Seeking Vengeance: Callaghan Brothers, Book 4 (16 page)

He was also a good man who cared more than most, fought for the underdog, and had a definite bold streak of chivalry.  The arrogance, the cockiness, she could handle easily.  But this compassionate stuff was some dangerous shit.

She should never have allowed this morning to happen.  The moment she woke up and found herself tucked into Sean’s bed – alone – she should have gotten herself the hell out of there.  Things would have been so much simpler if he had just fucked her last night instead.  Then she could blame the alcohol or the vulnerability that came with burying her mother while her twin was off getting high. 

But no.  He hadn’t taken advantage of her.  He’d held her.  Listened.  Said comforting things.  Cleaned her up and dressed her in one of those soft, worn shirts that smelled like him, the
bastard
, before putting her in his bed and leaving her there while he wrestled that fine, huge body onto the sofa.

Show no weakness
. 

Nicki took a deep breath to steel her nerves, then opened the door a few inches.  Even though she was expecting those laser-like eyes, they still gave her pause.  Now, at least, she understood how other people felt when they looked into
her
eyes.

“May I come in?”

Nicki stifled the shudder the sound of his voice sent through her.  All her traitorous body could remember was how that voice had sounded when it was filled with desire and arousal and pressed against her skin. 

Aloud she asked, “Do I have a choice?”

“No.  I’m just being polite.”

“Well don’t,” she said, stepping back to allow him to enter.  “I have no use for it.”

“Just like wishes, then,” he murmured softly.  Nicki ignored the poignant look, the one that offered her peace and comfort and God knew what else, turning away and putting space between them.  Sean stepped into the room, sucking up most of the available air.  At least that was how she explained her sudden difficulty in drawing a full breath.

“How’s Nick?”

She exhaled heavily, too weary to conjure up any false pretense.  Sean had already seen the shape he was in, and had undoubtedly put the pieces together.  There was nothing to be gained by trying to pretty it up.  “He finally crashed.  He’s sleeping it off.” 

“He’s done this before?” Sean asked. 

Nicki didn’t answer, pointedly looking away when she saw the brief flash of hurt in his eyes.  The temptation to tell him, to unload all of the anger and hurt and frustration onto his broad shoulders, was strong, but she fought it.  If she had even the slightest hope of making it out of Pine Ridge intact, she had to be strong. 

* * *

H
er silence hurt more than it should have.  Then again, he understood something she obviously didn’t – that they were meant to be together, and that meant trust and sharing.  So far it looked like that was going to be a hard thing for her to accept.

He shouldn’t be surprised.  None of his brothers had it easy when they’d found their women.  Taryn had run away from Jake, risking her life instead of entrusting him with the knowledge that she was the daughter of a murdered US Senator, the only surviving member of a powerful political family, held captive and then stalked for ten long years. 

And Ian almost lost Lexi and his firstborn when she decided not to share her life-threatening medical condition with him, believing he was in love with her step-sister – both of which could have been resolved if they had only talked about it. 

Maggie nearly died because she withheld the seriousness of her injury from his doctor brother, then Michael almost bought it because the poor bastard couldn’t think straight when he’d thought he lost her and took risks he never would have otherwise.

That did not bode well for him, did it?  When he looked at it from that angle, he saw a disturbing pattern emerging, all based on the women’s inability to grasp what the men seemed to realize fairly easily – that when a Callaghan man found his true soul mate, there could not be an alternate ending.  They would end up together, and this whole deny-and-run thing just made things that much more difficult. 

Sean ran his hand through his hair, not even caring anymore what it symbolized.  He was past denial and ready to accept the truth, but Nicki was not.  And if the pattern held true, Nicki would probably try to flee before he could ... his entire body tensed when he saw the small canvas pack sitting there beside the door, ready to go.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, completely abandoning all pretense.

* * *

H
is voice was a little too soft, a little too knowing.  She followed his gaze, then cursed herself for not putting the pack in a less obvious place; she wasn’t usually that careless.  Then a tiny voice deep inside her mind whispered a truly disturbing possibility:  maybe she’d wanted Sean to see it, maybe some part of her wanted him to stop her. 

She shook that thought off.  It was beyond ridiculous.  She did not want to stay here, and she had no further use for the very hot, very sexy alpha male currently making her wet simply by looking at her.

She tried to pull off a casual shrug.  “It’s time.”  Now that she had the last, final piece of the puzzle, there could be no more stalling.  She only wished the information hadn’t come from her own brother.  And how ironic was that?  That weeks of discreetly sniffing around for information weren’t as effective as her brother’s sudden backslide?

Benny was using a different name now.  And he’d changed his appearance, too.  But nothing would save him. 

“Is it?”  His voice was softer, his body closer.  She hurried to put some distance between them, then drew up her head and met his stare head on, drawing forth every rational reason why she had to get the hell out of Dodge. 

One, her mother was gone, and Nicki’s obligation to her – real or imagined - was complete.  Two, Nick had his own life now, a good job and people who would look out for him.  If she stayed here, she would only hold him back.  She was a constant reminder of what once was, and what he needed was to get beyond that and look ahead.  Three, Sean Callaghan was beginning to look at her like he was interested in more than a quick tumble or two.   There could be nothing more between them, not now, not ever.  And four – by this time tomorrow, Nicki Milligan would once again cease to exist.

“I buried my mother.  Got the added bonus of hauling my brother’s drugged-up ass home before he killed himself or someone else.  Oh, yeah, and I got to fuck the big, bad hard-ass while I was here, too.  I think I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I possibly could in this Mayberry town.”
Except for killing the bastard that ruined all of our lives.

* * *

S
ean’s jaw clenched right along with his fists.  Son of a bitch, it was starting already.  Something about her was different.  Her face was harder, colder; her eyes were like polished steel.  Even her voice was different.  There were no traces of amusement or anger or desire, not even sadness.  Just a cold indifference that chilled him to the bone. 

And it was all bullshit,
he realized suddenly, wondering why he hadn’t seen it earlier.  This was nothing but another superbly played performance, one of what he suspected were several false personas she adopted as needed. 

He had seen the real Nicki, the one who had nestled against him last night on the floor while they ate Chinese and talked.  The one who could get lost in the mechanics of an engine.  The one who had made love to him this morning with her mouth and her body.  Those were all the genuine article. 

This
Nicki was no more real than the sultry pole dancer or the bad-ass biker chick. 

Taryn had done it.  So had Lexi and Maggie.  Because they all had some fucktarded idea that by leaving they would be doing the best possible thing for the people they cared about most.  Sean’s heart stuttered in his chest, then stopped beating entirely for several long ticks of the clock.  Was it possible that Nicki cared for him the way he did for her?  Oh, he knew she would realize it eventually, but maybe she already had and that was why she was swinging so hard in the other direction now...

His blue eyes bored into hers, searching.  There!  The silver flickered, softened for just a fraction of a second before hardening again.  It was all he needed.  Fine.  If she wanted to play that game, he was in.  He could do big and bad, too.  And she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Not quite,” he said, allowing a hungry look to seep into his features.   It wasn’t difficult.  Being anywhere in the vicinity of the woman made him hot and hard.  Hell, physical proximity didn’t really matter at all.  Just thinking about her did it for him.

“Yeah?” she asked, tilting her chin with arrogance even as she took a step back.  “Like what?”

Sean crossed the room in two long strides.  He cupped the back of her head with one hand and thrust the other between her legs while taking full and thorough possession of her mouth.  She resisted, her nails like claws curling into his chest, drawing blood, but he persisted, his tongue insistently probing until she relented and opened for him.  He dominated her, his grip like iron, demanding the very breath from her lungs and replacing it with his own.

“I haven’t finished with you yet,” he said huskily several minutes later when her eyes were sufficiently dazed and her body suitably pliant.  Hell, he would never be finished with her.

“What did you have in mind?”  Her voice was sex personified, a low throaty purr he could never get enough of.   

“I haven’t tasted you,” he breathed as his lips skimmed her jaw line.  “And I
need
to taste you.”

* * *

T
he whimper that escaped was purely unintentional.  With his skilled hand cupping her sex through her jeans, massaging, teasing, and those hard, sensuous lips moving over her face and neck, and –
oh God
– licking that spot just behind and below her ear, she had even less success withholding the full body shudder that racked her. 

“Like I tasted you?” she reminded him purposely, knowing the words had their intended effect when he growled deep in his chest and slipped his hand into her jeans, thrusting one, then two fingers into her sex, sending her into instant climax and drenching his hand with her slick juices.  She clutched his biceps and bit her lip to keep from crying out – she would not give him the satisfaction, but Sean had other ideas.  He withdrew his fingers from her and brought them to his lips, suckling them like it was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted.  His icy blue eyes darkened until they resembled perfect sapphires. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said with a wicked grin, “I am not just going to taste you.  I’m going to feast on you for hours.”

He kissed her then, hard and possessively, forcing her to taste herself upon his lips and tongue.  Her knees were so weak Sean was forced to hold her upright as he began to lick and bite his way down her body. 

“Nick - ” she murmured as Sean began deftly working the jeans off of her hips with one hand, never lightening up on the onslaught with his mouth.  “Can’t while ... he’s here ... ” she panted.

“Then we’ll go to my place,” he said, returning to nuzzle her neck.  He liked that idea anyway.  He had more than a few items that would assist him in keeping Nicki around - handcuffs, silk binding ties, some hemp rope...  He answered her full-body shudder with one of his own.

“Can’t ... leave him ... alone...”

Sean pushed forward until her back was against the wall, using his significantly larger mass and strength to pin her there while he fished the cell phone out of his pocket.  Holding her in place with one muscular thigh wedged between her legs, he thumbed the smart phone screen until someone answered.  Because his face was so close to hers, she heard the person on the other end clearly.

“S’up?”  The voice sounded like an echo of Sean’s.

“Need you to babysit.”

“Now?  I’m just about to –“

“
Now.
”

Nicki managed to hear a few mumbled curse words – she wasn’t even sure they were English – before the connection broke and Sean returned his full attention to his seduction.

Minutes passed.  Or maybe days.  Time was irrelevant when Sean Callaghan decided to dominate her mind and body.  While her body seemed to have no trouble obeying him, her mind shut down to everything else but interpreting the sensations with which he was inundating her.  It wasn’t until there was a knock at the door that she realized Sean had never mentioned their location to whomever he had called.

“I need to get the - ”   Before she could finish her sentence, the door opened and Sean walked in.  Nicki blinked as she peered hard over a broad shoulder at the figure now inside the apartment.  No, that couldn’t be right.  Sean had his hand under her shirt and was doing magical things to her left breast...

“You’re a twin?” she gasped, color rising up in her face when it came out sounding like a breathless orgasm.

“Guilty,” Sean chuckled against her throat, smug male satisfaction in his power over her evident.

Sean pulled back enough to fix her jeans and smooth down her shirt, keeping her blocked from Shane’s view.  Shane stood patiently just inside the door, content to look around and acclimate himself.  Nicki sensed he was analyzing every possible entry and exit point, items that could possibly be used as weapons, etc.  She knew it because it was exactly what she did every time she walked into an unfamiliar location.

“Nicki, Shane.  Shane, Nicki.”  Sean made the introduction brief.

Shane’s mouth curved into a familiar half-grin while his blue eyes sparkled mischievously.  “She’s who I’m supposed to babysit?  Hmmm, thanks, bro.  And it’s not even our birthday.”  He winked at Nicki when her eyes widened.

“Not her, dickhead,” Sean growled.  “Her brother, Nick.  He’s crashed in the bedroom, coming down off of some shit.”

To his credit, Shane’s only reaction was a slightly elevated brow.

Nicki stared at Shane.  She knew she and her twin shared a lot of the same features, but these two were so alike it was almost freaky.  Still, if she looked very closely, she could see that Shane held himself a bit differently than Sean did.  Of the two, she instinctively knew that Sean was the more aggressive, while Shane was the more polished of the two.  Both, she knew to the depths of her soul, were lethal.