27. Kieran

Chapter 27

Kieran

I wrench open Talia’s front door and glare at Gabe. As much as I like the guy, right now I want to choke the life out of him.

“You have the worst fucking timing.”

He grimaces. “Sorry, boss. Sven insisted.”

Seconds—fucking seconds after my knees hit the carpet, my phone started blaring with the distinctive alarm only a code from my security team can trigger.

“This had better be good.”

Talia steps up beside me. My arm curves around her waist, drawing her close. Her hand settles on my lower back. For a second, her nails press into my skin.

“Give him a break,” she murmurs. Her touch is grounding, but it’s the low command in her voice that makes my anger bleed away—and my cock swell.

She thinks that tone doesn’t affect me; I can’t wait to show her how wrong she is. The first few times I heard it, it made my bones vibrate with annoyance because it rattled the paradigm of who I knew myself to be. Now it makes me vibrate in a different way. With desperation and lust. I want to be back on my knees. I want to worship at her feet.

I may never be able to be her ‘good boy,’ but I’ll be everything else—her pet, her slut, her fucking slave. Anything and everything she wants.

Her nails dig into my back again, making me jolt. I realize I’m breathing hard and sporting a massive tent in my jeans.

Gabe looks positively giddy. I’m never going to hear the end of this.

“Everything okay?” asks Talia in a normal tone. And thank fuck for that because if I ever hear her talk to another man with that voice again I’m going to?—

“Relax,” she whispers.

I take a breath, hold it, and release it slowly.

Gabe shifts on his feet, looking between us like he isn’t sure who he works for anymore. It almost makes me smile.

“What is it?” I ask.

He focuses on me. “Sven and Dylan are wrapping up the onboarding of the new, uh, team members… “ His gaze flickers to Talia.

“It’s all right,” I interrupt. “I told her.”

He smiles. “That makes things easier.” He looks at Talia. “Two of them will be assigned to you, so it would be ideal if you could meet them today or tomorrow.”

“I want three watching her, Gabe. ”

He has the sense to put away his dimples before he meets my stare. “There will be. I’m taking point.” He pauses a beat. “If you’re okay with that.”

Am I? Do I want this twenty-something, muscled, dimpled kid shadowing Talia day and night? Going with her to all the places I can’t? Errands and her office and fucking Crossroads every Saturday?

Talia leans close, her mouth grazing my ear. “It’s Gabe,” she whispers, so softly it’s barely more than a breath.

A fraction of my sanity returns. She’s right—this is Gabe . He was Sven’s star pupil at the training academy I poached him from. He’s close to his black belt in Judo, juggles knives for fun, and can incapacitate a man in four seconds. Most importantly, he doesn’t look at Talia like he’s attracted to her. If anything, he gives off little brother vibes. He’s also a thousand times more preferable than three total strangers.

Feeling me relax, Talia kisses my neck and drops down from her tiptoes.

I meet Gabe’s calm gaze. “Thank you for taking point on her protection.”

He nods soberly. “Absolutely. I’m sure the new guys are good, but the three of us thought you’d appreciate the shift of personnel.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Talia says lightly. “Give me five and I’ll be ready to come with you.”

I catch her hand as she turns to leave. “Pack a bag?”

She smiles, showing me that perfect eyetooth. “Okay. For the night or the weekend? ”

For the rest of forever.

“Weekend,” I manage to say.

She nods and glides away. When she turns a corner, I drag my gaze back to Gabe.

“I’m probably never going to forgive you for interrupting what was about to happen.”

He blows out a breath, coasting a hand over his hair. “Frankly, Kier, I don’t blame you.”

“No one comes in the house tonight.” I pause. “Audio off, too.”

His lips twitch. “You got it. I’ll brief the new kids.”

As nightfall pushes a sunset of fiery orange and magenta into the Pacific, I step onto the back deck and approach Talia.

“Everyone’s gone.”

She looks over her shoulder with a wry smile. “They’re never really gone, though, are they?”

She tips her head to the right. Following her gaze, I squint into the shadows past the deck and see two shadowed figures walking down the property line.

I grimace, my gut sinking. “Once we’re inside and the alarm is on, they won’t come in unless there’s an emergency. But, ehm, you should know there’s video and audio surveillance in the house. Not the bathrooms, obviously, and I’ve already turned it off in my bedroom. I’m sorry. I know it’s a lot.”

My skin prickles with apprehension, dark thoughts intruding. What if she changes her mind? Decides it’s too much?

Talia closes the distance between us with purposeful steps. She flattens herself to my chest, her arms snaking around my middle and tightening. Gratitude and relief almost take me to my knees. I palm her head, sinking my fingers into her soft, unbound hair. God, she feels perfect.

“It’s okay,” she says. “You’re worth it. Your safety means as much to me as mine does to you.”

The sunset shifts from the sky to my chest, filling me with streaks of flame. My mouth opens, the words I want to tell her rising fast. I know who you are, Birdie. I’ve spent my life waiting for you. I love you. You belong with me.

Something holds me back. Fear, maybe. Or I’m just a manipulative asshole who wants her to be the one to confess. To abolish the last barrier between us.

I clear my throat. “Care for a swim?”

She laughs and draws back. “I’m not into exhibitionism.”

I smirk. “I can turn off the lights in the jacuzzi.”

“Can you plug their ears, too? Because if you haven’t noticed, I’m loud.” Her head cocks. “So are you, actually.”

I’m suddenly grateful for the deepening shadows and the fact my back is to the lights from the house, because I’m blushing like a virgin boy. She still sees it—or senses it. Her grin is wicked and causes a chain reaction in my body .

“It’s your fault,” I mutter, my hands roaming down her back to her ass. I pull her against me, thrusting lazily into her stomach. “Did you get enough to eat?”

“Mmhm.” Her breath skates over my neck, my ear. “It was nice of your chef to come feed everyone tonight. How do you feel about the new guys Sven hired?”

“They seem competent. You ready to talk about what happened when I showed up today?”

She stiffens slightly. When she tries to draw away, I hold her tighter. “Kieran,” she huffs in annoyance. “I don’t want to talk about my family.”

I already know far more than she thinks—more of what she said that night in the graveyard has come back to me. Almost like my psyche preserved the details knowing I’d want the memories back someday. I remember why she was there in the first place. Her abusive older sister, Olivia.

“How much money have they guilted you into giving them over the years?” I murmur.

She stiffens more, fingers clenching on my back. Finally, she relaxes with a sigh. “A lot.” She shakes her head shortly, frustration and stubborn sadness in each twist of her neck. “I told my mom the house was too big for her. That property taxes would keep going up. She didn’t listen. She asked for help with the down payment. It was stupid of me to say yes. I’m sure Olivia was in her ear, too, angling for a cut like she always does. Who knows if all the money even went to the down payment. ”

“It wasn’t stupid, Talia, just human. Your sister is a bitch, by the way. She probably needs therapy.”

She laughs shortly. “That she does.”

I stroke her back. Hold her tighter so she knows how grateful I am for her honesty. “What about your father? Do you talk to him?”

“Not really,” she says mutedly. “He’s actually not a bad person. We’re just very different. When I had some issues as a teen, he got me into therapy, but when I turned eighteen and visitation and child support weren’t mandatory anymore, we drifted apart. He was remarried by then. I usually hear from him around the holidays and my birthday.”

I want to know what issues she had as a teenager but refrain from asking. She’ll tell me eventually, and I’m playing the longest game—the one that lasts a lifetime.

Almost as an afterthought, she adds, “I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t hear from my dad again, though.”

I frown. “Why?”

“He’s become very religious over the years.” She clears her throat but doesn’t say more. She doesn’t need to.

It breaks my heart, thinking of the young girl I met who felt so alone in her own family—and the woman in my arms who, despite the intelligence of a rocket scientist, hasn’t managed to completely give up hope that someday they’ll accept her.

“They don’t deserve you,” I tell her, my voice gruff with the effort of holding back more.

She drags her forehead over my chest, then looks up. For a second, I think she’s going to tell me—what, I’m not exactly sure. But something big. Then she swallows, her gaze dropping to my mouth. My cock jumps. A Pavlovian response to seeing her throat move that I doubt I’ll ever be cured of.

“Anything else you want to know?” she asks wryly.

“Yes. Every-damn-thing about you.”

Her nails drag down my spine, eyes a beautiful prism of vulnerability and darkness. “Are you sure about that?”

It’s the voice .

I clear my suddenly parched throat. “Yes.”

Her pupils expand. “Okay. Let’s go inside and talk.”

“Talk?” I bark.

An eyebrow arches. “You’ve never been topped before, have you?”

I shake my head.

“Then yes, Kieran, we’re going to talk first,” she says in that damn voice that makes my brain short-circuit. “I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to give me honest answers.”

I take a short breath. My heart races and Jesus Christ my palms are damp.

“I trust you to?—”

She presses fingers to my mouth. “This is nonnegotiable. I need to know your limits—what you’re open to exploring and what you don’t want.” Her lips curve. “Speaking as someone who was recently dominated for the first time, there could also be some mental challenges I want to prepare you for.”

“Did you have them?” I ask, afraid of the answer but needing it, too.

Her voice softens. “Yes, but you kept me present and above all, you made me feel safe and cared for. I don’t regret a single second of anything we’ve done.” She hesitates, lashes shadowing her eyes. “I need you to know I don’t expect this from you. I don’t want you to do this because you feel like you have to.”

“I know, mo ghrá,” I murmur, “but have you forgotten what happened earlier today?”

A flush rises from her neck to her cheeks. “I haven’t,” she whispers, “but it does feel like I might have dreamed it.”

“Not a dream. I want this—you. All of you. And I…” My throat closes.

Her fingers stroke my jaw, sending pulses of warmth into my chest. “You what?”

“I want to let go,” I say, my voice rough with emotion. “For you. For me, too. If that makes sense.”

Her eyes glisten. “Yes, it does.”

I blow out a breath, relaxing a little. “Let’s talk, then. You’re the boss.” I wince. “Actually, what, uh… what am I supposed to call you?”

A beautiful smile blooms on her face right before she presses her lips to mine. “Just Talia,” she whispers into our kiss. “Your Talia.”