MemoriesErasedTreachery (11 page)

"I guess I should learn how to do all of those things, too."

Surprised, Ewyn stared, mouth gaping. "You'd want to?"

"Why not? I'm going to be a significant player in her life when I'm home. I imagine I'll be taking care of her as much as you."

Speechless, Ewyn continued to gawk. Devin was such a contradiction. Hardcore killer, sensitive compassionate lover, and now, a willing father substitute. Dragging his attention back to the wriggling body on the dressing table, he added a matching powder blue knitted sweater and hat to her ensemble. He lifted Kiera from the table, walked over to Devin, kissed the firm mouth and whispered, "I love you, Dev."

"Back at you, baby."

Ewyn grabbed a crocheted blanket from a shelf, slung a diaper bag over his shoulder, and headed out the bedroom door. "Mick and Tag are meeting us at the house."

"Okay." Devin stood and followed. "Give me Patterson's number. I want a meeting."

"Way ahead of you. I called him while you were in the shower. Will Monday after work be all right? He'll meet us here."

Devin grunted. "Let me help you with Kieki's things." He took the diaper bag. "Go get settled in the Escalade." He bent and retrieved the baby seat and the playpen leaning against the wall in the foyer. "I'll get her car seat out of the Mustang."

"Uh-uh. I bought a second seat for the SUV. It's in the storage space in the garage."

"Hmm, smart move. Would you prefer to have the Escalade since you'll be hauling Kieki around most of the time?"

"That would be great, Dev. Do you mind? The Mustang isn't exactly a family vehicle, and sometimes it's so much stuff to lug back and forth, but we don't have enough room to keep her stuff here."

"Baby, I want you and Kieki to be safe and comfortable, so whatever works best for you. Hell. I'm hardly here. The Mustang will do it for me when I need a personal vehicle." He leaned down and kissed the smiling mouth, as he reached over and opened the front door. Ewyn and Kiera preceded him into the hallway. "Next week, I'll touch base with my contractor and find out if we have room to remodel, so Keiki can have her own space when she's here. We'll duplicate the necessities and you won't have to carry anything back and forth."

Devin locked the door and caught up with Ewyn and Kiera as they entered the elevator.

No sooner had Ewyn entered the house than Mycelia appeared and removed Kiera from his arms. "Well, hello to all of you, too," he said and quickly moved aside when Rosa and a few of the other staff members gathered around fussing over Kiera.

"Sorry. We miss this little one when she's away. The house is too settled." Rosa grinned at Ewyn then exclaimed, "Oh, Mister Devin, you're safely home. Good to see you."

"Thanks, Rosa. It's good to be home." He set Kiera's stuff on the floor. "I see Ewyn has competition for Kieki's affections." He winked at Ewyn, who stood in the middle of the room looking lost.

"Oh, yes. It's good to have a little one in the house again. It's been so long. Everyone dotes on her."

"I can imagine."

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked.

"No, thank you. I've already eaten." Devin went to the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water, then went to retrieve the baby's gear. "Have Mick and Tag arrived?"

"Yes, they're upstairs with Gemma." Rosa bustled over to prevent him from taking the baby's things. "Leave those. The help will take care of them."

"Okay." He hurried to catch up with Ewyn, who had left the kitchen in a huff. "Hey, baby-boy. What's the matter?"

"I should be used to all the fuss they make over Kieki by now, but every time I bring her home, I don't want to leave her."

"Hmm. Is jealousy rearing its ugly head?" Devin chuckled.

"Hell, yeah."

Devin put an arm across Ewyn's shoulders and turned him toward the stairs. "If it makes you feel any better, I had a moment of jealousy myself."

"Really, Dev?" Ewyn looked up at him. "I fell in love with her the first time I held her, and I've become so possessive…"

Devin put a finger to Ewyn's lips, looked around in a conspiratorial manner, then he whispered, "Don't tell anybody, but we're taking her back home with us. It's your weekend."

Ewyn stopped moving, turned, and hurled himself at Devin. "But it's your first night back, and you've been gone a long time. Are you sure?"

"Baby, listen to me. I've fallen hard for another Calderone, and since my time at home is iffy, I intend to use these weekends to get to know my niece. Besides, she sleeps more than she's awake. We'll fill in those moments with some one-on-one." He nipped the pouty bottom lip.

"Thanks, Dev. Have I told you how much I love you?

"I'd prefer a demonstration, but I'll settle for a kiss." He claimed Ewyn's mouth in a sultry kiss that ended too soon, when someone clearing their throat intruded on the moment.

"Good thing the two of you can't procreate," Taggart remarked. "Because this house would be full of little Nilsson-Calderones."

Devin loosened his hold on Ewyn but didn't release him. Ewyn turned in his arms and he pulled baby-boy back against him, his arms snaking around the trim waist. Eyebrow arched, he stared at Taggart. "Jealous?"

"Hell yeah." Taggart came over and shook Devin's hand. "Good to have you back in one piece. Sorry about your guys."

Ewyn swung around and glared at Devin. "Whoa. Did I miss something?"

"I'll tell you about it when we get home. I believe we had more important issues to discuss this morning--Niki and Caro." Devin stared into tempestuous green eyes and wanted to laugh when a look of indecision crept into their depths.
Oh yeah, cut that tirade off at inception.
"Which topic do you think was more important to me, Ewyn? My job is what it is…iffy. You have accepted that, right?"

"I have," Ewyn grumbled.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry," Taggart interjected. "I wasn't trying to start a family feud."

"No, Tag," Ewyn countered. "My bad. Dev is right."

"So, where's my baby-girl?" Taggart looked pass them toward the kitchen.

"You've got it. They confiscated her at the door."

"I'll see about that." Taggart stormed off toward the kitchen.

"Good luck," Ewyn called after him.

"What's up with Tag?" Devin asked as he and Ewyn climbed the stairs.

"Did you know he had a baby sister and she died?"

"No. When?"

Ewyn shrugged. "Mick mentioned it. He and Tag met while working on her case."

"Hmm. I didn't know. She must have been awfully young. Mick and Tag have been together for a while."

"Mick says Kieki reminds Tag of his sister when she was a baby."

"It's amazing, what you don't know about people," Devin remarked. They reached the third floor just as Mycelia and Taggart came out of the elevator. "Hey, Tag, I see you found her."

"Yeah. The trouble is getting some quality time with Kieki, the way
Miz
Myce hovers over her."

"Tag, you know the routine," Mycelia said. "Do you want to help or not." She looked at Devin, grinned and winked.

He hooted.

"It's not funny, Dev. She treats me the same way," Ewyn remarked raising his voice to make sure Mycelia heard him. "As if she thinks I should make an appointment. I'm the uncle!"

Mycelia giggled and entered the nursery with Taggart close on her heels.

Ewyn turned to Devin. "She's not going to let me take Kieki back with us."

"She will. Promise." Devin bent, gave Ewyn a quick kiss, then straightened and knocked on Gemma's door. Not waiting for a response, he opened the door and let Ewyn precede him into the apartment.

"Dev, Myce can be a real tyrant when it comes to Kieki."

"It's her job, isn't it?"

"I guess," Ewyn mumbled.

Timothy and Gemma, sitting together on the sofa looked up and smiled. Mick, seated in the chair opposite the couple, stood and came over to greet Devin. The two men embraced. Mick stepped away and said, "Glad to have you back in one piece."

"Tell me about it." Devin walked to the sofa and sat next to Gemma. "You're looking good. Don't I get a hug?" He reached over and gently enfolded her in his arms, kissed her cheek, and held her at arm's length. "How are you, Gem?"

Gemma beamed at him. "I'm much better with you and Tim home safely."

"Okay, enough," Ewyn growled. "Am I the only one who doesn't know what happened?"

"Ewyn…" Devin glanced at him. "We'll discuss it when we're alone. Okay?"

"Fine," Ewyn snapped and headed for the door. "I'm going to the nursery." He stormed out.

Devin held his laughter until he heard the door close. "I see one thing hasn't change."

"Never will." Gemma patted his hand. "That's Ewyn. Fits of temper, gone in a flash." She stared at Devin for a moment before continuing. "You know this thing with Niki and Caro has him on edge."

"Yeah. Thanks to dumbass Patterson bringing Cecilia's name into it, then bringing up Kieki's beneficiary. I gaffed it off as procedure, so Ewyn wouldn't go into panic mode." He looked at Timothy. "Can you have the Cecilia thing looked into?"

"Already on it." Timothy shook his head. "I
really
want to meet this Patterson. Mick and Tag have given me their assessment of the man. But knowing the interaction between the FBI and the locals isn't always the best, I'll reserve judgment," he teased, a slow smile shifting the corners of his mouth. "I understand Ewyn was about to kick off in Patterson's ass."

"Yeah, so I've heard, and it's one reason why I want to meet the man. He's due at the condo on Monday evening."

"I'll be joining you," Timothy declared. "I want this piss ant to understand where this faction of the family is coming from."

Devin and Mick shared a look then laughed.

"What?" Timothy stared at one man then the other.

"It seems we're all on the same page," Devin replied.

Chapter 8

Ewyn parked in his assigned spot in the garage. The Mustang was conspicuously absent. Climbing out of the Escalade, he headed for the elevator. He hadn't seen Devin all day. For the first time since the start of their relationship, Devin had left for work early without bothering to wake Ewyn. He had only himself to blame, acting like a jealous ass their first weekend together in months.

Well…hell, he'd been pissed. Every time he'd wanted extra time with Kiera, Mycelia would give him a ration of shit about why it wasn't a good idea. Yet, when Devin stated--didn't ask--just declared he was taking Kiera back home with him, Mycelia didn't utter a word. Next, Devin spent more time with Kiera than with him.

Okay. He'd give Devin props for his efforts at learning his way around parenting, but Devin could have let him share some of the time with Kiera too. Instead, Devin went straight for Father of the Year, in one weekend, rushing to Kiera's side each time she peeped. Moreover, Kiera had taken to Devin as if Ewyn hadn't been a major player for the first four months of her life.

Damn it, he was jealous, and yes, his attitude had been inappropriate, since Devin hadn't totally ignored him, paying just as much attention to him whenever Kiera had taken a nap. A slow smile eased the tightness in his jaw as he recalled the specifics of the attention Devin had given him. One particular episode in the shower --

He had put Kiera down for a nap then stormed into the bathroom in a huff. He had been in the shower long enough to wash up before Devin had strolled into the enclosure and sat down on the seat but didn't say a word. Feeling foolish because of his childish display of jealousy, he had turned to apologize, but the look in those hypnotic amber eyes made him forget what he had intended to say.

Instead, he moved between Devin's muscular thighs, eyes lowering to Devin's slightly ajar mouth, and the sight of his delectable tongue barely visible behind the smooth lips.
Hell.
He so wanted to dive into that heat, suck the hell out of the pink tongue, then lick a trail along Devin's jaw to the pulse-point in his neck. Not wanting to seem too eager to be placated, he hesitated, and Devin took control.

Devin had grasped his ass and pulled him onto his lap, so he was straddling those firm thighs. Cocks bumping and pulsing between them, leaking pre cum on tight abs, Ewyn's ass puckered in expectation. One of Devin's large hands had wrapped around their cocks, pulling and sliding.

Ewyn had dragged his eyes up along Devin's narrow nose and their gazes locked. Moist heat breezed across his lips and they parted in anticipation as Devin's tongue skimmed their outline, only to linger at the corner of his mouth, circling, teasing, tasting. The touch of Devin's tongue had Ewyn's nerve endings alive with erotic impulses. Thumbs pressed down on his chin and Devin's tongue eased inside, probing every aspect of Ewyn's mouth before plunging deep then withdrawing. His teeth latched onto Ewyn's bottom lip, nibbling and sucking, all over spit-exchange, Ewyn lapped it up. Abruptly, Devin had pulled away, lifted Ewyn off his lap and stood.

Ewyn had stared into passionate amber eyes while brushing his fingertips across the firm mouth before pressing them into the waiting warmth. Devin's lips closed around one of them. He could feel Devin's need in the strong pull exerted on his finger as Devin teased the pad with the tip of his tongue, which jump-started Ewyn's pulse to a thundering pace. Gently tugging his finger from between Devin's lips, he wrapped his arms around Devin's neck, and tried to climb up the solid frame.

Devin had thwarted his attempt, spun him around, and forced him face first up against the wall, Devin's cock tapping his ass. Hands splayed on the shower wall, he had pushed back into the touch in expectation. Devin reached for the lube then slick fingers slid down the crease of Ewyn's butt to his asshole. He had shivered when Devin's fingers slipped inside while Devin's lips had teased his earlobe before closing in on the sensitive pulse-point. Devin had drawn the susceptible skin into his mouth, lips pulling, teeth grazing, tongue stroking, he left his mark.

"Hard and fast," Devin whispered against his ear before he thrust into him, plunging deep with powerful strokes, hands wrapping around Ewyn's cock, and Ewyn had countered Devin's momentum. It had been hard, but not fast. Devin had prolonged their climax, pulling back every time Ewyn had begged for release, but their climax had been worth the torment.