Chapter 34
Maeve
What the hell do I do with that?
My brain floats in a sea of fury and pheromones. The fact that I can focus on the road at all is a minor miracle. Thank goodness the drive is a familiar one I’ve completed a thousand times.
No one’s ever confronted my father like that before, especially not on my behalf.
No one’s ever had my back.
Validated me.
Still, Kellin lied to me. Used me to get to my father. Aiming for Declan, the owner of the hotel? Or Declan, the head of the Port Kings? What’s Kellin’s real motive here?
I have no idea. I doubt the truth matters anymore anyway.
All I know for certain is that tonight’s meal saddled me with a case of emotional whiplash.
The most terrifying man I know and the man I thought I was falling in love with just went head-to-head while both my brothers stuffed their faces with tiramisu.
Connor has always functioned as a robotic yes-man, and I understand why Brody avoids confronting our father. My younger brother’s sought Dad’s acceptance for as long as I can remember. Plus, as the spare, Declan often treats him as expendable.
Kellin’s in amazing shape, secondary to none, but even he would probably struggle against my father in a one-on-one battle.
Shit, Dad was livid, and I tore out of that house before Kellin. For all I know, my father commanded his guys to stop Kellin at the end of the driveway and beat him bloody.
Pissed or not, I can’t help worrying.
When I brake at the red light just a block away from the Cypress, I think I spy a G-Wagen in my rearview mirror.
Relief washes over me.
Good. His nose is still attached to that pretty chiseled face.
That’s something.
When the light turns green, I gun it.
I’m not prepared to face Kellin yet. I shiver when I realize he’s okay but chalk that reaction up to my raging hormones.
My heart’s in tatters at the discovery of him going behind my back.
I can’t predict when I’ll heal from that betrayal. Or if.
I park and head straight for the lobby.
His Mercedes screeches to a halt behind me.
A door slams. “Maeve—”
I dart into the lobby, turn right, and beeline down the hall, hustling to prevent him from trapping me outside the elevators.
He’s hot on my heels.
“Maeve, talk to me. Please.”
While I’m a fast walker, I’m in stilettos, so one of his strides equals two of mine. Bastard.
As I hurry past the chair room—debating on whether to kick off my shoes and sprint—my emotions shift.
I spin and plow straight into him.
Grabbing his hand, I yank him inside the room.
“Maeve, what are we doing?”
It’s dark and cold in here.
Screw it.
I shove him against a wall, and he raises his palms. “Please, Maeve, I don’t want to—”
I toss my purse, release my ponytail, drop to my knees, and unzip his pants.
My phone rings, or at least I think it does, but I ignore the distraction in favor of hooking my hands inside his briefs.
His pupils dilate. “What are you—”
I glare up at him. “Want me to change my mind? If so, keep talking.”
His mouth snaps shut as I slide his briefs down to release his cock.
He’s already hard.
Of course he is.
Am I wet? Maybe.
With no forewarning, I suck him into my mouth. He groans and fists a hand in my hair, a quiet thump alerting me that he’s knocked his head against the wall.
I have no idea what the future holds for us, or if an “us” will even exist after that eye-opening meal at Dear Old Dad’s. I very much doubt it.
Even so, Kellin defended me. Proved he believes in my business. Stood up for me. And through that simple act, this infuriating man’s managed to arouse me more than he ever has before.
For one moment in time, I plan to enjoy the control, along with the hot, salty taste of him in my mouth and throat.
Kellin moans, and my lower belly clenches in response. I suck harder, draw him in deeper, and twist my lips around his shaft, applying just enough pressure. Increasing my pace, letting up, torturing him in all the right ways.
“Maeve, fuck me…” He bucks his hips. He’s out of control. Under my spell.
All mine for this tiny period of time.
And I want him to fall apart.
He’s panting too much to speak. His free fist smacks the wall.
He’s close. I sense his impending orgasm in the twitch of his cock and his tightening muscles.
That a boy, Kellin. Let go.
He groans and twists his fingers in my hair. “Maeve, I can’t hold back.”
His warm, salty seed spills down my throat. With a moan, I swallow every last bit.
When he finishes, I slow-release his cock from my throat, my mouth, my lips. Relishing the entire experience while I still can.
He rests against the wall, eyes closed, chest heaving.
Smiling, I sit back on my heels, enjoying the sight of this beautiful man who’s come completely undone because of me.
He literally embodies dazed and confused, and that knowledge brings me all kinds of pleasure.
For a flash in time, I know he was mine.
I didn’t imagine any of our connection.
“Maeve.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, whatever you do, don’t ruin the moment with words.”
He laughs softly, regarding me with exquisite tenderness in his eyes. My heart stutter-beats. If I were to guess at the emotion gleaming in those irises, I might say love.
But I’m not about to guess. Not after the way he burned me.
Even though that gentle expression will torment me for the rest of my days.
More ringing interrupts my inner turmoil. My phone fell out of my pocket when I dropped to my knees, so I can plainly read the screen.
Brody.
The device glows in the dim chair room. The moon, peeking through the blinds, provides the only other illumination.
Kellin gestures at my cell before leaning his head back against the wall, though he doesn’t bother zipping up his pants.
I’m not sure why he’s so exhausted when I did all the work. Smiling to myself, I answer the call.
“Hey, Brod.” My voice is liquid caramel.
“Maeve?”
I understand his questioning pitch. He probably doesn’t recognize his stressed-out sister in such a mellow state.
“What’s up? It’s not really a good time. Can I—”
“No, you can’t call me back. Please don’t hang up.”
“Okay.”
Brody’s default state is tense, but I also know my baby brother. True panic laces his voice. I sit up on my heels as if a postural change might help me focus.
“Listen, I don’t know if you’re back at the hotel yet, or if you’re with Kellin. Don’t answer. Just listen to me.”
“Okay.” I eye Kellin briefly and nod. Moonlight highlights his face, which is currently absent of all frown lines. His neck glistens with a thin sheen of sweat. His cock twitches, as if gearing up for round two.
“He’s not who he says he is, Maeve.”
“I can barely hear you. You okay?”
“Listen. We had him investigated, and he’s not with Zenith Investment Group.
His real name is Kellin Brennan. He works for the NYC Gallaghers.
One of Shane’s guys. Well, one of Finn’s now.
He’s here for the accountant. The guy holed up in the penthouse.
And to blackmail Dad by any means necessary.
He’s been using you to get to the books. ”
Ice spills through my chest, dropping like stones through my stomach.
I force my voice to sound normal. “Okay, Brod. Sure thing.”
My brother’s not done. “We raided his room… I just had a bad feeling.” Brody goes on and on, assembling a few puzzle pieces together that I didn’t even realize required linking but fit together perfectly.
“Thanks. You have a good night too.” I fight to retain a neutral expression and tone. Not easy, given what I’ve just learned. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I hang up and stare blankly at my phone.
“Everything okay, darlin’?”
I nod because I can’t glance up at him just yet without falling to pieces. I struggle to gather my thoughts. After all, I can still taste this man in my mouth.
I need a damn minute.
My heart flatlines in my chest as I try to deny what Brody just told me.
His warning can’t be true.
Memories flash through my mind. Kellin’s dark, controlling, dangerous vibe when he entered the Cypress for the first time.
The way he initially reminded me of the men in my family. How convenient the timing was when he approached me to “invest.”
How that timing came right on the heels of my dad and brothers coming in with a couple of goons and some out-of-place stranger while insisting on using the penthouse.
I always sensed that Kellin was keeping secrets from me.
And then there’s the penthouse.
He asked about the luxury suite a lot. Including on the ride home from Chateau Marmont. He was fixated on his cell, then out of the blue…
“Maeve, are you okay?” His fingers rake through my hair and linger there.
Summoning the strength to rise on wobbly legs, I meet his eyes one final time to search for the man I was falling in love with before this newfound information shattered me into a million broken pieces.
I inflate my lungs. Exhale. Curling my fingers into a tight fist, I swing with all my might, nailing Kellin square in the nose.
The back of his skull smacks the wall as blood sprays all over us both.
The teensiest twinge of satisfaction blossoms in my chest.
He hunches over, clutching his nose. “What the fuck?”
He never saw the hit coming.
Funny…neither did I.