“And you love him, don’t you?” Her lip tucked between her teeth. “My brother in love with Cole’s cousin. Small, small world.”
“I guess it is,” I whispered. “Or maybe we were all meant to do something great, something bigger than ourselves.”
Chapter Forty
Holly
“You don’t have to do this.” I slipped off Sebastian’s bed and grabbed my black silk robe. The conversation wouldn’t last long if I stood naked in front of him.
He pulled on a pair of gray pajama bottoms and faced me. “The land in Limerick is safe. More importantly, you’re safe. You don’t need me at the company.”
The next board meeting was tomorrow. I could hardly believe three weeks had passed since the board had agreed to reconvene to vote on the sale of the land to Paulson Incorporated, a bogus freaking shell company.
“I’ll announce my resignation at the meeting. Your family can have their shares back.” He braced my arms, and his palms slid over the silk up and down my biceps.
“Are you doing this to ensure the Reed deal doesn’t fall through?” I’d yet to speak to Harrison since he left Dublin, no bloody clue what to say. I’d also been a bit preoccupied with taking down evil people. Who would’ve thought I’d become a real-life Supergirl?
“I’m doing this because it’s what’s right.” He brought his lips to mine for a gentle kiss.
We’d had to quietly make love this week with Alessia sleeping in the other room. But it was well worth it to have her home and safe.
“I was thinking maybe we could go on holiday once Alessia is settled. Get away for a few days. My boat. The sea. No one to hear you cry out my name while you come.” He stared at me with heavy-lidded eyes.
Sounds like heaven. “You sure you’re ready to leave her?”
“No, but it was her idea. She’s sort of stubborn and thinks we need this. We’ll wait a bit, but . . . I, um, trust Cole to protect her.”
“I don’t think they’ve talked much. There’s guilt, or something, between them.”
“I know a thing or two about that.”
I placed a palm on his naked chest. “I also know that trusting Cole with her life, well, that’s not easy for you to do.”
“Yeah.” He leaned in and nipped my lip. “But I’m learning I can’t quite control everything. I sure as hell failed trying to stop myself from falling in love with you.”
“Thank God.” I gasped when he scooped me into his arms and tossed me back onto the bed.
He removed his pajama bottoms and moved on top of me, then worked at the knot of my robe, pushed the material to the side, and drank me in with that smoldering look I loved.
I squirmed beneath him, anxious for what he was going to do next. “Do me a favor,” I murmured. “I know you’ve been holding back, restraining yourself in bed, but you don’t need to do that anymore.”
He looked at me, his eyes glinting with passion. “Oh, really?”
I nodded.
His lips crooked at the edges. “Well, then, yes, ma’am . . .” he said as he pinned my arms over my head and buried himself deep inside of me.
* * *
“Well, maybe now I don’t want to leave your company.” Sebastian faked a pout as he leaned against the window in my office, arms across his chest. I’d never seen the man pout, but even on him, he made it look sexy.
He was a different person since Alessia had returned. Freer. More relaxed. And maybe it also had to do with stepping down as League leader.
Of course, we still had The Alliance to go after, but Emilia said we had months before we had to begin strategizing, so yeah, right now, I wanted to spend my time with the man I loved.
I traced my tongue over my red bottom lip, then nibbled at the side.
He took the bait. Two quick strides and he had me up against the bookshelf behind my desk. “If you were as naughty as you were in the boardroom earlier today, the last two times we’d had meetings, I would’ve lost my bloody mind.”
I lifted my chin to find his eyes. “And if I was touching your crotch beneath the table and playing footsie with you three weeks ago, you should have charged me with sexual harassment since we weren’t together then.”
“I like how that sounds.”
I chuckled. “The harassment part?”
He shook his head. “The together part.” He brushed his lips over mine. “I’ve wanted you to be mine for years. How’d I get so lucky?”
“And if you try and get lucky in my building, I’ll forget we’re now on the same side.”
Sean’s words had Sebastian bowing his forehead to mine, and given the erection he was sporting, he was probably trying to calm his dick down before he turned to face my brother.
“I thought with all of your Batman-like skills you would’ve heard me open the door,” Sean taunted. Damn him.
I shifted my head to the right to catch my brother’s eyes and glare at him.
“Oh come on, it was funny.” He held his palms open. “Billionaire vigilante?” He shut the door behind him.
I rolled my eyes. “He doesn’t go out and fight crime at night.” I pulled my focus back to Sebastian, and his lips stretched. “You don’t, do you?”
“No.” He lifted a brow, and he fought a smile. “Do you want me to?”
“Not at all.”
He let go of me and turned around. My attention dipped to his navy-blue trousers, the signs of his hard-on gone. Phew.
“Nice speech you gave in the meeting.” Sean kept his back to the door, and it was obvious he still wasn’t comfortable with the new arrangement—the one where we’d be working with a man he used to hate. Yeah, even I had to pinch myself a few times a day to believe it.
“Was that a compliment?” I perched a hip against my desk as Sebastian moved back to the window. He positioned his back to the glass and kept his eyes steady on my brother. And yeah, he was uncomfortable, too. It’d take time for all of us, I supposed.
“Anyway, I’m here to let you know I just got off the phone with Reed.” He strode farther into the room and closer to my desk. “I know you’ve been avoiding a conversation with him, so I thought I’d make the call for you.”
My heartbeat quickened, and my palms grew sweaty almost instantly. “And what’d you tell him?”
“A watered-down version of the truth. Sebastian’s not in bed with The Alliance, but he’s stepping down from the company as promised. His sister is alive.”
It was the first time Sean called Sebastian by his first name, and I’d take that as a win. A step forward. “And what’d he say?”
“He needs time to think about everything, especially since I went ahead and threw the gut shot—the one about you dating Sebastian.”
“I probably should’ve been the one to tell him that.”
“Why? You were always friends, right?” Sean challenged, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian was thinking the same thing now.
“We are friends, which is why it should have been me.” I glimpsed Sebastian out of the corner of my eye, and he didn’t look jealous or angry.
“We still on for tonight?” he asked Sebastian, and he nodded. “I can’t believe Ethan’s really going to stay in New York to help out there with Cole gone. Maybe Uncle William can whip some sense into him. Da’s been too easy on him.” He started for the door and casually waved goodbye. “See you two later.”
I took a seat in front of my desk, and Sebastian sat next to me once the door was closed. He reached across the short space between us and held my hand. “You need me to finalize one last deal before I go?”
“Is that code for sex?” I grinned, unable to stop myself.
He looked over at the glass walls then back at me. “I was thinking I could talk to Reed. I have been known to be convincing when I want to be.”
“Thank you, but I think I know a thing or two about closing deals.” I wet my lips. “After all, I learned from the best.”
He grabbed the chair arm and yanked it,
so my seat bumped into his, then he fisted my hair and brought my mouth closer but didn’t kiss me.
“What about the glass—” He swallowed my question with a kiss, and when I pulled back a minute later to catch my breath, I tracked his amused expression to the three employees standing outside my office with shocked looks on their faces.
He reached for the remote off my desk and commanded the blinds to scroll down. “Guess it’s a good thing you’re the boss.”
Chapter Forty-One
Sebastian
Alessia’s hand raced along the bar counter as she walked behind it. “You didn’t change anything. Not even the arrangement of the liquor.”
It was only nine at night, so the club wasn’t open yet. It was also the first time Alessia had requested to come. “Why mess with perfection?”
“It’s good to be back.”
“The club is yours. Always has been and always will be. And now you’ll be running it as Alessia. If you want it, that is.”
“Well, Josie died that day. Not me.” She forced a smile as if she were trying to reclaim that innocence she used to naturally carry, but I was worried Luca may have stolen it. “And I don’t want to run this place alone.” She circled the bar to stand closer to me. “Run it with me?”
How the hell could I say no to her? After everything she’d been through, I’d do pretty much whatever she asked. “Of course.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?” She draped her arms over my shoulders, taking me back to the night she appeared on my dock, invited herself onto my boat, and somehow convinced me to let her into my life, and then she hugged me.
“I love you, Sis,” I said near her ear before she stepped out of my hold.
Unshed tears had her eyes glistening. “I love you, too.” She reached for the cross at her neck and smoothed it between her thumb and forefinger. “We have time to make up for, don’t we?”
I nodded. “If you don’t want me going on the trip with Holly, I can postpone.”
“Absolutely not. How can your special Christmas surprise happen if you don’t take that trip first?” She placed a palm over my chest and patted me a few times as if in a sudden daze, or at a loss for words. “Reconnecting with you has been so easy, but Cole . . . the way we left things six years ago, I don’t know what to say to him.”
He was due any minute with his cousins. Emilia, too.
“He cares about you,” I offered the reminder. “He’s happy to have you back. More than happy. Maybe words aren’t needed right now?”
“Maybe.” She stepped to the side of me when Holly entered the club with Cole, Sean, and Adam.
The sight of Holly took my breath away. Another killer red pantsuit that had me envisioning peeling it off and running my mouth over her entire body.
“Hi.” I met her halfway and went in for a quick kiss.
“Well, since this is my first official secret meeting, are there any protocols we’re supposed to follow?” Sean asked in a teasing voice. “Like talking over champagne, for instance?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Any special initiation for Cole?” Adam sat on one of the satin couches off to the side of the dance floor and braced his ankle over his knee.
“Actually, there is, right?” Holly glimpsed Cole sitting next to Adam. “A tattoo.”
“I need to get ink?” Cole guffawed. “You serious? Why didn’t you say something sooner?” His gaze cut to Alessia as she crossed the room to get closer, and his mouth tightened.
There was a lot that needed to be said between them, but I think I was right—they’d need some time first. Well, Alessia needed time, at least.
“You got a problem with tattoos?” Adam’s lips gathered into a smile.
“No, but I feckin’ hate needles.” Cole raced a hand over his head.
“I can hold your hand,” Sean offered as he plopped down on the sofa opposite him.
“Any luck finding a home?” Holly asked as she joined them on the couches. And a nice touch at her art of deflection.
“Yeah, I made an offer on a flat a few blocks from here,” Cole answered.
Alessia would be living in the hotel for now, but at some point, she’d need a real place to call home.
“How’s Bree handling the news of you moving here?” Holly asked.
“She’s shooting a new movie in Montreal while dealing with the divorce from Derek, so I may even be back before her.”
I doubted that. This wouldn’t be a few-months-and-be-done kind of thing, but I didn’t want to tell him that now. We all needed a bit of a reprieve from the heavy stuff before we moved forward.
“Starting without me?” Emilia asked on approach. She’d traded in her typical leather look for something a bit more casual. Jeans, black boots, and a plain black jumper.
Sean stood at the sight of her and smoothed a hand over his black dress shirt. “You’re here.”
“I am.” She smiled. “Once you’re settled in, we should begin training,” she said to Cole, then she focused on Sean as he sat back down.
“Can I steal you away for a minute?” I asked Emilia, and she nodded. I kissed Holly on the cheek and motioned for Emilia to follow me to the other side of the club. “Can you stay in town while I’m gone?” I asked once we were out of earshot of everyone.
“Of course.” She gripped my arm. “I’m glad you’re doing this. You need to get away.”
“Just one thing,” I said, unable to hold back a smile. “Don’t take it too easy on Sean.”
“Sean? You mean if I train him, too?”
“Yeah.”
She pulled her hand free of my arm. “Shouldn’t you be telling me the opposite instead?”
I glanced back at Sean. “If he’s gonna become my brother-in-law, he needs to toughen up.”
She smirked. “And how soon will this possibly happen?”
I looked at Holly. “Hopefully, very soon.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Mediterranean Sea
Sebastian
Holly clawed at the bed beneath us as I pumped in and out of her from behind.
“Harder,” she commanded, her words nearly drowned out by the crackling of lightning and thunder outside on the water. We were halfway between Italy and Greece with absolutely nothing around us. I had her all to myself, and it was perfect.
“You sure?” I asked, needing to hear the confirmation.
I pulled out and leaned back to view her perfect arse, then slapped a hand to her backside and palmed her soaking wet sex.
She looked back at me, her eyes half-lidded and drowsy with lust. “Make me scream.”
Fuck. I secured my hands back onto her hips and thrust back inside of her and moved like an animal, pounding hard and fast.
She tossed her head, her silky hair cascading over her back. My name tore free from her lips as I relished in her slickness all over my cock as I moved in and out of her.
Back in Dublin, she’d said to me I’d been holding back, and she’d been right. Not emotionally, but physically, worried I’d be too rough. But she was as wild as me when we made love. Maybe one of these days she’d even let me take her “virgin ass” as she called it. A man could hope.
She moaned as she climaxed a minute later, then I flipped her to her back and finished while on top so I could see her face.
A growl-like sound left my mouth as her eyes locked with mine, and she buried her fingernails into my chest as I came hard.
I kept my hands braced alongside her, not ready to separate our bodies.
She traced the line of the scar at my side, the one I’d gotten when taking down the men I’d thought were responsible for Alessia’s murder. Of course, technically, they did play a part, but they’d been manipulated by Luca, same as me.
I tipped my head to the side, studying her. Worry grew inside of me. “You okay?” I collapsed off to the side of her, my eyes going to my cum on her pussy.
She positioned her hand behind her head, her tits lifting a touch in the proc
ess. Her nipples still erect.
“I just hate how many times you’ve been hurt,” she said softly.
“It won’t happen again.”
“You sure?” She turned to her side to better face me.
“Yes,” I promised, and it was a promise I planned on keeping.
I’d just gotten my sister back, and I was so damn in love with Holly it actually hurt at times . . . no way was I going to ever jeopardize losing either one.
* * *
“Favorite food?” I popped the pistachio from its shell, sitting opposite of her at the table in the mini kitchen area on the boat.
“Any type of pasta with cheese.” She smiled and grabbed the stem of her wine glass. “Your turn.”
“Fish and chips. I’m really a simple guy at heart.”
“Ha.” She swatted a hand into the air. “Nothing simple about you.” She squinted. “Okay, my turn. Celebrity crush?”
I wasn’t sure if I was thrilled with this game anymore. Because feck me, I couldn’t hear her response. If Harrison Reed was her answer, I’d have a mild heart attack.
“Oh, come on. Who?” She rolled her eyes, and she must’ve sensed what was on my mind.
“I’m not much into movies. My life has plenty of adventure.”
She snatched a nut and threw it my way, but I caught it. “Fine. Favorite superhero? Everyone has to have one of those, right?” She set her glass down and leaned over the table. “You totally want to say Batman, but my brother ruined that for you, huh?”
I laughed. “No, I’m actually more of a Superman fan. I always loved the idea of flying as a kid.”
“Well, you’re my superhero.” She lifted her shoulders.
“Can I roll my eyes now?” I pushed the bowl of pistachios off to the side and reached for her hand. “Next question.” I smiled. “Why do you want to make the movie so much?”
She sat back but kept her eyes on me. “My cousin Bree is the actress in the family, but I’ve always had an interest in the TV and movie business. I used to go on set of the productions of some of the local shows our company produced when I was a kid, and I always loved it.” She was beaming. So gorgeous. “I like the magic of what happens behind the scenes. All the little bits that go on that no one knows about, but without them, there’d be no show or movie.”
The Real Deal: A Dublin Nights Novel Page 27
