“Oh, cute. An Irishman who can sing!” She made a noise that didn’t hide her anger. Her neck was patched with red, and so were her cheeks. “I don’t know you enough not to like you, but that never stopped me before. I don’t like the smell of bullshit that hovers around you when you come close—”
“Keely,” Harry Boy cut her off. But it wasn’t harsh. He was more afraid of her than he was of me.
“Don’t ‘Keely’ me,” she said. “There’s something off about this guy. He’s all charming when you invite him into your home, until he comes back later in the night to steal.”
“That’s why they call me ‘the marauder’ on the streets. I take whatever I want.”
Blunt. There it was. Take it as you fucking please.
Quiet came for a stretch of time after.
Then, all of a sudden, she let out a rush of hot hair, setting her hands on her fine hips. If they were street curves, they’d be labeled deadly. “I don’t have time for this!” she hissed. Then she turned toward a man coming toward her with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. The feathers of the fletches were all green—a real jealous color. The color hovered around her, like it did the arrows.
“Time to start,” the man told her.
She settled the quiver on her back and took the bow like it was a toy. She gave me one last scathing look before she turned to go.
I watched her walk away from me, admiring her ass. I had seen it one night while Scott Stone fucked her up against the window in his apartment. The curtains had been pushed to the side, and it was a gorgeous sight, like a full moon on a dark night.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She stopped abruptly when I caught up to her a second later.
Scottish drums had started beating in the background, and I knew whatever she was about to do would be good. I wanted to see her in this setting, making those arrows fly with sharp precision.
“Walking.”
“Why next to me?”
“Because I can.”
She opened her mouth, about to lash out at me. Then she took a deep breath. “This is a huge place,” she said. “Plenty of room for you to walk on theotherside of the field.”
“I’d prefer to walk next to you. Seein’ as you’re packing.” I nodded to her gear.
“Why? Lots of people want to kill you?”
“We both know that’s true.”
She nodded her head, like she could believe that. Then she took a step closer to me. She was tall for a woman, but she still had to look up at me. “Listen.Cash. You might’ve fooled my brother with all your glitterythings, but you don’t fool me. The moment you found me in that cemetery, I knew you were up to no good. I’m not girlie. I don’t indulge in fantasies—princes and princesses and all of that fairytale shit. And I don’t believe in fucking happenstances. Men like you don’t just show up out of the blue. You plan. You scheme. Youmaraud. You met me at the cemetery. Then you hired my brother. And now you’re here. Whatever this interest is—” she motioned between us “—stops now.”
I refused to hide my grin. She had been thinking about me. No woman comes to all of those conclusions if her mind wasn’t on it. Her thoughts were on me. I must’ve made some impression at the cemetery.
Stone’s heart was as good as mine.
* * *
I watched her walk off,knowing I had rattled her some. A woman like her wasn’t easily shaken, and later on, it would be both a blessing and a curse.
Later.
Think about the curse later.
Deal with it then.
My eyes followed as she got lost in a crowd surrounding the archery competition. These people were novices, all trying their hands at an ancient sport. I noticed they were all men. The last one had just loosed his arrow, actually hitting the bullseye. When the crowd went up in a cheer, he lifted his bow, cheering with them.
I stood back, crossing my arms, getting comfortable.
“What are we looking at?” Raff said, crunching on nuts.
