Page 48 of Mine
‘Not always. Like everyone, there are occasions where I have to bide my time and let what I want come to me.’
Her eyes flare. That blush inches up her neck again.
We step outside and I help her into the BMW, then go around the vehicle to hop into the driver’s seat. Ciaran, Cathal, Owen and I all have the same make and model. It makes it easier when we’re switching number plates. We cruise down the driveway. Lewis, one of my security team, opens the gate for us. I nod my thanks, then pull out onto the winding road. Aoife’s fingers reach for the radio at the same second mine do. That ever-present chemistry crackles along the back of my hand and up my arm.
‘Go on.’ I sweep a hand towards the radio station. ‘Put whatever you like on.’
‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ She fiddles with the stations, settling on a Lewis Capaldi song.
‘When have I been anythingotherthan nice to you?’ I counter, thrumming my fingers on the steering wheel in time to the beat.
‘True,’ she shrugs. ‘I just don’t get why. You’re generous. Considerate. You don’t abuse our situation, when other men would.’
I stare at her for a long beat over the centre consol. ‘Did it ever occur to you that I might like you, Aoife O’Shea?’
‘And I thought you were simply pretending for the sake of the staff.’ She arches an eyebrow and bites back a smirk.
‘Spoiler alert—they’re not here. But by the time I’veparaded you around publicly, no one will be in any doubt about how obsessed I am with you.’ I grin and she laughs.
She thinks I’m joking.
She still hasn’t realised the depth of my affection for her.
She will in time.
She’s been living in my house, sleeping in my bed for weeks.
What’s worse?
She’s taken up permanent residence in my head too.
I spend every minute we’re apart wondering how she is, where she is, and what is going through her busy, beautiful brain. Having a hot housemate isn’t conducive to productivity.
And with every second we spend together, I’m increasingly certain she was made to be mine. Not to start a war, but to bring me a peace I didn’t know I needed until she barrelled into my bar. A bit like the song that’s currently playing on the radio… everything was pointless until her.
In the past, I spent my free time fucking my way through the members of Reveal, Sean Beckett’s sex club, or skulking around the house alone. Then she moved in, and now, instead of silence, I’m greeted with a smile, a home cooked dinner, and stolen glances that stir something in the very soul I thought the devil demanded a long time ago.
We make small talk for the hour-long drive. The wedding. The weather. The new job she’ll start at the end of August. Her favourite flowers—pink peonies. My favourite movie—The Godfather. If anyone had bugged the vehicle, they’d swear we were a normal couple. Though if we were, my hand would be firmly placed on Aoife’s thigh and I’d be teasing just beneath the hem of that denim dress.
When we finally reach the beach, it’s deserted as expected.
‘You come here often?’ I ask, glancing around.
Her tinkling laugh pierces the air then, ‘Careful, Dom.’ She hops out of the car, firing me a playful glance over her shoulder, ‘That sounded suspiciously like a pick-up line.’
I dart out of the vehicle, grab the cool bag from the boot, and then stand beside her as she surveys her surroundings. ‘If I was trying to pick you up, sweetheart.’ I lean closer until my breath skims her ear. ‘I’d do it with both hands, carry you to our bed, spread your legs wide for me and slide my tongue deep inside your centre.’
That adorable colour flushes her cheeks again. ‘You can’t say things like that!’
‘Why not?’ I shrug, placing a palm on her lower back and guiding her onto the sand. ‘Does it turn you on?’ I’m pushing her again. Pushing when I swore I wouldn’t, but that’s just what I do.
I had no idea about her brother overdosing, or that part of her held me responsible; it explains her conflicted emotions to me. Why she doesn’t want to want me. But I’m running out of reasons to keep my distance from her, and I think she feels the same.
‘We’ve been dancing around what happened between us for long enough now. I feel your eyes on me, Aoife. Don’t pretend you can’t feel the fire burning up between us. We’re one spark away from an explosion, and you know it.’
She pulls out a giant beach blanket from her bag and lays it out on the sand, looking everywhere but at me as she drops to her backside.
I lower myself to sit beside her, close enough that our elbows touch, then drop a huge hand onto her toned thigh. She looks at it, then twists her face to meet my eye. ‘Dominic.’ There’s a warning in her tone, but there’s also a raw want too.
