The table went silent, all of us looking at each other, until Sev’s hand rested over her lower belly.
“Holy fuck…” Bridget’s eyes went wide, mine already there, and both our mouths hung open. “You’re—I thought you said…”
“We found out this morning. Nobody knows. Not yet,” Sev smiled softly, leaning into Malek’s side. “Turns out the swimmers are stubborn and relentless. Justlikea fucking Byrne.”
“Told you she’s flexible. Couldn’t get enough of therealGirthmas—oww!”
I sat in silence, watching Malek rub his nose while the women hugged and chattered. He met eyes with me and both our smiles crept slowly across our faces. I nodded…then he did too. I stood first, rounding the table as he raised out of his chair.
“So…that’s why you have the fangs out. Hormones already kickin’ your dick?” My grin is making my face hurt. “Your parents would be fuckin’ ecstatic, mate. Congratulations.” I gripped his shoulders and pulled him in, slapping backs with him before we squeezed the manhood out of each other.
He held me still and lowered his voice near my ear. “I didn’t turn my back on my house, Dec. I had to make a decision to stop chasin’ ghosts. Don’t fuckin’ let her make that mistake.”
I nodded over his shoulder. “I know, brother. I got you.”
“These two are all we have left, man. And this creature I just made that turned me into a pussy about four hours ago…you both better come back whole. I can’t do this on my own.”
I pulled back and gripped his clean-shaven face in my burly hands. “You won’t. Grow some bollocks. I got this.” I popped his cheek and we turned to see Sev and Bridget staring at us.
A few seconds of awkward silence…and then Malek cracked.
“We’re havin’ a bairn!”
Aaaaand…cue the floodgates.
CHAPTER 21
The Princess
You know, when they tell you that flying first class isn’t like the movies…they’re not wrong. They’re not wrong about the airplane bathrooms, either. Declan’s dreams of scratching mile-high shenanigans off his bucket list…are declared shattered.There is no fucking way. Especially not when the sweaty guy in 3B, whoseassis taking up two seats…made airport food anoxymoron.
Eighteen grueling hours later, we finally landed in Dublin.
As bad as it is to say…this is my first time on Irish soil. It’s the epitome of beautiful. A shade of green so pure and bright, that you couldn’t describe it to anyone. It’s not a green you’d find at home. The air feels different here. The atmosphere is different. Thepeopleare different. If I didn’t already know that the evil I seek to wipe out is right here in plain sight, I think you’d have a hard time convincing me this wasn’t a fairy tale.
And that’s exactly how these girls keep disappearing.
I’m going to kill them all.
Paint the ground with so much red that this gorgeous green turns torust.
The merge will be held in Belfast tomorrow night. It’s about a two-hour drive from our hotel. We’re sleeping off our jet lag and exploring Daddy’s old stomping grounds before we head out to roll heads.
Dec seems alive here.
I can’t stop looking at him. Isn’t that the way it goes when you finally accept that you’ve fallen in love with somebody? Of course…by fall, I mean that I pulled a fucking full-outRoadrunneron wet ice, made an absolute ass of myself, and then still broke every bone in my face when I hit the ground. Made me realize that it’s definitely not the same for everybody. We’ve stopped at every eatery and pub within a five-mile radius today, satisfying the bottomless flat stomach he’s got. There was a vintage bookstore that smelled like moldy paper that I think made him come in his pants. Now, we’re dressing for the merge and I’m finding it hard not to keep glancing in the mirror while I attempt to apply my best lipstick.
Fuck, he shines up like a lucky penny.
His black slacks aretailored. I didn’t even know he had clothes this nice. They hang on his hip bones in a way that makes me fucking jealous of a pair ofpants. His stomach is nothing but muscle that carves a warpath right down past his waistline…to where thatmonsterwaits underneath. I watched him shrug on a white button-up, accessorizing that body…and his tattooed fingers are slowly working to make that broad chest disappear. His hair is slicked back, tied in a knot at the nape of his neck, and he trimmed his beard before his shower tonight. He tipped his head over his shoulder, and I startled, making a nice fat line of stark red over my cheek.
“Fuck!” I bitched, throwing the lipstick tube down. Declan exploded. “It’s not funny! It’s gonna take me forever to fix this.Dammit!”
“It’s a little funny…you coulda just told me to turn around and whip my cock out.”
“Mind your business, nerd.” I clacked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. It did, indeed, take me fucking forever.
We did make it on time, though.
