Irish: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 5)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “Okay. Should we try again?”

  “Let’s work on body language. The way you approached me was hesitant and you were wringing your hands like you were going to squeeze water from them. Just come up to me like I’m one of your friends. The worst that can happen is I tell you I’m not interested.”

  I took a shot and walked away, coming back with more confidence this time. He was right. What was the worst that could happen? “Hi, I’m Claire.” I held out my hand and smiled big for him. I was rewarded with a handshake and a sexy smile.

  “Hi, Claire. I’m Hunter. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Is anyone sitting here?”

  I was surprised at how casually it all came out, but all I could think was that it was the alcohol talking.

  “Nope, please join me.”

  I took the seat and smiled at him, hoping he would continue the conversation from here. I didn’t know what to say.

  “Do you come here often?” he asked.

  “Sometimes. My sister and I love to-” I paused, wondering if he was actually interested or if it was just a casual question. “Was that a pick up line or a real question?”

  “It’s a real question,” he laughed. “I come here a lot and I’ve never seen you.”

  “Well, I don’t come all that often. I work two jobs, so I don’t have a lot of time off.” I almost started rambling on about working on the farm again and working at the library, but I snapped my mouth shut, remembering what he said about too much information.

  “Two jobs? That’s kind of crazy. What do you do?”

  I paused and considered what I should say so I didn’t start rambling. “I work on my father’s farm and I’m the town librarian.”

  “Librarian, huh? Do you wear your hair up in a bun and wear tight pencil skirts to work?”

  “No. I usually wear pants and yes, I do like to wear my hair up, but I have no clue how to put it in a bun.”

  He laughed a little and I hoped it wasn’t at me.

  “Working on the farm and working in town full time sounds like a lot of work.”

  I nodded, but refused to say anything else about it. I could do this. Hunter was making this seem easy for me. It was a shame that Lucy was already sleeping with him because he made it seem like something was actually happening between us.

  “So, what is it you do, Hunter?”

  “I’m in security.”

  I paused for a second, trying to decide if I should break the play acting thing we had going. “Is this weird?”

  “What?”

  “I mean, because I know Derek.”

  “Why would that be weird? Are you dating him?”

  “Uh, no I don’t…no. I mean, he saved my life and he kissed me, but then things got all icky when I threw up on him and-”

  “Wait. You said he saved you. Are you talking about in the bank?”

  “Well, that too, but I meant outside the grocery store. He pushed me out of the way of a car.”

  He threw his head back in laughter and slammed a fist down on the table. “That’s fucking hilarious. You’re the woman from the grocery store.”

  “You don’t have to laugh about it,” I grumbled.

  “No, this is really good. You’ve got nothing to worry about. He’s totally torn up about you. Doesn’t want to pussy out and take the next step, but he can’t get you out of his head.”

  “I doubt that’s true after our last date.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “One of the guys kicked his ass in the ring because he couldn’t concentrate. He was too busy thinking about you. I’d say that you have nothing to worry about.”

  “I threw up on him a week ago, so I’m pretty sure he won’t want to see me again.”

  He hissed in a breath and grimaced. “Yikes. Well, it’s not like you can’t come back from that.”

  “Really? Because I don’t really see how I could throw up on someone and they would come running back to me for more. Besides, after I threw up on him, he said it was fucking disgusting, which it is, but that’s not what a girl wants to hear after she was dragged out on a boat and got seasick.”

  “Trust me, Derek is completely clueless sometimes, but he’s a good guy. I’m sure he realized right away that he fucked up and he’s probably trying to figure out how to undo the damage as we speak.”

  “You didn’t see his face.”

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Guys are fuck ups like 90% of the time. We say and do stupid shit because it doesn’t cross our minds that you don’t think the way we do. Shit flies out of our mouths and then we realize afterwards that we totally fucked up. But even then, sometimes you still have to explain shit to us.”

  “I threw up on him,” I said slowly. “That’s going beyond fucking up or saying something stupid. I vomited all down the front of him. How the hell would he still want to be with me?”

  “Because you’re a total catch. You just don’t see it. The only thing you see is that you’re a little socially awkward. The right guy isn’t gonna care about that. Don’t let what happened get to you. Let’s get some more drinks and have fun. You don’t need to waste any more time trying to learn how to pick up a guy. If I know Derek, he felt like an asshole as soon as you left.”

  Hunter and I drank for a good two hours and I had lost my self-consciousness at some point during the night. When I asked where Lucy was, he told me she went home with someone else. It didn’t seem to bother him at all. Hunter was a lot of fun to hang out with and he didn’t make fun of me when I started rambling or when I said stupid stuff. He was like a protective older brother and I was happy that I had met him.

  “Claire, just go with me on this and trust me, okay?”

  “What?”

  Before I could get an answer out of him, he was out of his chair and had pulled me in for a deep kiss. At first it was awkward, especially feeling like he was an older brother and all, but the way he kissed me was hot and I decided to just go with it and think about the rest later. When he pulled back and winked at me, I blushed hard, not sure what to think about what just happened. It was a hell of a kiss, but there was no spark between us. But Hunter was looking at me like I was his next conquest and it made me feel special.

  “What the fuck is this?”

  I broke out of the spell Hunter’s kiss had me under and spun around to see Derek standing right behind me. He was glaring at Hunter and I quickly looked at Hunter for some kind of sign of what I should do. He just smirked at Derek and pulled me in close to him. This was definitely a situation I had never been in before and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Not to mention, the alcohol was making my head fuzzy and suddenly I found this whole situation hilarious. I started laughing and I couldn’t stop. It was just so odd that I couldn’t handle myself around a man just this morning and now I had two men that looked like they were going to come to blows.

  “Hey, Irish. What’s going on?”

  “Do you want to tell me why you called me here?”

  I looked up at Hunter in confusion. He had called Derek? Why would he do that? Hunter squeezed my side, like he was telling me to keep my mouth shut.

  “Just thought you’d want to hang out, man.”

  “And you just happened to be here with Claire?”

  “Do you two know each other?” Hunter asked as if I hadn’t just mentioned earlier that we knew each other.

  “Um..”

  “Claire and I are dating. I didn’t realize that she was meeting you tonight, though.”

  “It wasn’t planned,” I blurted out. “I was telling my sister that I suck at dating after our thing on the boat. She suggested that Hunter give me some pointers on how to meet men. I thought I‘d give it a try since I totally blew it with you. But I totally suck at hitting on men.” His face was growing angrier by the second, so I thought I should try to explain some more. Maybe he was misunderstanding me. “I went up to the first one that Hunter picked out and I somehow led him to believe that I wa
nted a threesome and then I accidentally called his sister a whore. Then the next guy Hunter picked out, I bought him a drink and he ignored me after I bought it. I was just trying to get some tips on how to pick up men so that I can actually get laid sometime this century.”

  “Is that what all that was about? You just wanted to get laid?” He said angrily.

  “No. I mean, not totally. Of course, I want to get laid. Who doesn’t, but after I totally blew it with you, I just figured I needed some guidance so I didn’t screw it up with the next guy.”

  “The next guy?” He scoffed and sent a chilling look to Hunter. “And I suppose you’re the next guy.”

  “You snooze, you lose.” Hunter grinned and wrapped his arm around my neck, pulling me in close. I was really confused by what was going on. Derek grabbed onto my arm and pulled me away from Hunter. I knew that if Hunter wanted to, he could have kept me by his side, so I wasn’t sure what he was playing at.

  “Let’s get one thing clear. I may be a dumb fucker at times and screw this up with you, but you are mine. You don’t need to learn how to flirt with other men or how to pick them up because there won’t be anyone else. Not until we see where this thing goes. Do you understand that?”

  “But, last week you said-”

  “I know what I said and I was an asshole. It seems that I have some socially awkward moments too when I say shit before thinking about it. I’m so fucking sorry that I was such a jerk to you when you were sick, but I can’t take it back. I can only try to make it up to you. I don’t know what the hell is going on between us, but I’m sure as hell not going to let you get away until I know for sure whether or not this could be something more.”

  I swallowed hard and stared up at the sexy man before me. There was nothing I wanted more than to kiss him and take him home with me. Well, we probably shouldn’t go to my home. I had my father and sister there with me and I didn’t need everyone knowing my business.

  “Are we clear?” he asked. I nodded and squeaked out a yes. “Good.” He looked at Hunter and glared. “You can remove your hands from my woman. Now. And don’t ever think of fucking touching her again.”

  Hunter grinned and tipped his head at Derek. I didn’t understand it. They had some weird man language that I just didn’t understand. I needed to get out more and maybe study them. Kind of like how scientists study apes. Derek pulled me to the exit of the bar and dragged me over to his truck, shoving me inside and going around to the other side.

  He slammed the door once inside and stared out the windshield for a few minutes. I sat there uncomfortably, not knowing what to do or say. I decided to keep my mouth shut so that I didn’t say something to screw this up after he just called me his woman. When he finally looked over at me, there was a mixture of rage and lust on his face. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was he going to fuck me angrily? That would be kind of hot.

  “You don’t ever go to a bar to find a man again. If you need something, you come to me.”

  “The only reason I would look for a man in a bar is to have sex with him. Anything else and I would look in the yellow pages,” I said before I could think better of it. I slapped my hand over my mouth as my eyes widened.

  “You won’t be looking for sex from men in a bar anymore. You have me to take care of all your needs. Understand?”

  I nodded, not able to say anything else at the moment. I actually had a lot of questions. Like, was I able to call him at any time for sex? Was this just a mutually beneficial relationship, as Lucy had called it? Would I be able to call him at any time or were there only certain times of the day he could be reached?

  He gave a curt nod and started the truck up, pulling onto the road. I didn’t know where we were going and I was afraid to ask right now. I hoped that he was going to take me to his house and have his way with me, but when he headed out of town toward my house, my heart sank. I had already said that I needed to get laid and now he was dropping me off. I didn’t want to come out and say it again. What if he wasn’t in the mood for me? Had I misread what he was saying? I wished that I understood men better.

  He pulled into my driveway and parked the truck. “Do you want to come in? I mean, my dad’s here, so that could be awkward. He tends to wake up at night and wander the house. And since he hasn’t met you, he might pull a gun on you in the morning. Unless you weren’t planning to stay until morning, in which case-”

  I stopped talking when Derek placed his fingers over my mouth, essentially cutting off my rambling.

  “Next Saturday.”

  “Next Saturday what?” I said slowly.

  “I’ll pick you up at six and we’ll go to dinner.”

  “Wait. That’s it?”

  “What did you expect?”

  “Well,” How did I say this? That I wanted to have sex with him and that he told me to go to him, so he’d better pay up? “You told me if I needed anything that I should go to you.”

  He draped his arm across the seat back. “And what is it you need from me?” His deep voice struck me down in my core, sending shivers racing through me.

  “I need you to…”

  “Say it,” he rumbled.

  I blushed furiously and was grateful for the dark. “I need you to fuck me hard. It’s been way too long and I’m horny. You can’t leave me hanging after you just told me that I couldn’t get it anywhere else. Not that the men are lining up to take me to bed, but…”

  He smirked and scooted across the seat to me. Wrapping his hand around my neck, he pulled me in close to him and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “You can bet that sweet ass that I’m gonna fuck you hard.” His other hand slid down to the apex of my thighs and skimmed across my heated core. I gasped and waited for him to undo my pants and slip his hand inside. He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “But when I make you come, it won’t be because I’ve dragged you out of a bar after you were getting tips on picking up men. When I take you, you’ll only be thinking about me and all the things I’m going to be doing to you.” His fingers pinched at my clit through my pants and I almost came on the spot. “I will have you, but it’ll be when you’re all mine.”

  He pulled back and gave me a deep kiss that made my body constrict. I tried to pull him in closer, but he untangled me from his arms and slid back to his side. “Go, before I change my mind and take you right here in the truck.”

  “I wouldn’t complain,” I said breathily.

  He shook his head slightly. “That’s not how it’s gonna go with us.”

  I fanned myself a little and pried the door open, getting out on shaky legs, and made my way to the house. I turned and gave him a wave before heading inside and flopping down on the couch.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Derek

  I WAS NERVOUS as hell, which was a new feeling for me. I was never nervous about a date, but I was so scared of screwing things up with Claire that I couldn’t seem to get a grip. It was all that talk Sinner and Cazzo had done about being screwed and knowing that she was the one. It was freaking me out, but at the same time, deep down, I knew they might be right. I was generally okay with the idea of her being the one. I already knew that she drove me crazy, in a good way, and that I like being with her. It just freaked me out to have thoughts of marriage and family running through my head when just two weeks ago, I had thought I would be a lifelong bachelor.

  I climbed out of my truck, determined to break away from my nerves and just go with the flow. I knocked on her door and waited for her to open the door. Only it wasn’t her that pulled the door open, but a man that I could only assume was her father. I held out my hand, but he just glared at me.

  “Sir, I’m Derek.”

  “So.”

  I cleared my throat and pulled my hand back. “I’m taking Claire out tonight for dinner.”

  He reared back and pulled something from behind the door. It was a Remington twelve gauge, pump action shotgun. Part of me wanted to take a step back because, well, he was pointing a gun at me. But logical
ly, I knew that I was better off close to him where I could grab the gun before he could shoot me. Which, I could. I wasn’t new to this, but I also didn’t want to piss off Claire’s dad. I had a feeling he wouldn’t think more of me for taking away his gun.

  “There’s no fucking way I’m letting you anywhere near my daughter, you sick fuck.”

  “Have we met before?” I asked in confusion.

  “I don’t need to have met you to know that there’s no way I’m letting you anywhere near my daughter.”

  Did my reputation precede me? “Uh, sir-”

  He shoved the gun in my face and I quickly knocked the gun away so I didn’t get hit in the face. I grabbed the barrel of the gun and yanked it out of his hands before he could threaten me again. Unloading the gun, I shoved the ammunition in my pocket and leaned the gun against the side of the house.

  “Why don’t you tell me what the fuck the problem is before you decide to threaten me again? I don’t particularly like having a weapon pointed at me.”

  “My problem is that you’re too old for my daughter, you fucking pervert.”

  I looked at him in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? “Sir, I couldn’t be any more than ten years older than her. And all due respect, your daughter can make her own decisions.”

  “My daughter is just a child, not even old enough to date.”

  “Daddy!” Claire came running up behind her father looking like every man’s wet dream. She had her hair down in soft waves around her shoulders and a tight black dress that accentuated all the curves that I loved so much. She also had on heels, which made her legs look longer than they were. I wanted her to turn around so I could see what her calves looked like. I was a leg man and nothing made me harder than seeing beautiful, shapely legs.

  My eyes snapped back up to Claire’s face and saw the concerned look on her face. Something was definitely wrong here. Sure, Claire was short, but there was no way that I had misjudged her age.

  “Daddy, this is my tutor. He’s not taking me out on a date. We’re going to the library and then I have a date with that nice boy that you met last week.”