Page 40 of Bound

“In my defense, it was the courtyardbehindthe church.” Conor loses his ability to maintain his straight face and snickers. “Because those fucking plaid skirts.”

“And you’re worried aboutmamrolling over in her grave because of me?” I look at Quinn.

“She smacked the shit out of us both,” Finn shares as he laughs. “And she would’ve smacked the shit out of you, too.”

This fucking family.

“Tris. Liam. Can you please take care of the church?” I ask when the laughter and jokes finally subside. They both nod and collectively gather their things to take care of this favor for me. “Conor and Finn can help me and Rory with some security deficits around here before it gets dark.”

“And me?” Quinn chimes in.

“You,mochéadsearc,youget to have Layla help you pull together your dream wedding,” I respond, pulling out my wallet and retrieving a credit card for her. “Use my office. Let me know anything the two of you can’t do from there, and we’ll take care of it.”

The girls disappear to my office with Fiona while I head outside with Conor, Finn, and Rory to look for even the slightest infrastructure weaknesswewould exploit if needed to get on the property. We walk the perimeter.

“This is a great property from a security standpoint,” Rory acknowledges. “The waterfront completely removes a fast access point,andthe yard is vast enough that we should see anyone coming that makes it past the perimeter.”

“Not should.” My tone is gruff. “I want the men positioned so they can take out anyone who makes itmore than twofeet past the fence.”

“Understood.”

Trying to find Akim’s son has gone about as well as figuring out where thePakhanhas been hiding out all these months. Both of them are like ghosts.Invisible.Each of them make rareappearances when they have a reason to reach out. There isn’t too much more we can really do.

Except wait.

Sitting here waiting for someone to come and take Quinn from me is torturous. The only other time in my life I’ve felt this helpless was when I had to watch Sarah die.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

QUINN

Two days later…

“Out!” I demand, shoving Declan toward the door.

Staring down at me with sad, puppy eyes, he grovels, “Mochéadsearc.”

“I’m serious, Dec,” I huff, trying desperately to stay strong. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. And thatmeansyou aren’t sleepinghere.

A smug smirk pulls at the corner of his lips as he forces himself back into the room, slamming the door behind him, as he growls, “No one saidanythingabout sleeping.”

Before I have another chance to rebut, his lips are on mine, and his tongue is pressing into my mouth. Kissing me hard and deep, his hands slide along my back until they’re on my thighs. He gives a firmtug,lifting me from the ground. My legs instinctually wrap around him as he drives me into the wall.

Pinned between him and the wall, I groan his name through our kiss, “Dec…”

Pulling his lips from mine, he breathes warm kisses along my neck, sucking tenderly between them until I’m a whimpering mess. His words vibrate against my skin as he groans, “I’ll give you what you want. I won’t stay.”

He gently lowers my feet to the ground and places a soft kiss against my lips. Another under my chin. It’s followed by a trail of kisses over my shirt as he takes his time kneeling before me. Staring up my body, he undoes the button to my jeans and lowers the zipper, gravelly whispering, “But first, you’re going to let me show you just how much I’m looking forward to taking you asmy wife.”

Declan rids me of my pants and panties as he nibbles and kisses over the lips of my pussy. “Do you want me to show you?”

“Yes, Sir,” I moan my response when he dips his tongue through my lips and against my clit.

His fingers dust along the back of my leg, tickling behind my knee and sliding over the sensitive skin, as he pulls my leg over his shoulder. Spread wide and hovering over his face, he places a long, slow lick of his tongue. “I can still taste all the babies I’ve been putting in you this morning.”

Fuck, that’s hot.

I swirl my hips and grind against his tongue, desperately needing more. He continues to tease and suck, knowing exactly how to hold me at the edge.

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