eyes swept the room, the cogs in my mind spinning as I thought about how it would look to Carly. I owned the whole building, but since I lived alone, I hadn’t felt the need to expand my apartment.
Now that I was moving Carly in with me, and knowing I’d be marrying her and knocking her up shortly, I started thinking about combining the two first floor apartments when the neighbors lease was up.
Carly wandered in after around fifteen minutes. “Smells great,” she said, making her way to the window near the kitchen area and staring out warily.
“Carly, c’mere,” I encouraged. She turned around and walked over, straight into the arm I’d held open for her. I pulled her close and kissed her temple. “You’re safe, kitten,” I reassured her. “I’m here, and I’ve got guys watching the building.” I felt her shoulders droop slightly as she relaxed. Kissing her temple again, I held a spoon of the sauce I was stirring to her mouth. She put her mouth around it and just like that, I was hard as fuck again.
“Damn, Brandon. It’s so good,” she moaned. Special, I reminded myself as I guided her to a chair at the kitchen table, saying a prayer to the Virgin Mary. Seemed appropriate considering the circumstances.
“Tell me about how you know Nic and why you decided to help him.” Nic had told me some, but I wanted to hear the full story from Carly.
“What do you want to know?” she asked guardedly.
I frowned at her. “All of it. Start from the beginning.”
She sighed and put an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand, watching me as I moved around preparing the food.
“You know about my childhood, mostly. I was home schooled, for lack of a better term,” she spit acidly. “So, I didn’t have a lot of friends, only the kids of my father’s”—she made air quotes—“‘trusted’ men. However, he still made sure I went to Sunday school, needing to keep up appearances and all. We couldn’t have Father Gannon damning him to Hell,” she sneered, rolling her eyes. “As though he doesn’t already have a personally engraved throne at the devil’s side.”
I put the breaded chicken and French bread in the oven and sat at the table with her. Picking up the clenched fist in her lap, I pulled her fingers apart and began to massage her hand.
She sighed, her eyes closing in bliss. “Wow, who knew a simple hand massage could cause such comfort?” she said with surprise.
I smiled. “My mother used to do it for me and my brothers when we were sick.”
Carly’s eyes softened and the sides of her lips turned up. “That’s really sweet.”
“I’m a sweet guy,” I quipped, earning myself an eye roll and a chuckle.
“Anyway, I met a girl who had an Italian father and an Irish mother. Meagan’s mother was considered a traitor and disowned by her family, but she still brought her daughter to Father Gannon’s Sunday school classes. As we got older, we got creative in keeping in touch and stayed friends.” Carly cast her eyes down and dropped her other hand to the table, drawing circles with her finger. I gave her hand a deliberate squeeze to remind her I was with her and urge her to continue.
Meagan was Enzo’s cousin, but her father worked with Nic’s uncle Antonio in one of our legit businesses, and I didn’t know either of them well.
“One day, I don’t even remember what I did, I pissed off my da and he beat the shit out of me.” She flinched, and I realized I’d gripped her hand hard and immediately gentled my touch. “He locked me in the basement of our house, but Tommy had taught me to pick a lock, so my da had no idea I often slipped out of the cellar door. I couldn’t go anywhere, but stepping into the open and the fresh air kept me from going insane.”
She suddenly withdrew her hand from mine and stood, pacing to the window, but I could tell she wasn’t seeing anything beyond the glass.
“I don’t—I don’t like dark, small spaces,” she admitted with a shudder. “I was sitting at the top of the stairs when I heard yelling through an open window a few floors up. My da was arguing with another man. They were fighting over the price of a new shipment.” She turned and faced me, her eyes full of rage. “A shipment of girls.”
Nic had told me the O’Reillys were moving into the slave trade, but I hadn’t realized the information had come from Carly. A pang of regret hit me for the way I’d, kind of, accused her of betraying us. It was in the past though, and we were moving forward.
“I wanted to tell Tommy, but I knew him too well. He would have tried to save the day and gotten himself killed. But, I needed to tell someone. So, the next time I met Meagan at the market, I confessed it all to her. She begged me to let her tell Nic. She swore he would help, that I could trust him.”
She shook her head ruefully. “It took her some time to convince me. No matter how awful my family is, I was raised to believe the DeLucas were the enemy. That they were as evil as mine.” She looked up at me, her eyes pleading for understanding. A lump formed in my throat as it hit me how much guilt she was carrying. I stood and went to her, pulling her into my arms, and kissing her head.
“There were no good choices, Carly. No one can blame you for the path you chose.”
She sighed and buried her head in my shirt, sniffling. Knowing Carly, I was sure she was mortified to be shedding tears in front of me, so I ignored them, despite my desire to wipe them away and comfort her.
“Eventually, my guilt overrode my fear and I agreed to have Meagan set up a meeting with Nic. I told my father I was going to confession and met Nic at the church. As soon as she introduced us, I asked her to leave. I’m not sure she would have if not for Nic. I don’t know what he said to her, but she agreed to leave. He was smart enough to know I didn’t want her involved or for any of this to trace back to her. She still has no idea. I agreed to help Nic take my family down, and he agreed to protect me. My father thinks he rules with an iron fist and he believed I would never betray him. It helped that he thinks women are no better than chattel. So he didn’t bother to hide things from me.” She shrugged and looked up at me with watery eyes. “After our—um—incident, I went to Tommy and told him I needed to disappear.”
I refused to be grateful to that bastard for keeping my girl safe. If I ever met him, I was pretty sure I’d kick his ass. Instead, I focused on how fucking proud I was of Carly. So much so, I had no words. With nothing to say, I lifted her chin and softly kissed her.
Chapter 6
Carly
Sweet kisses, the best home-cooked meal I’d ever eaten, and a night spent cuddling—Bran certainly was the king of the unexpected. He was so different from what I’d assumed based on what I’d heard about him and how he’d behaved when he was watching over me for Nic.
The steely enforcer with a killer reputation had a soft side he didn’t seem afraid to show me. Then again, he wasn’t scared to reveal his hard edges either. Surprisingly enough, the combination seemed to be my kryptonite. When he grabbed my face the way he had, I should have been pissed way the hell off. Instead, it had sent a spark of desire straight to my core. If he hadn’t walked away, I’m not sure if I would have been able to resist ripping his clothes off and jumping him. I wasn’t convinced it was for the best that I hadn’t, since the chemistry between us was sizzling hot and impossible to ignore. Even the knowledge that I was walking into a meeting with Nic DeLuca to talk about the situation with my da wasn’t dimming it in the least bit.
I couldn’t help but think that it would have taken the edge off a little if we’d gone with the heat of the moment and seen what happened next. Then again, I wasn’t sure walking into this meeting sore from losing my virginity to the DeLuca enforcer would have been the smart thing to do.
Fun as hell? Sure.
Wise? Not in the least.
Coming back to town when my da was out to kill me wasn’t exactly the smartest thing I’d ever done either. Brandon had a way of convincing me to do stuff I never would have agreed to without his influence. Case in point, meeting with Nic DeLuca at one of his warehouses when I’d been in town for less than half a day, and it was sure to be one of the places my da had on his radar for possible clues as to my whereabouts. I should have known Brandon had it covered, though.
“Climb in the back and lay flat on the floor
between the seats,” he instructed when we were about a mile out from the building.
“Seriously?” I grumbled as I unclicked my seatbelt.
“Don’t give me any lip. When it comes to your safety, my word is law.”
I didn’t respond until I was settled on the floor of the car, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. This isn’t a democracy. But, what about all the other times you think your word is law?”
“I didn’t say your safety was the only situation where it applies.” His voice was a low rumble that sent shivers up my spine. “It just happened to be why I mentioned it at this particular point in time, when you need to follow my orders without question.”
“Caveman.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, kitten. Because I’m most definitely going to be the boss when I fuck you too.”
“We’ll just see about that,” I muttered.
“If you keep up with all the sass, you will see, and sooner than I’d planned,” he threatened, taking a sharp turn that jolted me slightly.
“Holy shit.”
“And be warned, I’m not sure you’ll be able to walk straight once I’m done with you.” His response was gruff and almost drowned out by the sound of a garage door going up, but I still didn’t miss the sensual promise in his tone.
I couldn’t deny I was in over my head when his threat sounded like a good time. But hey, walking was overrated, right? Except for when he helped me out of the car and led me down a hallway to Nic’s office. Not being able to walk in this particular instance would have been embarrassing as hell.
“Carly,” Nic greeted me, standing when we walked into his office.
I stepped forward to shake his hand and was surprised when he lifted it to his mouth to place a kiss on the top of my hand. Only when I noticed the humor in his eyes at Brandon’s reaction—a low growl and yanking me back into his body—did I understand what he was up to. But considering the bombshell I’d unknowingly dropped on his now-wife when I hadn’t realized she was unaware of Nic being a mafia boss, I couldn’t really blame him for messing with us. Especially, since the first thing he had to handle after he returned home from his honeymoon was a meeting with me to discuss what to do about my da.
Not-So Temporarily Married Page 10
