Chapter 38
The ring sparkled on my finger, each diamond’s facet scintillating in iridescent flashes against the white glint of the jewels.
It was a stark contrast to the fall colors and greens of the forest around us.
Delicate and elegant yet sharp and imposing, it was everything I’d have picked for myself in a boutique, and he’d chosen it.
This man who’d pushed me away at every turn and kept everyone at a distance knew me better than I’d ever imagined, and a thrill rushed through me at what life had to offer us now that we’d accepted each other, with nothing hidden between us anymore.
“How?” I asked. “When did you buy this?”
Considering he was constantly with me over the last month and a half, it was a valid question.
“I had it commissioned the day after you gave me your list. I was practically in love with you already. I only needed some time to get things sorted.”
Namely, our divorce, which we were absolutely not going through with anymore. Or discussing, for that matter, ever again.
“So then, where’s yours, since it’s now a wedding ring?”
A wry, lopsided smirk twitched at one corner of his mouth. “Was thinking of getting your name branded on, so you’d be mine forever.”
“Do I get to choose the script?”
“Only if you’ll wear my name too.”
His words wrapped me in a soft blanket and held me snug. “Deal.”
“Come on, get dressed,” he said, pulling me up. “I have a surprise for you.”
I groaned. “I am starting to hate surprises.”
“Trust me, you’ll like it.”
“Excuse me for being a little hesitant after this blindsiding ‘romantic’ surprise you prepared for me today.”
He barked out a laugh, and birds sprang into flight at the sound, beating their wings to get away from the predatory noise. His gaze gleamed with mirth.
“Nothing like that. This is the continuation of what should have been a very romantic proposal.”
“Not the vote of confidence you think it is, since I didn’t get said proposal.”
“Relax, woman, and let me charm you.”
“You do know how to be charming when you want to. Just leave the edging at the door.”
He winked and unfastened the dangling straps around my limbs, placing a wet kiss on each wrist. “You’ve yet to see everything in my arsenal, love. I can’t wait to show you.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I smacked his ass as he bent to retrieve our clothes.
In retaliation, he tossed my thermal pants at my face—the only bottoms that had survived his savage behavior and still had crotch coverage—and I sputtered on the fabric.
He was lucky I was going along with this surprise, or I’d have tackled and tickled him to oblivion for that.
A chill ran up through the slit in my leggings and underwear. Goosebumps riddled my skin, and shivers racked my shoulders. Somehow, he’d made me forget about the low temperature with the heat of his body and the torture of withholding my orgasms. Now it was catching up with me.
I slipped on the thermal pants. They fit loosely, being a couple of sizes too big, and hung off my hips, but they were better than nothing in this weather.
No matter how unflattering, they didn’t stop Cillian from demonstrating his appreciation for my body.
He locked onto my hips and tugged me against his once again raging hard-on.
It poked and rubbed at the cleft of my glutes, sending a fresh wave of desire over me.
Every day together, he made me more and more aware that I didn’t need my hair dolled up, flawless makeup, or designer outfits to keep his attention.
A pair of baggy sweatpants or pajamas had yet to stop him from bending me over and pulling my bottoms down to have his way with me, nor had bed hair or smudged mascara made him withhold a kiss.
“Again?”
“What can I say? You’re such a WILF. I can’t bloody help myself.”
I chortled. “A what?”
“Wife I’d like to fuck.” He nuzzled my neck, his fingers splayed over my belly. “You should know I plan on making you my personal MILF. Would you like that? If we put a little O’Leary in here? Jaysus, the idea of you round with my babies does something to me.”
“Are you sure? What about…?” His serial killer stalker. Bringing a baby into the world with that kind of risk over our heads seemed like the surest way to invite tragedy.
He grunted against my throat, his breath sweltering hot against the cool weather. “We’re close to catching her. I can feel it. And soon, once she’s gone, I’ll work at making you the most sexually satisfied mother alive.”
“Not too soon. I’d like a little more time, just the two of us, before there is a baby in the mix.”
“I can live with that.” He kissed my shoulder once more, then released me. “Come.”
After both of us were dressed, he led me through the woods the same way we’d arrived.
It was definitely more comfortable on foot than tied to him.
The air was fresh compared to the big city, filling my lungs with all kinds of possibilities.
The slow decay of autumn leaves within moist dirt added a sourness to the crisp smell of pine and the earthy dampness of moss.
Squirrels skipped along upturned stones and scampered up the bark of trees, while sunlight streaked through bald spots in the canopy of vegetation and spotlit different corners of the woods, each one with a different focal color.
“This is a beautiful spot. It’s—”
Cillian pried up a last branch to reveal a lone table in the middle of the glade, surrounded by a half circle of trees, with the skydiving facility hangar looking minuscule far off to our right.
The table was decked with a tablecloth, two full place settings, domed food covers over each plate, lit candlesticks, and flowers, hemmed in by two cushioned chairs.
Next to it stood Paulie and Devin, costumed in black suit jackets and pants and white dress shirts.
They both looked uncomfortable in the getup.
Paulie cradled water bottles in one arm and carried a pack of glass beer bottles in the other.
He had a scowl furrowed deep on his face as he scanned the area for threats.
Devin managed the wine, but he held the bottle like he was ready to bash someone over the head with it, no more thrilled than his partner.
“You’re joking.” I chuckled.
“Meet our waitstaff.”
“They look positively tittered.”
“As long as you’re happy.” He held his hand out to me. “Join me for our belated engagement lunch.”
How could I refuse? I placed my hand in his, a wide smile tugging at my cheeks, ready to be pulled straight into the fairy tale.
Except something glinted over his shoulder, across the glade to the opposite side of the woodland semicircle.
Cillian shifted closer as I resisted his gentle tug to follow, my feet firmly rooted in place.
That flicker of light wasn’t natural. The branch he held shook back into place as he let it go, but another gleaming shimmer flashed in the exact same spot it had been before.
My eyes widened in realization and horror. The hit. I’d completely forgotten.
“Ali—”
“Get down,” I yelled, loud enough for Paulie and Devin to hear, as I rammed Cillian sideways and we tripped and fell over the side of an exposed tree root.
An explosion of pain scorched along my back at the same time a delayed, sharp crack echoed in the glade.
I cried out between clenched teeth, trying hard to swallow down the burning ache spasming along my shoulder blades.
My vision fogged up, and I blinked away the tears, their flow against my cheeks almost soothing.
“Síbhean,” Cillian burst out, his hand patting me down. “Where does it hurt?”
“No time,” I gritted out.
Porcelain and glass smashed to bits as Paulie and Devin overturned our romantic lunch and ducked for cover as pops and bangs of gunfire shattered what remained of the woods’ serene appeal. Bullets snapped into the trees where we’d stood moments ago, splinters of bark hurtling onto us.
“We have to move. Stay down.” I slithered around him, the coppery scent of my blood offsetting the earthy smell of dirt and leaf litter.
Cillian slipped on his brass knuckles, which he’d apparently taken with him on the jump, just like his knife. “I’m not running away. My men are out there.”
I clamped a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down as he tried to sit up. He might have been bigger and stronger than me, but hyped up on adrenaline, about to watch the love of my life throw his life away, he was no match.
“No.”
“No?”
“You’re their target. You go out there, they’ll kill you. Paulie and Shiner have a chance, but not if you go out there.”
“You know this how?” The harsh snap of his voice cracked louder than the bullets. I could practically hear the grinding of his teeth.
Almost on cue, quiet spread. Only the chirp of crickets and the rustling creep of beetles along the ground broke it. The sudden silence felt wrong, like a lull before the storm struck. We needed to get out of there.
“Listen, chéri. This isn’t my doing. We need to get away from this spot. Now.”
Those observant eyes, so punishing and complex, took me in. One long second dragged by, then he nodded. One firm bob of his head said so many things at once. He trusted me. He loved me. This was just another challenge to get through. With that, a bundle of tension seeped out of me.
I rolled my shoulders, my shirt sticking to my aching skin, and pinched my lips shut to silence my pained groan. That pain centered me, and I welcomed it, regardless of the discomfort.
“The Urabá cartel took a hit out on you,” I whispered as we crawled and slunk deeper into the woods until the foliage behind us was thick enough to cover our location. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you. My brother only told me last night, and then everything happened, and it slipped my mind.”
“Endgame’s doing this?”
“No, Adrien promised me they wouldn’t get involved. He was going to get the hit taken down. Someone must have accepted before that went through.”
A branch cracked in the distance, and I peered around a tree. An ill-timed breeze swept over the stain of blood against my back that soaked through my top and made me shudder with a hiss.
“See anything?” Cillian crowded behind me, his warmth as reassuring as it was confining.
Any other time, the feel of his hand against me would have been reassuring. Instead, I flinched away from him with a garbled hiss smothered behind pinched lips.
“Jaysus, you’re bleeding.” He pried up my shirt, practically ripping the thing like a caveman. I didn’t have time to balk before my lacy bra was on display. He wiped the blood away, too focused to notice my discomfort. “The state of you. I’ll kill them. I’ll fucking kill them all.”
When he pressed down on the wound and spread the skin to check it for debris, my back bowed away from his touch with a yelp.
“Putain de merde,” I cursed, glaring at him and shoving my top down.
“You’ll need stitches, but it’s not life-threatening. Just a deep graze.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thank you, doctor.”
He leaned in close. His natural musk mixed with the heady tang of his sweat overwhelmed every other scent.
“I’d love nothing more than to put you over my knee and spank that attitude right out of you.
” The tenor of his voice vibrated all over me as he groped my ass and squeezed it hard.
I loved that he didn’t treat me like glass because of a little blood.
“But not right now. The moment we’re out of danger and your back’s been checked, this arse is mine.
Till then, you’re going to hold on to this for me. ”
He pressed his curved pocketknife into my palm.
The weapon he slept with under his pillow, the one he always carried with him.
It was lighter than its size indicated, with a textured resin that felt like microbeads.
It had a wide ring at the end of the grip, dented to fit fingers.
I blushed for one ridiculous moment while remembering this handle had been inside me less than an hour ago.
“No, I can’t take this. You don’t have another weapon.”
“I’ve got this, sweetheart.” He held up his fist, a ray of light shining off the dusky yellow metal of his brass knuckles. “That’s more than enough for me as long as you’re protected. Promise me you won’t hesitate to use it.”
I nodded, ignoring the twinge of discomfort tugging at my back.
“Good. Now you’re going to head back to the hangar and get that wound looked at.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got mercenaries to hunt down for daring to hurt you.”
He seared my lips with a bruising kiss that left its mark long after he pulled away from me, then jogged away.
If he really thought I’d so easily go back to the hangar just because he told me to, he could think again. I’d only just accepted him as the man I loved, and there was no way I was going to risk the devil taking him.
I pried open the blade of his knife and took off after him.