Indebted - Piper Stone Page 0,30

me. “She’s like her father, hardheaded. She had an attitude a mile wide and the kind of mouth that needs to be stuffed with...” My cock. I brushed my hand through my hair, loathing the way my shaft was already expanding, my balls tightening. I needed to be inside, driving into her very core. I doubted I could hold back from taking her.

Tasting her.

Fucking her.

I was out of my mind.

“Go on,” he said. “She a looker?”

A smile crossed my face as I envisioned her dazzling face. “Beautiful and sensual, an hourglass figure and long legs.”

“Hmmm... You actually like this girl. I’m impressed. The only women I’ve seen you with were pretty figures and nothing more. This woman must be special.”

“She’s just an object. A part of a contract.”

“Then it’s one drawn up in blood.” He shook his head, exhaling with an exaggerated deep breath. “This just isn’t like you. I think you’re in way over your head.”

“This is what is necessary in order to get my former life back,” I said, snarling under my breath.

Aiden gave me a hard look. “What about your life here? After ten years, do you really want to go back to Ireland and pretend you can pick up where you left off? Is stripping away everything your brothers rightfully deserve going to give you that satisfaction I’ve heard about for two years? Is revenge that sweet?”

“My brothers deserve shit. You know exactly how I feel!” I smacked my hand on the table, snarling as several of the other members glanced in our direction. While I’d never been close with my four brothers, they weren’t the ones to blame for what had occurred, even though only one had come to my defense, risking my father’s wrath.

“Awfully entitled of you,” Aiden stated. “I’m curious. Are you planning on taking her with you?”

I fiddled with the glass, trying to keep my anger in check. I don’t know why the man had the ability to get under my skin, but he did. “We will see.”

An awkward tension settled in.

“You’ve changed recently. Is it about the death of your father? Is that why you’re edgier than ever, making decisions that you’re going to regret?”

“It’s about making certain Masters Enterprises continues to run smoothly.”

He cocked his head, shifting the glass back and forth in half circles. “I don’t buy that shit at all. It’s about revenge that you weren’t allowed to enjoy acting on. You need to be careful with this, Gabriel. You have everything you’ve ever wanted in this country. Let go of your former life. Enjoy the wealth and power you have. Hell, maybe you can actually find someone to spend your time with instead of being all alone in that fancy house of yours. Maybe this girl you’ve captured is exactly what you need. You deserve to be happy just like everyone else.”

I finished my drink, moving to a standing position. I’d had enough of his helpful suggestions. When he grabbed my arm, I sucked in my breath. “This girl is my possession.” Even as I said the words, they sounded ridiculous.

“Said like a true Neanderthal. Goddamn it. I don’t know you any longer. You were always ruthless as well as coldhearted, but this is way out of your league.” He shook his head, shoving his drink aside.

“All I want from you is information if you hear it. You know almost everyone in this town. Just pay attention to what’s being said so I can find out who purchased the computer drive from Luis. Nothing more. You don’t have to approve, Aiden. That’s not why we’re friends.”

“Sometimes I wonder why we are friends,” he said as he locked eyes with mine. “I know you better than anybody, yet whatever secret you have regarding your past is eating you alive. You need to find salvation or it’s going to destroy you. Just shut the door on it. Haven’t you atoned enough for whatever it is you did?”

My heart racing, I shifted my gaze. What he’d never known was that the very past I’d locked away was threatening to burst through the carefully padlocked black box I’d placed it in. Maybe I’d grown into the same kind of man my father had been—a barbarian.

There would never be enough atonement for my horrific actions. Not to my country. Not to my family.

And certainly not to myself.

However, the day of reckoning was coming, and I wasn’t entirely certain I was prepared for the harsh reality or the significant fall.

* * *

Even the