Chapter Eighteen #2
“Don’t you get it, Mom? They’re seven brothers. They’re the Seven Deadly Sins. Sins with a capital S, not a small one.”
Cyrus nodded at him. “That’s what our daddy always called us, giving each of us one of the sins, teaching us how to harness it into a strength.”
“Cyrus is pride. He’s our leader.”
It made an odd kind of sense, but she wasn’t sure about any father who’d saddle his sons with such a moniker, even if their last name was Sin.
“Which one are you, Zach?” she asked, curiosity aroused.
“Envy. But rather than covet what others have, I’m the supply guy. Whether it’s goods or information, I’m your man.”
It surprised her that he wore the label with such obvious pride. This was part of their identity as much as their DNA. “Let me guess.” She pointed at Noah. “Gluttony.” Every time she’d been around him, he was feeding people.
He grinned and nodded. “I love food. Cooking relaxes me.”
Cyrus was watching her, his expression unreadable, but she was starting to get to know him better after spending so much time together. He was worried. “And the rest?” she asked him.
“Josiah is greed. He handles all our finances, and he’s damn good at it.
Eli is wrath. He’s our moral center and our enforcer, focused on justice and punishment.
Levi is lust. He loves the ladies and adventure, but he’s not a player.
He honestly enjoys women of all ages, and they all seem to adore him.
Silas is Sloth. He’s easygoing but smart.
If there’s an easier way to accomplish something, he’ll find it.
That’s all of us.” He met her gaze. “We’re the Seven Deadly Sins. ”
****
Cyrus leaned against a maple tree in the corner of the backyard, alert to the sounds of the night.
His wolf wanted to run, making him too restless to sleep.
Unable to stay inside, he took the first watch.
After his warning to the sheriff, there shouldn’t be any trouble, but as Vinnie had pointed out, Wilkes was a wild card.
Zach would relieve him later, and Noah would do a stint in the early morning.
The rest of the evening had passed in a flurry of activity. Vinnie had thrown herself into packing in-between messaging with the potential house buyer Bradley Harper. She hadn’t commented on him and his brothers being known as the Seven Deadly Sins.
He could kick Zach’s ass for opening up that can of worms, but the blame belonged solely on Cyrus’s shoulders.
It was natural for his brother to assume he’d already told her their nickname.
It wasn’t a big secret, but Vinnie was hesitant enough as it was about taking his help.
He didn’t want to give her a reason to reconsider her options.
The back door quietly opened and closed.
Every cell in his body flared to life. His wolf went on alert.
He didn’t have to look to know it was Vinnie.
His stomach clenched when she didn’t immediately approach him.
When she took a step off the deck and peered into the darkness, it struck him that she couldn’t see him.
He pushed to his feet and moved away from the cover of the shadows.
“Over here.” When she hesitated, he started toward her, meeting her halfway.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now.” He’d come outside while she’d been showering, unable to remain in the house without going to her.
If she wanted to talk, if she wanted more than that, she had to make the first move.
“I couldn’t sleep. Too much running around in my head.
” The sweet scent of peaches and cream lingered on her skin.
Made him want to lick her. He’d noted the bathroom contained several types of bodywash and lotion rather than a single type—peaches and cream, roses, and vanilla and honey.
Working in a tough profession, she’d found other ways to express her femininity.
Rather than jeans, she wore thin pajama bottoms in a summery yellow and paired them with a white sleep tank covered in tiny yellow flowers.
“You should try to rest. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.” He wouldn’t rest easy until she and Adam were tucked away on Sin Mountain.
She tilted her head back to stare up at the night sky. Her exposed throat beckoned him to taste. He adjusted his dick in his pants, hoping she didn’t notice his arousal.
“Everything is falling into place so fast it’s scary.” She rubbed her hands over her arms, even though it was a hot July night.
“Are you cold?”
“No.” She began to wander around the yard.
Keeping alert to any intrusion, he walked beside her.
“My parents planted this tree.” It was a wild rosebush covered in a profusion of blooms. She trailed her fingers over several of the flowers, releasing their perfume.
“Adam took his first steps in this yard. Don’t mind me. I’m being maudlin.”
“It’s only natural that you’ll miss this place.
It’s been home your whole life.” What she was being forced to do was unfair, but there was no other way around it.
Or maybe there was. “You could keep the house and rent it out in case you decide to come back at some point down the road.” His wolf howled at the thought of her leaving him, but this wasn’t about him.
It was about doing what was right for Vinnie.
She shook her head. “A clean break is best. Besides, I need the money from the sale to start over.”
“Money isn’t an issue. I can buy the house.” He should have thought of that before. There might be part of him that didn’t want her to have a place to run back to. He shrugged off the guilt niggling at him. This town wasn’t safe for her or Adam, but it had to be her choice.
“Why would you do that?” She stopped beneath a maple tree and faced him. The moonlight highlighted her natural beauty, but her green eyes were tired and her full lips pinched. He wanted to kiss her worries away.
“Meeting me all those years ago changed the trajectory of your life.” He couldn’t stop thinking about how one night had impacted so many, her most of all.
“You don’t know where you might have gone, what you might have done.
” There had to be regrets, even if she’d never voice them.
It was human nature to wonder what might have been.
“We can’t rewrite the past.” She flattened her hands against his chest. The muscles beneath them flexed and hardened.
“And I don’t want to. Change that night and I wouldn’t have Adam.
I appreciate your offer, but I can’t foresee a day I’ll want to come back.
I’ll take my memories with me. It would be different if Mom was still alive, but it’s just me and Adam now.
And face it, neither of us fit in well around here. ”
She wasn’t wrong. “Speaking of not fitting in, are you going to ask?”
“About the Seven Deadly Sins thing?” She shook her head. “It was pretty self-explanatory. I can’t say I approve of your father’s parenting style. It put a lot of pressure on all of you.”
Her reaction rendered him momentarily speechless. He’d never thought of it that way. It was simply who he was. “You’re not put off by it?”
“Is that what you think? News flash, Cyrus, I already know you’re dangerous.”
A weight lifted off his shoulders, and the knot in his stomach vanished. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.” He’d lived his entire life cultivating a reputation. Cold, ruthless, and determined was what most would say about him.
He was different with family but still reserved.
As the oldest, the one they’d all looked to for direction and support, he’d had no choice.
They couldn’t view him as weak or conflicted.
He’d had to appear confident and in control even when he’d been as lost as they’d been.
Once his brothers had become adults, it had become habit.
Vinnie made him long for a different kind of life.
When she licked her lips, he barely smothered a groan. “I’m afraid of what you do to me,” she whispered. “What you make me feel.”
Arousal surged through his veins, his jeans becoming uncomfortably snug.
The urge to claim her was strong. “I want you. I’ve never stopped wanting you.
” The confession was ripped from him. “So many nights I lay in bed wondering where you were, what you were doing, who you were with.” Those nights had been the worst. They’d left him dangerously on edge, more feral than human.
They were close enough to the house that his brothers or Adam might overhear, but he was past caring. Vinnie deserved the truth.
“Cyrus.” She gripped the ends of his hair and tugged his head down. He didn’t kiss her, he devoured her. Holding nothing back, he took her lips, teasing, tasting. He hadn’t realized his life had become all about survival and protecting his brothers until she’d come charging back into it.
Lifting her off her feet, he moved them into the shadows at the back of the yard, away from prying eyes and listening ears.
The sweetness of her mouth drew him, and he slipped his tongue inside to taste.
Her moan was music to his ears. Her hands fisted in his shirt.
Breaking away, he kissed a path along her jaw and up to her ear.
“The windows are open in the house,” he whispered.
He cursed himself for insisting they leave them open to better detect any intruder rather than using the air-conditioning.
She stilled in his arms, her breath hot and heavy against his neck. Her nipples strained against the flimsy fabric of her sleep top. His mouth watered to taste them. Heat rolled off him in waves. His clothing was too confining. The wild yearning to mate clawed at him.
Without a word, she yanked her top up and off and dropped it on the grass. Her skin shone pale as the moon in the night sky. He dropped to his knees before her and cupped her breasts, savoring the weight of them in his hands.
Her bravery, her openness and acceptance were a gift beyond price. “Vinnie,” he murmured her name when he wanted to howl it from the mountaintop.
Her fingers tunneled through his hair and tugged him closer.
He licked at the curves of her breasts before capturing one taut nipple between his lips.
His hands stroked down her slender spine to cup her firm ass and drag her closer.
Her curves were riper than they’d been when they’d first met, her body no longer that of a twenty-something but a mature woman.
He’d been drawn to her back then. Now he doubted he’d ever get enough of her.
“I want to explore every inch of you.” The words were a low, barely audible whisper.
His actions spoke louder. He roamed down her legs and over her back, leaving no spot untouched.
She jerked when he touched behind her knees—a ticklish spot—but moaned when he squeezed her perfect behind.
She sucked in a breath when he grazed his teeth over her nipple before forcing himself to pull away. “Tell me what you want?”
The scent of her arousal bloomed in the night air, intoxicating him. Eyes glazed with passion, lips slightly swollen and damp, she was a fantasy come to life. He closed his eyes, wanting her too much. This wasn’t the time or place.
A brush of a footstep nearby.
Cyrus surged to his feet and shoved her shirt into her hands. Too smart to ask questions, she yanked on the garment and silently waited. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Someone on the other side of the fence.”
She nodded and canted her head toward the house.
He shook his head. Whoever was out there would hear her.
There was no telling if they had a weapon or not.
He motioned to her to crouch down behind the maple tree to make her a smaller target.
When she was situated, he emitted a low growl.
The person on the other side of the fence halted.
The light came on over the back door, signaling one of his brothers had heard him. Footsteps began to retreat quickly.
“Get to the house. Now.” Knowing Zach and Noah would protect her, Cyrus vaulted over the fence in pursuit.
It was child’s play for him to catch up to the culprit.
It would be easy to overtake the man, but that would cause more problems than it solved.
As he’d told Adam, sometimes it wasn’t about being stronger, it was about being smarter.
From the shadows, he watched Wilkes jump into a truck and speed off.
There was no telling if he’d had a weapon.
Backtracking, he followed Wilkes’s trail through the neighbor’s driveway to their yard.
Taking his time, he circled the house. Wilkes had been in the driveway, too.
He went around Vinnie’s car and his SUV but didn’t find any sign they’d been tampered with in any way.
Satisfied, he went inside. Vinnie was waiting for him, pacing back and forth. There was no sign of Adam. Good, he needed sleep. Zach gave him a nod and slipped out the back door to take over the watch. Noah was lying on the living room floor with his back turned, but Cyrus knew he was awake.
“It was Wilkes, wasn’t it?” Hands on her hips, she glared at him.
“Yes.” They couldn’t afford to stay here any longer. “We’re out of here no later than lunchtime tomorrow. Whatever else needs to be handled can be done by email or courier.”
“That’s not your decision.”
“It’s not safe here, Vinnie. The sheriff has no control over Wilkes.” That made him unpredictable. “There’s no telling how far he’ll go or what he’ll do.” He didn’t want to kill the man, but to protect Vinnie, he wouldn’t hesitate.
She dragged her fingers through her hair.
He did his best not to notice the way the action pulled her top tight across her chest. “I don’t like it, but you’re right.
If I have to come back at some point in the future to handle any business, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I need Adam somewhere safe.”
Unable to bear seeing her upset, he dragged her into his arms. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”