Page 56 of Irish Daddies
“But you…” I whisper. “I never wanted anything more than I want you. I wanted to tease you…” I murmur, kissing her cheek again, then lower, to her jawline.
“—and protect you…” My lips move to her throat, and she gasps, her breath catching.
“—and save you…” I trail my fingers down her arm, then around her waist, pulling her a little closer, grounding both of us.
“—and own you,” I finish, and this time I kiss her mouth. Not hard. Not forceful. Just a slow, aching press, like I’m begging her to feel what I’m too broken to say out loud.
Our mouths trace each other, finding the rhythm we’ve been denying. My fingers slide through her hair as I press my forehead to hers.
“As long as we live,” I whisper, “we would take care of you.”
She leans into me, her breath warm and shaky. “What would it even look like?”
I press my lips to hers again and let the kiss be my answer.
It’s everything. Fierce and fragile and flawed. We kiss like we’re writing a new language. When I pull back, I look up at mybrothers. I want to see them feel it too. I want to hear them echo it. But Declan’s jaw is tense, his arms crossed, the storm behind his eyes threatening to break.
Finally, he says, “I don’t know. None of us are used to sharing anything. We were raised to take, not ask. To burn bridges, not build homes. We’re selfish men.” He sighs and glances at Caroline. “You may have to be patient.”
“But you think we can learn to be a family?” Caroline asks. She’s not just talking about us anymore. She means the boys. She means love.
From across the room, Kellan finally speaks, his voice quiet but certain. “It starts with letting us in. Telling us what you need.”
Caroline blinks hard, then rests her forehead against my chest. She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t break. She just breathes, like finally,finally, she isn’t alone.
Her voice is soft. “I need to send the boys away. I need help getting them back to Washington.”
“Done,” I say immediately, holding her tighter. “And you’re sure you want to stay?”
She nods, her voice shaking but steady. “I’m sure,” she says. “Not because I want to die. Because I’m going to end this.”
I stroke her cheek with my fingers, memorizing her. “And when it ends…?” I ask. “Where will we stand?”
She looks up at me, then at Declan, then at Kellan. “I don’t know,” she admits. “I’m scared. And tired. But I know this—” She looks back to me. “I’m not the only one who has to be patient.”
“Maybe we could help you decide, kitten,” I growl into her ear. I pull her down to her back on the ground, hooking my thumbs in her waistband and pulling her shorts down until she’s exposed to me.
She gasps, her legs instinctively pressing together, but I press my hand between her thighs, coaxing them apart, gently but firmly. “We’ll take care of you,” I murmur again, lowering myself until my mouth brushes the inside of her knee. “Let us.”
“Here?” she breathes.
“Right here,” I answer. “You’ve been hiding. Let us show you there’s nothing left to be afraid of.”
Declan moves first. Silent, intense. He drops to his knees beside her, one hand pushing her hair back, the other bracing against the floor as he leans down and kisses her throat. He doesn’t say anything, but the way he holds her head, like she’s breakable, says enough.
Kellan joins from the other side, kneeling and slipping his hand into hers. He kisses her palm, then her cheek, and murmurs something low I can’t hear. Whatever it is, it makes her shiver.
I settle between her legs, dragging my mouth along the seam of her thigh, her hip, my fingers spreading her open until I feel the tremble of her. Her hands reach for me blindly and land on Declan’s wrist and Kellan’s arm, and the three of us are around her now, shoulders brushing, breath heavy, bodies thrumming with the same need, the same devotion.
I lower my mouth to her and taste her slowly, drawing circles with my tongue, licking her like it’s a vow. She cries out, high and sharp, her back arching as Declan catches her mouth with his own.
I keep going, relentless, patient. I want her undone. I want her to fall apart with all of us around her, holding her, loving her.
“I—Rian—I can’t?—”
“You can,” Kellan whispers, kissing her knuckles. “You don’t have to hold anything back.Scaoil uait.Let go.”
I feel it when it happens. Her whole body tenses, thighs clamping around my head as she comes with a sob, her hands grabbing for anything, everything. Declan, Kellan, me.
