Page 70

I relax a little, listening. “What happened to it?” I ask quietly.

Piers’ jaw tightens. “My asshole father gambled it away one night in a poker game. He did it to be cruel to me. It wasn’t like we didn’t have plenty of money. He put it on the table specifically because he knew how much I loved that land. How much it meant to me because of my grandfather.”

My heart aches for the young man he must have been. “So you got the tattoo?” I ask, tracing the Roman numerals again, gentler this time.

“Yes,” he says. “So I never forget where I came from. What really matters. And so I never stop until I get it back.”

I look up at him. “Did you?”

“Almost,” he says, a small, satisfied smile curving his lips. “I need a week or two more.”

I smile, too. “That’s going to be an insane hit to your bank account. I read, once, that a single acre can sell for up to two hundred thousand dollars.”

“That’s just for land.”

I mentally do the math. Over ten million for fifty-four acres. More if there’s a house on it.

“It’s not finalized yet,” he continues, “but we’re very close. And when I get it, I’m taking you there.”

I glance over at the vibrant Vivian Darcy painting on the wall, then back at him. “And we can have our own holiday,” I whisper.

“Exactly,” Piers murmurs.

I see him differently now. The lines around his eyes aren’t just age. They’re from spending time on boat decks and beaches. From worrying about this pack. From building an empire so he could repurchase those fifty-four acres because they mean something to him.

Piers is someone who carries his love for the people in his life as if they are something precious. Something worth protecting. He does it quietly, without fanfare. Inking LIV on his ribs where only the people closest to him will ever see it.

I reach out and trace the tattoo one more time, then place my palm on it. “When I get there,” I say, “I want you to show me where you used to fish with him.”

He swallows. “Yeah,” he says, finally. Then his lips find mine.

Piers’ hands slide down my back, pulling me tighter against him as his tongue teases mine. I moan into his mouth, fingers curling into his shirt, already aching for more.

I pull back enough to breathe against his lips. “I have a gift for you, too.”

His dark eyes flicker with interest. “Do you?”

I slide off his lap and sink to my knees between his spread thighs. Piers watches me with that intense, predatory focus that makes my stomach flip. When I reach for his belt, he cups my cheek with one hand, thumb brushing tenderly over my lower lip. Then his fingers slide into my hair, holding me gently but possessively.

I unzip his slacks and free his cock. It’s thick, heavy, and already hard for me. I lean in and press a soft, open-mouthed kiss to the head before looking up at him through my lashes. Our eyes lock as I take him into my mouth.

Piers groans low in his throat, fingers tightening slightly in my hair. I work him slowly at first. Licking, sucking, swirling my tongue around the head while never breaking eye contact. His breathing grows ragged. The muscles in his thighs tense under my hands.

“Fuck, sunshine,” he rasps. “Look at you. So pretty on your knees for me.”

I hum around him, taking him deeper, hollowing my cheeks as I bob my head. His hips twitch, but he stays in control, letting me set the pace. I love the way his cock throbs when I swirl around the sensitive underside. When I feel him getting close, thighs trembling, he gently pulls me off with a groan.

“Not yet,” he pants, eyes blazing. “The first time I come tonight, I want it deep in your pussy.”

Heat floods through me. I lick my swollen lips and smile up at him, voice husky. “Then take me.”

Piers pulls me up from my knees and onto the couch in one smooth motion. His hands are urgent but careful as he strips my leggings and panties down my legs. Once I’m bare, he stops, staring at my spread thighs with those nearly black eyes. I don’t shy away. I spread my legs wider, letting him see everything.

A low, hungry sound rumbles from his chest. “Do you want your alpha to taste you, sunshine?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

His eyes flash with warning. “Yes, what?”