Sinful Desire - Bonus Chapter

Gianna

“Are you sure it was okay for us to bring him?” I asked, lifting Onyx’s carrier out the back seat.

He wouldn’t be able to fit in it soon, so I was enjoying it while I could.

When I looked up just how big his breed got, I was shocked to see up to one hundred and forty pounds, with one ten being the minimum.

Onyx was going to be a big ole beast, and I was so happy to have him.

“Yes, Beauty,” Cian said, walking around the truck we rented to drive to New York. “Each of us has our own wing. He can roam ours during dinner.”

I glanced at him.

“Ours?”

“You’re my wife. What was once mine is now ours.”

Cian’s parents lived in an even bigger estate than the Moretti’s. They owned about a hundred acres of land, and the home sat smack dab in the middle.

I couldn’t get over how beautiful the outside was or that the cobblestone in their driveway was heated, melting the snow and ice to keep it clear.

The O’Sullivans had old money.

“You’re glowing, Gi.”

I dropped my head to hide my smile, and he lifted it. We’d only been married for two weeks, and it felt surreal.

“Stop it!”

He chuckled and took Onyx from me.

“I’ll send someone out to get the bags.”

He took my hand and led us through his personal enclosed garage attached to the estate, something each of his brothers also had.

“Cousin!” a boisterous voice yelled as we entered a side door straight into a mud room.

“Siobhan,” Cian greeted, his mouth spread into a large grin.

He set Onyx down, who barked at that atrocity, and pulled his cousin into a one-armed hug, his other hand occupied with still holding mine.

“I have a bone to pick with you,” the brown-skinned girl with dark eyes and reddish brown hair said.

“What’s that?”

She opened her mouth and then cut her eyes at me.

“Wait…” she looked down at our hands and then up at us, her lips spreading. “You brought a girl home!”

Her attention was now solely on me.

“Wow, you’re beautiful. Like print model gorgeous. Has anyone ever told you?”

She never gave me a chance to reply, and I couldn’t help but smile at her bubbly personality.

“I’m Siobhan. It’s spelled S-I-O-B-H-A-N but pronounced like Sha-Von.”

“I’m Gianna,” I told her. “It’s spelled just like it sounds.”

“Great name…” she nodded and then glared at Cian. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

“I don’t,” he mused, chuckling. “I have a wife.”

Her eyes widened, and she screeched.

“A wife!”

“What about a wife?” a man who looked much like Darragh said.

She spun around and put her hands on her hips.

“Your nephew has a wife.”

The man I now knew as his uncle nodded.

“Yes, the marriage license came across my desk a week ago.”

“This is my Uncle Eoghan,” Cian introduced, unfazed by his knowledge of our five-second ceremony. “He knows all and sees all when it comes to anyone with the last name O’Sullivan.”

“Is your name spelled not like how it sounds?” I asked

Eoghan smiled.

“It’s spelled E-O-G-H-A-N,” Siobhan answered for him. “The Irish have their ways. Wait until you meet my sister.”

Though his name had an odd spelling, it was pronounced Owen, which I found pretty intriguing.

“Can we make it out of this room and into the house now?” Cian asked, lifting the dog carrier.

His uncle stepped back, and Siobhan started through the entryway.

“Ms. Bianchi,” he greeted as we passed him.

“O’Sullivan,” I corrected with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Cian hadn’t mentioned his father having a brother. In fact, I was almost certain none of the other families—including my father—knew of him.

Interesting.

Once in the corridor, we were hit by a barrage of people along with his brothers. The only faces missing were his parents.

“Cian got married!” Siobhan shouted, quieting the room and bringing all eyes to us.

My gaze bounced from face to face while Cian dropped his head and laughed.

“You talk too goddamn much,” he said without an ounce of animosity in his tone.

She spun around with her hands up.

“Sorry,” Siobhan murmured. “You know it’s hard for me to keep secrets when I’m excited.”

“It’s hard for you to keep secrets in general,” a girl who looked identical to Siobhan said. “Unless they’re your own,” she added, smiling wide.

Her gaze turned to me.

“Hello, I’m Aoife. Her twin. The oldest by three minutes.”

“She didn’t ask all that,” Siobhan sassed, rolling her eyes.

Eefa.

Cute name, I thought while also wondering how it was spelled.

“Everybody, this is Gianna, and yes, she’s my wife,” Cian introduced, cutting into the twins' spat. “Gi, baby…” he lifted his hand and started on the far right, skipping over his brothers who were standing on that side. “You met Eoghan and his daughters. This is his wife, Shannon.”

Her hair color was the same as her daughters', and it hit me that the deep orange-red shade was natural.

“Next to her is Yasmine, Delilah, Niamh, and Anessa. They’re sisters and my cousins from my mother's side…” he squeezed my hand. “Now that we have that out of the way, where’s my mother?”

“Her and Da are still getting ready,” Rían answered.

Cian nodded and pulled me through the group, who had started talking again like nothing had happened.

“They’ll call up when dinner starts,” he told me as we walked down a long corridor. He pulled open a door at the end of the hall that revealed a staircase. “You first. I want to watch that ass in those jeans.”

I jokingly bumped his shoulder but walked up the steps and swayed my hips seductively since I knew he was watching. When I reached the top, I stopped and looked around.

“Okay…” I laughed. “You said each of you had your own wing, and I thought you meant a big ass bedroom with space for a small living room set with an en suite bathroom. Not an actual apartment.”

The stairwell led us into a family room-style space with a large sofa, two reclining chairs, a flat-screen television mounted to the wall, and one free-standing fireplace.

I walked in further and picked up a family photo of Cian, his brothers, and his cousins. They were clearly teenagers and had been forced to take it by the expressions on their faces.

“You never said you had a big family like this.”

I heard him behind me unzipping Onyx, who darted around the room seconds later, sniffing out everything in sight.

“Neither of us ever talk about our families,” he pointed out. “Mine is pure chaos. Not in a bad way, but it’s hectic, and I prefer the peace Philly offers.”

“But like… you like them, right?”

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.

“I love them. Would do anything for them.”

“You and Siobhan are the closest?”

“She and Rían, actually. They act like they were born twins more than her and Aoife.”

“Here, I thought my little family was big.”

I set the picture frame down and turned to face him, searching his eyes for nothing in particular.

“Go ahead and ask.”

I smiled.

“What makes you think I have something to ask?”

“Because I know you. Go ahead, baby.”

“Your uncle—“

“It’s his job to know all,” he said. “He’s the reason I do what I do. Taught it to me after he caught me trying to mimic one of his codes.”

“Aww…” I cupped his chin. “I can see it. A little Cian with a laptop.”

He chuckled.

“Eoghan is the family's eyes and ears. I knew he’d find out before I said anything, but unless it was detrimental to the business, he would never reveal it.”

“So, he knows everyone’s secrets?”

He nodded.

“Which is why most think he’s not a part of the business. If enemies knew what he could reveal…”

“They would use him,” I finished for him, understanding.

He tipped my head back and kissed me.

“I love you.”

“And, I love you, Beauty…” he leaned over and frowned. “Pretty sure that little muthafucka is pissing on the floors.”

I turned, and sure enough, Onyx looked dead at us as he pissed near the coffee table.

“He’s marking his territory,” I declared. “I think he approves of the place.”

Cian sighed, and I chuckled softly.

“I’m putting him in obedience school when we get home.”

“Sure, but I get to vet them first.”

Something buzzed before he could respond, and Cian walked over to an intercom and pressed the only button on it.

“Yeah?”

“I have your bags,” a soft voice spoke.

“Come up and leave the bags at the bottom, Baby doll.”

His cousin, Anessa, who looked to be the youngest of the crew, appeared seconds later. She had the cutest round face and a petite stature compared to everyone else I’d met.

Her eyes were bright and naturally wide, a true baby doll.

“I told Conor I’d bring the bags so I could talk to you alone…” she cut her eyes at me. “Hi.”

“Hello,” I spoke back, smiling. “I can go back there and leave—“

“No, it’s okay. If he trusts you, then so do I.”

That made my heart smile.

“What’s up, baby doll?” Cian questioned, leading her over to the sofa. “You in some type of trouble?”

Anessa laughed and shook her head.

“No, that’s all, Niamh. I just wanted to see how you like Philly.”

I sat in one of the recliners, intrigued by her question.

“Why? You want to move there?”

“I’ve been applying to colleges, but my mom is adamant about me staying in New York. I figured if I picked somewhere with family she trusts there, she wouldn’t argue with me about staying…” she looked at me. “I just want to experience life away from all this.”

He nodded, and our eyes met.

“Have you looked into schools?” I asked.

“I was thinking Temple or University of Pennsylvania.”

I smiled.

“I might be biased because I’m a UPenn girl, but both schools are great, just one more than the other.”

She smiled brightly, revealing a set of dimples that only added to her innocent look.

“I can talk to her,” Cian offered. “Tell her I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“That’s the thing…” she twisted her fingers together. “I was hoping you’d tell her that but kinda stay out of the way.”

Ah.

“She needs freedom, Cian. To grow and find herself. Maybe it’ll lead her back here or somewhere else, but I think every girl—no matter the life they were born into—deserves to choose if they want to be a part of it or not.”

“She gets it!” Anessa exclaimed. “Were you… are…”

I nodded.

“I am.”

“And did you get to choose?”

“I did.”

“Nessa…” Cian pulled her attention to him. “There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

She dropped her head, and I frowned, wondering what I’d missed.

“They’re trying to marry us off,” she murmured.

“What do you mean… they?”

“My dad offered marriage to another family. He’s trying to find a way in after your dad refused him. I just… I don’t want to be a pawn, so I figured going to school away from home will keep me out of the mix for a while.”

Cian clinched his jaw but kept his cool.

“I’ll make sure you get to choose whatever school you want near me, alright?”

She threw herself into his arms, and he pulled her in, his gaze meeting mine over her shoulder. We shared the same contempt, but it wasn’t my place to speak on it, only to support my husband. And I would do that ten times over.

“Thank you!” She stood and fixed her skirt. “I’m going to head down before someone starts looking for me. Dinner is in an hour.”

She left us, and I went to sit on his lap.

“Why would your dad deny him a place in the family?”

“Because he’s the husband of his wife’s sister. The man wasn’t bred to be in this life. All he cares about are the perks, which makes him dangerous to the business.”

I rested my head on his shoulder, and he tightened his arms around me.

“I’ll deal with that shit another day,” he decided aloud, placing his hand on my stomach. “You’re spreading out, baby.”

I didn’t move or speak because my hips had indeed spread.

It was subtle, going up in small increments as the days passed.

I’d always been in tune with myself and my body, so I knew I was pregnant before ever confirming with Galina—who wasn’t just the fiancée of Luca Moretti but a gynecologist.

“And you’re glowing more than usual,” he continued as he lifted my head and stared into my eyes. “You know?”

I searched his eyes before answering his question.

“I know,” I said, biting my lip and then smiling. “According to my doctor, I’m carrying our first child.

Cian’s eyes danced, and then he pressed his lips to mine. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, and we indulged in a passionate kiss that stirred my insides and ended too soon.

“Best Christmas gift ever, áilleacht.” Beauty.

I smiled brightly.

We were going to be parents.

The next generation of babies was growing by the week, connecting our families for life.

I couldn’t be any happier than I was at this very moment.

“Best Christmas gift ever,” I agreed.

Truly.