“She always looks fine,” I murmured. “I’d kill for her ass.”
“I think Donovan’s got a thing for her,” he told me quietly.
I felt my face light up because that would be awesome.
“Which one’s Donovan?” Zara asked.
I craned my neck to see Donovan laughing at something Cash was telling him. “Tattoos, blue eyes, black shirt, permanent smirk. Looks like the man your mother always warned you about.”
She lifted a hand to fan her face, her eyes rounding just as something cold hit my back.
I shot forward and twisted my neck to see a waitress behind me.
“I’m so sorry, I lost my footing,” she cried. “Oh my God, it’s my first night, and already I’m going to get fired.”
I waved her off. “It’s fine. I’ll go stand under the hand dryer in the ladies’ room.”
“I’ll come with you,” she offered.
“Honest, honey, it’s nothing,” I assured her. “I can deal with it.”
“Let me see,” Tristan asked, his hands going to my top at the back. “Oh, it’s just a spot. Put it under the hand dryer for a minute, and it’ll be fine.”
Getting to my feet, I grabbed my purse. “I won’t be long.” Leaving Zara and Tristan talking, I headed off in the direction of the bathrooms.
I got halfway there when strong hands grabbed my waist and spun me around, muttering, “How’s my favorite Irish lass?”
“Reno!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck and giving him a hug. “How are you? I haven’t seen you around.”
His arms tightened around me, and he pulled back to study my face. “I’m all the better for seein’ you again. You look gorgeous, babe.”
I blinked, my mouth curving into a smile at the memory of making out with Reno at a party at the Shamrock last Christmas. We’d gone out back, and he’d kissed my face off. He was in his mid-thirties and handsome as hell with dark hair and eyes. He was good fun and thankfully past the fuck-anything-that-moved stage like some of the younger MC brothers. I liked him; he was cute and funny, and I knew my brothers and my mam liked him too.
“You’re looking good yourself,” I told him.
His fingers, still gripping my waist, squeezed gently. “You hangin’ around for a while?”
“Yeah.” I cocked my head. “Catch up later?”
“You betcha,” he muttered, a lazy grin spreading over his face. He let me go and turned, throwing me a sexy grin over his shoulder as he walked away.
I held his eyes, my mind elsewhere as I continued on in the direction of the door that led to the hallway where the ladies’ room was situated. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to what was ahead.
Pushing on the door, I stepped into the luxuriously carpeted corridor and then let out a sharp cry as a huge figure pushed me against the wall and warm fingers cuffed my throat.
My heart stuttered as a deep, familiar voice rasped, “You lettin’ other men touch you already,Dubheasa?”
I lifted my shocked gaze to meet Pagan’s fathomless, black eyes, and my pulse thrummed.
He looked the same, smelled the same, and pinned me with the same challenging glare I’d seen a hundred times when he was angry with me. His face, much like Bootneck’s, had fadedbruises around his cheekbone, and without thinking, I lifted my fingers to automatically soothe them.
Then I remembered, and my mouth went dry as I dropped my hand back to my side.
He noticed, just like he noticed everything, and he cocked an eyebrow. “How was Ireland?”
The burn that had been contained in my chest since the night I walked into his office and caught him with Saskia flared out of control. I rolled up on my toes, got in his face, and snapped, “Fuck off!”
His mouth quirked, and slowly his face descended to meet mine.
