38. Cormac
Chapter Thirty-Eight
CORMAC
The morning light filters through the blinds, soft and almost cruel in its normalcy.
I lie still for a moment, letting the quiet anchor me, but my body is tense, every muscle coiled tight from yesterday.
The bruises on my ribs ache, but it’s nothing compared to the weight pressing on my chest.
Freddy’s words run in a loop in my mind.
Lorcan isn’t just after us, he’s after everything.
If he succeeds, it won’t just be my family that is in danger. It’s allies, contacts, innocent employees…
They’ll all be targets.
I run a hand over my face and sit up slowly, careful not to wake Fiona.
Glancing over at her, I note the soft curve of her jaw, the peaceful rise and fall of her chest, and something inside me clenches.
She is my world, and I won’t let anyone hurt her ever again.
I wish I could stay in bed, but my body feels too restless, so I swing my legs over the side of the bed, and every joint in my body protests. But the soreness keeps me sharp.
I move quietly toward the small bathroom to check the damage in the mirror.
The bruises are starting to darken over my jaw and ribs, and the cut on my lip has scabbed over. In a few days, they’ll be healed, and it will be like nothing ever happened.
When I return to the bedroom, Fiona stirs, and her eyelids flutter open.
She offers me a sleepy smile as I perch on the edge of the bed and reach out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She sits up and tucks the sheet under her arms. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” I murmur.
She frowns. “You shouldn’t have been—”
“I’m fine.”
Her eyes search mine, and I see the worry there. “It’s not your fault. Don’t think like that.”
She nods, her throat bobbing as she eyes the bruises on my cheeks.
“I just… I wish we had gotten a chance to speak to Freddy. I hate that you went through all of that for nothing.”
I squeeze her hand. “We will,” I lie. “But right now, we need to be grateful that we’re both okay. That’s what matters.”
Fiona nods, but she still doesn’t look convinced. So, I lean in to kiss her softly.
As I slowly run my tongue along her lower lip, her body relaxes, and I take the opportunity to pull the sheet away from her and push her back against the pillows.
“Cormac.”
“Mmm?”
I move to kiss along her jaw, my cock starting to harden as I breathe in the smell of her.
“You should rest.”
“I did.”
She chuckles, batting at my chest. “You should rest more.”
“Do you want me to rest more?” I move to kiss along her neck.
Her breath catches, and I decide to move a little lower until my mouth is exploring the swell of her breast.
I take her nipple in my mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
She gasps as she squirms. “I think you’re rested enough.”
I nip at her breast. “That’s what I thought.”
As I kiss my way down her stomach, Fiona eagerly spreads her thighs wide in silent invitation.
I don’t need to be asked twice.
One look at her glistening pussy has my cock growing slick.
I run my finger along her slit. “Fuck. I don’t think I will ever get enough of this.”
“Cormac…”
I slowly tease her entrance with my finger before sinking it inside her, grunting as her hips buck off the bed. “Mmm… My beautiful girl… That feel good, baby?”
Fiona buries her face in the pillow, muffling her moans as I slowly sink another finger inside her.
My mouth waters with the need to taste her, but I hold off a little longer. The one thing I love more than giving Fiona pleasure is teasing her.
I dip my head and let my mouth hover just above her clit, letting my breath tickle the sensitive bud as I continue to pump my fingers in and out of her pussy.
“Cormac.”
Her fingers find my hair, and she desperately tries to lower my mouth.
But I don’t give in.
“Remember, baby. Manners get rewarded,” I warn as I slide my fingers free.
Fiona lets out a cry of protest as I leave her wet and aching.
I smirk at her. “Do you want to try that again?”
She scowls down at me, though it only turns me on more.
“Fuck, you’re sexy when you’re mad.”
“Please,” she bites out.
“Sorry, what was that?”
Fiona exhales through her nose, and I bite back a groan as I watch her breasts bob.
“Please, Cormac.”
I smirk as I lower my mouth, making sure not to break eye contact as I slowly run the pad of my tongue over her clit.
Fiona’s breath catches, and her body jolts with pleasure, so I do it again, this time sinking my fingers back inside at the same time.
Her eyes flutter closed. “Just like that.”
It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to come.
She’s so damn sweet, and I lap up every drop of her arousal that she gives me.
When her thighs start to tremble, I focus my mouth on her clit as I slowly start to curl my fingers, hitting that sweet spot that will have her seeing stars.
When I press my hand down on her lower stomach, holding her in place as I lick and suck at her clit, it’s enough to finally send her over the edge.
“Cormac!” she cries out, her back bowing off the bed as she climaxes.
I swallow a groan as my cock jerks.
I’m so desperate to be inside her, but I don’t stop until she collapses back against the pillows.
“Well done, Fi,” I praise.
She watches with glazed eyes as I slide my fingers free and suck them clean, groaning as I taste her.
When I shift to sit back on my heels, her eyes fall to my cock, and I smirk as I take myself in my hand.
“Look what you do to me.”
“I could say the same to you,” she says as she slowly lifts her legs up until they’re flush with her chest.
“Fiona,” I growl.
“Yes, Cormac?” she asks innocently.
I move over her and brace a hand against the headboard as I line myself up with her entrance.
The sound that rips out of my throat as I bury my cock inside her is completely feral.
Last night felt almost healing, a reminder that we both made it out of the nightmare alive. But now, it feels raw and desperate.
Fiona rests her legs on my shoulders, allowing me to hit her so deep I have to keep pressing my hand over her mouth to quiet her moans.
When my release starts to build, I sit back and spread her thighs even wider so I can watch my cock move inside her.
“I just can’t get enough of you.”
She gasps, arching against me. “I’m okay with that.”
“You’ve soaked me, baby.”
Fiona can only manage a whimper.
I can’t help but chuckle as I watch her squirm, already so desperate for another release. I reach down and start circling her clit with my thumb, groaning as her pussy clenches around my cock.
“Keep doing that, and I’m going to come.”
That has her clenching again, and I smirk.
I love how responsive she is to me.
I drag it out for as long as I can, but when the base of my spine starts to tingle, I can’t hold back any longer. My movements become sloppy as my balls tighten. I grit my teeth, watching Fiona to make sure she’s ready, because there’s no way I’m coming without her.
“Cormac,” she gasps.
“That’s it, baby. Come for me.”
Fiona’s eyes roll, and then she’s crying out, her body arching as her pussy spasms around my cock.
My hips jerk once, twice, and then I’m climaxing so hard I see stars.
I glance down, and my release is dripping out of her. “Oh fuck.”
Neither of us moves for a moment while we catch our breath.
I watch Fiona close her eyes, an expression of pure bliss cross over her face.
At some point, I manage to find the strength to separate myself from her long enough to clean up, and it’s just as well as I’ve barely climbed back into bed and pulled the sheet over us when Scout bounds into the room like a human cannonball.
“Daddy! Wake up!”
I barely have time to brace myself before he lands on the bed, but the second he sees the bruises on my jaw, he freezes.
“What happened to you?” he asks, panicked.
I ruffle his hair. “It’s nothing, buddy, just a little scrape. Daddy’s fine.”
“It looks like…like someone hit you!” His lower lip wobbles as his eyes start to well with tears.
“I got roughed up a bit. But I’m tough. Don’t you worry about me.”
Scout looks at me for a long moment, then shrugs, pretending to act tough, though I can see right through it.
“I’m tough, too,” he says, though his lower lip still trembles.
“I know you are, buddy. You’re my little warrior.”
I pull him onto my lap, and he wraps his arms around my neck.
As I hold him, the tension from yesterday eases into something lighter, but I know it’s only temporary.
Freddy’s warning can’t be taken lightly.
Lorcan is still out there, and I can’t afford not to be ready.
We finally drag ourselves out of bed and into the kitchen. Thankfully, everyone else seems to have been up for hours, so I get to enjoy breakfast with Scout and Fiona alone.
After cooking up some eggs and toast, we settle around the table and listen to Scout chatter endlessly. Occasionally, I chime in to remind him to actually eat, which has him stuffing his mouth full of eggs while he continues to talk and sprays them all over the table.
I reach beneath the table and rest my hand on Fiona’s knee.
My bruises and cuts might be healing, but the lingering sense of panic I felt when I watched her being dragged away from me yesterday is still there, and I have a feeling it’s the same for her.
She rests her hand on top of mine, and even such a small touch has me exhaling a breath.
As Scout is taking his plate over to the sink, I push back from the table and pull out my phone.
“Everything okay?” Fiona asks, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
“I just have to make a call.”
I step outside the kitchen, leaning against the wall as I keep one eye on Scout and Fiona as I call the prison.
“This is Cormac Sullivan,” I say when it connects. “I had a scheduled visit with Freddy Walton yesterday. I need a status report on him after the riot broke out.”
“Walton…” The voice on the other end of the line hesitates, and I have a feeling I already know what they’re about to say. “Mr. Sullivan, I’m afraid Freddy was one of the casualties. He didn’t make it.”
I try not to react as I glance at Fiona.
She’s standing at the island, drying some dishes.
When she catches me looking, I offer her a forced smile that I know she can see right through.
“Understood. Thank you for the update.”
I end the call and pocket my phone, my mind already thinking two steps ahead. I can’t help but feel that something is off about this.
Freddy is clearly a smart man, which makes me think this might not be the whole story. After the stunt he pulled off yesterday, the idea that he managed to get caught up in it and killed just doesn’t sit right.
Is this just part of another trick that might help me take down Lorcan?
It would make sense. No one is going to suspect a dead guy.
But I decide to keep my suspicions to myself because the last thing I want to do is jeopardize that.
“Is everything okay?” Fiona asks when I walk back into the kitchen.
I glance over at Scout, who is busy rearranging the letter magnets on the fridge before speaking.
“That was the prison,” I say quietly. “Freddy… He got caught in the riot.”
Fiona looks panicked. “Oh my god, is he okay?”
When I don’t answer, her face falls, and I watch her fight with half a dozen emotions.
“He died, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
She nods as she chews on her lower lip.
I take her face in my hands and stroke my thumbs over her cheeks. “It’s okay to feel sad.”
“I’m not sad, I don’t think. But then I feel bad for not feeling sad.”
“You can feel whatever you want to feel.”
She exhales a shaky breath. “What now? I mean, he was our link to Lorcan.”
“We’ll find another way. We always do.”
Fiona looks like she wants to protest but thinks better of it. She reaches up onto her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to my lips. “I think I'm going to take a shower.”
Once Fiona disappears upstairs, I take the opportunity to run an idea by Scout that has been weighing on me for a while.
“Hey, Scout, can you come here? I want to ask you something.” I sit back down at the table and pat the seat next to me.
Scout, climbing onto the chair, narrows his eyes. “What?”
I brace my hands on my knees. “Well… I was wondering how you would feel if Fiona became a part of our family?”
Scout immediately frowns, which has my good mood vanishing in an instant.
“You don’t like that idea?”
“I thought she already was a part of our family?” he asks.
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, but I was thinking about making it official. You know…by asking her to marry me.”
Scout’s eyes almost bug out of their sockets. “Really?”
“Only if you’re okay with it—”
I’m almost knocked off my chair as Scout launches himself into my arms.
“Yes! Fiona is the best!”
I laugh as I hug Scout tightly. “I think so too.”
“Can we go and tell her? Please, Daddy, please.”
“We have to ask her first.”
“But why? She’s going to say yes.”
I chuckle. “I appreciate the confidence, bud.”
“So, can we ask her now?” Scout looks at me hopefully.
“Well… I had an idea of how to make it super special, but I’m going to need your help. Do you think you can keep a secret?”