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I’m still talking to Jacob and Ruth when I catch Erin staring at me with a smug grin on her face. I excuse myself and make my way over to her.
“Is something about me amusing you this afternoon, Erin?”
She tilts her head as she looks me up and down. “Hmm. Perhaps I should have warned you how much Shane hates Sean O’Connor,” she says with a smile before she takes a sip of her champagne.
God, she is a Grade A bitch. But why did I expect any less from her? I can’t even be bothered arguing with her about it. “Why does he hate him so much?”
“Because Sean was always his father’s right hand man, at least until Shane was old enough to be anyway. He hated that Patrick’s son took over and he did everything he could to make his life as difficult as possible. He was especially partial to fucking Shane’s girlfriends if he ever got the chance to be alone with them, whether they consented or not,” she says with a shudder and suddenly I wonder if she was ever a victim of Sean’s advances.
“But why didn’t Shane deal with him?” I frown because I can’t imagine the man I know allowing any of that to go unpunished.
“Because Patrick Ryan loved Sean. No doubt he saw a lot of himself in the sadistic prick. So he was basically untouchable. If Shane had retaliated, then Mikey and Liam would have borne the brunt of their father’s frustrations.”
I shake my head. The more I learn about Patrick, the more I wonder how his sons turned out to be the men they are today.
“It was fun watching Shane’s face turn purple when he saw you and Sean chatting like old pals.” She laughs and it’s not a pleasant sound, more of an annoying, high-pitched whinny.
I glare at her, wondering how much of a commotion it would cause if I were to punch her in the face right now. But that would only make her look like the victim and I can think of a much better way to hurt her.
“Yeah, he sure was pissed,” I say with a smile. “So, thank you, Erin.”
She frowns at me. “What for?”
I look over at Shane. He is talking to a group of people and they are all hanging on his every word. Dressed in his exquisitely tailored suit that hugs his broad shoulders and thick thighs perfectly, he can hold a room like no one I have ever met and he is the sexiest man in here by a long shot. He glances at me, and our eyes meet for a second, making me swallow in anticipation before I turn back to Erin. “You must remember how well that man fucks? And when he’s pissed? Wow!” I fan myself with my hand. “I doubt either of us will be getting any sleep tonight.” I flash my eyebrows at her before walking away and leaving her standing with her mouth open and the shadow of a scowl on her botoxed forehead.
As I walk away from Erin, I look around the room for Jacob and Ruth again but they’re talking to Sean O’Connor, and despite the fact that I’m still completely pissed at Shane, I understand now why he wouldn’t want me talking to him. I make my way to the bar instead and sit on a stool while I order a glass of soda.
I’ve only been sitting alone for a few minutes when I feel a warm hand on my back. I turn, expecting and hoping to see Shane, but it’s Sean O’Connor’s face that smiles back at me. I shrug his hand off me.
“Something wrong?” he grins at me. “You were much more friendly before.”
“I don’t like to be touched by people I don’t know,” I say as I scoot back in my seat, looking around the room for Shane but I don’t see him.
“But we know each other now, don’t we?” He leers at me as he trails two fingers over the bare skin on my arm and I shudder. How did I not notice how creepy he was before?
I’m about to tell him to go to hell when his hand is forcibly removed from my arm and twisted up his back. I hear the cracking of bone as Sean winces and howls in pain before his head is slammed onto the bar in front of us and he stumbles to the ground with blood pouring from his nose. When I look up again Shane is standing right in front of me with a murderous look in his eyes.
“We’re going!”
I blink at him.
“Now!” he barks as he reaches for my hand and pulls me from the stool.
I allow him to walk me out of the crowded bar while everyone stares at us. Nobody says anything and I doubt they would dare after what he just did. When we’re outside in the afternoon sun, I wrench my hand from his grip.
“What the hell, Shane?” I snap.
He turns to me, full of anger and venom. “I told you to stay the fuck away from him.”
“I did!” I protest. “He found me.”
“You should never have spoken to him in the first place.”
“Erin introduced me to him. Why does she get to do whatever she wants with no reproach?” I scowl at him.
He grabs my chin in one of his strong hands, squeezing as he bends his face close to mine. “Because I don’t give a fuck what Erin does,” he hisses. “I don’t care who she talks to, who she smiles at, who she fucks.” He shifts closer to me, pressing his groin into mine until the heat from his body sears against my skin. “But you…” He narrows his eyes at me before dipping his head lower, brushing his lips against my ear and making a shiver skitter along my spine. “I see you talking to another man and I want to rip his tongue out. When you smile at him, I want to gouge his fucking eyes out. And if anyone touches you, like even brushes against you when you’re passing by, it makes me feel so fucking angry that I feel like ripping their head off with my bare hands.”
“Shane! I didn’t…” I start to plead but he turns away from me.
