Page 29 of Hot Irish Halloween

“Monosyllabic?” he spluttered. The other men were glancing at them, and he fixed his face to maintain his usual demeanor.

“Stop mean mugging, Van Damme. I might be here to piss off yourgirlfriendbut don’t forgetyou’rehere to get that money, so try to look approachable. If that’s possible.”

That said, Jack looked on with surprise as Penny inserted herself into the men’s conversation. It would have made him jealous, her giving them her attention, if she hadn’t pulled him along with her to draw him into their circle. The skills she must have used to gain access to concert halls and rural homesteads alike were on display as she asked questions and listened attentively to their answers. She’d used that tactic on him, too, he realized, always deflecting attention from herself to focus on the other person.

It hadn’t dawned on him until that moment that that’s how she kept him at arm’s length. She gave just enough information but hid her inner thoughts and feelings.

Like him. Exactly like him.

Somehow, Penny’s eyes managed to stay open after fifteen minutes of a discussion about the future of shipping in the warming Arctic. One of the men seemed impressed to discover her father was a New York judge; he was a barrister who’d come from London specifically for this Samhain gathering.

“You do know about Samhain? It’s not your average commercialized Halloween,” the man said imperiously, dressed like Jafar from Aladdin. He looked fucking silly. “The roots go back thousands of years. And no one celebrates the feast like our host. And hostess.” Jafar nodded at Clarissa, who’d finally joined them.

Clarissa posed and linked her arm through Penny’s, gazing up at Jack with a seductive smirk on her black-painted lips.

“Penelope Valentine. Aren’tyoua rose. I’ll bet our Jack took one look at you and plucked you right off the vine.” Clarissa’s eyes ran up and down Penny’s body with an audible purr.

“Something like that,” Jack responded coolly. “When a man knows he’s found the one, he doesn’t hesitate.”

He enjoyed the narrowing of Clarissa’s tilted green eyes even as Penny shot him a warning look.

“How did you meet?” Clarissa continued.

“I saw Penny performing on stage. She was so talented and beautiful. I thought, ‘That’s her. She’s the one.’ And when we met up for our first coffee date she was funny, smart, and kind. I knew I’d been right. One week later, I put a ring on her finger and told her she was mine.”

Penny’s eyes on him had softened. He even thought he detected a hint of moisture in their dark depths. Maybe it was a trick of the shimmering chandelier light or the glow of the hundreds of fragrant candles around the room. She turned her gaze from him and laughed lightly.

“Yes. That’s how it happened,” Penny affirmed.

“And what about you, princess? When did you fall for our hulking beast of a man?” Clarissa asked next, practically licking her lips as she stared down at the front of Jack’s trousers.

Jack frowned at her remark and her obvious flirtation, but Penny shrugged sweetly as if unconcerned at Clarissa’s boldness.

“The first time he pounded me into the mattress. It wasglorious.”

Clarissa’s mouth dropped open, and then she spluttered a laugh while the men regarded Penny with increased interest. Jack’s entire body burned; he did indeed want to do exactly that to her.

“I’m kidding, of course. It was when…” Penny paused, not looking at him. “I heard music in my head when I thought about him. I hear it playing right now.”

Clarissa fell silent while the men exclaimed over her words. They could all have been phantoms, as far as Jack was concerned. Penny was the only person in the room with him. The only person in the world. He wanted to reach for her and hold her, spill his full heart out at her feet.

But she’d only been telling a story, he reasoned, to stop himself from grabbing her and taking her back upstairs. A damn good story that he wished with all his heart were true.

“You make a wonderful couple. So verysexy. Well done, Valentine. And how lucky we are that you’ve joined us. Share in our feasting on this special night.” Simon held Penny’s gaze a bit too long while his companions stared openly at Jack’s frame.

“Yes. The festival of Samhain. When the veil between the worlds opens, who knows what may come through?” Clarissa said, running her hand down Penny’s arm while looking into his eyes.

Now he was uncomfortable. Penny raised her eyebrows at him but didn’t remark on the odd comments or the touching.

Their hostess looked to their left. “Oh good, they’re bringing out the mead. We’ll have just a taste to whet our appetites before we light the fire.”

Clarissa raised her long, pale arm, the black sleeve sliding down to reveal the snake tattoos winding around her wrists, then disappearing into the fabric. She gestured to one of the masked servers, who brought over a golden tray with several pewter goblets. She gave one each to Jack and Penny.

“Have you had mead before, Penelope?” Simon asked, taking his own first sip.

“A few times, on castle tours.”

“Ugh, that stuff for tourists is atrocious,” Clarissa scoffed, making a face. “This is the real deal, fermented and prepared according to the old ways. Try it.”

---