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That was not easily forgotten.
It’d been Caelan who broke me in, and no man—ever—was likely to match up to him.
No man could protect me in the same way he could.
Eric snarled and went off to bed that night in the spare suite.
Meanwhile Caelan and I spent time on the lawn playing with Logan, and after a drink of ouzo, we went to bed wrapped in each other’s arms, no two people ever more content than we were that day.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Breakfast the next day couldn’t have been more awkward. Caelan was grinning having enjoyed a complimentary BJ and having not been quiet about it, either.
Logan was starting to make a lot more noise and this also seemed to grate on Eric, who obviously preferred the days when Logan mostly slept, drank milk and only cried, not shrieked with laughter when his father threw him up and down like a yoyo, nearly scaring me half to death, Daddy somehow always catching him.
I drank down orange juice to rid myself of the salty taste in my mouth and Eric’s sub-zero gaze made me feel uncomfortable as he watched me swallow eagerly.
“My one,” said Caelan, like nothing was wrong with the world, “how about we send one of the guys out to fetch some swim pants for the bairn? He needs to start getting used to the water.”
“Great idea.”
“And ye can wear that skimpy bikini I packed for ye. Ye ken? The red one.” Caelan’s eyes danced unapologetically.
“If you like, darling.”
“Aye, we’ll have a lovely family day today by the pool.”
Caelan never once looked over at Eric as he spoke. He didn’t need to. His silence and the way he seethed was palpable. Eric ran upstairs, came back down two minutes later and traipsed through the house towards the front door. He was back in running clothes.
“Good luck to the lad,” said Caelan, “maybe if he were a foot taller, he’d match me for my stride and pace.”
My husband had reverted back to this arrogant, superior mode of his—the one that might piss off even the most mild-mannered, patient of people. Him in Dickhead Mode could irritate even a mouse to attack and bite back—in spite of the large, monstrous opponent they faced.
Caelan egging you on to fight was like a red rag to a bull, making the person on the receiving end of it so blind with rage, it wouldn’t matter that you knew you would get killed—it was better to just rid yourself of the growing anguish bubbling deep down.
“What’s going on?” I asked, grinning with what I hoped was nonchalance.
“A bit o’ fun to pass the time,” he said, mirroring me for indifference.
Hmm, but if I didn’t know him better…
Eric returned just before lunch to find us all beneath the awning, sheltering from the sun.
He didn’t come near us, preferring to stay by the pool in full sun, soaked with sweat from his run. We’d had a grand old time in the pool and Logan was exhausted, sleeping naked aside from his nappy in his bouncy chair. He was fully in the shade and we wouldn’t keep him out much longer. He sighed every now and again with utter contentment, the towel beneath him having absorbed all the dampness from his swim.
Since we’d been outside, all the bodyguards had stationed themselves beneath the other awning on the opposite side of the pool. I’d decided it had something to do with the red bikini.
“I’m gonna take the bairn indoors before we push our luck,” said Caelan.
“You’re right. He’ll be wanting lunch soon, too. Better start chopping some fruit and veg.”
“Aye, I can do that.”
When I was alone, that’s when Eric came over and lay on the lounger next to mine. He looked wiped out from his run, even paler than usual, which was odd considering the heat.
“All those blokes are staring at your arse in that thong,” he complained.
“And?” I looked over my shoulder to where the guys were stationed, all of them pretending that they weren’t watching from behind their shades. Clearly, they were, as I lay there on my side.
