Page 21

21

ELLIE

The blood still staining my fingertips is going to be there forever, even with the copious amount of scrubbing with a bristle brush I’ve done.

I take a moment on the front porch, trying to ready myself for whatever mood Sean is going to be in when I walk through that door.

He said that he was going to head home and start tracking down Noah while I stitched up Rebecca, but I think it was really due to the fact that he could barely look at me covered in his sister’s blood.

“Sean?” I shove open the door and shut it behind me with a heavy thud, toeing off my shoes before making my way to the kitchen.

I grab the lemon-scented soap from beside the sink, pouring an obscene amount into my hands. As the scalding water cascades onto my skin, I try to do my best to get rid of the rest of the blood.

The last thing he needs to see after Rebecca got shot this evening is her blood.

“Sean?” I dry off my hands and head for the stairs.

Maybe he’s already gone to bed for the night.

Although, I doubt that. It’s only a little after midnight and he’s a night owl. Most nights, I’m asleep before him, though he sits in bed beside me as I fall asleep, reading his book.

It’s almost like we’re a real married couple.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I make my way upstairs and down the hall to his—our—room.

“Sean?” I knock on the door, listening for the sound of breathing on the other side, or some acknowledgement, but none comes.

After knocking again, I twist the knob and push open the door, prepared for anything that I could be faced with on the other side.

Except, when I open the door and flick on the warm-toned lights, Sean isn’t here.

My heart leaps into my chest as I head out of our room and go to the one I used to sleep in, pushing open the door.

Please don’t let him be in here like I was.

A viselike grip wraps around my lungs, squeezing the air from them as I force myself to step inside the room I haven’t been in for days.

It’s been put back to normal, the blood gone, and the broken glass swept up, but it still feels like I’m in the middle of the floor with fresh initials carved into my back.

My breath catches in my throat as I cross over to the bathroom, but he isn’t in there either.

I hurry down the stairs and to his office, thinking that if he isn’t in either bedroom, he has to be there. He did say that he was going to try to track down Noah. It would make sense for him to be in there.

However, when I get to the room, it’s empty just like the others.

I spin around as the front door slams, sending a jolt straight through my body as hope flutters in my chest.

Dominic looks at me when I rush into the hall, deep circles beneath his eyes and hollow cheeks. “What are you doing?”

“Where is Sean?” I ask, voice climbing high as I spin and head for the garage to see if he came home at any point. “I thought he was with you. I thought the two of you were supposed to be tracking down Noah?”

The line of vintage cars is still sitting there, the Chevelle missing from the end of the line.

Dominic follows me into the garage. “What do you mean? He called me and told me that he was going to be with you after Rebecca’s shooting.”

“He left me at Malcolm’s house nearly three hours ago. He told me that he was going to track down Noah, so I got Kara to bring me back here when I was done. I just got here but it doesn’t look like he’s been here all night.”

“Alright, well, just take a breather for a minute, Ellie. I’m sure that everything is fine with him, and he just went for a drink or something. He should come home soon.”

My hands clench into fists, nails biting into my palms as I resist the urge to throttle him until his face turns the color of a bruised blueberry.

“You really want to tell me to take a fucking breather when my husband is missing? The same man who keeps to a rigid schedule because he doesn’t function without one. The man who just watched his sister get shot. Who watched Noah wave to him right after the shooting, basically admitting fault?”

Dominic swallows hard. “Yes.”

“Screw you.”

I storm out of the garage and through the house, heading for one of the cupboards Sean keeps guns in while I pull my phone from my pocket. As I open the gun safe, the phone rings and rings.

The ringing doesn’t stop until the phone sends me through to the generic voicemail message.

Ending the call, I grab a pistol and check the magazine and safety before tucking it into the back of my waistband.

Dominic’s hand closes over mine as I shut the safe. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ellie?”

“I’m going to go out there and find my husband.” I glare at him, wondering if he is stupid or if he knows where Sean is and is now making my life more difficult on purpose.

Wherever Sean is, he could be in a ditch somewhere.

Noah could have taken him and killed him, or he could be holding his hostage.

Maybe he’s standing over Noah’s body right now, robbing me of the chance to kill the bastard who had his initials carved into my back.

I swat Dominic’s hand away. “If you’re going to stand in my way, I will shoot you. I don’t give a flying fuck who you are to Sean.”

“And who do you think you are?” he asks, his tone sharp as he crosses his arms and looks down at me. “You don’t give a shit about Sean. This marriage was for an alliance, but you’re going to stand here and act like you care about your husband?”

“I do care about him.”

The words burn, but they’re true. Even though he infuriates me at times, I do care for him. More than I ever thought I could.

And now that he’s missing and I don’t have a clue where he is, I’m willing to do whatever I have to and hurt whoever I need to.

Dominic included.

He swallows hard, looking torn between giving in and fighting with me. “I don’t think it’s a good idea that you go after him when you’re worked up like this.”

“You know what never calms down an angry woman?” I step closer to him, pulling out the gun and holding it just below his jaw. “Telling her to calm down after making it seem like you’re not going to tell her where the hell her husband is.”

“He wants to be alone right now.”

I flick the safety off the gun, pressing it harder to the fleshy underside of his jaw. “Don’t make the mistake in thinking that I’m not every bit as vicious as the rest of my family when the need arises.”

Dominic scowls down at me. “He’s at Gascan Pub, but it’d be a mistake for you to charge in there like this.”

“I don’t give a damn.”

Sean is sitting in the corner of the bar at a black table, the amber drink sitting in front of him as he stares at it.

I make my way across the bar, dodging the people who try to get in the way. I don’t have time to deal with Sean’s men now, or their old ladies.

As I slide onto the stool beside him, he closes his eyes and sighs. “What the hell are you doing here, Ellie? You were supposed to go home with Kara after taking care of Rebecca.”

“And I did.” I take the drink from him, but it’s warm. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been sitting here untouched in front of him the entire time he’s been in the bar. “And when I got there, I found out that you weren’t there, even though you told me that you were going to be, so now I’m here.”

He scowls, pressing his fingers to his temples. “Go home.”

“No.” I take the drink and throw it back, needing it after I spent the better part of an evening pulling a bullet out of Rebecca and stitching her closed.

“I’m serious. I don’t have time to deal with this right now. I’m not in the mood to either.”

Though I know that I should obey him—especially with a large group of his men filling the bar—I can’t bring myself to give a shit. Leaving him alone tonight isn’t an option. Not when he almost lost his sister.

Our marriage might not be the best, but I vowed to be by him for better or worse, and that’s what I’m going to do.

Whether he likes it or not.

Sean slumps back in his chair, tilting his head back and looking at the neon lights on the other side of the bar. “This isn’t up for discussion.”

“You’re right. It’s not up for discussion. I’m either going to sit here with you until you feel like going home or until you pass out from drinking.”

“I haven’t been drinking.” He gives me a dark glare. “Get the hell out of here, Ellie.”

“Make me.” I glare back at him, waiting for him to decide what to do.

I can feel the stares of the other people in the bar burning into my back, but I don’t care. They can look all they want, and if the rumors spread in the morning that Sean is controlled by his wife, then we’ll deal with that when it comes.

But I won’t be leaving him alone.

Sean slams his hand down on the table, the glass tilting to the side before settling back down. “I told you to get out of here and go home. I expect you to do as I say instead of challenging me all the fucking time.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” I cross one leg over the other, glancing at the waitress as she starts to approach us with a sultry smile on her lips, her eyes glued to my husband.

Before she can get any closer, I slide off my stool and step between his legs, looking up at him.

He looks down at me, and when he does, my heart crashes through my chest.

All I want to do is take away the pain I see in his eyes and make him feel better, but I don’t know how to do that right now.

Sean grips my chin between his thumb and his forefinger. “Jealous, Ellie?”

“I have nothing to be jealous about.” I run my hands up his chest, linking them together behind his neck. “You’re going to come home with me.”

His face hardens, hand dropping from my chin. “Go home, Ellie. I’ll come home eventually, but I’m not doing it right now.”

I take his hand, towing him off the stool and heading for the door, even as his heavy sigh follows me. “You’re coming home, Sean. Sitting here and being pissed off isn’t going to help you.”

He scowls but follows me and gets into the car, leaning back in his seat. His arms are crossed over his chest, his frown set deeper than ever as I send a message to Kara to bring someone with her to get the other car before I take off.

Sean doesn’t say a word as I drive through the city and back out to the house, weaving through traffic as the tension in the car grows thicker.

By the time I park the car in the garage, he’s fuming, and his hands are in tight fists. Sean storms his way into the house, and I jog to keep up with him, taking the stairs two at a time as he heads to our room.

Though he doesn’t slam the door shut in my face, I’m sure he wants to. If I was in his position, I would want to.

Sean sheds his clothing down to his boxers, flopping onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what you want from me right now, Ellie.”

I head into the closet and get changed into one of his shirts.

When I come back out, his gaze rakes up and down my bare legs, desire flashing in his eyes at the way the thin material clings to my body.

I sit on the other side of the bed, leaning back against the headboard. “I want to know that you’re home safe instead of trying to hunt down Noah on your own.”

He rolls his eyes. “I should be out there looking for that bastard right now.”

“Stay with me.”

“And think about everything going on in my head? About how I can’t keep you or Rebecca safe? No thanks.”

“You need a distraction.” I move to straddle him, smirking when his hands move up my thighs of their own accord.

The corner of his mouth tips upward. “And you plan to be that distraction, do you?”

“If that’s what you want.”

He studies me for a moment before lifting his hips and sliding off his boxers.

When his hard cock brushes against my pussy, arousal drips down my thighs. I roll my hips, grinding into him hard as waves of pleasure roll over me.

Sean sinks one hand into my hair, pulling me to him.

When his mouth closes over mine, lips slanting together and tongues tangling, stars dance across my vision. I moan into the kiss, loving the taste of smoke and mint mixing together.

His low groan as the tip of his cock slides inside me has my inner walls aching. I need him, but this isn’t about me tonight.

This is about getting him out of his head for as long as possible.

Before he can grab my hips and drag me down onto his cock, I take my time kissing down his body.

His hands thread into my hair as I trace the lines of his abs with my tongue.

“You’re being a tease, Ellie, and I don’t have much patience for teases tonight.”

I slide my tongue from the base of his cock to the tip, running it over the throbbing vein before sucking the drop of moisture from his tip.

When he pulls on my hair, I whimper, letting him slide his cock past my lips until he’s hitting the back of my throat.

He groans as I hollow my cheeks and take him deeper, hand wrapping around the base to work in time with my mouth.

With each pass close to the tip, I flick my tongue along the seam, moaning at the taste of him on my tongue.

He rocks his hips in time with my sucking before he pulls out and flips us over. “I’m tired of playing. I need to be inside your soaked little pussy right now.”

Rough fingers press against my clit, swirling it as he hikes my shirt up my torso with his other hand. He pulls it tight over my breasts, keeping me in place as his cock drives into me.

“Yes.” I arch off the bed, rolling my hips in time with his thrusts as I grab the sheets.

He drops the shirt to hike one of my legs over his shoulder as he leans forward, pressing into me deeper.

The throbbing of his cock only makes my pussy clamp down tighter around him.

“Fuck, you’re soaked.” His fingers sink hard into my thigh, and I’m sure that there are going to be marks on my skin in the morning.

The thought only turns me on more. “Please make me come.”

He slams into me harder and faster, pressing me into the mattress as his cock stiffens.

I come with another deep thrust, clawing at the sheets as I dig my heel into his back, pressing him closer.

Sean’s thrusts slow as he comes, filling me with his release until my pussy stops shuddering around him.

He pulls out and falls to the bed beside me.

Within a couple minutes, his soft snores are filling the room, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks.

I lie in the bed beside him for a couple minutes, waiting until his breathing evens out.

The moment it does, I get out of bed and head for the door, knowing that there isn’t any world in which I’m going to be able to sleep tonight.

Not when I still think that Sean might sneak out to hunt down Noah once I fall asleep.

“Stay.”

I turn around, my gaze locking with his as my hand lands on the doorknob. “I’m not going to be far. I was just going to go for a bath and then maybe to the library to read.”

He tosses the blankets to the side, crawling beneath them and holding them open for me. “I’m not going anywhere tonight. Just get in the bed.”

Though I know that I should go downstairs and keep the line drawn between us, the thought of sleeping in Sean’s arms and avoiding the nightmares for another night is too good to pass up.

I cross the room with large steps, sliding into the bed beside him. With a sigh, he loops his arm over my waist, pulling me back into him.

He presses a kiss to the back of my neck. “Stay with me, Ellie.”

And though I don’t know if he means for tonight, or for the rest of our lives, I nod and nestle back into his embrace.

I can enjoy being his for a little while longer… Even if this is all going to come crashing down around us, I can enjoy being his for a little while longer.