Page 41 of While You Sleep

“She tried to kill you?” I choked.

He shrugged. “She was afraid. I eased her worries, we made babies, life was beautiful.” His gaze slid to a dark-haired girl across the room, then back to Cillian. “Best you tell Declan to sleep with one eye open when he marries my Gaia. She’s a lot like her mother.”

Declan and Gaia Leone were engaged? And by the sounds of it, she had no say in who she married either.

Cillian grunted. “My brother is the charming one. I think he’ll be okay.”

Alto laughed again and shook his head. “If you say so, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He smiled broadly. “It was lovely to meet you, Sophia. Please, stay, enjoy the wine and the music.” Then he strode off toward a woman I assumed was his wife.

Cillian looked down at me, and instead of ice, there was something else in his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas, pet.”

Was he teasing? I couldn’t actually tell. My heart raced. “You’d already be dead if that was my grand plan,” I said and smirked.

His nostrils flared and his chest expanded sharply, but the look on his face didn’t change. He curled his fingers around the side of my throat, his thumb pressing lightly against my skin. “How would you do it? Wrestle me into submission in the middle of the night?”

“Maybe,” I said, sounding breathless.

“I’m down for naked wrestling anytime you want,” he said, his gaze sliding over me, as if he were seeing me naked now.

Heat burned my cheeks. He’d stripped me out of my pj’s last night, and I’d let him. I’d let him lick me, and fuck me with his fingers. I’d begged him to do it, and like every night, he hadn’t asked or pushed for more. The hand around the side of my throat slid higher to the side of my face before he brushed his thumb over my no doubt glowing cheeks.

His lips twitched.

Not a smile, but close. This Cillian was different. I didn’t know who I was looking at right then, who this was teasing me. Seamus said Cillian had watched movies, read books to learn how to interact with others—well, he’d actually said to learn to be fucking human. Was that where Dean had come from? Was that what was happening now? Cillian definitely couldn’t let his guard down in this room full of sharks, though, so who was he giving me now? I didn’t think this was some iteration of Dean.

I was pretty sure I’d almost made the O’Rourke monster smile.

I’d somehow broken through his mask, just a little. All I needed was for him to drop his guard, to give me some freedom, and when my opening came, I’d plan my and Tommy’s escape.

“I may be smaller than you, but I’m no lightweight,” I said, and I was surprised to realize I was actually enjoying myself. It excited me to ruffle that hard exterior. “I saw this woman in a movie once, and she choked a guy to death with her thighs.”

His green eyes sparkled. “So in your scenario, my head’s between your legs?”

I bit my lips. I hadn’t actually thought about what I was saying. “Uh…well, yes.”

“If you’d like to practice your technique later, I’m available.”

My breathing was growing ragged. I may not want to be married to a murderer, but that didn’t stop my traitorous body from getting hot around him. “I mean, if you’re up for getting your ass kicked.”

His eyes lit up, dancing.

What the hell was happening here?

“Cillian,” a rough voice said.

He immediately straightened, and the glint in his eyes vanished. His body stilled and his hands dropped, now loose at his sides, like an old movie gunfighter getting ready to quick draw.

A large sweaty man with a big gut closed the space between us. His fleshy mouth looked greasy, like he’d just been chowing down on spareribs and hadn’t bothered to clean up. His eyes were black and utterly devoid of anything. When they came to rest on me, I actually shivered. Those were the eyes of someone who could do all kinds of awful, disgusting things and not only never lose sleep over it but enjoy every moment of making someone scream for mercy.

“This must be your wife.” He held out a beefy hand.

I had no choice but to take it. His hand was hard, but his skin was soft and sweaty.

“Pretty little thing, isn’t she?” he said to Cillian. “Fat ass, big tits. Bet she’s a good ride.”

I yanked my hand free and automatically stepped closer to Cillian. What I wanted to do was tell him to fuck off, but I knew men like him. Saying shit like that earned you a split lip. My father had never hit me, but I’d seen others do it without batting an eye. It’d be better for me and for Cillian if I kept my mouth shut, but it was hard. Cillian’s arm came around me, as if he sensed my unease, and pulled me tight against him. His body was hard, unyielding.

“You speak about my wife like that again, Vince, and I’ll cut your tongue out.” The ice in Cillian’s terrifyingly calm voice left no doubt it was not a threat, but a promise.

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