Page 48 of Legacy Of Ashes
The door opens and Conall walks in with a folder. My nipples go hard against my blouse just seeing him move. He notices everything, his eyes dropping to my chest before meeting mine with that look that says he wants to devour me.
Fuck me, not now.
"Got some news from our contacts," he says, and even his voice does things to me.
He comes closer and I smell his cologne—the same scent all over my sheets after he spent the night. My body clenches remembering how good he felt.
"What kind of news?" I manage to ask.
Our fingers brush when he hands me the folder. The touch goes straight between my legs. He strokes his thumb across my knuckles and I have to bite my lip to keep quiet.
I open the folder with shaking hands. "Shit. Federal corruption probe started yesterday. Three councilmen, two judges, Commissioner Walsh."
The room goes cold fast.
"How bad?" Eamon asks.
"Bad enough to bury us if we're not smart about it." I move to the head of the table, trying to get some authority back when all I want is to climb Conall like a tree. "How long do we have?"
"Six months tops," Conall says. "They're building cases slowly."
God, his voice. Makes me remember how he groaned my name when he came, how he whispered dirty things in my ear.
"So what do we do?" Mum asks, cutting through my very inappropriate thoughts.
This is it. My moment.
"We use this mess to our advantage," I say, clicking to a new slide. "We help them nail the small players, keep our major stuff protected, and use all the chaos to get rid of our competition."
Conall moves closer to see the charts better. His body heat hits my back and when he leans over the table, his chest brushes my shoulder. His lips are right by my ear.
"You're fucking brilliant," he whispers so only I can hear.
The curse word and his breath on my skin nearly make my knees give out. I grip the table edge so hard my knuckles go white.
"While everyone else is running scared," I continue, my voice breathier than it should be, "we quietly move our money around."
"Smart," Cillian says. "Take over while they're distracted."
"Exactly." I try to step away from Conall but he follows me, staying close enough that I can feel how hard he is through his pants.
"The Torrino family's got three guys facing charges," I say, my voice catching as Conall's hand settles on my hip, thumb stroking through my skirt. "The Murphy crew just lost their police protection. We move into their territory—legally."
Eamon's watching us now, eyebrows raised. Cillian looks amused. Even Mum seems interested in whatever's happening between me and Conall.
"What about muscle?" Eamon asks. "Construction sites need protection."
"Private security companies." I click to the next slide, way too aware of Conall's fingers tracing patterns on my hip. "All licensed and insured. Completely above board."
Those fingers were inside me two nights ago, making me fall apart.
"That'll cost," Mum observes with a knowing smile.
"Less than prison would," I shoot back, my voice hitching as Conall's hand slides lower.
"When do we start?" Dad rasps from his chair.
I flip slides, trying to ignore how Conall's breathing has changed, how his other hand grips the table. "Next month. We move fast while everyone's distracted."
