Chapter Eighteen
CIARA
Sinking into the enormous jacuzzi tub in Ronan’s ensuite bathroom almost feels like a luxury spa. I poured in too much bubble bath and added essential oils, making the room smell like lavender and vanilla. I even lit enough candles to create a fire hazard.
I lie back, letting the water cover me up to my chin and close my eyes, savoring the silence—
“Ciara?” Ronan pounds on the door.
Ever since he noticed my morning sickness, though he still has no idea that’s what it is, he became my shadow. And I thought he was overprotective before, but now I can barely go to the bathroom without him needing to know if I’m all right.
When I’m not depleted from this pregnancy, I find it sweet. But at the moment, I just really want to enjoy this bath in silence and peace and by myself.
“Ciara?” Ronan’s voice is laced with worry. “Are you okay? You’ve been in there a while.”
If by a while you mean ten minutes…
I sink lower beneath the water.
Maybe if I don’t answer he’ll take that as his cue to leav—
“Ciara?”
Guess not.
“I’m fine. I’m just taking a bath like I told you!”
There's a pause, and I wonder if he’s finally leaving me alone.
But when his retreating footsteps don’t come, I know he doesn’t believe me. Not that I blame him, but still.
“You can come in and see for yourself if you prefer."
Not even a second later, the door opens, and Ronan barges in, his eyes scanning for any sign of danger.
"Ronan!" I scramble to pile more bubbles over my chest. "I didn’t actually think you would come in!"
“I’m just checking that you’re all right.”
“I’m in your jacuzzi bath; why wouldn’t I be all right?”
Will he still be this protective when he learns I’m carrying the heir to the Sullivan empire?
“Because you’re alone.” He gives me a look that makes my blood heat—not because of the hot water. “Besides, you literally invited me to come in.”
He leans against the doorway with his arms crossed and a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.
"But you didn’t have to barge in like that.” I adjust the bubbles again, trying to shield my naked body from view.
"Don’t worry, I've seen it all before."
I shoot him a glare. "What is it this time, or are you just here to annoy me?"
His smirk fades, and he runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back in that distracted way he always does when he's stressed. "I need to head out. But I’m... I don’t know. I guess I’m having trouble leaving you here."
I sit up a little, careful to keep the bubbles intact.
"You’re seriously worried about me being here in our house with a full team of security?"
Ronan’s expression hardens as he loses himself in thought for a moment. It’s clear something is bothering him.
“Ronan, talk to me.”
His gaze drops to the floor. “There’s someone on the team I can’t trust. I don’t know who it is yet, and that fact is eating away at me. What if whoever it is manages to break through our security system? What if something happens while I’m gone?"
I groan. There goes my relaxing jacuzzi bath.
"You can trust Stephen, right? You know he wouldn’t let anything happen to me."
He doesn’t respond, but I notice his eyes darken.
There’s a restlessness to him that I find unnerving, but if we’re going to survive in this world together, he needs to learn to trust me—and himself.
I point to my towel hanging on the heated rail. “Hand me that, will you? And turn around."
He grabs the towel and walks over to the edge of the bath, but instead of turning around, he holds it open for me to step into.
"Seriously?"
"I’m not looking." His eyes remain fixed on me.
It’s not that I’m self-conscious about my body, but ever since I found out I was pregnant, I’m hyper-aware of every little change.
I may not have a visible bump, but I’m definitely more bloated than usual, and I’ve already noticed my breasts have gotten larger and a hell of a lot more sensitive, which Ronan is bound to notice sooner or later.
With a sigh, I climb out of the bath and step into his arms, letting him wrap the warm towel around my body. I shiver as his large hands move up and down my arms, toweling me dry while his gaze stays locked on mine.
"You’re my number one priority, Tine Bheag."
“I know.” I offer him a smile.
The tension is clear in his shoulders and the hard set of his jaw, and I know it won’t ease if he stays behind to babysit me.
"Go and do what you need to do. You can leave Stephen here and order him to keep his eyes on me at all times, but I want to remind you, I can take care of myself.”
“Ciara…”
“I’m a big girl, remember? And if all hell breaks loose, I’m sure Stephen has a few tricks up his sleeve on how to take care of me.”
A deep growl builds in Ronan’s throat, and I roll my eyes.
“Seriously? This again?”
“No one takes care of you but me.”
“Really? I thought you had better things to do?”
“Don’t test me right now, Tine Bheag.”
“Me? Test you? No… That doesn’t sound like something I would do.”
My words have the right effect, and the corner of Ronan’s lips twitch.
“Now, you are free to stay, but that means Kieran is in charge of whatever heist you’re planning, and I doubt that’s a good thing.”
Ronan chuckles softly. “Heist? What do you think I do exactly?”
I exhale at the sound, feeling my anxiety dissipate.
There’s the Ronan I know.
“Stand around with a bunch of guys, measuring your dicks and waving machine guns around.”
I glance up, and Ronan is fighting a smile.
"You know, most women would kill for my undivided attention." His fingertips trail along my neck. “And yet, you’re willingly sending me away.”
"You should know by now that I’m not most women.”
He places a finger beneath my chin and tilts my head up. "That you are most definitely not.”
His gaze darkens.
The look in his eyes has me rubbing my thighs together as a dull ache starts to build between them.
Damn hormones.
My throat suddenly goes painfully dry as I think of him stripping off his clothes and carrying me into the tub, positioning me on his lap.
I swallow a whimper as my pussy clenches at the thought of sinking down onto his cock and riding him until I’m screaming his name—
“You okay there?” He chuckles. “You look a little flustered.”
I clear my throat as I try to force the image of Ronan climaxing as I ride him right here in the tub from my mind. “Shouldn’t you be going?”
His tongue darts out to wet his lips, and I catch a flash of need in his eyes, as if he’s picturing the same thing I am.
"There’s something I need to do first." He leans in and captures my mouth with his.
The kiss isn’t so much about seduction as it is about reassurance, for both of us.
Ronan’s fingers tangle in my damp hair, causing the towel to drop to the floor, leaving me naked and wet before him.
I should pull away. I should tell him to stay focused, but I don’t. I can’t. Not when my body is begging me to hold him closer.
Maybe our enemies can wait ten minutes…
As if he can read my mind, Ronan lifts me into his arms and carries me into the bedroom. He lays me down gently on the comforter before taking hold of my ankles and yanking me to the edge of the bed.
Before I can even register it, he’s on his knees with my legs over his shoulders and his tongue on my pussy.
My fingers sink into his dark hair. “Oh, God.”
Ronan groans as he licks a long, lazy stroke along my slit before flicking the tip of his tongue over my clit.
My body jerks off the bed, and a rush of wetness spreads between my thighs as my climax starts to build.
My clit starts to throb. “More. Please.”
I hold his face against my core, desperate for more friction, and for once, Ronan doesn’t make me work for it.
He licks along the length of my pussy before swirling his tongue around my clit. It feels incredible, and I can’t help but start to move my hips so that I’m grinding against his face.
“Fuck, that’s it, baby.”
A strangled sob escapes me as my breasts start to feel heavy and my thighs start to clench around Ronan’s head.
I keep one hand in his hair as I trail the other up my bare torso until I’m cupping my breast.
He growls. “Come for me.”
Ronan wraps his lips around my clit and sucks on the sensitive bud as I rub my thumb over my nipple. The resulting bolt of pleasure through my body is enough to send me over the edge, and I arch off the bed, practically sobbing as I come on his tongue.
By the time I collapse back against the bed, Ronan is on his feet and unbuckling his belt.
When he pulls his cock free, my pussy clenches at the sight of it, so thick and hard and already glistening with precum.
My mouth waters at the thought of tasting him. But I also need him inside me. I need to hold his big, powerful body against me because even though I know Ronan can take care of himself, there is always a risk that when he walks out that door, he might never come back.
I spread my thighs apart to offer myself up to him. “Fuck me.”
Ronan doesn’t bother to shed his clothes. Instead, he climbs onto the bed and grips the base of his cock in his hand as he lines himself up with my entrance.
He slowly starts to move his hips, giving me one glorious inch at a time.
Even though I’m warmed up, I still gasp at the slight sting that follows as he stretches me.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he groans before kissing me deeply.
I moan into his mouth, tasting myself on him as he starts to move his hips, slowly sliding his cock free before sinking back all the way to the hilt.
“Me neither.”
Ronan takes one hand and buries it in my hair, while the other moves to my hip, holding me steady as he starts to increase his pace.
His tongue strokes against mine, matching the movements of his cock as he claims both my mouth and my pussy.
Already, another orgasm is building, and I know Ronan can tell. He knows my body better than I do, so he pulls back and lifts my legs over his shoulders so he can hit me even deeper.
“I could spend all night inside you.”
I can’t take my eyes off of him.
His beautiful face is contorted with agony as he brings us closer to the edge, and I know a few more thrusts will have us both climaxing.
I sink my nails into his arms as I move my hips, meeting him thrust for thrust.
“I’m yours. All of me is yours.”
“Ciara…”
“I’m all yours.”
Ronan’s cock swells inside me, and then we’re both moaning with the pleasure of our release.
I clench around him, taking every last drop he gives me as he continues to move inside me.
My entire body trembles as he makes sure to drag our release out as long as possible until he collapses on top of me, our bodies slick with sweat and our breathing heavy.
"I hate leaving you like this," he whispers in my ear, his cock still buried inside me.
I pull back slightly to look at him.
"Then don’t.” I want to savor the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine.
He lets out a breathy laugh. "You know I have to. Besides, you were kicking me out not that long ago.”
He brushes his thumb over my lower lip.
I nod as I run my fingers down the line of his jaw. "Just...don’t forget to come back in one piece."
Something dark flickers in his eyes, and I know he’s starting to go to that place in his mind. The one where he is no longer the Ronan that I’ve come to know, but the ruthless mafia don who will do whatever is necessary to protect his family.
He rests his forehead against mine. "You’re the only thing keeping me sane right now."
"That’s a lot of pressure."
"You handle it better than anyone else could."
He finally pulls himself free but not before pressing another kiss to my temple.
The gentle touch has my eyes stinging, and I quickly reach out to grab his arm before he can climb off of me completely.
"Ronan?"
"Yeah?"
"I mean it. Be careful."
His jaw tightens, and I can see it in his dark eyes that he’s unraveling, thread by thread.
"Always."
Then he’s gone again.