Cillian

Groaning as sunlight hits my face, I toss on the couch, stretching my legs over the armrest. I’m too damn big for the fucking couch, and every muscle in my body aches. Not to mention the constant throbbing between my legs.

I spent the night regretting not kissing the woman. Her body was practically humming in anticipation. So damn responsive, and I hadn’t even touched her.

Knowing she was in my bed had my cock aching so fucking bad that no amount of whiskey could dull it.

There’s a knock on the door.

Shit. I think about ignoring it, but the person knocks again, this time with more urgency.

Grunting, I roll off the couch and drag my tongue over my teeth, before rinsing my mouth with a shot of whiskey.

More knocking.

“Fuck off. I’m coming.”

Aiden’s eyebrows shoot up when I answer the door, his gaze dropping to the bottle of Jameson in my hand. “My God, man, Emer said ye look like shit, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad.”

I make a noise in the back of my throat. Turning my back on him, I walk to the kitchen and place the bottle on the counter. I frown when I notice fresh coffee brewing.

Delaney must have woken up already.

“Ye not going to talk to me?” Aiden follows me down the hall toward the bedroom. It’s empty and the bed is made. The luggage in the far corner of the room is the only sign that she’d been here.

Where the hell is she?

“Did ye see a woman when ye came in?” I turn back to him, dragging my hands through my hair.

“What?” Aiden frowns at me, then shakes his head. “No, I didn’t see a damn woman.”

A pressure builds inside my chest, and I grumble when I realize what it’s from – concern.

Fuck. What do I care if she left?

“We need to talk,” Aiden says, watching me warily.

Going back to the kitchen, I grab a mug and pour myself a coffee.

She’ll be back. Her luggage is still here. It’s not like she wandered off in the middle of the night. She probably just went for a walk.

But what if she got lost? She doesn’t even have a damn phone.

I slam my mug down and storm towards the front door, intent on finding her before she gets herself into more trouble.

“Cillian?” Aiden says behind me, concern in his voice.

“What?” I stop with my hand already on the door handle.

“Enough of this shit. Get over yerself. The band needs ye.”

“Fuck the band. Unless ye’re ready to get rid of Owen, I’m done.”

Aiden shakes his head. “Ye know that’s not going to happen. But if ye’d just listen to him–”

“I already heard his lies.” I open the door and practically barrel right into Delaney. I have to grab her by the waist to stop her from falling.

She lets out a small squeal, her fingers fisting in my shirt.

We stand there like that for a moment, her staring up at me with those big, expressive eyes, and my own breathing rough and uneven.

“Where were ye?” I growl, making her eyes widen even more. I drop my hands from her waist and take a small step back, unable to control my body’s reaction to touching her.

She watches me warily, biting her lower lip as her gaze flickers down my chest, resting for a moment on the bulge between my legs. I see her swallow hard, then quickly draw her gaze away, cheeks turning a shade of scarlet.

“I-I was just looking around. I didn’t want to wake you.”

Aiden clears his throat behind me.

I turn around, glaring at him when he raises an eyebrow.

Aiden ignores me, turning his gaze to her. “And ye are?”

“Delaney.”

“And how do ye know our boy, here?”

“I–”

“She banged up her car. I’m letting her stay here until she gets it fixed.”

Aiden’s eyes widen slightly, and a grin tugs at his lips. “Ah, so yer the one who hit Davie’s fence.”

“My tire blew–”

I grunt. “Ye were driving in the middle of the road.”

“I was fine until you came speeding around the corner.” Her arms cross over her chest and she purses her lips.

Aiden chuckles, and I give him another pointed glare.

“Well, if ye’re going to be here for a couple days, you should join us at O’Donoghue’s Pub tonight. We’re going to be celebrating.”

“Celebrating?” I shove my hands in my pockets and lean against the door.

“Emer didn’t tell ye?” His face brightens the way it always does when he talks about her. “I asked her to marry me.”

“Shit.” A sense of loss slices through me, but I immediately push it away. “I thought Emer was smarter than that.”

Aiden grunts, his gaze focusing on Delaney. “So ye’ll come tonight? Let us show ye a bit of Irish hospitality.”

She shrugs. “I’ve got to cross number eight off eventually.”

Aiden raises an eyebrow in curiosity, but I know what she means.

“Drink a Guinness in an Irish pub,” I mutter.

“You memorized it?” Her mouth hangs open, and red starts to creep up her neck, infusing her cheeks.

Aiden’s palm smacks down on my shoulder. “Good, so I’ll see ye both there around nine.”

“No,” I bite out.

“Owen won’t be there, if that’s what’s worrying ye.”

I grunt.

“Ye know it’d mean the world to Emer if ye came.”

“I’ll think about it,” I lie.

He exhales a heavy breath as if he can read my thoughts.

“Wild Irish,” Delaney says, glancing down at Aiden’s shirt. I didn’t even notice he was wearing it. “That’s the band from the radio. What was the song called? The one they’re playing on every station here?”

Aiden gives me a funny look, then says, “Meet Me In Sligo.”

“Right. That one.”

“Yer a fan?” Aiden asks her, glancing at me quickly, and I can see he’s wondering what game I’m playing at.

No game. It just hadn’t come up. Not without sounding arrogant.

“I’ve never heard of them until yesterday,” Delaney says. “But, yeah, from what I’ve heard, they’re pretty good.”

“They’re from around here, ye know.” Aiden walks past me, then says over his shoulder, “If ye come tonight, ye might even get to hear them play.”

“Really?” Her eyes brighten.

“No.” My voice comes out sounding more like a growl, and it has Delaney turning to me with a frown.

“I’d better go,” Aiden says, chuckling.

“That’s a good idea.”

“See ye tonight, Delaney. It was a pleasure meetin’ ye.”

I slam the door behind him, making sure to lock the deadbolt.

“He seems nice,” she offers.

I ignore the comment and head to the kitchen.

“Have you heard anything from your friend who towed my car?”

“I haven’t checked my messages.” I grab my phone, but the damn thing is dead. Plugging it into the charger, I turn and lean against the counter.

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, and fidgets nervously. “Thank you again for letting me stay here last night. Hopefully I can get everything settled with the rental company today and be out of your hair.”

My phone turns on just as I’m about to tell her she can stay another night if she needs to, but the beeping lets me know there’s a new text.

It’s from Tommy.

I read it quickly, then curse under my breath, “Shit.”

“What?”

This is bad. Really bad.

I rake my hands through my hair and read the message a second time.

“What’s wrong? Is it about the car?” she asks again.

“Ye didn’t get car insurance?”

“What?” Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open, and I can see the trickle of fear mixed with denial. She shakes her head. “Of course I did.”

“Tommy said he contacted the rental place.” I hand her my phone to let her read the message. “Ye’re not insured, sweetheart.”

“No…” She takes my phone from my hand, scrutinizing the message. “That’s not right…” Her eyes squeeze closed like she’s trying to remember. “When they asked me, I said yes. I’m sure I did.”

“Do ye have the paperwork?”

“It’s in the glove compartment.” Her bottom lip is quivering, her eyes full of panic.

I take the phone back and text Tommy again, asking him to double-check. He gets back to me almost immediately.

Damn.

“There’s no paperwork for the insurance. Just the rental agreement.”

She shakes her head again, eyes starting to tear up, and she reaches out to steady herself on the counter. “This can’t be happening.”

“I wouldn’t panic until ye know what the damages are.”

“I ran the car through a brick fence and down the side of a hill into a field of sheep. I’d say it’s going to cost me.” Her fingers wrap around the edge of the counter, and her shoulders slump forward, starting to shake.

I’m about to reach out and comfort her when I realize she’s not crying, but laughing. It starts out small, but only gets louder, until she has tears streaming down her face.

“Ye think it’s funny?” Maybe the woman really does have a few screws loose in her head.

“No.” She wipes at her cheeks with her palms and takes a few steadying breaths. “Not at all.”

The way she says it, I know her outburst is about more than just the car.

“Ye can stay here for a couple days until ye figure out what ye’re going to do. Or at least till Tommy can give ye a better assessment of how much it’s going to cost.”

I expect her to argue. Instead, she says softly, “Thank you.”

Nodding, I turn my back to her, rubbing the back of my neck as I wince. Letting her stay here is the least I can do.

I’d taken that corner too fast, but it wasn’t just that. I’d had more than enough room, but I’d been an ass, almost daring her to hit me.

Guilt and a sense of responsibility weigh on me. That’s why I’m letting her stay. It has nothing to do with the fact that all I can think about is that damn list of hers.