Mostly because she'd clearly fucked Declan at some point. Perhaps was still fucking him, from the way she touched him inappropriately before they disappeared into his office to strategize (or fuck).
Now that a few days had passed since the bloodbath, things had mostly returned to normal. Saoirse had gone back to college and Aoife left the day after. Being stuck here on my own with nobody to talk to sucked.
I'd barely seen the twins. They and Declan were too busy cleaning up the mess caused by the O'Rourkes. Not that anyonetoldmeanything. What little information I had came from listening to the guards' uncensored conversations.
My sister had heard about the incident and been on at me to come back to the states,again, but while I wasn't exactly happy here, I knew I'd be no happier at her house. She'd accepted my decision for now, but knowing her, she'd continue hassling me until I gave in and agreed to her plan.
Thea always thought she knew what was best for me.
She'd taken on the role of my protector from the minute I came into the world, and nothing much had changed in the last 20 years.
Although it was late, I’d wandered downstairs in search of a book to read. The stack of novels Saoirse lent me had proved interesting, but I'd read them all, which meant a trip to the library.
The 'library' was a grand name for a room on the ground floor where Declan kept his mother's prized collection of First Editions and other expensive books. Maud Kelly had been a voracious reader. She loved books and spent much of her life collecting them. Some were worth a fortune, but the library also held an extensive collection of mass-market paperbacks she'd enjoyed and kept for us girls to read.
I padded into the room, the stone floor cool under my bare feet, switching on two lamps as I went. The musty scent of old books tickled my nose. Someone had stacked the fireplace with kindling and logs, but since it was a warm night, I didn't bother lighting a fire. I planned to snag a few novels and then head back to bed.
Brushing my fingers lightly over the spines of some well-read paperbacks on a shelf by the window, I half-smiled.Jilly Cooper…Shirley Conran…Judith Krantz. Maud loved her 80s bonkbusters. The thought of her tucked into a window seat witha mug of whiskey-infused cocoa, reading salacious stories, made me smile.
It had been years since I read any Jilly Cooper books, so I picked upRivalsand moved over to the window seat to read the blurb. No sooner had I sat down than Ronan stumbled in, stinking of booze and cigarettes.
Drunk Ronan looked younger, less intimidating. He reminded me of a gregarious spaniel, all sunshine and sparkles. It was a far cry from the usual menacing aura he exuded.
"Pixie!" he exclaimed with a wink. "I wondered why the light was on in here. Thought Dec was binging on romance novels again."
A burst of surprised laughter escaped me at the idea of Declan Kelly reading a trashy paperback novel.
"Does he read?"
"Only tax returns and contracts." Ronan smirked. "Boring fuck." He sidled closer, and I caught a whiff of citrus and masculine musk. His shirt had torn at the collar. I peered closely at a pink smudge…was that…lipstick?
When he leaned in, my eyes narrowed. Definitely not blood. I burned to ask him about it, but kept my mouth shut. It was none of my business what he got up to in his spare time.
"I should go," I said, placing the book I'd picked against my chest as a barrier.
"You should," he agreed before reaching out and twirling a strand of my hair between his fingers.
Neither of us moved, but my eyes kept returning to that telltale pink stain on his collar.
My first boyfriend, Evan, had cheated on me. I caught him with his dick in some other girl's mouth, less than two weeks after I gave him my virginity. Nobody knew about that betrayal apart from Saoirse. I'd been too ashamed to admit to choosing a low-life scumbag as my first.
"You have lipstick on your collar," I observed eventually, when the tension grew between us. Ronan looked startled for a moment.
"I do?" He pulled the offending cotton away from his neck and examined it. Then his expression cleared. "Oh, yeah. Cat, my ex, tried to start something when our paths crossed."
I remembered Catriona, the woman Conal and Ronan shared a few years back. She used to come round a lot before I left shortly after Pukegate.
"Were you not interested?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't care. "I thought you guys liked her."
He shrugged. "She was fun for a while." His mouth quirked up in a knowing smile. "Jealous, Pixie?"
I pulled my smutty book closer against my chest. Ronan's proximity made it harder to think.Dammit. I should have left the moment he stepped in here. Being alone with a charming Irishman was fraught with danger. And being alone with Ronan Kelly was enough to make my ovaries sing an aria.
"No, of course not," I bluffed, doing my best to edge away. Only he had me pinned against the window, so I had nowhere left to go.
"Not sure I believe you, Pixie girl," he said in a low, knowing voice. Whiskey and smoke rolled over me, igniting my senses.
"You're drunk." Flashing red warning lights sparked into life. If Ronan tried it on with me, I wasn't sure I would have the willpower to resist.
