Page 82 of In the Dark

“Why?” I said quietly, my eyes fluttering closed at feeling him so close.

“Because I don’t intend to be gentle. I intend to fuck you like you belong to me, like you’re starving for me just as I am you. And I don’t need a girl who feels like she’s going to break. I need a viper who’s going to fuck me back just as rough.”

The man didn’t even have the decency to look flustered after what he said to me. He straightened and told me we could go to the library whenever I was ready.

I wasn’t ready at all after that, though.

My joggers were probably soaked through, and my whole core was tight with wanting him.

Callahan Knight knew how to edge better than any man I’d ever met.

23

Callahan

SHE WAS TRYING HER best to make sure we weren’t affected by one another. I knew that.

I had been doing the same, but she’d pushed me too far with that comment.

So far, I wanted to swipe all the food off the table and eat her for breakfast instead.

I let her go get ready for the library and went to my study to call my brother. “You get your invite to the wedding?”

“Never thought you’d be asking me that before I asked you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Fuck off. Did it come?”

“Yeah, yeah. The buzz has begun. Make sure you have extra eyes on you and her. I don’t want those damn Irish trying anything,” he told me before we got off the phone.

And I made a point to have Archer with us throughout the day, along with two other security details, mostly because Archer wasn’t home some nights. I’d found his projects were getting longer, his duties for Diamonds outside of my own more apparent.

Jasmina complained bitterly as I drove through Paradise Grove to get us to the library because of it. “It’s annoying to feel like they’re following us throughout the day.”

“They are following us.”

“Because of invites?”

“Were you never targeted or watched when you were with Paolo?”

“All the time,” she said as we walked into the library. Then she grumbled, “For more than one reason, it seems. You get any more information about his trafficking?”

I sighed and nodded. “Monte and Perla aren’t going to like you changing anything, Jas.”

“Of course they’re going to,” she pushed back, having full faith in her family. She didn’t know they were more involved than they said, that they’d been lying to her. It was clear after I looked over the documents, but I’d have to let her see for herself. “Paolo was always selfish and secretive. We’ll make it right … or at least stop what we can.”

I sighed. “It’s a large part of your family’s income.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, you need to look over it all yourself. Ask Monte and Perla again … Eyes wide open this time.”

“Because you think my eyes were closed before?” She glared at me.

“I think we explain away a lot of discrepancies for our family even when they don’t deserve for us to do that.” I paused. “I did for my father. He was doing dirty deals behind our backs for years. I looked the other way, not because I wanted to but because I didn’t think my father could.”

She shook her head. “I’ll ask them again, Callahan. And you’ll see. They’ll want to make it right,” she shot back, determined. And I found I admired her stubbornness, her need to stick to her morals and not back down.

She hummed and then told me, “Get me what you know about it. I’ll ask Tía Perla and Monte later too. I’m going to go look at designers for dresses now.” She didn’t sound at all excited.