I inhaled sharply through my nose, my memory jumping back to that day. I knew exactly what he was talking about. But he wasn’t going to....
“I thought I could wait until a romantic getaway, but the truth is that this is who we are. I’m a mob boss and you’re my pet and our lives will always be filled with danger and people who want to either kill us or lock us away.” He winced, his right eye closing for a short moment like he was in pain, but he kept going before I could cut this short. “We will bleed, but we will heal. Together.”
I exhaled a breath I’d been holding and smiled because he was right. It didn’t matter what we went through, we fought and won. My chest filled with warmth and the overwhelming emotions made my eyes tickle, but I couldn’t cry. Not right now.
“Conall Morrissey, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”
“Yes,” I managed to gasp out as I fell to my knees in front of him. I cradled his face between my hands and laughed. “Yes. You fucking know it was going to be yes, you arsehole.”
Sloan chuckled before I slammed my mouth against his. Behind us were cheers and catcalls, and I swore I heard Cillian say, “This is the last thing ye’ll ever see,mate, because ye’re dead meat,” and I realized he was talking to Gilmore.
I tapped Sloan on the chest. “You still owe me a few romantic getaways, though. You don’t get out of that.”
He nuzzled my cheek, and I closed my eyes, reveling in him being so close. All the anger from yesterday was gone because he was here and safe, and it could’ve gone terribly wrong if I hadn’t come back. I’d never leave this house with that kind of fury at Sloan again.
“Your wish is my command, Pet. You name the place and I’ll take you there.”
I smirked. “I have a few ideas . . . .”
The new doctor cleared his throat. “Congratulations to you both, bosses. Now can Ipleaselook at my patient?”
Sloan grunted and fell back on his arse again. He waved his hand at our men for them to handle the traitors while the doctor crouched beside him to get to work.
21
SLOAN
“How’s this for romantic?” I leaned back in my chair and raised my arms, gesturing to our backyard. Ourloyalmen surrounded us from a distance, their gazes watchful and their automatic rifles clutched at their sides. After the recent betrayals, I’d opted to hand out promotions to those I knew were trustworthy and give tests to those who I wasn’t completely sure about.
As I’d requested, Tiernan had sent word out to bring over some Irishmen, including family, but they hadn’t arrived yet. We had good soldiers coming and I trusted them to keep my business and the two most important men in my life safe. If anything happened to my pet, I’d have nothing left to live for and that made me dangerous to everyone else who still breathed in this world. It was better to never find out what I’d become without the man I loved.
The dachshunds were under our feet at the table, content to sleep their little lives away. I didn’t blame them. They had everything they could want. When I’d asked Conall to get dogs, I’d meantrealdogs, the kind that scared off men. But I lovedthese little fiends. They reminded me of Conall in every way. Just as bratty.
Conall gave me a crooked grin and tilted his head, eyes dancing in amusement. “You know what would make it better?” He picked up a strawberry from a bowl in the center of the table. The staff had laid a deep red cloth over the top and filled it with fresh breakfast food, from croissants to fruit to juice to yogurt.
He took a bite of the strawberry, some of the juice escaping and sliding down his chin and neck. I watched its descent, hungry for a taste.
“What?” I forced out through a chest-deep growl.
Conall’s grin widened. He stood and came around to me in one flawless move, slipping into my lap and straddling me while being careful with my injured knee. As Conall had ordered, I’d taken the helicopter to the hospital—“Why else do we own a fucking hospital, Sloan?”—and O’Nunan had done some serious damage.
Kudos to him. Not many men were able to physically hurt me the way he had. A few surgeries on my leg later and I had pins in my bones and was recovering. I had a concussion, too. Now I was walking around with a damn cane to take weight off my leg and I wasn’t a fan. The only reason I’d agreed was because Conall threatened to abstain from sex unless I did. He knew how to get me to do what he wanted.
“Music.” His gaze flipped to the radio I’d placed on the table in front of me. Lorcan was on the last of his oxygen and it was delicious to hear him struggle to breathe. Drawing out his death had been my best idea yet. “We should listen to him, maybe record it. Remind our men what happens when you betray us.”
I smirked and stroked my thumb over his cheek. “Pet, you are delightfully wicked.”
“You love it.” He dipped down to spread butterfly kisses over my jaw and down my neck, stopping to lick at my pulse andnibble my sensitive skin. I shivered as I curled my arm around his waist and squeezed him.
“You know I do.” I tilted my head back, giving him more access. “If you keep at it, we’re not going to finish our breakfast.” I gripped his chin and raised it so I could lick the strawberry juices. The sweetness burst onto my tongue—a combination of Conall and the fruit.
“I’d rather have a breakfast with more protein.” He leaned back and flexed the muscles in his arms. “I need to bulk up. Boss, I need to taste your meat.”
The sound that came from the back of my throat was half a laugh and half a growl, and I gritted my teeth. Blood zipped south to my cock. “You wanted a romantic date, Pet.”
“Cock sucking is romantic.” He sat back on my thighs, careful of my knee, and waggled his eyebrows. “We can make a game out of it. How fast can I get you to bust.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Not yet, Pet. Let me feed you some real food first.” He opened his mouth to protest, but I shushed him with a kiss. He melted into me, his body turning languid against my chest. “Food, then you can suck my cock to your heart’s content.”
