12. Gemma
Chapter twelve
Gemma
B runch went about as expected. Finn reacted exactly how I predicted. Hell, if it were me, I probably would have been just as suspicious. I can’t blame the man for that. He’s got a wife, a family, and an organization to protect. I was a little taken aback by Alessia’s revelation about knowing my life story and the fact I’d changed my name, though I shouldn't have been. Of course her father would’ve had me checked out. It’s not like I went out of my way to cover my tracks. It never occurred to me that anyone would care to look. I suppose that worked well for me in the end. Made my story more believable to Finn. I also wasn’t prepared for the way Alessia reacted to Finn. She looked about three seconds from jumping from her seat and plowing her fist into her husband's face. There’s no denying there were a few moments I wanted to jump up and do the same myself. I don’t like being called a liar. It’s an insult that was thrown at my mother by various boyfriends and wives throughout the years. I vowed to never be like her. But I also understood his position, so I bit my tongue.
After Eoghan told Finn the plans Nikolai had, they decided that I wasn’t going to be staying at my apartment alone. It makes sense as far as what Viktor wanted. He wants me in with the Monaghans, so if he were to send someone other than Nikolai to check on me, it looks like I’ve basically moved my boyfriend in. It puts Alessia’s mind at ease, knowing I have Eoghan staying with me too. She wanted to take me to their estate and keep an armed guard or two on me at all times, but I said no. That would definitely tip Viktor off. Of course, Finn has Enzo doing double time now that the threat of the Russians has resurfaced. In the last week since brunch, Enzo hasn’t had a single day off, and he won’t be getting one anytime soon. I’ve been sending him videos of cats jumping when they see a cucumber all week to keep his spirits up. I know he appreciates me.
Rolling over in bed, I find the sheets cold. For someone who has always struck me as a night owl, Eoghan seems to get up early quite a bit. It’s my day off, and he’s already making me feel lazy for not being up and at ’em by…whatever time it is.
When he walks into my bedroom from the shower and drops his towel, I decide I don’t care what fucking time it is. The defined planes of his hard chest that are still damp from the shower are capturing all of my focus at the moment. And when I let my gaze travel over his delicious six, no eight-pack, to that V of muscles I love running my tongue over, I begin rubbing my thighs together, feeling all the tingly things seeing him naked does to me.
“Don’t look at me like that, blondie. I have shit to take care of before the fights tonight.”
Eoghan turns and grabs a pair of boxers from the drawer I emptied out for him and pulls them up his legs before finding a pair of dark jeans and sliding them up his body. He leaves the top unbuttoned when he walks toward the bed and kisses me good morning. My attempts to pull him closer by the waist of his pants are thwarted when he pulls away with a chuckle.
“I have to go,” Eoghan says on a groan.
“But it’s Saturday.” When did I turn into this whiny person? Oh, right, when I got used to Eoghan sliding inside me first thing in the morning like he’s been doing all week. I swear on everything holy, it’s a better pick-me-up than any cup of coffee.
He kisses the tip of my nose, and I scrunch it in distaste, making him laugh outright.
“You’re a fiend.” His smile is bright as he pulls a shirt over all the skin and muscle I so enjoy ogling. “I have to make sure everything is set for tonight and do a quick inventory of liquor after last night to make sure I don't have to grab anything. Then I want to check in with Javier and make sure his head is right before tonight.”
Eoghan has been working with one of the kids who works at Freddy’s. We’ve gone over there a couple times together in the last week to get our workouts in. I’m one of the few women who go to that gym, but I swear to God, Freddy’s female membership has probably doubled since Eoghan started going with me on a regular basis. I can’t help but snicker when I see women practically drool over him working out with Javier or lifting weights while I work with my trainer. What those women don’t realize is that trying to pose pretty in front of him isn’t going to steal his attention. Now, if they were in the ring boxing and putting more than minimal effort into their workout, he might throw them a passing glance. Well, before me that is. Now he only has eyes for my form when I’m in the ring, even going so far as to offer suggestions, which my trainer finds oh so amusing.
“Are you excited about tonight?” he asks while he grabs his phone and reads a text. “Nice. Jude and Lucy are coming, too.” He sets his phone on the nightstand and looks at me expectantly.
“A chance to see some boxing and hang out with a bunch of your biker friends? Hell yeah. And Finn is bringing Alessia, too.”
“Oh, I know. I had to beg three of my guys to work overtime tonight because he refused to come without extra security. Though, now that I think about it, Jude did make mention of wanting more security there if Lucy were to ever come to a fight.”
“Jesus, you guys act like we can’t take care of ourselves,” I say, shaking my head.
“He insinuated the security was for anyone who decided to step out of line with his woman.” Eoghan laughs and looks at his watch. “Shit, I have to go.” He leans down and gives me one more quick kiss on the mouth. “I’ll be back later to pick you up. We’ll go to the bar early and have a couple drinks, yeah?”
“Sounds good.”
Eoghan turns and walks out of the apartment, leaving me wholly unsatisfied and frustrated as hell. As soon as I hear the door slam, I reach over into the drawer of my nightstand. I’m not about to spend my day riled up with no relief until Eoghan and I get back tonight. I could possibly talk him into a quickie in his office again, but I don’t want to wait that long either.
Grabbing the pink rose toy from my nightstand, I kick the blanket off my naked body. I slide my hand to my center, slipping a finger in and rubbing the moisture there around my clit. It doesn’t take much more than my featherlight touch to know this won’t take long. Seeing Eoghan just out of the shower is the stuff fantasies are fucking made of. My eyes shut, and I press the vibrator to my clit. The tiny piece that mimics the flick of a tongue immediately makes me jolt with pleasure. A hiss escapes me as my hand cups my breast and my thumb and forefinger begin to twist and pull at my hardened nipple. The vision of Eoghan naked in the middle of my room, giving me that cocky look that says he’s going to wring every ounce of pleasure from my body and turn me into a puddle of orgasmic goo, has me letting out a little moan. In my fantasy, though, he doesn’t step toward the dresser to grab clothes. No. In my mind, he grabs his hard length and strokes himself in long, slow movements, teasing me, making my mouth water as he prowls toward me, writhing on the bed, needy as hell and ready to be filled by him.
“What’s going on in here?”
My eyes pop open, and standing at my bedroom door is the star of my little fantasy with a smirk on his face and blazing heat in his eyes.
“What does it look like to you?” I ask. I don’t remove the toy from between my legs; instead, I widen my thighs a bit to make sure he sees exactly what he’s missing this morning.
“It looks like I’m going to be fucking late,” he replies and whips the T-shirt from his body before toeing off his shoes and undoing the top button of his jeans.
“Don’t stop,” he says, stalking toward me and never taking his eyes off the rose between my legs.
Eoghan positions himself between my thighs and pushes them farther apart, his short nails scraping over the sensitive flesh of my inner thighs.
“Goddamn, Gemma. Does that feel good? Having that toy against your clit?”
Arching my back in pleasure, I release a long moan. “So good. Almost as good as your mouth when you eat me out. Fuck.” I feel the orgasm creeping up on me slowly at first, but as soon as Eoghan thrusts a finger inside me and curls it so he hits that spot inside, I see fucking stars as the orgasm I’ve been chasing rushes through me, soaking his hand as I come with his name falling from my lips.
Eoghan grabs the rose and pulls it from my hand before attaching his mouth to my pussy, licking and sucking on my sensitive clit, drawing out the euphoric feeling. His groans as he eats at me sound absolutely ravenous and delicious. He lifts his head, and a wet, wide smile covers his face.
“Fuck, I could eat your pussy all day and never get tired of it.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
He prowls up my body, the denim of his jeans scratching across my overly sensitive skin. When he reaches my face, he thrusts his tongue inside my mouth, and I taste myself in the kiss. Then he’s off me in a flash, hurriedly ridding himself of the rest of his clothes before he reaches into the nightstand drawer and pulls out a condom. He places the edge of the wrapper between his teeth and rips it open. The sight of him rolling the latex down his rock-hard length has the muscles of my lower abdomen tightening with excited anticipation.
Eoghan grips my hips and flips me over onto my stomach before grabbing a pillow and shoving it under me, lifting my hips a few inches. I turn my head in time to see him reach into my nightstand drawer once again and he pulls out a little bullet vibrator. This isn’t the first time we’ve played with toys, but it’s the first time he’s caught me pleasuring myself without him. I haven’t needed to since he moved in, but hey, he’s the one who ran out on me this morning. What’s a girl to do?
“I don’t think it’s fair that you were playing without me, Gemma,” he growls in my ear as he turns the bullet on.
“You shouldn’t have left me without fucking me, Eoghan.”
His low chuckle rumbles from his chest into my back.
“You’re right. That wasn’t good boyfriend behavior. Fuck, I’m so glad I forgot my phone.”
I look over to the nightstand, and sure enough, there it sits.
“Lucky you,” I say as his hand slips between the pillow and my pussy, where he presses the tiny vibrating apparatus against my clit.
“Fuck yeah, lucky me.”
He lifts himself from my back, then slides into me in one thrust. “God, I love fucking you when you’ve just come. You’re so fucking tight and wet for me.” He begins thrusting in and out, pressing harder into me, which causes the bullet to sit firmly against my clit. It’s so much, Eoghan being so deep inside me with the vibrations on my clit; I know I’m not going to last long.
“Jesus, you’re so deep like this.” I bury my face in the pillow and let out a loud moan, but Eoghan fists his hand in my hair and pulls my head from the pillow.
“Uh-uh, blondie. I want to hear you scream my name while I fuck you.”
The walls of my pussy begin to flutter and tighten around his length, my orgasm mere seconds away.
“That’s it. Strangle my cock. Let me hear you, Gemma.”
“Fuuuuck, yes. God, right there.”
He continues to pound into me, sweat slick between our bodies as my second orgasm rockets through me. Every inch of my skin feels like it’s vibrating from the impact of the pleasure coursing through my body, setting my blood on fire.
“Ahh,” Eoghan bellows and I feel his cock jerk inside of me as he loses himself in his own climax. After several deep breaths, the hand in my hair begins to rub my scalp as he pulls himself out of me and reaches under me to grab the bullet. Eoghan peppers kisses down my spine, causing me to let out some very girlish giggles.
“I’ve never been so fucking thrilled to be running late in my entire life.”
I laugh outright at that and turn onto my back after he lifts off me and disposes of the condom. He stands next to the bed and bends over, taking my nipple in his mouth and sucking hard.
“Don’t start something you can't finish,” I warn.
“Dammit, you’re right,” he says in a disgruntled growl while staring at my chest. “I’ll come back to you beauties later.”
“Were you just talking to my tits?”
He shrugs and grabs his boxers, sliding them back into place. “I fucking love your tits and don’t spend nearly enough time with them.”
“You see me naked every night.”
He quickly pulls his pants back on and grabs his T-shirt, throwing it over his head. “Blondie, there will never come a day when I get enough of you. I don’t care how many times I get to see you naked, eat your pussy, or make you come on my cock. It’s never enough.”
“That was almost sweet.”
“It’s the truth. I told you—superglue.” He leans down and kisses me again before grabbing the phone he forgot and sliding it into the pocket of his jeans. “See you in a few hours.”
Eoghan may not be the most romantic man on the planet, but when he says shit like that, I get a little gooey on the inside. I laugh into the empty room, wondering how the man who used to annoy me to no end has wormed his way inside the parts of me I swore no one would ever touch. And for the first time in my life, that thought doesn’t scare the hell out of me.
The bar is packed when we get there. It’s the first fight night in several weeks, and the crowd is ready for some bloodshed. We still have about an hour before they start, so Eoghan and I are sitting at our table with Alessia and Finn, Enzo perched just a few feet away.
“You could have given him the night off. It’s not like there isn’t a shit ton of security here,” Alessia says to her husband.
“I’m not taking any chances. You know I hate having you here with this kind of crowd.”
Alessia rolls her eyes at her overprotective husband. “It’s almost as though you think I can’t take care of myself.”
“I said the same thing,” I grumble into my cocktail.
“It’s not you I worry about,” Finn starts, and Alessia gives him a flat look. “Okay, obviously that’s part of it. It’s the poor asshole I’ll have to teach a lesson to if he thinks he can touch you, wife. Bad for business and all that.”
Alessia leans in and gives Finn a sweet kiss on the mouth. “That’s fair.”
A few months ago, Finn had to teach that lesson to a man who grabbed her while he was in the ring. We thought we were so smooth, coming to a fight night without telling her husband. I’d always wanted to come to a fight night at Clovers, but I can admit it wasn’t my smartest idea, especially without Alessia mentioning it to Finn. I like to think because of that night, I had a hand in them getting closer to admitting their feelings for each other, in my own twisted way.
“Oi!”
I look over and see a tall blond biker with chin-length hair wearing a Black Roses MC cut. As he makes his way to our table, a short woman with long black hair and eyes that promise mischief has her hand clasped in his. What can I say? Like recognizes like. Another man is behind them; this one has dark features, and he’s holding the hand of a woman with deep-brown hair and bright-blue eyes.
“Hey, you fucking wanker,” Eoghan says as he stands to give the guy in front one of those backslapping hugs. He then shakes the hand of the man behind him with a wide smile on his face. “I’m glad you guys could make it.” Eoghan turns to me and introduces the new group. “Gemma, this is Jude and his old lady, Lucy.” He points to the blond man and the woman he’s with. “And this is Linc and Charlie,” he says, nodding to the other couple.
I shake everyone's hands while Eoghan signals to the waitress for a round, and we all take our seats around the table. Well, all except for Lucy, who is promptly pulled into Jude’s lap.
“Jesus, why don’t you just whip it out and pee on me, asshole,” the raven-haired beauty says to her boyfriend.
“Listen, Lucifer, I’m not taking any chances with you starting a bar fight in here if one of these overgrown frat boys tried to hit on you or cop a feel.”
“Hey, I run a respectable establishment here,” Eoghan grouses in mock offense.
“And I bartend for a living. Taking care of drunk assholes is practically a requirement of the job,” Lucy argues.
“I’d like to have a nice evening out with my friends and old lady, so I’m covering my bases. Now stop squirming. You’re making my dick hard.”
Lucy smacks him in the chest. “Asshole.”
“Demon wench.”
I turn to Charlie, who’s chuckling next to her man, tucked into his side. “Are they always like this?”
“Oh, this is nothing. If they really decide to get in a fight, watch out,” she replies.
Our waitress comes over and drops off a round of beers and several shots of whiskey. She sets down a vodka shot for me since Eoghan knows I don’t like whiskey, and I send him a small smile of thanks.
“Gemma,” Jude says, turning to me. “It’s nice to put a face to the name.”
“I never told you her name,” Eoghan says.
Jude turns his gaze to Eoghan. “You didn’t have to. It’s clear as day this is the woman you were panting after the last time I saw you.” He looks back at me. “He’s shite at picking up women. Good thing you put him out of his misery, love.”
“Well, he can’t be that bad. It obviously worked,” Alessia says from across the table. “I’m not going to lie; it’s still a little weird to see you two together. I swear you hated him,” she says to me before taking a sip of her whiskey.
“Isn’t that the start of all great love stories?” Jude asks, kissing Lucy’s shoulder in a surprisingly tender moment.
Finn and Eoghan nod. “I’ll cheers to that,” Finn says, lifting his shot glass. We all clank glasses and down the alcohol.
An hour passes, and it’s time to go downstairs so Eoghan can take care of his hosting duties. As soon as he steps away from me, Jude steps closer with his arm around Lucy when Eoghan goes to check on Javier, who is the first fight of the night.
“You playing my protector while my boyfriend works?” I ask the Englishman.
He nods. “He’d do the same.”
Lucy leans around him and smiles. “I find it’s easier to let them think we need protection. You know, so as not to hurt their precious egos.”
“Yes, what would our little egos do without you,” Jude says in a dry tone.
“So, is this like sanctioned fights with headgear and gloves,” Charlie asks from the other side of Lucy.
I shake my head. “Nope. They just tape up their knuckles.”
A wide smile stretches across Lucy’s face. “Extra bloody. I like it.”
This girl is bloodthirsty, like my best friend. No wonder I like her so much.
Eoghan enters the ring and pumps up the crowd while introducing Javier and the other fighter. When Javier jumps in the ring, there’re no nerves on his face, just singular focus.
They tap fists and the bell dings. Javier studies the fighter as they circle each other, throwing a few punches here and there to test the other’s reflexes. Then the real fighting begins. His opponent charges in and throws a punch combination that catches Javier in the ribs. Javier deflects the uppercut and retaliates with several of his own punches, plowing into the guy’s ribs and right flank. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with how far he’s come since Eoghan has been working with him.
The bell dings, signaling the round is over. Javier goes to his corner and nods at whatever his trainer is saying. I catch sight of Eoghan, who’s keeping a straight face, but I can tell he’s as nervous as a mother hen watching Javier. It’s in the way he’s chewing on the corner of his thumb. He doesn’t have many tells, but I’ve been around him enough to know that’s a small chink in his otherwise tough armor.
The two meet again in the middle of the ring, and this time, Javier wastes no time and goes after his opponent, throwing blow after blow. The bell dings again after a couple minutes, signaling the end of round two. Eoghan is still trying to play like he’s unaffected, but I see the anticipation on his face when the third round starts. This time, the other guy is a lot slower on his feet and has lost the steam he started with. He’s favoring his right side, and Javier notices it, too, before going in hard. Finally, Javier throws a punch to the man’s face, and he rears back, falling to his ass. When the guy’s head hits the mat, Javier’s trainer jumps in the ring, grabbing his hand and raising it in the air. Holy shit . He got a knockout and barely has a scratch on him. Half the crowd goes wild because they just won a shit ton of money betting on an untested fighter, and the other half walks off to get a drink from the bar to drown their sorrows over losing.
Eoghan comes over to me with a grin on his face. “Damn, that kid is good.”
“Hell yeah, he is,” Linc comments. “You been working with him?”
Eoghan tells him a bit of the story of how they met and the trainer he’s had working with him when a man comes over and taps Eoghan on the shoulder. “We have a situation.”
Eoghan turns his attention to one of his security guards. “What’s going on?”
“Someone spiked Kenny’s water bottle. The kid can barely stand.”
“What the actual fuck?” Eoghan spits.
“Yeah, we have those test strips, and he was definitely drugged.”
“Do you think it was someone with Roman?”
“If he’s too sick to go up, it’s a forfeit, so he stands a shot at winning a shit ton of money,” the guard replies with a shrug.
“Goddamnit. Okay. Get Kenny out of here.”
“Someone drugged one of your fighters?” I ask, shock lacing my words. What kind of stupid moron would try to throw a match run by the Irish mob?
Eoghan looks to his brother in question. Though Eoghan is in charge of the fights, Finn is the head of the Monaghan organization.
“This is your domain. How do you want to handle it?” Finn asks.
Eoghan thinks about his question for a moment, then a sinister smile appears on his face. “I’m going to send them a message.” He leans over and kisses me square on the mouth. “Stay over here with everyone. I’ll be right back.”
Eoghan walks away from me, and I see him say something to one of his security guards, who begins talking on his radio. When he jumps in the ring, the crowd starts cheering again, ready for the next fight.
“There’s been a slight change in plans. Kenny isn’t fighting tonight.” The crowd boos, but I spot three other guys trying, and failing, to hide their smiles.
“Calm down, calm down,” Eoghan says into the microphone. “Bets are placed, so instead of canceling the last fight of the night, I’ll be stepping in for Kenny.”
The crowd goes absolutely wild at Eoghan’s announcement, and my heart drops into my stomach.
I look at Finn, who’s wearing a small grin.
“He’s going to fight instead? Is that even legal?”
Finn laughs. “None of this is legal, but no one is going to argue with a Monaghan.”
“Jesus Christ,” I breathe out, turning my attention back to the ring.
Eoghan has removed his T-shirt and is taping up his knuckles. When he eyes the fighter in the other corner, I see the unquenched thirst for bloodshed on his face. Someone messed with one of his fighters, and he’s not about to let it slide.
Standing in that ring isn’t the man who opens doors for me and makes it to church on Sundays with his family. No, standing in front of me is a man who’s about to show everyone in this room why you don’t fuck with the Monaghans and think you can get away with it.