Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Piper

I 'm not sure what time it is when I wake up next. The gray haze of daylight is edging its way into the night, and I'm sad to see it go. Locked in the shadows of darkness, the two of us shared something—something more than biology.

It might be impossible for a Quinn and a McGuire to make something of their feelings, but I won't pretend I don't have them—at least not to myself.

I acknowledge that he's the enemy.

I acknowledge that he's a decade older than me.

I acknowledge that he's a dangerous man who has tortured and likely killed dozens of people.

But with me, he's just Sean—my black knight. My protector. The man who scooped me off the wet and bloody cement to take me out of the rain and save my life. And in no way do I think that's dramatic.

If he recognized me, someone else could have, too, and not been so kind. Or the Russians could've followed me and found me. Or I could've lain there bleeding in the rain and caught pneumonia. Or a drunk passerby could've found me barely dressed and unconscious and continued what the Russians started.

No matter how I look at it, Sean saved me and I'm glad he was my first lover.

I close my eyes and let the memory of last night wash over me. He was thoughtful and careful about everything. And after he came inside me, he got a warm cloth and cleaned me up.

The blood was a little unsettling, but he didn't bat an eye. He cleaned us up, made sure I took my painkiller, and then snuggled in behind me.

Sean Quinn is a snuggler. Who would've guessed?

"Everything all right? Any regrets?" Sean's gravelly sleep voice is super sexy.

"Everything's grand." I wriggle back to increase the connection of him spooning me. His morning wood meets the crack of my ass, and I wonder if I can convince him to play house with me a few more times…and maybe a few after that. "Although I have ideas about how things could be even better."

I grind against him and groan as my hormones kick in and I'm warm and wet and wanton.

He chuckles, shifting his hips back to lessen the contact. "Created a sex kitten, have I?"

"Unleashed is probably more accurate. I've always had a healthy curiosity. Now I have an opportunity to bring my fantasies into reality."

He nuzzles into the back of my neck and kisses my shoulder. "Are we talking about your list of firsts? You'll have to show it to me, so I can make things happen."

I wish that were in the cards for us. But one amazing night of denial doesn't change our situation. "I was thinking about how different things could be if we were different people from different families."

He lets off a throaty grunt behind me. "Aye, I've thought about that, too."

"Really?"

He chuckles. "Piper, you're a beautiful woman, you understand and aren't afraid of or repulsed by my world, and the sexual chemistry between us is crazy. Of course, I've thought about it."

His words warm something deep inside me. "So, you'd keep seeing me, if you could?"

"Until you tired of my dark-hearted, broody ways and went looking for a hot, captain of the rugby team type."

I glance behind my shoulder and laugh. "That would never happen."

"No? How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm a sucker for a broody bad boy and when you add in your whole alpha protector vibe, I'm a goner. Do you know how hot it is that you would literally kill to keep me safe?"

He laughs. "Other women might call that obsessive and unhinged."

"I'm not made like other girls, then."

"No. You're not. But as things stand, your father would burn down the city and Tag would lose his mind if they found out. Lives would literally be lost."

That's pretty much what I was thinking, too.

"But we have this moment." His hand is resting on my bare hip, and I shift it down to where I'm wet for him. "And unless you brought a nightstick to bed with you, it feels like you've got something I want."

He chuckles against my neck, the warmth of his breath making my nipples tighten. "Are you sure you're not sore?"

"I'm tender, not sore, and was raised never to waste an opportunity. So, if you wouldn't mind, Mr. Quinn, I'd like you to slide that lead pipe you've got back there inside me. I'm not sure once is enough to truly say I'm not a virgin anymore."

His hand bypasses my core and when he lifts my thigh to open my legs, he inches forward from behind. "I don't think there are degrees of virginity, my little sex kitten. But if it makes you feel better, I'm willing to put in the time until you're confident."

"Time is nice, but I'm more interested in you putting in your cock."

He chuckles. "Who am I to disappoint?"

He shifts behind me and grips my hip, careful not to touch my side. He slides through the heat he calls from me and presses forward. I am sore, but I won't waste any opportunity to feel him inside me.

In this position, he doesn't get as deep as he did last night, but I feel just as deliciously full.

"It's amazing how different it feels from behind."

"I wish you weren't hurt. I'd get you on your knees and really give it to you."

Images of that explode in my mind. Sean gripping my hips and slamming into me with both of us on our knees. Bracing my palms against the mattress, to take every thrust. The slap of flesh on flesh…

The muscles gripping him pulse in response, another rush of cream slicking his cock. "I want to try that."

"Not yet, kitten. There are so many ways I want to fuck you, but not with your ribs so sore."

"They are better every day." I close my eyes, my breath escaping as he brushes his fingers over my clit and through the moisture between my legs. "A couple more days and I'll be ready to take anything you give me."

He laughs. "Ribs can hurt for a month."

"I'm tougher than I look, and you have no idea how determined I am."

"I look forward to finding out."

His fingers rub over the sensitive bundle of nerves at my core and my release builds. I arch against the slow and steady thrusts from behind and grind against his touch. "It feels so good when you touch me."

"Good. That's right where I want you to be."

Last night, I was nervous about how much it would hurt and how much I might bleed, but this is just nice. It's lazy and sexy and I can focus on how good it feels.

And wow, it feels good.

Sean is a powerful man, and he knows how to use his body. I'm quite content to lie here and be the recipient of all this attention.

"Fuck, you're tight."

"Is that good or bad?"

He grunts and shifts his hips for another luxurious in and out. "It's incredible. Your pussy is squeezing me so hard I'm losing my mind."

"Well, good. I want to leave a lasting memory."

"You do. And when you lose it, and your insides pulse and grip my cock, there's no way I'll be able to hold back. You feel way too good."

A guy like Sean is all about control.

I like that being inside me drives him past his control. He should be able to let loose once in a while. He's so serious and broody to the outside world, I love that I get to see him with his guard down.

Sean shifts his bottom arm beneath my head and bends it to cross my chest and pull me tighter against him. The added hold makes me feel even more pinned to him, and I love it.

"Open your legs more and throw your calf over my thigh. That'll give me more access to you."

I do as he asks and almost laugh at how exposed I feel. "Wow, if someone walked through the door right now, they'd get one hell of a show."

Sean grumbles in my ear. "I'd kill anyone who came in and saw you like this. Your pussy is mine, Piper. Mine to fuck. Mine to eat. Mine."

The possessive growl in his voice does something carnal to me, and my inner muscles throb and pulse around him.

"That's my good girl. You like being claimed by me? Do you want to be mine?"

I swallow, my orgasm building deep in my core. "Aye, I do."

His thrusts...

His fingers rubbing my clit...

His warm kisses along the column of my neck…

It's all too much and my body shatters.

I cry out his name with a rush of breath that tears from my chest. He is everywhere at once.

Touching me. Tasting me. Fucking me.

The waves of pleasure that pulse from within me steal my sanity. It's incredible. And even though I have little experience in this, I know that it's all Sean.

I don't even want to think about how he got so good at making a woman feel like this.

He follows me over the edge of bliss, and his hips lock behind me. With his bottom arm across my chest and his free arm gripping my hip, he pulls me against him with an almost crushing force.

I'll have bruises, for sure, but these marks I'll wear with pride.

"Fuck, you're addictive." His breath is ragged and has a sexy gravel to it.

"I'd say the same, but seeing as how your cock is still inside me, I might be unduly influenced."

He barks a laugh behind me. "Get used to it. I intend to have my cock in you for whatever time we have left to spend together."

I let off a contented sigh. "Let's hope it's long enough to check a few more things off my list."

"Count on it." He turns my head to look back at him and claims my mouth. "Now close your eyes. It's still sleep time."

Sean

I wake up next to Piper's beautiful warm body and we're both naked. Tag will kill me for this if he ever finds out. Our family has enough trouble keeping our business running smoothly without sparking a war with the McGuires.

Turning my head, I glance at her contented face and watch her sleep. She wanted to reclaim some control in her life and made a choice.

Was it more than that?

Did she want me or just to take her virginity off the table on her own terms?

It wasn't a hardship either way.

I slide to the edge of the bed, grab my boxers off the floor, and close the door behind me so Piper doesn't wake up. In the bathroom, I take a piss and hop in the tub to take a quick shower.

I'm wrapping a towel around my hips when my cell rings. #1 Brother comes up on my screen and I grab it off the vanity. "Hey, Tag. What's up?"

"I just got word our shipment arrived early. It's at the docks and will be unloaded later this afternoon."

"Okay, what do you need?"

"Well, with the McGuires gunning for us, I want to take every precaution. I need you and the Devils to oversee the unloading and escort the shipment to the factory."

"On it. I'll send a dozen of the boys there now and will join them shortly."

"Where are you? At the clubhouse?"

"No. Still at the safe house."

"Why do you sound funny?"

"No idea. I just got out of the shower."

"Late morning. Is babysitting making you lazy? You're not getting distracted, are you?"

I laugh. "Says the guy who's been sneaking home for afternoons in bed with his girlfriend."

"Caught on to that, did you?"

"Hard to miss. You've got a goofy ‘just got laid' face you wear after a good workout. You've been wearing that face a lot lately, brother."

He chuckles. "I didn't know I had a tell."

"Fuck it. Happy looks good on you. Hey, did Laine have a chance to look at that contract, giving Piper to the Russians?"

"It's totally bogus. She's not sure what it'll mean to the Russians, but it won't hold water here. If Piper were younger or had consented or lived somewhere else, it could've gotten messy, but as it stands, it's a no-go."

"Good. I didn't think it would have any legs, but it's good to hear."

"Yeah. Mattie is seriously off his fucking rocker."

"There's nothing more dangerous than a desperate man, T. The other families have to see it, right? They must know he's losing his grip."

"I would love to say yes, but after the Campbells attacked me last week, I haven't got a fucking clue."

"Anything new on the aftermath of that?"

"Maybe. Andrew was going through the security tapes for the compound perimeter. A truck has been spotted across the road a few times and drew his notice. He's not sure, but he thinks someone's watching the house."

"That could be the Campbells or the McGuires."

"Assuming they aren't one and the same."

"You think they've made an alliance?"

"I'm not discounting it—especially after Laine and I were attacked."

Never known for minding his own, Gareth Campbell will be pissed that Laine shot one of his boys. It was totally justifiable as self-defense, but Old Man Campbell is a sewer rat. He's not big on facts.

"We've been so busy with the McGuires, we haven't properly addressed the overt act of aggression on you two. Maybe it's time for retribution."

"Yeah, I'm thinking so. If Campbell isn't with McGuire, it'll remind him of the hierarchy of power. If he is, it'll knock him down a peg."

In our line of work, payback is a fact of life…an inescapable facet of the business.

"I'm headed to the clubhouse now. I'll have Gallagher take a dozen boys out to remind Campbell of a few things and take Kieran and another group with me to set up protection at the docks."

"Sounds good."

"Can you send the twins over to stay with Piper?"

"Sure. How's she feeling?"

Better and better. "She's healing and getting stronger."

"I'm sorry having her on our side has taken over your life, but you were the one who dragged us into this McGuire mess."

"And if I hadn't, you wouldn't have found out about the Russians and Mattie brokering guns."

"Aye, that's true. I suppose Mam was right and everything happens as it's meant."

If that's true, I wonder what he'd think of me sleeping with the girl? He'd fucking hate it and pound the shit out of me. No question.

"All right. When the twins arrive, I'll head out."

"Good enough. I'll send them now and see you in a few hours."

The call ends and I frown at the closed bedroom door. Let's hope Piper has a good poker face and can keep our fucking around a secret. Otherwise, she won't be the only one sporting a shiner and bruised ribs.