Page 70 of Ruthless Dream

“Anything to drink?” Seamus asks.

Cormac flags down a server, ordering another bottle of whiskey for the table. When it comes he pours a glass out for me, his pale blue eyes darker thanks to the dim lighting. They hold steady as he passes the drink over to me.

Ciaran is intense, so I’m not sure what I was expecting, but at least my boyfriend’s eyes hold an expression other than unblinking blankness.

“Thanks.” I take a sip, welcoming the burn down my throat. Probably not the grounding technique most therapists prefer, but here goes nothing.

The chair next to me is pulled out, the table rocking when someone plops into the seat.

“Hello, hello!” a vaguely familiar man says. Cain Murray. “Ready to support our boy?”

Cormac faces the ring, not hiding his sigh very well.

“You are as beautiful as your mam,” Ciaran’s dad says.

A blonde bombshell leans around him and agrees. “Stunning. And that dress. Those boobs.”

Thank God the red strobe lights hide my cheeks.

“This is my girl,” Cain introduces us. I offer her a smile. He sits up in his chair, his gaze sweeping the warehouse. “It’s good of you to come. Your guards must be loving this, huh? A little show. Who says being a bodyguard is boring?”

I take another sip of whiskey, not sure how to react to his passive aggressive comment. Cormac’s chair is positioned across the table, slightly in front of mine, so when he faces the ring, I get nothing but the back of his head. He cocks his head to the side, not quite able to ignore Cain, though.

Ciaran’s dad throws a hand up in the air, flagging down a server. The loud noise means we aren’t pressed to speak. There’s a shuffle at one point, and I find the blonde bombshell next to me.

“This is exciting, isn’t it?” There’s a slight twang to her voice, like she might be from the American South. “Cain is so proud of his boy. You two been dating long?”

“It’s new,” I admit. “But I really like him.”

Her smile is megawatt. The more I stare at her, the more I’m convinced she’s painted a mask over her face with the amount of makeup she’s got on.

“He’s really handsome like his dad,” she says. “You two make a lovely couple.”

“Thank you.” There’s a glow in my chest when I realize she’s the first person to actually compliment us as a pairing. “How long have you and Cain been dating?”

“Oh, it’s new too.” She giggles.

I hesitate, my lips parting before I’m able to ask, “H-how old are you?”

The girl isn’t offended. She offers me another toothy smile, her head tilting to the side in a doe-eyed manner. “I turned eighteen last month.”

Whack me over the head with a brick, I’d be less stunned. Cain’s girlfriend is younger than I am.

“Happy belated birthday. . .” I lift my whiskey to my lips, accidentally catching Seamus’s eye. He smirks in understanding.

“Here we go!” Cain pumps his fist. The crowd swells, the music and lights all giving away that something important is happening.

“Oh, yeah, he is handsome,” the blonde bombshell sighs when Ciaran walks out.

The crowd loves him, not that he notices. I know that look on his face. When he hones in on the object of his desire. Which in this case means beating the shit out of his opponent.

The first time I see Cain and Cormac share any similarities is when they jump up to their feet, yelling. Me, on the other hand?

I’m rooted to my seat, my spine ramrod. My skin pebbles, cold despite the hot blooded crowd.

Even the blonde bombshell is yelling, sometimes to cuss out Ciaran’s opponent, other times to cheer him on.

“Come on, son!” Cormac shouts, clapping.