He studies the room, notes Cian chatting with a visibly pale Senator Gallagher, then returns his attention to me. “Let’s talk.”
Mara clutches my arm. “Aiden?—”
“We’ll only be a minute.”
“Aiden, don’t—” But I’m already walking away with Niall nipping at my heels.
Catriona’s headlolls on my shoulder. I wrap my arms more securely around her. I can’t seem to make myself let go of her. This is exactly what I’d been worried about when I saw her again. Exactly why I knew she was going to be trouble.
I carry her inside, climbing the stairs one weary foot at a time. What a long fucking night. We’ve got a long week coming up, but the end is in sight. We have to hold on until then. I peel her out of her clothes, noting all the raw places on her skin. If I wasn’t bone tired, I’d pepper them with kisses. But all I have the energy for is to drag off my clothes and climb into bed next to her.
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but my eyes slip closed within minutes.
The week followingthe meeting with Cian feels endless. Preparations. Worrying. But each morning, I wake up next to Catriona, and each night, she’s pressed against me in bed. I haven’t allowed myself to do more than that despite how much my body screams for me to take advantage of every second we have left.
It’s Sunday, and we’re in the bedroom, and I’m watching Catriona fuss over what to pack before we leave for Ireland tomorrow.
“You don’t think this is too much? I feel like I overpacked. I probably won’t even need half of this. It’s been so long since I’ve traveled. I’m overthinking?—”
“I know why, little wife. I can read you like a book. Why don’t you model everything you’re bringing? I’ll tell you what you should keep and what you don’t need. Even the lingerie… Especially the lingerie.”
She pulls off the blood-red dress she was trying on and switches to another as I drink in every second when I should be packing my own bags. Everything hinges on it going according to plan. I don’t have time to be ogling her. Fuck it. If I’m going to die, my last meal would take place between her thighs.
She pauses, distracted. “Are you sure you?—”
“Yes.”
Catriona stops mid-selection, still clad only in a black lingerie set. I wish I could tear it off with my teeth. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“Because the answer is yes.”
“To whatever I ask?” she questions with a sultry smile. If she moves just right, I can see her pussy lips through her panties. I’m salivating over her and wondering if she’ll be mad if I make us late for dinner with the Baptistes. “I don’t believe you.”
“That’s right. Do you want me to prove it?”
Her eyes flash with challenge at the words that have become a kind of game between us. “Then I want you to find another clerkship for me, better than the one with Judge Landry.”
“Done.”
“I want to burn Cian’s place down to the ground after we’re finished.”
Fuck. She’s so fucking beautiful. Have I ever told her? I wonder what I’d have to do for her to let me fuck her again. This time without witnesses. Are apologies enough? Words never seem to hold weight to me. They’re easily disguised. Is it enough to give her everything that belongs to me? It doesn’t feel like it. And after what Cian’s done… what he could still do, nothing will ever be enough.
“Consider it ashes, love,” I croak.
At this, she pauses, considering, and my skin tingles in anticipation. “Are you trying to butter me up so I’ll fuck you again?”
Heat floods my veins. “Maybe. Is it working?” My grin turns wicked as a flush spreads up her chest.
“I don’t know. I don’t think you’ve earned it yet. Maybe you should get on your knees and beg for me.” She says it with faux innocence, but there’s a spark of defiance in her twinkling eyes. She’s teasing. Doesn’t believe I’ll do it. When I don’t speak, she huffs a laugh and returns her attention to the closet—dismissing me.
I forget the shirt I’m buttoning up as I consider her words. It gapes open, buttons forgotten as I move to where she’s musing at her closet, now bursting with the purchases she’s been sneaking in since I gave her my AmEx card.
Catriona gasps when she twists to look at me and finds me right behind her. “That what you want, pet?” She shivers as I draw her back against my front. “You want your husband on his knees for you?”
She shoves me away with her shoulder, and I fist my hands at my side, so I don’t grab her in my eagerness. “That’s right.”
“Come here.”
