Page 43 of While You Sleep

The orgasm slammed through me and I cried out, whimpering and jerking, gushing all over his hand. I rocked against his fingers, my body completely under his control.

“That’s it,” he said low. “That’s what I want.”

He didn’t let up until the last tremor moved through me and I’d slumped back, breathing hard, limbs like jelly. I watched as he used my torn underwear to wipe down my thighs before sliding them in his pocket, then he tugged my dress down and lifted me onto his lap, doing what he did when we were in bed, in the dark. He held me close.

I was too spent to move, to do anything but lie against his strong chest. “You pleased me so much tonight, Soph,” he said finally, gently.

Warmth filled my belly and darkened my cheeks, not from embarrassment but from pleasure. I didn’t know what it was, but when he said things like that, I melted. God, I was starting to think that I might do anything to please him, to hear him call me pet—to hear him tell me I was his good girl in that sexy, rough voice.

The car slowed, then stopped.

Danny’s voice echoed around us. “Garage door’s jammed.”

Cillian cursed, put me down beside him, and shoved the door open. He scanned the area, then held out his hand for me. I took it and slid out.

We started toward the house—

Something hit the wall with a thud, then dinged off the steel railing beside me. Cillian grabbed me, throwing me to the ground, his body crashing down on top of me. Thunder exploded around me a moment later.

Someone was shooting at us, and Cillian was returning fire.

Chapter Fourteen

Cillian

Someone dressed in dark clothes spun and ran. I fired, aiming for the back of their head, but they were too far away. Danny took off after them, and I scooped a frozen Sophia into my arms and sprinted for the house. I wasn’t sure that was the only gunman, and I wasn’t going to stay out here like a fucking sitting duck.

I punched the security code into the door and rushed in. Sally was standing in the middle of the living room, eyes wide, in obvious shock.

“Everything’s under control, Sally. Go back to Seamus.”

She nodded, spun around, and took off back down through the kitchen. I carried on through the living room and up the stairs to the bedroom, carrying Sophia to my bed.

She was shaking hard against me. She’d trembled at the restaurant tonight as well when Vince got close to her at the party. Something inside me had snapped, knowing she was afraid, that she was seeking comfort from me, a man who had never given comfort to anyone in his entire life. Now someone had fucking shot at us, had barely missed her out there, and she was clinging to me with every bit of strength she had—and I didn’t know what the fuck to do.

“It’s okay, pet,” I said. “You’re safe in here. This house is a fortress. No one is getting in here, Soph.” Was that the right thing to say? Fuck if I knew. I heard the door slam downstairs. “I need to go talk to Danny,” I said to her even though she hadn’t said one word in return. I took her chin and tilted her head back so I could make sure she was with me. “Soph?”

She nodded woodenly but didn’t let me go.

I carefully pried her fingers loose, and there was a kick in the center of my chest as I climbed off the bed. I didn’t want to leave her like this. “I’ll be right back.”

She nodded again, and I strode out and back down to the living room. Danny stood there, teeth gritted. He’d taken a shot to the shoulder and was bleeding all over the floor.

“He got away. Had someone covering him. They winged me when I went after them.”

“Paolo?” I said.

Danny nodded. “That’d be my guess.”

“We need to find him.” I jerked my chin toward the kitchen and the door to Seamus’s wing of the house. “But first, go see Sally, she’ll patch you up. I need to talk to Alto.”

Danny strode off, and I headed back upstairs to my office, hitting Alto’s number as I went.

“Cillian,” he said, his voice smooth.

“I’m calling you first as a courtesy, nothing more. Sophia and I were shot at tonight, at my home. When I find Paolo, and I will, he’s a dead man.”

Silence. “And you know it was him for sure? You saw his face?”

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