by Aliyah Burke
She has fire. He approved.
“Don’t take this out on me, lass. I’ve not exactly been flush with money to do a lot of the upkeep.” He uncrossed his arms and glared at her.
She didn’t back down, actually instead she matched him stare for stare.
“Here are your bags, lass.”
McSweeny’s voice busted through the tension bubble encompassing them.
“What did you bring them up here for?” Finn demanded.
“She’s staying while you two work this out. There is more than enough space up here for the both of you to share the place while you get the Emerald Myst back to the fine shape I recall it used to be in.” The old bastard sounded positively cheerful about that prospect.
“How do you know what was on the paper? I thought you said you didn’t put her up to any of this?”
Those white eyebrows rose up to the thin hair line. “You’re not exactly subtle, lad in your shouting at the wee lass.” He gave her a smile. “Besides, if she is here to run the bar, you can focus on what you truly like to do. Construction.”
Damn his grandfather for making sense.
“You think I’m staying here with a man I don’t even know?” She sounded aghast, like he would be throwing himself at her in bed the first opportunity he could.
Okay, so bedding her wasn’t a horrible idea but he wasn’t a letch, he could control his urges.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you conceding already, lass? Giving up on the only thing you have left in the world?” Challenge leaked from every word he just said. Part of him wanted to see her do an about face and never set foot in here again, however, there was another bit of her that really wanted to see if she had the mettle to follow what she set out to do.
She turned in a circle taking in the second floor. Even the bathroom didn’t have a complete door on it.
“Hepatitis may be the least of my worries.” Her words were so low he knew she’d not meant to spill them.
His lips twitched but he got himself back under control when she snapped her head back up in his direction. Determination stamped all over her features.
Her brown gaze held his as she marched up to him. There it was again, that fresh citrus scent he’d been smacked with the first time he’d touched her. His cock swelled again as the smell tantalized him.
“I’m not conceding anything. I’ll stay here, work with you to get this back to how it should be and then we will see what happens.”
“Good.” He bent a bit closer to her. “I hate women who don’t have a spine. And look forward to seeing how much you’re enjoying this once the nights of sleeping on a hard floor don’t look so appetizing to you.”
She ran a pointed look over him. “Nothing about this entire situation is appetizing to me.” She gave him her back even before the words faded from the air. By McSweeny once more, she took her bags and deliberately made her way to the side that didn’t have the hole in the roof.
“What about me?” he called after her.
“I would suggest you get up there and fix it post haste or it’s going to be a wet night.” She scanned the area she stood in and he imagined she was trying to figure out where she was going to sleep. It wasn’t warm up here and the night would be even colder. “For you.”
McSweeney laughed and kissed her cheek.
“I like her, Brannon. I expect you to keep her safe and none of your shenanigans.” He beckoned to her. “Come on lass. Let’s go take you over to Alice O’Neal’s for some more clothing. Don’t worry about your things, they’re safe here.”
Within moments he was again alone in the upper level of the business. This was his bar, he’d been busting his ass to keep it afloat for the past few months since he’d come home. Sure the thought of being able to fix things up held a great deal of promise to him, but he had to ensure the clientele had drinks or they would find another place to give money to, so that had come first.
“Probably can’t even pour a drink with head.”
His statement gave him another vision he didn’t need right now. One of her giving him head, her thick black hair falling around his groin as she bobbed her head up and down on his shaft. All the while, being toward him so he could enjoy her pussy.
This time, he reached under the apron and adjusted himself, trying to alleviate some of the pressure in his jeans. Wasn’t easy and he didn’t expect it to be any better until he could pull it out and wack off a few times, just until the urge that had replaced the blood in his body was appeased. Yeah, it would be a while.
“Why doesn’t she just sashay her ass right back to Pittsburgh and leave me alone.”
One deep breath and he went back down to find the conversation once again died the moment they realized he was there.
“Who’s she and what is she doing here?” Todd Tulley called out as he shoved a handful of bar mix in his mouth.
“Patrick Donaghue’s daughter. She’s come to claim the business.” There wasn’t any point in keeping it from them, surely it was already known. His grandfather prided himself on spreading gossip and news.
“She is of fair Paddy Donaghue?”
He narrowed his gaze on Todd. “I’m sure your question is because you find her beautiful and are unsure as to how Paddy was able to sire such a lovely lass, not anything else, right Todd?”
He tolerated a lot of shit from those in his place, but there were a few things he wouldn’t even begin to entertain and any thinking along those kinds of lines about races, weren’t one of them. When he’d served in the Irish Army, he’d learned to work with people who were of the same mind as he was. How they looked, didn’t matter to him. Not that it had prior, but his twelve years serving made him serious about things like that.
Todd nodded but didn’t speak on it. Finn let it go for the moment but the gravity of what was going to happen smacked him. People would either be happy to see Paddy’s child here, or they wouldn’t and it could very well have to do with the coloring of her skin. People could have narrow views. However, Patrick “Paddy” Donaghue had been a well-liked man and Finn could still recall the day the man had decided to leave.
“What is she going to do here?” another called out. Seamus if he were to think about it.
Make me horny as shit and have to wank off numerous times a day. “Run the bar which frees me up to some of the much-needed maintenance around this place.”
“Does she know how to run a bar?”
Why the fuck would she? “I don’t know. She will by the time I’m done with her. Besides, you lot don’t ask for much, just your drinks and the mix to eat while you gossip like old ladies and play darts.”
“I don’t want to have to change my behavior because there’s a woman in the establishment.”
Finn tossed the dish towel over his shoulder and shook his head as he smiled indulgently. “You do know there are women in here now, right, Sam?”
“But these here are our women. We know they can take it. She looks, delicate.”
A few skitters of laughter met Sam’s statement.
“Time will tell, Sam.”
Sure, he’d thought so to begin with but when she refused to back down and squared off with him upstairs, he wasn’t thinking anything about her being delicate.
“Are you sure it’s hers? Maybe she is lying and making it up.”
“Believe me, I thought about it but no, it’s legit. Do you remember when Paddy changed the name of the pub from Donaghue’s?”
Sam nodded, his fire engine red hair falling into his eyes as he did so. “I do. You weren’t born yet so how do you? Never mind, I forgot how close your Da was to Paddy. He changed it to Emerald Myst. We were none to happy. It was a girly name not strong like Donaghue’s.”
“Right. Paddy named his daughter Emerald exactly as he’d said he would name his daughter, when he had her. And that’s who she is. Emerald M. Donaghue. All the documents are in order.”
“I don’t want to see any flowery curtains in the windows,” Sam said de
fiantly.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You better or I’ll head over to Dougall’s. We all will.”
Finn looked over everyone there. Some agreed with Sam, others didn’t. “Do what you will, Sam. There will be others to fill your seat.” I hope. Even if he didn’t fully stand with her, he wasn’t going to show a divided front to the people of the bar. He would have her back because if any of them hurt her, they would have him to deal with.
The rest of the day passed without him seeing her once more before closing. She entered with McSweeny about twenty minutes prior to closing. Even across the bar, he could see her exhaustion. And it made sense. She wasn’t used to this time zone yet. His grandfather escorted her across the floor to the bar where he stood.
His damn cock stood at attention the moment she’d walked in and only grew harder the closer she got to him. He noticed a few others watching her move over the floor and he bit back a snarl with the proprietary need that filled him.
This didn’t bode well. He had to figure out a way to control these urges he was having.
“You able to dry glasses?” Sarcasm lined his question.
“Sometimes I can even chew gum and walk at the same time,” she snarked back at him.
“Get to it then. We don’t close until it’s all clean.”
She walked around the bar and he couldn’t help but notice the slight curl of her lip when her shoes stuck to the floor. He waited for her to comment on it, but she didn’t. Just went to the sink and got to work cleaning and drying the glasses.
“I better not hear of you treating her like hired help, Brannon.”
“You brought her here, McSweeny,” he retorted. “You don’t like how I handle this, you should convince her to leave.”
“I didn’t bring her, I met her on the plane over. That’s it.”
Right. He still wasn’t positive about that.
She didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night either, but she watched him. How he dealt with the people there, both the men and women. She listened to the jokes but still stayed in the background.
When he finally was able to close the doors behind the last one to leave, he locked it. Ensuring that all the doors were locked, he cracked his neck and went to the bar where she stood, as if unsure about sitting.
Behind her, not a single dish was left dirty. They’d all been washed and if not dried and put away, they were in the drainer so come morning they would be.
“Looks good.”
Her tired smile was brief.
“I just have to do the paperwork then we’re done.” He gestured to the stairs. “Go ahead and try to get comfortable up there. I’ll swing by to check on you before I head out.”
Her eyes widened a bit and she lifted her head. “So, you’re not staying here?”
“Did you want me to?” Her gaze narrowed, and he sighed. “My mom is not far from here. Once I get this done, I’ll go there.”
“Do what you will but I’ll wait until you do paperwork. I need to learn your system sometime.”
“And assuming you’re not running back to Pittsburg anytime soon, we have time. I know you’re exhausted. Go try to get some sleep. The blankets up there are clean, I sleep here sometimes and make sure to have clean ones up there.”
“I won’t need—”
“Fine, don’t use anything I may have touched. Freeze.”
She lowered her gaze and walked away. Guilt speared him as she made her way into the back and up the stairs. Her light steps were still noticeable with no music pumping through the place. Just another reminder how they were there. Alone.
Grabbing the money and the receipts, he sat at the bar and swiftly took care of his least favorite part of the job. Once it was all documented, he climbed off the stool and made his way to the safe and locked it in. He would deposit it tomorrow.
Finn scrubbed a hand down his face as he made his way to the stairs and followed the path she’d just taken less than thirty minutes ago. He’d heard the water in the bathroom, so he’d hoped she was ready for him to come in. He needed to apologize. His mother would take a switch to him if it got out how he’d treated her.
Hell, I am not even sure what she wants to be called. He knew her name from the papers he’d read but never once asked her what her name was, or how she preferred to be called.
“I’m coming up,” he announced moments before he got to the top of the stairs. No response at all from her.
A single light burned at the top of the stairs, allowing a bit of light to filter into the living space. He stepped into it and froze. The side of the room, she’d taken no longer looked like the empty warehouse space it had. A twin bed with one sleeping woman sat there. A small dresser along with mirror, a chair, and a few other shapes he couldn’t quite make out sat over in the spot she had decidedly claimed as her own. She lay beneath a bunch of blankets, looking all toasty warm.
It hit him now why she’d tried to tell him she wouldn’t be needing any blankets. She had some. But that wasn’t all. Not to far from her was another bed and on that were the blankets he typically used if he crashed on the couch up there.
Damn her for going and thinking of him when he was trying to be an asshole.
“Are you awake?” he asked in a low tone.
Again, there was no response.
He moved over to where she lay on the bed and crouched down. Her deep even breathing told him, she’d finally succumbed to the exhaustion she’d felt. The plip of water stopped him and he swore, jerking his hand back from where it had been stroking along one of her thick curls. The feeling created within him, somehow even more proprietary than he would have believed possible. Nothing should feel so soft.
Making his way to the bucket, he noticed she’d emptied the other one and put an empty below it. He’d put some plastic over the hole in the roof but it still leaked, he truly needed to fix that.
Tomorrow.
Instead of heading for his mother’s, he bedded down there. He needed to make sure she was safe. Not too far from a woman who’d blown into his life like the rolling mist and for all intents and purposes, was going to be sticking around. Right before sleep claimed him, he realized she gave him the bigger bed.
You are full of surprises, Emerald Donaghue. Full of surprises. And suddenly, I’m looking forward to discovering them all.
Chapter 3
Emmie stretched and yawned. Two seconds later, she yanked her foot and hand back beneath the blanket, having no wish to have them outside. Cracking open her eyes, she saw it was daylight out, despite the windows being without coverings they were still filthy dirty.
It hit her all at once.
I’m in Ireland, sleeping above the bar I’ve inherited. Surrounded by people who don’t seem all that happy to see me here.
“Well, can’t worry about that now. I made it through my first night.” She looked at her watch and shook her head. “I’m not sure if I’m more tired or hungry.”
Tired if she were to be honest, but she wasn’t going to spend her first full day here sleeping. She could sleep hard again tonight. Rolling over slowly, she noticed that while she was alone, it did appear he’d slept up there in the bed for the blankets were no longer folded neatly, even if the bed wasn’t made.
It didn’t take her to long to shower, dry, and dress. At least the plumbing worked. After she tied on her shoes, she made her bed and took in her new living space. It needed some work, but again, this was something she could do at her own pace. The main focus of hers needed to be getting the building fixed up.
Then I can figure out what the hell I’m going to do with it.
Digging in her bag, she pulled out her notebook and a pen. About to head downstairs, she paused when that sexy Irish baritone reached her. She peered out one of the windows to stare down at the front of the building.
Finn stood there with another man talking about something. Again, she couldn’t follow along with the conversation because of the thickness of the bro
gue. But if he were down there, perhaps he would give her a key so she could come and go.
Hurrying down the stairs, she hid her lip curl over the condition of the kitchen. At least they’re not serving food from here. If they tried, she had no doubt they would slapped with multiple health code violations. Moving through, her steps quickly took her to the front door. It opened just as she reached for the handle. With a squeal, she jumped back.
Finn strode in and stopped.
She struggled to breathe. His crisp white shirt was open a bit at the top allowing her to see some of his tan skin and chest hair. He ran his gaze over her and she forced herself not to fidget beneath it.
“Morning. Did you sleep well?”
“I did thank you. I was wondering if I could have a key so I can come and go without worry?”
“I’ll have to have Barrie make one for you. I’ll be here if you’re heading out for a while.”
“I am going to get something to eat. I will be back in about an hour if you’ll still be around then.”
Ask him to breakfast with you. She shoved her conscious into a small box then kicked it a few times for good measure.
“I’ll be here.”
She ducked her head and slipped by him, ignoring the demanding pull that scent he wore gave her. Here’s hoping I don’t get lost.
People watched her as she wandered through the streets with open curiosity, but most met her with a smile and a wave.
She slowed as she came to a place that had a beautiful sign above the door. Kells. She didn’t need a sign telling her there was food to be found and enjoyed here, the smells pouring from it did all that and more. Her stomach rumbled in healthy anticipation. Pulling open the door, she walked in.
A young brunette woman looked up and smiled at her. “Welcome to Kells. Take a seat and I’ll be right there.”
Tucking some hair behind her ear, she wished she’d remembered to bring a tie to put it up. Claiming a seat by the window, she slid over the soft leather seat of the booth. There weren’t a lot of people in there and the ones there were, smiled then went back to eating.
