Steal My Girl

by Casey McMillin

  My stomach sank at the overwhelming wave of desire that washed over me. I wanted nothing more than for him to reach out and touch me.

  "We better go outside," I said, torturing both of us. "It's almost midnight."

  He reached out and placed a hand on my jaw. "The bruise is nearly gone."

  "My Aunt and cousins haven't even noticed."

  "Yer brother has."

  I looked at him with a stunned expression. "Why do you say that?"

  "Because he stopped me on the way up the driveway just now and threatened to kill me if I ever let ye get hurt again."

  I was completely confused by this. "My brother?" I asked. "My brother thinks I fell."

  "No he doesn't."

  "What'd he say?"

  Rory smiled. "He came out from behind a bush and hit his chest a few times like a gorilla. Then he said, 'I know my sister got hurt, and I know ye had something to do with it. I'm not stupid, and I'm not afraid of ye either. I don't care who ye are, or who yer dad is either. If harm comes to her again, I'll kill ye all, and I won't think twice about it. I'll set fire to yer whole fuckin' house.' Then he told me to test him if I wanted to, and see if he was fuckin' kidding. There was a ton more fucks and shits in there, and a lot of those gestures where he jumped towards me like he was about to punch me."

  "Are you serious?" I asked, smiling at the thought. "Steven said all that?"

  "Aye," Rory said smiling. "And I'm not even remembering it all. He was up in my face for a full minute. His threats were extremely well thought out and believable." He paused smiling. "I love that kid."

  "Why? Because his threats were believable?"

  "No, for the way he protects ye."

  I looked at the clock by my bed. "We better get out there. We only have two minutes," I said.

  "Do ye just want to go out there so everyone can see us kiss? Because I can kiss ye just as easily right here."

  "I'm still scared, Rory."

  "So be scared, but be with me while yer at it. You'll get over it."

  I stared at him, knowing this was the moment where I stopped being indecisive.

  "I don't think I'm going to be able to tell you no."

  "Good," he said smiling.

  Out of nowhere, Thor let out a sharp bark. I jumped and looked down at him.

  "She's mine, dog," Rory said, flashing his teeth.

  Thor looked at me and cocked his head as if to ask if what Rory was saying were true. It was comical how much it looked like he understood.

  "It's true, boy," I said, confirming Rory's story. "I'm his, I think."

  "You think?" he asked, reaching out to touch my arm.

  "Is there something wrong with that?" I asked.

  "Definitely," he said.

  Right at that moment, I heard Addie yelling my name. "Megan!"

  "I'm in here," I said.

  "It's almost midnight," she said. "I don't guess Rory's gonna—oh hi, Rory."

  "Hi Addie."

  "Okay, I was just worried about you because I didn't think he was coming," she said, hurriedly. "I'm going back out there with Drake. Are you guys coming? It's almost midnight." Addie was already off for the door again as she finished her sentence, and Rory and I stood there staring at each other.

  "We might as well go out there so I can kiss ye for everyone to see," he said. "It'd be a shame if ye got all dressed up and didn't get kissed in public."

  I smiled and reached for his hand as I took off for the door. I did want to kiss him in public, and was glad we were making a run for it. We went outside hand in hand and made it to the patio just as people were shouting out that there were only thirty seconds left. I glanced around and noticed that more than a few people were looking back at me, including Charlotte, who was smiling broadly, and Steven who's expression was serious but otherwise unreadable.

  Before I knew it, the countdown started at 10, and I was being swept towards him and held against his hard chest. I was absolutely breathless. I stared up at him, and he shook me a little.

  "Say ye want me," he said.

  "9!"

  "I already said that by coming out here with you."

  "8!"

  "I want to hear ye say it."

  "7!"

  A second of thoughtful silence passed where I stared into the depths of his sparkling green eyes.

  "6!"

  "I want you, Rory. I really tried to talk myself out of—"

  "5!"

  "—out of it, but I can't anymore. I want you."

  "4!"

  "I want you really bad."

  "3!"

  "More than I've ever wanted anyone else."

  "2!"

  "And I trust you, by the way. I thought about it, and—"

  "1! Happy New Year!" everyone yelled.

  Bells and horns and whistles went off, and just like that, he kissed me. His warm, wet lips, touched mine, and I was instantly transported to a land where I didn't care who the heck was around or what they saw. Rory McDonald kissed me gently, but I wanted him something terrible, and leaned up and into him, trying to have more.

  "Save it, baby girl," he said, pulling back and smiling down at me.

  He'd done the right thing by breaking the kiss—especially when people were already staring, but I desperately wanted to continue.

  "Rory?"

  "Yes, Megan."

  "I'm happy you came back."

  "I'm happy yer happy."

  "I love my dog."

  Rory smiled and was about to say something when my dad clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to make him step forward to recover his balance.

  "I didn't know you were coming, Rory," my dad said.

  "Aye sir," Rory said. He stuck his hand out, and to my surprise, my dad smiled and shook it.

  "I'm glad you made it by," my dad said.

  "It's a nice party. I like the lights."

  My dad leaned over and smiled stiffly as he said, "I'm glad you came by tonight, but you should know that if you hurt my daughter in any way, I'll kill you. I'll use my surgery tools and take you apart slowly and painfully."

  "See?" Rory said, glancing down at me. "Excellent threats—and your brother's were just as good."

  Did my dad just say he'd take Rory apart slowly with his plastic surgery implements? "Dad, I think you've had too much to drink," I said, staring at this man I thought I knew.

  "He's not drunk," Rory, said. "He's serious, and I respect it." Rory looked at my dad. "Yer son already told me how much he was going to enjoy killing me, but neither of ye will have to. I like yer daughter and mean her no harm."

  "Well see that none comes to her."

  "I will, I promise."

  Chapter 18

  Once the ball dropped at midnight, the party started to thin out. By 12:30 there were only about ten people at the house, and most of them were my family. Addie and Drake went to his house, but Charlotte was staying with me in the guesthouse. That wasn't really a big deal since she was sleeping in Addie's room.

  I hadn't made any physical contact with Rory in the last thirty minutes. We hadn't even brushed up next to each other since our kiss at midnight, mostly because he was really busy with my whole family wanting to check him out and ask about the dog. He was talking to my cousin Sam when I walked up to them. He was holding a cup, and I reached out to lay a hand on his forearm. He glanced my way with that heart-stopping, easy smile.

  "Do you want to hang out after this?" I asked.

  He cocked his head just slightly and narrowed his eyes at me, and I smiled.

  "I meant what do you want to do? Where do you want to go?"

  "I want to go in there and have a proper introduction to Thor," he said. "I haven't even seen him outside his kennel."

  "Charlotte is staying out at the guesthouse with me."

  Rory looked from me to Sam, a bit confused. "Does she sleep in yer bed?"

  My eyes got big. "No, why? Is that what you want?" I asked, half-teasing.

  Sam looked down an
d kicked at the pavement. Rory must have known I was joking because he smiled. "We can go to my house if ye want."

  "We can stay here. It'll be easier than getting Thor all packed up."

  "Charlotte will watch Thor if you're going somewhere," Sam said.

  "I think we'll just hang here," I said, looking at Rory for his approval. He smiled, so I continued, looking at Sam, "Have you seen Steven?" I asked.

  "Your dad made him go in the house with Thomas," he said. "I think they're in trouble."

  I gave him a confused look, wondering what happened.

  "They had a few drinks tonight," Sam said. "I think your dad caught one of them making out with his receptionist. It was my brother, I think, but Steven was his wingman, so they're both in trouble."

  "With Anne? She's like twenty-six… and married!"

  Sam nodded awkwardly.

  "Her husband was here!"

  "Yeah, I don't think he knows about it," Sam said.

  "Oh man, no wonder my dad wanted to take someone apart with his surgery tools."

  Sam was befuddled by my statement, but didn't ask what I meant. My hand was still on Rory's arm and I wiggled my fingertips a little. I could feel the heat of his arm through the fabric, and I couldn't wait to feel his skin underneath.

  I looked across the empty patio at my dad, who'd just come out of the house with a garbage bag in each hand. Rory and Sam both asked him if he needed help, but he refused. None of us brought up Thomas' indiscretion even though I was really curious and it was hard not to.

  I tugged on Rory's arm, and we started toward the house.

  "Night. We'll see you in the morning for pancakes," I said, glancing over my shoulder at Sam.

  "Pancakes?" Rory asked as we walked.

  I smiled at him. "Yeah, you know—New Year's pancakes. You're supposed to eat them so you'll have good luck."

  "My dad makes us eat cabbage and black eyed peas, says it will give ye dollars and change, but I've never heard of pancakes."

  "My dad makes these plate-size pancakes and then he decorates them with cherries and whipped cream and stuff so they look like smiley faces. I thought everybody had New Year's pancakes."

  "Did ye really?" he asked.

  "No," I said, laughing. "I know other people do that cabbage thing and my family's weird, but we seriously do it every New Year's Day at 10AM. Be there or be square."

  "What happens if you don't eat the pancake?" Rory asked.

  I shrugged. "Then you don't have a good year, obviously."

  "Well then I guess I have to eat one," he said.

  He followed me inside. Charlotte was already in Addie's room taking a shower, and Rory and I went straight to my room where we let Thor out of his kennel. He knew by the way I was talking to him that he was getting out and his tail thumped against the wire, making a loud rattling noise. I opened the door, and Thor bounded out and straight up to Rory. Rory reached down to pet him and looked up at me when Thor did his typical melt in your hands routine.

  "I know," I said. "Isn't he a lover?"

  "Sit up straight," Rory said, using his hand to tilt Thor's head back to its upright position. Rory started scratching him again, and Thor instantly began to melt into his hand. Rory glanced at me, making sure I saw what was happening.

  "He's ridiculous," I said. "I tell him that all the time.

  Rory used his hand to tilt Thor's head back up. "How can ye call yerself a watchdog?" he asked, pretending to be serious. "I'm sending ye back. Ye can't do yer job proper if ye can't even hold yer head up when someone touches ye."

  Rory started really giving him a good scratch, and Thor leaned into it so deeply that his head nearly touched the floor. Rory took his hand off and looked at me. "That's the silliest thing I've ever seen."

  "He's such a lover, isn't he?"

  "I'm glad you like him."

  "I love him. He's the best present ever."

  "Yer the best present ever," he said.

  I loved the way he rolled his R's.

  "Could you say that one more time?"

  "What? That yer the best present ever?"

  "Yes, but not because I'm a good present. That statement just sounded good with you're accent."

  "Why don't ye think yer a good present?"

  I had a flashback of being bound and gagged and almost dying.

  "Because I come with a little baggage, and you're gonna have to be patient with me and my trust issues."

  "I'm willing to be patient, but there's no issue," he said. "Just trust me. It's as easy as that." He reached out and touched me as he spoke. It wasn't much of a contact—he simply put his hand on my hip for a brief second before taking it off. "How's your hip?" he asked.

  "It's almost all the way healed," I said. "You wanna see?"

  He smiled. "Of course I do."

  I unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down far enough to expose my hip. I did it in a very clinical way, like I'd show a doctor. I stuck my hip out and pointed at the few remaining faint streaks of purple.

  "It still hurts if you poke it," I said.

  "We won't poke it, then."

  He cupped his hand and put it on my hip gently. It was big, and covered most of the area that had been bruised. He used the other arm to pull me toward him, and he rested his warm hand on my hip for a few long seconds. I felt the love. Could literally feel love flow into the sore spot.

  I looked up at him with a little smirk. "My dad found the hickey you gave me," I said guiltily.

  "I told ye it was a good one."

  "It was," I said.

  He regarded me sincerely. "I never meant for ye to have it among all those others. I'm so sorry if that was ill-timed," he said.

  "I wouldn't have brought it up if it was a sore subject," I said. "I thought it was sort of hot. Nobody's ever given me a hickey."

  "Well, yer gonna have to wait a while before ye get yer next one," he said.

  "Why?" I asked, pouting just a little.

  "Because they wouldn't be so fun if I did it all the time."

  "I thought I get anything I want since I'm the one who got kidnapped." It felt a little weird trying to joke about it, but he just smiled sweetly.

  "If yer playin' that card, then I guess just tell me what ye want and where ye want it, and I'll get started."

  I laughed. "Right here," I said. I turned to the side and exposed my neck. I pointed to the sensitive area right above my collarbone. It was obvious by my tone and body language that I was just kidding around with him, but he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He put his open mouth right on the place I touched, and when he did, a hot, liquid burn instantly ignited in my center. My hips wanted to flex toward him, but I dared not let them. The feel of his warm mouth on my neck made me absolutely crazy with desire.

  He only kissed me for a second before pulling away. "Watch yourself. If yer going to offer yer neck to me, I'm gonna take it," he said.

  "I just might offer it frequently."

  "How about yer lips?" he asked.

  "Them too."

  I didn't wait for him to kiss me. I popped up onto my toes and put a chaste kiss on his mouth. It was a quick one, but he caught me behind the back and forced me up for another one. He placed a few more on my mouth, looking like he wanted to quit in between each one, but just couldn't bring himself to do it. We were both laughing by the fourth kiss.

  Thor had been in the living room, but ran back in and started sniffing Rory and checking him out again at the sound of our laughter. "Yer gonna have to get used to me, dog," he said, extending a hand for Thor to sniff.

  "Charlotte!" I yelled.

  "Yeah?" she asked, yelling as well.

  "Can you please take Thor out to go to the bathroom?"

  "Sure."

  "You can just leave him out in the living room if you go to bed. I'll let him back in here later."

  She called Thor, and he ran in there at the sound of his name.

  "Thank you." I yelled.

  "No problem—nig
ht!"

  My bedroom door was open about a foot, and I went over to close it. Rory was out of his blazer and had his tie loosened and his shirt halfway unbuttoned when I closed the door and turned to face him. I shielded my face from him.

  "It's too much," I said squinting between my fingers.

  He gave me a sly, provocative smile before continuing to unbutton his shirt. He stretched to the left and then to the right as he untucked his shirt before letting it hang open.

  "Oh, you think you're hot stuff?"

  He grabbed the button and pretended to fasten it. "Oh, I guess you don't want me to—"

  "I want you to. I'm sorry. You are hot stuff."

  He kicked off his shoes before he began unbuttoning his cuffs. Once he got them loosened, he grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled back on each side, fully exposing his beautiful chest. I stared at it.

  "Should I just lose this?" he asked shaking the shirt.

  I gave him a deadpan expression. "Definitely. No question about it. That needs to come off, stat. It's gonna give you a rash if you have it on any longer."

  "I don't want a rash," he said, teasingly.

  He shrugged out of it and threw it onto the couch at the foot of my bed. Then he stooped to pull off his socks. This left him wearing fitted black pants and a belt with nothing else. I was wearing all black too, only I had a lot more clothes on. He stood there like a huge rock in the middle of my bedroom.

  "I want ye to call the shots tonight," he said. "I want to make sure yer comfortable."

  I smiled, though there was a touch of sadness in it. "You don't have to tip-toe around me because of what happened," I said, sighing. "In fact, I'd rather you take charge, and you seem to be comfortable with it, so—"

  He had crossed the space between us while I was talking, and he cut me off by grabbing my face in his hand.

  "I'm glad ye trust me, Megan, because I'm gonna be good to ye."

  "I know."

  Rory was extremely gentle with me. He stood there in the middle of my bedroom and kissed me lightly for what must have been at least twenty minutes. I'd forgotten how fun kissing could be. He placed sweet kiss after kiss on my face and neck, and I just stood there and soaked it all up. I almost cried from sheer joy several times. It felt so good I began to feel guilty for how much I enjoyed it. Because of this, I nearly took control to make things progress faster, but I chose to let him set the pace.