by Sam Mariano
Despite his words, Sin finally stops hitting him.
He cocks his gun and pushes the barrel against Rafe’s forehead. “You still in there, motherfucker?”
“Fuck you,” Rafe grunts.
Pressing the gun harder into Rafe’s forehead, Sin says, “No, fuck you. You’re the one with a gun to your head, asshole. It won’t take much at this point to convince me to pull the trigger, but I guess I should tell you, that’s not why I fucking came here tonight.”
“Bullshit,” Rafe bites back. “Do I look like a fucking idiot?”
“No, you look like shit.” Raising his voice, he says, “Laurel, go get this asshole an ice pack to put on his face.”
What?
I don’t know, but I don’t want to miss anything, so I run to the fridge, grab an ice pack, a hand towel, and hasten back to the living room. Sin is still sitting on top of Rafe, still with the gun to his head, so I don’t try to shove the stuff at him. It’s cold, so I use the towel to hold the ice pack and wait.
“Now, if you can stop making me want to kill for five fucking seconds, I’m going to give you your options. Cool?” Sin asks, cocking an eyebrow at Rafe.
Rafe doesn’t respond, he just casts me a mean look.
Sin punches him again, then puts the gun back against his forehead. “Try again, dickbag. She’s the only reason you even stand a chance at walking out of here.”
“Just say what you need to say,” Rafe tells him.
“You have a big problem on your hands,” Sin informs him. “Not me—a bigger problem. There’s a mutiny brewing. I have a list as long as my arm of people who want you out of power, and at the top of that list is Gio. He wants your seat. Offered to bring me up if I turned on you.”
“Offered that right out of the blue, huh?” Rafe asks, not nearly as cowed as a man in his position should be.
“No, not out of the blue. Right on the heels of you telling Theo to take me out,” Sin replies. “Guess it seemed like an opportune time.”
My eyes widen, but Rafe doesn’t even deny it. Sighing, he reaches a hand out at me. “Give me the fucking towel.”
“I’m not sure I want to give you the towel now,” I inform him. “You sent someone to kill Sin?”
“Sin killed him first, don’t worry.”
“Good,” I snap.
“Give me the towel,” he says.
“No.”
Rafe sighs, thumping his head against the hardwood floor. “Fucking Christ.”
“Now, before the barrel of your gun touched Laurel, I came up with a different idea. She has this yearning to keep you around, though right now I can’t think why,” Sin informs Rafe.
“Right now I am also not married to that idea. Maybe you should kill him and we’ll just keep his house,” I suggest. “Just us playing by the pool with the baby also sounds fine, if he’s going to be a murdery bastard.”
“Thanks,” Rafe says dryly. “You’re a lot of help.”
“I’m not taking that off the table just yet,” Sin murmurs. “My first idea was this: I’m going to help you clean house. Wipe out all the assholes who want you gone—all of them. Attack with an iron fist. No more of this salvaging shit. If they were willing to flip, they’re gone, no matter who they are. One final round of housecleaning and clear out all the bad apples. It’s not going to be a small job. We’re going to need help. You’re going to have to call Mateo and ask if he can send us some guys, not necessarily to help us wipe them all out, but to help us keep the ship steady in the meantime while the ripples from this shit hit our crew. Other crews are going to hear about it. I have to kill Gio, he’s in too deep. He was in bed with Cassandra Carmichael—literally. She’s dead now.”
That gets Rafe’s attention. He tries to sit up. “What?”
“She tried to have Laurel poisoned. Abortion pill or some shit, didn’t want her to have your baby. Marlena did the drop. She’s dead, too.”
Rafe’s head falls back against the floor and he brings his hands up to cover his face.
“Yeah, I’ve been busy. Anyway,” Sin says, his gun moved away from Rafe’s face, but not putting it away yet. “This shit between us? It has to be over. We’ve gotta squash it. After you apologize to Laurel for that bullshit you just pulled,” he adds. “You’re gonna have to do that first. Then, once I help you get your crew cleaned up, you’re going to need a new number two to help you run shit. I’m giving myself a promotion since you never got around to it. I’m your new number two. I also get Laurel. She’s mine now. If you can accept these terms, great, let’s get to work. If you can’t, I’ll feed you a couple bullets and persuade Carly to move Vince out here so there’s a Morelli technically on the throne, but I’ll be the one calling the shots. I can do a better fucking job. I don’t want that job necessarily, but having her sister nearby would probably make Laurel pretty damn happy, so I can go for either option. We can work together and be stronger, or we can take each other on, but I’d caution you to notice which one of us is pinned to the floor with a bloody everything if you’re leaning toward the latter option. Do not try to fake me out. I’ve already done that shit with Gio, and I’ll see right through it. If I’m gonna have to kill you, I’d just as soon do it now and get it over with. If you agree to my terms, you better mean it. If you even think about double crossing me, I’ll kill Virginia. I know that matters to you now.”
“Fuck off,” Rafe mutters. “You already killed every other fucking woman I know.”
Sin shrugs. “You need to have better taste when it comes to women. I like Virginia. You should see if you can make it work with her. She could keep you busy. Laurel likes her, too, and if I’m not moving Vince and Carly out here, we’re gonna need couple friends.”
“I’m not fucking Virginia. And unless you’re trying to fuck me, you wanna get the fuck off me?” Rafe adds.
Now Sin nods at me as he climbs off Rafe. “Give him the towel.”
Since Sin asked, I do. Rafe levels me an unimpressed look as if to call me out on it, but I’m not a bit sorry. If Sin told me clean Rafe’s wounds, I would. If Rafe asked me for a Kleenex, I would tell him to fuck off.
“Wait,” Sin says, pointing at Rafe. “Apologize to Laurel.”
Rafe rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry I held a gun to your head, Laurel.”
“I forgive you for that, but not for sending someone to kill Sin,” I inform him primly. “You can fuck right off for that.”
Rafe shakes his head, wiping the blood off his face, then turning the towel over and wrapping up the ice pack. “I don’t even know where to put this. Fuck, if you’re not beating the shit out of people anymore, we’re wasting your talents.”
“I liked Theo to replace me, but now I guess it has to be Shane. Your fucking fault. Shouldn’t have sent one of our best guys after me, you dick,” Sin mutters.
Nodding at me, Rafe says, “We shouldn’t be talking about any of this in front of her.”
Sin cocks an eyebrow. “Laurel?” He wraps his arm around my waist, yanking me against his side. “She was gonna stab you. She’s my little badass. She’s fine.”
“Only if absolutely necessary,” I add, but I can’t help beaming under Sin’s praise. Plus he just called me his again, and this time in front of Rafe. After beating the living shit out of him and forcing him to apologize to me. My man is the hottest.
43
Laurel
Sin doesn’t do a thorough check of the house tonight. It’s sexy because I know that means he’s not worried, that he’s taken care of every threat, that he’s made sure we’re safe.
Also I’m just finding everything he does tonight insanely hot. When we talked in bed about his job, I never expected I’d get to see anything like what I saw tonight. It was terrifying at the time, of course, but seeing what he’s capable of ignites a fire in my belly that can only be smothered by his magnificent body. I don’t like that he takes such big risks with his life, but God, his danger does things to me.
Sin’s just as hungry
for me. We barely get inside the house and he pushes me back against the wall, kicking the door shut. He plants a hand on the wall and leans so close I can smell him. He has his regular Sin scent, but more tonight. He’s dirty and bloody and sweaty. Maybe the primitive scent of him is another reason I’m so damn turned on, but I’m near to humping the man’s perfectly muscled thigh.
Then he crushes his mouth against mine and I’m gone. I wrap my arms around him, clinging to his powerful shoulders to keep myself up as he carries me away with everything Sin. His scent, his danger, his kisses, his heart. After years of being cold and mean, bitter and closed off, I knocked out some of his walls. His fault. He shouldn’t have cuffed me to one and expected I wouldn’t do any damage.
Breaking away from my mouth, his lips travel down my neck. We’re standing here making out in the dark, too caught up in each other to even hit a light switch.
“Upstairs,” I tell him, when I catch my breath enough to speak.
Sin smiles, pulling back just enough to look at me, but staying close. Gesturing to his overall appearance with the hand not braced against the wall, he says, “I killed a bitch and beat the shit out of your sorta-ex today. I’m filthy. I can’t fuck you for the first time like this.”
“Um, yes you can,” I assure him.
His smile drifts to a smirk. “You give me permission, huh?”
“I give you all the permission. All the deeds. All the agreements. I accept your terms of service. Show me the box, I’ll click it.”
“You are such a fucking nerd,” he tells me.
I poke him in the chest, smiling. “Don’t even pretend you don’t love it.”
He smiles and nuzzles into my neck, then surprises me by planting his hands under my ass and lifting me. “Wrap your legs. We’re going to take a shower.”
Excitement leaps low in my belly as I lock my legs around him. “Mm, I like showering together,” I murmur with approval.
“I like having you home,” he states.
All my feelings are out of whack. Now heat blossoms within me and I wrap my arms around him as he carries me upstairs. “I like that, too.”
Once we’re shut inside the bathroom together, he lets me slide down his hard body. My nipples ache against the fabric of my bra, wanting out, yearning for his attention. Sin reaches for the hem of my T-shirt, immediately lifting it and drawing it over my head. I lift my arms to help him. It fills me up inside when his dark eyes rake over my body, then he grabs me, planting a hand on my back, and pulls me close so he can kiss my breasts.
I’m already needy and throbbing, desperate for his touch, but I need more than his touch. It feels like I’ve waited for-fucking-ever for this man; I want his dick. I want it inside me. I don’t want to wait another minute.
He knows that, but he makes me wait anyway.
“I bet you’re so fucking wet right now, aren’t you, pretty girl?” he murmurs.
I feel like I’ve swallowed my heart. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
His grin is wolfish, then he backs me up against the bathroom door and kisses me again. I tangle my fingers in his hair, closing my eyes and hooking a leg around his thigh, trying to pull him closer. I can’t even get him any closer—I’m already plastered to the wall—but I want him closer anyway. He kisses me hard, with brutal lips and a forceful tongue. I can’t get enough. There’s a fire in my heart, in my soul, between my legs—I’m on fire everywhere with want for this man.
After kissing the fuck out of me, he breaks away suddenly and strips off his clothes. I squeeze my thighs together, needing friction, needing him. I want to taste him, so, so badly, but more than that I want to make sure he fucks me this time, so I’m not about to get on my knees.
Well, unless he tells me to. If I’m being honest, he could just look at the ground pointedly and I’d probably drop to my knees, but dammit, I’m trying to hold out.
It gets even harder because he’s even sexy when he undresses. Forget the shower; I want to lick every inch of his incredible body. Right now he’s so much scarier than usual, in the sexy way I like. As he strips off his bloody shirt, he may as well be a conquering soldier stripping off his battle armor. He could be a bawdy Scottish warrior (no doubt there are a few of those somewhere in his bloodline), returning home from battle to slake his lusts inside his ladylove.
I can’t help smirking at my own thoughts. I’m basically his old timey tavern wench in my head right now. I like it a lot. I know what we’re going to be for Halloween this year.
“What?” Sin asks.
I shake my head. “I’m just glad you can’t hear my thoughts. I’m taking nerd to a new level over here, and also objectifying you a lot.”
“Objectify away,” he says, chuckling as he tosses the last of his clothing.
“I know an Anglophile is a person who loves the English, but is there a Scottish equivalent? A Scotophile? Maybe Celtophile? Is that a thing? I think you might have turned me into one.”
“You’re not seriously asking me, right?” he asks.
“I’ll Google it tomorrow,” I assure him.
“You do that.” Nodding at my shorts, he asks, “Why are you still wearing clothes?”
“Oh, great question. I’m such a naughty tavern wench,” I mutter, my fingers deftly pushing the button through the button hole.
He looks a little afraid. “What?”
I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it now. We’ll revisit come Halloween. You’re gonna like it.”
“You can dress up as a naughty tavern wench for Halloween,” he says. “I have no problem with that.”
I flash him a smile as I step out of my shorts. “You might when you see your corresponding costume.”
“No,” he replies instantly.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I assure him.
“We won’t.”
“I’m going to serve you ale. Or mead? I don’t know much about alcohol. I’ll do some research to make sure I’m historically accurate. I can’t have any, because for the sake of our costumes and the character back stories I’m cooking up, you knocked me up.” I rub my tummy. “Put your wee bairn in my belly.”
“Stop. I’m not going to participate in whatever this is.”
“You don’t even have to wear it outside the house. Just for me,” I promise.
“This isn’t going to happen.”
I nod my head. “It is. It’s okay. Accept it. I’m going to reward you for it. So many rewards. Trust me, you’re going to want to be buried in that costume by the time I’m done with you.”
He does not appear convinced, but rather than waste time telling me no now, he turns his attention to my body as I shimmy out of my panties. When I reach back to unhook my bra, Sin spins me around, tenderly pressing his lips to the ball of my shoulder, then leaves a trail of kisses all the way to my neck.
I sigh, dropping my bra and wrapping my arms around him just in time for his lips to find mine. He breaks away and turns to the tub so he can turn on the water and adjust the temperature. I reach up and grab a clean wash cloth and a pair of towels off the rack on the wall. I leave the towels on the sink and bring the wash cloth with me.
“Let’s get you clean,” I say, pulling the curtain shut behind me.
Sin smiles, wrapping an arm around my waist and tugging me close. “I’m beginning to think you only want me for my body.”
“I definitely want you for your body. I would sacrifice goats on a mountain top at midnight for this body. I want all the rest of you too, though, so it’s okay.”
Since we’re standing under the spray together, we’re both soaking wet already. I hold the cloth over my shoulder and catch some water in it until it’s soaked through, then I look around for his soap. He grabs a bar from behind me and hands it over.
“Thank you,” I say, rubbing it in the cloth to soap it up.
Looking faintly amused, he asks, “Are you going to clean me?”
I nod my head, handing back the soap. “Mm hm
m. I’m gonna take good care of you.”
“I think taking care of you is my job,” he states.
“It’s both our jobs. We’ll take care of each other.” My body craves his and I can’t stay away, so I push my chest against his, reaching behind his back and running the cloth along his spine. He bends his head and kisses my neck as I continue to soap up his back. He doesn’t point out that his back is probably the part of him least in need of washing. He knows I just want to hold him and he lets me.
For once, there’s no rush. We’re not running from anything, we’re not stealing moments. This moment is ours. Every moment after this is ours. We belong to each other now. We always have from the moment he stormed across the threshold into Rafe’s house and his eyes met mine, but now we know it, and the whole world knows it, too.
If that’s not a reason to just stand here in his arms and soak him up, I don’t know what is.
“I’m gonna marry you,” he tells me.
Between the sound of the water beating down on us and thundering of my heart, I can’t be sure I heard him right. Pulling back, I meet his gaze. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” he murmurs, nipping at my neck with his teeth.
My stomach feels all wonky, full of butterflies and also in a freefall. A butterfly-filled freefall. Yeah, that sounds right.
“You’re going to marry me,” I repeat, flushing even though the words were his.
“That’s right,” he tells me, snatching the cloth out of my hand and pulling back so he can soap his chest. “You have a problem with that?”
I can’t help laughing at this crazy man. “I mean, that’s not how people traditionally ask, so I’m not entirely sure how to respond to it. Yes? Try again with a question mark in there somewhere?”
Sin just smirks at me. “Wasn’t a question.”
“You are so fucking cocky, I can’t even handle it,” I inform him.
