Ronan
My emails were mounting up.Appointments rescheduled. Plans shifted. I had all day to do work while TSC rehearsed, but I put it all aside for the most part to watch. And listen.
I could no longer say their music wasn’t to my taste, not when I woke up with the lead singer on my chest this morning or when I spent half the night before listening to her croon her pleasure in my ear. Iris’s voice melded to my eardrums like velvet, packing in so tight, it was the only sound I could hear—the only sound I wanted to hear.
The rest of the band was okay too, but I didn’t really give a shite about them.
Except Iris had been frustrated with their performance today. She didn’t feel like their hearts were in it. Like they were drifting. I didn’t hear it, but I also didn’t offer my opinion.
Now, she was in the back of the SUV, her head lolling against the seat, a frown pulling on her pretty lips. Exhaustion weighed her down, rolling her shoulders forward. She was the captain of the ship. Responsibility landed on her whether she wanted it or not. Her band had her back, but I couldn’t see any of them ever taking the lead. Iris was it.
As a man who took on the world, even when I didn’t have to, I understood her on a deep level. I also knew what helped lighten that load, at least temporarily.
I told Bill to make a detour. When he pulled up to our new stop, I hopped out and opened the door for Iris. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“I’ve a surprise for you. Come.” She slipped her hand in my offered one and allowed me to help her from the car. As soon as her feet touched pavement, Bill zoomed away.
“It better be a good one. I’m not in the best mood right now,” she grumbled.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice.” My eyes slid to hers as she hissed. “Put those claws away, little kitten. It’s not criticism.”
“I know it’s not. I’m being a grumpy bitch. It would be impossible to miss.” She glanced around the lobby as we passed through and crinkled her nose in the elevator.
“We’re going to see a friend,” I supplied.
“Oh yeah?” She cocked her head. “What about me being a grumpy bitch screams ‘introduce Iris to my friend!’, hmmm?”
In the privacy of the enclosed space, I pulled her into my arms and touched my lips to hers for the first time since this morning, giving her a grin. “Let me take care of you. It’ll all be all right.”
“I hope your friend isn’t looking for charm or any type of conversation.” She raised on her toes, pressing her lips to mine for a lingering kiss. “If you say it’ll be all right, I trust you.”
Those words, accompanied by that fucking kiss, made me feel like someone had injected a layer of titanium beneath my skin, making me next to indestructible. Gaining Iris’s trust had been a feat, but now that I was there, I had no intention of losing it.
I led her into the apartment where I spent many of my days working. As soon as I closed the door behind us, the click-clack of nails on hardwood was the only warning before Steven came bounding around the corner, his shiny pink tongue hanging out the side of his mouth like a streamer.
He slid to a stop in front of us, going to Iris first. Fresh blood, as it were.
Iris gasped and glanced from me to the dog. “Is this...Steven?”
I bowed my head. “It is. I thought we could take him to the park.”
She instantly crouched down to rub his russet head and allow him to lick her face while she squeezed her eyes shut and giggled. Steven was my therapy—my shot of serotonin after a grinding, hideous day. It looked like he was filling the same place for Iris.
“Ronan Patrick Walsh! Are you riling my dog?” Aileen rounded the corner in much the same way as Steven had. Thankfully, her toenails did not go click-clack. She stopped short at the sight of Iris with her arms looped around Steven’s neck and his head resting on her shoulder. “My…we’ve a visitor.”
Iris smiled at Aileen. “Hi, I’m Iris, and I’m in love with your dog.”
Aileen shot me a pointed look. Bringing clients to her apartment wasn’t forbidden because there was no way in hell any of us would ever do that. And yet, here I was.
Aileen took a few weary steps closer. “Aileen O’Toole. Pleased to meet you, Iris. You’re welcome in my home, and you can borrow Steven if that means you’ll be takin’ him for a walk, but I’m sorry to say, love, I’ll be needing the fella back.”
Iris climbed to her feet and wiped her hands on her thighs. “I suppose that’s fair.”
I climbed over Steven, who’d planted himself at Iris’s feet, and went to Aileen, giving her cheek a kiss. Beside her ear, I whispered, “Be nice. She needed cheering up, so I brought her to the ultimate snuggle master.”
Aileen harrumphed. “Could’ve warned me.”