Page 47 of Redeem Me

‘Ivy,’ he mutters, ‘you have my attention all the damn time, whether I want to give it to you or not. You steal it every time you’re in the vicinity. And when you’re not, I find myself watching you on the cameras. You’ve ploughed into my house, and into my head and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.’

‘You watch me on the cameras?’ It should be creepy, but I’m oddly flattered.

‘Every damn day.’ He shrugs again, accepting the whiskey from the waiter and passing it to me.

‘How do I know you’re not just saying that to get me away from my date?’ I take the glass from his hand. ‘I refuse to be some little fuck-toy you like to wind up and walk away from. I want to touch you. I want you to kiss me.’

Rian watches our exchange like he’s watching a tennis ball pinging back and forth. All he’s missing is a punnet of strawberries and some clotted cream.

‘You want to touch me?’ Caelon slides back into his seat and tucks his legs under the table. ‘Feel this.’ He grabs myhand and places it on his crotch. Thank God for the tablecloth covering his lap because there’s no missing the thick length pressing against his dress shorts. Fuck. My mouth waters. But it doesn’t escape my notice that his lips didn’t seek out mine.

It’s Rian’s turn to stand. ‘My job here is done. As much as I wouldn’t mind seeing Ivy get eaten out on the table, there’s not a hope in hell I want to see your hairy cock.’

‘You orchestrated this on purpose?’ Caelon glares at Rian without releasing my hand.

‘You looked like you needed a nudge.’ He shrugs. ‘If you need another one, I’m happy to take Ivy out any time.’ He presses a gentle kiss to my cheek and stalks towards the exit.

‘Now what?’ I press my thighs together.

‘Now, I guess I’ll have to take you on a real date,’ Caelon says.

Chapter Twenty-One

CAELON

I don’t date. Fucking is one thing; dating is an entirely different ball game. But when I walked into that restaurant and saw Ivy with Rian, I wanted, no needed, to be the one sitting with her. The one commanding her undivided attention. The one to make her laugh loud enough to attract an audience. Even if it means my best friend is liable to cut my dick off and shove it up my arse.

‘Where are we going?’ Ivy asks, glancing out of the passenger window of my Bentley as we leave the city behind.

‘Somewhere you’ll like.’ I indicate to take the exit off the dual carriageway for Dun Laoghaire, a coastal town east of Dublin.

‘You think you know me?’ she teases. ‘Have you really been watching me on the nanny cam?’ Her lips slant upwards. ‘If I’d known I had an audience, I’d have given you a show.’

‘You give me a show every time you swagger around my house, whether it’s in those indecent ass-sculpting yoga pants or those dresses.’ I cock my head to hers. ‘Besides, you’re not too late. I told you I’m away next week. I’ll be keeping an eye on things.’

She forms an expression of mock horror. ‘Mr Beckett, are you suggesting what I think?’

‘I believe you were the one being suggestive.’ My lips twitch. Despite my permanent rage, it’s impossible not to feel lighter around Ivy. She has a habit of taking everything dark and making it brighter.

‘Do you really want to take me on a date? Or did you barge into that restaurant just to spite Rian?’ Ivy flicks her hair from her shoulder. It’s loosely styled in blonde beach waves, casual but sexy as fuck, just like the rest of her.

‘No, I don’twantto take you on a date.’ My eyes roll skywards. ‘I don’t want to take any woman on a date. Dating’s not on my agenda. But you pushed buttons I didn’t even know existed, and the thought of my brother putting his hands on you drove me demented.’ I inhale a lungful of air before blowing it out slowly. ‘Selfishly, I want you more than is healthy for either of us. You’ve been clear about what you want out of life, and I will never be the man to give you those things.’

‘I said I wanted kids one day, not necessarily right now. I’m only twenty-three-years-old!’ she exclaims.

As if being my best friend’s little sister wasn’t bad enough, Ivy is also closer in age to my own sister than she is to me. ‘As if I could forget.’

‘I want a family, a home of my own, filled with love and laughter, but I don’t necessarily need it now. When that day does come, I want to know I’ve lived a full life. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly saving myself for marriage,’ she snorts.

The thought of Ivy with another man turns my stomach. Which is precisely why my kids are with their maternal grandmother and I’m driving the nanny for a romantic stroll and a fucking ice cream. What the hell is wrong with me?

‘Have there been many men?’ I’d like Killian to trackevery single one of them down and wipe them from the face of this earth.

‘No one memorable.’ She shrugs.

I clear my throat pointedly and glare at her.

‘Well, up until I met this really tortured-looking hot old guy in a bar recently.’ A wicked smile spreads across her face.

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