Page 74 of Fractured Memories

He toes his boots off once she’s disappeared from view. “You’re going to pay for that one.” He strips his shirt off. “Do I need to remind you why I’m better than Mika’s company?”

I openly stare as he pushes at his waistband, stepping out of his pants and underwear. Kieran is far too gorgeous, the sun gleaming off his fair skin and highlighting the divots of his muscles. Scars litter his body, but I think they only heighten his appeal. Just like those disheveled brown waves and the short scruff along his jaw.

His chuckle draws my attention back to his face as he stalks toward the pool. “That’s what I thought.”

Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him, refusing to even acknowledge his cockiness. I hear him moving through the water behind me, and his arms wrap around my waist, dragging me back against his body.

“How was Lochlan?” I ask as he brushes a kiss along my temple.

“Raging.” His palm splays across my stomach, pressing me more firmly into him. “The wound wasn’t bad. He’ll heal up fine—as long as we keep him from sneaking off to find the bastard who shot him.”

“But you will?”

“Jude’s already working on it.” His thumb swipes along my skin, and I sink into him. “Mika’s good?”

“Yeah. Gale already told her.” I don’t admit what we were talking about. I meant it when I said I didn’t want to hurt Kieran by making him relive that.

“She’s probably going to Lochlan’s now. That should help lift his spirits.”

“I still want to see him.”

“We will. I told him we’d come over for dinner later.” Kieran spins me around to face him. “I thought we could finish that conversation from this morning.”

His hands slide down to grip the back of my thighs, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he lifts me, hands clasping at the back of his neck. “I thought you’d avoid that.”

He shrugs. “Most of our important conversations have happened in this pool. I guess it has me in an agreeable mood. Better take advantage.”

A grin teases my lips as I play with the short hair at his nape. “It is rare you aren’t just glaring and drinking.” His hands squeeze my ass as he narrows his eyes, and I tip my head back with a laugh. “Okay. Do you have any other family?”

“Just the ones you’ve met.”

“Do you like being in the mafia?”

His grin is vicious. “I get to kill whoever I want, and no one can tell me what to do. What’s not to like?”

I suspected as much, but I like Kieran’s dark side too much not to ask. “I’m pretty sure Rohan tells you what to do all the time.”

His grip tightens. “You are asking for trouble today, Eden. Stop testing me before I run out of patience for your questions and use your pretty mouth for other things.”

I’m tempted. For the most part, I understand who Kieran is. I might not know everything about him, but who he is? That is perfectly clear to me, and I really like it. His loyalty. His violence. His dry humor.

Between the questions he answered this morning and talking to Mika, I know that Kieran’s life has been brutal. But it’s shaped him into this person that I think I might love.

“I have one last question.”

He raises a brow. “Which is?”

“What was my life like before we met?” He said he had no other family, which means I must not.

“You were a cage fighter.” I scrape my nails up his scalp, encouraging him to give me more. “You grew up in the lower part of the city, took illegal contracts for a while, and eventually got into the cages.” He backs us against the pool wall, leaning down until our noses brush. “Always so bloodthirsty, my pretty wife.”

I bite my lip. “So I have no family?”

His green eyes soften. It’s barely noticeable, but that’s how Kieran is. He does care. It’s just subtle. “You were orphaned when you were still young.”

I nod. The words don’t really bother me. “And now I have you.”

“You have me,” he whispers. “I have one question for you, mo chuisle.”