Page 134 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

NOLAN

W e get up to leave, and Kiera reaches for her purse. Caleb shakes his head immediately, a mutinous look on his face. “You’re not paying,” he says. “Nolan is. It’s the least he can do after making us eat spinach and broccoli.”

I roll my eyes—Caleb likes spinach just fine—but grab my wallet and turn toward the counter. “Seems reasonable.”

“No,” Kiera protests. There’s a strained edge in her voice, one that gives me pause. “I invited you. I picked the place. I should pay for dinner.”

She works as a bartender. Her car doesn’t look like it’ll survive another year.

Her clothing is practical and serviceable.

She doesn’t wear jewelry. In the meanwhile, I own a condo overlooking Central Park that lies vacant fifty weeks a year.

I hire people to manage my money for me.

Last year, thanks to a competent fund manager and a red-hot NASDAQ, my portfolio appreciated thirty million dollars.

It’s not anything I earned. I started out with wealth, and through the magic of the stock market, it multiplied.

I didn’t work for it, not the way Kiera does for her paycheck.

I really don’t want Kiera to pay for our pizza. I want to spoil her senseless. I want to buy her everything her heart desires—fast cars, pretty baubles, everything.

I give her a searching look. “Really?”

Her shoulders straighten. She lifts her chin in the air.

“I thought Bianca was dead; you discovered she was alive. I thought she didn’t want to see me; you figured out the truth.

You’ve spent so much of your time, your energy, and your money on this, and what do you get in return?

Nothing.” She lifts her shoulders in a helpless shrug.

“There’s nothing I can do to repay the debt I owe you. Please let me pay for dinner.”

Is she nuts? The past few weeks have been the best weeks of my life. I take her hands in mine. “There is no debt.”

“I know you’re rich and money doesn’t matter…”

I cut her off. “There’s no debt,” I repeat. “I don’t keep score with the people I love.”

The second I say those words, the truth of them resonate in me. I came here to find Martinez. I found Kiera instead. Sometimes, the universe kicks your balls, and sometimes, when you least expect it, it gives you a gift.

I love Kiera.

She’s been taking care of herself since she was a child. Her mother was an addict. They were poor. Nothing’s come easy for her. Everything’s been a struggle. Everything she has is hard-fought.

I love her independence.

When she’s alone, Kiera will grieve about what happened to her sister. Whether the emotions are logical or not, guilt over her inability to shelter Bianca will lacerate her.

I love her empathy.

But she’s too much of a survivor to let it tear her apart. Kiera won’t crumble into pieces. She’ll hold it together and she’ll march forward, because that’s what she’s had to do her entire life.

I love her strength.

I haven’t known her for very long. A few weeks, really. But sometimes, you don’t need weeks or even months to realize the truth. I’m thirty-five. I’ve crammed a lot of living into those years. There’s been a lot of women.

I’ve never wanted to upend my life for any of them.

I love everything about her. The shades of pink in her hair. The curved, sweeping line of the dragon on her hip. The twinkle in her eyes. The smile on her lips. Her willingness to do what’s right. Her boundless enthusiasm. Her curiosity.

Kiera’s face is a mask of shock. “What did you say?” she whispers.

I’m still holding her hand. “I love you,” I tell her. “I’d do anything for you. It’s that simple. If it’s important to you to pay for pizza, then have at it. Thank you for dinner. It was delicious. Despite what Caleb might think, spinach and broccoli are excellent toppings.”

My friend finally decides to join the conversation.

“Repay the debt you owe us?” He sounds outraged.

“Ever since Theo and Joha died, I’ve existed in a fog, going through the motions.

You saved me from that. If it weren’t for you, I’d have drifted forever.

Is there a price I can put on that? Nolan placed himself in increasingly dangerous situations because he never stopped feeling responsible for what happened to Stephan and Lina.

Last year, he got shot in Somalia. He was lucky; he didn’t die.

But his luck would have run out soon enough. ”

The table next to us is occupied. There’s a TV in the background, showing the baseball game. The Yankees are playing the Red Sox, and the announcer is very excited. His commentary fills the small restaurant, and I have to strain to hear Caleb.

“Then he met you. Now, instead of heading back to Somalia or to the Congo or wherever else he was planning, he’s finally using his head. He’s giving up on recklessness. I owe you a debt for saving my friend’s life. How much do you think that would be worth?”

Kiera draws a deep, shuddering breath. “You love me?” she whispers.

Caleb gives Kiera an exasperated look. “Of course I love you. Now, can someone pay for the pizza, so we can go home?”

She gives us a peculiar look. “I love you too.”

I didn’t realize how much I needed her to say it back until intense relief sweeps through my body. “Good.” I wait until my heart stops racing. “Now, let’s go test that bed of yours.”

The sex was amazing over the weekend. It’s even better this time around. Some of it is just knowing Kiera’s body better, but mostly, it’s the intimacy. We have something special, the three of us, and we know it.

I lose my clothes. Pull her t-shirt over her head. Her expression is etched with need, her eyes glazed with desire.

She’s so beautiful. She steps out of her pants, and her tattoo comes into view, the lines of the dragon vivid against her skin. Her tiny pale pink panties follow, and my throat goes dry.

My cock is hard, achingly so. Her eyes rest on my erection, and she licks her lips, and the gesture sends a shockwave of lust through me.

A growl tears free from my throat, and I close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around her hips and tugging her closer.

My lips crash down on hers. Our tongues tangle.

I feast on her sweetness, and it’s addictive. I can’t get enough of her.

This feels so damn right.

I love her. She loves me. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.

Caleb gets naked too. He kisses the back of her neck, and she moans as his stubble grazes her sensitive skin. I feel her shiver in response, and God, it’s hot. She’s so keyed up, so responsive.

I tease her pert nipples, squeeze her lush breasts. Her quiet gasps, her whimpers, her sighs of pleasure, they inflame me. I trail my fingers between her legs, and she’s slick. She’s ready, so ready. She’s quivering with anticipation, and fuck me, she’s so hot, I almost lose my load right there.

“Bed,” I grind out.

Any other day, we’d make her wait. Tonight, I can’t. I’m just too impatient. I want to sink into her softness. I want to feel her muscles grip my cock, and I want to hear her moan out my name, her eyes hazy with lust.

“Excellent idea,” Caleb agrees.

We half-walk, half-stumble to her bed. It is a tight squeeze, but it doesn’t matter. I lie back on the mattress and roll a condom over my cock. Kiera straddles my hips and sinks onto my length, and I groan out loud, the harsh guttural sound tearing from my throat.

She’s so hot, so slick, so fucking perfect.

“I want to suck your cock,” she whispers to Caleb. Her fingers close over the base of his shaft, and she opens those perfect lips and takes him in. I grab her hips and thrust up into her.

I’ve been controlled before. I’ve taken her to the edge of orgasm, over and over again, until she’s a quivering mess, desperate to find her own pleasure.

But today, my self-control is in tatters. Pure hunger is all that is left. Our lovemaking is raw and real. It’s fevered and almost desperate. And when her muscles tighten around my cock, and I explode, her name is on my lips.

I never expected to fall in love. Love was for people that were whole, and for most of my adult life, I’ve felt broken.

I don’t feel broken now. I feel sated and at peace.

But the peace is a fragile illusion. We’re going to take Bianca away from Luis Martinez. Martinez is a dangerous, vicious killer, a predator who knows about Kiera’s existence.

The moment Bianca goes missing, he’ll home in on Kiera like a deep-water shark sensing a drop of blood in the ocean. A cold chill runs down my back. As long as Martinez remains free, Kiera is in danger.

I stare up at the ceiling. It’s up to Caleb and me to keep her safe.

I failed Stephan and Lina. In the quiet of Kiera’s bedroom, I make a silent promise. This time, I won’t screw up.