“What are you doing in here, sir?” she asks, and is it my imagination, or is her own voice affected with arousal? I don’t realize I’m walking over to her until I’m only a few feet away. “Do you… do you need to shower?”
I shake my head.
Her guard’s been killed.
She’s in danger.
Somehow, even the brutal reminders of who we are don’t school my thoughts. All I can imagine is taking her into my arms again, and this time, not letting her go.
“Lachlan?” she asks. “Are you okay?”
“Aye,” I say in a hoarse whisper. “But you need to finish up.”
She bites her lip. “Oh, I’m done. Was just enjoying the water a bit.” She turns to shut it off, not bothering to pull the door shut, so she gives me a full view of her full arse, still pink from her spanking.
I barely stifle a groan.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
“Spoke with Keenan, lass,” I tell her, not able to bring myself to tell her the full truth. “I don’t want you to leave my side.”
Then I realize she’s standing there, dripping wet. I take a towel off the shelf, open it, and jerk my chin at her.
“C’mere.”
She bites her lip again. I wonder if the light pink color on her cheeks is from the heat of the shower, or something else.
When she steps out, I wrap her in the towel and dry her off. I relish the feel of her in my arms. Of her letting me take care of her. I take my time, wiping off every drop of water, massaging the fluffy white towel over the slopes and valleys of her perfect skin. But the closer we are, the more I want her, and by the way her breathing’s hitched and her body trembles, I think she feels the same.
I need her to let me take care of her. Some men like to be with the independent sort of woman. But the men of the Clan have been raised to protect, care for, to lead. I’ve seen every one of the married men in the brotherhood take to the role of head of the house with ease, and it makes sense to me now. Her allowing me to care for her fulfills me.
Hell, it’s been a missing part of who I am.
When she’s dry, I wrap the towel around her, though her damp hair still drips all about us. I reach for a second towel and wrap it clumsily around her head. She giggles, and it’s so fucking adorable I lean in for a kiss. Just a brief one. I pull away much too soon, and she sighs when our lips part.
I take her by the hand and bring her into the room. All she has for clothes are the ones she wore the night before, but they’ll do.
“Lachlan,” she says softly, almost tentatively. She holds onto my shoulder while I help her into her clothes. “I can dress myself.”
“Of course you can,” I tell her. But I like this. It’s almost like a form of acceptable foreplay, the way she leans her hand on my shoulder to steady herself. The way the fabric slides up her naked, beautiful skin. The way she pants a little when my hands brush her breasts. I need this. It’s fucking wrong, but I need this.
“Tell me what Keenan said, please,” she says when she’s dressed.
I don’t respond at first. But she won’t take silence for an answer. She places her fingers under my chin and drags my gaze to hers, framing my face between her hands. Her eyes soften, and for some reason water a little.
“I’m not naïve to the ways of the Clan, Lachlan,” she says, in that voice of hers that sends a thrill down my spine. So pure. So beautiful. So honest. “I know who you are. I know who Nolan is. And I know that the jobs you do are dangerous and outside the law. I can handle the truth.”
She can. And if she’s to have anything to do with me, she bloody well will. Goddammit.
I hold her wrists, her hands still framing my face, and nod. “Aye, Fiona. I’ll give you the truth as often as I can.” I swallow hard. “Your guard was killed last night. We don’t know how or why or who’s responsible.”
She nods, taking this truth as simply as if I just told her we were having chicken for supper. “Is Tiernan okay?”
I nod. “He is, but he’s in danger, of course.”
She nods. “But they didn’t touch me. They didn’t come anywhere near me.”
I shake my head. “They didn’t touch you, no. Whether or not they came near you is another story.” My blood heats at the very thought, and I quickly do a mental tally of the weapons I have with me. “No one will hurt you, Fiona. Never. I won’t allow it.”
“I know it,” she says, with complete confidence. “I’ve known that for a very long time.” She smiles.
“You’re safe with me,” I whisper. “If I could wrap you up in a fucking bubble, I would.”
She leans her forehead to mine. Her breath is sweet and warm, and I close my eyes as if she’s basking me in her wholesome and goodness. Hell, maybe she is.
“And this is why you can’t deny it anymore, Lachlan.”
My voice is tremulous. “Aye. But Jesus, Fiona, you’re so young.”
She slides herself onto my lap and places her head on my shoulder. “Bollox,” she says with a flinty note in her voice. “I’m not as young as you think, Lachlan. People like us… we age sooner than the rest, you know. How old were you when you were inducted into the Clan?”
I pause before answering, almost reluctant to give her ammunition in this argument. “Eighteen.” The youngest inductee into the Clan since its founding.
“And why did Keenan induct you so young?”
“I was ready.”
She sighs. “And you think I’m not?”
I rock her on my lap, my heart swelling at the nearness of her. Her scent, her breath, her sweet voice, and the way her heart thumps against my chest.
“Ready?”
“Aye.”
“For what?” I ask.
“You bloody well know what.”
I grin at that and pinch her little bottom. “Feisty thing, y’are.”
“Aye. As if a man like you could handle someone docile. You’d never have a reason to beat your chest or my arse, as it were.”
Fucking hell, I love this woman. I won’t entertain the thought of really dominating her, of really having my way with her. But there are other reasons that hold me back.
“Fiona, you’ve lost so much. So much has been robbed from you that never should have been. And hell, woman, I won’t be the reason you lose even more.”
“Lachlan, that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.” She lifts her head off my shoulder and glares at me. “Why on earth would being with you make me lose anything?”
I smile sadly at her. “The very question shows how innocent you are.”
She scowls, and I tap my finger to her lips. “Now, lass, we’ll have none of that,” I begin, when my phone rings and I look at the screen. I stifle a groan.
Nolan.
“Nolan?” she looks at the screen and gives me a teasing smirk. “Better answer that.”
I narrow my eyes on her and slide her off my lap, but she sits right beside me and places her hand on my thigh. My cock twitches, and she grins.
“You’ll end right up over my lap before the damn day’s through,” I mutter, picking up the phone. “Hello?”