He just doesn’t know Darcy is coming with me.
Fuck, what will I tell Kieran? He’llwanta name. Unless we lie and tell him she slept with a stranger who never gave her his name. That’s partially true. She slept with me, and I was a stranger. What if Lachlan tortures her for the name?
Fuck, do I not know the O’Rourkes at all anymore?
I still have to reconcile the shock of sleeping with my niece. At least this attraction I’ve been battling isn’t out of nowhere. It came from the feelings reignited for that young girl with the cat tattoo who spread her legs for me and begged me to fuck her.
Young. Oh, Christ…
“Darcy…” I realize her age now doesn’t line up with my memory. “How old were you that night?”
She bites into her plump lower lip. “I’m sorry. I lied to you about my age.”
My body starts to shake. Suddenly, worrying about Kieran vanishes in a puff of smoke, and I can practically see the barrel of a gun that Rian will undoubtedly shoot me with. “How old were you that night?”
“Seventeen.” She grabs my face. “My birthday was three days away, but seventeenislegal in Ireland.”
“Seventeen? Christ almighty.” Now I’m dizzy. “After me, was Callum the only other man you were with?” Saying these words out loud turns my stomach.
“The only one. For a long time.” Her neck reddens.
Something kicks in my chest. “A long time?”
“In Italy, I slept with someone. Matteo. I got his name. Andhewore a condom.” She did nothing wrong. In fact, she did everything right, but telling me makes her blush.
I’m no one to talk. I fuck so many women each year. I get their names but forget them as soon as I come. I always wear a condom, though. Darcy was the only one I’d gone bareback with, and that was because she was a virgin.
Nodding, I stroke her hair. “It’s all right, love.”
“I like that,” she whispers. “Calling me love.”
Our eyes lock again, and so much hits me that I can’t stand it anymore. I lean in and brush my mouth on her lips but snap back.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I say. “You’re still my niece. What the hell is wrong with us?”
She breathes heavily and grips her knees. “I guess the attraction is that strong. You and my dad are half-brothers, and we are—werestrangers.”
“I know, but still. My mother will never accept this, Darcy. I’m sorry.” I stand up. “Your father won’t either. He may very well kill me.”
Silence stretches out between us until she speaks. “I understand,” she whispers. “What now? I have to go to New York with you. I can’t stay here. I can’t risk Callum finding out Sadie is his.”
“Aye.” My heart hurts, but I have to do what’s best for her. “And when we get to New York, if Kieran accepts you, you have to marry him. He will protect you. No one will ever get near you or Sadie once you’re his.”
Not even me…
CHAPTER TWELVE
Darcy
Ilookovermyshoulder for Callum every chance I get. Years of worrying he fathered Sadie when he… I have to get used to saying the word. Rape. When herapedme was always tempered by the hope that the stranger, my secret lover from Carney’s that night, had brought Sadie into the world for me. Not a monster.
I get to work the next day, and three of the examination rooms are flooded. There’s a cleanup team with Shop Vacs and dozens of angry patients waiting.
In the breakroom, I steep a bag of tea when Ciara storms in on the verge of hysteria. “They’re sending me home.”
“Why?” I ask her and take a hot sip, the warmth calming my stomach enough to think straight.
“They sent many of the patients home. We’re closing up until it stops raining. Exam room two is flooded now. This shite better be over quickly. I need my pay.” She looks out the window.