Page 134 of Merciless Desires

“For the record, I didn’t hear that,” Lincoln says with humor in his voice. “Darragh, I got this.”

“Thanks, Linc.”

“You’re welcome. Say hi to Eoghan for me.”

“Trust me, that won’t be a pleasant call.” My brother will be highly offended at best, and murder me at worst, for calling Lincoln Stone, his Harvard roommate, to help with Cormac and not him.

I’m just not ready to call home about what happened. But the days are ticking down. I need to tell them I have Anastasia Koslov.

“Will Eoghan be in Vegas anytime soon?” Lincoln asks.

“Probably.” I roll my eyes and consider he’ll have to make a sweeping visit with Lachlan to settle his unpaid debts, and make sure all Cormac’s dirty and frayed loose ends are tied up. That includes silencing any witnesses my darling twin may have blabbed to about our family. “Thanks, Linc.”

“Anytime, Dr. O’Rourke.” He reminds me of the performing enhancing drugs I call into a pharmacy for his perpetual need to look built and cut.

Calls I’ve made for my brothers back home, too. I’m no angel. Ordering up Oxy for Riordan when his wife ended up in his bed with a bullet to her shoulder. Ambien for my sister in East Hampton, and lately, experimental meds from Mexico to help my mother with her MS.

All offenses that can make me lose my medical license. That same arrogance permeating the air in the house I grew up in didn’t escape me. I forged my way out of that life 24/7. But I’m still an O’Rourke, and I bend the rules to get what I want.

What I want…

Christ, Anastasia comes to mind. That mouth begging for my cock… Those swollen breasts aching for my hands… Even that perfect round stomach turns me the fuck on, like I have a damn breeding kink. Primal urges course through me to take her however, and wherever I want her. But I’m tempered by my duty as a father, and to make sure I never risk my custody of my daughter, especially now that it looks like I’m getting a divorce.

Things my brothers back home can fix, but I’d rather save my get-out-of-jail-free card for when I’m hanging by a thread with no way out.

Still, taking what belonged to Cormac drives my carnal thoughts even deeper. I’m so fucking mad at him. The first of a thousand cuts felt satisfying, seeing the anger in his eyes when I bailed out Ana and not him. Now, I’m having him involuntarily committed to rehab.

I lean back in my chair.

God, I need a drink. I stand up to fist the entire bottle of whiskey. I’ll bring it to my bedroom and take a warm shower, where I’ll relieve this damn tension between my legs. Then drink the whiskey down until I pass out.

“Knock, knock.” The door to my office opens, and Ana’s face hits the light. It frames her beauty in a way that brings me to my knees.

“Usually you knock, and I say come in.” Anger hums off me. I want this woman so badly, it’s burning me inside, the fire licking at my words.

“Who’s Lilian?”

I freeze, thinking of the whore I was going to fuck later. “Why?”

“A call came in on the house phone.”

“What?”

“Her name and phone number flashed on the television screen with an incoming call.” Ana drops a piece of paper in front of me. “I put the T.V. on while I was rinsing out my mug.”

Did I give that dirty bitch my home number? I’m losing it. “That’s no one,” I say, as I bang out a simple text:

Me: Changed my mind. Text me what I owe you for canceling at the last minute. Do NOT call my house again.

Ana eases into my office, her movement soft and sensual. “Did you have a date tonight?”

“I’m married.”

“To a woman you haven’t seen in three years.” She runs her fingers along my desk and leans on it. “No one would blame you. Hell, my father cheated on my mother for their whole marriage. That’s how I have a sister. One day, a woman brought Katya to our estate, saying she’s Papa’s daughter, too. She was twelve. Papa took my sister in because he recognized her Koslov features, and the Bratva treasures bloodlines.”

“I’m pretty sure my father didn’t cheat on my mother, and I don’t have any illegitimate half-siblings.” At least, I fucking hope not. “Have you talked to your sister at all?”

“No.” She dumps her head in her hands, and my body seizes at the worry in her voice. “But um… When I first got to Vegas, I paid a couple in the casino giftshop to send postcards to her college mailbox at East Side Performing Arts. They were traveling the country. I don’t know if they did. Especially since they robbed me.”

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