Page 29 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Shane

T he next morning, I wait in the lobby of The Sterling for Lennox. My thumb brushes the edge of the patch stuck to my arm. It tingles my skin underneath. The antihistamine is strong, too strong for daily use, but I need to get ahead of this. It’s a minor sacrifice compared to what I’ll gain.

I’m willing to make this sacrifice for Lennox. But there’s a wall when it comes to completely disarming myself. I just don’t think I have it in me to love...not even her.

Lennox steps into the lobby and the sight of her has me questioning everything. Can I get past that I was forced to take her? She’s a Donnelly, a wife to further Quinlan Empire’s power. Does it make me weak if I fall for her?

Everything in my life is meticulously planned.

I have to stay in control. Griffin fell in love with Ava.

Connor’s love is to hurt our enemies. Then there’s Ewan, who believed for years he couldn’t even have kids and now he’s got three!

Even if he did put us at risk to take Darcy as his wife.

And Trace, who took a bullet to save Shea’s life.

For all I know, Lennox will marry me and focus on her club. That pinches my heart, but I have to let all this play out naturally.

“Hi,” Lennox greets me wearing a peach-colored sweater dress that flows just past her knees. She’s got on brown suede boots that I want resting on my shoulders while I fuck her.

She’s utterly perfect. Her shiny brown hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, leaving her face unguarded. The contours of her cheekbones and her smile take my breath away.

“Morning,” I say and kiss her lips. I pull away and let my eyes linger on her for a moment longer than necessary.

Her gaze drops to my arm and the rolled-up sleeves. “What’s that?”

“A patch,” I explain, moving my coat to drape over the other arm. “For the allergies.”

Her eyebrows furrow in concern. “Shane, you don’t have to—”

“I do,” I cut her off gently. “You’ll be moving in with me on the night of the wedding. You and your cat.”

Her lips part slightly, her cheeks flushing. As I help her put her coat on, I inhale her scent of white orchids.

On the street, I open the Corvette’s passenger door for her. The drive home to Astoria is quiet but not uncomfortable. I feel Lennox watching me, stealing glances when she thinks I don’t notice.

“This feels...right,” I admit, breaking the silence as the iron gates of the old manor house come into view.

“How so?” she asks, her voice cautious.

“Bringing you here as my fiancée,” I say simply, my hand tightening around hers. “It should’ve been you all along.”

She presses a fist to her mouth. I smile at the ring I picked out and love seeing it on her hand.

My mother greets us warmly with a wide smile. She wasn’t the least bit shocked when I told her about the bride swap. In fact, she sounded relieved. Ma pulls Lennox into a hug before she even has time to react.

“This is so wonderful,” Ma says, her voice light and kind.

Lennox blushes, clearly taken aback, but she hugs my mother. “It’s a surprise for sure, Mrs. Quinlan.”

“I told you, dear, you can call me Norah,” my mother says, her smile widening .

I watch Lennox’s face soften, and it occurs to me that she’s probably missing her mother more than she’ll admit.

We eat lunch in the kitchen, a change from the formal dining room from last time.

My mother made shepherd’s pie, one of my favorites.

With Lennox here as my bride, and not a stand-in for Neve, the atmosphere feels warmer, more intimate.

Lennox laughs easily at my mother’s stories, and for a moment, I can’t believe I put up with Neve’s indifference for so long when it was clear Lennox belonged here the whole time.

After we eat, Caroline clears the plates, but Lennox insists on helping my mother’s house manager clean up.

“I’ll be upstairs.” Ma disappears into the hallway that leads to the staircase.

In the kitchen, I press a kiss to the back of Lennox’s neck, loving how she shivers. “I have a surprise for you.”

Lennox thinks she’s just here for a meal, to show her face as my official fiancée. But I’m here for the ritual my brothers went through presenting Ma with their wives.

Selfishly, I turned down Ma’s offer when it was Neve. I abdicated what was rightfully mine to give a wife because I never felt any connection to Neve.

“A surprise engagement party wasn’t enough?” Lennox jokes, throwing her arms around me.

“That was just the start.” I lead Lennox to the grand staircase.

Her eyes go wide, knowing only a select few have been invited to the upper levels of Quinlan Manor. Divided into wings, each of my brothers lived in their corners of my father’s symbol of power.

As we climb the steps, I watch Lennox’s ass move in that dress, and I grow hard. I promised I’d wait until the wedding night. With just under a week to go, that’s getting more and more difficult.

“I’m in here, kids,” Ma calls out from the small sitting room just outside her and Da’s bedroom.

It will always feel like their bedroom. They never had separate beds.

The moment I step inside, the weight of my father’s absence chokes me up. Lennox holds my hand, seeming to know what I’m going through.

At a table in the corner, Ma stands over a large open jewelry box. On a delicate piece of lace I recognize from my grandmother’s collection, a beautiful display of jewelry is laid out.

“These are for you, dear,” my mother says, gesturing to all the pieces.

It’s even more than I expected.

“What is?” Lennox’s shocked eyes look over a bounty of beautiful traditional jewelry including gold and emerald bracelets, sapphire earrings, a diamond necklace, and a gold braided chain with a Celtic-shaped emerald pendant.

“All of them. These are yours,” my mother says proudly. “Each of my daughters is entitled to the Quinlan jewels.”

“This is too much,” Lennox protests. “I’m not...”

My mother shifts with concern. “I assure you, you are entitled. I set aside pieces for each of my sons’ wives. Darcy got hers years ago. Griffin’s wife, Ava, received hers when they were married. Now it’s your turn.”

Lennox hesitates but lets me hold the emerald pendant around her neck so she can see how it looks on her.

“I think you should wear this one on our wedding day,” I whisper. “It looks stunning on you.”

Her fingers brush over it with a slight tremor. “It’s so beautiful, I’d love to.”

“I’ll have everything wrapped up and boxed properly.” Ma’s eyes stay on me .

“Have one of the guards bring the pendant and matching earrings to The Sterling, Ma.” I turn to Lennox. “The rest will be waiting for you at the house. Our house.”

Ma steps back, smiling. “I’ll make some coffee.”

With just Lennox and I alone in front of all the jewels, she stares, confused.

Blushing and holding her chest, Lennox turns a worried frown to me. “People will call me a gold digger.”

“Who would call you a gold digger? Not someone who likes their teeth.”

“You can’t keep beating people up for me, Shane.” She stares, jaw dropped.

“ Watch me.”

She’s silent, looking at the jewelry, shaking her head like she can’t accept what’s happening.

“What is it, baby?” I ask, kissing the soft skin behind her ear. “What have I not made clear to you?”

“These were supposed to be Neve’s,” Lennox whispers.

“No,” I say sharply. “I told Ma I wasn’t going to hand over family heirlooms to someone who made it clear every day that she did not want to marry me. Did not want to be part of my family. Did not honor taking the name Quinlan.”

Lennox swallows. “And you know that I...”

“That you want this? That you want me?” I growl. “Yes, I do know.”

“I do. It just doesn’t seem real, Shane.”

“It’s real.” I hold her hand against my chest. “Don’t you feel how my heart pounds for you?”

She nods in my arms. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“It’s happening, baby.”

“Coffee,” Ma announces with an edge to her voice. Like she saw how I gazed at my fiancée with that feral look of a man ready to consummate his marriage early.

“Come on.” I steer Lennox downstairs.

In Ma’s parlor, a silver tray with a coffee pot and cookies sits on the cocktail table. She pats the sofa to show Lennox her photo albums. My baby photos in particular. I knew this was coming, too. Griffin warned me that Ava got an eyeful of him in the bathtub showing off his wee dick.

I’m pretty sure the photos of Sabine and me are tame. We were the last of six kids. We’re lucky we even got an album. There are at least ten of Ewan and twelve of Norah.

Ma flips through pages of faded pictures, stopping at one of me as a scrunched-up infant wrapped in a blanket.

“Shane was a surprise, you know,” Ma says with a fond smile, telling one of her favorite stories. “After Siobhan was born, I waited for the pain to stop. But then the nurses started going crazy in the delivery room. There was another wee one inside!”

Lennox laughs softly, glancing between the photos and me. “That’s why you’re the youngest? You came out second?”

I rub the back of my neck, feeling heat rise to my face. “Sabine came out first because I pushed her out. She was taking up too much damn room.”

Lennox bursts into laughter, her head falling back. I can’t help but grin.

“They were wonderful infants and inseparable toddlers.” Ma turns page after page of Sabine and me in the crib, in the playpen. Ewan holding Sabine. Norah holding me.

“You look loved,” Lennox says then asks to use the bathroom. Knowing where it is, she freely moves into the hallway.

I turn to my mother. “Are you really okay with this?”

Ma places her warm hand over mine, her expression serious.

“I’m thrilled. I see the way you look at her, Shane.

It’s more than I could have hoped for. But.

..” She hesitates. “I don’t trust her father.

Or her brother. I worry if they betray you, you’ll turn that poor girl out on the street. I know your temper.”

“Never, Ma. What Garrett has to bargain with is a game-changer for us to keep control. But I’d rather have Lennox. Plus, I know how to get that information from Garrett. He’ll hold up his end of the deal, or he’ll regret it.”

Ma shudders, remembering we are still ruthless gangsters. But there’s a hint of pride.

Lennox comes back smiling, and we finish our coffee. She says goodbye to my mother, who hugs her with such sincerity. Nothing has ever felt more right.

On the drive back to the hotel, Lennox is quiet again, lost in thought. When we arrive, I walk her up to the villa. There’s nothing I want more than to go inside and throw her down on the bed. Take her and claim her. But I want our wedding night to be special.

At the door, I kiss her on the forehead and grip her arm with quiet dominance.

“Lennox,” I say, my voice low. “The morning of the wedding, I want you packed and ready. You’re moving in with me that day. And be prepared for a very real wedding night.”

She shudders, her cheeks turning pink. “Did you plan to do all this with Neve? The real wedding night?”

My jaw tightens. “I would’ve done what was necessary.”

“Oh,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

I step closer, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. “But I would have been thinking about you. Wishing it was you. Now I got my wish. And in one week, I’ll show you just how much.”

I leave her standing there stunned, as I walk away.