by J. J. McAvoy
He glared but didn’t say anything. He cleaned himself up before washing his hands and taking the breakfast I made before he had come in for a morning fuck and walked over to the dining table.
“That’s going to have to change because I love movies,” I said as I grabbed more towels. “They teach me so much about normal people.”
“So you know you are not normal?” he asked, placing the frittata on his toast before looking back to me.
“Who the fuck wants to be normal?” I squeezed the towel and wiped down my body with it. “I know I don’t, I know you don’t. But just because we don’t want to be like them shouldn’t mean we don’t try to understand them. How else can we conquer them?”
“Mi ecciti, (You’re turning me on.),” was his reply. His eyes followed my hands as I cleaned myself. Hearing Italian from his lips made me want to sit on his face.
Note to self: Do that later.
“You’re never off,” I reminded him and trashed the towel. I washed my hands before grabbing my plate and walking back over to the table, sitting on the chair beside him.
“You still sit criss crossed on chairs.” He gave me a sly smile.
“Only in private. It’s not very lady like I’m told.” I said before eating, even resting my elbows on the table.
“You’re in private now?”
“The way your dick keeps finding my private parts, I better be.”
He grinned and so did I.
“I guess I’m in private now.” He looked into my eyes and his face was void again. He nodded to the pitcher of juice on the table. “Pour me some juice.”
I looked to it and grabbed the pitcher, filling up a glass. He outstretched his hand for it and I drank it…all. Putting the cup and the pitcher back where I got it, I told him, “I made breakfast because I like food, not to give you the impression I’m a housewife or a domestic servant. You have hands, pour your own damn juice.”
His jaw cracked to the side for a moment…then the corners of his mouth turned up. “Why do I have feeling we might fight often?”
“Because you know you enjoy fucking me hard as punishment for the fight.”
He reached over and grabbed the orange juice as well as the glass I had used pouring himself a glass. Before lifting it to drink he simply said, “Let’s watch that movie tonight.”
I was not normal.
Neither was he.
And it was perfect that way.
“Do we have kettle corn?” I wondered.
“Don’t bother, I’m going to fuck you halfway through it, and it’s going to be a bitch to clean that shit up,” he said before stuffing his mouth.
“I’ll eat it during the first half of the movie then.”
ETHAN
“You were supposed to go to Bali yesterday, weren’t you?” I ran my hand down her spine as she laid on her stomach watching the movie on the screen…with the damn kettle corn.
“Someone distracted me with his cock all day and I missed my flight.”
“Shame, I hear it’s beautiful this time of year.” I kissed her back. “You’re wasting your vacation here with me.”
“Hardly a waste and besides, my job is a bit different.”
“How so?”
“I kill people,” she said calmly and stuck another piece of kettle corn between her lips.
She wants to get a reaction out of me. “You make a living from that?”
“What can I say? A lot of people want a lot of people dead.”
“So, a hit man…woman.”
She snickered and looked back over her shoulder. “I have standards. I don’t go killing cheating spouses, outside of my former brother-in-law to be, or your local baker.”
“There is a hit list for bakers? Hmm, who would have though?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
She turned over and sat up, putting her bowl in her lap. “The neighborhood drug dealer is mocking me?”
“In my defense, it’s a very big neighborhood. Who are you killing if you aren’t killing local bakers?”
“Presidents,” she stated with a smug look on her face, tossing another piece of kettle corn into her mouth.
I paused, remembering the events of this past week. “You killed President Rojas too.”
“I think the politically correct term is assassinated.”
“Which would make you an assassin,” I said slowly.
“Two birds one stone. I came for you and happened to have work to do,” she said cheerfully. “Surprise. Please don’t ask me what my number is. That’s so personal.”
Well, this was an unexpected turn of events.
“This is how you got stronger isn’t it?” I wasn’t sure how she had gotten to the place she was at now and to be honest I really didn’t really care.
“In part. My grandfather used to work for your mother.”
“I know.” Her father had been in one of my mother’s records, he was an Orsini who changed his name to Affini.
“The messy history that connects our families will only get more complicated when people find out I’m with you.”
“If my parents could work it out, I’m confident we can too,” I answered. That chapter of history belongs to our grandparents, not us. After all, I was born to be the miracle baby who ended the blood feuds. She only helped further that cause. “You said in part? What is the other part?”
“My grandfather sent me to military school the year after I left Chicago. When I was eighteen my grandmother had me…drafted.” She chose the word carefully.
“For?”
“i Libitinarii.” She handed me her kettle corn only to turn back over and pick up her bottle, still no glass, taking a drink before reclaiming the kettle corn. She offered me the bottle and I took it, drinking as well.
“Here, I thought God had taken President Rojas off my hands. Now I see everything links back to you too.” I wiped the wine from my lips and leaned back on the pillows.
“The good lord works in mysterious ways.” She took the bottle back, turning over once more and returning to her cheesy movie.
She crossed legs. They swayed slightly next to me as she watched. I could tell, no, I could feel that she wasn’t going to tell me any more. Not because she couldn’t. But because she told me enough…enough that I could find out if she was lying or not. She wasn’t. She shared her past so I would share in return.
“I need to go back to Chicago tomorrow. July 4th is a family and public affair, I can’t miss it,” I told her and her legs stopped moving. Sitting up on my knees I climbed over her, my body on top of hers, my lips by her ears. “My neighborhood gets dangerous when I’m gone for too long.”
“And?”
“And you can’t come back with me.”
“I’m heartbroken,” she said, still eating the kettle corn. I could hear the sarcasm in her voice, however her eyes were demanding an explanation.
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on using you and throwing you away anymore,” I whispered, brushing her hair over and kissing the space between her neck and shoulders.
“Is that so?”
“You know it is,” I muttered against her skin working my way to her ear. “But I’m going to need your help setting a trap.”
“The great Ethan Callahan needs my help setting a trap? Who could be such difficult prey….”
“My parents.”
Her body went still. She looked over her shoulder, capturing my eyes with her own. She looked me over as if she was reading a book. She put the kettle corn on floor and turned over, still laying under me.
“Traps don’t work on the dead.” She spoke softly in Italian, her voice barely rising above a whisper.
“I’m aware,” I whispered down to her. “I didn’t just give into you because I want you Calliope. Like you said, I am broken. Which means no matter what you do, how you prove yourself to me, a small part of me is going to distrust you. The only thing that’s going to change that is time. And until that time, I live with the knowle
dge that if you are in this to betray me, my parents will end up killing you if they think I’m going to fail.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “How do you know they are alive?”
“Gut feeling.” She frowned, unimpressed, and was about to roll back over to get her bowl when I pressed my weight against her and leaned in closer. “Not good enough?”
“Children struggle to grasp their parents’ deaths. No matter who they are or how old they may get, the brain convinces…” she paused, glaring at me. “And you wouldn’t be telling me this because you know that too. It would make you look like a child who can’t let go. How do you really know, Ethan?”
“They made a mistake. They underestimated the bond between parents and their children. It isn’t a rational thing. It’s something that supersedes all reason. My mother is many things, some may even say cruel and cold for leaving her children. But even she can’t shake that bond, especially if her children are hurt or in danger.”
Her eyes widened when she realized what I meant. “You put yourself in danger to draw them out?”
I shook my head, lifting her off the bed and on to my lap. She sat up quickly placing her hands on my shoulders, her grey eyes never leaving mine as she stared into my eyes waiting for me to explain. “I wouldn’t risk my life on a something I wasn’t positive about.”
“So?”
“So, I risked my brother’s life.” I grinned, and her mouth parted slightly, her eyebrow raised.
“What did you do to him? Please don’t tell me you had him kidnapped.” She tilted her head to the side.
“He lived.”
“What is with you?”
I laughed at the tone in her voice. “It was a while ago, just after my father ‘died.”
She shook her head. “Well, if it was the sloppy men you had take me, I’m not sure how your mother was that concerned—”
“No, I had them go easy on you. After all, I didn’t know just what you were capable of yet. I knew what my brother was. I had his driver pretend to betray our family, as well as a small gang of people take him. They did do a number on his face and ribs.” I exhaled. It felt good to finally get that off my chest.
“How long did they have him?” She was not at all phased.
“Three days.”
“That’s a little short.”
“I planned for at least two weeks, but it seems I underestimated him.” It was both annoying and satisfying to know. “He got in touch with his inner Callahan….and right as he was trying to escape, we were able to find him and help.”
“Really? What a coincidence. I’m sure during this time you were very much the concerned brother.” She ran her hands through my hair.
“I was out of town on business. It took them about two days to realize he was gone. Wyatt usually take advantage of my absence and goes off, pretending not to be a Callahan while I’m away.”
“And you knew he would do it again, so you set a trap for him. You’re cruel.” She said it with a smile on her lips, and I could see desire in her eyes.
“Thank you.” I paused when I felt her hips grind on top of me. I could feel her body getting warmer. “My brother is a bit stubborn and prefers taking the hard route before coming to his senses. Why not use it to my advantage?”
“So, how did your parents help? Did you magically get a tip to where he was?”
If only I could track that. “No, he came back home, and we hid it from everyone. I was more annoyed because I was expecting exactly what you were expecting. A magical tip to where his location was. I’m sure if he had been gone a little longer it would have come. But Wyatt ruined that. Luckily, he was a little shaken. The only other time he’d been taken was when we were kids, and then he had both me and our sister beside him. He was a little…in shock.”
“You broke your little brother and said luckily.” She snorted and fought back a laugh then shook her head holding it in. “Sorry, go on. This led to your parents making a mistake how?”
Her amusement was oddly comforting.
“My brother escaped but was emotionally in pain. After our mother died, she left us letters which were supposed to help with our emotional pain. My grandmother was supposed to give us those letters when she thought we were ready. I found the letters, but I never opened them. I never even thought about them, however…”
“An extra one that magically appeared for Wyatt that wasn’t there before. Addressing his current issues?”
Exactly. “I thought maybe my grandmother was forging their handwriting. But, I know my parents handwriting, every stroke and impression…even the paper it was written on matched all other letters…so it was a brand new one from her. My mother never failed to comfort Wyatt. She can’t help herself.”
“Someone sounds a little jealous,” she muttered against my lips, kissing me gently. “You first borns always hate the second.”
“He’s the third. Dona is a minute older,” I said back through a set jaw.
“He’s the second son. Your duty is to continue the family business. His is to not overshadow you. You were going to have the world at your fingertips, all the power, all the resources. So your mother made Wyatt her favorite, just so he could have something you couldn’t. And that bothers you. You’re so greedy.” I grabbed her throat and she grinned like mad.
“They made him their favorite because they didn’t trust him to be loyal if he had nothing! It was a shield around him…protecting him from betraying me and from me killing him for that betrayal.” I sneered in her face as I gripped her throat.
She leaned in. “My point still stands because you know and yet it still bothers you anyway because you are greedy. Secondly, if you want our sex to get rougher all you have to do is ask.”
“I—”
“The harder you squeeze the harder your cock is getting under me,” she pointed out and I let go. She took a deep beep breath before punching me square in the nose.
“Ah—” my head flew back as I cupped my nose. “Fuck!”
“Just so you know, the rougher you are with me, the rougher I am to you,” she snapped, and when I looked back to her eyes they were dead serious.
Feisty little lioness. “So, if I tie you up and take a whip to you—”
“Don’t complain when I do the same to you.”
I imagined what it would feel like to have her whip me…to see her in that role. I didn’t think I could give up control like that, but I was interested.
“Hello, you’re going to have to wait.” She greeted my cock as he rose up to salute her. “Aren’t we still talking about the trap you plan on leaving for your parents? They spent years convincing you and the rest of the world they were dead. Drawing them out isn’t going to be easy or simple.”
“I don’t want to just draw them out Calliope, I want to make them suffer.”
“What?”
“They left us. They left me holding the bag while they went off into the sunset. Left me in grief. My mother died when I was sixteen, and after seeing that pain, my father left too. They planned it to make look natural, after all who would believe they were both killed at the same time? My father was twenty-eight when his father died. I was fucking 18. Left with the world on my shoulders. And I said fine, I wanted it anyway. But now that I know they are alive I can look back to all the times when I felt something was off, or something was too easy. They abdicated their rule, yet they are still fucking with my legacy now. I will not be their puppet. No one could take down the great Liam and Melody Callahan…no one but me.”
“I must just be sitting against your cock for fun then.” She frowned and tugged on my hair, tilting my head up. “We are going to take them down. Replace them with a much better couple…us.”
“Forgive me…us? Again, if you are not doing all of this to betray me.”
“So that’s why you’ve given in. You win either way. If I’m betraying you, in the end your parents will kill me for you. If help you, then you get one over on your parents.”
Exactly.
“It took years for them to create their plan…hell who knows how long they may have been planning. It could have been since I was born.” I doubted that, but there was still a chance. “The trap I set needs to be slow, unnoticeable, and as you said, delicate. I don’t know when exactly they are watching. This safe house is fine, you can see out but not in.”
“Which is where I come again instead of getting the date I wanted.” She frowned, glaring at me. “This plan...while they are watching you, you need someone who they have no interest or care in setting the traps for them. Even if they’ve seen us together already, they’ll write me off as just another one of your playthings. They would only think you’re serious about me if I go back to Chicago with you. Which is why I can’t go.”
“Yes.”
“You are aware of what you’re asking me, correct, Ethan? This is not simple nor easy,” she insisted, her expression hard. This was why she was so refreshing to be with. She was already on the same page as me. She knew exactly what it would take for this to work: complete devotion to the lie, the fake life I created from this point on, the women that would have to stand in her place.
“My family has always prided itself in the fact that the men are very loyal. That we do not get ourselves entangled in the same sort of drama with our women other families have gotten into. My grandmother would even swear it is the real secret behind our families’ ability to maintain power.”
“But now you’re telling me that in order to be by your side, I need to step aside.”
“No, just be my shadow for a while.”
“Same thing. For this plan to work, your parents must not know you ever had an attachment to me. I was just random fling. The only way to get that to work is for you to screw other women.” She fixed me with an icy stare.
“It would be odd if I suddenly became chaste.” I said what she already knew.
“Give me a reason.”
“A reason?”
She nodded. “A reason why I can trust that I am different from rest of them and follow you down this fucking path.”