Page 22 of While You Sleep

“Called it off? No. Adam’s dead,” Cillian said without a trace of emotion. “But the wedding will still be going ahead.”

“What?” I choked out. That’s when I saw it, the blood spatter on the side of his throat, a fine spray of it on his white shirt.

“I’m in charge now,” he said to my father. “You’ll deal with me from now on.” He turned to me. “I’ll be marrying Sophia.”

I turned to my father, not sure what I expected, a protest of some kind, anything but what I got—his acquiescence. Not even when the man standing in front of him, announcing he was marrying his only daughter, still had the blood of the last man he’d murdered on his skin. But then I shouldn’t be surprised, we were just exchanging one monster for another.

“Let’s get this over with,” my father said and grabbed my elbow, towing me into the living room.

The priest turned to us with a smile as we walked in. “Shall we begin?”

* * *

Cillian

Sophia’s fingers trembled as she slid the wide band on my finger. When I’d done the same, a feeling settled in my gut that I liked very much. She stared up at me wide-eyed as the priest told me I could kiss my bride. If I were a good man, I’d have let her off the hook—but I wasn’t a good man, and I wanted to make sure everyone in this room understood that Sophia O’Rourke was mine. My wife.

So I stepped closer, curling my fingers around the back of her head, my thumb under her chin, and tilted her head back. I could see the debate in her eyes—should she take a step back or pull away from me. Sophia wasn’t stupid, though. Yes, there was hatred in her pale blue eyes, but she was also smart enough not to test me, not then, not in front of my men or the kid she was so attached to.

I bent low, bringing my face close to hers. “Wife,” I said to her, as if I were introducing myself for the first time. In a way I was, Dean was gone, I was here now. Her husband. And I wanted to make sure she understood what she was, who she was. She may always despise me, but she was my wife, and that meant in every way that the word implied.

I closed the space and kissed her, our second kiss. It was brief but firm, and I sucked her plump lips gently before I lifted my head, fighting the urge to devour her right here.

She tasted as good as I remembered. I didn’t usually kiss the women I fucked, it created a false intimacy that I didn’t want or need, but for Sophia I’d make an exception—I found I wanted to taste her again, and I could. I could do anything I liked, because she was mine.

After that first night, a year ago, I’d followed her, watched her sleep, searched every drawer in her place to try and quench my strange appetite for everything Sophia Brennan, but it hadn’t worked. Nothing had worked. I didn’t obsess over things, or people—until her. I wasn’t like other men. The way I felt about my new wife confounded me, alarmed me…electrified me. I hadn’t understood it then, the way she’d made me feel, and I still didn’t, but I wanted to keep on feeling those things.

There’d been only one way to do that.

Make her mine.

Claim her.

The fact that tied in with me finally taking my rightful place in this family was the result of years of eating shit, luck, and perfect timing.

I forced myself to look away from her, her cheeks flushed and so incredibly tempting, before I pulled her closer, before I kissed her again—before I showed everyone here how Sophia tested my control. I knew she was my weakness, but I couldn’t let anyone else know that.

Her father didn’t congratulate us, and no one cheered. This wasn’t a joyous occasion; this was the payment of a debt. This was a father giving up his only daughter to save himself.

Declan strode up to us, breaking the silence. “Hey, Sophia. I’m Declan,” he said, smiling kindly. Declan could do that when he needed to, he was as good an actor as I was. “I’m your new brother-in-law. Welcome to the family.”

Sophia stared up at him, not sure what to make of him. My brother had that effect on people, it was why he was so effective at what he did. He disarmed people with his charm and his smile, leaving them wondering what the fuck just happened while they lay on the floor bleeding out.

I placed my hand on her lower back, steering her from the room. I wasn’t going to hang around here in case Brennan suddenly found his balls. I wanted her out of this house. Brennan’s wife, Celeste, motioned to Sophia’s bags by the door like a game-show host.

Con and several of my men carried them out to my car, and Brennan finally pulled himself together and strode over to us. He pulled his daughter in for a hug, and Sophia stiffened in his arms, refusing to look at him.

“I’ll see you soon…sweetheart,” he said and glanced at me in question.

The endearment came out awkward, stilted. That was probably the first time he’d ever called her that. I dipped my chin, glad to see him already deferring to me—and showing again why he wasn’t fit for the position he held. Good thing he wouldn’t be holding it for long.

I shook his hand. “I’ll be in touch.” Then I led Sophia from the house and out to my waiting car. Con opened the door, and just as she was about to get in, the kid called her name and ran out of the house. She caught him in her arms and held him to her tight.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said, looking up at me like I was the devil.

He had good instincts. The boy obviously didn’t take after his weak father.

She put him down and crouched in front of him. “I’ll be back to visit soon, okay, buddy?”

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