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Jessie sits between Mikey’s spread thighs, leaning back against his chest as we all eat our food in bed. One of the Fast and Furious movies plays on the TV in the background.
“PB and jelly never tasted so good,” Mikey groans before shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth.
“Mmm.” Jessie licks her lips. “They were my favorite when I was a kid.”
“Doesn’t surprise me with your sweet tooth, baby,” I say with a grin. “We never ate them until we moved to New York though.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, they’re not a thing in Ireland.”
“So what was your guys favorite then?”
“Sausages and chips,” Mikey and I say in unison.
She giggles at that before raising an eyebrow. “Sausages and chips?”
“Not potato chips, baby. They’re like fries—but better. And sausages are better in Ireland too.”
“Do you ever think about going back there?” she asks softly.
I shake my head. “No.”
“Fuck no,” Mikey agrees.
We share a glance, neither of us wanting to think about our last night in Ireland and the thing that finally made Shane move us all to New York.
“Besides, you’re here, Red,” Mikey says, changing the subject before he pulls back her hair and starts to trail soft kisses over her neck. Then his fingers dust over her ribs, making her squirm and giggle.
“I’ll just be wherever you are though.”
Suddenly, he stops playing, grabbing her jaw, he turns her head so she’s looking up at him. “Always?”
“Always, Mikey.”
“That’s my good girl,” he growls deep in his throat, possessive and menacing. He might joke around half the time but my brother is far from anybody’s fool. He felt her loss as deeply as the rest of us and he would lay entire countries to waste to find her if she ever left us again, willingly or otherwise.
“I know you’re tired, but you think you can go one more round, Red?” he asks softly, brushing his fingertips over her cheek, his tone much softer now.
Our girl is sore as well as tired, but she smiles and nods at him anyway, because she craves us as much as we crave her. It breaks my fucking heart to think that she believed for even a second that we wanted her to leave. But I guess we have the rest of our lives to prove to her that we love her more than life, and we need her more than we need air.
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
SHANE
The whiskey burns my throat as I swallow two shots’ worth in one large gulp before I slam the glass down on my desk. Jessie is back. I thought that I could handle seeing her and not want to punish her, or fuck her, but as soon as I saw her I wanted to do both.
Fortunately, I didn’t get the chance to do either because as soon as she saw them she fell into the arms of my younger brothers instead.
I don’t begrudge them their happiness with her. They have missed her like crazy, and learning of our father’s impending demise has dredged up all kinds of shit from their pasts for them. So, why is there a ball of anger searing a hole in my chest? It burns white hot as I recall the way she looked at me. I have so much that I want to say to her, but she’s made it clear that she hasn’t come back for me. And how can I blame her after what I did the last time she was here? I suppose that’s only a good thing because I can’t go back there with her. It would kill me to lose her again.
“You want another?” Erin’s voice purrs from beside me.
“Yeah,” I snap and she pours me another large measure of Jameson’s and a small one for herself. She suggested a drink to celebrate the deal we closed today, and after my brief encounter with Jessie, it seemed like a good idea. But, it’s not.
As I look up at Erin, her cheeks flushed pink from the alcohol and her eyelashes fluttering, I realize it’s a very bad idea. Erin has repeatedly made her feelings for me more than clear. She would jump at the chance for us to get back together, even though I’ve never given her any indication that I’m interested in reconciling. Apart from that one time, shortly after we’d called off the wedding, when we were both lonely and she’d turned up here in tears. But I swore to her and myself we would never do that again.
