Chapter 29
Killian
I’m up early Sunday morning, which isn’t surprising since I barely slept last night. I couldn’t sleep; my mind has been going nonstop, wondering what the hell I’m going to do.
We need a plan. I’m going to talk to Asher today, and he’s going to try to round everyone up to come here.
That probably won’t happen until tomorrow, though.
I think I’ll feel better once we talk things out and I know what our next steps are going to be.
I hate the feeling of being in limbo, and that’s exactly what we’re in right now.
I’m standing at the kitchen counter, making coffee, when I hear Mia’s footsteps pad across the room.
“Good morning, Kitten,” I say, turning to face her.
God, she’s beautiful. Her long dark hair is loose and wavy over her shoulder. She’s wearing my sweatshirt with nothing else, and I can’t help but stare at her long legs.
“Hi,” she says, giving me a small smile as she slides onto the stool at the island. “You didn’t sleep that great, did you?”
I shake my head, no, and she frowns.
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her. “Once we have a plan, I’ll feel a lot better.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she starts, sounding nervous. She keeps tugging at her sweatshirt, pulling it down over her hands. I wonder where the hell she’s going with this if she’s nervous to share whatever it is that she’s thinking.
I quirk my eyebrows up at her, waiting for her to continue.
“Don’t shut it down,” she warns, giving me a fierce look.
I hold my hands up. “I haven’t said a word. I don’t even know where you’re going with this, Kitten.”
“I know you,” she replies.
Then she takes a deep breath and starts again.
“I want to be the one to kill Angelo,” she says.
I stare at her incredulously. It takes me a moment to even wrap my head around what she just said, and I can’t help it when I instantly blurt out, “No.”
“Killian!”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I knew you were going to be like this about it,” she grumbles, standing up.
She starts to make her way out of the kitchen, and I follow her.
I pull her towards me, wrapping my arms around her waist. She tries to push me off of her, but I don’t loosen my grip.
“Stop,” I murmur in her ear. “Let’s talk this through. Don’t run from me.”
Her body releases some of the tension she was holding, and when I let go of her, she turns to face me.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Sometimes when I’m upset, I just need a minute.”
“Just tell me that, then. Don’t run,” I say quietly touching her face. “Not from me, Mia.”
She nods, looking up at me.
“I need you to hear me out,” she says now. “Even if you don’t agree with me.”
She’s right, I realize. My instinct is to protect Mia at all costs, though, and the thought of her anywhere near Angelo Corso is making me feel fucking crazy.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I reply. “Come on.”
We head back to the kitchen, and I sit down on the stool next to her, facing her.
“I know you said that you wanted to kill him,” Mia starts again. “But I don’t want you to have that on your conscience, Killian.”
“Kitten, I don’t give a fuck,” I reply. “I don’t have a conscience when it comes to you. I will kill anyone that threatens you, and I won’t lose sleep over it.”
She looks surprised by my words, but she shouldn’t be. I’m all in with Mia. I’m not holding back anymore.
“It’s a big ask,” she goes on. “I couldn’t-"
“You didn’t,” I remind her, cutting her off. “I want to.”
She lets out a loud sigh. “I should be the one to do it. I’ve dreamed about murdering him for a long time.”
She chuckles darkly, a surprised look on her face.
“I can’t believe I admitted that out loud,” she says, shaking her head. “God, that’s fucked up.”
“It’s not,” I reply, reaching for her hand. “He made your life hell, Mia. He tortured you. Of course you want to hurt him back.”
“I just want him gone,” she says quietly. She has a faraway look in her eyes, and I hate that she’s worrying so much.
“Mia.”
She turns to face me, and I cup her face in my hands. “Let me take care of this, sweetheart.”
She doesn’t say anything, she just stares at me. She eventually nods, and then she brings her lips to mine, kissing me.
“I love you,” she whispers when she pulls back, and I can’t keep the grin off my face from hearing those words. It’ll never get old, the feeling that courses through me when Mia tells me that she loves me. It’s surreal, honestly.
“I love you, too,” I reply.
We’re interrupted by my phone vibrating, and I sigh, pulling back from her and looking down at it.
“Reign,” I tell her, then I accept the call and put it on speaker.
“Hey.”
“You’re going to need to sit down for this one.”
Reign’s words make my stomach flip anxiously. What the fuck does that mean?
“What’s up?” I ask cautiously. “You’re on speaker phone.”
Mia looks worried, and I squeeze her hand affectionately.
“That’s fine. It’s about Jeremy.”
“Okay,” I say carefully, waiting for him to go on.
I’m not worried about Reign saying anything about Jeremy in front of Mia – we talked more last night, and she knows the whole story. It felt good to tell her, honestly. Like some of the weight that’s been sitting on my chest isn’t as heavy.
“I call him every Sunday, I just don’t always reach him,” he tells me.
“But I talked to him this morning. I mentioned the party and Mia to him; I usually fill him in on what’s going on in the family.
He was asking how things were, and I just said that Angelo’s being a fuck, but I didn’t want to get into it.
He kept pressing me. Kept asking me about you. So, I finally told him everything.”
“Why would you do that?” I snap. “He doesn’t need to worry about me, not when he’s trying to do the right thing, Reign-"
“Shut up for a second and listen,” Reign interrupts me angrily. “Let me fucking finish.”
I groan, but I’m silent, waiting for him to continue.
“He came clean, Kill. Jeremy’s not in rehab. He lasted four days.”
“What?” I reply, shaking my head. “No. That’s impossible. He’s been there for months-"
“No, he hasn’t,” Reign says with a sigh. “Dad’s been paying him to lie. Once he knew the truth, he came clean to me. He had no idea that Dad was blackmailing you. He thought Dad didn’t want mom to know, so he went along with it.”
I swear under my breath, shaking my head.
“What the fuck?” I manage to get out. “Jesus Christ, this family is so fucked up.”
“He feels bad,” Reign continues. “He had no clue. He wouldn’t have gone along with it if he had.”
“Where the hell is he?” I ask. “Is he okay?”
“He said he is,” Reign replies. “He’s somewhere in California with that crazy chick he liked.”
“Oh god,” I mutter. “Daphne’s not good for him.”
Jeremy and Daphne have been off and on since high school. She was always doing crazy shit and pulling Jeremy along with her. We were all thrilled when she moved across the country, but apparently, he followed her there.
“Is he sober?”
“Said he’s not doing drugs, just drinking,” Reign replies, and I groan.
I desperately want to help my little brother; I just have no idea how.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“He sounded okay,” Reign says, but that doesn’t reassure me at all. “He might come home for Christmas.”
“But then mom would know,” I point out, and Reign sighs.
“I know,” he says. “I don’t know what he’s going to do. He said he’d be in touch.”
My mind is spinning from this information.
But then it suddenly dawns on me; this changes things.
“Dad has nothing hanging over me now,” I say slowly. “I can cut all ties with him again.”
“You should,” Reign agrees. “I feel the same way. I thought it was fucked up what he was doing, anyway, but the fact that Jeremy hasn’t been in rehab for that long…”
Reign lets his voice trail off. I want to fucking murder my father for tricking me like that. I really shouldn’t be surprised at all, but fuck, that’s low – even for him.
I sigh. “I’ll deal with dad later. But I’m not coming back now.”
“I figured,” Reign says. “Keep me updated, okay?”
I agree that I will, then I end the call.
Mia’s staring at me intently, and I try to give her what I hope is a reassuring smile.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly, and I nod.
“I’m worried about Jeremy,” I admit. “And I’m livid that my father lied to me. But there’s a part of me that’s happy that we don’t have to go back to Rosebrook Falls.”
Mia nods in agreement, but she looks worried. Anxious.
“What is it, Kitten?” I ask her, and she twirls the engagement ring on her finger.
“Do you want this back?” she asks, her dark blue eyes meeting mine.
I pull her towards me, pressing her against my chest.
“No, Kitten,” I reply, unable to keep the smirk from forming on my lips. “I’m going to get you a real engagement ring, and we can chuck that one, though.”
“What?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“Mia, I love you,” I reply. “What part of ‘you are mine’ do you not understand?”
“I thought maybe since you don’t have to be with me any longer, you might not-“
I grab her face, forcing her to look at me. I’m not being rough, but I need her to understand how serious I am about her.
“The moment that I saw you again, when I carried you out of Red, I knew I was coming for you. My father was the excuse I needed to take you. You’re mine, Mia. And you always will be.”
She wraps her arms around my neck, kissing me with a desperation that almost feels frenzied. I kiss her back just as eagerly, and then I’m picking her up as she wraps her legs around my waist.
I carry her to the bedroom and I practically throw her on the bed. She squeals, and I straddle her, pinning her wrists above her head.
“I love you when pin me down like this,” she admits, gazing up at me.
I chuckle. “I know.”
I keep one hand on her wrists, and I use my free hand to wrap around her throat.
She lets out a low moan, and I apply more pressure.
“This is what you like, Kitten?” I ask her. “You like being at my mercy?”
Mia whimpers, and I want nothing more than to fuck her right now.
I let go of her wrists and she shimmies out of her thong, then she tugs on my sweatpants and frees my cock from my boxers.
I let go of her neck, lining myself up with her entrance. I wanted more foreplay, but I can’t wait anymore. I need to be inside of her now.
I slide into her and she moans my name.
“Fuck, Kitten, you feel so good,” I croon.
“Please choke me,” she murmurs. “I want to come all over your cock while your hand is wrapped around my throat.”
“Fucking Christ, Mia,” I mutter. Some of the things she says to me truly blow me away. Especially because she can look so sweet and innocent at times, and then she has moments like this, when she’s begging me to choke out her while she comes on my cock.
I wrap my hand around her neck again as I slam into her, and I’m amazed at how quickly her orgasm is building. I want it to last longer, but she’s close. The second that I feel her orgasm hit and her pussy clenches around my cock, I’m a goner.
My orgasm shatters me, and I come hard and fast, spilling myself inside of Mia.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, and I chuckle as I pull out of her. “That was so good.”
“Amazing,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss her.
I can hear my phone vibrating again, and Mia looks at me.
“I’ll get up in a minute,” I tell her. “Right now, I’m enjoying just laying here with you, pretty girl.”
She beams at me, snuggling into my side, and I lean over and kiss her forehead.
Fuck, I love this girl. And I am going to marry her. Mia Cavallo is mine, and she’s never spending another second without me.
Whoever’s calling can wait.
My girl comes first, always.