Page 90 of Lorcan's Obsession

And like clockwork, Mia mewled every so often throughout the film. Tristen and I felt each other up too, but we mostly cuddled up beneath the blankets. She wrapped her arms around my middle, and a short while later, she was sound asleep on my chest. With a smile, I stroked her curls and imagined us doing this in the future. Like, months from now kind of future.

God, that sounded nice. When the movie finished, the ladies roused themselves and began to talk about leaving. I took Tris’s hand and brought her to the bedroom. “Baby, stay the night. With this court mess coming up, I’m wound up tighter than a springboard. I need you.”

“I know you need me, but I have to leave tonight. I gotta get Mia back home.”

That was a flimsy excuse at best. Mia was a grown woman who could take a taxi back. Hell, she could sleep with my brother if she wanted. But I didn’t want to get into an argument with my girlfriend.

“Okay, fair. Then let me come with you. I’ll pack a bag for the week, and I can commute to work from your place.”

“Lorcan.” The word was barely a whisper.

I moved my hand up her slender arm and leaned until our faces were almost touching. “Baby, I don’t care where you live. All that matters is that we are together. Please.”

Her shoulders dropped, and she bit her lip. Had I gotten through to her?

“All right,” she said. “Can I give you a proposal?”

“Would you truly be a lawyer if you didn’t counter?”

“I’ll be with you for both weekends while you prep. And after I finish my exam in two weeks, uhm…we can talk about more long-term plans if you want.”

My mouth fucking rounded. Did she just offer for us to move in together?

Her eyes darted around as if she was regretting her choice of words. I didn’t let her overthink it. I gripped her hand in a firm handshake.

“You have a deal.”

We shook on it. Now I had something to look forward to after this whole litigation nightmare.

And speaking of the devil, my dad’s voice echoed over a video call as I escorted the ladies downstairs to their cab. Ugh. The rest of the evening would be spent in company talks. He always did know the best times to call to ruin a good night. I exchanged one last kiss with Tristen, then watched my happiness drive off down the street.

When I returned to my apartment, I tried to escape into my room like a child.

“Ah, there’s my other boy!” Dad’s voice boomed from the screen.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Son, tell me about this girl you are seeing. Your brother says she’s quite something.”

My fake, polite grin transformed into the largest smile I’d ever given my father in my life.

“Oh, Dad, you have no idea. My girl is out of this world…”

33

PIGTAILS

Lorcan had been out of sorts for the past week and nothing I did helped. I tried the “doting girlfriend” approach and kept him busy in the bedroom, but the results were dismal. Not even daily deepthroating him could take his mind off the lawsuit. When I changed tactics and tried to get him to open up about his legal woes, he claimed our time together was “too precious” to spend on work talk.

And today, he’d gone radio silent, and it was royally pissing me off.

I scrolled through our last conversation.

Me: Hey, baby. Can I pick you up for coffee?

My Boyfriend: No.

Me: Can I come and make you dinner?