Farren studied him. “Ye’re an odd mix, Eli. Some of yer words are so very British, but I swear ya’ have a hint of the Irish in ya’.”
His eyes clouded over and he ran a hand over his dark locks. “I spent my formative years in boarding school just outside of London. But from what my barrister has told me, my mum was Irish and my father was Puerto Rican.”
“From what your barrister told you?”
His frown carried pain, along with uncertainty. “I don’t remember my parents. Or anything before my fourteenth year. They were killed in a car accident. I was in a coma for a week, and when I came out of it, my life was a complete mystery to me. Still is, if I’m honest.”
Mysteries were both fascinating and potentially dangerous. Given how much peril she’d experienced in the past few months, adding more seemed...unwise.
Farren rose and went to her desk, then scribbled her address on a scrap of paper. “Show up here after 5:00 p.m.Notbefore. Ya’ understand? There are four other werewolves livin’ with me, and they don’t take to strangers. If ya’ get there before me, I can’t guarantee they won’t bite yer head clean off.”
For good measure, she added her mobile to the note. “And if ya’ oversleep, ya’ call me.”
“Right.” Eli swallowed hard, his cheeks paling once more. “Not before 5:00 p.m.”
“And if ya’ try to skip town, I’ll hunt ya’ down. Meandmy wolf.”
She should be kinder to the man, but the alpha in her needed to assert her dominance. Besides, a healthy dose of fear would help keep the man from dying when he met Cade and Liam. At least she hoped it would.
Getting blood out of her hardwood floors wouldnotbe easy and she didn’t need the extra hassle. At least that’s what she told herself. She wasn’t...concernedabout his safety. Or acknowledging the softness she felt deep down when she looked at him. No. Not at all.
“Don’t be late,” she said as she held her office door open for him.
“I’m never late.”
Coming from any other man, Farren would have laughed at the words. But Eli? The conviction in his tone impressed her. As did the intensity of his stare. He was close enough for his scent to wrap itself around her, and instinct took over.
Reaching for his hand, she tugged him closer, and he crushed his lips to hers. Eli’s strong arm caught her around the waist and held her against him. A groan rumbled in his throat, and she parted her lips and let him in, taking as much as she gave.
Her arm draped around his neck, and she was seconds from wrapping her legs around his waist when she came to her senses and pushed away from him.
His chest heaved, straining the dark gray Henley to its limits. “I’m sorry,” he managed, his voice hoarse. “I didn’t mean to take liberties.”
“I think I took as many myself.” Shaking her head and clenching her hands into fists, she reined in her raging emotions. “No more of that. I expect ya’ at five. And...we’re not talkin’ about what just happened. Ever. Nor is it happenin’ again.”
“No. Definitely not.” With one last strained smile, he gave her a small bow and then darted out the door.
“Well, fuck. Feckin’ inconvenient, that.” Snagging her bag from her desk drawer, she headed for O’Connor’s Pub. She needed a drink. Badly.
* * *
O’Connor’s wasn’tbusy this time of day. The lunch rush wouldn’t start for another hour, and Farren took her customary seat in the corner of the back room.
“What’ll it be, Farren?” Mickey, the owner, asked. “Or is this one of those ‘Leave me the fuck alone’ days?”
“A pint of the black with a whiskey chaser. And a plate of chips.” She glanced around the mostly empty space. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen Paddy around?”
“Not for weeks. The band’s been missin’ him. That arse never keeps to a schedule.” Mickey shook his head as he walked away. “If ya’ find him before I do, tell him he owes me twenty euro.”
“Put it on my tab,” she called after him. For everything Paddy had done for her, she could cover his bar bill. A part of her hoped he’d sense the imbalance and come to rectify it. Stranger things had happened with the man. Hell, Farren didn’t even knowwhathe was. Practitioner? Fae? Both?
The chips helped settle her stomach as she used her phone to search for information on different meanings for the tree of life when intermingled with the Irish trinity knot. But before long, she gave up. There were simply too many different interpretations. Maybe Caitlin would have more luck.
She sent the air elemental a photo of the pendant along with a message.“Diedre gave this to Eli. It’s got to mean something. Be home in an hour or so unless I find Paddy.”
Caitlin responded in under two minutes.“Are you bringing Eli with you?”
“No. But he’ll be around at five. Wanted time to warn Cade and Liam. And convince them not to murder the poor man.”
