Vengeful Secret (The Burkes Mafia #3)

21. Sutton

21

SUTTON

I was hesitant about learning how to shoot, but I have to admit it was a wonderful experience. It was cathartic in many ways, allowing me to let everything out.

By the time we’re finished, it’s time to pick up Ciara from school.

“Yay, Gray’s here! Gray’s my mommy’s friend,” Ciara says to her teacher as Gray and I pull around to pick her up.

Her teacher just nods and smiles, and Gray waves at her. She waves back.

Ciara bounces to the car, happier than I’ve seen her in a while. I suppose she doesn’t have much of a social life outside of school—I've always been afraid to let her do sleepovers. God, I’m just like my mother—a helicopter parent.

“Hey, bug,” I tell her. “How was school?”

“Boring,” she groans. “Can we go to the pool today, Gray?”

He glances at her in the rearview mirror. “Of course, we can. After dinner, okay?”

“Okay,” she chirps, and I blink.

That’s the easiest she’s agreed to wait ever in her life.

When we arrive home, she runs up to her room, and Lara stands in the hallway, watching her with a smile.

As Ciara runs past her, she stops, walking backwards to get a good look at Lara.

“Who are you?” she asks, and I choke out a laugh.

“Ciara, be polite,” I warn her.

“Sorry,” Ciara mumbles. “What’s your name?”

“Better.”

Lara smiles, crouching down to her level. “My name is Lara. I’m Gray’s sister.”

She looks between Gray and Lara. Then, seeming satisfied, she takes Lara’s hand. “Let’s go play dolls.”

“Honey, Lara doesn’t want to?—”

Lara cuts me off. “Sure, I do! I used to love playing with dolls.”

“You don’t anymore?” Ciara asks, dragging her away.

“I guess I just grew out of it.”

“I'm never growing out of Effie,” Ciara says firmly as she leads her into the room. I laugh.

“While they’re busy, come to my room,” Gray says. “I want to give you something.”

I raise an eyebrow, curious, but follow him into his room.

He takes one of the gun cases and places it on the bed.

“This one is yours.”

“Really?” I ask excitedly, looking at the dismantled gun in its case. It’s the same one I was using earlier, the one I’d gotten comfortable with.

“Of course. I want you to keep it on you at all times.”

“Except around Ciara, of course.”

He nods. “Just, if you ever go out, even if my men are with you, I want you to carry it.”

“I understand.” Smiling, I lean up and kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you, Gray.”

He looks at me for a moment, licking his lips, lust evident in his gaze.

“You wanna take a shower?”

“Only to save water, of course.”

“Saving the planet, one shower at a time,” he jokes, grinning at me.

I head to the shower~, and he follows me. I strip off my clothes quickly, and Gray laughs at my exuberance, removing his own.

I see that scar on his hip again, trace my fingers along it, and he draws in a sharp breath before turning on the water and stepping under the spray.

“Who were you in a knife fight with?” I ask, since it’s a better time.

Gray chuckles. “Butch Wiggins.”

My eyes widen. “From high school? He’s not even in a clan, is he? Is he even Irish ?”

He chuckles. “No. He pulled a knife on me during a bar fight, and I took him down.”

I imagine Gray did, since Butch was about half his size. He’s got one of those attitudes that only small-statured men seem to have—like a chihuahua—small and angry.

I can’t help but laugh. “I thought it’d be a more exciting story.”

“I’ve got plenty of exciting stories, but that isn’t one of them.” He grips my hip in one hand after I step in and pulls me closer to him. “You looked so sexy shooting that gun.”

“I was?”

He hums.

“So were you.” I slide my hands over his chest.

His hands move to my ass, and he pulls me toward him, pressing his body against mine as he leans down to kiss me, hot and hungry.

Excitement rushes through me, and I kiss him back just as passionately.

He kisses me again and again, backing me up against the far wall and finally when he breaks from my mouth, he grunts and turns me around.

I bend over, pressing my ass against his erection, and Gray groans low in his chest.

The sound makes pleasure shoot through me, and I spread my thighs, planting my feet further apart.

I brace my hands on the wall, and Gray kneels down, licking a stripe across my sex to my clit.

I let out a quiet moan, not wanting Lara and Ciara to hear us.

“Wish I could make you scream for me,” Gray murmurs before pressing his face against my core, lapping at my clit until my thighs tremble.

I’m not quite there, but Gray stands up anyway.

I whine, and Gray chuckles.

“Want you to come while I’m inside you.”

Oh.

Before I saw him again at the tavern, I guess I’d almost forgotten how good we were together sexually. No other man has ever made me come like Gray does, multiple orgasms every time we’re together.

Gray places his hands on my hips, pulling me back against him as he enters me.

“Gray,” I whisper as he buries himself fully, pulling out almost all the way and slamming back into me.

“Sutton,” he answers, ramming into me, pulling me back against him and making me quickly reach my peak.

He groans when I clench around him, but he doesn’t stop.

Spots appear in front of my vision as I squeeze my eyes shut, my thighs trembling so badly it’s a wonder I stay upright.

He’s dragging against the best parts of me, and I move one hand to clamp over my mouth when I come again, muffling my moans.

Gray bites down on the back of my shoulder when he comes, and I lean back against him, panting.

He kisses along my spine before pulling away from me and pulling out of me, gasping himself.

I turn around, looking at him and smiling. “I think we needed that.”

“I certainly did,” he admits with a chuckle.

I giggle like a schoolgirl, and I don’t even hate myself for it. Being with Gray makes me giddy like nothing else, especially after sex.

Gray’s face goes serious after a couple more kisses and giggles, and mine does too.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“Ciara introduced me today as your friend.” He pauses, and I wait for him to start speaking again before I respond. “I want her to know I’m her father."

“I just haven’t known when to tell her… Everything’s been so crazy.” Guilt rushes over me.

Gray deserves for Ciara to know who he is.

“It’s okay,” he says quietly, but I put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not. She deserves to know. We’ll tell her after the shower.”

Gray’s expression turns nervous. “Are you sure? I don’t know how she’ll take it…”

I laugh. “She's four, Gray. She’s already asked me once or twice about why she doesn’t have a daddy. Now we can tell her that she does.”

We finish in the shower, washing ourselves, and Gray steps out, grabbing a towel.

I put on one of his robes, loving how big and comfy it is, and he smiles at me.

“I like you in my clothes.”

“You always did.”

He leans down to kiss me softly and heads into the bedroom to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

I take his hand and lead him into Ciara’s room.

Lara’s on the floor, holding Effie and playing with her.

Ciara looks up at me, her eyes widening. “It’s Lara’s fault. She wanted to meet Effie.”

Lara laughs. “She did tell me it was just for bath time, but I was so curious.”

I smile. “That’s okay. She’s just a little old.”

“She’s beautiful,” Lara says, and Ciara giggles.

Lara looks between me and Gray, seeming to realize that we have something important to do, and she stands up, putting Effie down on the floor.

“I think I should go back to my room and get ready for dinner,” she says, and Ciara pouts.

“Mama, will you play dolls with me?”

“Not yet, baby. Gray and I have something to tell you.”

Lara swiftly exits the room, and Ciara frowns up at me.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No,” Gray says, stepping forward. “Not at all, mo órlaith .”

Ciara climbs up on the bed, still frowning.

Gray sits down next to her on the edge of the bed, and I remain standing.

“It’s okay, mo stóirin . Don’t worry. It’s just… remember when you asked me why you didn’t have a daddy?”

She nods, parroting back my words to me. “All families are different.”

“They are,” Gray says in a low tone. “But yours is different than you think.”

“Gray is your dad,” I say, blurting it out, not sure how to say it so she’ll understand, not sure if she’ll have questions.

She looks at Gray. “You’re my daddy?”

“Yes,” he says, his face blank, but I know inside he’s nervous as all hell.

Ciara is quiet for a moment, and then she throws her arms around him, burying her face in his neck.

“Will you give me piggyback rides?”

Gray looks at me with tears in his eyes and hugs her tightly. “All the piggybacks you want, mo órlaith .”

She pulls away from him, smiling. “Maybe you could give me one in the pool.”

He glances at me, and I nod.

“What if we go to the pool before dinner?” he whispers, almost conspiratorially.

Ciara cheers so loudly and shrilly that it makes me wince, and I laugh and rummage around in her suitcase for her swimsuit.

I help her get changed while Gray changes into a pair of trunks, and I put on my old, faithful bikini, just a simple black one.

I keep the robe on until we get to the pool, and Ciara runs ahead of Gray.

“Stop,” he orders her, and to my surprise, she stops on a dime, turning to face him.

“Sorry, Daddy,” she says quietly. “Just got excited.”

Gray’s face… My heart aches.

I know he’s fighting tears when he rushes to her and scoops her up.

She giggles, thinking it’s a game, but he sniffles as he holds her tightly.

When he finally puts her down, she’s wriggling, ready to get in the pool, but I stop her and put on her sunscreen and her floaties.

Gray slides into the pool at the deep end as Ciara and I get in on the shallow end.

Ciara’s a pretty strong swimmer with her floaties. I took her to classes when she was three. She swims toward him, and Gray stays under the water, nipping at her like a shark.

Her cries and giggles sound across the pool, and it isn’t long before Lara comes out in a pale blue one-piece.

“Is it okay if I join the party?”

I look over at Gray, and he grins. “Da always says the more the merrier.”

Lara whoops and jumps in the pool, doing a cannonball and splashing Ciara.

Ciara gasps and laughs, splashing her back when she comes up, sputtering.

Before long, Declan and his very pregnant wife come out too, and even Marisol, even though she just sits near the pool, smiling at everyone.

Bree sits on the steps, hardly looking like she has energy to do anything more.

Ciara’s eyes go wide as she sees the full extent of Bree’s belly. “What’s wrong with your stomach?”

Bree laughs. “There’s a baby in there.”

“Oh! My teacher had a baby in her belly once. Can I see it?”

She smiles and calls to Declan. “Bring over the 3D ultrasound pictures.”

Declan pops into the house and then back outside, showing Ciara the pictures. Even I’m in awe of how realistic the baby looks.

“Can I hold it after it comes out?” she asks excitedly, and I shake my head, but Bree speaks up.

“As soon as he’s old enough. Then you can hold him.”

“He’s prettier than Effie,” Ciara whispers.

Bree looks at me, and I chuckle. “That’s a high compliment, coming from Ciara.”

Gray swims over to me while I stand in the shallow end, standing up and pulling me into his arms from behind. At first, I stiffen, not sure if his family knows what’s going on.

But Gray doesn’t care, kissing my temple, and I realize that none of them are looking at me. It’s not because they’re ignoring me, they just know that anyone Gray cares for, they care for, too.

I’m both shocked and heartened by the way the Burke family accepts me and Ciara so quickly. It doesn’t matter who I am. It doesn’t matter that we’ve been apart. All they care about is that Gray cares about us.

It warms my heart to be around this much family, and I hope that somehow, Ciara and I can continue to be a part of it.