CONNOR
For a moment, all I see is red. The door closes sharply behind Niall, shutting away the sight of Saoirse’s pale face. Still, I move towards him in two strides, fierce anger burning hotly inside my veins.
Niall doesn’t see me until it’s too late, which gives me the advantage. I grab his shirt in my fists, nearly lifting him off the floor as I shove him back into the wall, my teeth clenched so hard it feels as if they could crack.
“The fuck do you think you’re doing in my fiancée’s room, Flanagan?” I snarl. “You better have one hell of an explanation.”
“Get your bloody hands off of me.” Niall shoves my chest hard, wrenching away from the wall as he faces off with me. “You’ve got some nerve, McGregor, acting as though you have any power over me at all. I’m your brother’s man, and I always will be.”
“Who covets the woman that was meant to be your brother’s wife, eh?” I raise an eyebrow at him, taking another angry step forward. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“I went in to check on her,” Niall snaps. “She looked like she’d had hands on her, on the way to her room, a flushed mess. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t—”
“Taken what you want for yourself?”
“Careful, McGregor,” Niall warns. “Your jealousy is getting the better of you. That’s not a good look for a leader.”
I stare at him, seething.Am I jealous?I’d told Saoirse she could have other lovers—those aren’t the words of a jealous man. But that’safterI’ve had my fill of her, after she’s had my heir and fulfilled her duty, the very thing she claims is more important to her than anything else.
“Her virginity ismineto take,” I growl. “That’s not jealousy. It’s my right.Mine, not yours or any other man’s, Niall Flanagan.”
“Bought and paid for, hm?” There’s a flicker of anger in Niall’s eyes, too. “I’d expect nothing less from a man like you, Connor McGregor.” He pauses, taking another step back before I can accost him again. “I just hope you realize what it is you’ve purchased before you’re forced to pay for it in blood.”
Visions of my fist against his jaw dance in my head, but Niall is already striding towards the stairs. I tell myself it would look worse on my part to chase him and turn back towards Saoirse’s door instead, hammering on it sharply with my clenched fist.
She opens it almost immediately. “Connor,” she breathes, her face just as pale as it was before. “Connor, nothing happened. We talked about you going back, that’s all—“
“I believe you,” I say quickly, cutting her off, and her eyes widen.
“You do?”
“Yes,” I tell her curtly, “because you’re not an idiot to throw away what you and your father have schemed and manipulated for over a quick fuck with another man.”
“Connor, I—”
“Meet me tomorrow afternoon downstairs,” I tell her sharply before she can say anything else. “About noon.”
Saoirse’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why?” is all she can manage, and I just shrug.
“You’ll see. Wear jeans and boots.” And then I shut the door before she can say anything else—or before I can act on the blinding urge to push my way into her room and take her here and now before any other man—Niall Flanagan included—can get the chance.
Not long now. Keep it together a little while longer, and you’ll have everything they promised you and more.
---
Saoirse is downstairs at noon, just as I’d instructed her. She’s wearing slim-cut, high-waisted jeans that give her more curves than she possesses naturally, black riding boots, and a v-neck black t-shirt that gives me a glimpse of her cleavage, with that black leather jacket thrown over it. Her red hair is up in a high ponytail, showing off the elegant lines of her face and throat, and she doesn’t look as if she’s wearing a speck of makeup, though her cheeks are already flushed.
I can’t help but wonder if it’s with desire for me—or just that she’s angry with my demands. Truthfully, it could be either.
“Where are we going?” she asks as I lead her to the waiting cab.
“You’ll see.” I slide in next to her, shutting the door firmly. “What?” I ask mockingly at the irritation on her face. “Don’t you like surprises?”
“Coming from you?” Saoirse raises an eyebrow. “I’m not sure.”
“You’ll like this one,” I assure her, leaning back in the seat and resisting the urge to take her hand. The date I have planned for her today is very different from our dinner last night, and even now, I can’t help but wonder if it’s the wrong move on my part. I’d told Saoirse not to expect love or even much in the way of tender affection from me, and I don’t want to give her mixed signals. But after catching her talking to Niall again last night, I had a deep and inexplicable urge to secure more time with her before we go back to London for our betrothal and ensure that I’m the one on her mind as we make those promises.
It’s not jealousy,I tell myself firmly as the cab drives away from the city.It’s just a desire to acclimate myself better with the woman who is going to be my wife and reassert boundaries before we go back to Boston. There’s nothing strange about that.