Page 11 of Sapphire

Aria's grin turned positively wicked, her eyes glittering with a kind of feral, predatory hunger. "I think they're afraid of me. Afraid of what I might do if I get it into my head that they're trying to double-cross me. So, they sent me Liam as a kind of insurance policy. A way to keep me in line, to remind me of just how easily they could snuff me out if I step out of line, even if he would die doing it."

I felt a flicker of unease, and I could sense Seamus standing taller beside me. "And what makes you think they would do something like that? The Irish are many things, but stupid isn't one of them. They know how valuable an ally you could be, how much they stand to gain from working with you."

Aria shrugged, her smile turning sharp and brittle. "Oh, I don't doubt that they see the value in our little arrangement. But I also know that people like Finn Gallagher and Cara Maguire are not the type to share power easily. They'll use me as long as I'm useful, as long as I'm playing by their rules. But the second I step out of line, the second I start to become more of a liability than an asset." She made a slashing motion across her throat. "They'll gut me like a fish. Just like I did to my own father when he tried to sell me off to the highest bidder like a piece of cattle."

I felt a chill run through me. I knew all too well what it was like to be seen as a commodity.

"I understand," I said softly, holding Aria's gaze with my own. "Believe me, I understand. And I promise you, I will never let anything happen to you. The Irish and Italians are run by queens, and I just want to make sure the Russians are as well. Between the three of us queens we can make a difference for other women. We can make it better.”

Aria's eyes softened, just for a moment. "I appreciate the sentiment, Kamilla. Really, I do. But I've learned the hard way that promises are cheap, and loyalty is a fucking myth. The only person I can count on is myself."

She turned to Liam, her hand sliding up his arm to grip the back of his neck. "And that's where you come in, my darling Liam. See, I don't trust a single fucking one of these Irish bastards as far as I can throw them. But you? You, I think I can work with. Because as long as you're by my side, as long as you're watching my back and keeping me safe, they wouldn't dare try anything. They know that if they did, if they even thought about double-crossing me." She leaned in close, her lips brushing the shell of Liam's ear. "I'd gut you too. I'd carve you up into little pieces and send you back to them in a fucking box, just to remind them of what happens when you fuck with Aria Conti."

Liam remained stoic, his expression never flickering. But I saw the way his hands clenched at his sides, the way the muscles in his jaw ticked and jumped. He was a man who desired the woman and her power. I could practically smell it on him. Aria had gotten under his skin, had wormed her way into his head and his heart and his fucking balls, and he was struggling to reconcile that with his duty and his honor to the Irish.

It was a heady thing to witness, the push and pull of two immovable objects, two unstoppable forces. I couldn't help but wonder who would come out on top, in the end. The Black Widow or the Irish Wolf.

Seamus coughed beside me before I escorted Aria inside the Irish compound, before Cara, Aria and myself locked ourselves in the Cara’s office to discuss how we would work together. I would have loved to be the fly on the wall to hear the conversation between Seamus and Liam. What advice would he give Liam to keep Aria happy? And will he take his own advice?

Chapter 10: Kamilla

Ihit the mat with a grunt, the breath whooshing out of my lungs as Seamus's heavy body pinned me down. We were training again, working on my hand-to-hand combat skills, and as usual, our session had devolved into a sweaty, panting mess of tangled limbs and barely-suppressed sexual tension.

It had been like this for weeks now, ever since that first explosive encounter in the training room. We would start out focused, determined, trading blows and blocks and kicks with brutal efficiency. Then, inevitably, the heat between us would flare to life, consuming everything in its path.

Seamus would pin me, his hands rough and demanding on my skin, his breath hot against my ear as he growled filthy promises and dark fantasies. And I would arch into him, my body singing with need, my mind chanting a desperate litany of "more, more, more." He would make me come, would wring orgasm after mind shattering orgasm from my willing body with his fingers, his tongue and his dirty words, but he always stopped short of burying himself inside me.

It was the sweetest, most delicious agony I had ever known, and I was addicted to it, to him. Now, as he loomed over me with that infuriating smirk on his face and that hot, heavy look in his eyes, I felt that addiction flare to life once again, spreading through my veins.

"Yield," he demanded, his voice a low, rasping growl that made my toes curl and my nipples tighten beneath my sports bra.

I grinned up at him. "Make me."

His eyes flashed, his grip on my wrists tightening until I could feel the bones grind together. "Oh, I'll make you, all right. I'll make you beg, make you plead, make you fucking scream for mercy."

I shivered, my hips arching up to grind against the hard, heavy shape of his erection. "Promises, promises. You're all talk and no action, O'Malley. When are you going to man up and fuck me already?"

He growled, his head dipping down to nip sharply at my jaw. "When you're ready.”

I whimpered, my eyes fluttering shut as his teeth scraped over my racing pulse. "You’re a bastard. Can't you feel how much I want you? How much I fucking need you?"

He groaned, his hips grinding down against mine in a dirty, delicious roll. "I feel it, baby. Fuck, I feel it every second of every day, but I need you to want me, not just how hard I can make you come. We need to concentrate on what is coming. You need to be ready for the war.”

I opened my eyes, my gaze locking with his. "For the love of God and all things holy, will you just fucking fuck me already? Then I can concentrate on training."

For a moment, he just stared down at me, his expression unreadable. And then, with a low, curse, he claimed my mouth in a kiss that was pure hunger. I kissed him back with everything I had, my hands fisting in his hair, my legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer, deeper, harder. He tore his mouth from mine with a ragged gasp, his forehead resting against my own as he fought for control.

"Fuck, Kamilla. You can't say shit like that to me. Not when I'm hanging on by a thread.”

I grinned, slow and wicked. "Maybe I want you to lose control. Maybe I want to see what happens when the big, bad Seamus O'Malley finally lets himself go, finally gives in to all those dark, dirty desires you keep whispering to me.”

He groaned, his head falling forward to rest in the crook of my neck. "You're going to be the death of me, woman. But fuck if I can bring myself to care."

Then he was gone, rolling off me and onto his feet with a grace that belied his size. He held out a hand to me. "Come on. Let's hit the showers and call it a day. I think we've both had enough heat for one session."

I let him pull me to my feet, and I followed him out of the training room without protest, my mind already racing ahead to what I knew I had to do. It was time to take matters into my own hands. Time to show Seamus just how much I wanted him, just how far I was willing to go to make him mine. And if that meant ambushing him in the shower, well…

I could hear the water running as I slipped into Seamus's room, the sound muffled by the closed bathroom door. I padded across the carpet on silent feet, my skin prickling with anticipation.

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