Chapter 17 #2
My legs threaten to buckle from how hard I just came, but I’m not ready to pull myself free yet. I want to take a second to admire the sight before me: Riley lying limp with her auburn hair splayed out behind her and her soft thighs wrapped around my waist while my cock is still buried inside her.
But then I notice the red marks on her thighs from where I gripped her, and I grimace. There’s likely even more on her back from lying against the hard stone tiles.
“Come on.” I slowly slide myself free and reach a hand around her waist to lift her into a sitting position. “Let’s go back to the room.”
Her eyes are glazed as she looks at me, but she nods.
I guide her toward the steps, keeping a firm grip on her waist as we exit the pool, and grab a towel to wrap around her shoulders.
I grab a towel from the lounger and quickly run it over my hair to dry it off a little, though when I catch Riley eyeing me like she wants to go for round two, I drop the towel and flash her a smirk.
“Enjoying the view?”
Her cheeks are still flushed from her climax, and I can't help but brush a loose strand of hair from her face. But before I can lean in and brush one last kiss against her lips, I spot them.
Two men, maybe mid-thirties, standing just beyond the pool’s gate. They're pretending to check the time on their phones and look disinterested, but I clock the subtle shift in posture that lets me know they’re tracking our every move.
Fuck.
Keeping one arm firmly around Riley’s waist, I pull her against my side and dip my head to kiss her forehead.
“I don’t want you to panic, but we’ve got company,” I whisper. “Two guys are standing near the fence.”
She stiffens slightly, but I keep my expression relaxed, like I’m whispering something flirty in her ear instead of quietly alerting her to the danger that seems to have followed us across the country.
“Are they watching us?” she whispers.
“Like hawks.”
Using Riley’s body to shield my phone from view, I subtly take a photo of the men and text it to Ronan before hurrying Riley back inside the safety of the hotel before O’Keefe’s men decide to do more than people-watch.
The moment our suite door clicks shut, Riley starts to unravel. Any lingering color in her cheeks vanishes as she starts to pace around the living area, looking panicked.
“What if Sean’s decided he wants us both dead?” She clutches her towel tightly around herself.
“Riley—”
“No, I’m serious, Kieran. You saw those guys. What if they follow us home? What if this is all about tying up loose ends?”
“Riley.” I step into her path, placing my hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Look at me.”
She does, reluctantly, and I do my best to keep my own expression relaxed.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I know you’re scared, but you need to hear me when I say I can handle this. A couple of Sean’s men lurking in a hotel lobby? They don’t scare me.”
“But—”
“Do you trust me to protect you?”
She hesitates only a beat as she looks up at me before nodding. “Yes.”
“Then let me do that. I’ll call Ronan and have him move up our flight. If we leave first thing in the morning, we’ll be gone before anyone has time to act on anything.”
Her shoulders sag as she exhales slowly, but I can still see the worry on her face from the crease that appears between her eyebrows.
“I just need a shower. To think.”
“Take your time.” I drop my hands from her shoulders.
She disappears into the bedroom without another word, and the sound of water running fills the room a moment later.
I take the opportunity to add another layer of protection for Riley, so I grab her phone off the nightstand and bring it over to my open carry-on that lies at the foot of the bed. I rifle through my things until I find a case containing a few audio bugs and GPS trackers.
Slipping off the phone case, I hide one of the trackers inside before popping it back on. I don’t plan on having Riley go anywhere without me, but I can’t be too careful.
Once I’ve checked that the tracker is linked to my own phone, I call Ronan to discuss what we’re going to do about Sean’s watchdogs.
“I was just about to call,” he says the second he answers.
I take a seat on the edge of the bed, wanting to keep Riley in my line of sight just in case.
“Do you recognize the men in the picture?”
“Yeah. Sean’s guys, but they’re low-level errand boys. If Sean was planning something serious, he wouldn’t have sent them.”
“That’s not comforting.” My eyes flick to the bathroom door.
“I’ll book you an earlier flight, but you’re going to have to make your own way to the airport. Do you think you can manage that?”
I bristle at the condescension in his voice. “I’m sure I can figure something out.”
“What the hell were you doing in the pool at midnight anyway?”
I rub a hand down my face. “Does it matter?”
“You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“For fuck’s sake, Kieran. Do you go out of your way to complicate things, or does it just come naturally?”
“Spare me the lecture, brother. Riley and I are just having some fun, that’s all.”
“That ‘fun’ could have gotten you both killed tonight.”
“Stop being so dramatic; it’s annoying. Besides, you’re the one who forced me to marry Riley in the first place, so forgive me for trying to find some sort of way to make it tolerable.”
The lie flies easily off my tongue.
I end the call before Ronan can give me another lecture on how I’m letting the family down, which seems to be a regular occurrence these days. It’s old news at this point, and quite frankly, I’m past caring.
What I can’t seem to get past is Riley.
The truth is, I’m in deep. Maybe too deep.
I don’t know when pretending to care about Riley started to feel real, but somewhere along the way, it did, and that’s the real danger.
Not Sean.
Not his men.
Her.