There’s something else happening here. Something neither of us is saying.
A pull. A want.
Adare.
Who will break first?
His thumb traces my cheekbone just as the sound of voices echo from inside. The spell breaks, and he drops his hand like I’ve burned him.
“We should go,” he says.
As I follow him back inside, I can still feel the ghost of his touch on my skin.
And I wonder if Cavin McCarthy might be the most dangerous thing I’ve ever encountered.
Not just because he’s cruel, but because part of me wants him to touch me again.
Chapter Six
Cavin
I leanagainst the stone railing after she steps back inside, my hands braced, head down, trying to get my breathing under control.
What thehellam I doing? She’s Erin Kavanagh. The girl who made my life hell at St. Albert’s.
The girl who’s about to becomemy wife, whether either of us wants it or not.
And I just stood there on that balcony, close enough to touch, and spilled my guts like some lovesick fool.
I drag a hand through my hair, cursing under my breath. She looked at me different after that. Not with pity, thankChrist, but with something worse.
Understanding.
Her eyes had gone soft. Her lips parted, just slightly, like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. And for one dangerousfucking second, I wanted to close the distance between us. See if her mouth was as soft as it looked.
Christ.
I’m losing my mind. She’s the girl who ratted me out at every turn. Who got me beaten more times than I can count. Who looked at me like I was dirt. But when she was counting under her breath earlier, fingers tapping that nervous rhythm against her thigh—I remembered. All those times at school when she’d do the same thing. When the other kids would mock her for it. When I’d stand there and do nothing, or worse, when I’d join in, just to keep the attention off how much I noticed her.
How much I wanted to grab her hand and still those tapping fingers. Pull her somewhere quiet where she could breathe.
Fuck.
I wasn’t kind to her… I know that, but standing on that balcony with the wind in her hair and her guard finally down, Iwantedto be. Wanted to trace the line of her jaw. Tuck that loose strand of hair behind her ear. Feel if her pulse was racing the way mine was.
Wanted to know if she felt it too, this thing between us that I don’t have a name for.
“Cavin.” I turn.
Seamus is in the doorway, his arms crossed, expression unreadable. “You coming? Mam’s about to ring the bell.”
“Aye. Just needed some air.” His eyes narrow, gaze flicking past me to the empty balcony.
“You talk to her yet?”
“About what?” I still give him shit.
“Don’t fuck with me. About the marriage.” I smirk but straighten. “Not yet.”
