I smile at Taryn’s father. His girl. I suppose I can live with that. He’s probably the only person on the planet I’m willing to share her with. Kind of. “I’d say Taryn is capable of taking care of herself, but I feel lucky to have her on my arm tonight, yes.”
Mick chuckles at this. “I’ve been speaking with Darragh Boyle. We’re going to set up a time for Rafferty to tour one of your clubs that’s been having some issues. See the security setup.”
I feel Taryn stiffen next to me. She has no idea why her big brother would be useful in this instance, so mostly for her benefit, I reply, “Raff is great at surveillance. That will be a tremendous help, Mr. Walsh. Thank you.”
He nods. Proud. “Call me, Mick, son.”
I smile. “Thank you. Mick.”
For another hour or so, we make small talk with a few of the men and their wives, and then I ask Taryn if she’s ready to leave.
As we head to get our coats, she asks, “My mother wasn’t here. Do the wives usually come?”
I consider this. “Some do. Some don’t. There isn’t a rule about it. I suppose the couples work it out for themselves.” It’s obvious to me that Mick Walsh wants to keep all of the women in his life sheltered. I don’t comment on that, however. I suppose that’s his prerogative. At least, it was until now. Like I told Taryn, she’s mine now. I don’t see the benefit of keeping her in the dark.
“You mean, the husbands tell the wives when they’re needed?”
I consider this. “Sometimes. Probably. But none of them—except for you—were needed tonight. I’m sure it was a nice evening out for some of them. You’ll almost always have a choice of whether to attend these things once we’re married.”
“Once we’re married,” she repeats. “Right.”
After a moment, she asks, “Do you think Raff will be helpful? In Chicago?”
I nod. “It can’t hurt to have fresh eyes. If it were you, what would you look for?”
She pauses. “Uh. Wow. I’m not sure. Maybe new people on the payroll at the clubs. Or dead zones in the security footage?”
Yes. Those are the typical places to start. Rather than tell her that she’s come up with the basics, I hope I sound encouraging when I say, “That makes sense. I wonder if we missed something with those checks.” It’s possible. I ask her a few more questions and I’m pleased when she answers thoughtfully about the business.
“I wonder if Raff would tell me more about what he does,” she ponders.
“It can’t hurt to ask,” I tell her. “If not, I’m happy to tell you what I can.” As long as she doesn’t want to know more about Nolan’s work, I have a feeling we can stay on safe ground. I mean, I’m happy to tell her, but I don’t want to be responsible for changing the way she sees her big brother.
When we arrive at her place, she shocks me once again when she asks, in a small voice, if I want to come inside. She must have questions about some of the things she heard this evening, so I agree. Hell, I’d agree to pretty much anything if it means spending more time with her. It has taken a miraculous effort not to keep staring at her bare legs, but I think I’ve done a pretty decent job. I can manage it for a little while longer.
She leads me upstairs to some sort of game room before announcing, “I have to change out of this dress.”
I refrain from asking her if she needs any help. I feel like we’re making progress tonight. No need to rush things. Even if my dick disagrees.
Soon enough, Taryn saunters back into the room, only she’s lost the dress and is wearing sweatpants and this cropped V-neck T-shirt that fits her perfectly. It molds to her tempting tits and shows a hint of cleavage at the neckline. I swallow and force myself to pull my gaze off her boobs. Not great, because I can also see a hint of smooth skin at her waistline. Yeah. She’s definitely fucking with me.
She drops beside me on the couch, and as I suspected, she begins with her interrogation. I answer each question honestly, still amazed that she has no idea what business her family is in. When I finish explaining the way our clubs are run, how they are a front for laundering our money, how our investors are involved and what products—mostly drugs and weapons—we transport, she sits quietly for a minute.
Then, she looks down at her hands as she tells me, “I heard what you said tonight. To Rowan.” I said a few things, so I have no idea what she’s talking about. It must show on my face because she continues. “About how I’m capable of contributing.” Ah. That explains the kiss on the cheek.
“I was only stating the obvious.”
She nods at this. Then, shocking the hell out of me, she moves to my lap and straddles me. I nearly swallow my tongue.
“Thank you,” she breathes with a soft smile on her face.
“You’re welcome,” I answer hoarsely, even if I don’t know what she’s thanking me for. Shit. I’m hard instantly and I curse my lack of control. I don’t need to scare her off because I definitely won’t be able to hide the effect she has on me.
She bites her bottom lip. Her fingers splay in my messy hair. I try to control my breathing as her nails scratch lightly against my scalp. “Taryn?”
“Hmmmm?” She’s taken to tracing my bottom lip with her index finger while her other hand starts playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. Fuck. I’m suddenly way too hot. My breathing has turned shallow. My hands automatically go to her waist. Christ. I really, really want to start rocking her over my erection but I force myself to sit as still as possible.
“What’s going on, beauty?” I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing.
