“What does it mean?” I ask, hoping to distract him from the questions he keeps asking, ones that I don’t want to answer.
His brow furrows and I can see the confusion written all over his face, when he asks, “What does what mean?”
“Mo bhanphrionsa,”I say. Hearing the word off my tongue sounds so foreign, I must be fucking up the pronunciation because it doesn’t sound like the same word he says.
His lips twitch into a smirk before he leans even more into my space, making my lungs seize, before muttering, “My princess.”
He takes a small step back, allowing me to breathe a little bit more, his sexy smirk slides off and his face hardens back into the Mafia heir mask. “Nice try. Now tell me who this man is that you are scared of?”
"Kieran, it's not worth it. I'm not worth it," I say, trying to escape from him, but hedoesn't allow it.
A dark look comes over Kieran's face and I don't know what to make of it. I'm not sure what to expect from him. "You are worth everything. Tell me who it is," he grits out.
“Why?” I ask him, hoping that maybe he’ll give me a clue as to why he’s so interested in me and why he’s so willing to come in here, and demand things from me.
“Because you’re mine,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.
I shake my head before protesting, “No. I’m not yours.”
“Yes, you are. Now tell me who you’re afraid of?”
My shoulders sag with his demand. He's asked me enough times that I know I'm not going to get away from this without giving him something. Maybe if I tell him just enough, he'll go and leave me alone.
"It's my brother-in-law. He told me that if he ever saw me again, he would have me killed," I say matter-of-factly.
Kieran's jaw tightens with my confession. If he examines my words closely, he'll know exactly who I’m talking about, but he doesn't seem to make the connection. At least, not yet. He lets go of me, backs away, and begins pacing.
I take the moment of reprise to look and see if any of Kieran's men are around. Anytime I’m in his vicinity, I don’t see anyone but him. He probably had his penthouse surrounded, his men are probably sitting outside my apartment as we speak, but the moment I see him, for better or worse, everything else fades away.
Kieran must see me scanning the room because he stops pacing. "My men are outside. I wanted to have this conversation alone."
I nod. "Well, now you have my secret, it's time to tell me yours. Why are you here?"
Tilting his head, he looks at me as if he's still searching for something. Letting out a deep breath, it seems he mightfinally tell me what's going on, or at least, that's what I thought until he asks me another question, instead of answering mine. "Why would your brother-in-law threaten you?"
"I was a part of a scheme to hurt my step-sister," I whisper, realizing my hope of him not realizing that I was talking about Mikhail is out the door.
"Do you still want to hurt her?" he asks me, raising one of his brows.
"No. But you still haven't answered my question."
"Marry me." He demands.
"What?" I screech.
"I said I want you to marry me, Mia Thomas, so marry me."
"No," I answer in a sharp tone.
"Mo bhanphrionsa, I need you. I can protect you. Marry me."
"I don't need your protection. I just need to stay away."
"How do you know he will keep his endof the deal?"
"I don't," I say through my clenched teeth. This motherfucker is pissing me off. My fingers dig into my palms as I use the pain to keep myself in check.
"See? You need me," he says as he plops down on my couch.
