Heavenly. That’s what it was. Absolutely heavenly. Crispy crust and gooey cherries still warm from the oven. The only way it could have been better was if there were ten more.
I ate the whole thing and considered licking the box it had been served in. It wasn’t as if anyone would know.
After breakfast, I threw on yet another blue dress as quickly I could.
Being held captive in a house full of men meant no lady’s maid to help me get into these garments. Yesterday, I’d had to ask Tadhg to help button the back of my dress. You’d swear I’d asked the man to eat a raw chicken.
What I needed were a few plain ones like my gardening dress. Next time I saw Rían, I’d ask. As much as I loathed the idea of living off his charity, as long as he insisted on keeping me locked up, he could deal with my needs.
After an altercation between my wild curls and a hairbrush, I made my way to where my sister was being kept. A ticklish sensation brushed my fingers when I reached for the golden handle. Rían had made good on his promise to ward the room.But instead of blocking me as they did at the gates, the wards let me through without issue.
Next to her casket sat a pillow, blanket, and a half-drunk glass of amber liquor. Tadhg spent most of his days up here—and I suspected the nights as well. He’d added a fresh bouquet of purple hydrangeas since yesterday.
I still didn’t think he was good enough for Keelynn, but seeing his utter devotion made me feel a little guilty for dismissing his feelings as pure lust.
I’d known plenty of lustful men. And if any of them had been in the same situation, they would’ve been lost in a woman, not a bottle.
My sister looked exactly as she had every other time I’d visited. Dark lashes dusting pale cheeks. Rich brown waves falling over slim shoulders. Black stain from her lips to her throat.
“I miss you,” I confessed.
I would have given anything to hear her return the sentiment.
“And I misshimtoo. Silly, isn’t it?” I laughed. “You wouldn’t think it was silly, though, would you? You’d think it was romantic. You’d tell me I should let him sweep me off my feet.”
Heaviness settled over the room, and a voice from the doorway said, “I do not sweep women off their feet. I drag them down with me.”
Rían had a shoulder propped against the door, swirling a glass of amber liquid in his hand. His white shirtsleeves bunched at his elbows, revealing tanned, toned forearms.
“How much of that did you hear?”
He lifted the drink to his lips, hiding his smile. “Did you just miss me today, or have you been pining over my absence all week?”
Brilliant. He’d heard everything. “Don’t be ridiculous.” With my face burning, I shoved past him—and rammed headfirst into an invisible wall.
“I missed you too, my little viper,” he breathed against my ear. “Will I show you how much?”
“That sounds like torture.”
His dark chuckle teased against the fine hairs at the back of my neck. “It would be.” Cinnamon and whiskey swirled around me. His teeth grazed my throat.
My eyes fluttered closed. This was what I’d wanted. Why was I fighting when I could allow myself to revel in dark desire? He wanted me, and I wanted him, and it wouldn’t change who he was or who I was. If I kept my expectations low, gave him my body, perhaps I would emerge unscathed.
I leaned into him, my breath catching when his free hand slipped around my hip bone, kneading ever so slightly.
Then he was cursing and jerking away. The heat writhing my belly screamed. My eyes flew open to find Ruairi scowling at us from the other side of the tost.
A different kind of heat bloomed up my neck and over my cheeks.
Rían flicked his wrist.
“I’ve been shouting fer ye,” Ruairi growled.
“We’re a little busy,” Rían muttered into his drink before taking a deep gulp.
“He’s in an awful state.”
I didn’t need to ask who he meant. I hadn’t seen Tadgh sober since I woke up.