Chapter 26 #2
When he looked up at her, his eyes were so dark they were nearly black, the pupils having all but obliterated the green.
“Because if another man ever so much as thought about putting his hands on you, I would kill him. It would be a slow, painful death, nothing as tidy as a bullet to the head. And I wouldn’t outsource it to Lochlan, as much as he would enjoy the job.
I would do it myself, so I could watch the light leave his eyes and know for myself he would never touch you again. ”
Her breath tangled in her chest. That was not hot.
It wasn’t.
Fuck.
“Still.” Somehow, her voice sounded perfectly normal despite the emotional war raging itself in her chest. “You’re telling me that Killian O’Rourke, one of the most feared men on the East Coast, draws the line at a little human trafficking?”
“I do. The O’Rourkes may be criminals, but we do have our principles. One of which is to do the least harm possible.”
“So selling drugs to kids is fine?”
“We don’t move drugs. At least, not anymore. My father despised them and he was making moves to extricate us from the last of our obligations when he died.”
God help her, she actually believed him. More, her heart ached for him. There was such a mix of pride and sadness in his voice when he spoke of his father, she couldn’t help but be drawn in. “Will you tell me about them? Your parents? How did they die?”
Blinking as if he was surprised to find her sitting across from him, Killian smiled.
But not the bright, boyish grin he’d given her when he was trying to cajole his way into her bedroom.
This smile was tight at the edges, forced, and she found herself missing that easy, flirtatious smile from before—and then wondering why the fuck she cared.
“Perhaps another time. Are you enjoying your books? I would have sent physical copies, but I wasn’t sure what you’d be interested in. ”
Heat infused her cheeks at his question. Because yes, she was enjoying her books, more than she was prepared to admit to anyone, but especially him. “The e-reader is fine, thanks.”
His smile shifted, turned mischievous. “What have you been reading?”
He couldn’t know. And yet, that smile said he knew exactly what she’d been up to and exactly what kind of effect it was having on her. “How-to manuals.”
His brows rose, surprise flickering in his eyes. “What kind of how-to manuals?”
“Oh, you know. Kidnapping, torture, murder. Everything the woman carrying a mob boss’s child might need to know.”
“You’re fucking with me.”
Now it was her turn to smile, slow and wicked. “Maybe. Or maybe you handed me everything I need to know about your world on a literal silver platter.”
Sitting back in his chair, he plucked a grape from the bowl of fresh fruit between them. “You know you only need to ask.”
“Right.” She snorted out a laugh. “Like if I walked into your office and asked you to show me how to stab a man you’d be like ‘Sure thing, princess’.”
“Well, no.”
But before she could revel in her righteous smugness too much, he continued.
“I’d need to know why you’re stabbing him.
Are we going for the kill or just to incapacitate?
Or, if it’s a torture scenario, there are specific places you can stab someone to avoid any permanent damage, at least until you’ve gotten the information you need. ”
She’d known he was dangerous. Hell, he’d told her that to her face, and she’d seen glimpses of the monster he was beneath the sophisticated mask when he’d threatened to have her father killed right in front of her.
But just then she had the stomach-churning suspicion that she was seeing the real Killian O’Rourke.
The version of him that struck fear into the hearts of otherwise brave men.
And despite being terrified right down to her bones, her pussy was even wetter than it had been reading her books.
Fuck.
Ignoring her own reactions, at least as much as she was humanly able, she tilted her head, watching him for any sign he was lying. “And you would teach me? If I asked?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Picking up the coffee he’d poured for himself, he watched her over the rim. “Because I have, however unintentionally, brought you into my world. A very dangerous world full of very dangerous people. If you want to know how to protect yourself and our child, why would I deny you that knowledge?”
“Aren’t you worried I’ll use it against you? Stab you in your sleep?”
“The thought has crossed my mind.”
“But you aren’t worried.”
“Not really,” he said with a careless shrug that said he really wasn’t worried.
“While I have no doubt that you could and would take someone out if they actively threatened you, you’re far too principled to simply stab me in my sleep.
It would be akin to shooting someone in the back.
It’s the coward’s way out, and you, my fierce little princess, are not the least bit cowardly. ”
It shouldn’t turn her on, talking about murder and torture over breakfast like it was the most normal thing in the world. And yet, she couldn’t deny the throb between her legs that only grew worse with every word he spoke.
Hormones. It had to be the hormones. Hadn’t she read somewhere that pregnancy hormones made women ridiculously horny?
And if it was the hormones then, well, it wasn’t really her fault if she acted on that need, right?
Clinging to that rationalization, no matter how weak it was—and she was self-aware enough to admit it was weak as fuck—she rose from her chair to straddle his thighs.
Amusement danced across his features as his hands came up to cup her ass. “Something I can help you with, princess?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I’m pregnant and hormonal and apparently that translates to wanting to ride you like a bull. But I’m not going to.”
“Oh?”
“No. You’re going to take me to bed and make me come, but you are not going to fuck me.”
The hands on her ass tightened. “Is that so?”
“It is. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not in the slightest.”
She didn’t want to be thrilled by the effortless way he rose from the chair, still holding her to him. And yet, it was there anyway, a primal little shiver racing up her spine at that easy display of strength.
Then she was on the bed, pinned beneath him, and all thoughts of what she should or shouldn’t be doing were pushed from her mind as he slipped a hand beneath the waistband of her pajama shorts.
Clever fingers worked at her already aching clit, sending jolts of electric need arcing through her veins.
“Needy little princess.” His low, wicked laughter was another jolt. “So wet for her Daddy. You really think I believe that bullshit you were feeding me about reading how-to novels?”
Her heart, already racing from the burgeoning orgasm he was relentlessly pushing on her, jerked in her chest. “It wasn’t bullshit.”
“Liar.” Another of those quiet chuckles. “You think I couldn’t smell you the second I walked in the door? But maybe I’m wrong.”
Two fingers pushed inside her, and she arched up with a cry as pain and pleasure melded together with such blinding intensity she could scarcely breathe.
“Maybe you were reading about murder and torture and that’s what’s got you all hot and bothered. Maybe you aren’t as righteous as you like to pretend to be, princess. Maybe you’re more like me than you’re ready to admit.”
It was impossible to lie to him when she was pinned beneath him, his fingers pumping in and out of her drenched pussy. Stripped of all pretense, she met his burning gaze. “Maybe I am.”
She saw it, just a flash of the monster beneath the mask before his lips slammed against hers and he was drinking in her screams as molten hot pleasure flooded her body.
Those clever, wicked fingers slowed but didn’t stop, draining every last ounce of pleasure from her before he pulled back, a smug smile tugging at his lips as he stared down at her.
“Read your books, princess. And when you need me, I’ll make myself available to see to your needs. My only caveat is that while you are under my roof, your pleasure belongs to me. Which means you keep your hands off this pretty little pussy. Are we understood?”
Yes, Daddy. The response she knew he wanted trembled on her lips, but she managed to pull it back just in time. “And why would I do that?”
“Because deep down, you want to be my good girl.” Leaning in, he brushed his lips over hers. “But, more importantly, because you know the pleasure you might give yourself would be a weak imitation of what I can give you.”
“I’m not making any promises… but if I did agree, I’d have my own rules.”
“I’m listening.”
“No sex. You can use your hands, mouth, and toys, but not your cock.”
“Deal.”
“Just like that?”
“A wise man chooses his battles, princess. And there’s no point in arguing with you when you’re going to end up in my bed anyway.”
“I will not.”
“Yes, you will. And when that time comes, I’m not going to give you what you so desperately want until you beg me for it.
Until you’re on your knees, a whiny, needy mess, begging and pleading for Daddy’s cock to fill that sweet little cunt.
But you’re going to have to beg very prettily, or I might decide to fuck your other holes instead. ”
“That is never going to happen.”
“We’ll see.” Another whisper of a kiss, and then he was standing beside the bed, tugging at the sleeves of his suit jacket as if nothing had happened. “Enjoy your books, princess. You know where to find me when you need a little something to take the edge off.”