Page 94 of Arranged Addiction

“That’s pretty good.”

“You need more?”

“I wouldn’t turn you down.”

I kiss her pussy again. This time, I slip my tongue inside, lapping back out to lick and suck her clit. Her groans turn low and insistent and I don’t stop. There’s nothing else to say. Casey’s perfection in a way I’ve never experienced before. She’s clean and she’s right. I go faster, licking and sucking her, and slowly slide two fingers deep into her pussy. To hell with the family and to hell with funerals. I’m tired of it all, except for my wife.

“Oh, god, Declan,” she says, arching her back and grinding into me. “Don’t stop.”

When she breaks, it’s like coming up for air after weeks holding my breath. It’s everything and more. I feel myself calming strangely, even though I have a thousand reasons to stress. She gives me a glassy smile and pulls me into an intense kiss, and when she curls up against me after tugging on her clothes again, I know I made the right choice.

I’d burn it all to the ground to marry her a thousand times over.

“You can’t just use me and ignore your problems, you know,” she whispers as the town car gets closer to the house.

“Probably not, but you’re much more fun.”

“What are you going to do about Donnell?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Not right now. Just be here. That’s all I need.”

She kisses my neck gently. “Whatever you want.”

Chapter 32

Casey

The vibe at the Whelan house is very bad after the funeral.

Declan meets with his mother and his brothers about what happened with Donnell. I’m allowed to sit in on the meeting when Declan insists, but I get the feeling the siblings would prefer I wasn’t there. It isn’t like they have anything against me personally, but more that I can tell it’s unusual for a spouse to be a part of these discussions.

Nobody knows what Donnell’s going to do from here. Seamus thinks they should roll him up and break his knees. Cormac suggests outright killing him and making him an example. Finn and Siobhan are much more level-headed. Declan tends toward a more moderate response, and in the end they all decide to keep a close eye on Donnell and to wait and see.

The meetings dry up almost immediately.

I notice it over the next few days.

Before the funeral, Declan was speaking with several Whelan clan members every day. Now it feels like everyone’s forgottenabout him. We show up at the office and he’s doing actual office work instead of tending to real family problems.

He acts like it’s no big deal, but I can tell it’s a problem.

And I don’t know how to help.

I try to be there for him. At night, when he’s stressed, I happily give my body over to him. When he gets bossy, I play meek and obedient. When he’s stressed, I curl up in his lap and try to help him get through it. Mostly I’m moral support, but I wish I could do more.

During this time, Sheila moves into an empty guest suite at the far corner of the house.

“It’s really generous,” she says one night about three days after getting settled. “My place is currently one big black ash pit. I was going to have to get a hotel for God knows how long.”

“Declan’s happy to help.”

She smiles to herself. We’re sitting out back on the porch. It’s almost nine at night, and the bottle of wine is nearly empty. I take a long sip and think about poor Declan strategizing with his brothers again. All their talk and stress, and it doesn’t seem like anything really matters. Donnell is riling up some of the smaller members against them, but so far, he hasn’t made an outright move.

It’s nice having her around, though. She’s my connection back to my old life before all this crime syndicate insanity, even though she was a part of that world from the very start.