“I’m glad to see things worked out so well with your queen,” I said, lifting my chin towards the huge framed photo of him and his new wife on their wedding day hanging on the center of the wall to the left.
“No thanks to your father,” he answered grimly.
“Yet another reason why he needs to die. And fast, before he causes any more trouble.”
“I can’t really argue with your logic, but the death of your father will cause a major void in the O’Reilly family and that wouldn’t be good for my city.”
It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do considering who Nic DeLuca was, but I snorted at the obviousness of his statement. “I hope that doesn’t mean you aren’t willing to do it because he”—I aimed my thumb towards Brandon—“promised to protect me and break me free of my da. The only way to do that is to put him six feet under.”
“Blood thirsty little thing, aren’t you?” Nic chuckled, glancing over at Brandon. “Are you sure you want to keep her?”
My back straightened in outrage, more at the implication that Brandon shouldn’t want to keep me than the idea that he could just decide he was going to. Brandon slid his hand up my back and wrapped it around my neck, practically shackling me in place. It was a macho move, but I found comfort in his show of possession and relaxed into his hold.
“Quit messing around,” Brandon growled. “You knew she was mine before I was willing to admit it.”
“That I did,” Nic murmured with a smug grin before turning his attention my way again. “When you first came to me, I offered to eliminate your father and you refused to believe it was the best way to proceed. What’s changed since then?”
My breath caught in my throat as I tried to fight against the tears that welled in my eyes. I’d learned long ago that my da didn’t really love me, but it didn’t stop the pain of knowing how very little I meant to him. “Killing my da would only halt things in his organization temporarily. I wanted to blow it the fuck up. But, now he knows about my betrayal. Chances are, I’ll end up in his next shipment of girls.”
Brandon’s fingers dug into the skin of my neck, hard enough I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up with bruises. “No fucking way,” he hissed, turning my head until I was staring into his eyes. “I knew he was after you, but I can’t believe he would sell his own daughter into slave trade.”
“He likes to play his cards close to the vest as much as he can,” I explained. “I wouldn’t even know about it, except Tommy overheard my da on the phone with one of his guys when I disappeared. Apparently, he was royally pissed that his ditzy little girl was able to outsmart him. Da told the guy I’d be worth the trade and ‘kept in line’ with a firm hand, or find myself saying Hail Marys on my way to hell.”
“Motherfucker,” Nic growled.
I laughed without any humor. “Oh, and let’s not forget how valuable I am, being a virgin and all.” In any other situation, I might have felt uncomfortable discussing my sexual experience, or lack thereof, with Nic Deluca, but I didn’t have the luxury of being squeamish.
“There’s no fucking way that’s gonna happen.” Brandon’s voice was deceptively soft. “No one will lay a fucking hand on you."
“What’s with us and falling for virgins?” Nic murmured, shaking his head, as though disappointed. The possessive look in his eyes and half-smile on his face said otherwise. His attention returned to us. “If she isn’t a virgin any longer, that may negate his plans to sell her to the highest bidder,” he said, displaying the level of cunning and ruthlessness that had gained him a fearsome reputation as the head of the DeLuca family. “I’m sure I can depend on you to take care of that little problem, right Bran?”
“Shut the fuck up before I shut you up myself.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Nic chuckled. “Unfortunately, I’m sure Pat will decide his only other choice is to kill her.” Brandon practically snarled at Nic, who held up his hand to indicate that he wasn’t done. “Which is all the more reason to agree with Carly. Pat O’Reilly needs to be taken out.”
“After he’s spent a few hours in my company,” Brandon muttered with grim determination. There was an air of deadly intent in his words. He clearly wanted my da to suffer, and I was surprised when I didn’t feel a single ounce of compassion for the man who’d fathered me. Truth was, I wanted him to suffer, to pay for his sins in this life and the next.
Nic nodded. “How you handle it is up to you.” He looked at Brandon meaningfully. “I’d also suggest you marry her sooner rather than later. It would solidify your place in her life, and you’ll be thankful for it later when she takes over.”
Marry me? Take over? What the fuck? I didn’t know which to respond to first. I decided the whole—I mentally cringed—marriage thing could wait and be dealt with when I was alone with Brandon.
“Takes over?” I repeated. He couldn’t possibly mean... “What am I taking over?”
“You’re going to be the new head of the O’Reillys, Carly.”
I reached out blindly to grab Brandon’s free hand and squeeze it. “What? No! That’s impossible!” Being with Brandon meant being a part of this life, and I accepted that. I didn’t want anything to do with my family’s organization though. “No one would follow me, they are all loyal to my da.”
“Anything’s possible with the DeLucas behind you,” he informed me with unwavering confidence. “We’ll make sure your father eats a bullet, and soon. In return, you’re going to step into his shoes and fill the void he’ll leave behind, keeping my town safe from the assholes who might otherwise think it’s the perfect opportunity to grab power.”
Chapter 7
Brandon
Carly looked shell-shocked, and though she was putting on a strong front, I could see she was on the precipice of falling apart. Using the hand on her neck, I tucked her in close to my side. It was a testament to her emotional state that she allowed herself to be vulnerable in front anyone, much less Nic.
“Let’s put this discussion on hold while we concentrate on tracking down her dad,” I suggested.
Nic studied Carly for a moment and seemed to come to the same conclusion. She needed time to process. He looked to me. “You know it has to be this way.” I jerked my head in the affirmative. “I’ll let you deal with helping her understand that.”
Lifting my chin in farewell, I started to guide Carly from the office when Nic called my name. I stopped and glanced back over my shoulder with a raised brow.
“You’ll take care of the other...?” He trailed off, well aware I knew what he was referring to. I glared at him, the thought of him even thinking about my woman and sex, no matter how platonic and well intentioned, pissed me the fuck off. Not to mention, our relationship was nobody else’s business. Understanding my expression, he held up his hands in surrender, but the smirk on his face still made me want to rearrange it into a grimace of pain. I pushed my violent intentions away, knowing my focus needed to remain on Carly, and took her home.
She was quiet on the short drive back to the house. I circled the block twice, then found a spot on the street to parallel park but waited to get out until I saw Paul, one of my guys, give the all clear from his vehicle across the street. Carly started to open her door, but I held her back with my hand on her bicep.
She looked at me with surprise, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I know you’ll protect me Bran, but I’m not an infant, I can open my own damn door.”
I slowly perused her body, my eyes lingering on her chest and lips, before meeting her gaze. “Trust me, kitten. There is no possibility of me mistaking you for anything other than a woman.” She was fighting to keep her indignation, but the spark in her green eyes and the subtle flush of her skin, told me how my words truly affected her. “Also, my mother taught all of her boys to respect women, so how about you let me be the gentleman my mother raised me to be?”
Her jaw dropped a little in surprise and she simply nodded. I got out and rounded the car, opening the door and he
lping her out. She watched me with a bit of wonder, and I laughed. “You’re looking at me like I’m the main attraction at the zoo.”
She blushed and dropped her eyes to the ground. “I thought that was just something they did in the movies.”
It really hit me then, the extent to which Carly’s life had been a volatile mix of being sheltered and seeing and experiencing things most people were never exposed to. Things she shouldn’t have had to endure.
I cradled her face in my hands, lifting her head so I could see into her eyes. “Don’t hide from me, and don’t ever be embarrassed, kitten. It’s my job to show you what it’s like to be loved and respected. Your history just means the bar is set really low.” She chuckled, and I kissed her before saying, “Lucky for me, it means I’ll blow your mind.” I winked at her, and she laughed as I tucked her into my side once again and headed to the front door.
When we entered the apartment, she stiffened and stepped away from me, causing me to glance around with alarm. I didn’t see anything except Carly marching into the living room, and then turning to face me. She was suddenly enraged, and it reminded me of the last time she stood before me in this state. Except, she had been very, very naked.
I always wanted her, my body primed and ready. But, at that moment, I was half a breath away from backing her up to the wall and fucking her like an animal. Special, stronzo. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm the lust hurdling through my body. I didn’t care if taking her was beneficial to our plan. I was still determined to wait until it was the right time. I ignored my dick, who was putting up an argument that it was already the right time.
I sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting and resting the ankle of one leg over the opposite knee. “Something on your mind, kitten?” I asked casually. I hid a smile when my tone got her even more riled up. She was fucking magnificent when she was like that.
“Why didn’t you correct Nic when he assumed we were getting married?” she cried.
Just like that, my demeanor shifted from aroused and amused to deadly calm. “There was nothing to correct, Carly. We are getting married,” I explained, my tone brooking no argument.
Carly gasped. “You don’t get to just decide we are getting married! What if I don’t want to?”
I stood and prowled in her direction, vibrating with anger at her insinuation that she might not marry me. This was not something up for debate.
She stepped back, her eyes turning wary as I approached. I crowded her into the wall and caged her between my forearms, resting against the wall on either side of her head. Lowering my head so my face was centimeters from hers, I growled, “Listen to me, kitten. Because I don’t want to have to repeat myself. You are mine, I know it and so do you. But I need to make sure the rest of the fucking world knows it, too. So, you’ll be wearing my ring, sharing my last name, and carrying our baby in your belly, as soon as fucking possible. Is that clear?”
Her eyes had widened and her jaw had dropped lower with every sentence. I took advantage of her speechlessness and open mouth, covering it with my own and plunging my tongue inside. I immediately groaned at her sweet taste, it spurred my hunger to eat her delicious pussy.
She moaned and her tongue tangled with mine, her arms going around my neck, holding my lips down to hers. Slanting my head, I deepened the kiss, taking complete control and dominating her mouth. My arms found their way to her ass and I palmed the round cheeks, grasping them and lifting her so her legs flew around my waist. Shoving her back into the wall, I ground my erection into her sex, her moan fueling my passion.
The thought of special was a distant memory, except for one tiny sliver that beat through the haze, keeping me from taking her right then and there. Keeping a firm hold on her, I maneuvered through the apartment until we reached my bedroom. Stopping by the side of the bed, I disengaged her legs and slid her down my body, letting her feel every inch of what she did to me.
The zipper of my jeans was digging into my dick, probably leaving teeth marks. My hands traveled up from her hips, under the hem of her T-shirt to cup her tits. They filled my palms perfectly, and I could feel her hard nipples through the silky fabric of her bra. Breaking apart, I gripped the hem of her shirt and drew it up over her head and tossed it away. Popping the clasp on her bra, it joined her shirt on the ground. One of my hands clasped her around the back of the neck, holding her in place. I put my other hand under her tit, palm flat on her ribcage, the globe resting between my thumb and forefinger. Pushing my hand up, I lifted one pink nipple up to my mouth and latched onto it.
She moaned and arched her back, my hand on her neck pulling her back even farther, so I could widen my mouth over the breast and suck as much in as possible as my tongue swirled around the hardened peak. When she was in the position I wanted, I let go of her neck and ran my hand down until it reached her other mound and twisted and plucked her nipple as my mouth tortured the other. She cried out and her hips bucked into mine, forcing me to let go of her nipple with a pop.
I moved my hips back in order to clear my head a little, not wanting it to be over before I’d barely started. She mewled in protest, but it melted into a sigh when I took the opposite nipple into my mouth. I could smell her arousal, and it was driving me in-fucking-sane.
Returning to her mouth, I kissed her as my hands deftly unfastened her black cargo pants, slipping them over her hips and letting them fall to the ground. Ripping my lips from hers, I stared into her eyes as we both panted, gulping for air. Shifting her body, I silently encouraged her to step out of her pants, and then I kicked them away.
Grabbing the back collar of my shirt, I tore it over my head and it joined the growing pile. My hands went back to her tits and played with her nipples as I instructed her, “Take me out, kitten.” She licked her lips and my cock, already on the verge of exploding, leaked semen. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Carly.”
Her face flushed with pleasure at my compliment, and I made a mental note to make sure I did it often. I was sure she hadn’t heard many growing up.
She unzipped my jeans, and I blew out a breath as some of the pressure relieved. A smirk graced her face when she saw I was riding commando. Easy access, babe. Reaching in, she wrapped her fingers around my dick, as far as they would go. She pumped my long length once before slowly removing it. Her hand slid over the tip and I hissed, equally from pleasure and pain. My cock was practically purple, the skin stretched tight, and the angry head leaking steadily.
I could see the exact moment her intention to drop to her knees crossed her face. But, this was all about her, so I picked her up and tossed her into the center of my big bed, shucking my pants and crawling on top of her. I rested the weight of my lower half on her, pressing my cock against her panty covered pussy. I rocked back and forth a few times, straining for control as she moaned.
Rearing back up to sit on my heels, I stared at the sight of her soaked panties, my tongue darting out to wet my dry lips. I needed to taste her. After sliding her underwear down, I pushed her knees back to her chest, then pressed them open wide. Coming down to my stomach, I admired her pussy with its neatly trimmed red hair and glistening folds. I licked them up and down, then in between them. “Fucking drenched for me, aren’t you, kitten? Let’s see just how wet your pretty little pussy can get,” I growled with a dark chuckle.
I flipped a hand upside down, pressing it onto her stomach. With two fingers, I spread her lower lips apart, and slid my forearm back so the skin was taut and her clitoris emerged from under its hood. My mouth watered, wanting to attack the little bud, but I knew this would go easier for her with a slow build.
She dove her hands into my hair, gripping and pulling. The sting on my scalp shot sensations straight to my dick and I pressed into the bed, trying to relieve some of the pressure so I’d last.
Flattening my tongue, I licked her from top to bottom, over and over. Occasionally, stiffening my tongue and plunging it inside her, making her hips buck and a cry of pleasure was wrenched from
her chest. Lifting my eyes, I watched her tits bounce as she ground into my mouth. Pulling back, I gritted out, “Play with your nipples, kitten. Just like I would.” Her hands slid from my hair, up her torso to cup her tits. It was hot as fuck and I almost came, right then and there.
“Squeeze them, babe, twist and pull. Good girl,” I praised as she followed my instruction. I watched the erotic visual as I increased my efforts in eating her pussy. She shifted to press her heels into the bed, her pelvis gyrating and thrusting up to meet my mouth.
“Oh, oh! Yes, Brandon! Yes!”
Her cries became screams and my mouth filled with her juices. I drank them down greedily as I used a finger to penetrate her. I finger fucked her with one, then added another, stretching her, preparing her for what I’d soon be doing with my cock. Using a “come hither” motion, I rubbed her g-spot and sucked her little bundle of nerves into my mouth.
“Brandon!!! Yes! Yes! Yes!” she screamed, her head thrown back in ecstasy as she tensed, then seemed to splinter apart. I was caught in a red haze of lust, causing me to lose control from watching her come and I knew she’d handle the breach of my cock easier during an orgasm. Both of those factors had me surging up, throwing her legs over my shoulders, and thrusting ten inches deep inside her.
“Fuck!” I shouted. Her pussy was so snug; I felt the resistance as it tried to stretch around my cock. But, she was so wet, I was able to slide right in. “Damn, kitten. Shit, you’re fucking tight.”
The pain only penetrated her fog for a second, because I pressed her body into the bed, pinched her clit, and started driving into her fast and hard, hurtling her toward another orgasm before she’d even come down from the first one. The walls of her pussy were pulsing, squeezing my cock, desperately trying to keep me from pulling out.
Not-So Temporarily Married Page 11
