Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #7)(42)

“How long do we have?”

“Not long,” I admit. “Maybe a couple of hours.”

“We’ll have to make the most of it,” she says, reaching for the bottom of my shirt.

“I didn’t come here for sex.”

“You didn’t?”

“Well, not only for sex. You’re more than that.”

“I know, but thank you for saying it again.”

“I’ve missed you so damn much.”

“Ditto.”

“I’ve been worried about you.”

“I heard you helped my friends escape.”

“I did. It was pretty fun.”

“Fun?” she asks with a laugh. “I’ve never heard a prison break described as fun.”

“Well, it was.”

“God, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Can you make love to me now?”

“I don’t know. Can I?” I ask, looking down at my cock, which is at full attention. “Hmm, I guess I can.”

“The people of this island should be worried. I mean, who has to ask their cock if they’re ready to get it on?”

“The future king, that’s who,” I tell her. I love it when she teases me.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Kissing leads to clothes disappearing, which then leads to some great making out, before the main event begins. I take it slow, and we look into each other’s eyes as I move in and out of her. Once we’ve cuddled and I’ve recovered, I pull her to her knees and enter her from behind. We both love it this way, but I wanted to have one sweet time before I f*cked her hard.

I push her head down so I can angle her up a little more. I want to go as deep as I can, hitting the spot that will make her go crazy. She’s clutching the sheets in her hands as I reach one hand between us to play with her clit, while my other holds her hip as I thrust into her rough and dirty.

“Come on, Cat. Come for me.”

“Bray.”

“That’s it. I feel you. You’re soaking me. Now squeeze my cock and make us both come hard.”

She does as I ask, milking my cock as I pinch her clit. We both go over at the same time, and I have no clue what either of us say in that moment of release. I’m too busy trying to stay conscious as stars explode behind my eyes. How the hell am I supposed to give this—her—up?

I clean us both up, and then hold her for the next half hour while we talk. We don’t discuss jewels, or kingdoms, or secret societies of spies. We whisper words of love to each other, and right here, lying in this bed, I make myself believe that there’s a chance for us. That I can change my future, and love her for the rest of my life. I know it’s just a dream, but maybe, just maybe, I can be strong enough to make it our reality.





Chapter 16


Darcy

It’s been a couple of days since Brayden came to me in my room. I keep hoping that he’ll come back again, but he hasn’t. I know it’s not because he doesn’t want to; I understand he needs to stay away right now. I sensed the shift in him that day when we were talking. He was considering forever for us, and that scared him. We’ve never believed in forever, because it would either have to come from a hard fought battle, or by him giving up his kingdom. Both would be at great cost to his country, and neither one of us wanted to force the people to pay for our love.

Now that he’s thinking about it, I know it’s tearing him up inside. I wish he would come see me, so I could tell him that it’s okay. That we can take forever back off the table. But he hasn’t, and I don’t think he will until he makes his decision. It’s one that I know has to be his alone, even though it will affect us both. He’s not keeping me out of it because he thinks I shouldn’t have a voice. He’s doing it to spare me the burden of the decision, and to spare us both from having him resent me for making him choose.

“Darcy,” Reina yells, breaking me from my thoughts as I’m once again staring out at the ocean. “Get in here. You have to see this.”

I jump up from my chair and run inside. “What is it?”

“Derrick has taken over the castle. His guards overpowered the ones who are loyal to Brayden. They’re holding all of the royal family except for Jenysis in the throne room.”

“Where’s Jen?” I ask, afraid that I already know the answer.

“He has her in the ballroom with him and Angelo.”

“Dammit, no.”

“I was able to look at the old Society files before I was locked out. He was the one who was stalking her, and trying to get Steven to give her to him in marriage. When she was thirteen.”

“Wait, what? She never said anything. Why didn’t she say anything?” Stella asks.

“She didn’t know. All she knew was that a man wanted her, and her family had to move. Her mother didn’t like living as an exiled royal, so she divorced Steven and found herself a country lord,” Reina explains to everyone.

“This is it. This is the move he’s making to get Brayden and Steven to give up the kingdom. It’s also his way of getting the jewels from me.”

“We can’t let that happen. Any of it,” Reina says.

“No, we can’t.”