She sputters and fumes, her fists clenching together in anger.
“And unless you want a proper punishment when I return, you’ll behave in my absence as well. Understood?”
She crosses her arms on her chest like a petulant child. I’ve half a mind to turn her over my knee before I leave. I shake my head and point my finger at her. “I warned you, lass. Behave.”
She’s out of the bed and following me, angry that I won’t give her any freedom. In two seconds, I’ve got her over my shoulder. I bring my palm down, hard, on her arse, and plop her back on the bed.
“Now then, we’re back here, are we?”
I’ve got her restrained, and I reach for the bedside table. The cuffs haven’t been used since that first night.
“Tiernan,” she says, pleading. “You wouldn’t!”
“I’ve a job to do, lass,” I say sternly. “And I can’t have you getting in the way. If you do anything to jeopardize the safety of the Clan, you won’t like what happens.”
She opens her mouth to protest, then slams it shut again. She eyes the cuffs, and bites her lip, but doesn’t speak. I capture her wrists between my fingers and arrange her arms up over her head, then slide the metal cuffs in place.
“Now, behave yourself and when I return, I’ll unfasten these.”
She isn’t the angry girl I brought here the night before. Instead of the fury and screams, she looks resigned. Almost doleful.
“Thought we had something, you know,” she says in a little voice that wavers as if she’s sad.
Mother of God.
“Had something?”
She blinks back tears. “I thought we… I know it was just sex, but I… well…” Her cheeks flush, and she jerks her chin toward the cuffs around her wrists. “Now it seems we’re right back to square one.”
I stroke my chin, letting my gaze wander over her body. I nod thoughtfully.
“I kept you busy while you were in the throes of withdrawal, Aisling, aye.”
She swallows. I kneel on one knee beside her, and run my finger down the side of her face, gently caressing the soft, supple skin until I get to her mouth. I trace her full lips.
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, lass.” I bend down and brush my lips against her cheek. “Doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re stunning. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean that I only used you.”
I frame her body between my hands, bend, and kiss the top of first one breast, then another, when I realize the time. Bloody hell. Tardiness to a meeting’s a major infraction.
“Fuck!”
She jumps. “What?”
“I’m late for a meeting.”
She actually giggles. “Did I distract you that much?”
I wag a finger at her. “You did. Ought to give you a proper punishment for that.” She bites her lips, her eyes shining. “I’ll be back soon.”
I shut the door behind her, and take off at a run.
I make it downstairs just as Cormac does. He gives me a grimace and shakes his head.
“Where the bloody hell were you?”
I grunt. “Tending our prisoner. You?”
He grunts. “Aileen needed me to unravel her bloody necklace. Going shopping with Fiona this afternoon.”
We go to our meeting room right on this floor. Cormac might be given a reprieve as Clan leadership, but I’ll have no such luck.
Everyone looks up when we enter, and Keenan’s gaze goes straight to the clock. We’re both a full ten minutes late.
“You’re late,” he says, his voice harsh and stern.
“Sorry, Keenan,” Cormac says. “Lost track of time, but I found Tiernan on the way.”
The others laugh, but Keenan doesn’t.
“And you,” he says to me next. “What’s your excuse?”
“Negotiations with the prisoner,” I mutter.
Boner snorts, and Tully slaps my back.
“Bollox! Negotiations, my arse—”
Keenan clears his throat, and the room stills. “Enough of that. See to it it doesn’t happen again, Tiernan.”
He turns to a corner of the room. “Father? You’ve news for us?”
I didn’t even notice Father Finn was present.
I swear, every time I see him, he looks older. His hair’s gone totally white, his fairly thin frame even more rail-like than ever.
“Father.” I nod. “Y’alright?”
“Hello there, Tiernan,” he says, his voice high-pitched and reedy. He looks far, far older than he is, the weight of the world resting on his shoulders, no doubt. “I’m good, thanks. Came to discuss your… charge.”
The others would likely give me shite about this, but I don’t much care. If he’s got something to say about Aisling, I want to hear it.
“My sources say the night before the fight, she spent the night with the prime minister’s son, hired out by Vivian.”
Bloody hell. My blood boils, my hands clenched in fists.
“Go on.”
“And from what we’re told, he stole some money from her.”
Seems he must’ve spoken to Vivian or one of her girls.
“Yes?”
“Seems they had a falling out of sorts, which is why he came after her the night of the fight.”