The bar was noisy enough with chatter and the band playing, so I turned to the guy two seats down. “How long have you lived here?” He was around Kelly's age, if not a little older.
He looked to the right and then at me when he found no one sitting on the other side of him. Or he knew and was just trying to be a smart ass. He pointed at his chest. “You talkin' to me?"
“I'm not talking to myself.”
“All my life,” he said and turned his face forward again.
I noticed that the barman looked between us before he went back to serving drinks.
“I'm not trying to hit on you,” I said. “I have a question.”
“He'd rearrange my face, or worse, for much less.” He took a gulp of his beer.
“What?” Maybe he was drunk.
“Your husband. There's a reason why men around here keep their distance from you. I was sitting there.” He nodded to the seat next to me. “Saw you coming and moved here for the sake of my health.”
“Ah,” I said. “Because of the tiger that sleeps in my bed.”
“He’s a tiger and I’m a goat. I can smell him all around you, lady.”
I laughed a little and he grinned.
“One question, since you probably know more about the history in this neighborhood than I do.” I chucked my chin toward Brian and Molly. “What happened to his bird finger? Seems like an odd digit to lose.”
The guy who called himself a goat looked at the barman again. Real subtle, the barman shook his head.
The guy released a heavy breath a minute later. “Ah, what the hell? It's not a secret. The Gradys and Kellys go back years. When Ronan first arrived, he had eyes for Molly. She fell for his Irish lilt and charm. He was older, too, and hell bent on running Hell's Kitchen after he got in good with a previous leader who wanted it back after the Gradys took it from him.Molly decided she wanted Ronan and not Brian, and that was that. But not before Ronan cut off Brian’s bird finger after he gave it to Ronan.”
“She's sleeping with the enemy.”
He took another drink of his beer and sighed. “Molly has a wicked temper. She doesn't forgive, and she doesn't forget. Ronan got her pregnant twice, but there was never a baby. Rumors were that she couldn’t have them. Then Ronan brings home his two sons, who were at an age to remember their mother. Molly wasn't her. She hasn't forgiven or forgotten it.
“She would make Ronan prove himself to her by being distant from his sons. If he showed them too much attention, she'd throw a fit and threaten to leave, that sort of thing. Kill made things worse. He couldn't stand her. It wasn't an ideal situation.” Then he made abaaaasound and turned around.
I looked back at Molly and Brian, and her eyes narrowed against mine. What kind of woman throws a tantrum overchildrenbeing shown too much attention? A bitch.
A hand slipped around my waist from behind, and I stiffened for a second, before I recognized the touch.
“You’re not as jumpy around me, my darlin’,” Kelly said, his warm breath in my ear.
“My bones were getting sick of jumping out of my skin whenever you snuck up on me.” I grinned. “You’re on my radar now.”
Though I didn’t think I’d ever get used to him. When he appeared, it was like I was stuck in a storm, and during a strike of lightning, the form of a massive cat appeared of out the darkness. His power was the shock of it, time and time again.
“Good bones,” he murmured against my overheated flesh, though my arms showed goosebumps. Then he inhaled. “That scent you’re wearing lingers. All. Fucking. Day.”
Yeah, because it’s yours and mine, mixed together.
My heart rose and my stomach dipped at the thought, and the sound of his voice made my eyes lower. I could spend forever listening to it.
The hold on my waist became tighter, constricting, and I had to fight the urge to move out of it. “Another man was breathing in my scent. Making mine laugh. Enjoying my heaven.”
He was sending a message— I knew about those, because he usually sent them in the bedroom, when he was fucking me. I should’ve been afraid, but it turned me on.A fierce ache grew between my legs and a moan was stuck in my throat.
“If it happens again.” His voice was ice cold. “He’ll be in hell.”
The pressure released and I breathed in deep.
