“Alannah,” I snarl my warning.
She’s fucking pushing me on purpose now.
“Just stop comin’ on to me. I don’t need you mindfucking me with everything else already goin’ on,” she dictates harshly.
“Was it me or you rubbing the other this morning? Oh, that’s right. It was your hands all over my body. I haven’t made a fuckin’ move on you. You were in my bed all night with your pussy sliding against my thigh. I didn’t touch you. I’m not mindfucking you, Alannah. I’m tryin’ to keep us both alive. You want your space. You’ve fuckin’ got it. Just quit lookin’ up at me with your sad blue eyes, beggin’ to be in my arms,” I spit roughly before walking past her and locking myself in the bathroom.
I turn on the cold water and step in the spray. I know it’s cold. I can feel it against my skin, but it doesn’t sting the way it should. I wish it would. I wish I could calm the fuck down. Alannah’s got my head fucking spinning in circles. How long do concussions last? This shit has to stop. And quick.
I wash myself swiftly and then step out of the shower. I’m pissed, but I’m not stupid. I don’t want Alannah out there alone. I don’t think anyone will get in, but there’s always a risk. We’ve made a lot of calls from here today. Tracking calls isn’t difficult. I do my best to be smart about shit, but I can only do so much.
I stalk out of the bathroom with a towel slung around my hips and look around my space for Alannah. It’s silent, and she’s not in here. There’s nowhere for her to hide in the open space other than my closet, and I doubt she’s in there. If she took off on me, I’m going to tan her ass.
I hear something downstairs and hurry in that direction. If someone’s in here doing something to Alannah, I’ll lose my fucking mind. I won’t need a weapon. I’ll kill whoever it is with my bare hands.
The noise is coming from the gym as I get closer. I rush into the space, prepared to beat someone to death, only to find Alannah stripped down to a tank top beating the shit out of the heavy bag.
She’s got good form, perfect technique and quite a bit of power in her tiny body. The tension raging in my core dissipates as I watch her. Her silky braid swings with each thrust as her muscles contract. When she grabs the bag and starts slamming her knee into it, I get hard. Rock fucking hard.
Then she stops and leans her head against the bag, heaving labored breaths as her tits strain beneath the thin white fabric covering them.
“Feel better?” I ask nonchalantly.
“I do,” she gasps after jumping from me scaring her.
“Your old man teach you how to fight?”
“Yeah,” she says wistfully and it pulls at that knot in my stomach.
“You should use wraps,” I instruct, noting her reddened knuckles as I stride toward her.
“You don’t have any,” she snaps.
I pull her hands off the bag and inspect them. She’s not bleeding, but she could use some ice. I know I don’t need to tell a doctor how to take care of herself, but I feel the need to all the same.
“Come on. I’ll get you some ice.”
She yanks her hands away from me and starts out of the gym, snagging her sweater as she goes. I’ve succeeded in pissing her off. If her being angry weren’t a turn on, that would be a positive development. That’s not the case.
I crack my neck and follow. This is why I don’t do relationships. Constant fucking work.
Alannah’s slamming around the kitchen when I get to the top of the stairs.
“I don’t wanna be attracted to you!” she shouts, spinning to face me. I stop moving and lean my hips against the back of the couch, crossing my ankles and arms. “The night of my father’s funeral was a fuckin’ nightmare for me. He was my world, Kane. Everything to me. He wasn’t kind or loving with anyone but me. Not even my mom got that from him. I couldn’t go in the pub and not find his arms to fall into. Not that night and not one since then. I don’t stay away from the clan for moral reasons. I stay away because my heart can’t stand the fuckin’ pain!”
She takes shuddered breath before continuing.
“I’m sorry I jumped on you that night. But when I looked up and saw you, I swear it felt like my dad sent you to me. I needed the strength that he had to get me through. You gave me that. It’s not fair of me to expect you to understand what that meant to me. We’re strangers. But I’m tellin’ you now, it meant the fuckin’ world to me, Kane. So I’ve gone to the pub when I’ve needed you again. You’re never there and every time it stings within that painful void I have. I’m sure that makes me pretty damn pathetic, but there you go.
“When you came into the ER, I was on my way out. I wouldn’t have even known you were in the hospital if I wasn’t walking by when you were wheeled in. I stayed by your side the whole time. Every minute. I needed you to be okay because there was no way in hell I could lose the only other person who’s made me feel safe in my life. So I’m sorry my eyes beg to be in your arms, but that’s the only place I’ve felt whole in years.”
I prowl across the room toward her, closing the distance quickly before pinning her against the counter. Then my mouth is on hers in a rough almost brutal kiss. She’s too short for me to get a good angle, so I drag her body onto the marble and rip her hips forward against mine. It’s still not enough so I grasp her braid, wrapping it around my fist before jerking her head to the side so I can get the access to her mouth that my tongue needs.
A whimper of desire flows from her lips as I devour Alannah, her tiny hands yanking my hair. I thrust my cock forward and match the motion with my tongue before nipping her bottom lip. I continue dragging my teeth along her jaw and then down her neck where I suck hard, marking her.
I’m too old for hickeys. I’m simply out of my mind with the need to brand her. Every fucking inch of her milky skin needs evidence of me on it.
Her hands leave my hair only to rip my towel away before one wraps around my dick. I hiss at the contact as she struggles to circle my girth while she pumps. When her thumb swipes across my head, smearing my pre-come around, I lose my mind.
I take her mouth fiercely, smashing her head against the cupboard. She doesn’t hesitate at my force. Her hand just strokes me faster and firmer. I tear her tank top, shredding the straps before yanking down the cups on her lace bra. Then my hands are smashing her tits together so I can feast on both of her hard nipples at once.
“Holy shit!” Chann yells. “I’ll wait downstairs.”
Alannah screams, dropping my dick and covering her tits as I stand up. I wait until I hear Chann hit the bottom stair before opening my eyes and locking them on her electric blues. She’s embarrassed, but there’s still sex shimmering within her gaze.
I kiss her softly this time, drinking her in as she tries weakly to push me away before grabbing my shoulders. I caress her tongue with mine, soothing away the harshness I showed her earlier. I cup her cheeks as I deepen the kiss, licking and lapping at her. My skin can’t be touched by the heat of the moment, but I feel it. I register the warmth between our bodies as I pull away from her, leaving Alannah breathless.
“You need me?” I ask hoarsely.
She nods as tears fill her eyes, again begging to be in my arms. Alannah Carey needs me. She doesn’t just want me. She doesn’t want a quick fuck with the freak. She’s not looking for a thrill ride. She truly needs me for something only I can give her. That’s a heady fucking feeling that should have me running for the hills.
I pull her face into my neck and wrap her in a snug embrace, pressing my lips to her hair.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” I assure her confidently.
What a fucking lie.
“I knocked,” Chann states defensively with his hands in the air when I enter the office next to my gym where he’s waiting.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say dismissively as I start loading weapons from my walk-in safe into a duffle bag.
Did I want to be interrupted? Hell no. But we’ve got shit to do.
“I had to shake a few tail
s. You need to get movin’. I don’t know if they were spooks or other families, but someone was on my ass after I left Nordstrom.”
“Why the fuck were you there?” I ask completely confused.
“You told me to buy girl shit! My mom said to go there,” he grumbles. “You owe me for that. I had to use hand gestures to buy bras from a sales lady who was older than my grandma. Un-fuckin’-comfortable.”
I chuckle at that as Chann shoves my shoulder before helping me with ammo.
“I got you a Tahoe. Used the rest to buy expensive as fuck clothes for your girl,” he accuses the last part.
“Stop talkin’ about her tits if she’s my girl,” I suggest seriously.
“I knew that whack to the head was gonna fuck you up,” he scoffs. “Didn’t you watch Speed? ‘Relationships based on intense experiences never work.’”
“Did you just quote a crappy fuckin’ movie as a basis for relationships? No wonder you’re single. I always thought it was because you’re dick’s the size of a Tootsie Roll.”
“Hey, it’s at least the size of a roll of quarters,” he feigns offense. “I’m serious though, man. This is not the time for you to be jumpin’ into some serious shit with Alannah. She’s not a hooker. And if you fuck up, it’ll mean your ass with Caelan. Which is the only thing I saw earlier and can I just say, you have the whitest ass I’ve ever seen.”
“Let me worry about Alannah and you worry about figurin’ out who put a hit out on me.”
“What about the spooks?”
“Nothin’ to be done. I’ll wait ’em out,” I say through a shrug.
“You’re too fuckin’ calm for me. Let me know when you’re comin’ back to town. Call me if you need anything. You know I’ve got your back,” he says, passing me my new keys.
We bump fists, and he heads out, shouting, “Later, Alannah!”
“Bye, Chann,” she hollers with embarrassment laced in her voice.
Chann’s right about not starting something with her right now. They say there’s never a right time, but there is such a thing as the wrong time. This would be one of those.
The problem is…I want her. And not just her pussy. Though that’s high on my list. I like her. She’s strong and soft at the same time. She’s funny. She’s got a mouth, which I oddly enjoy. She doesn’t take my shit. That can be both a positive and a negative. She knows the one thing about me that I’ve kept from everyone in my life. And she’s not afraid of it. That’s fucking huge for me.
“How attached to your job are you?” I ask her as I enter the living space where she’s sitting on the couch, her legs tucked under her body.
“Very. I worked my ass off for it,” she says, tilting her head all the way back so she can look into my green eyes.
“You got vacation?”
“Two weeks.”
“Call in and ask for emergency leave. There was a death in your family. The guys in the building collapse are part of the O’Donnell Clan so we can make that play. Hopefully, we won’t need longer than a few weeks. If we do…we’ll talk about it then.”
“Are we gonna talk about what happened earlier?”
“Not right now. We’ve gotta move. Chann had to shake some tails so I’d rather be in the wind than discussing your hand around my dick, as much as that pains me,” I deadpan.
She snickers a little at my joke but doesn’t press the issue.
I help her off the couch, and we go about packing. Well, I pack while she helps. Everything I put in my duffle bag she folds and re-sorts. It’s all very domestic and setting me on edge. Not because it’s domestic, but because I like it.
Fucking concussion.
“That’s enough for now. Let’s hit the road,” I instruct.
“I hope Chann brought me a coat,” she mutters under her breath.
“I’ll go check the bags. Wait here so you don’t freeze.”
She nods and I make my way out to the driveway where my new, slightly used black Chevy Tahoe is parked. I pop open the gate and rummage through a ridiculous amount of clothing when the first shot pings off my back.
Alannah screams from inside the door that’s still standing wide open.
“Shut the door!” I bellow, spinning around to find the shooter as I hear her slam the door.
It doesn’t take long to spot the dark sedan parked across the street peppering me and my new fucking ride with bullets. I briefly note that the bullets are bouncing off the SUV much like they are me. Chann did well with this purchase.
Annoyed with getting shot, I pull my 1911 out of the back of my jeans and return fire, stalking toward the car. When a guy wearing a ski mask pops out of the sunroof with an MP5, I get serious. He gets two to the head before I take aim at the driver attempting to speed away.
Dusk has settled over the city on this quiet January Sunday night. I’m sure people can hear what’s going on, but no one lives close enough to see what’s transpiring. Not that I give a fuck. They started shooting first.
I hit the driver in the shoulder causing him to crash into a fire hydrant. Water shoots twenty feet in the air as two guys bail out of the back seat, running in opposite directions. One fires a few shots, all missing me. I take his ass out first, three shots in the back.
With one bullet left in my magazine, I need to make this last shot count. I train my aim on the guy running in a straight line down the sidewalk and fire. He stumbles to the pavement face first, writhing in agony. Knees hurt from what I’ve been told.
The driver hobbles out of the car, and I launch myself at him as we both get doused with ice-cold water. I drive my fists into his face over and over as he weakly tries to defend himself.
I don’t recognize his face as I beat it bloody, but that doesn’t mean anything. Once he’s unconscious, I hear the distant sound of sirens headed our way. Fuck! I don’t leave witnesses. It’s a rule Caelan instilled in me from day one. I snap the driver’s neck and then hurry to do the same to the man hobbling with a blown out knee.
I fly back over to the Tahoe, slam the gate shut and race into my place.
“Alannah!”
“Kane!” Alannah yells, running toward me from the gym where she was hiding.
“Don’t,” I snarl when she tries to hug me. “Let’s move.”
She recoils from my harshness but runs out of the garage and jumps into the SUV.
I snag my duffle bags, launch them into the backseat and then get us moving out of the city. As I roll down Sixteenth, I see police cruisers arriving on the scene in the rearview. I yank a burner out of the console and press call.
“Four guys just tried to take me out at my place. Your fuckin’ mole is in deep,” I growl at Caelan.
“Motherfucker!” he roars in response.
“KCPD’s on already on site and I’m on my way out. Get some of our cops on this shit and figure out who the fuck is talkin’!”
“Is my niece okay?” he grinds out.
“She’s fine. But she was right fuckin’ there,” I snarl.
If she would’ve been with me, she’d be dead. No fucking question. That boils my blood. Heat I can fucking feel surging through my veins even though frigid water is running down my face, dripping from my nose and jaw. I wish it could cool me down.
“I’ll find ’em, Kane. Keep your head down.”
I hang up and toss the phone out of the car onto the highway as I speed along. My fingers are clenched so tightly around the steering wheel, I’m surprised I haven’t ripped it off. The thought of something happening to Alannah has me teetering on a dangerous edge. I’m enraged. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this intensely about someone in my life. The only way I can imagine it happening is if someone went after Sorcha. That would actually be worse than this. I stop that line of thinking immediately.
“Kane,” Alannah whispers after a long while of driving in silence.
“I’m fine, Alannah,” I respond gruffly.
“Aren’t you freezing?”
“It doesn’t bother
me. I know it’s cold. I can feel it, but it doesn’t affect me.”
“Oh.”
I flick my gaze over to her and find her body turned toward the door, her eyes focused out her window. She’s as far away from me as she can get in her seat. Maybe watching me kill people was a problem for her. Though I don’t think she saw anything if she was hiding the whole time.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I apologize, even if it doesn’t sound like one.
“Not your fault.” She waves a dismissive hand at me.
That’s not really true. It’s my fault. They were there to kill me, not her. She’s an innocent bystander in this. If Caelan’s right and someone’s trying to get his family, then it’s his fault and mine by association.
I’m vigilant as I drive to check for tails. I don’t see anything, but I still drive around the city in circles, hoping to spot anyone that’s hanging back. After two hours of this, I’m satisfied we’re alone, and I head toward Sorcha’s.
“Have you always been like this?” Alannah asks.
“Like what?”
She’s still not looking at me.
“Has your skin always been like it is?”
“Yeah.”
“Was that difficult growing up? How did your parents explain it to you?”
I crack my neck a few times before releasing a tense breath. I can talk about this.
“It was confusing more than anything. Sorcha, that’s the woman who raised me, she’s a little kooky. She told me she put a spell on me the night I was born and left on her porch so that no harm would ever come to me. I have no doubt she put a spell on me. I also know that’s not why I’m like this,” I explain as best I can.
“A spell?”
“Yup.”
“Does she believe she’s a witch?”
“She doesn’t call herself a witch. She just has powers as a Pagan woman,” I answer with a shrug. I know how crazy it sounds, but it’s how I grew up.
“Does she have powers?”
She’s facing me now, the tension gone from her tiny body. My fingers have loosened on the wheel. I guess talking about my freakishness is calming for both of us.
Misunderstood Miracles Page 4