by Jane Henry
She nods. “Oh, aye. Let’s do that. Jesus, my stomach’s fucking growling.”
“Aisling.” My tone is hard, capturing her attention.
“What?”
“You can’t use language like that around the students, lass.”
“Language? Like what?”
“Curse words, love.”
She claps a hand to her mouth. “Oh, right.”
I wag a finger at her. “If you do, I’ll notice. I want you on your best behavior.”
She rolls her eyes. “Suppose you’ll give me a spanking, hmm? Always looking for an excuse to beat my arse.”
“You’d better believe I am.”
She bites her lip and flushes. “Then I’d better watch my goddamn fucking mouth, hmm?”
I swing at her arse, but she dodges and laughs, reaching for her shoes.
“Course I will,” she says. “What do you think I am, a heathen?”
“You don’t want me to answer that question. I saw the way you sleep, thrashing about like a woman possessed.”
“Not my fault you’re a human volcano.”
Can’t help but tease her. “You think I’m hot?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Everything else about you is… big.” She lets her eyes rove over my body. “You think I’m going give you a big head, too?” She playfully smacks back at me, and I dodge her, laughing. I love how down-to-earth and unpretentious she is. “But the answer, you twat, is yes, or I wouldn’t have lost my knickers over you.” She smirks. “Damn near would’ve done it when I was younger, too, but I didn’t want to affect things with Fiona, and you barely knew I existed.”
I scratch my chin thoughtfully. I did have many other more important things on my mind back then, and I viewed Aisling like another little sister. A wild thing with wild hair and a temper that matched my sister’s.
“Had bigger things on my mind back then.”
She sobers. “You did. Like learning how to fight. Taking care of your family. Learning how to be inducted into the McCarthy Clan.”
“How do you know all this?” I tug on a shirt and zip up my trousers.
“Because you’re a man of a single mind, Tiernan,” she says, tugging on her own top. “And when you put your mind to something… well, you get what you want, don’t you?”
I prowl over to her, tug her hair, and pull her head back so her mouth parts. I kiss her until she sighs.
“I do get laser-focused on what I want, Aisling. And what I want, lass, is you.”
“Right,” she says, when I release her. “Gathered that.”
I give her a teasing swat to the bottom, and this time I don’t miss, as we head out to dinner.
Chapter 14
Aisling
I know I’m holding back from him. I know he wants more than this. Like his other Clan brothers, I’d bet he doesn’t casually date or spend time with a woman just for laughs. The men of the Clan are all in or all out, and I’ve known this for a while. The other women told me, too, so I had at least a little warning.
When the men of the Clan set their sights on a woman, they get what they want.
And he was the one who told me, what he wants is me.
Can I give myself to him?
I’m barely out of the throes of addiction. Though the worst has passed, my body still aches for relief, and when I’m stressed, I want it worse than ever. How could he care for a woman like me… damaged and broken? But he saw me at my worst. At my absolute worst. And still, he wants me.
“You’re off on another planet, Aisling.”
I am. I know it. But how can I tell him what’s on my mind?
“There’s just a lot I’m thinking over, Tiernan. I don’t want to bring any more trouble to the McCarthys.”
We walk along a path lined with brick-colored stones, hand-in-hand. Around us, boys of all shapes and sizes and ages head to a large, brightly-lit brick building. Ahead, Malachy waves to us, and the young boy we saw outside the headmaster’s office waves shyly when he sees us as well. Tiernan gives him a big grin. My heartbeat quickens. He doesn’t grin often, and it’s a damn good thing. A girl could lose her knickers over that grin. Fuck it, this girl already has.
“Hope you’re hungry for goulash,” Malachy says at the door.
“Oh, aye,” I say with a smile. “Smells delicious.”
Malachy grimaces. “You could’ve warned her, son.”
Tiernan smirks and whispers, “Don’t get your hopes up too high.”
We take a seat at a table with a few teachers, and some of Tiernan’s brothers join us as well. I note Lachlan and Tully at one table. Lachlan’s come for protection? I used to think he was an arrogant jerk for his overprotective ways with Fiona. Now, I’m happy he’s here to help us.
Tully’s talking animatedly to a young teacher. She’s hanging on his every word, and I realize it isn’t just the children here who worship the McCarthys.
I can see why, though. Every one of them is strong and powerful. Even the youngest among them’s built, muscled and strong, with McCarthy clan ink. They carry themselves with conviction, every one of them leaders, and even though we know who they are and what they do, they have a charisma about them that draws us to them. Fearless leaders, like the Vikings and Celts of old.
At least, that’s my theory.
The goulash isn’t the worst I’ve ever had, and the slices of garlic bread are thick and hearty. The salad’s plain but fresh, and I tuck in with gusto.
“Love a girl that can eat,” Tiernan says, helping himself to a third bowl of goulash.
I give him a wink.
Night’s begun to settle as we take our leave, dusk falling over us in mesmerizing shades of blue. Tiernan takes my hand.
“Wasn’t half bad,” I say to him. “It’s no gourmet meal, but it’ll do.”
He chuckles. “Aye, lass. It’ll do.” His voice lowers. “I like that about you.”
“Like what?”
“I could never be with a woman that needed… high maintenance.” He grimaces. “It’s not who I am. Not how I was raised, or my experience, and I… well, I like things simple.”
“I’ve noticed this. I’ve seen that monk-like room of yours, Tiernan.”
He smiles, but his smile fades when he checks his phone right outside the door to our room. “No word from Keenan. That’s odd.”
“Did you tell him we arrived?”
“Aye. Hours ago.”
I frown back at him, my own fears rising. I peer at his phone. “You don’t have cell service here, looks like.”
He squints at the phone. “How do you know that?”
I roll my eyes. I know he’s not much of a tech guy. “No bars,” I say, pointing to the top of his screen. “That will usually indicate whether or not you have service.”
“How can I have no cell service here. Makes no fucking sense.”
I shrug. “Certain places just don’t have it is all.”
I freeze, and his eyes immediately narrow.
“What is it?” he asks.
I feel my jaw tighten. “We aren’t alone, Tiernan.”
He looks to where I point to a boy crouching in the bushes, his red hair evident even in the dimmed light. Tiernan’s body goes tight, and a warning bell clangs in my mind.
“Easy, Tiernan,” I whisper. “He’s only a boy.” He hasn’t even spoken to him yet, and I already fear for the boy’s safety.
I jump at the deep bellow of Tiernan’s voice. Bloody hell. “Get out here and show yourself.”
Deacon, the boy from earlier, comes out from behind the hedges, trembling.
“Please, sir,” he says. “I didn’t do anything.”
Tiernan stalks over to him and grabs him by the back of the shirt, hauling him straight off the ground. I gasp. Oh, God.
“What the bloody hell are you doing spying on us?” His eyes are narrowed on the boy, who trembles in Tiernan’s uncompromising grasp. I hold my breath, unable to talk. My heart thunders in my chest, but at t
he same time, I want to know as well. What is he doing?
“Wasn’t doing anything, sir,” the boy says, his face turning purple.
“Put him down, Tiernan!”
Tiernan predictably ignores me and gives the boy a rough shake. “That’s a fucking lie, and I ought to whip your arse for that.”
The boy gives a little squeak. “I swear, sir, I didn’t do nothing. Nothing at all. Just dropped something behind the bush is all. Bent to get it, heard you coming, didn’t want to get in the way.”
“Did you hear anything we were discussing?”
The boy shakes his head vehemently, but even I don’t believe him. He’s lying.
“What’d you drop?” I ask, suddenly not feeling so sympathetic toward him.
He gulps and doesn’t answer.
“He’s lying,” I say to Tiernan, half wishing I could give Tiernan the go ahead for making good on his promise to punish the lad.
“Tiernan. Everything alright?” I look behind me to see Malachy strolling over toward us.
Tiernan turns but doesn’t release the boy.
“Caught him spying on us, right here behind the bush.”
Malachy gives the boy a stern frown. “Is that right, Deacon? The very day you already got in trouble with the headmaster?”
For some reason, the boy’s eyes shift away from us and back toward his hiding place.
I frown. What’s that about?
“Said he dropped something behind the bush but when asked, he wouldn’t tell us what,” Tiernan explains.
“Ah,” Malachy says, nodding thoughtfully. Malachy speaks to Tiernan the way one might coax a rabid dog from attacking. “Well, put him down then, Tiernan, and let’s see if he can retrieve it.”
Tiernan puts him down with a growl, and the boy takes off at a full run away from us.
“Bloody hell!” Tiernan says. He runs off after him. The boy’s a damn fool, for Tiernan catches him just paces away. He gives him another proper shake and he looks like he wants to do more than that.
“Take him,” Tiernan says, half shoving the boy toward Malachy. “I don’t trust myself not to beat his scrawny arse.”
Malachy laughs mirthlessly. “And you think I’ll rescue him, do you? You’d be better off giving him to Ruby.”
Ruby. God, I hate that.
“Don’t give him to me,” I mutter. “I’m no more pleased with him than you are.” But the boy casts his eyes down and looks as if he’s about to cry. Naturally, that pricks at my conscience. I sigh.
“You ought not stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” I scold. “Tiernan, let him go with Malachy. I’m sure he can deal with him properly.”
Malachy’s brows go heavenward, and he purses his lips. “Oh, aye, I can guarantee you that.” Deacon winces.
Malachy takes him by the arm and leads him away.
I sigh and look to Tiernan. Tiernan’s eyes follow the two of them until we can’t see them anymore. And still, he won’t look at me.
“Tiernan?” He’s a million miles away.
Finally, he faces me. “Something isn’t right. My phone won’t work, and the boy shows up out of nowhere for what?”
“Maybe he was hoping for a bit of a peep show? You know how teenaged boys are.”
If I thought that was supposed to set Tiernan at ease, I was sadly mistaken. His eyes go even narrower, his lips thin, and he clenches his fists by his side.
“Fucking hell,” he grates out. “A fucking peep show? As in, watch me and you together, or watch you get dressed or something?”
I shrug. “It’s what horny little teenaged boys do, Tiernan. Now let’s go and settle down, maybe we can reach Keenan.”
“Should’ve kicked his arse.”
“Ah, no you shouldn’t,” I say in what I hope is a placating tone. “Tiernan, he’s half your size and a minor! Not allowed.”
“And he ought to learn the lesson that you don’t bloody mess with a member of the fucking McCarthy Clan. There’s a hierarchy to the brotherhood.”
I sigh. Clearly, there’s no appeasing him.
“Well, no harm done then.”
He sighs and opens the door, mild amusement written on his features. “Do you always try to look at the bright side of things, Ruby?”
He groans.
“What?”
He shakes his head and tugs me in, but I realize before he even says a thing.
Oh, God. Just a moment ago Tiernan called me Aisling, I know he did. Did the boy hear?
And if he did… will he tell anyone? Have we ruined our cover?
He slams the door behind us. “You called me Aisling,” I whisper. “And he was right there, wasn’t he?”
I swallow hard and cover my face with my hands. This is all wrong. It’s all going terribly wrong.
I shake my head and get myself together. “Now, Tiernan, wait. Keenan wouldn’t have sent us here unless it was safe, I know he wouldn’t.”
Tiernan paces the room. “Bloody hell, Ais, he sent us here because it was comparatively safer. Thought between the disguise and the like, no one would know your identity.”
“And now you think we’ve been compromised?”
“I don’t think it, love,” he says, sitting heavily on the bed. “I know it.”
A chill runs down my spine at the way he says it, like he’s a man who’s just been summoned to war.
“Should we go back to Ballyhock?”
“Not until I get confirmation from Keenan.”
“Can you call Tully or your other brothers?”
He holds his phone up. I groan.
I pace the small room. “Okay, so let’s think. First, do you really think the boy was there for a reason? Like a serious one, other than his own stupidity or curiosity?”
Tiernan shrugs. “I don’t know, but I do know that it’s a possibility. If you wanted to get information on someone at a school, who would you use?”
I groan. “Okay, alright. The last time you came here, did your cell phone work?”
“Yes.”
“We might be able to use their internet to connect. Is there a phone in the room?”
He shakes his head.
“Right, then. Let’s go find your brothers.”
“Yes,” he says with a nod. His lips twitch. “Good idea.”
“Why are you laughing at me? This is no laughing matter, Tiernan Hurston!”
His lips part in a smile. “You’re adorable when you’re all riled up.”
I snort. “You haven’t seen riled up.”
He grabs my hand and tugs me over to him. “I can’t wait. I’m up for the challenge.”
“Of course you are.”
“C’mon, let’s go see the others, before you’ve got my knickers around my ankles again.” My heart thuds in my chest. Not a bad idea.
We take a walk to see his brothers, but nothing’s out of place. No one has cell service, but Tully manages to use the internet to send a message to Keenan.
“All’s fine, boys,” he says. “But I’ll prowl the grounds tonight. Do a round. We can take shifts. Two hours each.”
“Fair enough, brother, but you won’t be counting me in those shifts.” He jerks his chin toward me. “She’s my shift.”
“Of course,” Tully agrees.
That makes me tingle all over. I give him a small smile that makes his eyes dance.
We go back to our room when it’s late and dark out, and apprehension fills my belly. I know that something isn’t right here, and it troubles me. Tiernan’s distracted and doesn’t speak much as we get ready for bed.
“Everything okay?” I ask, but he only shrugs and frowns.
I have the sickening feeling that I’ve done something. I hate that when he’s not happy, I immediately blame myself. My inner critic’s still working overtime.
Maybe now he knows who I really am.
Maybe he’s getting tired of me?
It’s foolish nonsense for me to worry about such things, I tell myself.
/> I fall asleep troubled, and sleep fitfully. In my dreams, I’m back with Vivian, with an older man. Another fucking politician. He grabs my hair and forces me to go down on him. “You killed my son,” he says in my ear. I wake with a start, and Tiernan nearly jumps out of bed.
“Y’alright?” he asks, brows drawn.
I blow out a breath. “Fine. Just a nightmare is all.” I force a smile. “If you had a sword by your side, you’d have drawn it.”
He doesn’t smile back but holds me to his chest, and I let his warm touch and steady heartbeat soothe me a little.
“Want to tell me about it?”
I shake my head. I really don’t.
“’Twas nothing.”
The look in his eyes tells me he knows it wasn’t “nothing,” but he thankfully doesn’t pry.
I yawn widely. “I’ll get some more sleep now.”
“Good girl,” he says, tucking the blanket around me. My old fears about being a good girl, with the memory of my dream still lingering, makes me feel sick to my stomach. I toss and turn, trying to get some sleep, but it’s no use. I’m wide awake.
Tiernan gives my arse a playful smack. “Settle, love. And get some sleep. You’ll need it.”
“I’m trying.”
He combs his fingers through my hair. “I’ll tell you a story.”
I feel all warm and cozy. “Aye, I’d love that.”
“There once was a girl named Ruby who wouldn’t get to sleep. She needed her sleep, because she had a big day the next day. But instead of sleeping, she tossed and turned like a naughty little thing, so the big bear of a man who shared her bed finally yanked her across his lap, spanked her arse, then tucked her into bed, and she finally fell asleep. And they lived happily ever after.”
I’m giggling, and shaking my head. “That’s the worst bloody story I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s a futuristic tale, though.”
I giggle at that, as he combs his fingers through my hair again. “Shhh, now. Be my good girl.”
Good girl.
Yes.
I’m his good girl.
Am I?
I close my eyes and finally fall asleep.
I wake the next day before he does, my stomach growling with hunger. I’m in dire need of a hot cup of tea. I find a kettle on a little table, and make myself a cup. He wakes up shortly after I do.
