Chapter 24

Sadie and Eloise's Birthday

Why did they let me organize the party? I know nothing about fancy parties. The best I'd gotten when I was younger was a homemade cake my grandmother made, and I was lucky if my mom even turned up. Dolly was always there, and that was all I cared about.

Dolly and Killian are coming today. Killian and Ronan talk occasionally, mainly about the girls. I'm sad that they're not bringing Mars, but Dolly said her guys vetoed the idea of their son being in enemy territory, and I get it.

"Where is the petting zoo going?" a man in dirty jeans and a wife beater asks, and thankfully Cian comes up behind me.

"Cian, can you show the man where to set up the petting zoo? Preferably somewhere no one will smell the animals while they are eating."

Cian nods and leads the man around the back of the house. Thankfully, we were not out of here for too long. I have come to love this place, with the bonus that with rooms needing to be completely redone, I got to help redecorate. Ronan, of course, went all out and let me redo the entire house and wouldn't listen to reason when I said there was nothing wrong with the bedrooms as they were. The first thing I made him change was the security system. A safe room is sufficient when combined with a panic button, which sends an alert to an outside security team.

I was grateful Sam had only drugged our men and none were hurt. Sam's body was recovered from the house, and I was lucky her death was ruled as self-defense.

Life is good.

And as if to emphasize that thought, I spot Killian pulling into the driveway. The second he parks the car, I run toward it, ripping my best friend's door open. I almost pull her arm from its socket, and she's laughing so hard.

"I need that arm, Harp," she says between laughs as she slides out of her seat, and I throw my arms around her.

"Yes, please don't rip her arm off, or I won't be able to tie her up in the basement," Killian says in a deadpan voice, and Dolly chuckles against me.

"He isn't wrong," she says. "It would be a crime not to be at his mercy down there. If you have never tried an ice dildo, I highly recommend them."

Killian groans. "Where are the little brats?" he asks, changing the subject, and I pull back from Dolly and link my arm with hers.

When the new arrivals are noticed by the twins, they scream, "Uncle Killian!"

They both come to a screeching halt in front of him and he holds out a bag. Both girls grab it at the same time and pull spray bottles out that say: Monster Spray.

"How do we know this really works?" Sadie asks skeptically.

"Try it on me," he says, and Sadie doesn't hesitate.

Killian makes a show about it burning and falls to the ground, rolling dramatically.

"It really does work," Eloise beams. "But you should go wash it off before it melts more of your skin."

I can't help my muffled laughter, and neither can Dolly—children are way too honest. I tell her I will come back soon when I see Cian come out of the house dressed in a clown costume.

He runs over to me, tripping halfway because of the silly shoes he is wearing, which are ten times too big for his feet.

"Have you ever fucked a clown?" he asks as he reaches me, and I shake my head.

"We are not sneaking off to fuck. Now go make some balloon animals or something. And for fuck's sake, do not be inappropriate, they are little girls."

Cian laughs, and I make my way over to the gazebo where the food has been placed. I think I did well: cotton candy machine, a snack table with the food in nice jars, popcorn. It's everything a girl could want.

Ronan is talking to a man I've never met before, so I walk over and stand beside him, quietly waiting for a break in conversation. Ronan wraps his arm around me and pulls me to his side.

"Tom, this is my girlfriend, Harper. Harper, this is Tom, my new assistant, slash party planner, slash not a woman."

I laugh. "It's nice to meet you, Tom, not a woman."

Tom holds his hand out to me. "It's nice to meet you too. Ronan talks about you a lot. I have assured your harem they have nothing to worry about—your lady bits make me nauseous and cocky alpha males are not my type."

He lets go of my hand, and I turn to Ronan. "Did you seriously find a gay man to be your assistant so I wouldn't get jealous?"

Ronan nods, and I sigh. "You're an idiot, sometimes. Celia made it a point to make her crush on Cian obvious, but I'm not some woman who gets jealous over nothing."

"Is that right?" Ronan says. "So you don't have an issue with one of the socialite mothers putting her hands on Darragh's muscles?"

I whip my head around and see Courtney Miller's mother laughing. Fuck off—Darragh is not funny. I place a kiss on Ronan's cheek.

"Not a jealous woman, hmm?" Ronan says.

I huff. "We both know Darragh is not funny. She is making a move."

I storm across the lawn in my heels, which was a stupid idea because they sink a little more with each step.

"Larissa," I say with a fake-ass smile. "It's so lovely you could make it."

She looks me up and down. All the socialites at the school reek of wealth, but I refuse to spend that kind of money on clothes. My dress is at a respectable length for a children's party, but still shows off my shape.

Darragh wraps his arm around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my temple. "Do you need help with something, Babe?" he asks, and I almost puke a little in my mouth. We are not a couple who do cute nicknames.

"No, Pooky Bear. I'm just doing the rounds and saying hello."

"Are you sure?" he says, pulling me closer. He wants an out, and after giving it some thought, he can suffer.

"I'm sure Larissa probably has a few more reasons to share why you should volunteer at the girls' school, and I have to say I agree. You will need to excuse me though, as I haven't seen Sullivan in a while, and he was supposed to be bringing out more ice."

I go to walk away, but Darragh grabs me by the back of my neck and steps up behind me. He kisses the side of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine as he whispers, "You're going to pay for that later."

"Promises, promises."

He releases me and poor Larissa sighs. Well, that's what she gets for marrying a man for his money.

I go on the hunt for Sullivan. The ice is in a large freezer down in the basement, and before I lived here, I thought that was maybe where they kept dead bodies. It turns out the truth wasn't so gruesome, and the chef kept a lot of meat in there instead.

The light is on as I descend the basement stairs, and I find Van sitting on a lounge chair, watching me walk toward him. "You found me," he says with a smile.

"Are you hiding?" I ask him.

He laughs and shakes his head as I straddle his lap. His hands go straight to my ass, lifting the back of the dress so his palms have contact with my skin.

"You should be outside with your nieces," I tell him.

"I should—but feeling you up is so much more fun."

I throw my head back and laugh. "It really is, but Darragh thought it would be fun to make me the host of this party. If we don't do it right, the girls will be the laughingstocks of that snotty school, and Darragh even invited the headmaster, so I have to be on my best behavior. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was a good move on his part because Killian is here and the man scares people—and not because of his burns. He is what nightmares are based on, and people can feel it."

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he keeps feathering kisses down my neck.

"Fuck, okay, maybe one orgasm and then back to the party. Do you think you can make me come in under five minutes?"

Sullivan chuckles against my skin. He taps my leg, so I lift, and he undoes the button on his slacks. Ronan made them dress up, and even the dress I'm wearing is a flirty garden-party style.

He pulls his cock out and pushes my thong to the side, sliding his hard length inside me and making me smile. I don't know if I will ever get sick of this.

As I rock against him, grinding my clit, he brings his hand to the back of my neck and pulls me into a filthy kiss, our tongues dancing against each other's. I need a quick release, so I move up fast and down hard, over and over. Voices carry from somewhere upstairs, so placing a hand on his shoulder, I pick up my pace, rocking into him until my orgasm flutters in my core and spreads through me. Sullivan places a hand over my mouth while I ride out the aftershocks, then he rests his head against mine as he comes.

Sullivan holds me for a moment as we catch our breaths, then he helps me to my feet, and I straighten my dress and move my thong back into place. Once we are both presentable, he gets the two bags of ice out of the deep freezer and takes them upstairs. I follow right behind, and after a quick visit to the ladies' room, I head out onto the back patio, where Dolly is talking to Sarge on FaceTime.

"I will be home in a few hours. You've got this, Sarge."

They say their goodbyes, and I sit down next to my best friend for a break.

"You look thoroughly fucked," she says with a laugh.

"I know, but what can I say? I can't keep my hands off them. Why didn't you warn me having so many dicks is so fun?"

She chuckles. "Did you ever imagine that this would be our lives, Harp?"

I snort. "No, I figured you would meet Mr. Right and live happily ever after, while I kept working at The Range until I popped a hip."

All four of my men and Killian stand around the ponies where the girls and some of their friends are being walked in circles. Eloise requested pony rides, so of course I made it happen.

I wish Dolly and I could spend more time together, but it is hard when our men belong to rival families. They tolerate each other at times like this, and for that, we are so grateful.

But I'm happy, and for the first time in my life I don't feel like something has to give. I always believed in fairytales, and somehow I managed to find the villains, and we fell head over heels.

I'm Harper Rae Daniels and here's to hell! May the stay there be as fun as the way there.