Page 24 of Dublin Brute

He’s looking chill, his boots crossed at the ankle, his muscled arms crossed over his chest. No leather jacket today—instead, he’s wearing dark jeans and a fitted gray Henley that shows off his broad shoulders. His dark hair is slightly messy—like he’s been running his fingers through it—and when he lifts his head and sees me, his smile warms me to my core.

“Hey, angel.” His deep voice sends a shiver down my spine. He looks me up and down and his dark brow creases as the smile drains away from his face.

I clutch my bag tighter, very aware of how plainly I look in my librarian clothes. Guys like him are used to flashy girls with sexy dresses and great bodies. Well, sorry to disappoint. “What are you doing here?”

He pushes off the antique car and closes the distance between us. “I thought I might sweet talk you into dinner?”

Despite my own best interests, I can’t help wishing a guy like him really could be here to sweet talk me. He must still be feeling guilty about tackling me and me being sore. Does he think I’ll sue him?

He said he has money. That’s something he or his family might worry about.

“Hello? Nora?” He tilts his head into my line of vision, looking confused. “Am I bothering you? Should I go?”

Heat creeps into my cheeks. “Sorry. No. You’re not bothering me, I…I just don’t understand why you’re here.”

His broad shoulders rise toward his ears in a shrug. “I told you. I wanted to take you to dinner. You eat, don’t you?”

Like before, the earnestness in his deep, emerald eyes draws me in. “Yes, I eat. In fact, tonight I grabbed a sandwich at the deli next to the library where I work.”

“Coffee and dessert then. I know a great little café not too far from here.” His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles, gesturing to the passenger seat of his car.

I swallow, but my throat remains dry. “I won’t sue you or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He pulls back, his gaze growing dark and confused. “How did me asking you out take you to me being worried about you suing me?”

I lift my chin. “Well…we’re strangers. After the shooting, you bought me a lovely basket and now you’re here on the pretext of being interested in me. You’re obviously being nice to me for a reason. I just want to know what it is.”

For the first time since I met him, the sweet and gentle veil falls and his emerald gaze is clouded with genuine insult and anger. “Who the fuck twisted you up so badly that you look at the world like this?”

My mouth falls open, but before I can form an answer, he grips my upper arms and gives me a little shake. “Since the moment you climbed off my bike and left me sitting at the corner of your street, I’ve been thinking about you.”

“You have?”

“Aye, I have. I’ve thought about you and the inner strength it took for you to handle the shooting as well as you did. I’ve thought about the way your soft curves felt like fucking perfection when I laid over you. I’ve thought about how hot it was having your legs wrapped around me while I drove you home on my bike as your hands explored my fucking abs.”

His gaze narrows. “Did I do something to make you think I have an angle I’m working?”

“No, but guys like you don’t notice girls like me. It just doesn’t happen.”

Brendan releases my shoulders and wraps an arm behind my waist, pulling me against his chest. Our bodies are crushed together, and I suck in a breath. “Does this feel like I haven’t noticed you?”

Saliva pools in my mouth and I swallow. There’s no missing the erection pressed against my belly. It’s long and hard and threatening to bust through the fly of his jeans.

I hesitate, glancing down. “I don’t know what to say.”

His gaze softens, and he curls a strand of my hair around his finger. “I don’t know who dimmed your spark, Nora Kelly, but when I held you, trembling in my arms, I realized the treasure you are. I believe the goddess Áine herself put the two of us together.”

What? That’s bonkers.“You don’t even know me.”

“That’s the point, angel. I want to get to know you. I want to spend time with you and learn more about you. That’s my angle.”

I search his expression for any sign that he’s laying it on thick to catch me off guard, but I see nothing but truth—or at least the truth as he believes it.

“Um…okay. If we’re going to get coffee, I’d like to change first. Would you mind waiting a few minutes while I get out of these clothes?”

The sexual intensity that crackles off him has my girl parts thrumming to life. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply. When they open again, he seems to have reined in whatever was driving him a moment ago. “You look beautiful as you are.”

I snort and then slap a hand over my mouth, cutting off the sound. “You’re a terrible liar. I’m frumpy and woefully bland in these work clothes.”

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