Illicit Temptation (Astoria Royals #3)

CHAPTER FORTY

Shea

“ T he trip to Dunbar is next week?” I ask Lachlan near the bar, the two of us watching Balor and Ella slow-dancing to a beautiful and romantic Irish melody.

“You can always stay home.” Lachlan grins with that psycho smile of his.

That’s exactly what he wants, and I won’t give him the satisfaction of besting me. Not the way I fought to get on this trip.

“I’ll make sure my calendar is free.” I fake yawn to signal he doesn’t scare me. “I’ll be ready.”

I’m thankful this trip won’t interrupt my meeting with Mrs. Lagerfeld tomorrow morning. The coveted audience with her took several calls to arrange. I turn away and am face to face with all six-foot-four of my brother Kieran. “Oh, hey.”

He smiles at my casual greeting. Most people bow to him, kiss his ring, call him king, or quake in his presence. Sometimes all of the above.

“Alo, love.” He gently pulls me in by the elbow and kisses my forehead.

He wants something.

The hard lines of that serious, brutally handsome face, jet-black hair, and piercing green eyes would allow him to waltz into a stocked bank vault and steal all the money if it were guarded by a woman.

“Like I said, hey.” I step back a bit, wondering if he can tell my hair is matted against my neck from the sweaty sex I had just moments ago.

Or... Can he smell the cum stains on my thighs?

“I know Lachlan approved you for the Dunbar trip but—”

“I’m going.” I stand firm.

He towers over me. “We haven’t talked in a while.”

“I talked to you and Isabella this morning before the wedding.” I dressed at Divona earlier and took time to play with my sweet, bratty nephews.

“Do you plan to stay single forever, Shea-Lynne?” My brother crosses his arms.

I suck in a breath. “That’s really none of your—”

“Everything about you is my business, Shea.” His brutal green gaze murders the rest of those words in my throat. “I’m sorry if you believe that I haven’t been considering your future. The last few years have been hectic, and my focus has been required elsewhere.”

My brothers have teetered on the brink of war with both the Astoria Italians and the Russians. All while six out of the seven have fallen in love. Giving me a reprieve from any demands that I join the club.

Trace, standing a few feet away, watches us with furrowed brows, waiting for some rescue signal.

“I’d like you to consider a potential marriage match,” Kieran drops a nuclear bomb on me.

The floor might as well as caved beneath my feet. It was dumb of me to think this wouldn’t happen. That I wouldn’t be treated like any other mob princess, used as a device by the men in this family for their gain.

“Like who?” I ask to humor him. I’m a fool if I think I can just brush this off.

Kieran’s jaw ticks like he didn’t expect me to call his bluff. “You let me worry about that.”

My eyes flick to Trace as my heart pounds, my dangerous secrets threatening to swallow me. If Kieran tries to marry me to a mob don, his people will do a massive background check on me and see... whoops ...already married. And if they go further and check my medical records, I’ll be branded broken and unworthy, a stain on my brother’s kingdom.

“Shea-Lynne, you’re not getting any younger. Let’s not delay the inevitable.” Kieran pushes his face close to mine. Despite the intensity of his gaze, he softens his tone.

“The inevitable?”

“Getting married. Having a family.” He leaves out any mention of love.

Sure, all my brothers got to marry for love. But me? No, I’m supposed to accept a marriage without it.

Little does he know, I already have both.

I drag in a breath to start throwing logic in his handsome face. “And you think a worthy mob boss would be half the good husband to me as you are to Isabella?”

He thinks about that. “I wasn’t exactly the best husband when I first married my Izzy. She made me the husband I am.” He strokes my cheek. “You’re the same way. You’ve done it, me a stór . You’ve proven you can run a business all on your own. But as my life expands, as my family grows, I need to make sure you’re secure.”

I think about the kind of man who marries a woman solely for an heir, only to find out she can’t give him one. Telling Kieran about my fertility problems sits on my tongue as a flame-thrower to burn down this conversation.

I can’t form the words that I’m unable to have a baby. A family wedding isn’t the place to reveal my disappointing news.

Plus, maybe... gulp ...Kieran might marry me off to some powerful geezer who doesn’t need children.

I hold it together and keep challenging him. “What if I don’t want a husband?”

He smiles. “Would you prefer a wife?”

That breaks a ring of laughter from my chest. “If I did, I would tell you. I’m happy, Kieran.” Only, I don’t think my happiness is a factor to him .

“There’s more to life than work,” he says, leaning in to me. “I didn’t think I’d take a wife after Norah died. I masked that grief by being the savage king Da expected me to be.”

Then came an opportunity to strengthen his reign. A plan that included taking Isabella Parisi, the daughter of the Italian mafia don, as his queen.

I consider throwing it in his face that if there’s a deal to be made with another mafia king, shame on him for using the oldest trick in the book and not sending his army, headed by Lachlan with the help of the Bratva, to take what he wants and leave me the hell out of it.

These words scream in my head, as tears well up in my eyes.

“Shea?” Kieran studies me.

I breathe so I don’t pass out, summoning my courage. I’ve stood up to my brother before. “In case you’ve forgotten, dear brother, I have a business to run.”

He holds my shoulders. “Larke is more than capable of running your East Hampton business. Then you can sell it to her. You don’t need the money, Shea-Lynne.”

Balor! Kieran used Balor to spy on me. I turn my head, eyes searching for the groom, or anyone who will be on my side. All of my brothers are powerful, but no one would dare challenge Kieran on this.

Clearing my throat, I say, “I agree, Larke can manage the East Hampton office. While I expand into Manhattan. I’m meeting with Rina Lagerfeld tomorrow. She’s rumored to be selling her multi-million-dollar event-planning empire. And I plan to be on the shortlist.”

“Lagerfeld. In Manhattan?” Kieran’s icy tone is as sharp as a blade.

“You’ve heard of them,” I answer, curious about the fire brewing in his eyes.

He tugs me by the arm, his bruising grip makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Trace’s jaw drops as he strides toward us.

Catching Trace rushing this way, Kieran shoves me behind him. “Don’t you ever worry about her with me, do you understand? I’d slit my own throat before hurting my sister.”

“Aye, sir. Just worried there’s been news about your mum and wanted to be there for her.”

Nice save...

“This is not about our mother.” After another glance at me, my brother says to Trace, “She stays the fuck away from Manhattan.”

My mouth drops open. I was stupid for telling him about Lagerfeld.

Trace and Kieran connect silently like there’s more I don’t know, ending with Trace’s nod. “Aye, boss.”

Trace calls me boss as a joke. Lachlan is his boss, and Kieran rules us all!

My brother pulls me aside, away from Trace. My heart drops into my stomach. Whatever he’ll say next is something he doesn’t want my bodyguard to hear. “I didn’t want to embarrass you like this, but I know about you and Archer Crest. I don’t know why I wasn’t given the intel sooner, but I’m disappointed you didn’t do me the courtesy of telling me you were involved with a man who’s got a different kind of blood on his hands. The blood of innocents , Shea.”

My throat goes tight. I wrongly justified my relationship with Archer, thinking his power rivaled my brothers. I was so wrong.

“I never thought of it like that,” I utter with hot tears building in my throat again.

Kieran holds me. “Fuck, Shea. You’re the purest of us all. I know you didn’t see it that way. What else are you not telling me, lass? ”

God, where do I start? Kieran loves me, but he doesn’t know how to not manipulate me. Control me. He’s more secure than ever on his throne. He’s at peace with the Italians. He’s embedded our family with the Bratva. He’s got his queen and his little princes. Every other brother except Cormac is married. He won’t let up on me. He’s just getting started.

Every secret will blow up in my face. Kieran is keeping secrets, too. He knows exactly who he wants me to marry, and he’s not telling me. Maybe the deal isn’t secure. Maybe he’s silently auctioning me off to the highest bidder.

“I’d like to leave now,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention Archer. He was getting a divorce, I was embarrassed, but it’s been over for a long time now.”

Kieran stares at me and nods softly. “And there’s nothing else I should know?”

Bingo... What ‘should’ Kieran know? I have a right to privacy. I’ll play that card to my grave. “No. Nothing.”

“After she says her goodbyes, you take her home,” Kieran calls out to Trace.

“Yes, sir.”

Walking toward Balor and Ella to kiss them goodnight, I pass Trace and he falls in line behind me.

I’m going to secure the Lagerfeld deal, then tell my brother I can’t have children. He’ll feel so sorry for me. He’ll bless how I’m soldiering on and making even more of a name for myself.

And then forget about me.

One can always dream.

TRACE AND I WAIT SILENTLY outside The Orchid for car service to take us back to East Hampton. A weather system from the north traveling across the Long Island Sound has grounded the helicopter, another thorn in the rosy life of living so far away from everyone.

Tonight reinforced why I’ve always wanted my own life and not be a part of my family’s world. How stupid to think my brother would never force a marriage on me. It’s my own fault, though. I was foolish and doe-eyed waiting for Archer, staying single, and making myself vulnerable.

I can’t tell Kieran I’m married, though. He’ll completely tune out anything else I have to say on that matter and go after Trace. What a mess.

One by one, my brothers leave offering us rides, or spare beds for the night. We politely refuse. If there is anyone I would stay with, it’s Balor. But this is his wedding night.

“Car service will be here in ten minutes,” Trace chips away at the wall I put up.

“Okay,” I say and hold my coat closed, even though it’s almost May.

“What did you and Kieran talk about?” he asks with his bodyguard face since someone is always watching.

My stomach knots all over again. I can’t say a word about Kieran wanting me to marry someone else. Trace will murder whoever that is to kill the deal, possibly putting a bounty on his head. “Just some details about a birthday party for the twins,” I lie.

“You’re always there for them.” He uses a tone I can’t place.

Cutting a look at him, I say, “It’s what I do. It’s worth the late nights, trying to accommodate them.”

He leans in and whispers, “Give me some credit, princess. I make sure you go to sleep with a smile on your face.”

I want to kiss him, forget everything. Lose myself in his arms. I’ve never felt more like just me when we make love. Something always felt off with Archer. Realizing he was never fully honest about his marriage, it makes sense that he brought such negative energy to my bed .

I shake that off. Glad to be rid of that man. Water lapping against wooden pilings catches my attention. The Orchid sits on Astoria Harbor. I take in how the moonlight dapples on the glassy surface of the water. But sharpening my gaze, I notice Manhattan’s glorious lighted skyline sparkling in the distance.

Adrenaline rushes through me. Checking that all of my brothers have left the venue, I yank on Trace’s jacket. “We’re going to see Mrs. Lagerfeld tomorrow . I have an appointment with her.”

Trace cages me against the brick wall. “You’re asking me to defy an order against your brother. Not Lachlan, who I trust Griffin can rein in, but Kieran . The head of your family.”

He makes a good point. “I’m not a naive teenager wanting to trek around a big city and get into trouble. My brothers know me well enough that if I want something, you’re helpless to tell me no.” I fold my arms.

“Those are too many words to carve on my headstone,” he says stoically.

I don’t want this on mine: Here lies a foolish woman who blew off Rina Lagerfeld .

“How’s this... I’m worried.” I dip my toe in the water.

He frowns. “About?”

“My brother might have let his power go to his head.” I clear my throat. “I never considered he’d arrange a marriage for me.”

Trace stiffens. “And?”

“If I get Rina Lagerfeld to agree to sell me her business, then I have power. I will show my brother, I can take care of myself.” I look away. “Kieran financed my business. I never felt like I built it on my own.”

“Is that what you want?” Trace’s eyelids flutter. “To take care of yourself. Alone?”

“You don’t want me, Trace,” I whisper, exhausted that every conversation circles back to this fantasy that we can have something real.

Seeing his mother and hearing the words come out of her mouth that she wants a grandchild sliced through me like a knife. My conscience has been bleeding ever since.

“Haven’t I said every fucking thing to the contrary since I’ve been here?” Trace’s lips practically brush against mine.

I’m so weak for him. All the time.

Pushing past the craving, I say, “Yes, you have. So much more than I thought possible, but you’re thinking one-dimensionally right now. The fact is anyone who marries me will not have children. Trace, it pains me that I can’t give you a child. It’s depressing and unnecessary. And I won’t put you through that.”

“Then we’ll have one if that’s what you want.” He holds my face. “There’s more than one way.”

“It’s late. We’ve had a long day. I need to be at that meeting tomorrow.”

“Did you not hear your brother?”

“Did you just meet me? I don’t always obey the rules.” I lower my hand to rub his cock over his trousers. “Please?”

He grips my hand. “You think you can control me with sex?”

“Control is an ugly word.” I lick my lips. “Persuade.”

Trace lets go of my hand and backs up a few feet from me. His eyes wander down the driveway, catching the headlights of our car service. A smile forms on his lips.

“Persuade, aye?”

A lump forms in my throat. Good Lord, he’s going to fuck me senseless to get me to agree to something.

He has that power over me.

I study Trace as a flurry of thoughts show on his ridiculously handsome face.

Staring right at me again, he says, “I want to show you something.”