Page 22

22

LOCHLAN

A fter nearly being gunned down this afternoon, I tried to talk to Draco about the mess Evie has herself mixed up in, but he was onto something, tracking the person who may have leaked the shipment information. I told him we need to talk, but then I came home, where I now pour myself a third shot of Scotch and listen to the drone of international news, hoping to hear what TD Byrne is talking about when he says they’re "tossing his name around."

If Ronan has heard, he hasn't said a thing to me yet, but maybe he's doing what Draco is doing. While this affects my family, it's not a direct impact on me personally. All I can do is take orders in the situation and follow them. So I sit stewing, not getting any updates, obsessing over the face of the man I now know is called Darren Connelly. I found that by sorting through all of Draco's files at the docks while I was waiting for him.

I can't get my body to calm down. My nerves are shot—muscles tense, head pounding, hands curled into fists I can't release. Since the moment I saw him on that dock with the port inspector, I've been like this. Evie has no clue who he is, or at least, she doesn't act like it. If she knows Connelly is working with the man who is attacking the union, she's not the girl I think she is.

She's clearly not afraid to fuck a criminal—she's thrown herself at me enough times to prove that—but now that I realize the lengths she's gone to hide this relationship from me, I have to wonder if she actually does know who he is, what he’s capable of.

The thought only makes me more enraged. I grip the shot glass in my hand and launch it to the wall where it shatters. All I want to do is protect her, but if I come to her with this information, about who Connelly is and how dangerous he is to her and her family, she'll respond to me the way she did that night in the club. She'll think I'm controlling her and telling her who to associate with. She won't see it as protection or concern.

So I'm left with a hard choice—expose her to her father and watch him rain wrath on her, or try to talk sense into her and see her blow up at me. Either way, I lose any chance I have with her, and it sends her right into Elvin Murphy’s arms. Right where neither of us wants her to be.

The bell rings, and I assume it's Draco or Jasper here to update me. Or maybe it's my brother or one of his lackies. I move that direction with a thought of calling the staff to clean up my mess.

I'm looser now after a few drinks, but by no means am I wasted. I feel like this has become the norm—a few drinks bring me down a notch so I can think straight and do my job better. It's not a healthy place to be, but I have to function, and the only other thing that helps is something I feel like I'm about to lose.

When I pull the door open, I get a shock. Evie stands with her hands wringing, her lip pinched between her teeth, and I glance around, wondering who brought her or how she found out where I live.

"Evie?"

"Let me in, Loch." She steps in boldly, pushing past me. Her eyes sweep over my living room. It's dark, the way I like it, and a bit messy. I don't pick up after myself often and I don't like the staff coming in, nosing around, so I don't keep a maid service frequently. My life is transient, going wherever Ronan orders, so I eat out a lot and even stay the night other places pretty frequently. I'm not much of a homebody. No reason to sit here and stew over my past mistakes.

"What are you doing here?" I thought I'd have to be the one to hunt her down and find her, so having her waltz right into my home is surprising.

"I need to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me." Her eyes are insistent, prying into my thoughts.

So much emotion in my chest makes me feel like I'm on the verge of exploding. She's right here in front of me, safe and sound, and I want to pull her into my arms and make sure she stays that way. But I also want to lash out at her, tell her how stupid she's been sneaking around with a man she knows nothing about—or worse, a man she knows is evil. But I stand with clenched fists staring at her, not moving.

"What is my da involved in? Is he like you? Is he a criminal?" Her eyes search me again the way they did the first time she asked this question. Draco wants her to be safe. He wants his secret kept from her, but she's not stupid. "Because I saw that he's paid off some of the senators, and I've seen the trail of money… He's washing money through the union, isn't he?"

"Your father is a good man, Evie," I tell her, moving toward her when I see her eyes well up with tears. So she's stumbled upon some dirt in her da's life and it's shattering her perception of reality. Is that why she's rebelling by dating Connelly?

She doesn't allow me to hold her. She pushes me away, swipes at her eyes and scowls. "You knew?"

"Evie," I groan, raking a hand over my face. "Please trust me."

"Trust you?" she scoffs. "You're a lunatic, a criminal. You are literally the opposite of someone I could trust."

My anger is getting out of control. She doesn't realize she's pushing my buttons so hard. "I'm the one you can't trust? Do you even have any clue what you’re doing or who you're dealing with?" Connelly is dangerous and she doesn't even see that.

"You're one to talk. What have you gotten my father involved with?" Evie steps closer, fury flaring her nostrils, and all I can think about is how much it will hurt if I lose her, if I end up watching her get hurt. I can't do it. I won't do it.

I grab her and pull her against my chest, crushing my mouth against hers. She pushes me away, squirming and grunting.

"Stop it! You can't just kiss me to ignore this problem. I know who you are. I made a calculated decision getting into bed with you. Did my da have the same choice?" Her eyes are blazing, but she stops resisting me.

"Evelyn, all I want to do is serve your father and protect you. It's what I promised to do." The idea of losing her to Darren Connelly, either by force or by deception—whether physically or emotionally—doesn’t sit well with me. I refuse to sit back and watch life take someone else I care about when I have the chance to stop it this time.

"You mean control me?" Her voice cracks, emotion flooding it. She has some sort of agenda here that I'm not following, but I need answers.

"Why meet with him? His name is Darren, right? Why sneak around, Evie? I told you I don't share." Lowering my tone, I continue holding her against my body and she stops resisting.

"You wouldn't understand." Her words make me want to shake some sense into her. "And I don’t belong to you."

This time when she says the words, it isn't an argument in protest. I hear the sadness in her tone, but it's resigned, as if she's given in to her fate. Like she knows even if she fights it, she'll still end up marrying Murphy.

"All I have to do is tell your father that I'm staking my claim," I say softly as I curl some hair around her ear, and she turns her face away.

Capturing her chin, I force her to look at me and notice how upset she is. My God, I would do anything for this woman and she doesn't believe I can. My desire to protect her and keep her safe overrules my clear thinking. I kiss her again, grasping for any semblance of connection we have, and this time, she doesn't fight me.

We both know this isn't the answer, but we cling to each other as if our lives depended on it. Our tongues do a delicate dance while my cock presses into her stomach and her legs wrap around my waist. I walk us to my couch, not breaking our kiss once, as if severing physical contact would break this tenuous bond we have, and I lay her down.

Kissing her fervently, her hands trail up under my shirt to grip my back while mine make short work of unbuttoning her blouse and cupping her breasts through her bra. My lips trail a heated path down her neck, kissing and biting gently along the way. God, she tastes like an angel, something I don't deserve to be near, let alone touch.

"Loch." Her voice catches in her throat when I unsnap her jeans and yank them down her thighs. Her panties follow quickly after, and I throw myself between her legs like a man starved of water. When my tongue makes contact with her core, her hips buck and she moans my name like a prayer.

"Tell me you need this. Tell me I'm the one," I growl against her damp folds before lapping at her core with a desperate edge. I've missed this, missed her.

"Feck you," she pants, both hands fisted in my hair as I nip at her clit roughly. Her legs push me away, but her hands pull me close and I know she wants to please me. Her core writhes against my face, and I unzip my pants with one hand while I lap at her folds.

"Tell me," I growl, inserting a finger roughly, causing her to moan a muffled yes.

"What?" I tease her mercilessly, my blood pounding in my cock as I itch to be inside her. I work it free of my pants and suck her clit harder, making her jerk and jolt on the sofa.

"I need you," she pants, struggling against me as I work my dick inside her tight core. Her previous protests melt away with each deep thrust into her wet warmth, and I can't help but moan with satisfaction.

"And?" I ask again as she claws at the couch, her nails leaving marks in the upholstery.

"You're the one I want." The words leave her lips in a shaky breath as I pick up my pace, slamming into her with renewed vigor. Her legs wrap around my hips and her nails dig into my back, drawing blood.

"Say it again!" I growl, angling my hips to press deeper.

"Loch, God, I want you!" she cries out, meeting my thrusts with hungry abandon. When her muscles clench around me, her eyes roll back in her head. She whimpers and gasps, writhing, and I flood her with my release.

I pump slow, long thrusts into her and she melts into the couch, pants still dangling from one ankle. She looks at peace for a moment, and then her brow furrows, worry creeping back in. I know she wants answers about her father, but I can't give them to her, and while I want to demand that she cut off all ties to Darren Connelly, I think I have a better way to show her what he's made of and help her see the truth for herself.

I back away, pulling out, and she sits up. I help her to her feet, and she dresses quickly. Her hair is frazzled, eyes puffy from crying, and she presses a kiss to my cheek.

"I have to go, Loch. Da will worry. He doesn’t know I left." I catch her hand as she starts to walk off, and she stops and looks up at me.

"Be careful, Evie girl… This world's not safe." My warning can only go as far as she takes it.

Her pained expression tells me she feels torn, though I'm not sure if it's over whether she should heed my warnings or if it's heartbreak.

When she leaves, and I'm left tucking my dick back into my pants, I make a new plan. I'm not going to tell Draco a thing. I'm going to find Connelly and follow him and when I get a chance, I'm going to kill him.

Then I'm going to stake my claim. Elvin Murphy can find a different woman. Evie is mine.