Page 109 of Lawless Rivals

“News flash, Máirín,” I side-eye her. “I didn’t invite myself to your stud. You should think through the consequences of abduction so it doesn’t come as a surprise when you bring the person to your home.”

A flicker of a mock smile plays on her mouth. “Spoken with the haughtiness of a true Harrington.”

Saint joins us on the porch, his presence registering with a rush of adrenaline in my veins. He stops close enough to me that I’m aware of him at my side before I actually look.

“You’ve given us something to work with, Keira,” he says.

The way he uses my name in front of his mother makes my heart pump faster.

Máirín lets out a low breath and taps ash from her cigarette before she turns her head to the taillights in the distance.

“Get the Harrington off my porch,” she says.

Saint digs a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. “She didn’t have to say shit, ma.”

“Your sister isn’t safe yet.”

She heads back inside, the door slamming behind her.

My attention stays on the track where the cars have disappeared.

“Was it worth it?” I ask. “Putting your sister at risk.”

Saint pulls a cigarette from the pack, lights it, and takes a drag, his gaze fixed out across the yard, not on me. The smoke leaves his lungs in a slow stream.

“I’m thinking ya belong to the wrong family.”

I frown and then look right at him. “Why would you say that?”

He takes another lungful of smoke, his eyes still on the yard, the line of his jaw set in a way that gives nothing away.

I stare at him for a beat, my emotions firing off. Our situation is impossible. His family will never trust me, let alone welcome me.

“You were right.” I move away and drop onto the first step. “This ends one way.”

“Where d’ya think you’re going, princess?” His voice slips over my shoulder.

“I have no desire to stand on the porch of a woman who’s stuck in the past,” I reply, maintaining my pace.

Gravel crunches behind me as he closes the distance with his long, confident strides, the cigarette smoke following us.

“Why’d ya give us the name of that place?” he asks.

I shake my head and exhale a heavy sigh. “Why did you bring me into your cabin instead of letting me freeze in the hayloft?”

A silent beat of consideration passes.

“Maybe I liked what I saw.”

I keep my eyes on the barn ahead and ignore the pulse thrumming between my legs.

“Well, maybe I don’t want anything bad to happen to a Tallon,” I say, “because I’m nothing like my father.”

As soon as I’ve said it, his hand is on me, his fingers firm around my arm. My ass bumps into the side of the barn, and his mouth is on mine before my next breath.

I whimper when his fingertips press into my jaw and his stubble brushes over my chin.

“Fuck, Keira,” he mutters. “I want ya.”