Page 20 of A Merciless Husband
Kensington nods. “I’ll hold you to that, Irish Demon.”
11
Amy
Iexpected the heavy wooden doors of Kerry’s bedroom to creak as they open, but they’re as silent as the world just after snow has fallen. My breath catches as I see the room inside. Dark. Rich in detail. As complicated and textured as the man who sleeps inside of it.
I should’ve known the rest of the house wasn’thim,but just a staged house. No wonder he looked so amused at my attempts at being polite.
The room is bathed with dark woods from top to bottom. The gray carpet of the hallway transitions into dark hardwood, the walls a dark green, and the ceilings are paneled wood with images etched into them, mirroring the designs on the door. I open the door wider, helping Jack and Liam bring the luggage in. A king sized bed sits against the far wall, bathed in a black comforter, viridian satin sheets, and a black headboard.
I notice the art almost immediately. There’s big paintings in gold frames on the walls, a scene of a ship on a stormy sea, a different one with grassy rolling hills and a large black horse frolicking, and a more modern portrait of a woman looking out a window, watching a young boy play in the gardens outside. They’re more…delicatethan I would’ve imagined for Kerry. Butthey’re beautiful, and do suit him, just not in the way I would’ve originally expected. I feel like I could study them for hours and keep finding new details to appreciate about them. I probably would if they were in a museum.
The room is neat, but in a different way than the rest of the house. There’s personal items scattered around unlike any other room in the house, but they just all have their place. Things that make Kerry seem morehuman.A pair of reading glasses on his nightstand. A box of tissues. A bottle of pain relievers. Slippers tucked into the corner. A robe hanging from a hook on the back of the door. The bed is wrinkled and not properly made, like he just tugged the covers up and didn’t put much effort into putting it together.
It smells woodsy, like sandalwood and cypress, with a hint of citrus. I would’ve known this was Kerry’s room even if I was blindfolded.
Jack plops down our luggage with a grunt and wipes his brow. “Glad that’s done.”
Liam follows suit, flopping onto a chaise lounge near the window, putting an arm over his eyes. I laugh, the sight reminding me of some Victorian maiden who just fainted. “I’m tired. Why’s there so many fecking stairs in this house?” I don’t have the heart to remind him that, while this is a big house, there are a perfectly normal amount of stairs here. There’s only two floors.
Jack rolls his eyes and tosses Liam’s feet off of the chaise so he can sit down next to him. “You’re being a big baby. Don’t let Alasdair hear, he’ll make us work out more. If you can’t handle that, then how can you handle an actual gun fight or anything else we might need to do?”
That seems to make Liam sit up straighter. “You wouldn’t dare snitch on me.”
Jack grins and shrugs. “Probably not. But if it makes you stop running that mouth of yours…”
Liam grumbles under his breath and covers his face with his elbow again. I chuckle at their antics and step over the suitcases to go into the bathroom. I’m curious to see what it's like inthe Irish Demon’sprivate world. I remind myself that I’m not snooping, I’ll be staying here. Living here, I guess? That’s still something I’m coming to terms with.
It’s a classy bathroom, black and white checkered tile on the floor, black cabinets, white marble countertops and gold fixtures. There’s a massive shower with all black tile that's bigger than most New York City apartments, complete with multiple rainshower heads and even jets on the side.Oh yeah. I’m looking forward to trying that puppy out later.It’s something that I’ve only seen in photos of luxury mansions.
There’s his and her sinks and vanities, but only one of them has anything on it. The other sits empty with only hand soap and a towel. Kerry’s has a neat row of colognes on display, a bottle of lotion next to the sink, after-shave, face wash, and a black toothbrush holder. There’s even a water pick sitting out. It all feels so…normal.I knew he was just human, but this felt like the first concrete proof I’ve seen of it.
I return to Liam and Jack, who are both on their phones. It’s amazing to me how much of a mafia man’s job seems to be sending emails and texts. Like a secretary but for organized crime. That thought makes me snicker.
Both men look up at me at the sound. “Ready to get some food, little lady?” Liam grins.
I nod. “Yeah, that would be great.” I’m not sure when I ate last, but with the exhaustion of travel, my body doesn’t know whether it wants to eat, sleep, or just zone out for a while.
Liam hops up, Jack following behind him. “Should we order somethin’?” Jack murmurs.
I open the door to Kerry’s bedroom and shake my head. “No, Kerry’s Aunt Marjorie said she made something for us and left it in the fridge.”
Liam snorts. “Like Kerry’s going to let us have any of that. No, Jack and I will order something.”
I furrow my brow. “Why wouldn’t he let us eat it? Marjorie specifically told me it was for us. She was even looking at me when she said it.”
Liam laughs and shakes his head. “No, you misunderstand, he won’t letJack and Ieat it. You? You get everything you could ever want, little lady. Never doubt that. Alasdair will give you the world if you ask it of him.”
I raise my eyebrows, not quite sure what to say to that. But, thankfully, there seems to be no expectation of me to say anything, because Jack steps around me and heads towards the stairs. “What do you want to order, Liam? A Chinese?”Weird way to say that, but okay.I shake my head. Kinda sounds like he wants to order a person rather than the type of food. But I know that’s just how people from Ireland and Britain talk about ordering take-out, apparently.
“Yeah, that’ll be fine.” Liam strolls after Jack, looking at his phone. Thankfully they lead the way, because I barely remember how to get to the kitchen from the tour that Kerry gave me. They both sit on the kitchen stools once we get there, and I move around the island to open the fridge to find the stuff that Marjorie left. But as soon as I do, the front door opens. Liam and Jack immediately go into defensive positions, pulling guns from who knows where. Jack pushes me back and steps in front of me to shield me, and Liam rounds a corner to get cover. It happens so quick, I barely register what’s happening as Jack pushes me to the floor behind the kitchen island.
But it’s just Kerry who walks in. He raises his eyebrows at the sight before him and then chuckles. “A damn good job.”
Both Liam and Jack exhale sharply and put their guns away. “Mother Mary and Joseph, Alasdair! You can’t do that to us! We just got the girl, we’re on edge!” Liam collapses into one of the stools around the kitchen island like he’s about to have a heart attack.
Kerry shuts and locks the door and laughs. “I had a visitor. I was just seeing him out. Don’t you trust the outside teams to protect the property?”
