Dad’s gaze sharpens. “You think this marriage is a correction?”
She meets his eyes and lifts an eyebrow. “I think it’s leverage, at the very least.”
An uncomfortable silence stretches out over the table. I stay quiet, just observing. This dinner isn’t about me. It’s about letting my family see the daughter-in-law they gained in exchange for protection – of our interests as well as theirs.
Livvie breaks the tension gently. “Irelandmust feel far away.”
Tierney doesn’t look at her, just continues to stare at the table. “Distance is relative.”
“And the man you left behind?” Ma asks.
“Ma,” I say, a warning edge to my voice. Does the fucking ex need to invade every damn conversation?
Ma’s eyebrows fly up. “What? I’m just trying to see where her true loyalties lie. Do you really want her pining for someone she left behind?”
Tierney clears her throat. “He is not a topic for discussion. We broke up before I came here.”
I feel something dark slide under my ribs at the thought of another man touching her. Damien. It’s irrational. I know it is. But it burns anyway.
Ma doesn’t take the hint to move on. “We need to be aware of any potential threats. In this family, past attachments become relevant.”
Tierney whips her head toward Ma, gaze sharpening. “Then I suggest this family adjust quickly. And he’s not a threat. He’s not like…us.”
Reign catches my eye and smirks.
I shouldn’t enjoy this.
But I do. I love her fire, the way it rages, the way it shocks. She doesn’t back down, doesn’t cower, doesn’t show any signs of weakness in the face of adversity, meaning Ma. It’s hot as fuck.
Dinner continues after that tense exchange. Everyone knows the rules of the game, now we eat.
Food is served, wine is poured, we make small talk that Tierney doesn’t participate in. Nobody is under the delusion that we’re going to be one big happy family, but the situation is what it is.
For now. And as far as Tierney knows.
The reality is that my family is only tolerating her for as long as it takes me to make her melt at my feet and give up the location of the intel.
But a small part of me doesn’t want her to melt. I want her fight, I want her to sink her teeth deep into me. It’ll make the begging so much more worthwhile later.
Tierney keeps to herself, for the most part. Livvie, who gets more than anyone at this table how difficult Tierney’s position is, tries to engage but Tierney doesn’t give more than one word answers.
To her, we’re all a threat, and she treats us as exactly that.
But I notice her tells. The way her leg bounces under the table, the slight tremor to her hand when she reaches for her glass. They’re things nobody else would notice unless they were paying close attention.
And her body language is doing something ugly and electric to me.
By the time dessert hits the table, Ma starts in again. I almost roll my eyes because Jesus, enough already.
“You understand that any threat to this family will be met with a quick response,” she says.
Tierney nods. “It’s what I’d do if I was in your position.”
“And your loyalty?” Kingston asks, steepling his fingers.
Tierney’s hard gaze slides to mine.
The look isn’t soft. It isn’t romantic.
