Page 59 of Monsters in the Dark

“Everything,” he answered. “I know about your parents, Cian O’Connell, your upbringing, and almost everything else. The only thing that I didn’t know was about that damn cellar.”

“So, now what?”

“Look, I understand that you live a solitary life, and I also understand that O’Connell was your entire life before his death a few years ago,” Declan replied. “So, I get why you might think that you have to take on the world’s problems on your own, but you don’t.”

“Klive Simpson is hardly the world’s problems,” I huffed.

“Nevertheless, Klive Simpson is an O’Brien, Kotov, and Sartori problem,” he stated evenly. “He’s not your problem, Keavy.”

“If his men know where my cabin is, then he is my problem,” I fired back.

“Keavy-”

“I’m not like other women, Declan,” I told him, though he already knew that. “So, if you’re looking for someone that’s going to stand back while you go save the day, then you’re seriously barking up the wrong tree.”

“My need to protect you has nothing to do with you being a woman,” he shot back. “It has to be with the kind of man that I am, and if you think that I’m the type of man to let his woman do the heavy lifting, then you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“I’m going after Klive,” I repeated. “As soon as my shoulder stops aching, I’m going after him.”

“Da feck ye ere,” he snapped.

“You can’t stop me,” I said, though I sounded a lot more confident than I felt.

Chapter 35

Declan~

Keavy was staring back at me defiantly, and it was easy to get lost in how beautiful she was. Even with as tired as she looked, I’d never seen anything so fucking lovely in all my life. Her black hair was a damp curtain around her face, her wet lashes made her green eyes glow like expensive emeralds, and with a face free from makeup, Keavy Collins was a true beauty in every sense of the word.

I also knew that I’d lose her if I tried to curb her spirit, but I also knew that I wasn’t the type of man to just allow the woman that I loved to run a-fucking-mok. As it was, I wasn’t going to ever be able to forget how weak and clammy she’d been when we had arrived at the cabin. She’d been shot, and that was as close to losing her as I ever wanted to get. Nevertheless, she really wasn’t like other women, and I was going to have to find a way to wrap my mind around that if this was going to work.

“We both know that I can,” I finally said. “So, don’t make me, Keavy.”

She sat up straighter in the tub, the bubbles sliding gloriously down her body with the movement of the hot water, and I could feel my dick getting inappropriately hard. The woman had been shot, was in pain, was exhausted, and here I was, wanting nothing more than to slide back inside her.

“They shot me, Declan,” she said like I was stupid or something. “They broke into my home to rob it, then shot me. I can’t let that go.”

“And you’re not,” I pointed out. “You’re just allowing me to take care of it.”

Keavy’s head cocked a bit before leaning back in the tub, the bubbles covering her again, much to my disappointment. I watched as she dropped her head back against the tub, closed her eyes, then let out a tired sigh. While most people would think that she was giving up, I knew better. Keavy wasn’t only smart, but she was calculating, and if I allowed it, she’d probably be one of my best soldiers.

“I’m willing to do it together,” she finally said. “If not, then we’re going to have bigger problems than just me not marrying you.”

“Quit feckin’ sayin’ da,” I bit out. “Yer marryin’ me, whetha ye want ta er not.”

“That’s the deal, Declan,” she said, dismissing my insistence on getting married.

Done with taking the high road, I stood up, then started taking off my clothes. While I couldn’t fuck her, I could hold her, and I needed to hold her while the image of her bleeding out was still fresh in my mind. I also wanted to remind her of what it felt like to be in my arms, just us with no witnesses.

As soon as I was completely naked, I said, “Scoot up.”

Keavy’s eyes opened, and she didn’t look impressed as her eyes raked me up and down, but I knew better. Those screams when she’d been on my dick had been the real deal.

Luckily for the both of us, Keavy listened without argument this time, and when she made her way forward, I got into the tub behind her. With my added size, the water spilled over the edge, but that was the last thing that I was concerned with.

When Keavy leaned back against my chest, I was careful to stay away from her left shoulder, holding her close with my right arm instead. The steady sound of her breathing felt comforting in the spacious bathroom, and it was a relief from the choppy struggle that she’d been dealing with at the cabin.

In all actuality, I was kind of proud of myself for how I was handling the entire mess. I wanted to go after Klive just as much as Keavy did, but she was the priority right now. Even over Cooper Donaldson, the cabin, everything that I’d just learned about her, and her refusal to marry me, Keavy’s gunshot wound was more important than anything else.

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