It doesn’t fit with this time and place but my heart swells for him. I’m glad I don’t have to do this by myself. He seems to want to be my champion and I’ve never wanted anything more.
“We’re going to be just fine,” he says, pulling me away from my thoughts. It’s nice that he’s that confident. Me? I’m not so sure.
“If you don’t hand her over, we’re just going to have to take her,” the guy says again.
What exactly would that look like, I wonder. I’m also curious if Neil is here in one of those cars or if he’s safe at the office, letting his men do his dirty work for him.
Out of nowhere, there’s another string of headlights illuminating this deserted lot as one car after another pulls in and parks. They’re driving slowly as if they have every right to be here, but were just late for the party. Rowan steps to the side, taking me with him. He’s still blocking my body from the guys that want to take me.
“Connor,” he whispers under his breath. I look at the cars that have just arrived, looking for his brother. I’m incredibly curious to find out more about their relationship. They’ve gone two very different directions with their lives but yet they still seem to have each other’s backs.
The doors start to open and men are slowly getting out of the cars. The security guards on the other side are starting to squirm. I’m sure this wasn’t even on their radar for something they’d have to deal with tonight.
They start talking among themselves, the unrest palpable. Finally I see Connor step up to the front of the pack. He looks just as relaxed as his brother did. I suppose this isn’t their first rodeo.
“You can put the guns away,” Connor says calmly. “We’re not a bunch of wild animals about to attack.” He waves his hands around like this should be obvious to them.
Neil’s men put their guns down but not away. “All we want is the girl,” the main guy says. He must be their official spokesperson. “There’s no need for you to be involved, Connor.”
I can’t stop watching Connor. The way he moves, his mannerism. He looks so much like his brother. That could be Rowan if he had decided to go into the family business. He scares me in a way that makes me glad Rowan is the brother I met first.
“And what is your name?” Connor asks the man. “I always like to know who I’m talking to.”
“VanSant,” he says.
“VanSant.” He says his name slowly, rolling it around his mouth, memorizing it and storing it away for later. In the moments of silence that follow, my heart is practically beating out of my chest. I’m really glad his attention isn’t on me. “Well, VanSant, I disagree. We want Neil. Nothing else happens until I’ve seen and talked to Neil. So why don’t you go ahead and get your boss for me.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Well I’ll tell you what. My brother and his girlfriend are going to leave. Then, I’m going to stand here until you produce Neil from whatever hole he’s hiding in. But, I’m not going to stand here all night, either. So I guess you have a decision to make. Is Neil worth your life, VanSant?”
Another chill shudders through my body but it isn’t from the cold anymore. Connor glances toward Rowan and there’s a subtle exchange between them.
He squeezes my hand and says, “Let’s go.”
I’m terrified to move. Will they seriously just let us leave?
“I don’t know if I can,” I whisper to him nervously.
“You can,” he says, encouraging me. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?”
“Anytime now, little brother,” Connor says.
“I trust you.” And with that, I take a step backward toward the car. Just one step at first. I feel Rowan’s hand on my hip, pushing me behind him to the car.
The next thing I know, we’re back in the car and Rowan’s driving us out of the lot. We’ve only driven a few feet when I can’t help but turn around and look out the back window. Once we’re almost too far away for me to see anything else, Neil steps out of the back of one of the cars. Then, Rowan turns the corner, leaving everyone behind.
“What’s going to happen to Neil?” I ask.
“He stole from the mob, Stella.”
“I know.” My voice is quiet, almost regretful.
“He chose to get involved. And then on top of it he made the very poor decision to take money that didn’t belong to him.”
“That doesn’t mean he should die. Go to prison…yes. Be forced to leave the country? Sure. How do I live with that? Knowing he’s dead because I ratted him out to the mob? Yeah, I never liked the guy but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this.”
“They’re not going to kill him.”
“Yeah, right. You believe that?”
“Of course I do. I don’t want someone’s death on my hands either. I gave Connor the information on the files under one condition…Neil lives.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. The mob will own him now and he’ll work for them to pay off what he stole. But he’ll be alive.”
I breathe a deep sigh of relief. I wouldn’t want to live with someone’s death on my conscience. Even if that person is Neil Anderson.
Chapter 13
“Oh, fuck! Yes, Rowan, Yes!” I’m holding onto the headboard of his bed, my ass in the air. Rowan is pounding his cock into me while his finger works my sensitive nub. Sweat is dripping from our bodies, even though the ceiling fan is working hard to circulate cool air around the room.
“You like it when I fuck you hard, don’t you, love?” My arms are straining to hold me in place so I don’t slam into the headboard with his vigorous thrusts.
“Yes, yes I love it,” I say, shouting my response as my pussy begins to tighten and then I’m coming as waves upon waves of pleasure course through my body.
“Fuck,” I hear him shout through my pleasure haze. “This pussy is so greedy, isn’t it? It’s sucking every drop of cum from my cock.”
“Yes, I want it all. All of you.” I’m breathing heavily, still enjoying every sensation as he continues to slowly push his cock into me, emptying himself completely.
Eventually, he pulls out and rolls over onto the bed beside me. I flip over on my back as well and rest my body into the mattress. My muscles are going to be sore tomorrow. My legs and arms are trembling slightly from these tenacious rounds of sex.
We both lie quietly while our breathing slows. The fan is making a steady thumping sound as the blades rotate around and around. I’m exhausted from the day we’ve had but I never get tired of fucking this man. I can’t remember what my life was like before I walked into his bar. It has gotten so much better.
“I’m sorry I attacked you like that.” Rowan rolls over in bed facing me, letting his hand trail up and down the smooth skin of my stomach. “I had so much adrenaline pulsing through my body tonight. I guess I took it out on you.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I like it when you attack me like that. I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels like I need to have you so much I’m going to burst.” I playfully brush my fingers through his hair, letting my fingers touch a path down his back. “I just enjoyed the fact that we weren’t in your car again. It felt like we had so much room to maneuver in here.”
Rowan laughs loudly and deeply. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard him laugh more than a small chuckle. It’s nice to see how he has lightened up since we’ve met. He seemed so dark and troubled when I first saw him.
“It felt so good, didn’t it?” I ask.
“Yeah, it sure did.” He pulls me in for more kisses. I start to giggle when he starts growing more intense by the minute and I can tell he’s revving up for round two. He’s insatiable.
He pulls away, leaning on his elbow just above me, watching me laugh. We’re lying on his bed and his masculine scent is all around me. I want to lean over and nuzzle my nose into his skin, breathing him in. It’s such a huge turn on for me. I let my fingers explore his body some more. I love h
is body…the definition, the muscles, the strength. Everything about him turns me on. But there are a few things I need to know before we lose ourselves in each other again.
“So how is it possible that two boys growing up in the same house turned out so differently?” I ask tentatively. We’re at the place in our relationship where we need to open up and be honest with each other. After tonight, I need to know more about his relationship with his brother and how that’s going to affect us.
He doesn’t answer right away but it isn’t because he doesn’t want to tell me. He’s thinking of how to put it. “I guess the main difference is that I thought my dad was an asshole. Connor idolized him.”
Before I have to prompt him to tell me more, he continues. “Connor’s older than me. My dad would take him with him when he had to do business but he wouldn’t take me. I always assumed it was because I was too young. So, I would stay home with my mom, but I resented him for leaving me out. Connor felt close to our dad, I felt closer to our mom. I thought my dad didn’t think I was strong enough to be a part of what he shared with Connor. Or I suppose I just thought he liked Connor better.” He lies back on the bed, tucking his arms behind his head.
“One night he came home in a really foul mood, completely lit as well. He got into it with my mom. I stepped in the way when he was going after her with a bottle of bourbon. Or maybe it was whiskey, I don’t fucking remember. That’s how I got the scar on my chin. It also made me hate my old man even more. Connor wasn’t there that night. Didn’t see him attack our mom. Because of that night I vowed I’d never get involved in my dad’s business. I was never going to be the kind of man that would hurt the people I loved.”
“Connor’s able to separate it all in a way that I can’t. In a way most people can’t. He’ll do anything to protect me because I’m his brother but he doesn’t understand that he hurts other people’s families in the name of the business.”
“Did that happen between your mom and your dad a lot?” I ask.
“No, it was just the one time that I know of. He loved her. It killed him when she died. Living the life he did, though…it changes you. In the end he wasn’t the man she married. The man she fell in love with.”
“I’m so sorry, Rowan.”
“It wasn’t until my dad was dying that he told me it was because of my mom that he never took me along growing up. She didn’t want both of her boys getting mixed up in that life. She wanted one of us to be able to make our own choices about our future. So after I heard that, I ended up feeling sorry for Connor. It’s like he never had a chance for anything better.”
“That’s really awful, actually,” I say. “So you two still have an okay relationship with each other? Kind of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of thing?
“Yeah. Something like that. I’ll always care about him because he’s my brother, but he knows better than to ask me to help him out with anything illegal. And he knows he overstepped when he took you from me that night at the bar. He didn’t realize what you meant to me at the time. He does now though, and it won’t ever happen again.” He’s zoning out, thinking about things from his past, no doubt. Maybe even thinking back to the night at the bar. I put my hand on his chest to bring him back to me. “Sorry, that was such a buzz kill,” he says.
I laugh. “I’m glad you told me. It means a lot to me.” I lean over and kiss his full lips. After a minute I ask, “So what do I mean to you?”
“You don’t know?” he asks.
“I know. I just wanted to hear it. It makes me feel good when you tell me.”
“I love you, my beauty.” He kisses me slowly and I feel a dull pulse between my legs. It doesn’t take much for my body to come alive from his touch. “I love you and I can’t get enough of you.”
“I love you too.” I whisper the words into his mouth as we kiss, fiercely. “But I did get what I came for, so I guess I’m free to leave. No strings, remember?”
He smiles against my lips and rolls me onto my back. Settling himself between my thighs, he reaches down and slides his fingers into my folds. “I told you, this pussy is mine.”
Epilogue
St. Patrick’s Day~ One Year Later
It’s only five o’clock when I shut down my computer and start collecting my things to leave for the night. Ed Wade, our new boss, is nothing like Neil. He’s helped me to actually enjoy my job again. Well, Ed and Rowan, of course. The workday flies by when I know I’m going home to a sexy Irishman at the end of the night.
I grab my coat and purse and walk over to Carmen’s desk. “Are you still planning on coming to the bar tonight? We’ll drink some green beer together? Wear green and shamrocks?”
“Of course!” she says, immediately shutting her computer down as well. “Whatever else I was going to work on will still be here in the morning.”
“Now that’s the perfect attitude to have!” I say cheerfully. “Isn’t it nice being able to leave at such a reasonable hour?” We’re walking down the aisle of cubicles to the elevators at the end of the hallway. There are still a few people finishing things but most people have already left for the night.
“Fuck, yes,” Carmen says. “I wouldn’t have made it much longer under Neil and I would have had to quit.”
“Yeah, things worked out nicely, didn’t they?”
“They sure did. Hey…” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the side. “Do you mind if we stop in the bathroom quickly so I can change?”
“Absolutely.” We walk into the ladies room and Carmen gets right to work changing out of her work clothes. She tosses a green shirt to me too.
“Here you go, put that on. Then we’ll both be festive.”
I laugh and shake my head but do as she asks.
“Ooh, your boobs look really good in that shirt. Rowan is going to love it.” She’s standing in front of me with her hands making the shape of a frame around my boobs.
“Well it isn’t anything he hasn’t seen a hundred times before,” I say laughing, “But you’re right, he will love it.”
“You two are just so freaking cute together. Who would have ever thought you’d end up with a guy like that.” She’s shoving her clothes back into her bag and then we’re both walking out of the bathroom.
I’m not exactly sure what she means by that. “Yeah, I’m really lucky.” I press the down arrow button by the elevator and we both stand waiting. “Maybe you’ll meet someone tonight? The bar was lucky for me…maybe it’ll be lucky for you, too.”
“You never know,” she says simply.
The elevator arrives with a ding and we both step inside, excitedly anticipating the night ahead. When we reach the parking garage, we walk together until she has to turn off to go down a different aisle.
“I’ll see you in a little while.” We hug and she heads off in the opposite direction.
“I can’t wait!” she calls while waving behind her.
I’m walking to my car when a sleek black car pulls out from its parking spot, right into my path. I’m annoyed at first, wondering why the hell he couldn’t have waited another minute for me to pass. But then he doesn’t move, just sits there in the middle so I can’t walk past.
The door opens and a huge guy in a black suit steps out. My body tenses when he steps toward me but then he says, “Miss Chambers. Please come with me.” He opens the door to the backseat and motions for me to get into the car.
“Ummm, what’s this about?” I have a feeling but I’m not willing to jump right into the back seat without some sort of explanation.
“Mr. McLoughlin would like to see you. If that’s okay with you, of course.” This is certainly a change from the last time Connor wanted to speak with me. It’s nice to know that Connor really does listen to what his brother tells him. Or perhaps now he realizes how important I am to Rowan. That last thought makes me warm inside. I can feel a slight blush creep up my neck onto my cheeks.
“Okay, as long as it doesn’t take too long.” I’m already stepp
ing forward toward the backseat. I crawl in and fasten my seatbelt but he doesn’t close the door.
“I’m sorry ma’am, Mr. McLoughlin also asked if it would be all right with you if I covered your eyes. Solely for your protection, of course.”
Jesus, Connor.
“What would you do if I said no?”
“Then you’re free to ride without the blindfold.”
That’s all I wanted to hear.
“Hand it over.” I stretch out my hand and motion with my fingers for him to place the blindfold in my palm.
He sets it gently in my hand and says, “Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Chambers.”
I smile and nod and then he closes the door. I’ve just finished tying the blindfold in place when I feel the car start to move. What could Connor possibly need from me? I have seen him a handful of times over the past year but never without Rowan. I suppose I’m slightly more comfortable around him now that he basically saved my life when Neil wanted to get rid of me. I know he won’t hurt me but he still makes me nervous. I saw the power he had that night and it’s something that I’ll never forget.
We’ve only driven for about ten minutes when I feel the car slow down and come to a stop. A moment later there’s a gust of cold air as he opens my door for me.
“If you’d be so kind as to leave the blindfold on for another few minutes, I’ll take your hand and lead you inside.”
“Of course.” I’m smiling with every interaction with this guy. His polite manners are a little over the top but I’ll take it. He’s putting me at ease, letting me know this is going to be a very different interaction with Connor than the first time I met him.
I take his hand and let him guide me out of the car. My senses tell me we’re in a different place. Instead of in a garage like last time, I can tell we’re parked outside on the street. Holding tightly onto his arm, he leads me. I’m concentrating on my steps and making sure I don’t stumble and fall.
“We’re going to take a step up,” he says, putting his arm around me so I don’t fall.
Kiss Me I'm Irish: A St. Patrick's Day Novella Page 7