Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Ciaran
Fear like I’d never experienced before gripped me as we drove back to the lake house. We’d gotten halfway to the city when an alert pinged on my phone, warning me of a breach in security. I realized immediately that the fire was a diversion to get me and my brothers away from the house. Thank fuck I’d left Will behind, so the women weren’t entirely unprotected.
Not knowing what was happening drove me wild. I should have been able to access the security cameras, but the app wouldn’t work. My tech guys would answer for that. I thought I’d hired the best in the business, but apparently not. I’d tried calling Will and Emily’s cellphones and the satellite phone in the safe room repeatedly but couldn’t get through on any number. Hopefully, my brother had gotten the women in there before anything could happen to them. If either of them were harmed, heads would roll.
As we entered the property, through gates that shouldn’t have been open, Max’s car, which was behind ours, stopped. He got out to check whether any of the men lying in the driveway were still breathing. Sean and I continued to the house. Checking my gun, I jumped out of the car. Three vehicles sat in the driveway, none of which I recognized.
My brother followed as I entered the house as quietly as possible. We scanned our surroundings for signs of an intruder as we slowly made our way toward the kitchen. The safe room was the first place I wanted to check. When we got closer to the kitchen, I heard voices. Sean must have too, as he signaled for me to stop.
“Em?” Sean mouthed.
I nodded. Though I couldn’t make out what she was saying, it was my sister speaking. We moved forward cautiously and stepped into the kitchen. The scene that greeted us stunned me. It was a bloodbath. Five bodies lay on the floor, clearly dead. A sixth, that asshole Danny Mulhearn himself, writhed around, squealing like a pig. Emily stood over him, wielding an AR-15 like a pro.
Annie crouched next to Will by the pantry door, talking to him in soothing tones as she pressed a sterile pad to a bloody wound on his shoulder. As she realized someone had come into the room, Emily raised her weapon. She lowered it the moment she saw it was me and Sean.
“You took your sweet fucking time,” she grumbled.
“Got here as fast as we could.”
“Looks like we missed the fun.” Sean nudged her shoulder as he walked past her to see Will.
He knelt on the floor next to Annie. They exchanged a few hushed words and then she got to her feet, allowing Sean to take over. She wiped her hands on her jeans and stared at me for a moment. Then she ran to me. I caught her as she leapt into my arms.
“Thank fuck you’re okay,” I murmured as I hugged her tightly.
A noise in the corridor behind us caught my attention. I swung around and blew out a breath as my youngest sister walked toward me, an icepack pressed to her red, swollen cheek.
“Might have known you’d be among the chaos.” I let go of Annie and pulled Erin in for a hug.
“What are we doing with this asshole?” Emily demanded, giving Mulhearn a vicious kick.
“Oh, Mr. Mulhearn can look forward to a slow and painful death.”
“Fuck you and your little whore!” he spat.
“On second thought. . .” I raised my gun and put a bullet between his eyes.
Annie gasped. She shook her head and ran from the room. I turned to go after her, but Sean called out. “Give her a minute.”
Nodding, I made my way through the chaos to where Sean was tending to will. As I passed the back door, it opened, and Max came in.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed as Emily pointed her gun at him.
“Sorry. Thought you might be another lowlife prick who needed to be put out of his misery.”
“Cute,” Max growled. He turned to me. “Three dead, one critical. Doc’s bringing a team.” He looked down at Will. “What happened here?”
“Took two of the assholes out then got hit.” Will’s voice was shaky. His skin had taken on a grayish hue. The medics needed to get here fast.
“And the others?” I asked, impatiently.
“Erin got one. Emily took care of the rest.”
Max, Sean and I exchanged looks of shock. My little sisters had killed men tonight.
“When did you even get here?” I asked Erin.
She shrugged. “Fifteen, twenty minutes ago. I saw the guys lying dead in the driveway and knew something was up.”
“You saw bodies in the driveway and came into the house anyway?” Sean demanded.
“Of course I did. I had to make sure my family was okay.”
“Fuck, Erin!” I shoved my fingers through my hair. When had my sisters gotten so reckless? “I want a full account of what happened here.”
“And you’ll get one later,” Emily said firmly. “Now go make sure Annie’s all right.”
“Go,” Max urged me. “Sean and I can handle things here.”
Knowing I could trust my brother and my closest friend completely, I nodded and got to my feet. I handed Sean my gun, figuring Annie wouldn’t be comfortable seeing me with it. There were others stashed around the house in case any other assholes attempted to launch an attack on us tonight. I doubted they would.
I made my way upstairs, dreading what I might find. Annie was an innocent. I hated the thought she might look at me differently now she’d seen the darker side of my world.
When I got to my bedroom, she wasn’t there, but I could hear her moving about my bathroom. I was glad she’d chosen to come here. She could have gone back to the room she’d occupied before we reconciled. My joy was short-lived. As I pushed open the door to the bathroom, I realized she was crying.
“Sweetheart,” I said carefully as I came to stand behind her at the sink. In the mirror I could see her eyes were red and swollen. “Are you okay?”
It was a stupid question after all that had happened, and I deserved the glare she threw at me.
“No, I’m not fucking okay!” The venom in her voice startled me. “I’m a terrible person.”
“ You are?” I almost laughed. I’d expected her to throw the accusation at me after I killed Mulhearn. “Why are you a terrible person?”
“Because I wanted them all to die,” she spat out. “Because I wanted Danny Mulhearn to die. I wanted the man I came here to find to suffer an agonizing death. When you shot him, I was disappointed it was over so fast.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Putting my hands on her shoulders, I turned her to face me. I brushed her hair back from her tear-streaked cheeks. “That doesn’t make you a terrible person.”
“So what does it make me?” she challenged.
“It makes you human. You were scared tonight. Men broke in here who wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you. They could have killed people you care about.”
“You should have heard what he threatened to do to Erin.”
I clenched my fists. “I can imagine.”
Annie drew in a shuddering breath. She inched closer to me. “I need you, Ciaran.”
Not wanting to move too fast and spook her, I trailed my hands slowly down her body, over the curve of her hips. I cupped her bottom and pulled her close as I bent to kiss her. My lips caressed hers as I tried to be gentle. Annie threaded her fingers through my hair as she pressed herself against me. Breathing in her sweet scent, I struggled to hold on to my control.
“Tell me you want this.” I searched her pretty blue eyes for confirmation.
“I do.”
Scooping her up into my arms, I carried her through to the bedroom and set her down beside the bed. I pulled her t-shirt up over her head, then unbuttoned her jeans. Today was the first time I’d seen her in anything other than a dress. The casual look suited her. Earlier, when she’d been in the kitchen with Emily, she appeared young and carefree. Now there was an air of melancholy around her I hoped I could banish.
As I slid her jeans down to reveal black satin panties, I felt my cock stiffen.
“I like these.” Reaching between her legs, I let my fingers glide over the silky fabric. “I like them a lot.”
“I wore them for you.”
Smiling coyly, Annie held my gaze as she knocked my hand away. She hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs. Then she took off her bra. She moved closer and unfastened my pants. Slipping her hand inside, she curled her fingers around my painfully erect cock. She slid her hand up and down my shaft.
As she stepped back, I removed my pants and underwear, then yanked my shirt off, sending buttons flying in all directions. Annie giggled.
“I want you on the bed, on your back with your legs spread.” Tonight I needed to look into her eyes as I fucked her.
Annie climbed onto the bed and parted her thighs for me.
“Wider,” I commanded. “I want to see that pretty pink pussy.”
“Yes, Sir.” Annie opened her legs wider.
“So beautiful.”
“Thank you, Sir. Now, fuck me hard and fast.”
This girl had a lot to learn about submission, but right now I was in no mood to teach her. If she wanted to be thoroughly fucked, who was I to say no?
I grabbed her ankles and dragged her ass to the edge of the bed. I’d planned to taste her sweet pussy again, to savor her moans, but now all I wanted to do was claim her.
Yanking her onto my cock, I drove inside her. My head fell back with a feral growl as I filled her. Nothing had ever felt more natural to me than this. I pumped my hips establishing a steady rhythm, taking it gently despite her demand to take her ruthlessly.
“More,” Annie urged raising her hips in encouragement.
Unable to deny her, I picked up my pace. My fingers dug into her hips as I plowed into her welcoming body again and again. Annie whimpered and moaned as she clutched the bedsheets. The twist of her lips told me she was close.
“Please, Ciaran.”
“I love it when you beg, sweetheart.”
I curved a hand around the velvety skin of her breast. It fit perfectly in my palm like her body had been made for me. Her nipples were drawn up into tight, rosy peaks. Later, I would worship them, but right now Annie needed a little pain to help her over the edge. As I twisted her nipple between my fingers, I used my other hand to spank her ass. It was enough.
Her pussy clenched around my cock, squeezing me hard enough to trigger my own release. She arched up off the bed as I emptied myself inside her. Leaning down, I gathered her up into my arms and held her, legs locked around my waist, as her shudders subsided. She was so soft, so pliant like this, I never wanted to let her go.
I turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair as her breathing slowed. Several minutes passed before she climbed off me.
“Stay,” I called out as she walked away.
“I’m just going to the bathroom.”
“No, I mean stay. For good.” I breathed deeply. “Marry me.”
“What?” Annie half-laughed, half-snorted.
I knew it was too soon to ask her, but I couldn’t resist.
“We barely know each other.”
“We know enough. I know I love you.”
“Ciaran…”
I held a hand up to halt her objections. “You’re right, it’s soon, but I knew from the first time I kissed you we were meant to be.”
Annie raised her hand to her mouth and bit her thumb as she considered what I’d said. Then she dropped her arms down by her sides. “Why not? Let’s do it.”
“Really?” Intense joy swept through me. I leapt to my feet and pulled Annie to me. I kissed her passionately, sealing the deal. “You’re mine now.”
“Yes, Ciaran,” she agreed. “I’m yours.”
With that declaration, I pulled her toward the bed to prove to her just how true that was.