CHAPTER 23
KILLIAN
My phone rings on the coffee table, startling me and I mute the hockey game playing on my TV before reaching for it.
My sister’s name flashes across the screen, and I frown, swiping to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Heeyy, big bro,” Bella slurs and my shoulders slump in relief that there isn’t something wrong.
“What can I do for you, Bella?” I ask, peeved that she interrupted my game.
A hiccup sounds through the phone, followed by some giggling. “Can you come pick us up?”
I sit up in my chair. “Us?”
Another hiccup. “Yes. Me and Daisy. Can you pick us up?”
Just the sound of her name has the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.
“Where are you?” I ask, already pulling my shoes on.
“At The Boot.”
I grab my keys from the hook by the front door. “I’ll be there in ten.”
I end the call and climb into my truck, tearing out of my driveway with a speed that would be embarrassing if there was anyone else around to witness it.
My fingers drum a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel for the full ten minutes it takes me to pull up in front of the bar.
I haven’t seen Daisy in person since the day at my house and there’s a nerve-filled excitement building in my chest at the prospect of being in close proximity to her again.
I spent so long away from her that now I will take any opportunity to be around her I can get.
I find the two of them huddled close together outside the bar when I arrive. I jump out and round the truck, opening the back door for Daisy as she helps a highly intoxicated Bella into the back seat.
Taking a step back, I let my eyes drag down the length of her and quickly regret it. From this angle, her plump ass practically winks at me as she bends over, lifting Bella’s feet into the truck and I have to drop my gaze to her feet.
Big fucking mistake.
I almost groan out loud when I eye the five-inch fuck me heels hugging her delicate feet.
Jesus fucking Christ, what I wouldn’t give to tear those sinful shoes off with my teeth.
I run a hand over the scruff on my jaw and bring my attention back to my sister, who is watching me over her friend’s shoulder with a wicked gleam in her eyes. I frown which causes her to wink and suddenly, realisation dawns on me.
I’ve been played like a puppet. And my fucking little sister of all people, is the one pulling the strings.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I shake my head and grip Daisy’s shoulder. “She’s good.”
Her dark curls brush my fingers as she looks at me over her shoulder. “What?”
I gesture my chin at Bella. “She’s good. She can get herself in the truck.”
Daisy looks between us both in confusion, but I step away, opening the passenger door for her.
I watch Daisy carefully as she closes the back door and climbs into the passenger seat.
She seems significantly more sober than my sister.
Her eyes are crystal clear as she watches me right back.
We just stare at one another for what seems like a lifetime before a throat clears in the back seat, reminding the both of us that we’re not alone.
Startling back, I put some much needed distance between us and close the door, returning to the driver’s side.
In my periphery, I can see Daisy nervously twiddling her fingers as she keeps her attention trained out of the window.
Bella hums softly along with the song playing on the radio before almost launching herself between us.
“Can we make a quick pitstop?”
I glare at the side of my sister’s head, now blocking my view of Daisy. “Where?”
She waves her hand around. “Oh, just around this corner.”
Suspicion settles in my gut as I begrudgingly follow her directions and pull up to the curb outside a block of apartment buildings.
My earlier premonition is confirmed when Bella jumps out of the back seat, landing on suddenly very steady feet and pokes her head back inside. “Ya’ll can just leave me here.” Her smile is victorious as she slams the door shut and practically skips away.
Daisy’s mouth hangs open in shock as her head slowly swivels to me. “Was she acting?”
The laugh that startles out of me surprises us both. “Yeah. And I’m pretty sure I just dropped my little sister off at a booty call.” I shiver.
To my absolute delight, Daisy throws her head back and laughs. The sound is both familiar and foreign and it warms the deepest parts of me as I soak the sound in.
If I could bottle the sound up and keep it in my pocket so that I could play it on repeat for the rest of my life, I would die a happy man.
“We both got played,” she gasps between fits of giggles.
My cheeks ache from smiling when I respond, “Yeah, angel. We did.”
I don’t even realise the word has slipped out of my mouth until her head snaps in my direction and the smile slowly melts from her face.
Fuck.
I wait for her to say something. To snap at me. To tell me to never call her that again. But she doesn’t. Instead, she faces forward, rests her head back against the seat and closes her eyes. I take that as my queue and pull away from the curb.
The drive to her house is short-lived and before I know it, I’m turning into her driveway. Daisy doesn’t open the door straight away and I hold my breath as I wait for her next move.
She picks invisible lint from her jeans, her voice so quiet I almost miss it as she mutters, “do you want to come in for coffee?”
It takes every single ounce of strength a man can muster to keep the smile off my face. “I’d love a coffee.”
It’s after eleven at night. I don’t give a fuck about the coffee. I just want to spend more time with her.
She dips her chin once in a quick nod and climbs out and I don’t waste a single second before I turn off the engine and follow her.
We’re silent as she unlocks the front door and leads me into the hallway where she, much to my disappointment, removes her shoes. I follow suit and begin toeing off my boots before pausing, second guessing myself.
Does taking off my boots make it seem like I’m expecting to stick around longer than she wants me to?
I frown. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable by making myself too comfortable.
I’m mid internal battle when Daisy chuckles. “You can take your shoes off, Killian.”
My face heats as I look at her through lowered lashes, embarrassed that she can read me so easily. With a simple nod, I kick my boots off and follow her into the living room.
The living room that I helped decorate.
Without thinking, I say, “I was stood in this exact room when I found out you were visiting.”
Daisy freezes and looks at me over her shoulder. “You were?”
“Mm-hmm. I was painting that wall right there.” I point at the wall now sporting a large mirror.
She follows my gaze and stares at the wall like she’s seeing it for the first time and a strange part of me hopes that every time she looks at that wall from this day forward, she’ll think of me.
“That’s the night you came storming into The Boot all guns blazing?” she asks, her tone holding a teasing lilt.
I purse my lips and rock back on the balls of my feet. “Wasn’t my proudest moment.”
“Hmm.” Daisy watches me carefully. “I’m going to make the coffee. Make yourself at home.”
When she rushes from the room, I take the opportunity to snoop. Photo frames line the fireplace, each image containing one or all four of the women who live or have lived in this house, along with a few of Reign.
There’s a stack of books on a side table below the lamp that Daisy flicked on when we walked in here and the cover of one catches my eye. It’s familiar and I pick it up, reading the back to see if anything jogs my memory.
“What are you doing?” Daisy’s voice startles me, and I turn to look at her, still holding the book in my hands.
The second she realises what I’m holding her entire face heats. And then, it hits me.
With a shit eating grin, I hold the book up. “You still read this?”
Flustered, she places the mugs of coffee down on the table and straightens. “That’s none of your business.”
She reaches for the book but at the last second I pull my hand back, holding it out of her reach and smiling down at her. “Ah-ah,” I tsk.
“Killian, give me it,” she says desperately, still trying to reach for the book.
“I just want to have a little look. Jog my memory a little,” I wink, which only riles her more.
With a groan she goes up on her tiptoes, her hand using my chest for support as she stretches above me, and I would be a bare-faced liar if I said I wasn’t enjoying the feel of her hands on me again. She’s so close I can smell the vodka on her breath.
I switch hands, resting my free one at the small of her back to hold her steady. “Isn’t this the one where he does that thing with his tongue-”
“Stop it,” she half laughs, half whines as she climbs my body.
I don’t even think she realises that she’s wrapped her legs around my waist until my hand shifts from her back and lands on her ass to support her. She freezes, sucking in a breath as her eyes land on my face.
My chest heaves under the weight of her stare and suddenly, it’s not so funny anymore. The air between us changes, going from humour-filled to charged within seconds as we watch one another, waiting for the next move.
My eyes move down to her lips as she drags her tongue over them, and I drop my arm, all earlier teasing and the book forgotten. It lands with a soft thud at the very same moment Daisy’s lips crash to mine.
The world tilts.
Fireworks explode.
And my heart beats like a drums in my ears as her soft lips move against mine.
I don’t think, I just react. My tongue snakes it’s way past my lips, seeking entry into her mouth as my other hand grips the side of her face, holding her against me. Daisy brings her arms up, wrapping them around my neck as she drags her nails through my hair, pulling me impossibly closer.
A groan builds in my chest as our tongues move against each other in perfect synchronicity. Like a well-practiced dance, we lose ourselves in one another.
My cock hardens against the zipper of my jeans, and my legs tremble under the weight of the electricity crackling between us.
I turn on the spot and drop down onto the sofa, never tearing my lips from hers. Daisy lands in my lap, her legs falling to either side of mine and she moans against my mouth as her centre connects with the very obvious bulge in my pants.
My fingers dig into her denim-clad ass, and I pull her against me, creating friction where our cores meet. I swallow her desperate whimpers, her hands gripping either side of my face as she grinds her pussy against me.
It’s too much and not enough all in the same breath.
I want more.
I need more of her.
But I can’t be greedy.
One wrong move could break the spell she’s currently under and ruin the entire moment.
Her hips rock back and forth, and I encourage her with my grip on her as she devours my mouth like a woman starved.
The butterflies swarming inside of me makes my stomach flutter. I never thought I’d feel this again. I haven’t wanted to feel this again.
The feel of her body in my hands, her lips on mine, the soft breathy moans vibrating in her throat and the sheer disbelief coursing through me is what leads me to do something monumentally stupid.
I know I’ve fucked up the second the words leave my mouth. “Fuck, I’ve missed you so much.”