Rectify (Cavan Gang #1)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

“ D on’t go.”

He probably sounded like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but Aedan couldn’t help himself. If he let Natalya leave, then he knew she wouldn’t return. Occasionally, he got these feelings he just couldn’t shake. His grandmother had called it an dara sealladh, the second sight.

He didn’t actually believe in ghosts, goblins, or fortune-tellers. Sometimes, he just knew things. And his instincts rarely failed him.

Right now, his gut was screaming that he couldn’t let Natalya go.

Natalya placed some underwear in a large suitcase. “I have to go, Aedan. She’s my nana. My brother said she doesn’t have much longer to live. Where is my blue skirt? Have you seen it?”

He calmly picked up the skirt from where she’d flung it at the chair earlier and missed. At her job, she was organized and professional. At home, she was an untameable whirlwind. Her chaotic approach to life was simply part of her charm.

“What if you have problems getting back into the States?”

She gazed up at him with a smile, but he could see how stressed she was. He felt like an asshole, adding to her worries. But he couldn’t back down. This was too important. He couldn’t lose her.

“I have a green card now, thanks to you. But if anything goes wrong, I’ll call you, and you’ll swoop in like my knight in shining armor,” she told him teasingly. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed close. Instantly, his body tightened, his cock swelling. He cupped her hips with his hands. He adored her curves. The flare of her hips, her full, lush breasts, and an ass that took no prisoners.

God, she was beautiful. Her sparkling brown eyes were surrounded by long, sooty lashes. Her dark, glossy hair fell like a curtain around her shoulders. She always complained that her mouth was too large, her hips were too big, and her butt was too round. But he thought she was perfect.

“I’m no knight in shining armor,” he protested, like always. His armor, if he’d ever had any, had become tarnished and tainted over the years.

“You’re a good man, Aedan,” Natalya told him as she ran her hands up his arms and cupped his face. She was only a few inches shorter than his own six-one. “You take care of the people around you. You take care of me.”

“I’m only a good man because of you. I know I don’t deserve you. You’ve made me a better person, Natalya. You’re my whole world.”

He’d known convincing her to stay would be an impossible task. Natalya believed in sticking by family, even those who didn’t deserve her loyalty. But Aedan never backed down from the impossible.

“I’ll be back, Aedan,” she replied in a deep voice that was a terrible impression of The Terminator . For once, Aedan didn’t feel like laughing.

“Let me come with you.”

Natalya sighed, looking dejected. They’d been over this argument multiple times since she’d received a phone call from her brother last night. Her nana had been ill for months, but she’d suddenly grown worse a few days ago.

“You start shooting your new film in three days, Aedan. You can’t miss it. This could be your big break.”

“No job is more important than you.” Screw the film. He’d thought becoming an actor would give him what he wanted. Power and fame. Turns out, none of that mattered to him without her. This film could be the boost his career needed, but right now, Natalya was the focal point of his life.

She smiled at him. He adored Natalya’s smile. She could light up an entire room. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed up at him. When she looked at him that way, he felt about ten feet tall. Like he could conquer anything.

“I love when you say things like that,” she murmured.

“I mean it.”

“I know. That’s what makes it so special. But a lot of people are depending on you, Aedan. You can’t let them down.”

Sometimes trying to be a better person really sucked.

“Besides, my family won’t be supportive of our relationship,” she continued. “They’re quite traditional. They won’t like that we’re living together out of wedlock, and I don’t want to upset Nana right now.”

When Natalya was seven, her mother had used all of her savings to pay someone to sneak herself and her two children over the border into Texas. The scumbag had taken their money and then abandoned them.

By the time Stan Murphy found them stumbling around on his ranch, they’d been weak with hunger and exhaustion. Instead of calling the authorities, he’d brought them back to his home.

Murphy and Natalya’s mother had fallen in love. They had fifteen years of happiness together before dying in a car accident. But thankfully, Murphy had ensured that they all became legal US citizens.

“Mama would want me to do this, Aedan. You know that.”

“Your mother’s family is the reason the three of you left. They were trying to force her into marriage. What if they try to do the same to you?”

“Don’t worry. Most of my family has moved away or died. And those who are left probably think I’m a whore, anyway.”

“You are not a whore,” he growled. Aedan hated when she said those things, but most of all, he feared losing her because of her family. He already had a ring; he even had his proposal planned out. He just needed the right moment to ask her to be his wife.

“They can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do. I have my own knight in shining armor, remember?”

He caressed her lips with his tongue. They parted beneath him, her tongue meeting his to tease and tantalize. “Come to bed.”

“My flight leaves in four hours.”

“That gives us plenty of time.” He backed her toward the bed, but she stepped away with a shake of her head.

“No?” Didn’t she want him?

“Let me dance for you,” she drawled with a sultry smile.

Hell, she didn’t have to ask him twice. Natalya was a siren when she danced. He moved an armchair into the center of the room and sat as she fiddled with the stereo system.

The song that came on was one of his favorites. Slowly, she rocked her hips from side to side, moving faster with the tempo. His breath quickened as he watched her, lusting after her. A provocative smile curled her luscious, red lips as her eyes met his.

“Take your shirt off,” she demanded.

He raised his eyebrows at her commanding tone. Natalya clasped hold of the arms of the chair and leaned over, kissing him thoroughly. Thick and engorged, his cock throbbed mercilessly. When she stepped back, he quickly removed his shirt, throwing it to one side.

Natalya kept her hips moving as she took a few steps away, then leisurely turned around. She gazed back at him over her shoulder.

With teasing, torturous movements, she stripped off her T-shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Turn around, Lovely,” he ordered as she threw her hands up into the air. He longed to see her breasts bounce as she danced, the nipples stiff and begging to be kissed.

Instead of turning, she reached for the top of her shorts and slid them down her long, smooth legs. Underneath, she was wearing a tiny, lacy white thong. Aedan leaned forward. Damn, she had the finest ass he had ever seen.

She touched her toes, and he had to tightly clasp the arms of the chair to prevent himself from leaping up and squeezing her firm cheeks. Hunger, sharp and ferocious, stabbed at him relentlessly.

“Damn it, baby,” he growled. “You’re a tease.”

“You love it.” Standing, she spun, swaying to the beat. She cupped her firm breasts, holding them up as she threw her head back, her long, black hair shimmering in the light.

“Squeeze your nipples, Natalya.”

With heated promise in her eyes, she shook a finger at him. “Sit back. This is at my pace.”

With a groan, he reluctantly sat back. “Your pace will be the death of me.”

Natalya danced toward him. The scrap of lacy underwear barely covering her pussy drove him insane with need.

“No touching without permission,” she decreed as she moved behind him.

Strong-willed, stubborn woman. He’d never taken charge in the bedroom, although there were many times he’d longed to. But he was unsure how she would react, and the thought that she might reject him restrained his actions. He’d always tried to be low-maintenance and easygoing, so he never gave her an excuse to leave him.

Yeah, he was more than a little screwed up.

“Keep your hands on the arms of the chair and I’ll give you a reward,” she promised as she leaned over the back.

Blowing softly in his ear, Natalya laughed as he shuddered and dug his fingernails into the chair.

Twirling her way around the chair until she was standing before him, she straddled his legs, facing away from him. She bent over, giving him an excellent view of that delectable, captivating ass.

Dear God in heaven, help me.

“Bloody hell, Natalya, you’re killing me.”

“I love your Irish accent.”

“I know.” He’d worked hard to lose his accent, to sound like everyone else. The only time it was really noticeable was when he got excited or stressed. Or when he deliberately laid it on just to see Natalya smile.

“No touching,” she warned as she danced over his lap, torturing him with every thrust of her hips.

She turned to face him, straddling his legs once again as she kneeled on the wide chair and brushed her pussy back and forth over his cock.

“You’re a nasty piece of goods,” he scolded. “You know you’ll pay eventually, don’t you?”

But only if she returned. He sobered.

Natalya cupped his face. “I’m coming back, Aedan.”

He smiled. “Of course you are.”

A dubious look crossed her face, and he realized he hadn’t hidden his uncertainty well enough.

“Are you trying to kill me here? Don’t stop. I can take whatever you throw at me,” he added with a wink.

“Are you sure about that?” Leaning down, she licked his right nipple with her tongue. She kissed her way across his chest to his other nipple. “Because I can come up with a lot of ways to torture you.”

“I guess I’ll just have to suffer through them.”

She sat up. “Enough talking.” She cupped her large breast, holding it out. “Suck my nipple.”

Aedan took the firm bud into his mouth. He sucked it as she circled her hips, grinding her pussy against his straining cock.

He moved to her other nipple, giving it the same treatment.

Natalya slid down his body, running her tongue over his firm abs until she was kneeling in front of him. Reaching for his belt, she undid it quickly, then tugged at his pants. He raised his hips, helping her pull off his pants and boxers.

Aedan groaned as his cock sprung free from its confines. Natalya slipped her hand around the shaft, pumping. The head of his cock was engulfed in the warmth of her mouth.

He let his head fall back as she ran her tongue up and down his cock. She swallowed him down, consuming him. White-hot hunger nearly blinded him.

“Natalya,” he groaned.

“Yes?” She glanced up at him with feigned innocence.

“You keep that up and I’m going to come.”

Natalya ran her hand up and down his shaft as she grinned up at him, a naughty glint in her gaze. “Isn’t that the idea?”

“I want to come inside you.” He gritted his teeth as she squeezed him.

“Hmm, but what do I want?”

“You want me inside you. Filling you.”

She sighed. “God, yes.”

“Let me taste you.”

She stepped back as he slid onto the floor and leaned back against the chair.

“Bring that lush pussy over here.”

She moved forward, and he breathed in the sweet scent of her arousal. Fuck. Was there anything more intoxicating than knowing this precious, amazing woman wanted him?

“Are your panties wet?”

“Oh God. Why do you ask questions like that?”

Even after two years of living together, he found it adorable that she still grew embarrassed.

“Because I like making you blush,” he teased her. “Are you wet, Natalya?”

She groaned. “You know I am.”

He reached around and clasped her ass, dragging her toward him. Her thong was saturated with her arousal. He slid her panties off and took a long swipe of her juices with his tongue.

“You have a beautiful pussy.” He spread her pussy lips apart. “Lush, sweet, and mine. You understand me?”

“It’s all yours. Only yours,” she promised.

“Don’t you forget it,” he growled, pushing one finger deep inside her. “Mine.”

Before meeting her, he’d never been possessive. He’d loved but never been in love. And he’d never understood what true obsession was.

He pushed another finger deep inside her, thrusting them in and out.

“Aedan, please,” she cried, as he stroked her clit with his tongue.

“Come for me.”

“I can’t.” Her legs trembled. “Not standing.”

“You can. I’ll catch you if you fall.”

To help steady her, he clasped his hands around her hips. He kept his tongue on her clit, tapping the firm bud with a vengeance.

“Aedan, oh God,” she groaned, shaking as she came, her pussy gushing with cream. Aedan lapped at her clit until she fought his hold. He pulled her down against him, hugging her.

“I have you,” he murmured as she shuddered against him. She buried her face against his neck.

Gradually, her breathing slowed as the trembling in her body ceased.

He reluctantly loosened his hold as she pulled away from his embrace.

“Are you all right?” he asked, running his finger down her cheek.

Letting her guard down was difficult for her. In an effort to protect her, Natalya’s mother had raised her to never rely on anyone, to never trust easily. It had taken him a long time to get her to trust him, to understand that he would always be there for her. Her vulnerability after an orgasm simply showed that she kept nothing back, that she gave him her all.

“No.”

“No?” He frowned. “Do you need to talk?”

Natalya rubbed the slick folds of her pussy against his rigid cock, making him shudder. “I need you to fuck me.”

He attempted to hold back his grin. An impossible task. “Do you?”

“Yes. Less talking, more fucking.”

Aedan rolled until she was lying on the floor beneath him. With one thrust, he entered her, groaning in delight at the feel of her around him. Her pussy welcomed him in like a hot silken furnace. An intense rush of emotion filled him. His need for her was all-consuming.

“Is this what you want? To be fucked?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Say it again. I love it when you talk dirty.” He drew out, then drove himself back inside her. Heaven.

“I’m not very good at it.”

“That’s why you need the practice. What am I doing to you, Natalya?”

“You’re fucking me.”

“More,” he moaned. He should take this slower, make it last, but it seemed like his dick had other ideas.

“You’re sticking your cock inside me?” she said hesitantly. Yeah, she did kind of suck at dirty talk.

He thought she was adorable.

“No, I’m pounding into you. I’m fucking your wet, silky pussy with my dick. I can feel you sucking at me, pulling me in. Do you want to come, Natalya? Do you want to come with my cock inside you?”

“Oh my God, you’re killing me.”

“Say it. Say it, Lovely.”

“Aedan, I want to come, please. I want to come while you fuck me with your thick cock.” Her cheeks reddened delightfully.

“That’s my girl,” he told her as he reached down between them and tapped her clit with his finger. “Come with me, Lovely. Come with me now!”

He sped up, unable to hold back. Her head thrashed back and forth as her whimpers filled the room.

“So close. So close.” He let out a yell as she came pulsating around him. There was no hope of him holding back. He quickly followed her over into bliss.

Aedan collapsed on the floor beside her, rolling onto his back and pulling her to lie on top of him. He adored the feel of her naked against him.

“I feel like an idiot when I try to talk dirty,” she admitted. “I don’t think I’m getting any better.”

He chuckled. “Believe me; you are far improved from the girl who told me to ‘put my little thingy inside her.’ Little thingy, indeed.”

She giggled. “You were so put out. You should have seen your face; you looked devastated.”

“Well, you can’t just call anything on a man little and expect him to thank you for it.”

“I promise to never call it little again. It’s certainly not small. It’s a giant among giants, a champion among men, and the penis to beat all penises.”

He rolled, tickling her. She squealed, trying to fight him off. He kneeled and flipped her onto her stomach. “Brat. That deserves a spanking.”

“Oh no, you don’t.” She scrambled to get away, laughing.

Aedan watched her ass wiggle. Damn, why hadn’t he spanked her exquisite butt before?

He clasped her close against him. “I’m really going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too. But it won’t be forever. You’ll be so busy with your new movie you probably won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Like that would happen. “Just remember, I’ll always be here for you. No matter what. I love you, Natalya.”

“I love you, Aedan. Always.”

Aedan stepped into their tiny apartment. It felt so empty without Natalya in it. He’d been away for four weeks on location in London, shooting his film. It should have been the most exciting time in his life. This was it, his big break.

But he’d spent most of the time worrying about his girl. Especially over the last week. In the beginning, they’d spoken every day, then that had slowly dribbled down to a few times a week. Now he couldn’t get hold of her at all. He hadn’t spoken to her in five days, and that worried him.

He never thought she’d be gone this long. There was something more going on than she was letting on. The last time he’d spoken to her, she’d sounded preoccupied, almost scared. His Natalya didn’t scare easily. In fact, she was far braver than he thought was wise. He didn’t like the risks she often took with her safety.

And yet you never told her that. You never said anything.

Because he hadn’t wanted to rock the boat. They’d had a good thing going. He’d kept things light and easy.

Face it; you were afraid. You were worried that if she saw all of you, then she wouldn’t want you anymore. He’d curbed his more dominant, protective urges because the Aedan she knew was easygoing and lighthearted.

Maybe it was time to let her see the other side of him? Gradually, of course. He didn’t want to lose her. That didn’t bear thinking about.

He took a soda from the fridge and popped the top, taking a long drink. It was ten at night, but he didn’t care. He had three days off before he had to be in L.A. for some more filming. He should be sleeping, but he couldn’t rest until he knew Natalya was all right. He should have ignored her reassurances that she was fine and jumped on the first flight he could get, demanding she return home.

He should never have let her go by herself in the first place.

Rubbing his forehead tiredly, he grabbed his cell and moved into the living room. Hopefully, he could get hold of her tonight and then get some sleep.

The landline was beeping, indicating that there was a message waiting. He pushed the playback button.

“Hey, Aedan, it’s me. Natalya.”

Like he wouldn’t recognize her voice? Relief hit him hard. She was all right. But why hadn’t she called his cell?

“Umm, I don’t know how to tell you this.”

He frowned, leaning forward, almost as though he could reach through the phone and clasp hold of her. She sounded frightened.

“I need to break things off, Aedan. Between us.”

He stumbled back, his legs hitting the armchair behind him. With a heavy thump, he sat, his heart pounding, head swimming. This was a joke, right? It had to be.

“Why?” he whispered as though he were speaking to her instead of a machine.

“I know this has to be a shock, and I’m, um, I’m sorry.”

The dial tone beep sounded. That was it? Was she serious? She was breaking things off with him via voicemail and without an explanation?

He wanted to marry her. He’d been about to propose.

She’d sounded scared. Maybe she needed help. Maybe her family was pressuring her into breaking up with him. He stood. He needed to go to her.

Except, he was due in L.A. in two days, and he was under contract. He couldn’t just not turn up; it would kill his career.

But his career meant nothing without Natalya. Grabbing his cell, he tried to call her. But it went straight to her answering machine.

“Natalya, call me,” he demanded. He ran his hand through his hair with a groan of frustration. If she was in trouble, she might not have access to her phone. He had to do something.

Searching through his phone contacts, he called the one person he knew could help.

“Aedan,” Rogan greeted him.

His cousin was the only family he had left. They were as close as brothers. His relationship with Rogan was the only thing he and Natalya had ever truly fought about.

Natalya didn’t approve of Rogan, and she’d never been shy about voicing her opinion. She’d refused to have anything to do with him, and if she’d had her way, Aedan would have nothing to do with him either.

Rogan was head of the Cavan Gang. While he might not always stick to the right side of the law, he still had morals, his own idea of right and wrong. Aedan didn’t always agree with what his cousin had to do, but that didn’t mean he was willing to disown him.

“Natalya contacted me.”

“So she’s all right then?” Rogan asked carefully. He knew Natalya disapproved of him, and he’d always been careful not to force Aedan to choose between them.

“She left a message on the landline. She broke things off with me.” He tried to keep the blinding pain from filtering through his voice. Acid burned in his stomach at the idea of losing her. Only the thought that she was being pressured, that he could somehow fix this, kept him functioning.

Otherwise, the devastation of losing her might well bring him to a standstill.

“She what?” Rogan asked.

For once, Aedan had managed to shock his cousin.

“There’s something wrong,” Aedan insisted. “She sounded frightened. I need to make sure she’s all right.”

“You’re due in L.A. Monday morning, right?” Rogan asked.

“The movie isn’t as important as Natalya.”

“Of course not. But there’s no point going down there and ruining your career and then finding out she’s fine. Let me send someone to investigate.”

“But what if she’s in trouble? What if she needs me?”

“Then he’ll contact you immediately,” Rogan reassured him. “This will work better, anyway. If she is in trouble, and you race in there, you could make things worse. My man will discover what is going on quickly and quietly.”

It was a good solution. Although it galled him to let someone else go in his place.

“Leave it to me, Aedan.”

Rogan tended to act the part of the overprotective big brother, but Aedan knew he was right.

“I want him there as soon as possible.”

“He will be,” Rogan promised.

Aedan grumbled and rolled over in bed. “Someone turn that damn alarm off!”

He pulled a pillow over his head to drown out the noise.

It didn’t work.

He sat up, glaring at his phone, which shook and vibrated.

“Ahh, crap.” He grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm before switching on the bedside lamp.

4.45 a.m.

Jesus Christ. He’d arrived in L.A. late last night and hadn’t gone to sleep until after midnight. So he was absolutely exhausted. He’d been calling Natalya constantly over the last three days. But every time, his call had gone to voicemail. Where was she? Fear for her was burning him from the inside out.

After a long shower, he felt marginally more human. As he fixed himself some much-needed coffee, his phone rang.

Who the hell would be calling him at this hour?

Nerves filled him as he saw Rogan’s name displayed on the screen.

“Rogan? Have you heard something?”

“Yeah,” Rogan replied grimly. “It’s not good.”

“She’s in trouble? I’ll book the first flight out.” Screw the movie. They’d just have to understand.

“She’s not in trouble. Aedan, she’s found someone else.”

Legs trembling, stomach clenched in a tight knot, he leaned heavily against the wall behind him.

“What? What are you talking about?”

She’d found someone else? Who? Did Aedan mean nothing to her? Had she fallen out of love with him so quickly?

“I don’t believe it.” He couldn’t believe it. If he did, that meant it was the end. How could he go on without her?

“There is evidence. Photos. She’s moved in with Diego Mota.”

“Who the hell is he?”

“He’s a lieutenant for the Fuerte Cartel.”

The Fuerte Cartel? Okay, he’d heard of them. And nothing that he’d heard was good.

“You can’t be serious. Natalya would never have anything to do with someone involved in a drug cartel.”

“I didn’t believe it myself, but I just received the photos as evidence. It’s true.”

“Email them to me.”

“Aedan—”

“Just do it, Rogan.” He pulled the phone away from his ear.

“Aedan, wait, what?—”

He turned off his phone. He couldn’t talk to Rogan right now. He didn’t want his sympathy.

He grabbed his laptop, opening it up. He didn’t believe it. She wouldn’t.

Opening his email, he waited impatiently. An email popped into his inbox. He hesitated before clicking on it. Did he really want to see these?

No. But he needed to.

He clicked on the email, then waited for the attachments to download.

A photo of Natalya and a hard-looking man eating dinner. His arm around her as they walked along the footpath.

These weren’t proof. They could just be friends.

Then he looked at the next photo and his stomach dropped.

They were kissing.

He deleted the email. He’d seen enough. His phone rang, but he ignored it.

He needed to be alone. He needed to think.

So he could try to understand what had just happened, to work out how to repair what had just broken inside him.