Kieran is at the counter, looking immaculate in a dark shirt and slacks with his hair perfectly styled, except for that one stray curl at the back of his neck.
He got even less sleep than I did, and yet he’s still up and making me coffee as if he doesn’t carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I truly don’t know what I did to deserve this man.
He smiles at me over his shoulder. “Morning, little dove. I was just about to bring this up to you.”
I shuffle over to the island, and he sets a steaming mug of coffee down in front of me.
I force a smile, curling my hands around it even though I already know I won’t drink it. I’ve been cutting back from one coffee a day to none, just to be on the safe side, and Kieran instantly notices.
His eyes narrow, tracking the way I don’t lift the mug to my lips, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, his gaze flicks down the length of me, taking in my sage green summer dress and sandals that I’m already regretting wearing.
“Why are you all dressed up so early in the morning?” He takes a step closer to me and trails his fingers over the material. “Or is it for me?”
A shiver runs down my spine as I think of last night and how good it felt to have Kieran all to myself.
It would be so easy to let him take me back upstairs, but I can’t afford to lose my nerve.
“Ciara needs me to take something to the hospital for her.” I pat the tote bag slung over my shoulder.
I threw in a random selection of skincare bottles to make it look less suspicious, but now that I think about it, all it would take is for Kieran to ask to look inside, and the game would be up.
Kieran instantly drops his hand, and his eyes darken. “No.”
“Yes.” I force my voice to be light and casual. “She already arranged it with Dr. Rogers. The last thing I want to do is stress out a very pregnant woman and trigger her labor. Unless you want to explain that one to Ronan?”
It’s a dirty card to play, but it works.
Kieran hesitates, caught between his instinct to keep me under lock and key and the knowledge that upsetting Ciara right now is the last thing any of us should do.
Finally, he exhales through his nose.
“Fine. But your protection team goes with you.”
I blink. “Protectionteam?”
“You agreed to it last night.”
I swallow a laugh. “Kieran, I would agree to anything when…”
My cheeks burn from the memories of last night.
“I’m buried inside you?”
My throat goes dry as a familiar pulse thrums between my legs.
Focus, Riley.
“Well, yes.”
“It’s non-negotiable, Riley.” He reaches for his coffee and takes a sip. “You don’t leave this house without them.”
“Them?”
“Yes, them. Jace, Leo, and Wesley.”
It’s a good thing I’m not drinking my coffee because I would have spat it all down myself at this news. All I can think of is the receptionist's face when I arrive for my OBGYN appointment with three armed bodyguards.
