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Chapter Twenty-Five
CIARAN
Blimey almighty. What the feck was I thinking bringing Catriona back here? It’s not like I have to prove anything to anyone.
No one but myself, anyway. I guess that’s where my head must have been when I made the arrangements at Million’s continued insistence. I’d been hoping I could just let it ride.
When it became clear that wasn’t going to work, I opted to bring her back to the compound. At the time, it seemed more low-key than taking her for a meal… and I’d be lying if I hadn’t also had some optimism the two girls would hit it off and I could palm Catriona off on Róisín.
It backfired spectacularly, of course. The blasted woman has viewed this as something far more intimate - a kind of ‘meet the family’ type scenario, despite the fact it’s only the second time we’ve met ourselves. The first being a brief introduction her father offered.
Neither does this ill-advised ‘date’ do anything to dilute my desire for Maricela. The more time I spend listening to Catriona’s grating laugh and thinly veiled bitchiness while she paws at me with talon-like-nails, which look as if they’ll draw blood, the more I hanker after the connection I felt with my little hostage. Something so soul-deep and unexpected, it sent me running - fast - in the opposite direction.
I feel like a right bastard now, and although I've told Maricela I'm an arsehole, it’s true I have my own brand of morals by which I live. While I might have enjoyed more than my fair share of women, each and every one of them knew the score. I'm always upfront about the fact I'm only scratching an itch and I'm not interested in a relationship. It's sex, pure and simple; end of.
The fact that I lost control with Maricela sickens me. Not only is she another man’s fiancée, but she’s my captive.
It doesn’t matter that she was as hungry for it as I was. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s imprisoned here, in my suite, no less. It doesn’t matter that she orgasmed so sweetly at my hand; I still took advantage of her.
And the damnedest thing is now I’m avoiding her since I know there’s a chance it will happen again because her very presence makes me weak. No matter what I tell myself, I still feel the pull towards her and nothing good can ever come of that. But it could cause a whole heap of shit because sooner or later we’re going to have to deal with the Viper, and the last thing I want is a war.
Yet despite all that, I still can’t bring myself to have her moved from my private space.
And now I have to deal with Catriona, and that’s pissing me off all the more.
As soon as dinner is over, I push back my chair, hoping to get rid of her, but of course Catriona thinks I’m keen for something else. “So, lover, are you going to show me the room your brother keeps telling us to go find,” she purrs, walking her fingers along my bicep to my neck.
Across the table, Róisín snickers, proving Catriona’s words weren’t so quiet. “Well, that’ll be cozy,” my sister murmurs, and even Callum laughs, shaking his head and quirking his eyebrow as he glances my way.
“I’ll take you back to your place,” I tell Catriona, standing so her hands fall away.
“Mmmm… you’re right. A little more privacy is probably a good idea,” she replies, throwing a dirty look at Róisín. How can this woman imagine sneering at my sister is going to get her into my good graces?
“You poor thing,” she coos as we make our way to my car. “It must be such a burden having to play nursemaid to your baby sister all the time. Isn’t it time you offloaded that responsibility?”
Her words make me bristle, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s the daughter of a powerful ally who I need onside right now with the climate the way it is, I’d make sure she understood in no uncertain terms just what I think of her ill-advised attitude. Instead, I inject ice into my veins and open the passenger door for her. I have a driver, but the thought of being alone in the back seat with Catriona is more than I can stand.
“Róisín is hardly a responsibility,” I tell her, my mild tone belying my annoyance. “She’s twenty-six, not a little girl.”
“Exactly,” Catriona says, her tone derisive. “It’s about time she was married off and someone else’s problem.”
My hands tighten on the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white at hearing my sister described as a ‘problem.’ Unfortunately, she’s not finished, though. “If we’re going to continue seeing each other, I have certain expectations, and another woman hanging around is not one of them,” she says tartly.
I whip my head around to stare at her, thinking she’s referring to Maricela. Then the road demands my attention, and those few minutes give me the chance to regain my equilibrium and realize she’s talking about Róisín. That thought is equally bizarre. Is this woman really so insecure she sees my own sister as competition?
“Not sure Callum will approve of that,” I tell her gruffly, but she’s not deterred.
“Well, as it happens, we need to discuss Callum too.”
“Callum?”
“Yes, extended family living is not for me. If we’re going to use the compound, then we’ll need it to ourselves.”
I pull up outside her apartment building, stamping on the brakes with far more force than is necessary and taking a perverted pleasure in doing so.
“Catriona…” I turn in my seat to face her as soon as I’ve turned the engine off. “I think we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Tonight was a simple dinner to introduce you to my family since your father is concerned you don’t know many people since he relocated here.”
And thank all that’s holy, I never agreed to anything more!
