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I stare at him, blinking until he raises his eyebrows and tries again. “Why did ye spend the other night in a diner trying not to sleep?”
Like last night, Paddy looks like the thought pisses him off. Again, I blink at him without answering. My mind is completely blank. He smells nice, and if possible, he’s even better looking up close. Like, every feature is perfect.
He’s starting to look annoyed. Oops. When he speaks for the third time, the dark undercurrent in his tone lets me know it’s the last time he’ll ask.
“Why did ye come to an underground fight to find me?”
I finally shake myself out of my stupor.
“It was either there or at Oracle,” I blurt out, and he frowns. “But I didn’t know anyone at Oracle if the doorman didn’t let me in. And Perry said you were fighting last night.”
PADDY
Finally, she speaks. Thank fuck, because I was about to do something monumentally stupid, like bend her over the counter and fuck the truth out of her. I blame her fucking eyes.
At the same time, I’m not sure I like her answer. I’m not sure which would have been worse; Lauren coming to a fight to find me or her showing up at Oracle on the off chance I was there.
Christ, the lass is a walking bundle of scenarios where she’s between a rock and a hard place.
“What d’ye need from me, lass?’
For some reason, the question makes her squirm. Her words from last night come back to me, and I squint at her.
“Why d’ye have nowhere to go?”
“Because they’ll find me,” she whispers.
Because that’s not ominous at all. I freeze. Jesus fuck.Who’llfind her? I can’t protect the fucking lass if she doesn’t tell me anything.
I’m about to demand she starts fucking talking when the words die on my tongue as those big amber eyes swim. She blinks, and tears spill over, sliding down her cheeks.
I stare at her, horrified, as she silently cries. I don’t know what to do with a crying lass. I don’t do female emotions. When I fuck my women, I’m out of there the minute I’m done.
The only woman I spend any kind of time around is Tiggy, Fitzy’s wife, and the closest she’s ever gotten to emotional was when she told me her father ordered the killing of my parents and his right hand carried out the murders. Then she told me I couldn’t have my revenge because she’d already killed both men in question.
While I was grateful to Tiggy for shooting her father in the head while he held a gun to mine, I’m dirty she accidentally killed my parents’ murderer in a struggle with a knife when he kidnapped her from Fitzy’s kitchen. He was fuckingmine, and she robbed me of it.
A small sniffle brings me back to the present and the lovely lass crying in the middle of my kitchen. Shit. I need to keep my head in the game. How am I supposed to look out for her if I’m too busy fixating on revenge I can never take?
I have no idea what to do with a crying lass. For lack of a better idea, I reach over and brush the tears off her cheeks with my fingertips.
Lauren freezes under my hand when I do. Her large, liquid-filled eyes meeting mine. I find myself swallowing, and I’m fucking rock hard.
Because I’m a bastard, and apparently my good sense is taking a vacation, I tug her into my lap, one arm wrapping around her waist, the other gripping her jaw as I crush my mouth down on hers.
Lauren makes a sound of surprise, which causes her lips to part. I seize the opportunity to plunge my tongue into her mouth, curling it behind her teeth, fencing with hers.
She kisses me back, clinging to my shoulders. A small moan escapes from her. Shit. I remember myself and pull away. I’m supposed to be finding out how I can help her, not kissing her senseless.
Her lips are parted, her gorgeous eyes hooded, and she’s breathing quickly. But at least she’s not fucking crying anymore. I’d call that a success.
“That’s enough crying from ye, lass,” I rumble, depositing her back onto her stool, climbing to my feet, and rounding the breakfast bar into the kitchen, grateful to have the solid countertop between us.
I’m saved by the ringing of my phone, thank fuck.
“Paddy,” Fitzy’s voice sounds down the line. “Where the fuck are you? Get your ass here now.”
“I’m on my way,” I growl, hanging up and turning to Lauren.
