they’d all managed to keep since the government
had shipped them off to their own territories was bliss compared to other
regions she’d read about online and watched on the news. She didn’t want that
to change because Irish was protecting her.
Why was he
protecting her? That was a question she wanted answered tonight. Last night, he
had been all about his sister Hadley, and she’d been in full agreement. Nothing
was more important than the children.
Just as she was pulling on a pair of socks, Irish pushed her
bedroom door open, Mr. Darcy in his arms and purring loudly, as though Irish
was the original king of catnip.
She lifted her chin, setting aside the fact that Irish liked
cats, which made her heart turn to goo.
And he knows his way
around the English language; some might even say his vocabulary is broad. And
he saved your hide.
Oh, and his name is
likely listed under the word “amazing” in the dictionary. You know, because his
bedroom skills , bar none, far surpass
anything you’ve ever imagined in your wildest imaginings.
He’d been a fantasy for a very long time—so long now, she’d
forgotten what it was to think of any other man. Finding out that fantasy had
substance, texture, and knew words longer than three letters was…well, that was
no good. He was too attractive on too many levels. Too big, too overwhelming,
too much, too…
There was no way for them to be together. Not in this
dangerous new world. Which meant this had to stop now.
Right now, Claire
Montgomery.
And there was nothing saying he wanted to be with her. Maybe
she’d just been a dalliance he’d forget all about. Maybe his words from last
night were words he’d used a million times before.
Maybe.
Her heart pulled tight in her chest and her stomach clenched
hard at the thought of seeing Irish every day and pretending nothing had
happened between them. It had been easier before they’d made love.
Back then he was just a curiosity—something she’d often
wondered if she’d only built up in her mind because he was forbidden to her.
And the forbidden was almost always more exciting than it was in real life,
right?
Now that she’d experienced the reality, and found out he was
everything and more, it was going to make anyone after him a complete nightmare
Dropping Mr. Darcy to the bed, Irish plopped down beside
her, forcing her to focus on the immediate problem here.
Distance. It was the only way to keep from throwing herself
at him. She couldn’t allow what had happened last night to happen again. It
would only make it harder for her to walk away. Something Irish was bound to do
anyway—for the safety of his clan and, most of all, for Hadley.
Claire hitched back on the bed, crossing her legs and
calling Mr. Darcy to sit in her lap as if he were her McGyver version of an Irish-away-a- nator . “First, let me just
get this off my chest—”
“Are you going to yell?” he asked, cracking his knuckles and
wrinkling his nose. “I have sensitive ears and it’s been a long night, Claire.
You werewolves sure know how to howl. Be kind to the vampire.”
Her head almost popped off her neck. Was this some kind of
joke? Claire’s blood boiled. “What the hell were you thinking back there,
Irish? You could’ve gotten yourself killed, you stupid, stupid man! Why would
you do something like that?”
As he prepared to answer, she threw up a finger to stop him.
“And something else to think about, Prince Charming, you didn’t just risk your
own life, you risked the lives of your clan! And what was all that nonsense
about me raising Hadley? Are you so much of an imbecile that you don’t realize
how much she loves you—needs you? Or maybe how much Hadley would resent being
raised by a woman who allowed her brother to go to his death to cover the woman
in questions ass?”
Irish opened his mouth to speak, but Claire was quicker. “And
where the hell is Gannon?” She widened her eyes expectantly.
“Is it the vampire’s