38

Killian felt his heart sink in his pants for a moment when he realized that all the blood was on Samantha, not in front of her. She was otherwise unharmed, apart from all the damage her psyche had suffered from this chaos. He had always wanted to protect her from that, he wanted to let her live in her small, fine bubble so that she wouldn't notice how brutal and terrible this world was.

And Sam had made it easy for him by never asking questions she really didn't want to know the answer to. Now she was sitting here, barely surviving the hail of bullets and he regretted hiding from her how serious things had gotten in the past week. At some point Viktoria had begun to suspect that Sebastian had seen through her.

Above all, probably because because he didn't lure Samantha somewhere and kill him like he thought he would. So she had started watching Killian, her cousin, and everyone else while she lay in wait for a chance to corner Samantha herself.

A few days ago, Sebastian addressed the obvious: You could finally make this powder keg explode by simply giving Viktoria this opportunity and thereby lure her into a trap, because if she failed, her father who was still alive would find out about it and his Hang your daughter from some lantern for treason.

So much for the theory. But Killian had chosen a different path: he had wanted to wait until Marsh finally gave up and Viktoria then simply failed in her attempt to seize power, but Sebastian had also told him that with every hour that passed, Viktoria was getting more and more pressured and it was always better to detonate an impending explosion in a controlled manner.

This one had gone off in an uncontrolled manner. It was a cursed disaster that resulted in a swift, effective attack by Victoria. The shots had been fired, her father would get wind of it in a few hours and Viktoria's only chance of getting out of this alive now was to kill them all before her father got here.

Then Sam kissed him, pressing her body against his so desperately and for support that he forgot the concern and he could just sit there and kiss her back. Regardless of who saw them doing it. Everyone here in this club knew it. It had spread her like wildfire throughout the scene. Killian was shagging his sister and yet he could feel the slightly perplexed faces on his back as he pressed her body even tighter against his without breaking the kiss.

Sebastian cleared his throat, causing Killian Sam to push something away and release her lips. "It pleases me to see you lovebirds like this, but we should start developing a defense strategy. At least until my uncle gets wind of Viktoria attacking us."

Killian heard the words but just couldn't tear himself away from the sight of Samatha. She was still shaking slightly, her eyes large open mirrors reflecting her confusion and her revealed panic despite his aching leg, he hugged his sister tighter, lifted her into his arms and rose with her not quite as elegantly as usual.

Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed herself, trusting as she was, he didn't seem to as if she ever wanted to free herself from this helpless position again. She was still in shock - something that was his fault as well. Killian had let her live in that peaceful bubble for too long, always keeping her away from everything, more so after her father's assault than before. Samantha couldn't handle the brutality, but she would have to.

Because he no longer believed that they could ever really leave this life behind. "I have to take care of my sister first. Dominik? Please help Sebastian." The man who was also not uninjured from the short shootout had saved Sam's life and caught two bullets in his back, which the doctor just pulled out of him without anesthesia.

Dominik didn't even make a sound. He looked at Killian for a long time, then nodded and Sebastian didn't seem happy that Killian himself had other priorities. But didn't dare say anything against it. From now on, it was not the two of them who were waging a war on two fronts, but Viktoria.

As soon as she realizes that Sam is still alive she will be furious and either get up and run away or try to kill them all now and take power by force. Whatever decision she made, she will need time to prepare her steps, and that gave them time, too. time to gather Time to care and above all time to do things that you should have done long ago - because it could be your last opportunity. As Killian hobbled her across the empty dance floor, struggling with the pain and the need to hold Samantha, her shaking slowly subsided and she lifted her head from his chest as if she had just awakened from a deep unconsciousness that was engulfing her laid her spirit.

She looked up at him, biting back a comment about him wearing her despite his injury and just snuggled into him. His sister had always had the gift of knowing when not to appeal to his sanity. He wasn't as sensible and nowhere near as clever as she was. He almost lost her before he actually had her. The thought crushed him and made him forget the pain. He wouldn't wait any longer. Samantha was his.

***

Samantha settled into his warm, secure embrace, trying not to think about the pain Killian must be feeling. It wasn't necessary to wear them, she didn't believe even in a state of shock that she would faint or anything like that. But she enjoyed his affection. Mainly because she hadn't had any from him for so long. He continued to hold her in his arms even as they entered his apartment and he made a beeline for the bathroom before setting her and her things in the shower stall. As the warm jet swept over them both, he braced himself against the tiles she was leaning against, one hand on each arm, and bent his head toward hers.

Sam received the hot, desperate kiss with open lips, while her clothes and shoes soaked with water and she felt as if she was suffocating under tons of weight. It couldn't be any other way. But just as little as she did, Killian didn't care about his dress.

As he greedily slid his lips over hers and shoved his tongue into her mouth, she forgot about the gunfight, the blood, and the death. Time stopped as she stood under the water and desperately kissed her brother, whose body was now pressed so tightly against hers that she could feel his erection through his pants and hers against her stomach.

But at some point a firestorm took over her body and all the pent-up lust she had accumulated over the past few nights broke over her. Eagerly she pressed her breasts against his upper body and ran her hands teasingly over his shirt, which clung skin-tight to his abdominal muscles. Something was collapsing into her brother, a wall he had built against desire.

But that little touch from her was enough and he pulled her closer to his body, sliding his hand under her wet sweater and only pushing it away again to tug at the waistband of her jeans. Sam wiped off his shoes, grabbed his shoulders and pulled himself up with all his might to put his mouth on his chin.

She nibbled on it, helping him with her tight jeans, moaning as he pressed her back against the tile again and his hand cupped one of her breasts.

"You're hurt," she gasped up at him, stepping out of her jeans. He leaned back, pulled his own shirt over his head, and then pulled off hers. She wasn't wearing any underwear and when she stood stark naked in front of him in the shower and writhed against his greedy touches, she had already forgotten her own words.

His fingers on her sensitive skin were gentle but firm, single-minded and unstoppable as they slid down her side, cupping her breasts a little too roughly and his head lowered onto her torso. Killian tried to hold himself back, but the moment his lips cupped the tip of one of her breasts, all he could think about was the urgent need to be inside her.

She was supposed to push him away, fight back against his assault, but his sweet little sister did nothing of the sort. Her fingernails dug into his shoulder blades and she let out a loud moan of pleasure as he suckled on her nipple.

"Killian." Her voice was no more than a whisper, a hoarse beg. Like that of a lonely woman in the deep of night.

"Killian please..." He didn't know what she was asking, but suddenly feared she might ask him to stop. If she did, he didn't know if he could fulfill her wish.

"Killian, please not here." He let go of her breasts, kissing her neck, then her chin and when he reached her lips again, she willingly and eagerly opened her mouth for him and welcomed his wild, hot kiss. She tasted as good as the first time - or even better.

"The bed, Killian," she breathed against his mouth, as he let go of her for a moment and again doubts overcame him so suddenly that he paused to look at her. Samantha's big blue eyes looked up at him, blurred with lust. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and kissed his chin again, letting her fingers slide freely over his bare chest.

"Then there's no going back, sweetie. He warned her and Samantha gave him a shy smile before her cheeks turned a deep red and she looked away shyly.

"I want it. I want it to be you," she breathed and though there was a hint of uncertainty about her, he believed her. Samantha usually meant what she said and she would never lie to him, her insecurity had other reasons.

Killian took a closer look at her, searching her face, but then found his answer in the way she touched him. She had no idea what she was doing, how to do it. She was helplessly caught in a need she could not control and could not quench.

Killian pulled her close, turned off the water and stepped out of the shower with her. The blood and shreds of flesh were gone from her face and hair, she was his Sam again. The little sister he wanted to touch intimately in a way he would never allow any other man. It was a blessing to feel her naked, soft body against his.

Her smooth curves were a sharp contrast to the steely hardness of his body. That should calm him down, curb his hunger a bit, but when he realized her helplessness, something dark awakened in him, who wanted to take advantage of this innocence. she wanted to spoil.

His sweet little sister had no idea what she was doing to him with her insecurities, nor how far that darkness would go to get exactly what she craved. Because the mere fact that he was forbidden to touch her turned him on and he looked forward to breaking every other rule as well.