The Marriage Contract (14 page)

“God forbid.”

He led her into the apartment, pausing only to lock the door. “You look good.” And she did, wearing a white sundress with red flowers on it. Her blond hair had an artful curl to it, but there were still faint circles under her eyes that were a mirror to his. She held a bulging bag over each shoulder, and when he tried to take them from her, she slipped past him down the hallway.

“You’re lying, but thank you.” She set one of the bags down on the floor near the wall and put the other one on the kitchen counter. Then she turned back to face him, her blue eyes narrowing. Her fingers hovered an inch from his face, tracing the pattern of his bruise. It had faded to a truly impressive yellow-green tint that made his mother shake her head every time she looked at him. Callie motioned to his torso. “How are your ribs? I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’ve followed the doctor’s orders to take things slowly.”

There was comfort in starting this night with a conversation similar to the ones they’d had the last few nights. “It depends on your definition of slowly.” He laughed when she scowled. “Ah, angel, I’m mostly joking. I’ve managed to go a whole five days without fighting or doing anything else that would injure me further.” Mostly because Carrigan and threatened his life if he left the house, and Sloan and Keira basically pounced on him if he got within ten feet of the front door. He’d had to conduct his investigation to find Brendan’s killer via Devlin and Liam. The former he would have liked to avoid including despite the work being low-risk, but his youngest brother had insisted.

They hadn’t found much conclusive, but two of the strippers who worked at Tit for Tat were sure they saw a woman who wasn’t an employee leaving through the back door with blood on her. On one hand, it would no doubt reassure both James’s and Teague’s conscience that it didn’t seem to be a case of self-defense that came about from some runaway. On the other hand, it made it a hell of a lot harder to track the woman down. Two of the three strippers said she was wearing a bright red wig, and he couldn’t exactly search Boston for a woman with “a body to kill for.”

No, he was temporarily stalled out, at least until a few of the feelers he put out came back. He paused in the kitchen. “Beer or wine?”

“Wine, please.”

He poured her a glass and then grabbed a bottle of beer for himself. If he was stuck for the time being in his search for the truth, there wasn’t anyone else he’d rather be stuck with. “Have I mentioned that I missed you?”

“It might have come up.” She smiled and moved to peer into his cupboards. “Sit down before you fall down.”

He’d half expected her to show up ready to seduce him—especially considering how the last time had gone when they were in this apartment. The fact that she so obviously had other priorities stung his pride a little. He stepped up to wrap himself around her from behind. “What’s the hurry, angel?”

“None of that.” She slapped his wandering hands away and turned in his arms to face him. “It’s been a rough week, Teague. Let me take care of you for a little while.” She pressed a light kiss to his throat. “It’ll make us both feel better.”

There was no rush. He’d wanted to prove to her that this meant more to him than hot sex, and dragging her off to his bedroom to prove how much better he was suddenly feeling wasn’t going to do that. They had all night. Teague kissed her forehead and let her turn back around. “What’s for dinner?”

“Pizza.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Our cook, Emma, has tried to teach me the finer points of putting together a meal, but I’m a lost cause. I can do the simple things, but that’s about it.”

It didn’t matter if she was making mac and cheese. Callie was here, cooking for him, making sure he took care of himself. “How can I help?”

“Sit down and drink your beer. You might be feeling better, but you still look like you’re about to keel over.” She pulled out two jars of pizza sauce and started laying the various toppings out on the counter.

He sat. “You sure know how to make a man feel ten feet tall.”

“I just—”

“It’s okay. I understand.” She’d been worried about him—was
still
worried about him. He’d had the last five days to get used to the idea of another person being that close to him—someone who wasn’t family.

She offered him a small smile. “That’s good, because I’m still wrapping my mind around it.” She started the oven preheating and rifled through the lower drawers until she found two cookie sheets he hadn’t known he owned. “How was your day?”

“Better than yesterday because there was no wedding planning involved.”

She laughed. “You were dodging your mother.”

“Unashamedly. I saw her coming up the stairs and looking determined, and I ducked into my brother’s room and hid.” The look on Devlin’s face when he rushed in had been priceless.

“I’d make fun, but Aileen is very…formidable.” She greased the cookie sheets and rolled the pizza dough onto them. “And I did my own bit of dodging yesterday.”

“It’s easier with phone calls.” He sipped his beer.

Callie checked the oven and then popped the cookie sheets in. “For now. It’s only a matter of time before she shows up on my doorstep again.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest they make a run for it, but Teague bit the words back. She wouldn’t leave her family behind any more than he would. That loyalty was something that he’d previously considered a weakness. Now, he wasn’t so sure. It seemed like family got them into as many problems as it got them out of, but he couldn’t imagine his life without his siblings. And Callie obviously loved her father dearly. “You could always tell her no.”

She raised her eyebrows and propped her elbows on the counter. “Have you met your mother?”

“Good point.” He laughed. This was…nice. He’d known he enjoyed Callie’s company, but he hadn’t gotten to experience it on this level. Even with the world falling to pieces around them, he could see a glimpse of what the future might look like. A future where they had quiet nights like this. Where there’d be laughter and conversation and a home that was a bastion against the outside world. A sanctuary. “Do you want kids?”

The oven beeped and she busied herself taking the cookie sheets out and setting them on the stovetop. Then she turned back to him. “Eventually, yes. Maybe not seven.” She smiled. “But, once things calm down, yes, I’d like a few children. Do you?”

“Yes.” He answered in a rush, and cleared his throat. “My siblings are one of the most important parts of my life.”

“That’s how I felt about Ronan. He was always in my corner, even when we were growing up and fighting like cats and dogs.” A shadow passed over her face. “I miss him.”

“I’m sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to bring up bad thoughts.”

“No, it’s okay. He’s gone no matter if we talk about it or not, and not talking about it might make me feel better in the short term, but I’m partially afraid I’ll start to forget him.”

“Come here.” He waited for her to walk around to him and then wrapped his arms around her. The physical touch wouldn’t drive away all the bad things in the world, but it was all he knew how to offer. “You can talk about your brother to me whenever you want. I’ll always be here to listen.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was partially muffled by his shirt. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his back. “I’m glad you’re okay, Teague.”

He stroked his hands up her back to tangle in her hair and tip her head so he could see her eyes. “I’m here, angel.” He kissed one corner of her mouth and then the other. “I’m right here.” His next kiss took her mouth, slow and sweet, and he went rock hard at the little whimper she made when his tongue brushed hers.

Callie jerked back, but she didn’t leave the circle of his arms. “You’re trying to seduce me.”

“Trying? I thought I was doing a pretty damn good job of it.”

“You are—were.” She shivered. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

Maybe not, but he didn’t think he could let tonight end without tasting her again and feeling her come apart in his arms. “What did you have planned for tonight?” Because she obviously had plans in place, or she wouldn’t be digging in her heels so spectacularly.

“Dinner.” She slipped away from him and grabbed the jars of pizza sauce. “Movies. A full night of sleep.”

It struck him all over again that she wanted to take care of him. “I’m willing to negotiate.”

“Negotiate all you want.” She finished spreading the sauce and started on the cheese. “You need to take it easy.”

No, what he needed to take was
her
.

Teague finished his beer and pushed to his feet. He crossed the kitchen to her and caught her hips when she turned around. “Teague!”

“Here’s a newsflash, angel.” He pulled her closer, lining up their hips so she could feel exactly how turned on he was. “I’d have to be in a goddamn coffin not to want you.”

“Don’t say things like that.” Her hands came up to fist in the front of his shirt, but she didn’t push him away.

“It’s the truth.” He kissed her, taking her mouth like he’d wanted to since she walked through the door. She melted against him, and he backed her up to the counter, taking the kiss deeper yet. He knew he should back off, should let them go back to the domestic scene he’d been enjoying so much, but his head was full of too many things he couldn’t say. Not yet. Not without potentially scaring the shit out of Callie.

But he could show her.

“Do you think the pizza can wait awhile?”

“I think we can work something out.” She unbuttoned his shirt with quick movements, and slid it off his shoulders. Then she froze. “Oh, Teague.”

He didn’t have to look down to know what she saw—a rainbow of bruises up his side that were a match for the one on his face. “It looks worse than it is.”

“Don’t lie to me.” She traced a finger over the edge of the one covering his ribs, still an ugly purple. “This is why I wanted to wait. I couldn’t stand it if I hurt you.”

His heart gave a painful lurch, and he covered her hand with his own. “I’m not broken—just a little banged up.”

“Still—”

He kissed her again to stop her words. She didn’t want to hurt him. Well, he’d make damn sure she didn’t get the chance to worry about it. “Hands on the counter.” She obeyed with a little hiss of relief, the positioning leaving her body open for him, an opportunity he had no intention of wasting. He cupped her breasts, playing with her nipples through the thin fabric, and then slipped a hand up her skirt, and groaned. “No panties, angel?”

“You already know the answer to that.” Her lips brushed his with every word.

“The thought of you walking around Boston with only this sad excuse for a dress in between you and the rest of the world makes me crazy.” He pushed a finger into her, finding her wetter than he could have dreamed.

She spread her legs a bit wider. “My dress is cute.”

“Cute doesn’t begin to cover it.” He used his free hand to tug the strap off first one shoulder and then the other. It fell to her waist, leaving her breasts bare for him. He kept fucking her with his finger, and added a second. “But if we’d met outside this apartment, I would have been sorely tempted to do exactly what I’m doing right now, and to hell with the consequences. Keep your hands there.”

Her knuckles went white as she gripped the edge of the counter, even as her hips rolled to take him deeper. “You’d touch me like this out in public?”

“Angel, I’d drag you to the nearest private spot and bury myself inside you the first chance I got.” He circled her clit with his thumb, twisting his wrist to flick his fingertips over that sensitive spot he’d found inside her.

Her eyes went wide. “Teague, I—”

“I know. Let go. I’ve got you.” He kissed her as she came apart around him, her moans the sweetest thing he’d ever heard. He held her through the aftershocks, gentling his strokes until her knees buckled. Teague caught her easily, ignoring the twinge of his bruises as he lifted her into his arms.

“Put me down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“You’re going to give me a complex.” He walked down the hall to his bedroom and carefully set her on the bed. Her smile was a balm to his soul, and the fact that she lay back without trying to cover herself only made him hotter. She was damn near perfect, and she knew it.

He sat on the edge of the bed and had to fight back a wince. He thought he’d covered it up in time, but she saw. “Your ribs?”

“They’re still tender.” He wasn’t about to tell her that they hurt like a fucking bitch more often than not. Not with what he had in mind for tonight.

For a second she looked like she might protest again, but Callie sat up. “Well, then, I suppose we’ll have to go about this another way.” She kissed him gently and then gave his shoulders a push. “I promise not to jar them too much.”

Teague laughed. “So I should just lie back and think of England.”

“I think that’s for the best.” Her grin was downright impish. “We all do what we have to do.”

He lay down, pulling her on top of him. She settled over his hips, sliding against his cock in a move that made him curse. He leaned up to kiss her, ribs be damned. “Do your worst.”

“With pleasure.” She moved over him, tantalizingly close, but the angle was wrong for him to slide home. Christ, he wanted that more than he wanted his next breath. Which was exactly why he needed to put on the brakes, at least temporarily.

“Angel, if you don’t get a condom right fucking now, I’m going to take you like this.”

“I thought I was the one doing the taking.” But she rose and moved to where he pointed—the nightstand drawer—and came back with a condom. Callie ripped it open with a wicked grin and took his cock in her hand. She stroked him once, squeezing in a way that made his eyes damn near cross, and then went to work rolling on the condom. Then she climbed back on top of him, kissing him as she adjusted the angle and plunged down on top of him.

Holy mother of God.
He gripped her hips, holding her sealed to him, taking a second to simply enjoy this moment. With her eyes half-closed and her body rolling as she took him deeper, she was a vision straight out of a fantasy he hadn’t even been aware of before now. He coasted his hands up over her sides to cup her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers as she moaned.