Sean gently released me, and I was certain he was reading my thoughts. He remained quiet as we made our way to the street. We weren’t taking our cars since we’d be getting drunk, and the pubs were only a short walk away.
His Maserati probably still smelled like sex. We’d had brunch at his parents’ house with everyone earlier, and he’d pulled off the road a few kilometers away after we’d left, unable to wait until we reached the hotel or his flat.
The car hadn’t been designed for sex, but somehow, we made it work. That red leather interior had matched my dress, and he had the seat heaters on, so it’d been warm against my skin when he fully reclined the passenger seat and climbed on top of me.
Thinking about those strong hands firmly on my thighs as he shoved with purposeful intent the material of my dress up my legs, shifted my panties aside to bury himself inside me . . .
Yeah, it was probably a good thing we were walking. Ugly Christmas jumper or not, I was in the mood for him to ravage me again. To make me feel things that went beyond the physical I’d never known existed before him.
“I’m going to miss us,” I confessed, halting on the footpath at the realization of what I’d said.
He stilled, too.
But I didn’t look at him, so I had no idea if he was eyeing me or stroking that new beard he was growing.
I cleared my throat, attempting to also somehow clear the air. The crisp, December air.
I started to move, but Sean reached for my wrist and hurriedly guided me to an alley between two buildings.
He had my back to the brick wall within seconds. Palms over my shoulders as he leaned into me, pinning me with his gaze.
“McGregor,” I whispered, my defenses flimsy and full of shit.
“Shhh,” he commanded, and I was too weak with those vivid blues of his pointed at me not to obey.
His mouth brushed over mine, and I surrendered. Gave him my tongue. My full attention. And, at least for this moment, I gave him my heart.
Chapter Nineteen
Emilia
“So, why in the hell doesn’t he have to wear a ridiculous jumper?” Sean asked, eyes on Sebastian sitting alongside Holly at the first pub. I happened to like Sean’s ridiculous jumper. Maybe it’d bring out the playful side in him I knew he’d been suppressing for the most part now as a League leader.
I elbowed Sean and tilted my chin toward Sebastian since the first pub’s rule was No Pointing. That rule was going to be hard for me. I talked with my hands, and so did most Irish people I knew.
From the sounds of it, we were going to be going along with the same set of silly rules as the rest of the city tonight for the 12 Pubs of Christmas.
Sean followed my gaze and smiled. “Ah.” Upon closer inspection, the red reindeers lined up on Sebastian’s cream-colored jumper were humping.
Sebastian hooked his arm around Holly, a pint in hand, as we waited for everyone else to show up. Whenever his eyes cut to me, I saw the concern there. Worry about how Sean would take the news once he learned the truth about the German. How his wife would handle the news that he’d harbored a secret from her. But we had our reasons for withholding the truth, and hopefully, both Sean and Holly would forgive us.
“Trust me, I’m not happy about this,” Sebastian grumbled darkly.
“Penance,” Sean muttered as he slapped a hand over Sebastian’s shoulder twice.
Penance for breaking his promise to Holly, and ouch, I could actually feel the heat of the angry stare Sebastian sent my way at Sean’s words.
“Anna picked out our jumpers. Decided we ought to match.” Holly quickly dropped her hand to her lap, catching herself just in time before pointing at my jumper to highlight the fact we matched.
“But not us, huh?” Sean asked. “No humping reindeers for me.”
Sebastian grimaced. “I’m way too old to be pub hopping.”
Holly lightly laughed and placated him by stroking his back. “Not that much older than us.” She brought her free hand to the side of her mouth as if hiding her words from him. “He has a reputation to protect.”
But maybe Sebastian had a point. Our wealth and surnames meant something in the cities in which we lived.
I rarely traveled with security anymore, hating to draw attention. That and I could handle myself. And the McGregors lived on the edge—opting to be free from bodyguards as well. Honestly, we could protect ourselves, but not everyone knew that, and anyone who tried to test us would quickly find out.
“Maybe we ought to keep a low profile,” I suggested, eyeing Sebastian in agreement just as Holly covered her face when the flash from a camera suddenly lit up the room.
Two guys a few meters away were calling out Holly’s name. She’d been recognized. And Holly wasted her efforts by tugging at the back of Sebastian’s jumper to try and stop him from going toward the men who snagged her photo.
“Not even five minutes in, and he’s looking for trouble,” Sean laughingly said, watching as Sebastian snatched one of the guys’ mobiles and appeared to be deleting whatever photo he’d taken. Better than him stepping on it and crushing the mobile with the heel of his boot. The guys should consider themselves lucky.
The two men scurried off, and Sebastian rotated his neck, irritation punctuating each step he took toward where we remained amused at the bar. “Bloody idiots,” he hissed and grabbed his beer. “They zoomed in on your cleavage.” He guzzled down the pint. “Why’d Anna have to pick a sexy jumper for you?”
“Sexy?” Holly and I blurted in shock at the same time.
“Yes,” Sean and Sebastian both quickly responded, which had Holly and me chuckling.
Sean pointed to the door a moment later. “There’s Anna and Adam now. And the others.”
“Oh, you pointed,” Holly exclaimed. “Gotta take a shot.”
“Shite. I’m gonna be piss drunk by the end of this night,” Sean replied as Adam neared us.
“Kind of the point.” Adam slapped hold of Sean’s hand to pull him in for a quick hug. “Not still sore, are ya?”
Sean jerked a thumb at me. “Nah, miracle Tibetan cream.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” Adam mused, barely hiding his amusement.
“I think that counted as pointing too, Sean.” Well, Holly was going to get her brother too drunk to even make love to me tonight. Where would the fun be in that?
. . . Make love? I stole the shot Holly had handed Sean and tossed it back instead. “I was mentally pointing. Promise.” I set the little glass down and stole a look at Sara hanging on to Ethan, giving off the clear vibe to everyone at the pub he was a taken man. They’d only just arrived after Adam and Anna and already Sara was getting on my nerves.
“Of course, that’s what you’re wearing,” Cole said, lightly tapping Ethan on the shoulder and drawing my attention his way. Ethan’s red and green jumper read, Santa’s Coming, and had a photo of Santa whispering, That’s what she said.
Ethan’s eyes twinkled as he shrugged and reached for one of the newly poured pints. “What?” he asked nonchalantly. “It’s more festive than either of yours.” He pointed to Adam and then Cole. Cole’s jumper was the simplest of everyone’s: Naughty Until Proven Nice. And Adam had a boxing Santa on his jumper. Probably custom made.
Holly abruptly replaced Ethan’s beer with a shot at the sight of his pointing. “Damn, I could do this all night.” Holly eyed the bartender. “Better keep them coming.”
Sean wrapped an arm around my waist, then immediately retracted his hand as if remembering no PDA. Too many cameras, as Sebastian clearly proved.
But his gesture had been spotted by Sara, and her lips twitched into a brief frown.
Yeah, the McGregor she wanted was Sean. And I wanted to take revenge on Ethan’s behalf for the future heartbreak she was going to cause. Her dramatic and over-the-top moaning during sex was probably her sick way of trying to put on a show for Sean. I’d need to chat with Sebastian about making a few penthouse upgrades, the first of whi
ch needed to be soundproofing the damn rooms. I was surprised Sebastian hadn’t received noise complaints from the neighboring suite when he was living there and dating Holly.
“So, what’s the rule at the next pub?” Alessia spoke up for the first time, her dark eyes searching the crowd of patrons as if trying to find somewhere we could all relocate but failing. It was far too packed.
“No killing.” Cole blinked quickly, then swiped a palm down his face.
Shit.
“I meant no swearing,” Cole corrected, and Alessia’s gaze fell knowingly to the ground. The lie was on his mind. It was hurting him to keep what he knew from Sean. But Christmas Eve was tomorrow.
“Well, feck.” Sean grinned, which distracted my dark thoughts. “We better drink our pints fast there. I won’t last a bloody minute.”
I really did love the Irish accent, always had. And Sean only made me appreciate it that much more. I loved the way he said shite instead of shit. Feck instead of fuck. Well, unless he was referring to sex with me and then . . .
I wet my lips, the memory of his mouth between my thighs that morning as he got me off springing to mind. How he’d tossed my legs over his shoulders and devoured me. The way his beard had simultaneously tickled me and driven me absolutely mad.
I needed to stop thinking about my morning wake-up call before Holly noticed my pointed nipples and made me take a couple of shots.
“Agreed.” Ethan stepped in front of Adam and Sean, bringing a hand to both of their shoulders, which forced Sara to back up a little. Lose her claim of him.
The brothers probably missed each other since we basically forced Ethan to live in New York until we took down The Alliance. Little did we know that even 5,000 kilometers away, he was still getting pulled into the middle of it all.
We quickly finished our beers and ducked out of the pub without Sebastian finding a reason to beat anyone to a pulp. We lasted all of seven minutes at the second pub because the McGregors cursed like sailors and were going to get too drunk before we made it to the third pub.
We survived the next few places without drawing too much attention. I was starting to think the jumpers were like disguises for our identities. That or everyone else at the pubs was too drunk to notice. But it worked.
“That wasn’t hard,” Anna said once we left the next pub twenty minutes later. That rule had been to drink only using our non-dominant hand, so we probably lasted the longest there of all of the places so far. Anna and Adam even stole an impromptu dance in front of an Irish band, and Cole and Alessia joined them. Sean and I had watched and clapped along, same as the others.
“Why didn’t I remember to take a piss in the last pub?” Ethan groaned as we hurriedly drank our beers in the next bar since the rule was no using the lavatory.
“Because once you break the seal, you’re done,” Anna said with a laugh, and I could tell she was getting pretty tipsy. It had Adam growing a bit more protective of her, keeping a watchful eye on strangers. A possessive hand around her at all times.
“Finally,” Holly exclaimed once we were in the next pub. She crossed one ankle over the other as we stood in the women's lavatory line. “Having fun?”
“Yes,” I confessed. The alcohol helped loosen me up, that was for sure.
“You look surprised you’re having a good time.” She pushed her dark locks to her back, her cheeks a softer red than normal from all the drinking.
“Well, I’m not used to bouncing from one jam-packed pub to another while dressed like a Christmas tree.” I swept my long hair up and fanned my face. It may have been cool outside, but it was damn hot in there.
I caught sight of Sean talking to Adam, clutching his abdomen as he laughed at something Adam was saying to him, and I’d swear, he must have felt my eyes from across the room because it was as if the sea of people parted so he could take one long look at me.
Our eyes met, and everyone and all the noise fell away.
“He’s really into you,” Holly announced, and I tore my focus from Sean to look at her. Her eyes were set Sean’s way. “My brother has never been in love.” Her forehead tightened, and she hiccupped. Oh boy, Holly was in the throes of alcohol-induced oversharing. I’d done the same thing at the after-party in Scotland. “I’m honestly not sure if he thought he was capable, and then you came along and bam.” She slapped a hand to her mouth and closed her eyes. “Just kill me now. I’m drunk blabbering. I never drink this much, especially not since Siobhan was born.”
I wrapped a hand over her wrist, and she slowly lowered her palm to her side. The bathroom was now empty, but neither of us moved. “I don’t want to hurt him, you know. He’s an amazing man, and I think the world of him.” I needed her to hear my truth. I was feeling a bit emotional. Damn the Christmas cheer and ugly jumper for making me feel this way. “And I . . . I . . .” The words were stuck, not because I couldn’t get them out, but because I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to say.
I needed a moment.
Forget peeing.
“Bathroom is free,” I said, motioning to the door before scurrying away, dodging drunk and happy people to get outside.
“Hey, you good?” I sucked in the cool, refreshing air, then pivoted to find Sebastian outside. “I asked Sean to let me check on you instead.” He tapped a closed hand to his lips. “More like insisted.”
“It’s hard to talk to you while reindeer are humping on your jumper,” I deflected and smiled.
He lowered his focus to his jumper before pulling his eyes back up to mine. “Emilia.”
“You don’t need to big brother me.” I held a palm between us, and he reached for my arm, guiding me away from foot traffic and off to the side of pub number . . . number what? I had no clue.
“This isn’t just about my promise to your father to watch out for you. This is about me caring.” He released my arm and set a hand to the brick at his side, angling his head to get a read on me. And after all the beer I’d consumed, he might even succeed. “You’re falling in love with Sean, aren’t you?”
“Love?” I sputtered the ridiculous word, then looked away from his dark eyes. Once upon a time, those eyes were haunted and sad. But now, the only time I saw a shadow of the man he used to be was when he and Holly were in the thick of a disagreement, usually about The League. The other night at Sean’s parents’ place, when Holly abruptly left the dinner table, his fear of losing her had filled his gaze. And it loomed in his eyes this week after we’d chosen to lie to her and Sean about the German dying. “How are you and Holly? Did you make up?” I’d rather turn the tables and make him uncomfortable than be put on the spot to share my feelings. As evidenced moments ago, I became a deer in the headlights, unable to speak.
“You don’t have to do that.” His brow scrunched. “You can talk to me. You need someone to talk to.”
“I have plenty of people to talk to. Talked to Roman just tonight.”
He glared at me.
“And you’re some open book now, huh?” I scoffed. “Don’t be a hypocrite.”
“I know what your father asked of you. He told me what he wanted.” His hands dove into his pockets. “I didn’t want to bring it up, but now I’m feeling the need to.”
“He told you?” My stomach was queasy, and despite the cool air, my skin was growing flush and warm.
“And I told him he was wrong. He shouldn’t ask you to marry anyone other than someone you love. Look what marrying Sophia did to him.”
“Look what loving Penelope did, too,” I whispered. “He died sad and alone.”
“She was married to the enemy.” Sebastian issued the reminder in a deep, solemn voice. “Sean’s not married, nor is he the enemy. And it’d be insane to throw away love because of a rule or a promise.”
I gave him my back, unable to have this conversation with him. He may have moved mountains to be with Holly, but only because Holly loved him fiercely and refused to allow him to push her away.
I couldn’t keep my shoulders pinned
back, not even if the ancient Roman gods willed it to happen. “I’m not in love. There’s no point having this conversation. I can’t change,” I cried out, willing the angry tears forming in my eyes not to fall. “I’ll never be able to love him.” I knew it was a lie before I’d spoken the words, but I let it sail free anyway.
When I turned around, my stomach dropped like lead at the sight of Sean standing behind Sebastian, holding open the front door just as everyone began to pour out of the pub.
A look of hurt flashed across his face before he turned away, and my body trembled while guilt burned hot and heavy inside me.
Sebastian hung his head for a moment before giving me a tight, disappointed nod. I was certain I was far more disappointed in myself than he could ever be.
“Next pub rule sucks,” Sara said, feigning disappointment as Ethan hooked an arm around her waist. “Kiss someone you didn’t come with.”
Yeah, if she set her mouth on Sean, I’d whack her in the head with a shovel and then use it to bury her body.
Killer, my subconscious, now named Chanel, whispered in my head.
I had no right to be jealous of Sara, or anyone, for that matter. I’d witnessed the pain in Sean’s eyes at the words he’d overheard.
“Not gonna bloody happen.” Sebastian twisted back to peer at Sara, his jaw working overtime. Sean, on the other hand, kept walking as if oblivious or uninterested in Sara’s comment. In a daze or something.
“It was a joke,” Ethan clarified, yelling a little to try and get Sebastian’s attention. “Although, I overheard others discuss that they were modifying the rules and following that one in the next pub. So, watch out for random lips.”
I trailed behind everyone, keeping my arms tight across my chest since we didn’t have our jackets tonight.
Alessia had slowed, waiting for me to catch up with her. “You okay? Is this about the thing we’re not telling Sean yet?” she whispered.
The Final Hour (Dublin Nights Book 5) Page 22
