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“Fuck, woman.” That was all he said before the car surged forward.
He had me home and naked in record time, erasing all thoughts of my cousin.
* * *
Conner had warnedme not to drink too much, so I did my best to hide my headache the next morning. He must have known, though, because I found two painkillers and a bottle of water sitting on the bathroom vanity after I showered. By the time we left the house for Nana’s party, I was much better.
The Byrne family matriarch was turning eighty-five. She and Paddy made a rare departure from their house, conditioning their appearance on holding the party at a pub. The family had found the largest Irish bar they could and bought it out for the afternoon. The place was decorated floor to ceiling in shades of lavender, Nana’s favorite color, and filled to the brim with family.
We wove our way back to the birthday girl first. She fussed that we’d all made too much commotion over her, but it was plain to see that she was delighted. I’d quickly come to adore Conner’s grandmother and was so happy to be a part of her special day. We talked for a bit, then made way for the newest arrivals to get their chance with her.
Settling in, Conner got himself a Guinness while I stuck to soda. My stomach wasn’t ready to tackle alcohol yet so soon after my night out.
“I didn’t realize Mia had been invited,” I said to my husband after spotting his birth mother and her husband across the room.
“I guess Mom invited her. The two have gotten together twice over the last couple of weeks. Apparently, they’re really hitting it off. Feels a little strange, but I’m getting used to it.”
“That’s really great. Your mom could easily have felt threatened by her. The whole family has handled it so well. Mostly.”
Conner had told his parents first about Brody being his biological father. Then he’d sat down with Brody’s widow and her three kids. Shae had laughed until she turned blue. According to Conner, her older brother, Cael, had seemed unfazed, but the eldest, Oran, had been openly wary. Poised to take over his father’s role in the organization and challenge Keir for leadership, he wasn’t thrilled with Conner gaining more clout in the family.
“Eh, there’s always gonna be at least one heckler in the crowd,” Conner murmured. “Once he sees I’m not a threat, he’ll calm down.”
“I’m glad you’re not gunning to take over. I don’t want that kind of target on your back.”
He put his arm around me and tucked me into his side. “I have everything I want right here,” he said, lips ghosting over my ear.
I warmed at his words, realizing as he removed his arm to shake hands with a distant relative that I felt the same. After Mom died, I’d told myself I could never be happy marrying a man who led the sort of life my father had. But now I knew that a man was more than his lifestyle. A person could live by a different moral code than society and still be honorable. He could steal all my thongs and still be thoughtful—order me onto my knees and still worship me like a goddess.
And if I was honest with myself, I didn’t want some of his parts without the others. Conner was who he was because of his dark complexities, and I adored every enigmatic piece of him.
Six Weeks Later
“We’re goingto have to make this an annual thing,” I told Conner after our pilot informed us that we’d be landing in a half hour. “I’m ready to be home, but also, I can’t wait to go back.”
We’d spent a magical honeymoon week in Turks and Caicos snorkeling on Smith’s Reef right off the shore and soaking in the sun. It was lazy and lavish and perfect. I had a new golden tan heading into the rainy season back home and a blossoming appreciation for travel. I’d known my father took private jets when he traveled, but the rest of us had rarely left the city, and when we did, we’d flown commercial. Conner didn’t do commercial. After a luxury flight in his family’s private jet, I could understand why.
“That can be arranged. There’s a lot of Caribbean to explore, and next time, we hopefully won’t have to fly on your actual birthday.”
“This isn’t exactly a hardship,” I teased, my arms lifted to indicate the gleaming cherry wood and leather cabin around us. He and I sat in two cushy chairs facing one another, my feet propped up on his lap.
“Yeah, but this is your twenty-first. You should be out celebrating like every other twenty-one-year-old does on their birthday.”
I grinned. “There’s still time.”
“Hmm,” he mused, his azure eyes reminding me of the waters we’d just left behind. “I’d thought I’d wait until we were home to give you your present, but I think I’d rather do it now.” He reached down into his laptop bag beside his chair and presented a small black box wrapped in a white satin bow.
My feet dropped to the floor as I sat tall with surprise. “We just took an amazing vacation; you didn’t have to do anything else.”
“Just open it,” he said softly.
I untied the bow and lifted the lid to unveil a set of stud white gold bell earrings—a perfect match to my mother’s necklace. “Oh, Conner,” I breathed, my hand flying to the pendant around my neck. I’d worn it almost every day since first putting it on months ago and had told him the significance of the necklace when he’d asked. It never occurred to me he’d do something so incredibly sweet as having a jeweler craft a matching set of earrings.
I closed the lid and rushed from my seat to climb onto his lap, straddling him in the leather chair. “Thank you, baby. They’re perfect.” I pressed my lips to his. Conner’s hands kneaded the modest globes of my ass, deepening our kiss just as the pilot announced that we’d be landing in fifteen minutes.
We both stilled, eyes locked in silent communication.
“Plenty of time,” he growled, lifting me in his arms and walking us to the small bedroom in the back of the plane.
