38. Blair
THIRTY-EIGHT
blair
“Good morning,” I greeted Caroline, taking a seat at the counter as she immediately began to make me a plate.
I didn’t have it in me to tell her I wasn’t hungry enough to eat everything piled on. She regarded me with concerned eyes as she sat the bacon, hash browns, eggs and grits in front of me.
“Thank you.”
She nodded and lifted an eyebrow and I immediately picked up a piece of bacon and popped it in my mouth.
Luckily, I did have an appetite, just not a big one.
“Morning, ma,” Sean greeted as he entered the kitchen, stopping to drop a kiss to her forehead before coming to stand behind me.
He put my necklace on and leaned to whisper in my ear, “Good morning, Amoy. Don’t ever take it off again.”
I twisted and kissed his cheek but didn’t respond, in case one day I did have to take it off.
“No need to make me a plate, ma. I’ll share with, Blair.”
He grabbed a fork and started in on my eggs
She had given me enough food for two and he took advantage, while helping me clear the plate.
“Your father and uncle will be in today,” she said, busying herself around the kitchen. “You’ll have to get Tadhg here. He’s been ignoring Eoghan.”
We looked at one another and he silently cursed under his breath.
“Is there something I need to know?”
I stuffed grits and bacon in my mouth, leaving that discussion for him to broach. Tadhg’s situation was fucked and he’d been in a state of depression according to Aoife, who he was crashing with.
“Zinnia asked for a divorce,” he revealed. “But turns out she’d been cheating and is pregnant with… basically Tadhg killed her baby’s father.”
Caroline’s frown deepened.
“Excuse me? And where is he now?”
He fed me eggs before responding.
“Staying at Eef’s”
She nodded slowly, went to respond, but Brynn appeared rubbing her eyes.
“You’re back!” she yelled, running toward and slipping between us. “Can we see my mom today?”
I nodded and kissed her cheek.
“Yeah, Brynn baby, we can see her today.”
She had no idea her mom was coming home and I had time to spare.
Unlike with my father, I didn’t have any hunches on where Caden could be. Especially after Sean had Aoife and Niamh burn his place down, which had me looking at him sideways.
The fuck was that about?
“You need to eat and take a bath and then we’ll go, okay?”
She nodded, took the plate Caroline made for her and sat at the table.
I stood and gave my husband a look; we needed to talk.
“What’s up, Amoy?” he questioned as soon as we entered the bedroom and the door shut behind us. “I’m feeling a little hostility coming off you.”
“You didn’t just burn down Caden’s spot for nothing. What did you find?”
He sighed and I knew I was right.
Being able to read a person, to know them so well you can easily pinpoint what would make them snap before it happens, was something like a curse.
The only person who could get him that way was me. Whatever they’d found had been connected to me and from the expression in his eyes, I wouldn’t fucking like it.
“He had pictures of you. It was clear to me he’d been watching you, even in Florida. Your graduation, he had shots only a person in the vicinity could’ve gotten. That doesn’t mean—”
I took a step back and sat on the bed.
“Did you burn them?”
He shook his head and I sighed.
“Okay. So he’s been watching me but not recently, I would know. Liam would’ve caught on. You would’ve. So, what’s he planning?”
He pulled me up and stared in my eyes.
“Not sure but you don’t leave my side from this point on, alright?”
I nodded and a knock at the door ended our conversation for now.
“Come in,” Sean called and Brynn pushed the door open seconds later, still in her pajamas.
“Did you finish your breakfast?” I asked.
She nodded and looked between us.
“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready then?” Sean queried. “Or is there something you wanted to talk to us about?”
We both waited patiently for her to find the courage and ask.
“Um… I-I was wondering if me and mommy can stay and be part of your family forever. She can stay too, right?”
It was such an innocent question.
Of course, she loved her mom. Didn’t we all at that age?
I got down and beckoned her to me.
“You and mommy are going to live here together where there’s security to keep you both safe.”
She nodded slowly.
“And… will you still be here?”
I smiled.
“We’re going to be close by and you’ll get to spend time with us as much as you want.”
Her eyes flicked to Sean and I could tell she wanted him to confirm.
“We’ll make sure to have a room just for you.”
She beamed at me and gave us both a hug before running off. I took a deep breath and stood.
“I’m making an appointment to get my implant out.”
He took my battered hands and brought them to his lips.
“Whatever you want to do, baby.”
What I wanted was to kill Caden and then give my husband a daughter and son. That’s what I wanted, but for the time being I kept it to myself.
“I’m sending Finn and Violet back to Philly after Sunday. He’s been gone too long and Cian’s been picking up the slack.”
I nodded.
“Figured they’d have to go back eventually.”
It made sense to send them off after church. The O’Sullivan’s were all coming together in two days’ time on the orders of their grandfather.
Something told me he had a message they needed to receive, one only he could provide. Maybe I needed to hear it, too.
“I’m ready!” Brynn yelled an hour later, meeting us in the living room. “Auntie Caroline helped me pick this teddy bear for mommy when we went shopping…” she was dragging the large stuffed bear almost as big as her. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
I chuckled and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be very happy.”
She practically sprinted to her mother’s room when we arrived and Sean went in while I stopped to talk to the doctor.
“She’ll make a full recovery,” he told me, handing her paperwork over. “But I suggest finding her a therapist and maybe the little girl, too.”
It was sound advice, I would take seriously.
“Blair bear! Did you know?” Brynn screeched when I entered the room.
I nodded with a smile, gaze drifting to Lauren who was sitting up and dressed. She looked to be in good spirits but I could tell she was still feeling guilty about everything.
Eventually it would go away. I wasn’t holding anything against her, and neither was Brynn.
If anything, I was the one who should be feeling guilty.
Had I left them alone and killed my father sooner, none of this would’ve happened.
I felt the weight of that all day, especially back at home for some reason. Maybe because Lauren was there now, sharing our space for the time being.
Either way, O’Sullivan’s came and went, including Tadhg who looked distraught but managed to keep his composure until he and Aoife left.
“Come here, Amoy,” Sean beckoned when it was just us, locked away in our bedroom fresh from the shower.
I climbed into bed, towel wrapped around my body and straddled him.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
I shook my head.
“You read me too well sometimes…” I pressed my palms into his chest and smiled down at him. “Just feeling guilty about Lauren. Had I left them alone—”
He pulled my face to his and kissed me.
“Shut that shit up and ride my dick instead,” he murmured into my lips, unraveling my towel as I did the same to his.
I wrapped my fingers around the soft elongated flesh and leveled my pussy over the tip, sliding down slowly until he filled me completely.
I stilled and moaned as he stretched me wide, savoring the sensation.
A low grumble rose from his chest as he held my hips tight, guiding me as I lifted and dropped, over and over. His hands slipped to my ass and he leaned forward, pressing his head against my breasts and catching one nipple between his teeth.
“Goddamn, Amoy,” he moaned softly between flicks.
His words were like a charge running through me.
I leaned back and braced myself on his thighs, riding him harder, meeting each of his thrusts with one of my own. Pressure built in my core and I writhed above him, helpless and ecstatic and out of my mind with the friction of his dick sliding in and out. The intensity of his grip, his soft moans matching my own.
I was close and he could tell, moving one hand to my clit and rubbing it in tight circles.
“Oh… oh fuck,” I gasped.
He flipped me beneath him before the waves subsided, sliding deeper and harder into me.
I hooked my legs around him and dug my nails into his back, loving the feel of each pounding thrust until his whole body tensed and he came inside of me.
He groaned into my neck, rolling his hips slowly until he hardened again. I arched my back to meet the lazy strokes, to take him as deeply as I could.
There was something intimate about it, about the way he filled me so completely. Something that made me feel closer to him than I did to anyone else in the world. He looked into my eyes, breathing hard, and all I could think was, goddamn I’m glad it’s him.