28. Millie
Isoftly flipped the folder closed and shoved it to the opposite edge of the coffee table. Horror at the injustice and grizzly crime scene photos made my stomach turn. Head back against the couch, both lids fluttered closed but immediately popped back open when the images flickered behind my lids.
We didn’t have all the files, but what we brought back from the chief’s house was the evidence needed to push the FBI into action. The problem we now faced was how to get the thick files to Rhyan. Which was what Hunter and Killian were currently debating, despite the late hour.
Three in the morning was way past my bedtime, especially for a school night.
Fuck, my life was boring.
My head rolled along the back of the couch, gaze landing on Killian, who sat beside me. Something told me with him, the term boring would never describe my life again. The idea of a future with Killian had my stomach fluttering with excited nerves. Tonight was a one-off for sure, but I knew Killian would keep me on my toes no matter the situation.
“It’s the best option.” Hunter looked utterly exhausted as he dragged a hand over his dark hair. “One more problem we need to address. How will we explain me sneaking back into the staff quarters at four in the damn morning?”
“Tell them we’re into threesomes,” Killian muttered. “And you’re our convenient third when the mood hits us.”
I choked on a laugh. “What?”
Killian just shot me a wink before continuing. “It’s settled. Tomorrow afternoon, Hunter will take the case files away from this creepy-ass—slightly incestuous, if you ask me—town, and get them to Rhyan. Either mailing them, faxing, scanning—fuck, I don’t care if it’s by pigeon. They need these files before anything can happen. Hopefully, our team’s new resident ME will find enough discrepancies in the autopsy findings to exhume bodies or some shit to reenforce the truth in these files. This”—he tapped the file in front of him—“is the evidence we need to shut this fucking place down.”
“And save countless lives from the lies these people spew,” I added. “But we still have a plan for Karigan, right? We can’t leave her here to suffer. Who knows what will happen while we wait for the FBI to get their shit together. She needs out. Now.”
Hunter looked at us. “This all sounds great to us. But you know not everyone here knows they are being mind-fucked by the pastor, right?”
I sat forward. “But in the long run, they will benefit from being told the truth.”
“Agreed,” he stated slowly. “But just know, when this goes down, lives will be ruined. They don’t realize how much control they’ve given this place, and once it’s gone, they will be left with nothing.”
“So you’re saying we shouldn’t do anything?” Killian asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue. “Let them continue to live in this fucked-up bubble? That’s some Truman Show shit.” Killian turned to face me. “Great movie. Jim Carrey was fantastic. We’ll add that to the ever-growing list of things you need to watch.”
Hunter’s brows arched. “Do you live under a rock?”
“In a book is more like it,” Killian answered for me. “And she’s just a baby.”
I shoved at his shoulder. “I am not.”
“Wait. How old are you?” Hunter gave me a quick, assessing once-over. “I thought it was just your small size?—”
“Petite,” I hissed.
“—that just made you look young.”
“My birthday was in December, which makes me…” My words trailed off at the mention of my birthday.
The flowers.
Killian admitting to being in the CIA. Him having access to Charlie, a hacker genius at his fingertips.
“You sent the flowers,” I whispered, more to myself than to the man sitting beside me. “Every birthday, you found me.” My brows furrowed. “Except for the year I was married.”
Killian cleared his throat and stood. “Well, I think that’s all for tonight.” Both arms reached up high toward the ceiling with an exaggerated yawn as he stood. “Damn, I’m tired. I think I’ll just go to bed and get my beauty sleep. It’s not easy looking this good?—”
“Fuck no!” I shouted and stood to face him. “It was you. You sent the flowers. You knew I got married and divorced.” Shoving both hands to his chest, I relished in him stumbling at the unexpected assault.
“Well, shit. So, I’m just going to…” Hunter hooked a thumb to the door and didn’t finish before racing out of the cottage like his ass was on fire.
I glared at Killian and crossed both arms over my chest.
He groaned at whatever he saw on my face. “Fine. Fine. We’ll have this conversation now.” Deflating, he perched on the edge of the couch and stared at his clasped hands hanging between his spread knees. “What do you want to know?”
My heart clenched at the exhaustion in his tone. It almost pushed me to wait for his answer, to talk about it tomorrow after some sleep. But it couldn’t wait. I needed answers now. Sleep wouldn’t happen until I knew everything.
“Why?” I asked.
“Why what, babycakes?” He rubbed at his eyes, refusing to look at me.
“Let’s start with my birthday. Why send me anonymous flowers? Why not leave a note to let me know you were okay? Why stop that year I was married?”
“That’s three questions.”
“Killian,” I groaned. “Just tell me.”
“Fine.” He slapped the top of his thighs and stood, turning to face me straight on. I tipped my head back to hold his gaze as he stepped closer. “You told me about your parents. I knew how lonely you were, even though they were still technically in your life. I wanted you to not feel so alone on your birthday, even if I wasn’t there with you. Every year I found your address and sent the flowers anonymously. That year you were married….” He blew out a breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “You getting married gutted me. I barely remember the months after, lost in my grief and way too much booze.” He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to the other side of the room. “And while I’m confessing all my crazy, I’ll admit to running a background check on him.” My mouth gaped, jaw completely slack. “I needed to make sure he was a good guy and not some abuser or scammer. You’re too trusting, Velma.”
My lips opened and shut several times, but no words came out.
“Oh, and I might have slightly stalked you from a camera I had installed across the street.” He cringed. “Nothing inside your townhouse, though, so there’s that. I wanted to make sure you were safe and?—”
I held up a hand, cutting him off. “You watched over me. You did all that to keep me safe?” His chin dipped in a hesitant nod. “Sent me flowers, no matter where I was, so I wouldn’t feel alone on my birthday.” Awe instead of anger leaked from my tone.
“It was all I could do, especially while on assignments. I couldn’t let my father or others at the agency know how important you were—are—to me. My father thought I cut all ties. It’s how I kept you safe from him for all those years. It was all I could do, even if it wasn’t much.”
I chuffed a humorless laugh. “Not much? Not much?” My voice rose with every word. “Those flowers meant everything to me, Killian. Everything. At first, it creeped me out, sure, but you were right. They made me feel less alone on a day that no one else acknowledged. It made the day easier knowing someone out there was thinking about me.” I blinked, lashes wet from the unshed tears rimming my eyes. “I wanted it to be you so badly. I daydreamed that they were from you and that you were out there thinking about me but unable to come yourself. It further validated in my mind that you were somewhere that you couldn’t leave.”
“Like a cult,” he rasped. Those aqua eyes scanned my face. “It wasn’t just your birthday. I thought about you every fucking day we were apart. I never stopped loving you, my Millie.”
I felt my eyes go wide. Those unshed tears rolled down my cheeks and dripped off my jaw. Calloused palms cupped my face, careful thumbs swiping away the tears with gentle strokes.
“You love me?” I rasped, the overflowing emotions making it hard to talk.
He nodded, watching my reaction with laser focus. “Like I said, I never stopped.”
“Say it, please,” I begged.
The worry lines along his face faded as a knowing smile curled his lips. “I love you, Millie.”
A sob broke free, shaking my small frame. Closing both lids, I took a minute to let those words seep into my soul. For so long, I felt unwanted. By my parents, by other students or coworkers, by society because I didn’t fit a certain mold. Yet here he was, saying he didn’t only want me or love me, but he’d never stopped.
Which was good because neither did I.
And I was done holding back.
I launched myself at him. He grunted from the impact, and two strong, protective arms grabbed me beneath my ass to hold me steady as my legs wrapped around his hips and my arms circled his neck. Nose to nose, I gazed into those soulful aqua eyes and said the words I’d held in for so long.
“I’ve always loved you, too. I still do.”
His lips crashed against mine, desperation from both sides seeping through the kiss. One hand slid up my back, dipped beneath my hair, and encircled the back of my neck, angling my head to deepen the kiss. The world swayed when he whirled around, each step toward the bedroom causing my core to grind against him.
“I hope you know,” Killian said, pulling back slightly, “you’ll never be rid of me now, my Millie.”
“Good.” I curled around him tighter, my face nearly suctioned to his neck. Reality tried to weasel its way into the moment, taking my focus from the amazing man holding me to the logistics of his words.
Where would we live?
Would he still work for the FBI in Dallas?
If I moved, was I really okay with giving up teaching at an Ivy League school?
“I can feel you thinking.” Killian nipped at my ear. “It will all work out, Millie. We’ll figure it out.” He bent forward, patting my thigh when my back hit the bed, a silent request to release my tight hold. A soft chuckle escaped the gorgeous man at my exaggerated fake pout, but I did as requested. “How about I help distract you from everything going on in that brilliant mind of yours?”
My hair slid along the soft duvet with my eager nod. Killian chuckled while taking a step back. An unsure expression flashed across his features before he gripped the hem of his long-sleeve shirt. My heart pounded against my chest as he slowly stripped it off his toned body. Careful to keep my features neutral, I took in every beautiful inch of his abs and chest. Jagged, puffy scars littered his torso while straight slices left white marks along his pecs.
I felt his gaze, and I swear his chest didn’t move while he waited for my reaction to his scarred body. The mattress dipped beneath my hands as I pushed up. Hooking a finger into the belt loop of his black tactical pants, I pulled him close. Peeking up through my lashes, I found his intense stare locked on me.
Without breaking his gaze, I brushed two fingertips along his abs. The bed shifted beneath me as I adjusted to sit up straighter. With a delicate touch, I kissed each scar, standing from the bed to reach the ones marking his chest. With every press of my lips, his heart raced faster, his chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths.
At the one right below his shoulder, I dared to suck on the skin, flicking my tongue along the mark. A grunted curse filled the room before hands gripped my shoulders and gently pushed me back to the bed.
“Fuck, Millie,” he rasped, fingers working at his belt. “You couldn’t be more perfect for me.” His teeth sank into that plump lower lip as he swept a heat-filled gaze up and down my body. “Take off your top, babycakes, and let me see those perfect tits.”
The black cotton brushed along my oversensitive skin as I tugged it over my head and tossed it and the basic black sports bra to the floor. Gaze fixed on Killian, I fought to swallow a desperate whimper. Pants hanging precariously on muscular thighs, his hand worked his thick length while staring down at me.
Arching a brow in challenge, I leaned back on both elbows, teeth sinking into my lower lip as I watched his hand. A low groan rattled past Killian’s parted lips as he toed off his boots and allowed his pants to puddle to the floor before kicking them aside.
My jaw hung open. No words formed as I stared at his hot-as-hell naked body. Thick muscles bunched and strained as he bent over me.
“Keep that mouth open and I’ll find something to fill it with, babycakes.” An embarrassing whimper escaped. “Hmm, sounds like you like the sound of my dick down your throat.” I could only respond with an eager nod. “Later, I’ll let you swallow my cock like a good naughty girl. Right now, though, I need to feel your cunt wrapped around my cock while I fuck the woman I love.”
My heart stuttered in my chest, skipping a beat as he tore off my shoes and pants, leaving me naked on the bed, panting in anticipation. Palms to both inner thighs, he spread me wide, licking his lips while staring at my dripping center. One hand slid up my inner thigh to cup my core while the other moved up and down his long cock.
A single thick digit prodded at my entrance, sliding easily inside my drenched pussy. My lids fluttered closed, everything focused on the bursts of pleasure as he dipped in and out of me.
“Your cunt is absolutely soaked for me, babycakes. Is this greedy pussy weeping for me, begging for my cock to stretch it wide?” He added another finger, teasingly pumping them in and out. “Can I take you bare, Millie?”
My lids snapped open. “Yes.” I moved against his hand, desperate for more. “Just, please,” I begged. “I need you, Kill. I need you now.”
Head tipped back, Killian released a guttural groan to the ceiling. “Fuck, that deadly pet name does it for me every fucking time.” Releasing his dick and pulling the two fingers free from my core, Killian stepped out of my spread thighs and fell back onto the bed beside me. Confusion barely registered before his arm snaked beneath my shoulders and pulled me on top of him.
With only his upper half on the bed, feet still firmly planted on the rug, he helped swing my leg over his torso to straddle him. A thundering beat pulsed beneath my palms, which were pressed to his chest. Realizing my slick center slid along his taut abs, embarrassment warmed my cheeks.
The sound of Killian’s hands connecting with my ass pulsed through the room at the same moment a bite of pain spiked from the hard spank.
“I showed you my scars, Millie. Literally.” Killian reached up and raked his fingers through my hair. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I love every inch of this perfect, tiny body. From your brilliant mind to your child-sized feet.” Running his hands down my chest, he cupped both breasts and pinched my pebbled nipples. “I want you to have all the control. Ride me, babycakes.”
With a hesitant nod, my mind too fogged with lust to overanalyze the situation, I shifted back until his cock slid against my soaked center. The first tap of his tip against my clit had me tossing my head back, pink hair brushing between my shoulder blades. Back and forth I slid against him, working my desire higher with each pass.
The hands gripping my hips tightened, no doubt leaving bruises, but he didn’t rush me, allowing me all the control in the moment. Maybe he wanted it, too, already feeling so vulnerable about showing his scars that he needed someone else to be in control. While I loved it when he directed our intimate moments, making each one more mind-blowing than the previous, this was special.
To him and to me.
“Try getting yourself off just like this,” he rasped, gaze trained at where I moved against him.
Closing my eyes, I focused on every sensation that burst through me with each pass. I gasped, almost choking on my breath, when he pinched and tugged hard on both nipples, shooting me right over the edge. I ground against him, working myself through the tiny orgasm as it blasted a shiver across my whole body.
My arms trembled, fingers curled against his chest, no doubt leaving nail marks on his skin.
Desperate to feel him, for that bite of pain that came with stretching around his thick cock, I rose on shaky knees and positioned his drenched dick right at my entrance. My jaw went slack as I worked myself down, sliding inch by inch. Taking him halfway, I shifted my hips, forcing my body to take all of him. A stinging flash of pain quickly turned to burning pleasure as my body stretched to accommodate his large size.
Head tossed back, I circled my hips, breathing out a content sigh when my hips touched his.
“Fucking hell, Millie.” His guttural tone had me popping my head forward to stare down at him. The hands on my hips tightened, shifting me side to side, causing sparks of pleasure to shoot through me. “This tight cunt takes my cock so well. Feeling your hot, wet pussy on my bare cock is fucking heaven. But I need you to move, my good naughty girl.”
“Help,” I moaned, too lost in the full feeling as I continued to shift forward and back. “I can’t… I need you.”
“My pleasure, sweet cheeks. My fucking pleasure.” Fingers digging into my cheeks, he slid me off his cock until just the thick head remained inside before he slammed me down hard.
My scream bounced around the room, mixed with his barked curse.
Over and over again, he pulled me up before slamming me back onto his cock while flexing his hips to ensure every inch made its way inside. Soft flutters in my lower belly turned frantic. Balancing on the edge, I cupped both breasts and pinched my nipples hard.
My body locked around him as a soul-shattering orgasm blasted through me.
“Fuck. Shit.” Killian pumped into me, using his feet on the floor as leverage until he shook, holding me tight as he followed me over the edge. His cock twitched, sending another aftershock through me.
“Damn.” I slumped forward, forehead pressing to his pec. “That was amazing. I had no idea this could be so life altering.”
His chuckle made his chest vibrate beneath me. “Same, sweet cheeks. Fucking same. Now, I know it’s late, but….”
Peeling off his chest, I sat back with a smirk, shivering at the feel of him still inside me.
“You want to do that again?” I finished for him.
“Fuck yeah, I do.” He ran a finger down my sternum, eyes locked on my chest. “I’ll never get enough of you, my Millie. Never.”
“Same, Kill. Fucking same.”
He arched a brow. “I’ll show you fucking.”
I didn’t hold back my wide smile. “I was hoping you would.”
And he did, until the sun peeked through the blinds, and I was 100 percent certain I’d walk bowlegged for days.