Tiernan
I’ve become my wife’s warden yet again.
For the past month I have kept her hidden away in our apartment, unwilling to let her step one foot outside it. Fear of losing her has driven me mad, but as each day passes, I feel my obsession is slowly driving her out of my reach.
In war, I have always known what to do, what is expected of me. But binding Rosa to me is a battle I’m not sure I’m equipped to win. I’d lay my empire to ruin, burn it all down, if I thought it would be the key to unlocking her heart. I had a taste of its sweetness once, but nothing I do seems to grant me access to it again.
As promised, she has let me into her body, but never into her heart, and it’s driving me insane. I fuck the insubordination out of her at every turn. Fucking her seven or eight times a day if needed. I’ve even resorted to waking her up in the middle of the night just so she can ride my cock until the glimmer of the woman that professed her love for me shines through. I fucking live for those few seconds when she truly is mine, but once it disappears and evaporates into thin air, my grief multiplies tenfold.
Her flawless petals are withering right before my very eyes, and my love is the cold winter that is slowly killing her.
If all of this wasn’t doing me in, then my brother coming into my office every day, hassling me and demanding to see my wife, isn’t doing me any favors, either. The only one that hasn’t come out and made his demands of me is Colin. No. He’s done far worse. After the first few weeks when I ceased all access to her, Colin requested to leave Boston and return to Ireland. Unlike my hot-tempered brother, he understood why I no longer wanted them near her. That I wanted my rose only for myself and refused to share her. After I declined his request to leave, every time he looks at me now, I can see the growing resentment starting to build up inside him. Soon he’ll forget we’re kin, forget his allegiance to me, and become my enemy—all in the name of love.
And fuck, he does loves her.
Even my whoremonger of a brother has fallen under her spell.
The woman has bewitched us all.
The question is, do I love her like they do—unconditionally and unselfishly?
A part of me screams to submit and give her whatever she wants, but the possessive part of me, the one where my obsession for her completely corrupts me, selfishly wants her only to myself. I feel my resolve waning with each day that passes and then reprimand myself for being so weak.
“Any mail for me, Jermaine?” I ask the doorman when I pass through The Avalon’s front doors after a day of ruling over an empire that no longer excites me as it once did.
When I was part of the grime and dirt of the streets, using my gun and blade to put fear into the hearts of men, it had its appeal. Now that I’m forced to reign over Boston from up high in my tower, where my days are full of board meetings, sleazy politicians, and dirty cops, it lacks its luster.
A part of me used to envy Colin and Shay for being able to fight down in the ditches.
Now my envy has only increased with the knowledge that not only do they have the life I wish I could have back, but they also have my wife’s heart.
“Here it is,” Jermaine says, handing me my mail.
“Thank you.”
I walk into the elevator, flipping through the envelopes, one by one, until a postcard with the Vegas strip grabs my attention.
Iris.
Hurriedly, I flip it over and smile at what she’s written.
I’m still alive and kicking.
Giving the Volkovs a run for their money.
Someone should have told them lady luck was a woman.
And Irish.
Xoxo
Iris.
I let out a relieved exhale, knowing that my sister still has her humor. She’s either found a way to coexist with them, or she has them eating out of the palm of her hand. Whatever she’s up to, I can breathe easy knowing that the Volkovs haven’t broken her yet.
You mean like you’re breaking Rosa?
Fuck.
Guilt immediately replaces the good feeling Iris’ postcard gave me, and once again I’m burdened with my conscience as well as my heavy heart. Once the elevator doors swing open to my apartment, my guilt strangles me further when I see my wife sitting on the hardwood floor, spinning something in front of her with her finger.
When she lifts her head up, I can tell she must have spent most of her day crying. I take off my suit jacket and loosen my tie.
“The only time I like seeing you on your knees is when you’re sucking my cock, acushla . Otherwise, the floor is off-limits to you. A queen should never be found kneeling in any circumstance.”
“Is that what I am? Your queen?” she scoffs.
I kneel down beside her and lovingly caress her cheek with my knuckles.
“You are my heart, wife. Far more precious to me than the crown on your head.”
“I wish that was true,” she mumbles, gripping in her hand whatever toy she was playing with when I walked in.
“What can I do to make you believe me?” I plea softly.
“Give me what I want, and I will.”
I pull my hand away from her and sit on my legs in front of her.
“I can’t do that.”
“Then you don’t love me.”
I run my fingers through my hair and pull on its strands. It’s obvious that my wife will only be satisfied once she has successfully turned me into a raging lunatic. I breathe in and count to ten just so I don’t hurt her with my frustration and words I don’t actually mean. I’ve been hurting her enough as it is.
“Let me help you off the floor, love. I’ll give you a bath and order some food for us. How does that sound?”
When she doesn’t move, and I verify that her face is awfully pale, my hackles rise with new concern.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
She snaps her eyes at me like I should know better than to ask that question.
“I meant physically, wife. If you’re hurt or sick, I need to know so I can call a doctor.”
“If that’s your only concern, then yes. I’ll be sick for the foreseeable future. At least I think I will.”
I pull out my phone and immediately start dialing our family doctor. I pay him a small ransom to always be on call in case one of my men needs tending to. When he picks up, I don’t even greet him.
“Come to The Avalon now. My wife needs to be looked at. You have ten minutes.”
“Tiernan,” she whispers, latching her hand over my wrist once I’ve hung up. “You didn’t have to do that. I already know why I feel sick.”
“I’ll feel a whole lot better once a professional has a look at you.”
I slide my hands under my love and lift her up off the floor. Her arms lace around my neck while I walk her over to the kitchen island and set her down.
“I’ve tried to be patient with you, love, but if you’re sick you need to tell me,” I beg, scanning her body up and down to see if I can figure out what ails her.
“It’s just morning sickness, Tiernan. Women don’t die from it. It just sucks throwing up all the time.”
“Morning sickness?” I repeat, puzzled, not fully understanding what she’s saying, but as I do, she picks up my hand, places a kiss to its center, and then places the white gadget she had been fiddling with earlier in my grip.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a pregnancy test, Tiernan. You’re going to be a daddy.”
“Are you serious?” I exclaim in utter glee and excitement, completely taken aback by how this news just brought with it new hope.
“I am, husband.”
I grab her face and look into her big brown eyes, sadness as well as joy all mixed in together.
“I thought this was what you wanted,” I utter in confusion.
“It was. It is .” She shakes her head. “Starting a family with you is a dream come true, but I can’t pretend that there isn’t something missing.”
“Fuck, acushla ! Not this shit again!” I shout and then hate myself when she flinches away from me. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I thought when this day came, we would be happy. You would be happy.”
“And I am,” she says softly. “But I feel like I’ve been cheated out of the happiness that I could have felt today. And that’s because of you. Your pride and ego are killing us. Are killing the life we could have had. This baby could have been surrounded by pure love, and now all he’ll know is resentment.”
“You resent me?” I ask, hurt like she’s just slapped me across the face.
“Not yet. But I will.” She lowers her head in sadness.
“I can’t live in a world where you resent me, acushla . I’d die first before I’d let that happen.”
“Then change. Submit to me, my king. Show me that you can kneel at my feet as I have done for you since the moment we met. Give me what I want, the future that should be ours, and I promise you won’t regret your decision. My future,” she exclaims, pressing my palm to her belly, “our future happiness is in your hands. All you have to do is take it.”
I stare into her watery abyss, witnessing the solemn truth embedded in her eyes, and realizing for the first time that submission is the only way I can keep her—keep them both.
It’s true what I told her. I’d rather die than have her hate me, resent me in any way. It’s also true that I’ve given her more than one reason to treat me with such animosity. But she never once showed signs that there was even a chance that she had given up on me. It was only when I refused to give her Colin and Shay that her heart started to turn to stone. If there is any chance that I can save our marriage, save us, then there is only one road I can take. I will not let my child be born into a loveless home. I refuse to steal its happiness. I know all too well what the repercussions of a sad, hopeless life can do to a person. I will not be the reason why the people I love most suffer.
With new resolve, I keep my hand on her belly and kneel down, bowing my head in surrender.
“Tá mo chroí istigh iona,” I confess in a whisper. “I know I’ve lost my way, love, but I promise you from here on out, I will make it my mission to uphold our marriage vows and love you like you deserve. If sharing you is how you’ll bloom and open your heart to me, then that’s what I’ll do. My heart lives in you, acushla , and it always will.”
She slowly slides off the kitchen island and lifts my chin to look at her.
“Stand up, my love. My king. My Hades,” she sings softly, her eyes shining with love. “The only time I take pleasure in seeing you on your knees is when your head is in between my thighs. Stand up, Tiernan.”
I kiss her belly and get up to my feet, cupping her face in my hands.
“I love you, wife. You know that, don’t you?”
She kisses the inside of my wrist and then melts into my caress.
“I do now. I love you, Tiernan. With all my heart.”
I press my temple to hers and inhale her scent.
“I can’t believe we’re going to be parents.”
“Believe it, my love. It’s the first of many.”
“Is that so?” I tease, kissing the corner of her lips. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’ll have Shay and Col to help me then.”
The genuine smile that crests her lips and the utter devotion that twinkles in her eyes fill my cold heart with bursting light, warming me from the inside out. If all I had was a sliver of her love, then this shows me what a fool I’d be to not be content with it.
“Tell you what? After the doctor has made sure that you and the baby are okay and gives you something to ease your nausea, how about we go over to my parents and tell them the good news? Shay will be thrilled with the groveling I’m about to do, and I suspect Colin will, too.”
“I sure don’t mind seeing you sweat for a while, husband,” she teases, rubbing her nose against mine.
“Aye, I guess you wouldn’t. But make a note of this day, wife. I doubt I’ll grovel like I’m about to ever again.”
“We’ll see about that. Don’t think you’re off the hook for the hell you put us through this month, husband. I expect a lot of groveling in the near future.”
“If that’s what I need to do, then so be it. As long as you forgive me.”
“You’re already forgiven. Doesn’t mean I won’t make you work for it.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, acushla .”
When Rosa steps inside my parents’ house, Shay rushes towards us, wrapping his arms around my wife, afraid that she’s some false mirage sprung from his heartache. He breathes her in, coming close to tears at how much he’s missed her and how happy he is that they are now reunited. Colin leans against the door frame, biding his time until Shay lets go and he can have his turn.
Guilt rears its ugly head again at how cruel I was to keep her from the both of them. If the roles had been reversed, I don’t know how I would have handled it.
Fuck.
If I wasn’t their boss and blood, I’m sure the fuckers would have killed me just to get to her.
That’s what I would have done.
Shame like I’ve never felt before pollutes my bloodstream with the realization that my selfishness was causing pain for not only my wife, but also for my baby brother and beloved cousin.
“I’m sorry,” I say in the way of an apology, but it feels too unworthy of a word to make amends for what I’ve done.
“What are you sorry about?” I hear Ma ask as she comes out of the dining room, Athair and Father Doyle right at her heel. “If you’re apologizing for not showing your mug here for over a month, and keeping my daughter-in law-away from the rest of us, then aye, apologize all you want, but I’m still cross at ye.” My mother slants her eyes at me and then pulls Colin’s arms off my wife to give her a hug of her own. “Let me look at you, child. I was almost certain my wicked son had you tied up to his bedpost just to keep ye from straying. Kelly men have always had an obsessive streak about ‘em. After I married my Niall, my own mother didn’t set eyes on me for almost half a year. Man damn near killed me trying to put Tiernan in my belly.”
“Geez, woman. Don’t go telling our boys our business. Father Doyle also doesn’t want to know such things.
“Our boys have been sniffing up skirts since their balls dropped. I doubt them knowing they take after their Da in the bedroom is news to them. And Father Doyle, I mean no offense, but you’ve baptized enough babies to know where they come from.”
She laughs, pretending to give the evil eye to my pink-cheeked father, and then turns her attention to my rose once more.
“Now let me look at ye,” she coos, staring at my wife and scanning her every facial feature.
“Well, I guess my Tiernan one-upped his Da. It took six months for my Niall to get me pregnant, whereas Tiernan only took three.
One, but who’s counting.
“You’re pregnant?” Shay asks in utter shock.
“Aye, she is,” I confirm.
“So, it’s yours?” he rebukes, pissed.
“What kind of question is that?” my mother interrupts, confused. “Of course it’s Tiernan’s. Whose did you think it was? Another miraculous conception?”
We all stare at each other, my brother’s resentment and my cousin’s sadness making the air in the room so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“Saoirse, do you mind if Tiernan and I talk to Shay and Colin in private? There’s some things we need to discuss.”
My mother looks reluctant to leave us alone, but it’s Athair that comes to our rescue.
“How about you kids go upstairs and talk it out? Come, Saoirse. Our dinner is getting cold, and we’re being rude to our guest.”
He wraps an arm around her waist and physically pulls my mother away, Father Doyle taking the lead back to the dining room.
“Come on,” I order, walking up the stairs, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop on our conversation. Rosa follows my lead, Shay and Colin right behind her. I walk over to my old bedroom and close the door once everyone is inside.
“Let me guess,” my brother is quick to shout, already bursting with rage. “This is the bit where you tell us that Col and I are no longer needed, isn’t it, you fucking prick?”
“No, it’s not,” I tell him, shrugging off his insults while taking off my suit jacket and throwing it to the floor. I look at the piece of discarded clothing and cringe. “Did you know I fucking hate this suit? That this tie I put on every morning feels like a noose around my neck? I hate it so much I sometimes fantasize about using a blowtorch to set my whole wardrobe on fire.”
“So don’t wear it,” Shay mutters, confused. “No one is putting a gun to your head, forcing you to wear that shit.”
“You’re right. From here on out, I won’t.”
“Are you drunk right now, Tiernan, because you aren’t making any sense? What does that have to do with anything? What does it have to do with us? With petal?”
“Everything,” I let out an exaggerated exhale, slumping my shoulders. “After Patrick died and I had to take over for Athair , I lost myself in my grief and in the role of Boss. And somewhere along the line, I also lost who I was. This suit, the big corner office, all of it isn’t me. But I put it on and did a job I hate, just because the world expected it of me. I’m tired of living a lie, brother. I want to live a life that’s full. Truly full. And it took me marrying the daughter of my enemy to realize that.”
Rosa beams her big bright smile at me, standing at my side and entwining her hand in mine. I lift her chin to me and kiss her lips.
“I didn’t realize how dead I was before you breathed life into me. I can never truly express how grateful I am for you, but I will try and show you every day what an honor it is to have you as my wife.”
“I love you,” she mouths, squeezing my hand in hers.
“The fuck?! Is this why you wanted to talk to us? To rub it in our faces that you two are now together?” Shay exclaims, pulling out strands of his hair.
“I don’t think that’s why they are here,” Colin answers for me, hope making his green jeweled eyes glimmer.
“You always were a quick read, Col. My brother here isn’t as fast at catching on to things.”
“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?!”
Rosa unlocks her hand from mine, walks over to my brother, and presses her flat palms on Shay’s chest until he is forced to sit on the bed. She then sits on his lap, shocking him silent when she plants a kiss to his lips. Of course, the greedy fucker deepens it, jamming his tongue down my wife’s throat so all of us can see. When they pull apart, my wife is wearing the cutest little blush on her cheeks, and Shay is no longer the belligerent fool he was acting like a few minutes ago.
“He’ll behave now,” she singsongs, nestling her head on his shoulder. “Continue, husband.”
“Thank you, wife. I’ll remember to use that little trick in the future when Shay is acting like an ass.”
“Bite me, fucker,” he retorts, but there’s no heat in his words. Only adoration as he entertains himself by brushing his petal’s long hair off her shoulder and down her back.
When I feel Colin’s gaze on me, silently asking for permission to draw closer to his woman, I give him a nod. In three long strides he sits beside Shay, pulling Rosa’s long legs to also fall on his lap, his hand carefully cupping her cheek.
“Hi,” she coos, batting her eyelashes.
“Hi,” he chokes out as if in pain.
“Missed me that much, have you?” she taunts when he takes off her shoes and begins rubbing the soles of her feet.
“Yes,” he groans, keeping his answers short and to the point.
“He missed you so much that he wanted my blessing to move across the pond and back to the old country,” I explain, thankful I didn’t submit to his demand.
“You were going to leave me?” she asks, hurt.
“I thought it was for the best. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Col.” She shakes her head sorrowfully, stretching her arm out so he can hold her hand.
“There is no need for you to apologize, Colin. I’m the one at fault here,” I interject, needing to relieve myself of this guilt for keeping them apart.
“That’s true, asshole, but so far we’re liking where this conversation is heading.” Shay smirks. “Don’t we, big guy?”
Colin grunts his approval.
“Then you’ll like the next part even more.” I smile. “My wife has given me an ultimatum, one where I would be a fool not to do as she bids. She loves you. Both of you. But as inconceivable as it may seem, she also loves me. Now I’m going to give you both the same choice my love has given me. We can have her heart, bask in her love, fully knowing that to have it, we must share her. If that is something that you are unable to do, say it now. I will not have my wife suffering just because one of you prefers her all to himself. I’ve been down that path, and I can tell you from experience that it is filled with thorns.”
Rosa goes rigid still, fear and apprehension making her swallow dryly. Thankfully, Shay quickly ends her agony before it’s able to lay any roots.
“Col and I were all in before you pulled your head out of your ass. We love her through and through. And she’s a bloody saint in my book for taking you on.”
“That she is.” I grin, my heavy heart suddenly light from all its burdens.
We all take turns staring at each other, smiling like lunatics as if the air is breathable again.
“Now that that’s settled, I guess there is only one thing left to do.” I grin mischievously, grabbing my desk chair and straddling it in front of the three of them.
“Colin, relieve my wife of her clothes. She’s been in them long enough.”
Colin is quick to get up on his feet and do as instructed, as Rosa’s eyes become hooded and Shay smacks his lips, ready to sink his teeth in her.
“Fuck! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Shay exclaims like an eager kid ready for his dessert.
My love stands just inches away from me as Colin pulls her cream-colored dress off her in one smooth move. She holds her hand out to me, needing the connection while my cousin snaps off her bra and pulls down her lace panties. The goddess stands straight with her head held high as if knowing the power she has over us. And she does. She has wielded it like a sword since day one, and I was the fool who thought I could resist her charms, her flawless beauty, and her kind-natured heart without getting cut. Now I vow only to preserve its grace instead of trying to dim its light.
“On your knees, Col. I want to hear my wife scream as she cums on your tongue.
Colin doesn’t even hesitate, going to the floor and placing his head at her apex. All it takes is one stroke of his tongue to have her moaning.
“Does that feel good, wife? His tongue lapping at your pussy?”
“Yes,” she moans, squeezing my hand to a pulp while her other latches onto Colin’s hair.
“Brother, I think our woman needs some more attention. Get up off your ass and give it to her.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” He salutes, making Rosa laugh and coaxing me to release a snicker of my own.
But that all comes to a halting stop when my brother’s teeth and tongue begin to play with one of her nipples. Then our little game becomes all that more intense and exquisite. My cock hardens at the small sounds she’s making while giving in to all the sensations they are ringing out of her body.
“How does she taste, Shay?”
“Like sweet cherries,” he hums, making her nipples pucker into hard diamonds.
“And you, Colin? Is my wife ready for us?”
“Yes,” he grunts in between laps, his fingers digging into her hips.
“Hmm. I’m not convinced. Make her cum, Col, just to be sure.”
When my beautiful wife’s legs begin to shake, threatening to give in, I count to five on my fingers until a wail of ecstasy rips from her throat.
“Much better,” I coo, stroking my cock to relieve the ache. “Now, wife, I think it’s your turn to return the favor. Don’t you think?”
Her eyelids are so heavy it’s hard to see the gold flecks in her chestnut gaze. Shay and Colin quickly get undressed while my perfect wife goes to her knees in between them. She cranes her head back to look at their faces before she turns her attention to their quivering members. Hesitantly she sticks her tongue out to lick Shay’s shaft from base to crown.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. That feels good.”
She grabs his cock at the base, giving it a tight squeeze as she turns her head and licks Colin’s cock next.
He grunts his approval, entwining his fingers into her hair so she can swallow him whole.
“Fuck,” he grunts in sweet agony.
Rosa’s cheeks hollow more, deep-throating him as far as she can in tandem with her stroking Shay’s cock in her hand. She then pops Colin’s cock out of her hot mouth and switches her attention to Shay. Consumed with lust from this little show she’s giving, I kick the chair away, take off my clothes, and kneel behind her, my hand diving in between her folds. I insert two fingers and then three, four, and fuck her pussy as she sucks them off.
“Such a pretty little slut, aren’t you, wife? Just fucking perfect,” I coo in her ear, a delicious shudder running down her spine at my words. “You always did like the nickname, didn’t you, acushla ? You like being our perfect little whore, knowing that in a few minutes, this drenched cunt is going to be filled with more cocks than she could ever dream of.”
Drool begins to drip down the corner of her mouth, and I lap it up with my tongue.
Her eyes widen for a split second and then become thin slits of want yet again.
“Tiernan,” Shay begs, close to coming undone.
“Don’t even think of cumming, brother. Not until our woman is properly fucked. You hear me?” I threaten, pumping my hand in her pussy while my thumb begins to play with her clit.
“Get her off, for fuck’s sake, ‘cause this is too much,” he begs on a whine.
“Amateur,” Colin taunts and then groans, sounding awfully close to the brink himself.
“You hear that, acushla ? You’ve got them so riled up with your mouth they can’t stand it. Now be a good little girl and cum for us.”
I add pressure to her clit, and like a keg of dynamite, she explodes. I pull us both to our feet and kiss her madly, stealing the remaining air from her lungs. She melts into my chest and lets me have my fill, surrendering fully to the burning need inside us.
“I fucking love you, acushla . You’re doing so well, my love,” I praise, gaining a shy, triumphant smile from her.
All of her is glistening with sweat, completely boneless and sated, yet I know she still has much more to give. And I fully intend to drink it all in and consume every last drop of love she has to offer. I want it all—body, heart, and soul.
“Shay, sit on the bed.”
My brother doesn’t even give me any lip, too out of it to even argue, and follows my order to a T.
“Now you’re going to straddle Shay’s cock facing me, acushla . Nod if you understand.”
She nods as Colin and I help her towards the bed, ever so trusting that we will always take care of her. And fuck, if it isn’t true. We will protect her with our lives if we have to since she has entrusted us with her heart.
Ever so slowly she sinks her soaked pussy up and down Shay’s shaft, both of them moaning as she does it. Since I know my brother is close to his limit, I have to hurry up and guide them to what I want to happen next.
“You’re up, Colin.”
He snaps his head my way in hesitation.
“She can take it, Col. Trust me.”
When Shay realizes what my intentions are, he curses under his breath and slows down his thrusts.
“This is going to feel good, sweet rose. Trust us,” Colin explains, his thumb running circles on her clit as he guides his cock into her center where Shay currently resides.
My gaze fixes on Colin, as he carefully makes room for himself in her cunt. Once he’s fully seated inside, the cry that she lets out is both agony and ecstasy. I rush to her side, plucking her chin in my hand while I fiddle with her pert nipple.
“Tiernan,” she cries as she rides them both. “It’s too much. I can’t… I can’t…” she half moans, half pleads.
“You’re doing so well, acushla. I’m so fucking proud of you,” I commend as Shay and Colin start speeding up their thrusts in complete syntony.
“OH MY GOD!” she yells, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as they fuck her soul out of her body to meet its maker.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Shay blubbers, cumming inside my wife in two more thrusts.
Colin pounds into Rosa’s pussy, making sure she rides the wave of pleasure to its highest peak. Only when he’s made sure that she’s returned from her out-of-body experience does he cum and pull out.
My beautiful wife’s forehead is drenched, sweat pouring down her neck and in the valley between her breasts. She looks so peaceful that a better man would leave her be and let her sleep off the pounding she just took.
But I’m not a better man.
Nor do I pretend to be.
She knows this.
So when I pull her off of Shay and lie her face down on the bed, with me on top of her, she doesn’t even blink.
“Did you enjoy that, wife? Being fucked by two cocks at the same time?”
She turns her head to the side and throws me a mischievous wink.
A siren if I ever saw one.
I slap her ass, to which she sighs in contentment.
“My turn, wife. If you wanted three lovers, you should have come prepared to satisfy all of us.”
“You talk too much, husband,” she sings, rubbing her ass on my cock. “What’s taking so long for you to claim what’s yours?”
Fuck!
The woman really knows how to set my blood on fire.
I lift her ass off the bed until she’s fully kneeling beneath me. With her hair nicely bound to my wrist, I pull her head back, my lips to her ear.
“All of you is mine, acushla . Every last hole, every last morsel of love. You won’t deny me access to your heart ever again. You’re mine, just as I am fucking yours. Always and forever.”
Her lust-filled eyes take a softer hue, true love piercing through my heart.
“Take me, Tiernan. My body and my heart are yours. Always and forever.”
I soak my cock in her juices, making sure it’s well lubricated, and center my crown on her puckered, forbidden hole. On bated breath, she waits patiently for me to corrupt all of her, inch by inch. I watch her hands clench the sheets as I sheathe into her most secret of places. Like our love, pain and pleasure collide, singing its tune that our souls are well familiar with. She moans out my name, telling me how full she feels with me inside her as I ride her ass like it’s mine to tame. In one breath she begs God to rescue her from such rapture, while on another, she pleads for me to fuck her harder, faster, more. I give her all that and then some, slapping her pussy and ass cheeks when she’s close to falling off the ledge without me. It’s only when her calves begin to shake and she starts talking in her mother tongue that I show her mercy. I fuck her pussy with my fingers while pounding into her tight passage, and when her climax finally hits her, I let go and follow her lead into paradise, knowing that when I return, she’ll be here in my arms. I then fall to her side, kissing her bare shoulder and broadcasting the first genuine, elated smile to ever see the light of day on my lips. I brush her hair out of her face and place another chaste kiss to her lips.
“Heaven, acushla. You’ve given a devil like me heaven.”
“That’s how life will be for the four of us now, my king. Pure. Utter. Bliss.” She smiles, turning her soft peaceful gaze to Shay and Colin.
They both instantly draw closer, as if her eyes alone were enough of a command to call them to her. We cradle our woman in our embrace as she gives in to her exhaustion and falls asleep, knowing that heaven will be here waiting for her when she wakes up.
However, the next morning when I wake up, it isn’t to my wife’s gentle kiss but to Shay’s light snoring in my ear.
Hmm.
As much as I enjoyed myself last night—and I did thoroughly enjoy myself many times over during the night, fucking my wife raw after Shay and Colin had their way with her—waking up to my brother’s snoring is not how I envision my mornings in the future. We’ll have to make arrangements and rules about how our peculiar relationship will work to ensure its success. But those are just small details we can easily resolve. The hard part was seeing if we had a chance at the life my wife wanted, and after last night, I know we do.
When I see that neither Rosa nor Colin are in bed, I walk over to my old dresser, pick out some torn jeans and a t-shirt—blue since I know how much Rosa likes the color—and go downstairs in search of the both of them. When I reach the kitchen and see only Athair and Colin there, my brows pinch together.
“Where’s Rosa?”
“At Holy Cross Cathedral. Your máthair and her left early this morning to pray and light a candle for the wee babe’s safe arrival. Although if you ask me, your wife should probably say a few Hail Marys too after what we all heard last night over dinner. Jesus, lad. This house isn’t soundproof you know. Damn near gave Father Doyle a stroke hearing you four go at it like rabbits.” My father shakes his head in disapproval. Colin hides his smile with his coffee mug while I take a seat at the kitchen table.
“We have to talk, Athair .”
He raises his hand up and stops me before I get a word in.
“If you are going to tell me that you’ve decided to take the Bratva route and share your wife with your brother and cousin, I’d rather you spare me the details. Rumor has it that the Volkovs aren’t the only ones who decided that the families’ daughters be shared amongst their men. To each their own, I say. Just keep me out of it. As far as I’m concerned, the Hernandez girl has performed her duty in marrying you and getting pregnant with the next Kelly. Everything that comes after that is none of my business.”
Colin’s scowl is rooted on Da’s face as he takes a seat beside me. And frankly, so is mine.
“Rosa is not the Hernandez girl, as you put it. She’s my wife and is more than just the woman to bear the next Kelly line. She is going to be the mother of your grandchildren, Athair , and deserves your respect.”
My father frowns, staring at his tea mug instead of looking me in the eye.
“Her family took too much from us, Tiernan. You can’t expect me to welcome her with open arms and let bygones be bygones.”
“She’s not responsible for Patrick’s death, Athair . Her family might have had a hand in it, but in a way, so did we. Not Rosa. In fact, she’s done the very opposite. Her sacrifice in the treaty made it so she fulfilled his one true desire. Because of her, there is peace. How can you hate a woman that gave Patrick the very thing he always wanted most in his life?”
My father’s expression reveals sadness at the memory of his lost son.
“I miss him, too. Every fucking day. But I refuse to not be happy with Rosa just because you still hold a grudge. It isn’t fair to her, and it isn’t fair to us that want to move on and have a life worth living. I love her, Athair . Shay and Colin do, too. I will not feel ashamed or guilted into not loving the one woman who has finally given me a reason to wake up in the morning. She’s my heart, Athair . And the sooner you realize that she’s family, the sooner you can be a part of mine.”
I get up from my seat, Colin right at my side, when my phone decides to blow up and ruin my dramatic exit. When I see my mother’s name on the screen, I answer it immediately.
“Ma?”
“Tiernan! Thank Saint Brigid you answered.”
“What’s wrong,” I ask hurriedly, the hairs on the back of my neck rising with the sound of panic in her voice.
“It’s Rosa! She’s gone.”