I think he enjoyed carving up the men who tried to hurt Tig almost as much as I enjoyed watching them scream.
“Liam, you stay here.” I glare at him, expecting a protest, but he just nods. “Tig doesn’t leave the house. We clear?”
“As crystal, Fitzy,” he nods, lounging on the sofa beside Ronan. As my eyes linger over Ronan, who shrugs in silent agreement, Paddy speaks up.
“I don’t think Sean would like our crew cut down because you’re unnecessarily ordering men to stay at your house guarding your wife.”
“You think the four of us couldn’t handle the shipment?” I snap at him, and he shrugs.
“I think we could. I don’t see why you’d order two men to stay here. For months, there’s been no hint of a threat,” he snaps back. “You’re being overprotective because you’re thinking with your dick. I don’t know why you’d even trust a woman who can’t tell you she loves you when you tell her all the fucking time.”
There is dead silence in the room, everyone looking everywhere but at Paddy and me. Paddy is glaring at me while I’m spoiling for a fight.
I understand why he’s so suspicious of her. I really do. I was just as guarded at the start of all this, but he’s not privy to Tig’s motives and heart the way I am, so he needs to fucking rein it in.
“She tells me every night,” I shrug, shoving my clenched fists into my pockets, so I don’t sock my best mate in the jaw.
“You said that was only when she thinks you’re asleep,” he scoffs. “She can’t say it to your fucking face when your eyes are open.”
“Well, newsflash, arsehole, she just fucking did.”
It’s not the winning point I was hoping for. Paddy scoffs, rolling his eyes. He doesn’t fucking believe her. I can see it in his eyes. He thinks this is the same as her ‘sudden one-eighty’ of being nice to them. Some sort of play to deceive us.
“I don’t have time for this fucking shit,” I sigh. “Liam, you’ll stay. Everyone else, get ready to leave. The delivery is at eleven.”
Tig’s in the kitchen, making meatballs when I enter. She glances over with a smile.
“We’ll be back in a few hours. Liam will stay here.”
I slide my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder, kissing the shell of her ear.
“Can’t wait to eat them.”
“I’ll make sure I add an extra dash oflove,” she giggles. I press my lips against her temple.
“I’m sure they’ll be delicious. Here.” I slip a phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “Just in case you need me. My number is programmed in there.”
Tig puts down her knife, wipes her hands on a tea towel, and turns in my arms, sliding her hands into the back pockets of my jeans, squeezing my arse cheeks as she grins impishly up at me.
“When you get home, we should take a bath,” she breathes, her eyes sparkling the way they do when she has sex on her mind. My mind races through everything I want to do to her body in that bath. We might have to have more than one to get through them all.
“I like the sound of that,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her mouth. She sighs, parting her lips, my tongue licking in as I slant my mouth over hers, deepening the kiss.
“I love ye, Tig,” I murmur against her lips as I break the kiss.
“I love you, Seamus,” she whispers back, lifting her face for a kiss before I reluctantly step away. “To be continued.”
Tig winks at me, turning back to the counter. Before she picks up the knife, I swat her ass. She throws a grin over her shoulder, and I head out with the lads, Liam wandering into the kitchen as I leave it.
TIGGY
“That smells good,” Liam pipes up from where he is seated at the breakfast bar, messing around on his phone. I shut off the oven, lifting out the soda bread to cool on the countertop, and inhale. It does smell good. Soda bread is Seamus’s weakness, which is kind of cute.
“What’s for lunch?” Liam tries again, his eyes glued to the delicious soda bread.
“Not that,” I scold, waving his eyes off it as they gleam covetously. Honestly, Liam would eat us out of house and home if we let him.
“The meatballs?” he asks hopefully, his eyes darting to the fridge where I have left them to marinate.