able to attend.”
I went home with the weight of the world on my shoulders and yet, I realized a part of me was ready. It was time to do my duty and lead.
Over the next few days, I was incredibly busy with the transition. I found time to spend with Sophia and Gianna, but it wasn’t as much as I would have liked. I had hoped to have convinced Gianna to move into my room by then, but all I’d been able to accomplish were stolen moments with hot kisses and some heavy petting. I’d made her come a couple of times, but it wasn’t enough. The stress of my work had me needing her more than ever. I longed to sink inside her heat and lose myself to her entirely.
Finally, on Friday, our shipment was located and the goons who’d stripped the truck were made an example of. Their bodies were delivered to the O’Reillys as a message. I knew this meant we were likely to end up in a war, but we would be vulnerable without a show of strength and power.
As we waited for the next move, I vowed to focus on Gianna, to truly make her mine. She’d had enough time to accept what was happening. Saturday night, Sophia would be staying with a friend, and I was going to use every weapon in my arsenal to show her who she belonged to.
Chapter 7
Anna
“I ’m taking you to dinner.”
It took all my energy to stop my lips from tilting up in a grin at the way Nic asked me to dinner. He totally skipped over the question part and just told me what we were going to do. He was so darn bossy and it had nothing to do with the fact that he really was my boss.
“It’s the first night I have free since I moved in. Maybe I already have plans.”
“Plans?” he growled, prowling towards me.
“I have a hot date with some shampoo and conditioner,” I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, since he resembled a lion who was ready to pounce.
It had the opposite effect than I had intended. Nic’s eyes flared, heating with an animalistic lust. When he was inches from me, he reached one finger out, wrapped it around a long, dark lock and tugged. “If your hair needs washing, I’ll do it for you.”
I gulped at the thought of showering with him, his hands all over my wet body—mine all over his hard one. It was too easy to picture us together under a stream of water. I leaned into his hand, his fist unclenching, so my cheek rested against his palm. “Dinner’s probably a better plan.”
“Fuck dinner,” he rasped, sweeping me into his arms and heading for his room. “I’ll feed you later.”
He dropped me onto the oversized king mattress and followed me down. “I tried taking it slow, Gianna,” he growled into my ear, making me roll my eyes because the pace at which he’d moved was anything but slow. “I wanted to give you time to wrap your head around what’s happening between us, but I’m done waiting. I can’t do it anymore. I need you too much, so I’m taking what’s mine.”
His aggressiveness probably should have been a major turn-off. Instead, my body betrayed exactly how much it aroused me. My heart raced, my muscles went lax, and my lips parted as I struggled to drag air into my lungs. And that was all before he kissed down my neck, scraping his teeth lightly against my pulse point before sucking my skin into his mouth hard enough I knew it would leave a mark. My first hickey. I giggled softly and he growled at the sound, lifting up on one arm to free his other so he could pull my shirt up and over my head. My bra quickly followed and my breasts were bared to his sight and touch. He cupped one of them, rolling the nipple between his fingertips and making it pebble. Trailing kisses down my chest, he reached my other breast and flicked his tongue over the nipple several times before sucking it into his mouth.
“Nic,” I moaned, my back arching as I ran my fingers through his dark hair, trying to pull his mouth closer to me.
He chuckled against my skin and switched his attention to the other side.
“Please,” I