Irish Crown

by Nashoda Rose

  “I’m not sure. There’s a lot going on right now.” I’d have to talk to Deaglan about it, but maybe getting out of the city was a good idea. “How’s Maddie? Is she staying at your parents’ tonight?” Maddie was five and fearless. She was also inquisitive, and like her mom, loved animals.

  They lived three hours north on twenty-five acres in an old three-story farmhouse with a wraparound porch. She’d bought it for cheap, but there were reasons it was cheap, one of them being the entire house had to be rewired. The other was one of the barns was collapsing and unusable. So, Charlotte knew exactly what I was going through with my house.

  She pushed her shoulder-length, thick brown hair behind her slim shoulders. “My parents came to the farm because Maddie didn’t want to leave the piglets.”

  “Piglets? You have piglets?”

  She laughed. “A pig I rescued last week was pregnant. She just gave birth, and Maddie saw it happen. Now she’s obsessed with them. Mom and Dad will have a hard time getting her to sleep in her own bed tonight. She wants to sleep with the pigs. But, then last month, it was the calf Dory. If I’d let her, she’d set up her bedroom in the barn.”

  I laughed. We talked about Maddie and the animals for a while longer, then she told me about a corporation she was currently fighting with about the inhumane treatment at their factory farms.

  Charlotte nudged me with her shoulder and nodded to Bob. “He’s eyeing you up. I bet my sister told him you’re available.” I groaned. Charlotte laughed.

  Boring Bob smiled at me.

  He was handsome with defined features, soft, coffee-colored eyes and a cute smile. He looked good in in a crisp, white, button-down shirt with dark gray slacks.

  But he wasn’t Deaglan.

  When he shook my hand, it had been weak as if I were shaking hands with a dead fish. One of the first things I’d noticed when Deaglan introduced himself to me was his firm handshake. Not crushing or overbearing, but strong and with conviction. Like he meant it.

  My phone vibrated in my purse and I pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

  Deaglan: Be there in ten.

  I smiled and my belly flipped.

  “Deaglan?” Charlotte asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Wow, you really like him.”

  I did. I really liked Deaglan. I had reservations, of course, and I only had one foot off the cliff, but I was teetering on the edge of falling completely.

  “I think it’s great and can’t wait to meet him,” Charlotte said, and set her glass on the table. “I’m hitting the little girls’ room. Want me to grab you another drink?” Charlotte said, rising.

  “I’m good, thanks,” I replied. It was only a minute later when Bob made his way around the table toward me. Shit.

  “Hey, Eva. Mind if I sit?” he asked.

  He stood with a beer in hand. Not in the bottle, but in a long-stemmed glass with the little white napkin stuck to the bottom.

  I glanced toward the entrance of the bar for Deaglan but couldn’t see him yet. My watchdog Luke sat at the bar with a glass of sparkling water in hand, his eyes on me.

  “Oh, yeah. Sure,” I said, offering a smile.

  Bob sat, and Kendra, who sat across the table, caught my eye and winked. I rolled my eyes.

  I had no interest in Bob. I had no interest in anyone except Deaglan.

  That was dangerous, but I wasn’t fighting it any longer. He’d given a piece of himself and I knew how hard that had been when he was closed off about his past.

  I lifted my drink and sipped while Bob chatted about… well, I didn’t know what exactly because Bob’s voice was monotone and why he was nicknamed Boring Bob.

  The hairs on the back of my neck quivered and my breath caught in my throat.

  I didn’t have to look to know Deaglan was here. I felt him.

  My body awakened and everything shifted from gray to Technicolor.

  I turned in my chair, searching through the crowd for him. My gaze bounced from person to person, but I couldn’t see him.

  Until I did.

  And then my heart slammed into my ribcage and heat spread from the top of my head right down to the tips of my toes.

  Bob was still talking, but his words faded into the background as Deaglan strode toward me.

  Women stared, men did, too, and everyone moved out of his way. He didn’t have to slide between groups of people or ask them to move; they got out of his way.

  He drew attention everywhere he went, but especially in a bar full of suits with fancy drinks while he wore snug jeans, low on his hips with a black leather belt. He had on a fitted charcoal-gray shirt, long-sleeved, but he had them pushed up a bit so you could see the tattoos on his forearms.

  I bit my lip, chest tightening as I stared at him. I couldn’t believe I got to be with this man. There was so much more I wanted to know about him, but I didn’t know if I’d get that chance.

  I smiled as he drew closer. His gaze slid over me and his lip twitched.

  Warmth covered my hand on the table and I jerked, stiffening as my eyes darted to Bob’s hand settled over mine. “Eva?” he said. “Did you hear me?”

  I yanked my hand out from under his and my heart slammed into my chest.

  Bob frowned with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  My gaze jumped to Deaglan.

  The muscles in his arms flexed and his jaw tightened as he glared at Bob.

  The sounds in the bar merged into low hums. Music and voices undecipherable to the skulk of warning that blanketed me.

  Deaglan stopped beside me and placed his hand on my left shoulder.

  He squeezed.

  I couldn’t tell if it was gentle or bruising. Because the memory sucked me under the suffocating depths of its sludge.

  My body weighed a thousand pounds as everything inside me pinballed with red flashing warning bells.

  I wanted to scream. To run. But my lungs were frozen. My limbs caked in heavy wet mud.

  “Deaglan,” Ally called from across the table. “You made it.”

  “Ladies,” he said with a nod. “Congratulations, Kendra.”

  Everyone at the table spoke and yet, I couldn’t focus on the words.

  “And beside Eva is Bob, my boss,” Kendra said.

  I lowered my head and placed my hands on my thighs. Squeezing. Squeezing.

  Warning.

  He’s warning me with his hand.

  My stomach cramped and bile rose in my throat.

  “Hey.” Bob said, offering his hand, but Deaglan ignored it as his eyes were on me. At least, I felt like they were. Burning. Watching. Warning. “Are you a friend of Kendra’s?” Bob asked.

  “Eva,” Deaglan said quietly. Was it a warning? Was he angry?

  No. No. I swore I’d never let this happen again.

  Curran wasn’t here. Deaglan. This was Deaglan.

  He crouched beside me. “Eva, baby. Look at me.” I slowly raised my head and looked at him. “Fuck,” he growled. I inhaled a deep breath. “Let’s get you out of here.” He held out his hand.

  I stared at it for a second. He didn’t force me to take his hand. Or grab me and yank me to my feet. He patiently waited for me to decide.

  My mind scrambled to shove the dark pieces back in the crevices.

  This was Deaglan. Deaglan. He’d never hurt me. He’d done everything to protect me.

  I met his eyes as I put my hand in his and stood. Deaglan drew me in close and kissed the top of my head.

  “You okay, Eva?” Ally asked from across the table. I hesitated, looking over at her and she frowned. “Shit, you’re not okay.” She shoved her chair back and stood. “Let’s go to the restroom. Kendra?”

  “I’ll look after her,” Deaglan said.

  Kendra rose. “Eva?”

  “I, uh…” I gazed up at Deaglan. This was my battle. These were my demons. I wasn’t that girl anymore. “Yeah. I’m okay. Really.” Ally and Kendra looked at one another, then their gazes shifted back to me. �
��I swear. We’ll be back in a minute.”

  Deaglan’s hand lightly squeezed mine and we moved through the crowd. He led me across the bar and down a hallway where the music wasn’t as loud. Three girls passed us who had come out of the restroom laughing.

  He stopped at the emergency exit and released my hand. I sagged up against the door.

  Deaglan’s head dipped as he turned and walked away two strides. He stopped and jerked his fingers through his hair.

  I crossed my arms over my chest as a shield, but it wasn’t against him. It was to try and stop the trembling.

  Deaglan inhaled a ragged breath before slowly shifting to face me. He raised his head and our eyes locked.

  Oh boy. Brows furrowed. Lips firm. Jaw rigid.

  But it was his eyes that contradicted the anger. A worried and concerned quietness lingered in the depths.

  “I’m trying not be angry here, Eva.” His hand went to the back of his neck as he paused. “He put that there. That piece of shit put that fear in you.” He swore beneath his breath as he lowered his head again as if he needed a minute to control his fury. “You were shaking. No, fuck. You were trembling. Jesus.”

  I gnawed my lower lip. I had been. It had been the succession of moments that triggered the reaction in me. Bob sitting beside me. His hand touching mine. Deaglan approaching and his gaze shifting to Bob. The final straw was his hand on my shoulder and the squeeze.

  I touched my hand to my shoulder. There was no pain. But I knew that already. It had been gentle. Reassuring. Not bruising with warning like Curran.

  His booted feet thumped as he moved toward me. “Baby.” His arm bridged my head as he leaned in, but he didn’t look at me. Not right away.

  His chin was dipped as he inhaled a deep breath again. “He doesn’t deserve to breathe for what he did to you.”

  I placed my palm on his chest and his muscles tensed as his eyes met mine. “I wasn’t scared of you, Deaglan. It wasn’t you.”

  His jaw clenched. “That bastard put that there. I saw it in my mom, too. The triggers that set the fear off in her.”

  Deaglan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again I saw so much sorrow in the dark depths that it crushed me. This was a lot more than the fear he’d seen in me. This had to do with him seeing that in his mom and being unable to stop it.

  I reached up and cupped his cheek. “Stop blaming yourself. You would’ve helped her if you could’ve, Deaglan. She knew that. And I have no doubt you’re the reason she finally found the courage to leave. She knew you would’ve tried to stop him. You would’ve protected her. And he’d have hurt you, or worse, killed you for it. None of it was your fault.”

  Just like it wasn’t mine. And for the first time, I really believed it.

  With his head dipped and his eyes on the floor, he said, “Caitlyn. Her name was Caitlyn MacKenna.” He raised his head and our eyes locked. “She’d have loved you, Eva. Fuckin’ strong, and determined, but still vulnerable and kind. She’d have seen how rare you were like I did the second I met you. Confirmed it after we spent the night together. Solidified it that day we picked out a fridge and I had a beer with your dad. I saw more of you and I liked what I saw.” My heart double-dutch skipped. “I never expected you and I wasn’t prepared. It took time to wrap my head around the possibility of more with you.” He lowered his head and his hand found mine, fingers entwining, and my heart squeezed. “I still don’t know if I’ll get the chance of more.”

  Oh. My. God. My body quivered and my belly was a hurricane of swirling butterflies.

  He cupped my chin, his thumb grazing my lower lip. “But whatever you’ll give me, I’ll treasure.”

  My chest tightened and my insides lit up like the Fourth of July. I could love this man. And maybe I did already.

  But loving Deaglan would be crushing.

  Destructive.

  Ruining.

  Because you’d never walk away from loving a man like Deaglan whole. He’d keep pieces of you. The important pieces you’d never get back because they belonged to him.

  Deaglan protected and he did it with everything he was.

  And if he loved, I had no doubt it would be consuming.

  Time. The word echoed in my head as if I was in a cistern. But I wouldn’t ruin what we had now with what hung over both of us. I wasn’t going to live diminished. I was going to live.

  I smiled. “I hope we have lots of time, Deaglan. I want lots of time.”

  “Baby,” he said in a raspy voice and drew me into his arms.

  His mouth pressed against the top of my head and goosebumps popped across my skin. He pulled back and I rose on my tiptoes to meet his lips.

  His mouth settled over mine like it was the only place it was meant to be.

  His kiss wasn’t bruising or crushing.

  It was devastating.

  His touch. His subtle groan against my lips. His ability to make me forget everything except him.

  His mouth softened, and he kissed me lazily as his fingers slid from my chin to my neck where he curled them. Not tight, but firm as he kissed me a while longer.

  He pulled back. “Thirty minutes long enough with your friends?” he asked.

  My lips tingled. I licked them, tasting Deaglan. “Yeah,” I whispered.

  He kissed me again briefly. “I don’t think I can wait any longer than that before taking you home and having you ride my cock.”

  A flare between my legs. “Okay.”

  He smirked. “I have my bike. Are you good on it, baby?”

  My eyes widened. “Your bike? I thought it was in your place when it was destroyed.”

  He slipped his hand in mine. “It was. I bought a new one.”

  I shook my head. “You just went out and bought another bike? But you don’t even live here.”

  He smirked. “We’ll see.”

  He led me back to the table with his hands on my hips, body shielding me from being bumped by the crowd. And then Deaglan pulled out a chair for me, then he sat in the chair next to it, but I didn’t sit.

  I looped my arm around his neck and settled in his lap.

  Then I kissed him. It was brief and quick, but I heard his low groan rumble in his chest.

  For the next half hour or so, Deaglan chatted with my friends and it was nice. Really nice. Charlotte told him about when she was seventeen and spent a few weeks in Ireland and how much she loved it. She also told him about the girls’ weekend at her farm when we played Truth or Dare and I had to pretend to pole dance for five minutes with my underwear on my head.

  Deaglan laughed at that, then kissed me and whispered, “Fuck, my girl drunk and pole dancing without me to fuck her afterward.”

  I scrunched my nose. “You don’t fuck a girl if she’s drunk.”

  “If she’s my girl and she knows she’s mine, then I do.”

  “Oh,” I replied, liking that.

  Deaglan ordered me another drink, and I sipped on it while he had sparkling water.

  I liked Deaglan with my friends. A lot. He chatted effortlessly with everyone, although I noticed he kept the conversation about them.

  When Kendra got up to walk to the bar, Deaglan kissed my neck and lifted me off his lap. “Back in a sec.”

  “Okay. I’m almost done. Then we can go,” I said.

  He nodded and stood.

  I watched him walk across the bar and move in beside Kendra.

  Ally and Charlotte watched them.

  Kendra was important to me, and I knew she was being protective of me. But I also knew she loved me enough to listen to Deaglan, especially since him showing up tonight said something more than us being a fling.

  My chest tightened as I watched. His forearm was perched on the bar top and one leg half-cocked, casual and relaxed. His hair fell across the side of his face, which meant I couldn’t see his expression or attempt at reading his lips. Not that I could, but I’d certainly try.

  Whatever he was saying to Kendra was likely non-confrontational because
her shoulders sagged a bit and she nodded. Okay, that was good.

  They talked another minute before Deaglan and Kendra made their way back to the table, she with a fresh drink. Deaglan winked at me before walking around the table to talk to Ally.

  Kendra leaned into me and whispered, “I know I’m an overprotective pain in the ass, but after Curran, I need to be for myself as much as for you, Eva.” I smiled. “I saw the look in your eyes earlier. The fear. It was Curran, wasn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  She peered over at Deaglan. “He erased it. He put that beautiful smile and light back in your eyes,” She kissed my cheek. “I hope he stays. I hope he’s the one to erase all the bad.” She smiled broad. “Oh, and he’s getting me an interview with his brother, Ronan.”

  I frowned. “Ronan? Really?”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, he told me who his brother is and I nearly peed my pants. Ronan Kane is big. He plays football for Ireland and the guy never does interviews.”

  “But you don’t interview football players.”

  She shrugged. “It’s an exclusive. Bob is going to totally freak when he finds out.” Kendra walked away, grinning ear to ear.

  Deaglan came up behind me and I placed my half-full glass on the table then stood. “You didn’t tell me your brother is a famous soccer, or rather football, player?”

  He smirked. “Yeah. He’s a cocky shit disturber, but he’s one fuck of a football player.”

  “You’re going to arrange an interview for him with Kendra?”

  He shrugged. “I need points.”

  I huffed. “Trust me, you have the points without the interview.”

  “Doesn’t hurt to have extra.”

  “Do you have any other famous brothers I should know about?”

  He chuckled. “Cousin, Kite. He’s in the band Tear Asunder.”

  “What?” I choked out. “Holy shit, Kite. The drummer. His last name is Kane.”

  His arm hooked my waist and he tugged me into him. “He’s taken, baby. And you’re mine.”

  I was his. And even when he went home, there would always be a part of me that was his. I stood on my tiptoes and nipped his lower lip. “Kite is sexy as hell and in a rock band.”