Errin raised her voice, not caring they were sitting in the pub where everyone knew them and were without a doubt listening in. She waved her hands between them as if they could help her explain.
“Thereisno ‘me leaving you’, Bren. Do you know why? Because we’re not together.”
Brennan jerked back like she’d struck him.
“It’s howyouwanted it. Well, let’s be apart, I say. Let’s be apart with you in Texas and me in Jersey. See if I care!”
Her eyes remained frozen on his face as he stood from his seat. He held out his hand and kept his gaze on her.
She glanced around and sure enough, the whole pub was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
She waved his hand away, but stood up to walk to the backdoor. He brought his warm hand to her lower back.
She walked up the same damned stairs that put her into this messin the first place. He chuckled at her theatrical stomping in front of him.
She swirled around upon entering his living room. After locking the door behind him, he grabbed the back of his gray T-shirt and tugged it over his head, giving her another glance at his defined abs and hard chest. She swallowed and let her eyes travel over the neatly trimmed hairs on his chest.
Although him stripping was unexpected, it was awfully tempting to take him up on his offer. Should she throw caution in the wind? She couldn’t wait to scrape her nails over his back as he’d fucked her. But he’d better learn some ground rules beforehand. If she did this, it would be on her terms.
As his eyes traveled over the halter-top of her dress, she placed her hands on top of her hips. “Take me to bed, Bren. Hmm, and do it like the last time. Rough. Hard.”
He licked his lips, and she held up her hand while she walked right up to him.
“But it’s just a farewell fuck. After tonight, we’re not doing this ever again. After tonight, we’re done. You’ll let me go. We’re clear?”
His eyes blazed with fire as he toed his sneakers off. He took his black leather belt in his hands. After unbuckling it, he undid the first three buttons from his jeans and let it nonchalantly fall open.
The bulge under his black boxer briefs grabbed her attention. A throbbing sensation started between her legs in anticipation of what this beast of a man could do to her.
His entire demeanor changed after her words, and he said through gritted teeth, “Ye think yer the one callin’ the shots here?”
She quirked a brow and scoffed at him. “You know I am. You may be my boss, but you’re definitely not the boss of me outside of Lucky. Best you remember that.”
This bulky man, strong with muscles upon muscles, wild and unruly raven hair, a similar dark beard and penetrating eyes, was trying to stare her down.
Would he let her set the rules so she could keep her emotional distance from him? Even though she needed this potential fuck as much as he did?
She needed closure. Working for him after his sudden dismissal had been frustrating. She didn’t want to be attracted to him, but every shift her eyes kept searching the pub for him.
All unreciprocated flirts thrown his way at the bar, sparked a stupid hope inside of her. Maybe if she fucked him now, she could fuck him right out of her system too.
She had to try, because even spending the evening with the handsome Keenan didn’t do it for her—at all. Sure, Keenan rocked that whole sexy-single-dad-thing.
How lovingly Keenan talked about his two-year-old son was cute as hell. But all she could think of when she gazed at Keenan in his emerald eyes was how they didn’t match Brennan’s.
She broke eye contact and glanced around his apartment. Two half full glasses of milk stood upon the kitchen table and she turned back to Brennan and cocked her head in question.
“Pops is at his place but Don stopped by. Kate was the one who told me what the fuck was going on,” he said.
Errin swallowed back her response. She would give her sister a good talking to about blabbing about her business. “Where’s my sister now?”
“She walked right past ye downstairs. Even tried to say hello to ye but ye were too busy eyefuckin’ me cousin to acknowledge yer own sister.”
He was trying to get a rise out of her. Well, if he tried a little harder, he could get fucked—without her. She narrowed her eyes at him but withheld any response at his accusation. That proved to be the wrong tactic as it agitated him more.
While taking off his jeans, boxer briefs and socks, he said, “Fuckin’ had to watch him ogle ye. Watch him get hard for ye.”
Her eyes widened and her eyebrows couldn’t go any higher.What the fuck?