Page 75 of Dare to Love Again

“I heard, but don’t accept it. I will help you work through this, and you can address the PTSD with whoever Val refers you to. Most of all, we’ll conquer this habit you have of pulling away from those who care about you and avoiding getting close to others because you’re afraid to lose them like you did, Andrew. You say we’re alike, so I know he wouldn’t have wanted that for you. I won’t allow it because, baby, that’s no way to live.”

“Get out of my head.”

He chuckled softly, dipping close to brush a kiss across her softly parted lips. “Not gonna happen,mo chuisle.”

“What does that mean?”

“Little translated it means my pulse or my heartbeat. But it’s also used as sweetheart or my darling.”

More of her shields melted. His accent got to her every time he opened his mouth, and he used it to his advantage, calling up the heavy artillery by using swoon-worthy Gaelic endearments to weaken her defenses and win this little skirmish. Not that he wasn’t well on his way to victory before he called her, his pulse.

“You’re tenacious,” she muttered. “Do you know that, sir?”

“Patient,” he replied, his green gaze unfaltering.

“Excuse me?”

“At the club, they say I’m patient as a saint. I wouldn’t go that far because last night, if I could have gotten my hands on you, I would have blistered your butt good. Today, I’m putting the plan I came up with into action.”

“Could you elaborate a little, since that plan includes me?”

“Operation live for the day begins today.” He caught her chin in his palm, when he added, “And you, sweet lass, are going to learn how to do it.”

“I don’t think I’m capable.”

“You will be because I’m going to teach you how.”

“Are you going to wear bulletproof armor 24/7? Because that’s what it’ll take.”

He grunted. “I don’t recall you being this sassy after your last deluge of tears, probably because I didn’t warm your ass first. But we’ll take care of that later.”

“Finn!”

He grinned. “I like when you call me that.”

“It slipped,” she said stubbornly. “I meant Keiran.”

His low throaty laugh chipped further away at her defenses.

“Nope, I’m Finn to you, have been since the beginning, whether writhing in chains beneath my flogger, snuggled up against me during aftercare, or while I’m fucking you. Since I’ve heard you scream it more than once while you’re coming, and I really liked it then, we’re sticking with it.”

Her head snapped around to check the door.

“I locked it on the way in just in case someone else decided to work today.”

She turned back. “Why would you want to get involved with me and all my baggage?”

“Do you think I haven’t lost anyone? I served for over a decade, Esme. The men who died in my arms weren’t as close as a husband, but they were my brothers.”

Tears flooded her eyes again, and when one overflowed, she whispered, “Oh my God, Finn, I hadn’t even considered. How do you live with the awful memories?”

“By dwelling on the good rather than the bad. Death is part of life,a stór, and it sure as hell is a part of war. Mourning those we’ve lost is natural, and heaven knows it’s never easy, but we can’t stop living because someone we love does.”

Her hand rose to his chest. “I know that, but I have to protect my heart. If I move on someday, it can’t be with a man who faces danger every time he steps outside. I’m sorry, but I won’t get involved with another cop.”

“I’m not a cop, Esme. And the case Latrice told you about isn’t typical for us. The men in San Antonio have dubbed the Rossi branch here in LA Security to the Stars for a reason. The bulk of our business involves installing state-of-the-art security systems and providing personal protection for the Hollywood elite. We take on venue security when they need to beef it up for a high-profile client, and our investigations are mostly into who’s cheating on whom among the rich and famous. And, occasionally, though we’ve had a run of them recently, we have investigated a few celebrity stalker cases.”

“Then how did a violent drug boss get dropped in your lap?”

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