Page 39 of Brutal Heir
“You bet your damned arse I am.” She slides off the bed so we’re standing toe-to-toe, and now I’m suddenly painfully aware of those skimpy pajamas she insists on wearing. Every day is a test of my restraint. Her nipples are peaked beneath the thin material, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“I need you,” I force out on an exhale.
“And?”
“And what?” I bark, forcing my eyes to remain pinned to hers instead of trailing down her hot little body.
“Something along the lines of what a great job I’m doing, how much progress you’ve made, and how you can’t imagine your life without me…” Her grin only grows more brazen. “If you expect me to tie myself to you for an extended period of time, you’re going to have to beg, McFecker.”
“Absolutely not,” I snarl.
There’s mischief in her expression, but also something else. Something I can’t quite get a read on. Doubt? Fear? I’ve never seen anything like it from the fiery redhead. I never even considered she might not want to stay…
The errant thought has me dropping to my knees before I can re-think the incredibly stupid move. The skin graft on my right knee pulls as I hit the floor, but I ignore the pang.
Her eyes grow to nearly comical proportions, like a pair of the most radiant jewels razing over me.
“Please, stay.” The words dribble out in a rush. “To work for me,” I add as an afterthought, noting my rather compromising position. I never thought I’d find myself on my knees under any circumstance for the insufferable Rory Delaney.
She regards me for a long moment, not saying a word, and the silence is so unlike her, it’s unnerving.
I find my good hand reaching up to find hers. Her fingers easily intertwine with me, and I’m suddenly breathless. “I’m begging here, Red.”
A smile flashes across her face, setting those lively eyes ablaze. “Well, when ya say it like that, how can I refuse?”
Thank,Dio.
She hauls me up off the floor, and not for the first time, I marvel at all the strength wrapped into such a tiny package.
“Good.”
She releases my hand and the rush of excitement from a second ago begins to wane.
“Now, I just need you to send all the official documents to our family lawyer, Stew Reynolds so he can draft the contract.”
“Uh, what documents do you need? I sent your father everything when I applied for the job.”
“He’s going to need the hardcopies not just the e-versions. They’re probably still unopened beneath the hundreds of other emails in his inbox.”
“Oh, right.”
“You think you can get those to him before the end of the week? I’d like to get this finalized.”
“First, you couldn’t wait to get rid of me and now, you can’t shackle me to you fast enough, eh, Rossi?” She tosses me a cheeky grin, and an unfamiliar sensation ravages my chest.
It’s not the burgeoning heat her presence usually incites but something deeper and much more frightening. “Seems that way,” I mutter. “So is it going to be an issue? Didn’t you go to nursing school in Ireland?”
“I did.”
“I assume you had to have gotten some sort of license to practice here in the States?”
“That’s right.”
“So you’ll be able to give it to Reynolds?”
“Sure.” Her head bobs, but this time I’m certain I see it. That twinge of reluctance and possibly… fear?
I open my mouth to ask more, but she squirms around me, her arm brushing mine as she passes and disappears into her closet. Something’s off. And not just her avoidance, it’s the way her tone dipped, that shadow in her eyes. My gut, the one that kept me alive for years in this world, doesn’t like it.
