Two Weeks Later
“I need a drink, and you’re going with me,” Pip said in lieu of a greeting when I answered her call.
“Excuse me?” I replied, still processing her words.
“We haven’t had a girls’ night in almost a year, sis. It’s time. And after everything that’s happened recently, we could both use some fun.”
“I suppose you’re in luck. I just talked to Sante, and I could use a drink myself.”
“Oh yeah? What’s my sweet cousin up to?”
I groaned. “He’s retracted his promise to stay in school. I think he’s doing pretty well, but I’m disappointed he won’t get his diploma.”
“He still staying with Renzo?”
“Yeah, but he’s signed a lease for an apartment, and our old house goes on the market next week.” It shouldn’t have bothered me because there was nothing at the house I wanted to keep. I’d gone over and taken everything of Mom’s that I wanted, but something about letting go of the past was still hard.
“He’ll be fine, Em. It’s not like he has to go out and find a job. As long as things are good between you two, that’s all that matters.”
I smiled, glancing down at the new bracelet he’d given me a couple of days ago. It was the exact same as the one he’d given me before, but this one read Little Big. He’d been equally ready to cut ties with our father as I’d been once he’d heard what Dad had done. Sante struggled with his anger, but overall, our relationship was stronger than ever. “Yeah, we’re good. So about drinks. When and where were you thinking?”
“Tonight, and I don’t give a crap where so long as the vibe is right.”
“The vibe?” I ask, smiling.
“Yeah. I’m not talking chardonnay at a tapas bar. We’re going out. To a club. Somewhere with music we can dance to and hot guys who will buy us drinks.”
“Uh, married over here, remember?” I held up my ring-clad hand even though she couldn’t see it through the phone.
“Whatever. You don’t have to sleep with them.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, let me check with Conner and get back to you.”
“And that right there is why I’m not interested in bossy men,” she groused out of nowhere. “Think they own everything they touch.”
Okaaay. Someone’s a little sensitive.
“Text you in a bit,” I said, keeping my thoughts to myself.
“Sounds good, but we’re going, whether he likes it or not.” Then she hung up. I had to laugh. My cousin was a little crazy, but she was also the best.
I walked back to Conner’s office, where he spent most afternoons until it was time to head into Bastion. It was a Friday afternoon, so he likely had plans to work. That was the only drawback about his business—weekends were peak hours of operation.
“Hey, you,” I greeted softly. “Mind if I interrupt for a minute?”
“You don’t even need to ask.” He leaned away from the desk and let his hungry gaze sweep over me. “What’s up?”
“Pip called. She wants me to go out with her tonight, like … a girls’ night.” I told myself to be assertive, but the words still sounded like a question. I was a little worried about how he’d react.
Conner steepled his fingers together. “I don’t see a problem with that, so long as you take Shae with you.”
“Really?” He hadn’t seemed as bothered by my friendship with Shae anymore, but I was still surprised he’d send us to a club together.
“Really. Unless there’s a reason I should be concerned?” He raised a masculine brow.
I suppressed a grin. “Not at all. Though, I’m not sure if she’ll be free tonight.”
“She was slotted to work. I’ll let her know the plans have changed. And don’t forget we have Nana’s birthday gathering tomorrow.”
“It won’t be a problem. Guess I should start getting ready. Pip may want to grab dinner before we go out.”
“I’ll take you on my way to work. Just let me know the plan, and I’ll pass it along to Shae.”
I walked around the desk to him, bending to bring my lips to his. “Thanks, baby.”
His hand gripped the back of my leg, slowly sliding up and down, the tips of his fingers teasing just shy of the apex of my thighs. “Let me see what you plan to wear first, then decide if you want to thank me.”
It was my turn to raise a challenging brow. Being courteous about checking with him before I made plans was one thing, but this modern woman would wear whatever the hell she wanted. In fact, I suddenly felt an intense need to wear my most revealing, most salacious dress. Not that I even owned anything all that risqué, but I was about to dig around and see what I could uncover.
I hmphed haughtily and withdrew from the room.
An hour later, I was back in Conner’s office, approaching his desk in a sage green dress that stopped just short of my ass, clinging to every curve I possessed. It wasn’t particularly revealing otherwise—the scoop neck didn’t descend too low, and it even had long sleeves, but that didn’t detract one bit from the sex appeal. I looked smoking hot, from the dress to the sculpted waves in my hair to my winged eyeliner.
Soaking up every bit of confidence my outfit provided, I sauntered up to Conner and leaned my hip against the side of his desk. “All ready,” I said coyly, reveling in the way his entire body stiffened at the sight of me and his eyes dilated to jet black.
He’d gone from civil to savage in the blink of his sapphire eyes.
He eased up from his chair, pushing it back to make room for me. “Come here.” The dark command wrapped like black silk around my throat, tugging me toward him. I slipped into the space between him and the desk, the cleft of my ass resting on the hard wood behind me.
In a matter of a second, he’d pulled his laptop out from behind me and lifted me onto the desk. Then his hand was on my chest, pressing me down flat, my knees raising involuntarily to follow my body. Conner slipped off my heels and set my feet on the edge of the desk. I was open wide to him, the thin fabric of my thong the only thing shielding my slick center from his view.
“Fuck if I’m sending you out like that.” His fingers glided beneath my panties, then swiftly ripped away the crotch. Before I could argue, his mouth was on me.
I gasped and writhed. He licked and sucked and nipped until I was totally mindless. I was so lost in the sensation that I didn’t notice until too late that he’d sucked what had to be a remarkable hickey on my inner thigh. I couldn’t even complain, not when he had me seeing stars seconds later. My orgasm ricocheted out from my pussy, barreling through my body until it filled every nook and cranny with euphoric bliss.
“You gave me a hickey,” I said weekly, my brain frazzled.
He kissed the spot tenderly before helping me back upright. “Go put some panties on. It’s time to leave.”
I was going to argue that he’d ignored my comment when I suddenly realized the thong I’d been wearing was the only clean one I had left. “Dammit, the only thing left in my drawer is period panties.”
Wait, wasn’t the laundry done two days ago? I should have more than enough clean thongs.
“I suppose you’ll have to make do,” he said, patting my ass to hurry me along, but I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Did you do this on purpose? Are you holding my thongs captive?”
The most salacious, shit-eating grin I’d ever seen spread across his face. “You can have them back tomorrow. Now, you better hurry, or you’ll be late.”
It was so brutish and ridiculous that I couldn’t help the hint of a smile when I rolled my eyes and walked away.
“This is exactly what I needed,” Pip called over the pulsing music. “And Shae is really great. I’m glad Conner sent her along, even though it was unnecessary.”
We both looked toward the dance floor, where Shae had the eye of every man and woman in the place.
“And, with her here, we didn’t even need our fake IDs,” I added, lifting my glass in a toast.
“Hell yeah!” Pip cheered, clinking her martini into mine before we both drank.
We’d started our night with yummy Mexican and margaritas before heading to the club and kicking things off with a Patrón shot. We were on our second martini, and I felt it.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
My brows drew together in confusion at Pippa’s sudden outburst. I followed her scathing stare to find Bishop across the room, glaring at Pip with an equal degree of fury. I’d never seen the normally playful man look so serious. So savage.
“Why do I get the sense you two know each other?” Sure, they’d met at my wedding, but their reaction to one another went well beyond acquaintances.
She took a deep breath and brought her eyes back to me. “Remember when we were drinking at your place and Conner showed up? He had Bishop take me home that day.”
I’d completely forgotten.
“Aaand?” I prompted, knowing there had to be more to that story. You didn’t have a staring match like that with someone you barely knew.
“We kind of … got to know each other.” Pippa, queen of no regrets and feminist extraordinaire, dropped her gaze to the table in an uncharacteristic show of bashfulness.
“Uh, you do realize you’re going to have to give me more than that,” I balked at her.
She shook her head, exasperated, and grabbed my hand. “Okay, but not here. Let’s get out there and dance. We can dish later.”
Oh, man. This is going to be good.
I let her lead me to the dance floor, knowing I would corner her for information later. A Lady Gaga dance mix reverberated from the speakers and into my body, where it electrified the alcohol already buzzing in my veins. I felt amazing. We joined Shae, the three of us forming a small circle. It didn’t last long, though. Shae pulled the woman she’d been dancing with against her, leaving Pip and me together. We moved closer to one another, but that didn’t stop a guy from coming up behind her and joining our duo.
Having been in this situation before, I gave her the you want help? eyebrow lift. I could easily pull her away and give this guy the slip, but Pip waved me off. Not only was she okay with the intrusion but she also leaned back into him, making a show of it. The move was, again, out of character, and I knew the motivation seconds later when Bishop plowed through the crowd and yanked the two of us off the dance floor.
“Noemi, call your husband to come get you. We’re leaving.” He let out a sharp, short whistle that instantly had Shae’s attention. He motioned to me, then began to tow my cousin toward the exit.
Both wide-eyed, we gaped at one another as she disappeared into the crowd.
What the hell just happened?
Maybe it was the alcohol, but I doubled over in a fit of giggles. I should have been outraged for my poor cousin, yet all I could do was laugh. Someone had met her match.
I explained to Shae what had happened when she joined me. She wasn’t ready to call it a night and suggested we stay, but I was ready to go home. We went out front so I could call Conner, then she waited with me until he arrived.
“I can’t believe he fucking left you there,” Conner grumbled once we were headed home.
“I assume you sent him to keep an eye on us?” It seemed unnecessary since he’d already sent Shae with us, but I wasn’t totally shocked.
“No, I didn’t,” he bit out.
“Really,” I mused. That was interesting. “Did you know something was going on with them?”
“No. Makes me think there isn’t anything. He’s not the type to keep secrets.”
“Neither is Pip, but there was definitely something going on. And don’t be too upset, he didn’t leave me alone. You said yourself that Shae kicks ass.”
He grunted, not taking his eyes from the road.
I watched as he shifted gears. “I just realized how freaking hot it is to watch you drive a stick,” I said dazedly, reaching my hand across the console to ride up his muscular thigh.
“Fuck, woman.” That was all he said before the car surged forward.
He had me home and naked in record time, erasing all thoughts of my cousin.
Conner had warned me not to drink too much, so I did my best to hide my headache the next morning. He must have known, though, because I found two painkillers and a bottle of water sitting on the bathroom vanity after I showered. By the time we left the house for Nana’s party, I was much better.
The Byrne family matriarch was turning eighty-five. She and Paddy made a rare departure from their house, conditioning their appearance on holding the party at a pub. The family had found the largest Irish bar they could and bought it out for the afternoon. The place was decorated floor to ceiling in shades of lavender, Nana’s favorite color, and filled to the brim with family.
We wove our way back to the birthday girl first. She fussed that we’d all made too much commotion over her, but it was plain to see that she was delighted. I’d quickly come to adore Conner’s grandmother and was so happy to be a part of her special day. We talked for a bit, then made way for the newest arrivals to get their chance with her.
Settling in, Conner got himself a Guinness while I stuck to soda. My stomach wasn’t ready to tackle alcohol yet so soon after my night out.
“I didn’t realize Mia had been invited,” I said to my husband after spotting his birth mother and her husband across the room.
“I guess Mom invited her. The two have gotten together twice over the last couple of weeks. Apparently, they’re really hitting it off. Feels a little strange, but I’m getting used to it.”
“That’s really great. Your mom could easily have felt threatened by her. The whole family has handled it so well. Mostly.”
Conner had told his parents first about Brody being his biological father. Then he’d sat down with Brody’s widow and her three kids. Shae had laughed until she turned blue. According to Conner, her older brother, Cael, had seemed unfazed, but the eldest, Oran, had been openly wary. Poised to take over his father’s role in the organization and challenge Keir for leadership, he wasn’t thrilled with Conner gaining more clout in the family.
“Eh, there’s always gonna be at least one heckler in the crowd,” Conner murmured. “Once he sees I’m not a threat, he’ll calm down.”
“I’m glad you’re not gunning to take over. I don’t want that kind of target on your back.”
He put his arm around me and tucked me into his side. “I have everything I want right here,” he said, lips ghosting over my ear.
I warmed at his words, realizing as he removed his arm to shake hands with a distant relative that I felt the same. After Mom died, I’d told myself I could never be happy marrying a man who led the sort of life my father had. But now I knew that a man was more than his lifestyle. A person could live by a different moral code than society and still be honorable. He could steal all my thongs and still be thoughtful—order me onto my knees and still worship me like a goddess.
And if I was honest with myself, I didn’t want some of his parts without the others. Conner was who he was because of his dark complexities, and I adored every enigmatic piece of him.
