Sean was nothing if not true to his word. He was an insatiable, tireless lover. For as demanding as he was, he was also a very considerate lover. Even with all of the passion, he never once hurt her, and for every release he allowed himself, he gave her three.
Only hours later, when she convinced him that he could not possibly wring another orgasm out of her without rest and food, did Sean finally curl himself around her, and tuck her tightly up against his body and close his eyes, allowing her to sleep.
––––––––
“Where do you think you’re going?” Sean asked sleepily, reaching out and pulling her back to him without bothering to open an eye.
“To the bathroom,” she said, yawning for effect. She was really tired, but this might be her best chance to slip away quietly.
“Fine. I’ll give you five minutes. And don’t even think about trying to sneak out. I’ve got the doors and windows wired.”
Son of a bitch, Nicki thought a few minutes later. He really did have every possible exit wired. She set herself gingerly down on the commode with her head in her hands and sighed.
It looked like she wouldn’t be leaving just yet. In a way, it was a relief. She was too damn tired and too well sated to put any significant effort into anything besides crawling back into the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in and snuggling up to the only man to whom she had willingly surrendered.
It wouldn’t last, of course. She could never allow that. But for right now, she simply couldn’t summon the energy or the will to do anything about it.
“I missed you,” Sean murmured quietly when she slipped back into bed. His arm wrapped around her as she nestled her back against his front. Her only response was a soft, contented sigh.
*
“What the hell are you doing here?” Nick demanded when he finally emerged from his bedroom nearly eight hours later and looking like someone cleaned a public restroom with his face. “Where’s my sister?”
Shane looked calmly over the screen of his laptop and sipped his coffee. He’d seen Nick Milligan before, but doubted he would have recognized him in this condition.
“Nicki’s fine. You, however, are a different story. Grab a shower – you reek, man - and take a cup of coffee with you. Then we’ll talk.”
Nick narrowed his eyes, or at least tried to. They were barely more than slits, so the attempt had little effect. “She at your place?”
“She’s back at the apartment over the garage,” Shane said carefully, knowing that Nick thought he was speaking to Sean.
“She’s safe there?” Nick asked.
“No place safer,” Shane said truthfully. He’d seen the look in his twin’s eyes, and knew that nothing would ever hurt Nicki as long as Sean drew breath. At least as long as she didn’t do something stupid, as all the Callaghan mates seemed prone to do at this stage.
Nick nodded, satisfied, and poured himself a cup of coffee before heading toward the bathroom.
Nick was still moving slowly when he re-emerged, but looked a damn sight better than he had earlier. Showered and shaved, with a clean pair of jeans and a concert T. Shane was waiting for him in the little kitchenette.
“Feeling better?”
“I’ve been worse,” Nick answered, pouring another cup of coffee and grabbing one of the donuts from the box on the counter. “I just wish Nicki hadn’t had to see that. Fuck, I hate the look she gets in her eyes, like someone cut out her heart or something.”
“She loves you.”
“Yeah,” Nick snorted. “She always has. You’d think she would have wised up by now. She’s too soft. I keep telling her that, you know, but she doesn’t listen.”
At Shane’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Oh, I know she comes off all hard-ass and shit, but she’s not. No matter how many times I mess up, she’s always there for me.” He exhaled, the look on his face one of pain. “I can’t say the same.”
“Why weren’t you there?” Shane asked in that quiet way he had. “At the funeral? Why’d you make her go through that alone?” Shane, like all of Sean’s other brothers who’d been at the Pub earlier, knew about what had happened. And because Sean claimed her as his, she automatically became part of the family as well.
Nick’s expression hardened, then dissolved. “I wanted to be. I really did. But – shit – I don’t know. I just couldn’t bring myself to pretend like I’m sorry the old whore is dead, and I knew that would hurt her.”
“She was your mother,” Shane said, a trace of anger in his voice, unable to completely hide the shock of a son speaking of his mother that way.
“Don’t kid yourself,” Nick spat with a snarl. “She gave birth to us, but she was no mother. What kind of mother beats her children? Forces them to steal? Sells them, for Christ’s sake?”
“She tried to sell you?”
“Not tried to. Did. And not me. I brought in too much money. She needed me to feed her drug habit.”
Nick was watching him closely, gauging his reaction, and Shane couldn’t completely hide his revulsion that little bombshell elicited.
“Ah, Nicki didn’t tell you that, huh? Guess I’m not surprised. She doesn’t like to talk about it, not even with me.”