At her nod, they walked as quietly as possible to his door, both of them hesitating at the threshold.
Feeling out of her element and unsure of what to say with a man she’d known most of her life, she settled for, “Goodnight, Ciar.”
He didn’t answer until he’d tucked her long, wavy golden hair behind her ear. “I’ll be back in two days. Will you text me while I’m away?”
“Yes.”
“I…I,” he stuttered, “have a dinner meeting the night I get back, but the day after…will you meet me?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
“Yes.”
two
CIAR
“What the fuck?”
“What the fuck?”
“What the fuck?”
Ciar repeated the same thought quietly to himself while traveling to the airport, during the car ride to his boss’s office, and while standing in the gold and black bathroom of the office high-rise, observing his reflection in the mirror.
He’d managed to get less than an hour of sleep after going back to Jonathan’s room. His body flashed hot, then cold, then hot again. It sounded grossly similar to what his granny called “The Menopause.” Clearly, not just for women.
He’d kissed Gray. “You did more than that, boyo,” he muttered, instantly regretting the memory of how it’d felt rubbing his dick between her thighs. He clenched his jaw when he felt himself getting hard at the thought. Walking into an important team meeting with a boner wouldn’t win him any favor from his humorless boss.
He still wasn’t sure how the kiss had even started.
That was a bald-faced lie. The moment he’d walked into the kitchen and seen Gray’s rocking body in those small bits of white cotton, he’d salivated at the thought of tasting her. He’d wanted her for so long that he’d become an expert at hiding his thoughts.
She never showed him special attention or treated him differently from Dan and Jon. But last night her eyes had naked want in them, and he purposely crowded her, forcing her to make the first move if she wanted.
And she had. If Daniel hadn’t interrupted him, he had no doubt that he would have ripped the tiny shorts down her long-ass legs and slid inside her without thought of right, wrong, or consequences of taking her bare.
He’d never taken a woman without a condom in his life. He was only twenty-six. Kids were not in his ten-year life plan. But he would have done it. In his desperate excitement that she finally noticed him, he would have taken her in any way possible.
He was driving himself crazy about whether or not she would regret what happened. Regret him. She hadn’t texted even though he knew she would have already gone on her morning run. Plus, her father was in town overseeing her townhouse’s new security system, so she would be meeting MacGregor for sure.
That shit that went down with Bébhinn’s stalker was difficult to comprehend. He hated that the stalker had been near any of the girls, especially Gray. Ciar was sure MacGregor would hang around another day or two to ensure his daughter’s safety.
He washed his hands after taking a piss and was about to leave the bathroom when his phone dinged. He would never admit it, but a small—very small—gasp left his lips as her name came across his screen.
Gray: Good morning.
His heart was thumping out of his chest. It’s not like she said, “Good morning. I masturbated in your bed last night.” He needed to calm down, but as his thumb hovered over the keyboard, he wondered if he should play it cool or talk about what happened.
Ciar: Good morning to you. How was your run?
There. Simple but shows interest.
Gray: Great. I really love the new shoes Bébhinn got me started on. Blair and I are going to breakfast with our dads in thirty. What’s up with you?
Ciar: I have a meeting in ten.
