23. Lara
23
LARA
I gasp against Rory’s mouth as he kisses me roughly. I’m still a little peeved at him for keeping me in the dark about The Pit, so I shove him away.
Rory looks at me with half-lidded eyes, breathing hard.
“You never lie to me again,” I say firmly, and he nods quickly.
“Never. Never, honey."
I look at him for a moment. Part of me wonders if Gray is right. Part of me wonders if I can really trust Rory. But my heart says I can.
“Okay.” I take his hand, leading him back to our bedroom.
Rory doesn’t wait for me to climb onto the bed, grabbing me roughly and pushing me against the wall. He unzips the dress at the hip, letting it fall to the floor.
I step out of it with a giggle that turns into a gasp as he picks me up, pressing me up against the wall, pinning me with his body.
“God, you’re so beautiful, honey,” he murmurs against my neck before biting a mark there, making my eyes roll back into my head.
“You haven’t picked out your outfit,” I tease, and Rory grunts, spreading my thighs and wrapping my legs around his waist.
“What’s there to pick out? I’ll wear a tux.”
I giggle again, feeling lightheaded from his proximity, his mouth on my throat.
I’m not wearing panties, having foregone putting them back on, and Rory puts his hand between my legs, testing my wetness, brushing his thumb along my clit as I pant.
He keeps me pinned while he unbuttons his pants, freeing himself.
I reach down to wrap my fingers around him, guiding him inside me impatiently.
“Fuck.” He kisses me passionately.
His tongue glides against mine, and I moan into his mouth as he enters me.
I can already tell this is going to be quick by the way he pulses inside me, the desperate way he kisses me as he thrusts into me, moving my back up and down the wall, but I don’t care. I love every moment I get to spend with him inside me.
God, I’m in love with him.
I freeze when the words float through my brain, but Rory doesn’t seem to notice, his breath hot against my neck.
Pleasure rips through me as he hits a sweet spot, and as I start to orgasm, I stop thinking entirely.
Rory gasps as he spills inside me, kissing along the side of my face.
He slowly lowers me to the ground, and my legs shake. He smirks a little, and I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
“Don’t get a big head about it.”
“Too late.” He scoops me up, bridal style, and walks to the bed, lying me down on top of the covers.
I lie there for a moment, catching my breath, biting my lip and thinking.
Am I really in love with him?
God, I am. I am, and I have been for longer than I thought.
I trust him wholeheartedly, despite the fact that he has Murphy blood. I want him all the time, and he’s wormed his way into my heart so deeply that I don’t think I’ll ever get him out.
But when this is all over, when we take Niall down, we’ll separate. He’ll leave, go back to his life as an accountant, and I’ll be left heartbroken.
I can’t help but be devastated just thinking about it.
“Are you crying?” Rory frowns as he puts a hand on my thigh, sitting on the edge of the bed.
I wipe my eyes, sniffling.
“Just thinking about Miles and Kael,” I lie, hoping to cover up the way I feel about him.
I can’t tell him. Not now. There’s too much going on, and besides–what if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if he just wants this over?
Sex is sex, it doesn’t have to be love, even though the way he kisses me... the way he looks at me...
“I’m so sorry.” Rory lies down next to me and gathers my nude body in his arms, warming my cool skin.
I bury my face in his chest, letting it all wash over me, the heartbreak, the worry.
There’s so much to worry about. How Rory feels about me. What will happen with Niall. My brothers, my dad, my sister...
I let go, clutching onto his shirt, getting as close as I can get to him, and Rory murmurs soothing words into my ear, brushing my hair back from my face.
After a few long moments, I pull away, brushing tears from my cheeks.
“Now my face is going to be all puffy,” I whine, and Rory chuckles.
“Go wash your face with some cold water. I’ll pick out my tux.”
He pats me on the butt as I get up, and I can’t help but giggle despite the fact that I was crying just a moments ago.
I splash the water on my face in the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror.
My eyes are red, and I press the heels of my hands against them.
You have to get through this, Lara.
The voice in the back of my head is right. This gala is going to be awful, especially with Niall and his men there, but I have to do it. I have to look the part of prisoner, even though I’ve fallen in love with my captor.
I take a deep breath and head back into the bedroom.
Rory’s already put on his tux, and his shoulders look broader than ever in the tailored suit.
“You look great,” I mumble, and he hands me the dress, giving me a half-grin.
“You’ll look better.”
I smile. “I guess I should thank Bree for the dress.”
Rory chuckles, buttoning his sleeves and putting on a pair of monogrammed silver cufflinks.
I sit down on the bed and tug on the stilettos, grateful that Bree and I wear the same shoe size.
“I have a plan,” Rory says, and I look up at him, frowning.
“A plan? For the gala?”
“It’s the only time my father will be out of the house and takes his men with him. I want us to stay behind somehow, get into his office. There has to be some kind of proof there.”
“He’s never going to allow that.”
“You’d be surprised. He trusts me.” Rory looks at himself in the mirror, adjusting his bowtie and sweeping his hair back from his face.
I swallow hard. “All right, but we have to be careful.”
“Of course.” Rory holds out his arm.
I wrap my hand around his bicep and let him lead me out of the room.
My palms are sweating, but Rory doesn’t seem concerned. I envy his ability to keep his cool all the time. He’s always so calm, even in the face of all of this.
Niall stands at the bottom of the stairs in a tux similar to Rory’s, and I can’t help but noticing their similarities–the broadness of their shoulders, the height, their blue eyes.
It’s hard to believe sometimes that Rory, who has been so sweet to me, came from such a monster.
But I guess none of us gets to choose where we come from.
Niall looks up at us as we reach the bottom of the stairs, smirking slightly.
“You two look like a lovely couple,” he drawls, and Rory stiffens but smiles.
“Thanks, Pa.”
Then Rory curses, patting his pockets. “I forgot my wallet and phone.”
Niall huffs out a breath. “We’re going to be late, boyo.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Why don’t you go on ahead, and Lara and I will follow?”
“Nonsense.” He looks me up and down. "My daughter-in-law will come with me. You can follow after in your car.”
Rory swallows visibly, and I freeze, my blood seeming to go cold in my veins.
I’ll be traveling to the gala alone with Niall Murphy?
This can’t happen. Rory won’t allow this to happen.
“All right,” Rory says quietly, and I look up at him, affronted and frankly, terrified.
“Can’t let her out of our sight, after all,” Niall continues, and he holds out his elbow for me to take.
I slowly walk down the stairs, taking his arm with a shiver.
I look back at Rory as we leave the mansion, and he’s just staring at me, his expression blank.
Niall opens his car door for me, a luxury car, and I get inside. He buckles my seatbelt, and my skin crawls with revulsion at his closeness.
As he pulls off, I keep staring at the mansion door, as if hoping that Rory will come barreling out of there to save me.
“How are you liking marriage, Lara?”
I turn to look at him, blinking, surprised that he’s even speaking to me. He mostly treats me like I don’t exist or I’m the annoying family dog or something.
“Do I have to like it?”
He shrugs, keeping his eyes on the road. “You might as well get used to it. You’re not going anywhere.”
I draw in a sharp breath. “Well, I’m stuck with it. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
He chuckles, giving me a sideways glance. “I see the way you look at my son. I know you’re falling for him.”
“You don’t know anything,” I hiss, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Don’t sass me. You’d better be on your best behavior at this gala.”
“Or what?”
He looks over at me coolly and then back at the road. “You don't want to try me, girlie.”
I swallow, trying to keep my cool. I can’t exactly curse him out when we’re in the car alone.
“And don’t get to thinking that Rory feels the same way about you. You’re a pawn in this war with the Burkes, nothing more.”
“I wouldn’t dream of believing Rory cares about me.”
That’s not true. I’m hoping against hope that he does, that he even feels an inkling of what I feel for him.
“Good,” Niall grunts as we pull up at the venue.
It’s unassuming from the outside, just a large building, but as we walk into the front door, I realize that it’s a lot more ornate than I thought.
Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceilings, and there’s fine art lining the walls.
We walk into a huge ballroom full of people–some of them I recognize from business with my father, but most of them, I don’t. They’re Murphy’s men and his allies, and my father doesn’t like to associate with those types of people.
As soon as we walk into the ballroom, Niall’s face changes. He puts on a big smile, looking merry instead of cool, and drops my arm.
He trails off toward a group of men in the corner, leaving me by myself, and I make a beeline for the champagne table.
I’m going to need some liquid courage to get through this night.
Chapter Twenty-Four