Chapter 37
C onnor
Bone-deep hatred controlled my moves. Ice-cold, I stared down the mayor. “What happened to Everly’s mother?”
“What the fuck have you done to Piers? Don’t you know who he is?”
“He’s a would-be rapist and is lucky to still be alive.” I inched closer to the man I really wanted to end. My stepfather, once upon a time. “After all you’ve done, ye should count yourself lucky that I’m content to walk away with Everly.”
“Lucky? You’re a cold-blooded killer,” he spluttered.
“A fact you’ve benefitted from for years. Don’t think we didn’t keep evidence of your involvement, just as ye did for me.”
Through monitoring me, the mayor had connected with Arran, the up-and-coming new force in Deadwater. The steady feed of criminal cases via Kenney came with the mayoral stamp of approval. It was part of the web of corruption in the city. Symbiotic and functional.
Understanding that enabled me to realise exactly how scared of me he’d become.
“Your hands are just as bloody as mine,” I taunted. “So answer my questions, because there are only two left. Did ye kill Everly’s ma?”
“No,” he said on a breath made of fury. “What’s your other question so you can get the fuck away from my house?”
I held the screen up once more. “Choose who ye want back.”
Slaughter, Blake, or Roache.
“If you knew the weight of the law I could bring down on you?—”
“Choose,” I roared.
“Piers,” he spat.
No surprise there. I killed the live feed and gifted him a crocodile smile to rival his own. “You’ll get him back tomorrow. If Everly even sees ye in passing, or if my crew gets one sniff of harassment, I’ll take him back as easily as I caught him. Don’t think I can’t. I learned how to craft a threat from the best. See ye around.”
Through a parted sea of terrified security officers, I stalked back to the vehicles.
“Drive us,” I snapped at Mick.
He ducked into my front seat while I pulled Everly into the back with me. Onto my lap. Into my arms where I’d never let her go again.
At the warehouse, I carried her out, ignoring everything but her on my mission to reach the apartment we shared. A debrief with Arran was required, but it would wait.
I carried Everly to our bed and sank into the sheets with her. We kicked off our shoes, and for a long while just held on tight, the late September afternoon fading into evening.
“I’m so sorry I left ye,” I told her.
“No. Please don’t. All I want from you is the same thing I did ten years ago. For you to kiss me and tell me we’re free.”
Everly sat up, and I followed. She positioned herself on my lap with her legs and arms wrapped around me. Our favourite pose as kids. Softly, I tasted her lips. My fucking heart thundered, and I angled my head to deepen the connection.
“We’re free,” I promised between kisses. “This is us now forever.”
In the time we’d been reunited, little about us had been tender. I hadn’t. I’d treated her roughly. Taken the control she’d readily allowed, but not carefully. I’d sought to own her on my terms only and I’d been wrong.
Everly shuddered, dropping her head to breathe against my shoulder. “Our start-again. We finally made it.”
“I won’t take from you and I won’t hide anything from you,” I promised. “Which means a confession before anything else is said.”
She exhaled a shocked breath. “How bad can it be?”
I’d kidnapped her, drugged her, locked her up, and tattooed her while forcing orgasm after orgasm into her flesh. It made sense that she expected worse to come.
I forced myself to say the words. “Two things. First, I put a tracker in ye. Years ago. Just so I could be sure ye were safe.”
Her lips parted, but I wasn’t done.
“And I swapped out your contraceptive pills. If the universe has anything to say about it, you’ll be pregnant with my bairn sometime soon.”
That shock changed to another emotion I couldn’t identify, and her fingertips pressed my chest to give her space. Everly stared deep into my soul. If anything other than darkness gazed back at her, I couldn’t be sure, but I brushed my thumb under her breast, touching the word she needed to understand.
“I went too far in my attempt to keep ye, but I’m not sorry. You’re mine.”
Everly watched me for long enough that panic tightened my gut, but then she reached and stripped her camisole over her head. Her bra fell away next, revealing her stunning body. Then she picked up my hand.
One by one, she drifted our joint touch over her tattoos.
“What inspired the word choice?”
“It was all the things we had. Everything ye listed when I had no choice but to listen, and all ye should’ve been sure of when it came to me. I placed each where it could be hidden under formal clothes, if ye wanted. Even if you’re wearing these out for any fucker to see.” I squeezed her breast.
“Mine. Wanted. Needed. Owned. Claimed. Free.” She paused over the last. The one on her hip. “Loved.”
I rolled her onto her back, fitting myself between her legs. “As declarations of love go, how did I do?”
Her dazzled gaze held mine. “Say that word again.”
“Declaration?”
She smacked my chest.
“Love,” I countered, and my pulse raced. “I loved ye at first sight and I never stopped. I wanted ye, needed ye, all those words were my world.”
“God, Connor.” Everly pulled me in for another kiss that had our hands entwined.
Me bucking against her curves.
Our hearts thumping to the same beat.
A few minutes on and our clothes had gone. She kissed down my body to explore me fully, her tongue teasing my piercing, permission granted for her to do whatever she wanted to me now.
Until need beat out everything else. I threw her onto her back and pushed inside her while fusing my mouth to hers. The way we moved together mirrored our first time, when control and method gave way to sheer need, and I buried myself in her over and again, claiming each soft sound and happy sigh.
When Everly came, I followed after, clutching her to me and at a loss for words.
It was fine. She had some for me.
“I need to tell you something, too.” She gave a sly grin. “Fake or otherwise, I tossed my contraceptive pills. Haven’t taken one in days.”
I groaned and brought my fingers to the place we were still joined. “All this cum is going to get to work on ye.” I started getting hard again, hooked on the idea. “Claim ye on the inside like I did with your body.”
She laughed.
It was dark the next time we noticed, and I couldn’t think of anything but her.