Killian: A West Bend Saints Romance Read online

  "The mining company is that dirty," I say, not quite processing everything he’s said. My mind is spinning with information, completely overloaded. "That's why you flipped your lid when you saw me having dinner with the guy from the company."

  Luke clenches his hands. "That's not the only reason."

  "What's the other reason?" I ask, afraid to look at him. The air between us seems to be charged with electricity.

  "Because you're mine, damn it," he says. "You're mine and I want you. It gutted me to see you on a date with another man."

  "It wasn't a date," I say, turning toward him. "I only went because I was curious what was going on with the property buyouts. It didn't make any sense to me."

  "Still." He looks at me.

  "You think I'm yours, huh?" I ask, interrupting him.

  "I want you to be mine. Say you're mine."

  "I'm yours, Luke." I barely get the words out before his mouth comes crashing down on mine.

  36

  Luke

  I kiss her hard, running my hands through that long auburn hair of hers before yanking off her clothes. This should be slow and gentle or something – after weeks of all of this bullshit. But it's the exact opposite of that. When I try to slow down, wrapping my mouth around her breast, my tongue flicking over her nipple, she pulls my head up to hers.

  "I want you inside me," she whispers. "I need you inside me. I can't wait."

  Fuck. If there's anything hotter than hearing those words come out of her mouth, I can't imagine what it would be.

  We don't make it upstairs. We don't even make it very long on the sofa before we fall off onto the floor, limbs tangled together, Autumn giggling with a hand over her mouth, trying to be quiet so she doesn't wake Olivia.

  But when I'm inside her and fucking her on the living room floor, there's nothing funny about that. Then she's quiet, making these little whimpers, barely more than a whisper, and looking into my eyes as I thrust inside her. She grips my ass cheeks, pulling me into her, wrapping her legs around me, encouraging me to fuck her harder.

  "More, more," she urges.

  And I give her more. I fuck her harder, thrusting inside her sweet warm pussy that seems like it's made for me. When she whimpers, I mute her moans with my mouth. She clutches at my back, her fingernails digging into my skin, whispering my name.

  Nothing in the world is better than hearing my name on her lips.

  I move inside her, bringing her higher and higher until her pussy is so swollen around me I can barely take it any longer. Then she says the words: "Make me come, Luke."

  I don't make her wait, not this time. I don't make her hold off the way I've done before. "Come with me, sweetheart," I say, and she does. As soon as I speak the words, she lets go, her pussy throbbing around me as she lets out a low moan. I let go, filling her up, her muscles milking me of every last drop.

  Afterwards, she smiles as she looks at me. "I'm yours."

  Shit, she knows just what to say to me to make me hard as a rock again.

  We don't make it off the living room floor for hours. I think we both have carpet burn, and I don't give a shit. This is what I want – she is what I want.

  When she rides me, sitting on my lap as I wrap my arms around her because I don’t want to let her go, her hair falls down around our faces like a curtain.

  We fuck until we’re finally satisfied. Or exhausted. Or both.

  "We should go upstairs," she murmurs, her voice soft as she lies with her head on my chest. I stroke her hair absently.

  "We should," I agree. I’m so relaxed, I’m having a hell of a time keeping my eyes open. "Actually, I should go let Lucy out. I think she's camped out by the front door."

  I stand, pulling on my clothes and pausing to admire Autumn as she slides a t-shirt over her head. She blushes when she catches me staring. "Hand me my pants," she says.

  "I'd rather keep you naked," I tell her. But I toss them over anyway. "I hope you're not planning on staying dressed."

  Then Lucy interrupts from down the hallway somewhere with a growl low in her throat.

  "Is that normal?" Autumn asks, her eyes wide. She pulls her jeans up and fastens the button. "She doesn't growl like that when she's here."

  "Probably an animal," I say, my voice terse. I reach reflexively behind my back for my weapon, even though I know it's not there. Damn it. I didn't want to bring it into Autumn's place, not with her kid around, and I should have. Instead, it’s in my truck where it’s useless.

  Then Lucy comes into the living room, barking, the hackles on her fur standing straight up, and I know immediately something is wrong. Lucy heads upstairs, still growling.

  "Where's she going?" Autumn asks. "Why is she going to Olivia's room?"

  I put my hand on her. "We'll go grab Oli–"

  Before I can finish, a window in the kitchen crashes. There's a blinding white light followed by an explosion that knocks us to our knees. My arms around Autumn, I look past her, and see flames already licking the walls in the kitchen.

  "Olivia!" Autumn screams. "We have to get her!"

  I pull Autumn to her feet, holding her at arms' length by the shoulders. "I'm going to get her right now," I tell her. "Is there another way out of here, other than the front door?"

  "I need to go up there!" she yells. "I'll go with you."

  "Listen to me right now, Autumn," I yell. "There's no time. I will get her. I promise. Where is another way out of here?"

  She's crying and she shakes her head, as if she's trying to think. "The laundry room," she says. "It opens onto the side."

  "Is it by the kitchen?"

  "No. It’s right over there," she says.

  "Listen to me. Go out that way. I'll follow you. Do you have a weapon anywhere?"

  "The cidery," she says. "Please. I need to go with you."

  "Get out the laundry room door," I yell. "I'm right behind you, and I will have Olivia. There's a weapon in the glove box of my truck. Go to my truck or the cidery, wherever you can, and grab one of the weapons. We don't know who's outside."

  She falters one more time, indecision written on her face, before turning and disappearing into the laundry room. I rush upstairs where Lucy is barking at Olivia's crib. Olivia howls loudly, and I yank off my t-shirt before scooping her into my arms, covering her nose lightly with the fabric, which only serves to piss her off even further. Lucy darts down the stairs in front of us, standing at the bottom and barking at us.

  "Come on, girl," I say, heading in the direction where I'd ordered Autumn a few minutes before. The fire hasn't spread to the laundry room, but the heat in the kitchen radiates into the other rooms, and the smoke billows into the rest of the house. "It's okay, Olivia. It's all going to be okay."

  Fuck if I know that's true. But I say the words over and over as I carry her outside into the freezing cold. I hold her against me as I jog around the side of the house, heading for the cidery.

  "Do you really think I'm just going to let you run out of the house?" The voice comes from behind me, and I spin around. I'd recognize the voice anywhere. Jed Easton. He shines a flashlight in my eyes, blinding me, and Olivia screams louder than before. Lucy growls, and I know she'll lunge for Jed and he'll shoot her, so I order her to heel. "That dog comes at me, and I put her down, Saint."

  "Heel, Lucy," I say, my tone low. She sits by my feet, her growl a low rumble in her throat. "A fire, Jed? With a kid inside the house? That’s low, even by your standards."

  Jed chuckles. "Collateral damage," he says. "Besides, who would believe that you set the place on fire just to kill yourself? People are far more likely to believe that you set this place on fire because the slut here broke your heart. How does that saying go? If I can't have her, no one else will? That’s exactly why everyone will think you did it."

  "You really think you're going to get away with this, Jed?" I ask. "Shooting me and the baby doesn't fit with the scenario you're describing."

  "Walk," he says. "Away from the house. You'