Page 7 of Bartered Innocence

Scratch that, like the virgin Iwas.

“Fuck, you’re so fucking perfect,” he rasps, the faint hint of an accent barely entwined in the words. I can’t look away from his blue eyes, bright like a tropical sea. His hips twist at the last second, hitting a spot that sends a hot spark through my body.

“Please,” I whisper, legs shaking as I clench around his cock, and he drags his hand down my leg and thumbs my clit. I need him to lose control. I need to feel him come inside me again.

“One more time,” he mutters. I barely make out his command before I come with a cry, a puppet to his fingers. He drops my legs and buries his face into my neck and his hands slide under my back again to grip my shoulders, picking up his pace and chasing his release just like before. My nails dig into his back. The masculine moan that rumbles near my ear sends shivers down my body. Neither of us move as our breathing calms before he raises up on his palms to look down at me.

My heart beats wildly in my chest at the intense stare. It breaks a little inside me, as if he’s stealing a piece I won’t get back. He’s looking at me like he found something precious, and I hate it because we can never be anything after tonight. If my brother finds out I gave a random outsider my virginity, just to get out of marriage, he’ll kill him.

“What?” I breathe out when he doesn’t say anything.

A small dimple pops right above his chin from his half-smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so insatiable. I’m gonna rinse off before our next round. You’re welcome to join me.”

Rian lifts off of me, grabbing the base of his still semi-erect large cock and keeping the condom in place. I grimace at the slight pink tint of it, knowing he had to have seen blood on the first one he disposed of. He didn’t comment on it and I’m thankful for that. The first time he merely tossed it into the trash can near his bed before grabbing a second condom, sheathing his hard cock, and sliding back into me.

Now he ties it off and stretches his arms behind his head as he looks down at me. The muscles of his abdomen pull taut as his biceps flex. He’s a gorgeous specimen of a man. A dark trail of hair leads down from his navel, and the sharp cuts along both sides of his pelvis point straight to the large, swollen shaft swinging between his legs.

Why he chose me out of the swarm of women around him, I’ll never know. Maybe it was my determination to get laid that had given me the false bravado to walk directly up to him and flirt.

He turns to head to the bathroom. My eyes automatically drop to his ass and my sore pussy clenches. The man is truly pure sex. My gaze slowly trails up his back before the air in my lungs catches, and I’m thrown back to the lesson my brother had given me a year ago.

“You see this symbol, you run. You understand me, Belle?” Ricky’s harsh tone has my eyebrows furrowing.

I take the photograph from his hands, running a finger along the blurred cross. “What does it mean?”

My brother shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter. What matters are the men that carry this tattoo.”

“Who are they?” I ask, entranced by the design. There’s a haunting beauty to it.

He snatches the photo back from me. “The Daghdha Brotherhood. The deadliest men of the Irish Mafia.”

My blood runs cold, the chill settling in my bones as Rian disappears farther into the bathroom. The cross is more detailed than it was in the photo, but still recognizable. It spans across his entire back, the top beginning at his nape and stopping right above the crease of his ass. The sides stretch to nearly wrap across his entire rib cage. The intricate twists of the Celtic design are beautiful in person. I don’t know the words that fill his skin outside of the cross, but I sense it is a vow of some kind. Similar to the crest that the Made Men of the Famiglia bear.

Terror leaves me frozen for a few more seconds before I sit up slowly and swallow down the bile rising in my throat. I flinch when the water sprays loudly across the tiled floor. Sliding off the bed, I rummage through his pants until I find his wallet. I peek at the bathroom door before flipping it open, and my bones ache from the adrenaline that shoots straight through me.

The dread clutching my heart deepens as I read the name on the ID. My stomach twists at the familiarity of it, and I curse myself for not knowing what he looked like.

Out of all men in this city, why’d it have to be him? Someone of my world, a rival of the Famiglia.

I made sure we didn’t visit a bar that had connections to Luca, and Sonia assured me it wasn’ttheirterritory either. I wasn’t as informed as my brother on all events, but I know that the Famiglia and the Irish aren’t on the best of terms. I gave him my virginity, a prized possession in our traditions. I’m not going to give him time to figure out who I belong to.

I grab his shirt from the floor, thankful for our height difference when it falls past my ass. Snatching my clothes and purse, I tiptoe out of his room. My chest tightens with each step away from the place of my sins. The shower is still running when I turn the knob of the front door of the penthouse and it shuts with a snick. Without checking, I rush to the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly as my heartbeat pounds like a drum in my ears.

My breathing is erratic as the doors finally slide open and I jump into the car, force the doors closed, and hit the button for the lobby. I slide my jeans over my bare feet, keeping them unbuttoned, thankful they’re snug against my hips. My heels hang from my fingertips and my shirt is thrown over my elbow. I’m not going to chance putting those back on until I’m a safe distance away. Digging into my clutch, I grab my phone, order a taxi, and leave everything about this night behind me.

Chapter3

Rian

One lookat Aodhan hovering near the front door and my knuckles tighten over the steering wheel. My chest aches at what’s possibly waiting for me in the home I’ve grown to hate lately. I park, flexing my fists as I climb out of my vehicle and unbutton my suit jacket before tossing it onto the seat. I roll up the sleeves of my white shirt, ensuring the gun at my back is secure, and walk to my second in command with my hands in my pockets.

“How bad?” I ask as I step onto the raised landing in front of the large oak double doors. The silver knockers with large lions look menacing, but really my mother installed them because they reminded her of Narnia.

Aodhan’s dark eyes meet mine, and he shakes his head before moving out of the doorway so I can step through. It’s dim like always, the light disappeared the moment my mother was gone. The stench of stale air is another reminder of the vast difference from the sweet and savory scents that used to saturate these halls.

I blow out a tense breath and head up the stairs where I know my father is resting in his chambers.

“Doc doesn’t think he can survive another one. And if he does, there won’t be much left of him,” Aodhan says, the somber tone weighing heavy on us both.

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