I felt him nudge my opening and blurted out a warning. “I’m a virgin.”
He froze, his eyes widening in surprise. “Fuck!” he hissed.
He dropped his head against mine, and I tried to prepare myself for his anger and disappointment. I felt his chest expand as he took a deep breath, and my vision blurred. Great, now I was mortified and crying. What a fucking perfect combination. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stem the flow and block out whatever was about to happen.
“Oh, kitten.” The whisper-soft sound of adoration in Brandon’s tone had my eyes popping open. If anything, his eyes were even more heated at my admission.
“You’re not angry?”
“Hell, no! I’m thrilled as fuck to know I’m going to be the first and only man to have you.”
I wasn’t sure what to think of the possessive gleam in his eyes or the way he used the word ‘only.’ Considering how he’d acted around me since we met and what he’d accused me of, it was enough to give a girl whiplash. “I know it’s weird, me still being a virgin. But if you knew the way I grew up, you’d understand.”
He twisted, rolling onto his back and pulling me onto his chest. His dick was rock hard and digging into my stomach, but he acted like it wasn’t bothering him. “Then tell me so I’ll understand. And while you’re at it, explain why an O’Reilly was willing to help the DeLucas.”
“It’s a long story,” I sighed.
“We’ve got all night.”
I must have been delirious from the orgasms because I found myself closing my eyes and resting my head against his chest while I told him things I’d only admitted to one other person, and that was out of sheer desperation. “My da isn’t a good man. Back when my ma was alive and I was a little girl, I thought he hung the moon. Then she died, and I realized he was only pretending for her sake. For what it’s worth, he loved her. He really did.”
I rubbed my cheek against his hot skin, thinking about how I’d dreamt of finding a man who looked at me the way my da had looked at my ma. “Once she was gone, it was as though something broke inside of him. The darkness he’d tried to overcome for her consumed him. He didn’t care about anyone—not even his kids. The only thing that mattered to him was money and power. And if we interfered with his goals in any way, we paid dearly.”
I gulped, thinking of hours spent locked in a dark closet as punishment for one infraction or another. I still had an aversion to small spaces. I didn’t think I’d ever overcome it. “As I grew older, I realized he was willing to do almost anything to get what he wanted. Drugs, guns, human trafficking. It was all the same to him. A means to an end. And then I learned that’s all I was to him, too.”
“What’d he do to you?” Brandon growled.
“It turned out he hadn’t guarded my virtue all those years to protect me. He just wanted a virgin daughter to barter off for even more power.”
“Motherfucker,” he hissed. “That’s why you came to Nic?”
“Yeah, a fat lot of good it did for me, since my own father wants me dead for being a traitor to the family.”
“It did a lot of good, Carly.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“It brought you to me.” His arms tightened around me. “I swear to fuck I’ll keep you safe from him.”
“I don’t want to go back, Brandon. I’m so tired of it all.” Really, I was just plain old tired, as my wide yawn proved.
“Then sleep, kitten. We’ll worry about it in the morning.”
I’d shot him in the leg, made him chase me across several states, left him with a case of blue balls after he gave me the most amazing orgasms ever... and he responded by holding me in his arms while I slept soundly for the first time in my entire life, secure in his embrace.
Chapter 3
Brandon
Pat O’Reilly was a dead man walking. While listening to Carly tell me about her childhood, I felt the rage boiling just under the surface. He had treated his own child no better than an animal and then planned to auction her off to the most powerful bidder. I was already planning each little way I would torture him before letting him die.
Carly snuggled deeper into my embrace, and I closed my eyes, reveling in the peace I was finding in her arms. I hadn’t expected her to be such a balm to my tarnished soul. Every protective instinct in me had roared to life and I knew I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. I was keeping her, period.
It was tempting to stay in this little house and hide away from the world. I could easily imagine spending hours worshiping Carly’s incredible body. I couldn’t believe it when she told me she was a virgin. I discovered the caveman inside me that I had no idea existed there. I mentally beat on my chest and yelled to everyone that this woman was mine. Would only ever be mine.
I’d never been casual about sex, and I knew she was my forever, so, it surprised me when I pulled out before taking her virginity last night. I’ve never wanted a woman so fucking much in my life, but something held me back. With all of the shit she’d dealt with in her life, I knew this could and should be one thing that is special. And, it wouldn’t be in some random bed, in an unknown house, while on the run. Despite the painful encouragement I was getting from my rock hard cock.
In fact, it was time to get back to reality. I kissed her head and nuzzled my nose in her long red hair, inhaling the delicious scent of coconut. “Carly,” I said quietly, with a light kiss to her forehead. “Kitten, it’s time to get up.”
She mumbled something incoherent and stretched, throwing her leg across mine, brushing my erection. I groaned in response to the sparks of pleasure the simple movement had caused. Carly stilled, instantly alert, every muscle tensed and ready for fight or flight.
I didn’t know which she would settle on so I flipped us over, caging her underneath me. When she saw it was me, there was a mixture of relief and fury. Really? Back to that again, are we? “Retract your claws, kitten. We don’t have time for you to fight with me about who you belong to. Accept it and move forward, because we have a lot of other shit to deal with right now.”
“Be—belong to?” she sputtered incredulously.
I sighed, so done with this. “Yes, babe. You’re mine. We’ve covered this. Now, no kicking or punching me when I let you up. Get your sweet ass moving so we can get on the road.”
“Fine,” she said through clenched teeth as she glared at me. I nodded and slowly moved off of her, wary and protecting my important parts. Once she was free, her hand flew under her pillow, her face a mask of shock when she realized her gun was no longer there.
“No shooting me either, kitten,” I scolded with a shake of my head. She continued to scowl at me, but there was a glimmer of respect in her dark green eyes. I smiled and winked, prompting her to roll her eyes and slip out of bed.
When she faced me, hands on hips and anger coloring her features, it was clear she’d forgotten she was completely naked. Her tits weren’t big, but they were the perfect fit for my palms and mouth. She was long and lean with a sexy flare of hips, and though I couldn’t see it right then, I knew she had a spectacular ass. She looked so unbelievably sexy, I leaked a little come on the bed. The sheet was covering me, but it didn’t hide the ever-rising tent I was making.
She glanced down and gasped, grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around her body, which subsequently bared my whole body for her viewing pleasure. I laid back, hands behind my head and smugly let her look her fill. Her eyes were glued to my cock as it stood up, proudly saluting her. Her pink tongue peeked out to lick her lips and come oozed down my shaft.
“It’s all yours, kitty cat. I’m yours every bit as much as you are mine.” Her eyes darted up to meet my gaze, and she seemed to snap herself out of whatever fog she’d been in.
“I’m not going back, Brandon. No matter how distracting you are,” she declared, gesturing at my cock with a wave of her hand. “There is a fucking price on my head. Yours too, so you should stay away also, if you know what’s good for you.”
/> I narrowed my eyes. “Where did my courageous kitten go?” I challenged her. “Seems to me, you’re using up all of your mettle fighting me, instead of the son of a bitch coming after you.”
Her shoulders straightened and her eyes spit daggers at me. “I’m not a coward, jackass. I’m smart.”
“I never said you were a coward, babe,” I soothed. “I was simply suggesting you redirect your energy.”