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DECLAN
Trying to keep my anger in check is difficult. The feelings of rage and the need to go and avenge my woman increases with every minute I’m in her presence. I can’t believe she tried to cover the mark on her cheek with makeup.
It’s not just the cut there, but I can see that the side of her face is swollen. Like someone slapped her.
My fists clench and I swallow down a growl as my driver navigates the streets of Boston. It’s a damn good thing we’re only minutes away from arriving at Emerald and that my woman looks stunning in the dress I got for her. Those are the only things keeping my control in check.
I want to wrap Roisin up in my arms and demand she tell me all her secrets. I can see in the depths of her green eyes that she has many of them. I would only be scratching the surface if she told me who hit her. My gut twists in an uncomfortable way with the knowledge that something is off with her.
It should be enough to have me putting distance between us, but I’m powerless against whatever is pulling me closer to this woman. She’s a mystery, but she’s so much more.
“You look stunning, Roisin,” my voice is husky and the way her startled eyes meet mine has my cock begging to be set free from my pants.
Her cheeks turn a shade of baby pink that I want to track across her body to see how deeply I can affect her. “Thank you, Declan,” she whispers.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.” My eyes move over her, taking in the way the red satin wraps around her and shows off everything I want pressed against the hard planes of my body.
“It’s fine. Thank you for the dress,” she runs her hands over the fabric on her thighs, “it’s beautiful.” The small smile on her lips has me almost begging to kiss her, but I hold off.
For now.
“You’re beautiful,” I counter like a boy fumbling when he touches breasts for the first time, all clumsy hands and too hard squeezes. What the fuck is this woman doing to me?
I watch her blush deepen, but before she can respond we pull up outside of Emerald and one of the doormen is there and pulling open my door. My driver knows the drill and will be ready to go the moment we are. With my hand held out for Roisin, she doesn’t hesitate to slip her much smaller hand in mine.
We fit together and the jolt of awareness cascading through my body has me not giving a single fuck about what she’s hiding. I know there is so much more to this woman, things she doesn’t want me to know. Right now, as I pull her against my side and lead her up the stairs and into the swanky lounge, I don’t care what skeletons I’ll find later.
Right now is the only thing that matters.
The surprised awe on my woman’s face as we enter Emerald has pride swelling my chest. This is the jewel of my businesses. The slick interior screams money and has people paying for the drinks we serve and the experience of entering the doors. It has an old-world charm, but everything is high-end and lush.
Most people who come to Emerald don’t realize what goes on underground and I want to keep it that way. The fights in the bowels of the building are violent and bare knuckled. They fuel the blood lust of some of the most powerful men in the city, men who like to appear on the right side of the law but are evil down to their core.
It’s not often that the mayor, for example, misses a fight and I have no doubt the man will be down there already placing bets and salivating over the blood about to be spilled.
There are very few rules when it comes to my fights and those who brave the ring know they’re putting their bodies and souls on the line. If they win, though, the payout is beyond their imagination.
After I hand our coats over to the young lady at coat check, I lead Roisin through the lounge to a back hallway. I’m given entrance with barely a glance. Just how I like it.
“Seems that power really does have velvet ropes falling to the ground,” Roisin’s sweet voice has an edge to it which has me coming up short.
“You have no idea,mo rós beag,” I practically purr the words, the warm skin of her lower back calling to me through the thin fabric of her dress.
She’s a contradiction. There’s something submissive about my woman, but then there are also moments of pure fucking fire. I desperately want to burn.
We step into my private elevator while everyone else going down to the fights would be descending the stairs. She looks around at the ornate gold interior, a small smirk on her pretty lips. They’ll look damn good stretching around my cock as her pretty green eyes look up at me with tears in them while I control when she gets her next breath.
“Is there more to you than the power you hold, Declan?”
I stare into her eyes and get lost for a moment, wondering how deep she’ll let me dive into her soul. I crowd her against the back wall of the elevator, my voice a rough growl, “Power is all I’ve known for a long time, Roisin.”
She makes a humming sound which has my heart clenching in my chest. Why do I care if this woman sees more than the man that I want the world to see?
I run my nose up the delicate length of her neck and kiss right under her ear. The way she shivers has me grinning while I soak up the way she reacts to me. It’s natural and something she can’t suppress. It’s all mine.
Just like her.
When I step back, I pull a thin box out of the inside of my suit jacket. “I almost forgot your gift.”
