by Vi Carter
Liam unbuttons the sleeves of his shirt as he walks to the bathroom. I don’t strip but watch him as he pulls the shirt from his back.
“Why a dragon?” I ask, as I step up to his back. My hand hovers over the large black dragon that seems to move and coil as his muscles bunch together.
“After my mother died, I wanted something to remind me of her. To remind me to stay strong.”
My hand touches the dragon’s head and its wings come closer as Liam tenses under my fingertips.
“The dragon is a sign of courage and strength.”
“It’s a beautiful creature.” Just like him.
My hands continue to trail across the dragon before moving around to his stomach. Muscles shift and tighten beneath my touch, and it makes me feel powerful. Liam hasn’t moved and I press my face to his back, inhaling his scent. He doesn’t question what I’m doing, but he just allows me to have this moment. My fingers grip the bottom of his shirt and I pull it from him fully. A heavy thud resounds in my chest as I move around Liam. Black orbs focus on me, they trail my movements. The belt rattles as I unbuckle it. Liam doesn’t stop my progression as I push his trousers and boxers down his hips. I pause when his large manhood springs to life. Swallowing the fear that starts to swirl in my stomach, I don’t give myself time to think. I take all of him in my hand. Liam groans and it’s encouraging. Wrapping my hand around his shaft, I pump really slowly. Taking a peek at him, has color filling my cheeks. Liam’s eyes gleam with a hunger. I hold his stare as I stroke him again and his lids half close. I return my attention to pleasing him when his hand wraps around mine, stopping me. He removes my hands and steps out of his trousers. He had taken off his shoes earlier and all that he wears is socks that he pulls from his feet, before reaching for my top. He isn’t as slow as I was, and all my clothes form a neat bundle at our feet. Taking my hand, Liam leads me into the shower. The first spray of water is cold and I jump back until it heats up.
The hunger in Liam’s eyes hasn’t left and when his arm snakes around my waist, I shiver. Nothing separates us now. It’s flesh and water, and my body seems to mold perfectly against his. His erection presses against my stomach and I want to touch it again. Liam tilts my head back making me look at him and there is something in his eyes that causes my stomach to twist and dive. I don’t overthink it as his lips crash down on mine. A hunger grows inside me, I want this, I want something I’ve never had, and I want it with Liam. My hands grip his face pulling him closer. My legs move apart, craving him.
He breaks the kiss. “Are you sure?” He asks, as his hand trails to my thigh.
“Yes.”
He nods, and lifts my leg high, with his other hand he directs his erection to my entrance. Once he has himself positioned, he takes my other leg and wraps them around his waist. The erection brushes my entrance and I’m wet and eager. Liam’s hands grip my ass, holding me up, and the anticipation has me slamming my lips against his again. He eases in slowly. The burn is instant and tears burn my eyes. It's painful, but the deeper Liam moves inside me, a pleasure starts to build. Liam pauses in his gentle stride.
“Don’t stop,” I say against his lips and he pushes deeper, spreading me, until I take all of him. Once he’s in, he slides back out. I hold still as the burning pain recedes and each stride starts to bring pleasure. Liam keeps his strides slow, moving his full erection out of me before filling me back up. Throwing my head back, I let out a moan that’s building inside me. Gripping Liam’s shoulders, the tightness of his body starts to show his strain.
“Go faster,” I say.
Liam slides out of me before slamming back in, his movements grow faster, almost frantic and I’m not sure what’s building inside me. My teeth sink into his shoulder and he hisses, pounding into me faster. I release his flesh and let my head rest against the tiles. Liam’s body pounds mine against the wall and I’ve never felt anything like this. I want to let go, but I don’t want this to end.
“I’m going to come.” His confession brings me to my own climax, and as he thrust his final few thrusts, I shatter with him, while calling out his name.
I can feel the warmth of his seed pour inside me and my body responds by releasing more juices. I’m kissing his shoulder where I bit him, the marks clear. Liam twitches inside me, the sensation has me looking at him. He’s watching me and I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.
“Hi.”
His eyes are a light brown with darker swirls, and when he smiles at me, he looks so young and free.
“Hi to you too.”
His response has me laughing. I bite my lip as his eyes trail across my face before landing on my lips.
“Are you okay?” He asks, between kisses.
“More than okay.” His smile against my lips sends my heart racing.
He slowly removes himself from me, before setting me down on the shower tiles. My legs feel stiff and I’m grateful when he holds me tightly around the waist.
“Was that nice for you?” I ask, a bit shyly. I hadn’t done anything, but now that it was over I wondered how I compared.
“Yes.”
I glance up at Liam. He’s still holding me, looking at me with wide eyes.
“The biting was different.” His lip tugs up slightly.
My cheeks heat. “I kind of marked you.” I say, running my fingers over the bright red teeth marks that still look stark against his perfect skin.
“I like that you marked me.”
My heart gives a heavy thud with pride. He had marked me too, only his mark was permanent. No matter what happened, Liam O’Reagan took my virginity and I was glad I gave it to him. I gave it to someone I loved. I don’t want him to see my face, so I kiss him softly and he closes his eyes. His hands creep up my back and my own snake around his waist. The kiss slowly dissolves and Liam just holds me under the spray of water. His chin rests on the top of my head and I listen to the steady beat of his heart.
My body is sore as I sit at the breakfast bar and watch Liam make us an omelet. He looks good in the kitchen with no top on. His stance is relaxed and when he looks at me, he smiles. My heart swells and grows each time our eyes clash. I don’t want to eat; I want Liam inside me again. The thoughts make me shift on the stool.
“It’s almost ready.”
It does smell divine, but I’m struggling to stay focused. All that skin is making me remember what it feels like against mine. “What will we do after the food?” I ask as Liam places a plate in front of me.
“What would you like to do?” He sits down and sprinkles some pepper on the omelet.
“I can think of a few things,” I mumble as I start to cut up my omelet.
“Like what?” Liam speaks around a fork full of food.
We aren’t on the same wavelength here. “We could go to bed,” I say, hoping my face isn’t burning.
“You’re tired?” he asks seriously.
If that’s how I got him into bed. “Yes, exhausted.”
He chews another fork full of food. “Okay, we can do that.” He really doesn’t hear the double meaning. My body tightens and relaxes with excitement. I eat the omelet quickly and have to wait for Liam to finish his.
“Do you have to eat so slow?” I ask, feeling a sense of impatience grow.
“You in a hurry?”
My cheeks flame, was I going to have to spell it out for him? My silence has his eyes widening.
“I’m finished.” He pushes his stool back and takes my hand, leading us to the bedroom.
“Tell me what you want, Svetlana,” Liam speaks while removing his trousers, his erection is there in all its glory, as he stalks towards me, I move back.
“I want you inside me.” I hold his fierce gaze and he gives a wicked smile that I’ve never seen before.
“I won’t be gentle this time.” His fingers circle my wrists and excitement has me clenching my legs.
“I won’t be gentle with you either.” I hold my head high and watch Liam’s smile grow.
“Good.” He whispers, before pushing me onto the bed. The way he moves over me has me praying that I didn’t bite off more than I can chew.
CHAPTER SIX
LIAM
“I can’t just put him in an induced coma.” George’s words annoy me, I glance at my ringing phone. It’s Connor, I was wondering when he would ring.
“You will, George,” I say, as I leave the hospital. Keeping father asleep would keep him out of this mess. If he woke up, I had no idea what meddling he would get up to.
“Yes, Connor.”
Svetlana looks bored in the car. She was excited to get out but I couldn’t bring her into the hospital. Soon she would be free. I hated caging her, she wasn’t meant to be caged. When her eyes settle on me, she smiles. No one has ever looked at me like that before.
“Is he okay?”
“No. He’s in a coma fighting for his life,” I answer bluntly.
“Jesus, you know it wasn’t us.”
I stop at the driver’s door and don’t get in. “I don’t know that, Connor.”
“Tom, wouldn’t kill his brother,” Connor says.
“But he would kill his nephew?” I open the car door and climb in. “Margret was handed over to the Czech and they killed her. Maybe that’s knowledge you would like to pass on to your father.”
“I haven’t told them anything.”
I start the car up. “Good. Now you know what to say.” I hang up, and turn to Svetlana.
“How is he?” Her concern for my father’s well-being is nice.
“I’m sure he’ll live,” I tell her to ease any worry she might have.
We drive back to the house where Darragh, Finn, and Shane wait for me. What I don’t expect is Connor being there.
“Brothers.” I greet them, but they all seem more interested with who’s with me.
“I’ll just go make some food,” Svetlana says.
I nod my thanks to her. No one speaks until she is out of the room. I wait until I hear the click of the door that leads down to my quarters.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
“This wasn’t the RA.” Darragh speaks up, standing shoulder to shoulder with Connor.
“Okay,” I answer.
Darragh’s shoulders deflate.
“Okay as in you’re not going to retaliate,” Connor asks.
“You don’t want Michael avenged?”
Now Finn and Darragh look to Connor.
“It wasn’t the RA.”
I nod. “Did you pass on my message?”
Connor’s jaw clenches. “Yes.”
“Please send my condolences as well.”
Darragh moves to the fridge and gets a bottle of water. “Anyone want a drink?” He offers. We all decline except for Finn. I wait until Darragh’s finished guzzling down the water.
“Is that all?” I ask Connor as he seems to be in charge.
“Tom wants to meet you.” Connor confirms my suspicions that this wasn’t a simple matter.
“No Liam, you can’t.” Finn jumps in. These are the first words he has spoken.
“What does he want with Liam?” Darragh sounds suspicious of Connor now, and I lean back against the wall and let them squabble it out. It was pretty perfect. It was something I was going to demand, to see Tom, so having Tom reach out was ideal.
“It’s just to let him know that he didn’t do this to Michael.” Connor opens up his hands as he speaks.
“What about my man, Gregor? Someone sawed off his hands, and left them in my living room.”
Finn visibly pales. “What the fuck?”
“Jesus, why didn’t you say something?” Darragh questions quickly, while taking a cigarette from behind his ear, and lighting it up.
I answer neither of them, but wait for Connor to answer me.
“I don’t know Liam. You must piss off a lot of people,” Connor fires back.
Finn sits down, while running his hands through his hair. “Was that girl down there when it happened?”
Finn, always so soft. “Yes. Svetlana, was the one who found them.”
“Can’t you send her home?” Finn shakes his head, while pointing at the table.
“No.”
“Tell Tom I’ll meet him,” I say to Connor. “Today.” I add as I leave the kitchen.
***
After spending some time with Svetlana, I leave her with Finn. She doesn’t want him around and he doesn’t want to be there, which makes them a perfect fit.
I hadn’t far to go before I reached Carrickmacross where Tom was waiting for me. I clocked six men as I walked through the lobby, and into the hotel restaurant, that was closed this time of day. Tom doesn’t rise as I enter.
“How’s your father?” He asks, the moment I open my suit jacket and sit down.
“Critical.” I don’t expect the sadness that I see in his eyes.
“Michael is strong, he will pull through.”
No, he won’t. I don’t reassure Tom with lies.
“We didn’t do this Liam.”
“Did Connor tell you about Margret?” I say, and see I’ve hit a cord.
Tom clenches his fists. “She was such a good girl. Her mother is devastated.”
“She was a very clever bomb maker as well.” I state.
Tom sits back. “I’ve wondered why the Czech have taken Margret.”
“She attacked one of their people who’s under my protection.”
“Svetlana,” Tom says, and I’m not surprised he knows who she is.
“They took Margret, and I wish I had been able to stop them.”
Tom laughs, but it holds no humor. “You’re very like Michael, great at talking your way out of situations. I’m just not sure how much I believe.”
I didn’t need him to believe everything I was saying, I just needed to plant enough seeds so doubt would grow and grow.
“Honestly, Tom. If I had gotten my hands on the girl, I would have killed her.” Mixing the truth with lies was also a tactic that worked. “After all, someone tried to kill my brother and succeeded in killing my sister-in-law.”
“That debt isn’t cleared.” Tom stamps his finger onto the table.
I needed to steer him away from Shane. “Are you sure it wasn’t your men who attempted to kill Shane, but shot my father instead?”
“Listen to me boy and listen good. I had nothing to do with my brother. No one would touch him.”
“Either way, he’s fighting for his life, Tom.” I sit back and take a quick count of the men in the room. The three of them are carrying guns. Mine are stashed in the glove compartment in the car. I didn’t want to risk bringing them in. I didn’t think that Tom would harm me.
“The Czech reassure me that they had nothing to do with my father, they are quite convinced that you are the one behind my father’s attack.”
Tom’s fist comes down hard and fast on the table, but I don’t flinch. “Those bastards are trying to set us up against each other.”
I raise both eyebrows in response. “So what do you propose we do, Tom?” I tilt my head to the side and wait for him to come up with the plan that I’ve already laid out.
“We attack together, Liam.” Tom raises both eyebrows.
“I work with these people,” I remind him.
“You have my word that I never touched Michael. They did. Otherwise why point the finger at me.” Tom drums his fingers on the table.
“How do I know this isn’t a set up?” I pick up two pint mats and place them together.
“You could be setting me up,” Tom fires back.
I place the mats back on the table. “I’m not,” I answer simply.
“You have my word.” Tom reaches out his hand for me to take. “Do we have a deal? Let’s take care of these Russian bastards once and for all.”
“What about my family?”
Tom closes his open palm. “Shane took my son’s life.” A deadness enters Tom’s eyes.
“You took my sister-in-law's li
fe, and continue to attack my home.” I release the mats now, and take a quick glance around the room. The men are still in the same positions.
“There will be no more attacks. I want this resolved with the Czech then we can talk more.”
It was fair enough, but I pretended to ponder on it for a bit longer. This time I reach my hand across the table and Tom takes it immediately.
“We have a deal,” I say.
***
Connor leans against my Range Rover.
“What happened?” he pushes off the passenger door and faces me.
Unlocking the Jeep, I climb in and I’m not happy when he gets into the passenger side. I lock the doors and his eyes shoot to his own door. He shifts, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket before facing me again.
“Why not ask your father?” I don’t start the jeep but slowly put on my seatbelt.
“I’m asking you, Liam.”
I start the jeep. “Is that all?”
“I’m not Darragh, or Finn.” He’s moving closer to me, but I don’t flinch.
“No you’re not–what is it that you want Connor?” I ask, removing my phone from the inside of my jacket pocket and sitting it in its dock.
“I want to know if he told you who shot Shane?”
He had my attention, but I continue to set my phone up. “Why?”
His silence has me glancing at him. “No, he didn’t.”
Connor nods. He takes a quick peek out his window before returning his attention to me. “I’ll give you the name if you tell me who killed mam.”
“Why don’t you give me the name of the person who tried to kill Shane and I’ll consider it.”
“No. I want mother’s killer first.”
I sit fully back in my seat now. “Why are you so convinced that I know it?”
Connor shrugs. “Someone in our house did it Liam. You seem to know everything, so you’re my best bet.”
“I’m going home now. Are you coming with me?”
Connor shakes his head and exhales quickly. “That’s not my home.” He pulls the door handle but its locked. Without facing me he speaks through clenched teeth. “Could you open the door, please?”
