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“—and I’ll be nothing but a distant memory for you. But I’ll still be trying to scrub your face and your taste and your sweet voice from my mind fifty years from now, because I already know nothing else will ever be able to compare to you. Nothing and no one will ever come close.”
“Who said I was sane? Clearly, I’m not. I’m lying here with the elderly gangster who kidnapped me and whose idea of romance is calling me a camel.”
“What’s a Dearg Due? Something super cute, I bet.” “She’s an Irish female demon that seduces men and drains them of their blood.”
“Blood? Yuck. I’d rather drain them of their will to live.”
If the rest of my life is the main course, men are desserts. Enjoyable, forgettable treats. That’s a deliberate choice, based on some bad stuff that happened to me, and it’s served me well for a long time. It’s protected me. Until you.”
“I’m not letting you go anywhere.”
“It doesn’t matter. Ask me for anything. To be careful with you, to be honest with you, to bring you someone’s head on a plate. I’ll say aye. You’re not the only one in chains here.
“Don’t hide. When I said you were safe with me, I meant it.”
“So before you ask for my trust, think carefully. Because if I give it to you, it means I’m yours. And you’re mine. For good.
Because up till now, you haven’t met a man who knew how to handle you. Who could see what you are behind that ivory tower you’ve built around your heart. But I see you.
And I can promise you that it’ll be messy. You, me, what that would mean to everyone else … messy. But worth it, at least in my opinion. Because this half-dead gangster of yours has seen a lot in his time, but nothing as fine as this.”
“How can you sleep with me on top of you? Aren’t I heavy?” “Aye. Camels weigh a bloody ton.”
“I can see this is a point of pride for you. Let’s move on. What have you been saving for?” “The laser beam that will blow you into a million tiny gangster pieces.”
“I don’t care about any of that, because the way you look at me makes me feel like I could fly.”
“This is gonna be complicated, baby. You ready for that?”
“And if you disrespect her again, the threat will be followed by a bullet.”
“She left me for her fucking tennis coach.” “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like me to kill him?”
I won’t tell Sloane he said that. She’d take it as a huge compliment and adopt Kieran as her loyal sidekick.
I forgot. She already has.
Is it okay if I eat this muffin the wee lass baked me? I thought I’d better check with ye first.”
Had I known she’d go straight into the kitchen and start cooking the shite she eats when I left the bedroom door unlocked this morning, I might have double bolted it instead.
His voice softens. “And who thinks you’re the most precious angel in the world?”
“Aye, baby. And all I am is yours now, so take care of this monster you’ve enslaved.”
If it were me that night at La Cantina and another man slapped your arse as we walked by, he’d be dead before he drew another breath. Not because of my ego, but because anyone who disrespects you will pay a price. And if they disrespect you in front of me, the price will be especially severe.”
“A monster who wants you to tell him how you feel about him.”
And I’ve never trusted a man, including my father. So if you break my heart, gangster, just know that you’ll be the first and last to do it. Nobody before you has ever been able to even scratch it, and nobody will be able to pick up the shattered pieces behind you if you leave.”
“Is that a yes?” “No.” “Then make it a yes.”
Get used to being seen, and being with a man who won’t let you hide, and who won’t cower when you lash that barbed tongue of yours.”
“Please don’t freeze me out. Be angry all you want, but don’t shut down on me. I need you right now. I won’t be able to think straight if you don’t communicate with me.”
“I told you I was in the military.” “You didn’t say you were Tom Cruise in Top Gun.”
“Aye. But my crazy matches your crazy. That’s why it works.”
“I’m gonna give you everything, baby. Everything in the whole world.”
“Tá tú mianach, cailín milis. Mianach.”
You are mine sweet girl. Mine.
An hour later, I’ve got two dozen men crowded around the kitchen table, and I’m three hundred dollars richer.
“I want to hear it. I need to hear it. You said you were intoxicated, but I’m beyond that. I’m addicted. If you don’t give me another fix, I’ll go mad.”
He glares at me. I want to harm him with a stick.
Dammit. This relationship will never work if he’s going to be right all the time.
“It is. I’m not a good person. Whoops.”
“Pain needs an outlet.”
“Say that again. Go ahead. Call her crazy one more time.”
“I saw them bring you aboard. What a shit show. You managed to make eight trained Marines look like circus clowns.”
How impossible it is to make her bend to your will. She only bends willingly. Even then, she’s still holding a sword.
“Where should we go on our honeymoon?” “Where’s the closest insane asylum?”
“That’s because their fearless leader has returned.” “Aw. It must be a good feeling for you to have such loyal men.”
His voice turns dry. “I wasn’t talking about me.”
“Roughly translated, ‘Welcome home, my queen.’”
“Okay. I’ll have Kieran tell them for me.”
“After I show you why you want to be my wife.”
He slides his hand up to the middle of my sternum, pressing it flat over my throbbing heart. “And this,” he whispers, nuzzling my neck. “Is this mine, too, baby?”
“You own me, Sloane. Every corner of my worthless black soul. Every piece of my corrupt black heart. You own it all, and you always will.
