Illicit Temptation (Astoria Royals #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Trace

T he following Saturday, Shea breezes into the kitchen wearing what looks like a paper-thin lavender dress with a dangerously high slit. One gust of wind and I’ll have to gouge out the eyes of dozens of men who will see what is rightfully and legally mine.

She’s nonchalant checking her phone, ignoring me as I take in how the dress hugs her curves and outlines her entire body. Tonight’s gala in Astoria was on her itinerary, and I arranged for her brother to send his helicopter for us. I just got a ping that it landed. I’m furious about her choice of dress, but if I make her change, she’ll fight me, and we’ll be late.

Keeping my anger in check, I move toward her and grip the wrist holding her phone. Putting it behind her back in an armlock, I lean over her to get her attention.

Her angry eyes drill into me. “What the hell?”

“Are you fucking kidding me with this dress?”

Her jaw drops. “It’s a gown. We’re going to a gala.”

I blink at her. “I’m no fashion expert, princess, but isn’t this color better for spring events?”

Not that I’d let her wear this on a hot summer day to just wander to the street to get the mail.

“Lavender is evergreen,” she argues.

“It’s too revealing. Go put something else on right now.”

“You don’t own me, Trace.” She tries to twist out of my hold.

“I have a piece of paper that says I do own you in the most visceral way that any judge in any land will interpret as you being mine . But I’m not talking as a husband, right now. As your bodyguard, it’s my job to keep away creeps who want what’s under this dress. I’m ordering you as your bodyguard, and mine to protect, to change that dress .”

“Watch that tone with me. You might be my husband on a cheap piece of paper, but that’s not ownership and you don’t get to tell me what to do.”

The fire in her eyes only makes me want to fuck her more.

But only if she consents.

“And not only are you taking that sham wedding too far, you’re also taking this job too far,” she adds, riled up. “There’s no active threat against me.”

When I don’t answer, her breath hitches. “Wait. Is there something going on? Something my brothers aren’t telling me? Would you keep that from me?”

“Depends.” I’m close to spilling about Crest, but I don’t want her shirking behind my skirt. “It’s common for a security agent to keep a client in the dark. Sometimes acting clueless means a perpetrator will get sloppy.”

“I’ll take that as a no.” She wiggles against me, my cock stiffening to the point of pain.

“Keep gyrating against me, and we’ll be late for a different reason.”

“Problem?” A deep voice is followed by a wide-framed male who steps into the light from the darkened living room.

In two swift moves, I draw my gun and yank Shea behind me. Seeing my cousin there startles me for a different reason.

“Fucking, fuck. Griffin! Where did you bleedin’ come from and how did you get in here?”

He holds up his phone. “Shane unlocked the front door when I was standing on the porch for five minutes. We all have the gate code.”

“You all have the codes to my house?” Shea wrenches from my hold .

“Got them from Balor.” Griffin’s eyes widen taking in her dress and I want to rip his head off the way he looks at her.

He’s been living in Astoria the whole time and never made a move on her. Neither have his brothers. Yet, checking her out in that dress, his eyes bulge in a way I’d not seen before.

Which means it’s got to go.

“Great. Just help yourselves to my life.” Shea grabs the sparkly bag from the console near the door and drops her phone inside. “Let’s go. We’re late.”

“How did you get here?” I ask Griffin.

“You were supposed to be at the helipad twenty minutes ago. I grabbed a cab. What’s the hold-up?”

I don’t have an answer, and I don’t care if I make us even later at this point. Only, Shea is already out the door, a white wool coat draped over her shoulders.

Shaking my head, I grab the keys to that Lexus, since it’s easier to park at the helipad.

At the car, Shea waits by the passenger door. Griffin goes to open it for her, but I nudge him aside. “I got it. You’re riding in the back, brat.”

With him out of earshot, I stroll to the other side of the car and lean into Shea’s ear. “I know you’re attending this gala at Kieran’s invitation. I suggest you stay close to your brothers so no man dares to go near you. That dress invites trouble.”

“Does it?”

“I’m a man. If I saw a woman wearing that...” My throat dries up when I realize I can’t finish that thought.

“That’s your problem, not mine.” She whispers, “Besides, aren’t you a married man?”

“And I’m still figuring out if I should be mad at you for breaking your vows with that scumbag.”

She swallows, blushing .

Fuck, I want a feisty reaction. Those claws coming at me. Death stares. I don’t want to make her feel guilty. It was my fault she was alone for three years. My job kept us apart. Even if she thinks I would have agreed to a divorce had I stuck around.

“Tell me,” Shea breaks the silence against the winter waves in the distance. “If you saw a woman dressed like this, you’d do what?”

“Nothing.” I huff. “That’s why I couldn’t finish. Any other woman wearing that dress wouldn’t even register.”

“Mate, we have to go.” Griffin bangs on the roof of the car. “It’s fucking freezing.”

Yet, my body rages like a furnace turned up to one hundred and fifty degrees. A bead of sweat even trickles down my back.

“You heard my cousin,” I say to Shea and help her into the seat.

She gets in and I tuck her coat around her so it doesn’t catch on the door.

On the other side, I meet Griffin’s eyes. “Really, why the escort?”

“I have to talk to you about you know who . Thought the bird was the best place.”

“In front of Shea?”

“She’ll be in the luxury compartment. We’ll sit in the front.”

It’s for the best, that he’s here. I’m not sure what I’d do if I was alone with her right now. She has every right to dress how she wants, pretend she’s available. Even if it makes me want to kill someone.

Griffin coming to personally meet us means he has news on the Greek mafia king’s missing sister. I might be pulled from this gig with Shea sooner than I thought.

I’m a man going to war and if I’m going to die, I want the last woman I fuck to be Shea-Lynne O’Rourke.

ON THE BIRD, WITH SHEA out of earshot, Griffin brings me up to date on the Irish and Greek war he’s diving into soon. We all are. In Lower Manhattan, the two factions have been at odds for a decade. The crown prince Devlin Keller and the Greek king, Alexander Zervas died within a week of each other in a car bomb/revenge ambush debacle. Ares Zervas, the new head of the Greek mafia, offered a truce to Devlin’s father, Troi, in the form of a marriage alliance with his sister, Ava, and Troi’s new eligible heir, who, through his wife happens to be Griffin Quinlan. Only, Devlin’s half-brother and illegitimate bastard, Brandon Keller thinks he is the rightful heir and abducted Ava on Christmas Eve.

No one’s seen her since.

Griffin takes out his phone and shows me a photo of a dilapidated building with a man standing out front smoking a joint. “It’s confirmed. That’s one of Brandon Keller’s bodyguards and according to Shane, they’ve not left that spot in a week. Keller has to be in there.”

“And Ava?”

“That’s the one issue with our intelligence.” Stress paints his face for the first time. “Ava Zervas is still nowhere to be found.”

“Where’s this?” I tap his screen.

“Upper West Side.”

“It makes sense Keller didn’t take her out of the country.” I go through the aerial surveillance photos.

“Brandon’s resources are limited outside the US.”

“Pretty dumb, hiding in a building.” I point to the roof. “There’s plenty of access points to get in there.”

“Clearly, the guy is out of his mind.” Griffin tucks the phone back into his overcoat. “He’s been moving around a lot. This is the only place he’s stayed for more than a couple of nights. But he’s got six guys with him. He rotates them down to four to give them breaks.”

I look up. “You taking out Brandon?”

“ You’re taking him out, Enforcer.” Griffin sits back, looking quite regal for an accidental king.

A swell of pride and excitement rushes through me. “When?”

“Not sure. We’re going in when I’m comfortable he’s let his guard down.

All I can do is abduct him. Torture him until he tells us what happened to Ava. We can’t kill him if he’s the only fucker on the planet who knows where she is.”

Griffin is in an impossible situation. Zervas recognized Griffin as the new head of the Keller family. But also made him pseudo-responsible for all their sins. The main one: Kidnapping the Greek mafia princess.

If Brandon Keller killed Ava Zervas, Griffin would inherit World War III.

I’m the top war general, while Connor takes his place as underboss, and Shane heads the security arm of Quinlan Empire. Rhys will be my number-one assassin.

“I told you the stakes earlier this year.” Griffin drills me with a pensive stare. “It’s my mother’s bloodline that runs to Keller. You’re of my father’s blood. I will still respect you if this isn’t a fight you want your dogs in.”

“ You’re my blood, Griff. This responsibility, this obligation to take over the strongest Irish family in Lower Manhattan got put on your shoulders.” Shoulders I squeeze. “Rhys and I are honored to stand with you.”

“You know we’re all putting our lives on the line?” He sits back.

I laugh. “You’ve been working for the O’Rourkes for most of your adult life. You’ve always been in danger.”

“That’s me.”

Visions of what Malone did to me, shudder down my spine. There’s danger and then there’s torture. “I know the risks. I trust you, Connor, and Shane. I hope you trust me.”

“Aye, but if Brandon killed Ava, her brother will take his revenge on us. All of us.” Griff’s jaw twitches. “Even if it’s just to save face. Meanwhile, not everyone in Keller World wanted Brandon passed over. Some were stupid enough to remain loyal and lick his arse.”

“And?”

“Before we worry about the Greeks coming to kill us, those Irish brats might arrange for my execution to put him on the throne. He’s holding Ava specifically so I can’t marry her. He wants the war his father tried to stop.”

The Irish are savage enough to take their anger that far. I fight everything I have not to glance into the soundproof compartment, worrying if bringing Shea into my world is a little too dangerous at the moment. With my child no less, if I manage to get her pregnant.

Doc Mike better know what he was talking about when he said if she keeps taking those pills, they will hopefully make her ripe and fertile for when she finally lets me into her bed.

“Have something you want to tell me about you and Shea?” Griffin asks, looking right at me.

“No.” I return my gaze forward. “But she’s not my usual client.”

“Meaning?”

“She’s not a stranger. I’ve known her since we were just kids.”

“I know the history.”

“How much do the O’Rourkes know about your ties to Keller?” I change the subject. “They’re into some sinister shit.”

“Minimal. The O’Rourkes grew their power and got rich by staying in their lane. In Astoria.” Griffin leans back and stares out the window. “So. A Quinlan and an O’Rourke after all.”

I debate telling him about the Vegas wedding, and more importantly, my intention to stay married to Shea. And get her pregnant. Griffin says Quinlans come first to him. But I don’t want to test that. Not with this new weight on his mind.

He might shoot me himself.

But I won’t treat him like a fool.

“I know what I’m doing, mate.” But I realize every day we stay married there’s a chance the wedding record could be discovered by Balor or Shane. Shane will bury it. I’m not sure what Balor would do. Especially if they want to marry Shea off to Nico Scava as some sort of safety net from the Crests.

“You have eyes,” I add. “She’s gorgeous. I won’t be her bodyguard for long. She’s an adult. Independent. If she wants me...” The words die in my throat at the look of murder Griffin gives me.

“I can’t have a bounty on your head from Lachlan O’Rourke. Or have him hunt you down himself. Keep that giant cock in your pants.” Griffin stares me down. “I will have a house to run, but only if find Ava and marry her. I have to keep the Greeks on our side to do that billion-dollar land deal. We need their connections, and they need the Keller money I now control.”

I go to respond, but the bird’s nose dips, sending my stomach twisting.

“Folks, we’re landing in five minutes,” the pilot says over the loudspeaker.

Griffin immediately gets on his phone to give our ETA to someone, probably Lachlan. We land, and I stride to the passenger compartment to collect Shea.

Our eyes meet on opposite sides of the glass. I can’t make out what she’s thinking.

For a moment I question how good a husband and a father I can be working as an enforcer gunning down Kellers who won’t bend the knee to Griffin. I fight the bile that rises in my throat, spilling Irish blood, but anyone who dares to threaten me will pay if they pull the trigger first.

I think of Lachlan, who’s even more fierce now that he’s got a wife to protect. Being powerful is supposed to reward you with the spoils of a great life. A beautiful woman on my arm, swollen with my child, and warming my bed, sends a strong message: Do not fuck with me.

The consequences will be even worse. I’ll punish anyone who dares to hurt me ten times harder because hurting me will hurt Shea. But I can’t tell her why she needs to stay married to me. What her brothers are planning. What my family is planning.

As soon as we get to Ireland to visit Dunbar, and I get her father’s backing, she’ll come around. She’ll have permission to stay with me.

That’s what’s got her in a lather, the way we got married. I’ll give her a big showy wedding. I’ll marry her here, and Ireland, and Hawaii. We can get a license in every damn state if she wants.

I reach inside the luxury compartment and clasp her throat, my thumb brushing the soft skin right beneath her chin.

“What?” she mouths with the engines roaring outside the helicopter.

I lean into her ear. “Take this for what it’s worth, princess. Letting you walk out on me that morning three years ago was the hardest thing I ever did. I only left because of my assignment. Now you want me to give up on you all over again. On what we can be. You don’t remember how good we were, how much fun we had both in and out of bed, but I do.” The words scrape from my throat, but the only pain I feel is in my chest .

“Trace...” Her voice fades as the whirring blades outside die down.

If her father doesn’t approve, then I will break my promise to Griffin and go straight to Lachlan, confess my feelings and my intentions as well as my blood oath to the O’Rourkes. Griffin is leaving. Surely Lachlan can use an ex-military warrior as a new second.

I hold Shea’s hand walking down the airstairs and into Griffin’s black Escalade. She sits quietly tucked into the backseat, but her perfume is anything but quiet. It strips my nerves and flames my ache for her.

A few minutes later, we’re at The Orchid, a dazzling venue with tuxes and gowns as far as the eye can see.

“The event organizers hired top security. Just keep your eyes on your charge,” Griffin says to me.

I’ll be keeping them on her ass.

Griffin saunters in and takes his place with Lachlan O’Rourke accompanied by his very pregnant wife. This is another complication. The man is too high-strung right now to deal with any betrayals. I’m Shea’s bodyguard in his eyes, nothing more.

I touch her. And I die.