"I knew Ronan and Conal liked to… um…share… but I didn't think that included…um…you."
She looked down, fidgeting with discomfort about discussing my brothers.
"No need to be embarrassed, princess." I fought back a smile. Her sweet innocence felt so damn refreshing after years of dealing with women who'd do or say anything to get my attention.
"I rarely involve myself in their relationships, but we have shared in the past." It went badly wrong, admittedly, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. That girl had been after me from the beginning, only I’d been too stupid to recognize her manipulative ways.
"Bridget?" Her nose wrinkled in distaste, and I almost laughed.
"God, no. The twins wouldn't touch her if their lives depended on it."
"But you…?"
I sighed. It was kind of hard to explain how and why Bridget and I got together, and honestly, looking back, I wondered if the bitch had slipped something into my drink. Yes, she'd been a distraction in the beginning. The novelty of fucking a woman other men desired held a certain appeal, but Bridget's beauty was only ever skin-deep.
"Bridget and I had an arrangement. When she needed a partner at high-profile events, I'd be that person, and vice versa."
"So you weren't sleeping with her?"
"We had sex, yes, but rarely, and not for a while now." Not for a lack of trying on her part. She'd been decent enough in the sack, but I soon tired of her wanting more than a fuck.
Verity chewed her lip as she processed what I'd told her.
"So it's over?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'm not the sort of girl who goes after another woman's man."
"Yes, it's over." Or it would be when I told her.
My phone buzzed. A message from Ash. But I ignored it. He could fucking wait. And so could the pilot. The bastard got paid enough for the inconvenience of hanging around waiting for us.
"I should, um, get ready," Verity said when she saw me glancing at my phone. "You probably want rid of me so you can get back to work."
For fuck’s sake. Why did she always put everyone else's needs before her own?
"Stop!" She flinched slightly but maintained eye contact, which I took as a win. "Taking you to your sister's house is not me 'getting rid of you', princess. This is about me making sure you are safe. Thea's home is the safest place for you until your father is back behind bars where he belongs. I can't, in all conscience, take you back to Ireland. Not with the shit we're dealing with right now."
She nodded, but from the way her expression shuttered, I knew she didn't believe me.
"Sure, whatever." An eye roll followed.
My temper flared at her dismissive tone and sassy attitude, even if I liked the fact she had stopped acting like a kicked puppy.
There was only one way to make her believe I meant what I said, and that was to show her how I fucking felt about her. Maybe then she'd realize I wasn't just telling her what she wanted to hear to ensure she co-operated.
When I curled my fist around the back of her neck and pulled her closer, her lashes fluttered, and her breathing quickened.
"I want you. And when all this shit is over, I will come for you. OK?"
"You…want me?"
"Yes, princess. I want you so fucking bad that my cock feels like it might explode."
45
Verity
Declan's filthy words lit a fire so hot I wasn't sure I'd survive the inferno raging between my legs. Ronan's dirty talk had always done it for me, but Declan's was next level shit.
Maybe it was the words combined with his dominating aura. Or perhaps it was his cock pulsing beneath my ass cheeks like a weapon of mass destruction.
