“No, I prefer to not think of the others who failed in getting you off.” My gaze falls to those legs. “Besides, those legs would look better around my waist.”
She snorts, disgusted. “Ugh. You’re gross.”
“I have a strong suspicion you’d like megross, Collins.”
“You wish,” she denies.
“Oh?” I dare her, stepping close, pinning her to the edge of the black chipped bar. “You forget, I’ve seen every part of you. The misery, the happiness—the darkness.” Her body freezes, my words hitting their point. “I know you’re a depraved soul underneath all that good girl routine. A mess waiting to be uncovered. A slut ready to take my cock.” She whips back and I move right before her head cracks my nose. “It’s okay baby, no need to hide it from me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maybe she doesn't. I could be off my mark.
But I know Collins. I’ve seen that sea monster in the depths of her soul through our years together. A part she hides. And I’m itching to release it.
Tilting her head back, hand firmly on her neck, I grin down into her flushed face. “We’re being watched.”
The brutal kiss steals both our breaths. It takes all my self control not to throw her on top of the bar, drown her in liquor and lick every drop off her sweet skin before sinking inside of her.
She gives as good as she gets. Collins groans into my mouth, nails clawing into my forearm, hips rocking back, seeking relief. I can’t help but grin. She’s needy. She wants me.
That’s good for me. I can work with this.
The kiss ends too quickly, as I bite her bottom lip and she moans. It’s the sweetest noise I’ve ever heard. My thumb soothes her swollen lips, fixing the smear of gloss and then licking it, to take the last bit of her essence for myself.
The noise around us picks up and we look around, watching as the men shift and cheer, glasses slamming. The room sways with energy, anticipation and need as my shoulders hike up and my hand digs for my knife.
The far back steel doors open, revealing Maeve entering her court like a Queen coming to conquer. Knives decorate her beltand at her back is Killian, a wraith hovering just out of reach. The men part for them both, fear rolling over our heads.
“Maeve?” Collins gawks, elbowing me. “That’s Maeve?”
It’s a sight, I’m sure, for Collins. She’s used to the business persona of her sister—suits, pale face, no funny business. Here, Maeve is the warrior, returning home from a long battle. This is her domain.
“Come with me.” Weaving through the tables, I hold fast to Collins’ hand, as I drag her between the black tables and chairs, approaching the makeshift stage. It all feels old Irish, a harken back to the days where clans meant survival.
Killian hangs on the back of her chair, a presence no one wants. He doesn’t notice me, his eyes fastened onto Maeve. The world could be on fire, and he’d only see her.
It’d be romantic if he wasn’t a sadist.
Locking eyes with my friend, I try not to cower. She’s glaring with enough force to set me ablaze, her irritation palpable. She wants me dead. Hell, maybe disembowed.
“Ace,” I begin, nodding in deference. “I ask to be put in as a contender.”
She ignores me, warily watching her sister at my side. Her barely clothed, dripping in lust, little sister who is nowmyfiancée. As much as I love Maeve like family, I have the urge to step between them, to protect Collins.
“You brought her.”
“As is my right,” I defend. “She wears my ring. My fiancée deserves to be here to witness.”
Witness my rise or my fall.
But having Collins with me, as an O’Brien, is a bold move. I came to win.
Maeve assesses me, face closed off, before she nods the barest amount. A simple runner puts my name under the pool of contenders to begin the vote.
This shit is too much. Not having her back, her trust, is eating me alive. Maeve saved me all those years ago, and earned my loyalty. This split isbullshit.
“You need to understand, Maeve,” I murmur, words soft. I don’t need others listening in. “This was never done to hurt you. Nothing I do is ever to harm you—or this clan.”
She snorts, kohl rimmed eyes narrowing. “No? You have a twisted way of showing it.”
