Page 39 of A Ruthless Arrangement
This sweet woman has no idea she’s making me hard, even as we sit at this table. Hearing her say sherespectsme? That she doesn’t want toprovokeme? She’s like a drug, and I’m addicted.
She makes putting up with her bleedin’ grandfather worth it. She has no idea what she does to me. I can tell she’s a little scared of me, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. It makes my heart race in a way I can’t explain.
I had to let the conversation drop for a bit after she told me she respected me. My blood is getting too hot and I need to be able to control myself. This isn’t the time to get a stiff, not when I know my little leannán isn’t ready for me. I’ll scare her off if I’m not careful.
Amy is chewing on her lip when the waitress brings us the bill. I barely glance it over before telling her to charge it to my room. “Are you ready?” I stand up, and Amy nods.
She hasn’t looked at me once since our food arrived, and it seems she’s not planning on changing that now that we’re leaving. I can see the lost look in her eyes, her mind racing. It’s something she does a lot. My goal is to help ease her mind, but I’m not sure how to do that at the moment.
A muscle in my jaw twitches. I’m a man of action, and not knowing what action will fix the problem makes me restless. “Would you like to know what we’re doing today?” I try to keep my voice soft and gentle to see how she responds.
She turns and looks at me, her brown eyes a little wide. “Yeah, sure. I wasn’t sure if you would be willing to tell me or not, so I didn’t ask.”
I lean a tad closer to her as we walk through the lobby of the hotel. “And why wouldn’t I be willing to tell you, leannán?”
She shrugs. “Because it’s a surprise? Or it’s just a hassle to tell me? I don’t know.” I clench my jaw. She’s clearly used to such treatment.
“Well, a surprise, maybe. But I feel that’s not the kindest thing to do to you after the week you’ve had. Proper communication should never be a bother. Why shouldn’t you be informed about everything that’s going on, just like anyone else?” Her mouth falls open slightly in surprise, and my attention is drawn to her beautiful lips. “We’re going shopping.”
She nods, an expression of thoughtfulness on her face. She doesn’t seem all that excited about shopping, and I’m surprised that I find myself disappointed that my idea isn’t as thrilling to her as I’d hope it would be. “You keep calling me that word. What does it mean?” There’s a flicker of nervousness in her eyes as she asks. She turns her face away from me.Why is she scared of asking what the nickname means?
“Well…it is a term of endearment in Irish.”
We exit the front doors of the hotel, and there’s already a car waiting for us, just as I planned. Another car just behind it, with Liam and Jack in it, following us. Protection without scaring Amy. I’d prefer they’d be in the car with us to ensure we couldn’t be separated, but Amy’s comfort is paramount at the moment.
I raise the partition to separate us and the driver. I watch Amy put her seatbelt on with a chuckle. “Cars practically crawlwith the traffic in the city. Do you really think it’s necessary to wear a seatbelt?”
Amy frowns, flattening her lips as her brows furrow. The expression only makes my amusement grow. “It’s not safe. There’s a reason it’s against the law.”
I chuckle. Is she really arguing with the leader of the Irish mafia on breaking the law? Over a seatbelt?Adorable.“Most things are illegal for a reason, leannán. But that doesn’t mean that, in certain situations, they lose that reason. Or that the reason isn’t worth overlooking.”
Amy purses her lips together and looks out the window, seeing the many buildings of the city crawl by. “So…what does the term of endearment mean?”
I can’t help but smirk a bit. She clearly didn’t want to talk about the flexibility of laws with a man who makes his money off of underhanded criminal dealings, including murder. I can’t say I blame her. It’d probably be a fruitless discussion.
But her focus on the nickname is interesting, even as I wish she’d stop poking at it. Most of my behavior could be explained away as gentlemanly, or trying to upset her grandfather, but calling her my leannán…? It reveals too much of the depths of my obsession, too close for comfort. “It just means ‘dear’, or the equivalent of that.”
Not exactly false, but it certainly minimizes the depths of it. You could call a childdearin English, or the waitress. But you wouldn’t call a stranger or a child your leannán.
She nods, although it’s clear she’s still thinking it over. But at least she seems to be satisfied with that answer for now. Which is good. I need her to be.
I take in a deep breath. The wordleannánmeans more than just ‘dear’. Really, it’s true translation is more akin todarlingorlover.But there’s another aspect to it, one that’s personal to me,from my younger years. If revealed, it’d make it clear how deep my adoration for Amy goes.
Thinking of my childhood reminds me of home. “Do you like the city, Amy?” I’m not sure where the question comes from, but it tumbles out of me with a desperate need to know. What were her plans for the future before I came along? Would she like Dublin? Would she like a life withme?
She shrugs without looking at me, her gaze still focused on the world outside the car window. “This city or just cities in general?”
“Both, I suppose.” I clear my throat, trying to erase any trace of desperation from my voice.
She takes a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. “This is my first time in New York City. As you can imagine, the current feelings attached to it aren’t pleasant. I..honestly haven’t been to many cities in general. My parents raised me in the suburbs and we never really left. Not to the city, not to the country.”
“Hm.” My mind races to understand her, to predict what she’ll think for the future I’ve planned for us. “I see. Would you want to see more? Or are you content with your suburbs?”
“I want to see more,” she says quietly, as if it’s a confession of sin, as if it’s forbidden to want that.
I chuckle softly, admiring her side profile from where she’s peering out the window. “Then you shall see more, leannán.”
I see her look at me out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn’t say anything before she turns back to the window.
