Page 136 of Mob Bride

This never gets easier.

That’s daunting and heartbreaking.

I watch Aunt Siobhan hug Dillan before she and Mair lead him to the dining room to see Uncle Tate. Aunt Saoirse and Uncle Kieran hug Cormac and Seamus as Tiernan comes to stand beside me. I like Ally, Nikki, and Mair tremendously already. But I feel drawn to Tiernan, and I hope we grow closer. I wish that with all the girls, but she and I just seem to have clicked.

The husbands and wives drift together after parents and sons reunite. The parents head into the living room, but before I understand what’s happening, Shane and I are following the other couples upstairs. I glance over my shoulder and watch Cormac come out of the kitchen with the vat of potato salad Aunt Saoirse made. He lifts his fork in a “cheers” to me.

“I hope you get a stomachache, greedy guts.”

I don’t know how Shane knew.

“The man is a bottomless pit. I’m certain the shite’s vegan, so no one’ll take it from him.”

“It is. How’d you know?”

“He’s the cleanest eater. He read some article about processed foods when we were kids. He refuses to touch fast food. It’s a good thing Uncle Kieran likes to bake because he had to make all Cor’s birthday cakes. Spoiled rotten.”

I glance back again as Cormac swallows an insanely heaping forkful, then winks and grins at me. I laugh, but everyone else is soon forgotten as Shane kicks the bedroom door shut behind him. We’re pulling each other’s clothes off, leaving a trail of them to the bed. We stop when I bump into it. Something catches his eye because he looks around my shoulder, then at me. I giggle.

“The girls made sure I had an impromptu bachelorette party in the courthouse restroom.” I came up here earlier and spread out the gifts.

He picks up the dildo, shock radiating from him.

“Ally.”

I whisper the name since she’s his sister-in-law. No. Scratch that. Sister. No qualifiers in this family.

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to thank her.”

“Don’t worry. I already did. I have some thoughts about that and a few other things here, too.”

“Oh?”

I reach behind me and feel around for the ball gag. I hold it up.

“Tiernan said she didn’t know it would come in handy so soon, but she suggested I might want to wear this tonight.” I waggle my eyebrows at him.

“She did?”

He’s completely stunned, but he finally shakes it off. Then he looks like a kid in a toy store—an adult toy store. He holds various items up. He even shakes a few in their packaging. His eyes light up at the two pairs of handcuffs. Apparently, Nikki didn’t know Mair had picked out a pair, so I wound up with two.

“Stay here. Shh.”

He grabs his pants and pulls them on as he hops to the door. He opens the door a crack, then sticks his head into the hallway. He disappears, but he’s back two minutes later with a broom. I furrow my brow as he locks the door behind him. He kicks off his pants and rips into the dildo’s packaging. Then the nipple clamps. He looks around, finding what he wants. He snatches the lube and shakes it. But then he freezes.

“Is this what you want, Carrie?”

“Of course. Why else would I put this out?”

“You want this for you, not just for me, right?”

“I want it for both of us.”

“Oh,cailín. The hours I’ve had to daydream about handcuffing you to my bed. Such sweet dreams.”

“Um, there’s something for you too.”

“Isn’t this all for me?” He shoots me a lopsided grin.

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