Page 18 of Dark Succession
There was no mistaking his meaning, not when his fingers were playing with the edges of her panties. She held her breath several heartbeats, trying to focus. She wanted this man like she’d never wanted another in longer than she cared to remember, but that didn’t mean she wanted to have sex with him after a first date in the back of her family’s SUV while their protection duty sat less than twenty feet away.
He must have felt her tense, because he moved so he could meet her gaze. The heat there stole her breath. He smoothed his thumb across her temple and down over her cheekbone. “Let me take care of you, angel. Just that. Nothing else.” She started to speak, but he beat her there. “When I finally sink between your thighs—and at this point it’s a matter ofwhenand notif—it’s going to be in a bed with a locked door between us and the rest of the world.” His thumb kept up its gentle stroking, a strange counterpoint to the rest of their bodies. “I might not deserve you, but I’m sure as fuck going to do right by you.”
Maybe she was a fool and a half for finding his words comforting, but she cupped his jaw and kissed him. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, you can… taste me.” Saying the words out loud felt strange, but the look on his face was more than worth it.
He hooked his thumbs into her panties and dragged them down her legs. His grin was a flash of white in the darkness. “Find something to hang on to.”
She almost laughed, but then he nipped her thigh, licking his way up to the center of her thighs. He groaned at his first contact, almost as if he wanted this just as much as she suddenly did. He kissed her there with the same intensity he seemed to bring to every interaction. She reached blindly over her head to grasp the handle at the top of the door, half fearing she’d float away on a sea of almost painfully good sensation if she wasn’t careful.
Teague gripped her thighs, parting them even further as he drew his tongue down her center. It was as if he was determined to explore every inch of her, his rough hands holding her in place so she couldn’t have moved even if she wanted to. He circled her clit once, twice, a third time, drawing sounds from her throat that she hadn’t been aware she was capable of making. Helpless whimpers and sharp cries, and through it all, a demand formore.
She hadn’t realized she said the word aloud until he chuckled against her heated flesh. “Not yet, angel. First you’ve got to come for me.”
He sucked her clit into his mouth, rolling the sensitive bundle of nerves between his lips and tongue. It was too much. Her body went tight, unbelievable pleasure spikingthrough her again and again, drawn out by his mouth. It was only when her cries quieted and her body’s reaction had dimmed to a mere shake here and there that he gave her one last kiss and raised his head. “Damn, angel. Just… damn.” He lifted her, shifting until he was beneath her and she was curled in his lap. She could feel his cock against her ass, but he made no move to do anything about it. He smoothed her hair down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Do you want me to drive you home?”
Yes. Stay.
She didn’t let the words free. No matter what she thought of this man—and she was beginning to think quite a few things—if she showed up at her house with him in the driver’s seat, there would be hell to pay from her father. Pending marriage or not, if he knew what they’d just done… Her skin broke out in goose bumps.
What had she been thinking? The sky was falling in so many ways, and one kiss from Teague and she’d been nearly willing to have sex with him in the backseat of her SUV. It was so incredibly selfish that it threatened to make her sick.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”
She blinked and tilted her head back to see his face. “What?”
“It was a reprieve, angel. Even heirs to the Sheridan empire get reprieves.” His lips brushed hers. “We’ll figure this out, just hang in there. Deal?”
She fought back some of the irrational guilt and nodded. “Deal.”
CHAPTER SIX
James listened to the message Teague had left him a second time and then deleted it. If it had been anyone else from that fucking family, he would have suspected some kind of trap, but Teague was as close to the up-and-up as an O’Malley could be. In another life, they might have actually been able to realize the friendship that they’d started over a poker game. But that relationship had been sacrificed at the altar of family—just like everything else he’d cared about.
He shook his head and pocketed his phone. Now wasn’t the time for melancholy thoughts. The message had confirmed exactly what he’d suspected—Teague was as much a victim in this mess as Callista was.
And both of them were a whole hell of a lot closer to innocent than Brendan had been.
If his father or brother heard him say as much, they’d call him a traitor or worse, but it was the goddamn truth. James loved his brother in the way you had to love family,despite their flaws. But that didn’t mean he was blind. Brendan was the one who had brought their business transactions into a realm even James wasn’t comfortable with. Shipping in girls from God alone knew where? That was human fucking trafficking. It didn’t matter if the girls had volunteered—they were all desperate enough to do or say anything to get into the States. They didn’t know what the hell they were signing up for.
He’d fought it as hard as he dared, and when he couldn’t fight, he slipped money to the girls who had the most spirit, and gave them a window where they could run. Some did. Some stayed. The shit curdled his stomach every time he thought about it, and it was worse because Brendan had never shied away from using those girls in every way a man could use a woman.
Some things were unforgivable, even when it was family doing them.
Knowing that—accepting that—didn’t mean he wanted his brother dead, but he was the only one who seemed to wonder if maybe Brendan hadn’t brought his death upon himself. James knew what else was found in the room with his brother—that there was evidence of another girl. A girl who’d most likely been the one to pull the trigger.
He made his way down the hall to his father’s office and knocked. “Father?”
“Get your ass in here and report.”
He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The fire was once again built high and hot, so much that the room had to be damn near ninety degrees. James shifted, his T-shirt already starting to stick to his back. “The grounds are secured. No one will get through.”
“Good, good. We need to plan our next attack.”
Now was the time to speak up. If he stayed silent and someone ended up killed, he’d never forgive himself. “We should reconsider this.”
