Declan

My body tenses and I feel my teeth grind as my gaze meets Casey’s look of surprise, but he still doesn’t seem to care that I’m talking to him. I want to kill him. Tear his limbs one by one from his body and then beat him with the bloody ends. Yes, I may be overreacting, but I hate this man and wish him to the nine circles of hell. I feel I have good reason for my hatred, too. He is a fuckin’ slick git!

Putting a smirk on his face, he leans against the bar and throws a thumb toward Amberlyn.

“This is your girl?”

“Yes, that’s what I said, you fuckin’ arsehole,” I say as I start for him. Within seconds though, a hand comes around my bicep, stopping me. I look back to hit whoever has a hold of me, but when my heated gaze meets Kane’s cool one, I pause. Kane slowly shakes his head as Casey says, “She didn’t tell me that. Maybe it isn’t true?”

I whip my head toward him to tell him that it is fuckin’ true, but Amberlyn beats me to it. “Actually, I never got the chance to.”

Casey looks back at her, his brows up. “You’re seeing stiff-ass Declan O’Callaghan?”

She nods. “I am.”

“So he’s the reason you won’t go out with me?”

She shakes her head. “That…and because I’m not comfortable around you.”

“I told ya I could make you comfortable, if you’d give me the chance, sunshine.”

“The fuck you will,” I sneer as I head for him, basically dragging Kane along with me. “Call her sunshine again, and you’ll never see the light of day, ya arsehole!”

“Dec, calm down,” Kane tries, but I’m not listening.

“No,” I say, pulling my arm out of his grip and going toe-to-toe with Casey. “You stay the fuck away from her. She doesn’t want anything to do with you, ya sick fuck.”

He still stands with a cool expression and a smirk. I want nothing more than to knock the look off his face, but I doubt Kane will let me get that far. I can still feel him beside me. As Casey turns fully toward me, I hold his gaze. He is bigger than I am by a foot, but in no way, shape, or form am I scared of this wanker.

“You looking for a fight, Dec? Because I feel you are, and I have no problem finishing with you. You’ve been a constant pain in my arse for years.”

“And I’ll continue being one until you leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere, friend, so get used to seein’ me. Also, you better be careful because I might try to steal your girl.”

Amberlyn scoffs. “In your dreams, buddy.”

He glances back at her, but I don’t move, my gaze locked on him, waiting for the moment to swing. As he looks back at me, Casey glares. “What do ya say, then?”

I have a lot to say, but before I can, Fiona comes between us, pushing Casey.

“That’s enough is what I say. Get the hell out, Casey. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

He laughs. “What the hell? You don’t mean that.”

She nods. “I do. Don’t come back.”

“Because of that wanker? You’re taking his side? I thought you were my friend.”

She takes a step toward him, a look of pure disgust on her face as she says, “I was until you laid your hands on my cousin. You’re dead to me, Casey Burke, and you are no longer welcome here. Now off with ya. Don’t make me go find my da, or he’ll let Declan have a go at ya.”

A look of distress comes over Casey’s ugly mug, but for only a second before he glances up at me. “Fuck you, Declan.”

Heat bubbles in my chest and I’m ready to go, but when a hand comes over mine, I glance down to see it belongs to Amberlyn. “Don’t. Let him go.”

I nod, and when the door slams shut, I let out the breath I was holding. “Fuckin’ eejit.”

Kane laughs as he sits down. “Jaysus, Dec, you dragged me at least a yard!”

I smile grimly. “He’s an arsehole, makes me crazy.”

Lacing my fingers with Amberlyn’s, I bring them to my lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles before looking deep into her eyes. Her hair is up today in a tight bun, her eyes are dark with makeup, and her lips lush and pink. Leaning forward, I brush my mouth over hers as her hand comes to rest on my cheek. I want to deepen the kiss, but we have an audience, so reluctantly, I pull away, smiling slightly. “Hi.”

She smiles. “Hi. Great entrance there.”

I grin bashfully. “I only came to tell you I was madly thinking about you all day, not with the intentions of all that. I apologize.”

Her lips curve further before she runs her thumb along my bottom lip. “No worries, but I am confused on something.”

Her eyes are teasing, her lips plump, and all my anger from before is gone, replaced with pure lust for this beautiful woman. “And that is?”

“When did I become your girl?”

I smile, my cheeks dusting with color as I pull her closer to me. “The moment I kissed you. You didn’t get the memo?”

She shakes her head, biting into her bottom lip as she holds my gaze. She says, “No, must have lost its way to me.”

“Must have,” I say, bringing our mouths together again. This time I don’t care about the audience, and I hate that the bar is between us. I want to feel her against me, get lost in her kiss, but before I can, I hear someone clear their throat, causing us to part quickly.

“No making out in the pub,” Mr. Maclaster says sternly. “Or anywhere I can walk in, for that matter.”

Dropping my hands from Amberlyn’s face, I nod. “Of course, I apologize, sir.”

He nods before looking over at Fiona. “Burke leave?”

“Yes, Da.”

“Good. Is that the Kane you’re dating?”

I look back at Kane to see him look up from where he is playing on his phone. His eyes meet Mr. Maclaster’s and he stands, his hand out. “Yes, sir. Kane Levy. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Same rules apply to you as well.”

“Yes, sir,” Kane says quickly as he drops his hand, tucking both in his pockets. Mr. Maclaster looks around the pub and then nods at us before walking away without another word.

“Well, that was awkward,” Amberlyn says with a laugh.

Fiona nods. “Hell yeah, it was. My da is something.”

Something scary, I think, dropping down in the seat. “What are you doing tonight?”

Amberlyn looks at me sadly. “Working. It’s Friday.”

I nod. “I know, but after.”

“After? Like two in the morning after?”

I didn’t realize it would be that late, but I nod anyway. “Yeah.”

“I don’t know, going to bed probably.”

“Can I come see you before that? For only a bit, I won’t keep you long.”

She shrugs as a smile plays on her lips. “Sure, but I’ll be boring.”

“Never,” I claim as I reach out, taking her hands in mine. “I want to see you.”

Our hands lace together but then she asks, “How about now? I feel like an ass pulling you out of bed at two in the morning.”

Leaning toward her, I say, “You can pull me out of bed any time ya want.”

When heat flushes her face, I smile, but she pushes me away. “No, seriously, let’s go hang now. I have a couple hours before I gotta be back.”

I feign hurt as I say, “You don’t want to hang out with me tonight?”

“Oh, shut up,” she says, smacking my arm before removing her apron. “Fiona, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah, see ya later.”

She comes around the bar, stopping in front of me, and I smile. She looks hot even in a pair of shorts and a pub tee with her green toes wiggling in her sandals. “You ready?”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, let’s go.”

We head out to the car and pull out of the drive before I even glance over at her. She is smiling, looking so contently happy, that I find myself feeling the same.

“Why don’t you want me to come later tonight?” I ask, even though I am glad to see her now. The only reason I wanted to see her was because I thought she had to work.

“Because it’s late, and after a Friday shift, I am so tired. I usually crash. Plus, this way we have plenty of time to spend together before I have to go back to work.”

“I understand. I just wasn’t sure if there was another reason behind it.”

She takes my hand in hers. “Not at all. I just want to be coherent when we spend time together, and at two a.m., I won’t be.”

I nod. “I get it. I’d probably be sleepy too. We’d probably end up falling asleep in the car.”

“If that happens, I can guarantee you my uncle will kill us if he finds us.”

I laugh. “I think you are right, so for now, we’ll go exploring.”

“Exploring?” she asks, wagging her brows at me.

Heat flushes through my body straight to my dick. I take in a deep breath before shaking my head. “Naughty girl, get your head out the gutter. I mean the distillery.”

“Oh, that’s what I thought you meant,” she said with a smile. “I’m excited.”

“Me too,” I reply, taking her hand in mine. I then ask, “Can I ask you something?”

She nods. “Sure, what’s up?”

“You weren’t mad were you…when I said you’re my girl?”

She glances over at me, smiling. “Not at all. I like you, Declan, a lot.”

Relief washes over me. I may have jumped the gun there, but I am glad she feels the same way I do. “Okay good, ’cause I feel the same.”

She grins as she squeezes my hand, holding our hands with her free hand. “It’s not too fast, right?” I ask, and she shrugs.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I don’t know how this is supposed to work. In books, they meet, have sex, fall in love, get into a fight, break up, and then get back together. So, I mean, I don’t have much to go on.”

Something in my chest lurches before I glance over at her. “You’ve never had a boyfriend?”

She shakes her head, a worried look on her face. “Never had the time. Sorry, that’s not a problem, is it?”

“No, not at all. It’s just I don’t want to rush you into anything, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to date me because I want you to.”

She laughs. “I am not dating you because you want me to. I am doing it because I want to. All I know is that I want to see you, I get giddy when you text me, and I love being around you. So that has to mean something. If it means we are together, then we are…and I’m okay with that. For a first boyfriend, I think I hit the jackpot,” she says with a wink that hits me straight in my gut.

Suddenly stopping the car, I reach over, taking her beautiful face in my hands before smothering her with a kiss. She responds the way I want her to, melting to my touch. As our kiss deepens, I find myself completely immersed in her. I am utterly gone when her lips touch mine, and I’m curious to see what will happen once we take it to the next step. Not saying that we are anywhere near ready for that, but of course, my body is. But I have to control that, even if it is the hardest thing I’ll ever do.

Pulling my mouth from her, I kiss the side of her mouth before sitting straight in my seat. Pulling at the crotch of my jeans to adjust, I let out a breath. “You kiss like a dream, Amberlyn.”

I glance over at her and she is blushing, the color so beautiful it takes my breath away. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod.

“You’re not too bad yourself, big guy,” she says, sending me a cheesy grin. I laugh.

“Okay, enough before I ravage you and I don’t get to give you the tour.”

She smiles innocently as she giggles. “You’re the one who attacked me.”

“Yup, sure did,” I agree as I bring the car back on the road. Within minutes, with my hand securely in hers, I pull into my spot at the distillery. Getting out, I come around to help Amberlyn out as one of the workers comes up, like they always do.

“Sir, should I fetch Cathmor?”

I shake my head as I notice that he is the same guy who has been working for me for a year, and I don’t even know his name. How sad. “No, not today. I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name.”

The man looks at me, surprised, before answering, “Matthew.”

I hold out my hand. “Matthew, thank you, but not today. I have to take her home afterwards.”

He shakes my hand slowly, his eyes full of bewilderment, and I smile. “Sounds good, sir. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thank you.”

As we walk in, I am thankful my da works in the offices and not in the distillery. I don’t want to introduce him to Amberlyn yet. I’m afraid she’ll run the other way once she meets him. I know everyone is watching me, and more than likely, he’ll know within seconds that I am here—with a girl—but for right now, I’ll enjoy the way she looks with the stone wall behind her, how she’s smiling, and how fuckin’ gorgeous she looks in my favorite place.

I didn’t realize how much I was going to enjoy having her here. As we walk through the distillery, I explain how to make the whiskey and what we do. She seems very interested and hangs on every word I say.

“So it takes three years for the grain to be ready?”

I nod. “Yup, and the grain has to be grown in Irish ground for it to be considered Irish whiskey. Since that is the only thing we make, that’s the only way it works, but some places can outsource. We do not though. We are strictly Irish.”

“No way. I would have never guessed, being in an Irish distillery,” she jokes. I chuckle as she leans into me.

Wrapping an arm around her, I take her to the malting room and explain the process. A lot of our workers are working hard, turning over the barley. “This is a constant process. They are in here twenty-four hours, for eight to twenty-one days, depending on the germination. Kane has it down to a science. That’s why he is the boss in here. I used to do this when I was a kid.”

“Looks like fun,” she says with wide eyes. “Hard though.”

“No, not at all. Come on.”

“Huh? What?”

“Come do it with me,” I say, pulling her along. She comes willingly, smiling as we reach for rakes leaning against the wall. Picking a section that doesn’t look as if anyone has gotten to it, I show her how to rake the barley over and over again. She catches on quickly and soon she is laughing, just enjoying the process. I love how she lives. How she jumps in with no cares, no worries—she just lives. She is so happy, and it’s mind-boggling with all the tragedy she’s been through.

When we are done, we clean up what mess we made before heading to the malting room, the grinding room, the brewing room, then the aging room, until we are in the distillation room.

“This is my favorite room.”

She looks around before glancing back at me and asks with confusion lacing her voice, “Why?”

I try to look at the room through her eyes. It is basically just a room with huge pot stills but to me, it is home. This is where Kane and I would hide from Lena. Where I smoked my first fag. Where I kissed my first girl and drank my first shot of whiskey. I was eleven, and my grandda had to hold a bucket to my mouth since I was vomiting so bad. This was my home…my place…and it is unbelievable to share this with her.

“Because I love how quiet it is, and I love how beautiful it is. It also hides my whiskey.”

“Your whiskey?” she asks with a grin.

I nod as I reach for my bottle, bringing it out for her to see. “Yup, took me seven years to brew it.”

“Wow,” she says, taking the bottle from me. “Is there like a barrel of it?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t gotten permission to manufacture it yet.”

She unscrews the top, taking a swig, and then grimaces as she tries to smile. “That’s strong.”

“Yeah, but good right?”

She takes another swig, moves it around in her mouth, making a face as she swallows. Laughing, she hands me the bottle. “I mean, yeah, the best whiskey I’ve tried all day.”

Pride flushes through me as I lay the bottle down. I know she isn’t lying or teasing me, her eyes are sincere and her words mean the world to me. Taking a step toward her, I wrap my arms around her waist with all the intention of showing her how much that means to me. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s good, spicy. Why can’t you sell it? Does your dad not like it?”

I lean my head against hers, not wanting to get into my family drama. “It’s a long story.”

“I have another hour before I gotta be back,” she says, moving her nose against mine.

“Maybe another time.”

She nods, moving her hands into the back pockets of my jeans. I close my eyes, holding her tighter against me. “Okay, well, when you want to tell me, I’ll listen.”

“Thank you.”

She smiles before looking up at me. “What do you want to do now, then?”

Desire is swirling in the depths of her aquamarine eyes. It’s such a sight to see. One that hits me square in the chest. She is so beautiful, so amazing. My da has no clue what the hell he is talking about. “I can come up with a few things.”

Her eyes drop to my lips as her breathing hitches. She whispers, “Would it involve you kissing me?”

I’m lost. Completely and entirely lost in her eyes. My heart feels like it is coming out of my chest. My body is tingling, and I want nothing more than to do what she just asked. So I do. Capturing her mouth with my own, I kiss her, hard. She molds herself to me as I bring her off her feet and closer. She wraps her arms around my neck while I hold her around her middle, kissing her with all the pent-up lust I’ve kept hidden from her. Every second I’m around her is another second my control is tested. She drives me wild and makes me feel so free. I’ve always felt like I’m in a cage, but with her, it isn’t like that. I don’t have to hide who I am. Even when we first met, she had such a welcoming smile and inviting eyes. I’ve always felt at home with her.

Dropping my hands to her thick ass, I squeeze her against my growing erection, and she gasps against my mouth. Moving my tongue with hers, I want to groan in satisfaction when her hands come up, knocking my beanie off before tangling her fingers in my hair. She feels so good. So perfect. Removing my mouth from hers, I run my lips down her chin, her throat, to the valley of her breasts, kissing each one softly before I run my tongue slowly up the hollow of her neck. Her gasps of breath fill the room as I go crazy with lust.

Fuck, I want her, and I don’t know how to stop.

“Whoa! My bad,” I hear Kane say.

I didn’t mean I wanted to stop!

Inwardly, I groan as I remove my mouth from her neck as she cries out, “Eeek!”

She hides her face in my neck as I slowly drop her to her feet. Turning to look at my sheepishly grinning best friend, I say, “This better be good.”

He shrugs. “Your da is on the way here.”

I had every intention of killing Kane Levy, but now I want to buy him a pint. I nod as I put some space between Amberlyn and me. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he says before disappearing out of the room.

Once the door shuts, Amberlyn looks up at me and I’m utterly speechless. Her hair has somehow fallen out of the bun it was in, her lips are swollen and red, and her eyes are bright with excitement and lust. Taking in a deep breath to compose myself, I smile. “Mo stór.”

Her face reddens more as she breathes against my lips. “That’s superhot and totes-ma-goats sweet.”

I scoff. “What the hell is ‘totes-ma-goats’?”

“Totally awesome,” she says, and then she kisses me again. I love the taste of her mouth, it’s sweet, like candy, and I want to feast for hours…but we have to go. Pulling away all too soon, I cup her face.

“As much as I want to sit here and kiss you until my lips are raw, I have to take you back before my da gets in here.”

Her face falls as she says, “Oh, okay.”

“Don’t think that,” I say, because I can see it in her eyes. She might possibly think I’m embarrassed by her, when that is so far from the truth it isn’t even funny.

“Think what?” she says with a shrug.

“That I don’t want you to meet my da. Well, that is kind of true, but it’s not because of you. It’s because of him. He can come off strong, and I want you to like me.”

Moving her fingers with mine, she says, “I already do. No stopping it now.”

Cupping her face, I smile against her lips before kissing her hard. Once we part, I whisper, “Good to know, but I don’t want to test that theory today. Let’s go, another time.”

She nods, but I don’t move until she smiles. It only takes a second before her lips curve and she grins. Kissing her nose, I lead her out of the distillery and then to the car, thankfully without any run-ins with my da.