Page 50 of Dublin Brute

So, if he isn’t truly into me, what’s the catch?

There is certainly more to him—more he’s not saying—but I’ve known him for a week, so there’s no penalty in not bearing all.

He’s a Quinn, so there’s no doubt he has skeletons in his closet. Who doesn’t?

Although, my skeletons aren’t the bloody violence and putting someone in the hospital kind, but you can’t choose the family you’re born into.

Brendan laughs when I tell him how crazy I get working at the library check-out desk, his smile lighting up his stupidly handsome face. The two of us have such an easy rhythm. Why would fate be so cruel to pair me up with a man I could really fall for, just for him to be the wrong man?

In that moment, I ignore the chaos that surrounds us and sink into our cozy little bubble of sexual tension and cautious feelings. No matter how much I pretend, reality crashes all around me like turbulent waves.

His family legacy can’t mesh with mine, and it’s cruel not to face that and end this.

It takes everything in me to muster up the courage to say what needs to be said, but when I finish wiping the table, I set the dishcloth back on the sink and draw a steadying breath. “Brendan…” My voice falters as I take his hand, leading him to the couch. “You had your say. Now it’s time for mine. Let’s sit.”

I sink into the plush leather, and he sits beside me, looking at me with those soul-penetrating green eyes that make my heart race. It’s both thrilling and terrifying. I lift my knee and turn on the seat to face him. “I need to explain why this can never work.”

He leans in closer. “You can try, but I’m going to prove you wrong.”

If only that were possible.

“I’ve told you my father is strict and there’s good reason for that. I grew up moving all over Europe because of his job.”

“Are you an army brat?”

“Sort of, but not quite.” I continue, my voice trembling just enough for him to notice. “In my early childhood, my father traveled a lot with work. He was gone for months at a time andmy mother was my entire world. Then she died in a car accident when I was thirteen and my world shattered.”

“Fuck, Nora. I’m so sorry.”

He’s about to say more, but I raise my hand to stop him before I lose my nerve. “Something broke in my father when she was killed. After she was gone, he saw only the worst in people. With it being just him and me, he projected all his paranoia and fears onto me. He became obsessed with protecting me and mitigating all risks in my life. I let him wrap my life in cotton because I was sad and didn’t want to be hurt again.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Maybe for a few years, but it became an unhealthy dynamic. His anger and mistrust grew, and I withdrew into the safety of the shell of a life he allowed me.”

Brendan clenches his teeth and the muscle on the side of his jaw twitches. “But he was good to you. He never took his anger out on you?”

The violent protectiveness I saw darken his gaze last night is swirling like a tempest in his eyes. It both terrifies me and makes my heart ache. “Not physically, no. But anger and hatred are pervasive and leaked into our relationship bit by bit. It’s sad, but I don’t know if my father is even capable of genuine love anymore.”

“Oh, angel.” Brendan fingers a strand of my hair back from my cheek and wraps it behind my ear. The heartbreak in his gaze is too much. I have to get it all out or I’ll be lost to him. “I hate to imagine you being sad and alone. I swear, if you give me a chance, I will show you how special you are every day of your life.”

There’s not an ounce of hyperbole in his statement, and my entire body aches to take him up on his offer. To be loved and cherished by Brendan, even if it isn’t for the rest of my life, is a happiness I’ve never experienced.

“But I can’t. We can’t be together. You see?—”

Brendan launches toward me, tugging my hips down the cushions to take me onto my back on the couch. His weight pins me in place as his lips brush over the racing pulse in my neck. “Don’t tell me we can’t be together, Nora. Everything you’ve said makes me more sure than ever that Áine gave you to me to be worshipped.”

My head spins as molten heat sears my core and builds in my pussy. “But?—”

“No buts, Nora.” His voice drops to a growl beside my ear, and heat sears between my thighs. “Not unless we’re talking about freeing your beautiful butt from these jeans.”

He rolls to the side, sandwiching me between him and the back of the couch. With deft fingers, he makes quick work of the button of my jeans and tugs my fly down, exposing the Loki panties I’m wearing.

The smile that spreads across his impossibly handsome face is cocky and too sexy for words. “Nice choice. I knew you had a little mischief in you.”

I roll my eyes and work on gathering my thoughts and reinforcing my resolve.

He drops his head and nips at the tender flesh of my neck. “I’m out of my mind here, angel. I need to touch you, to hear you fall apart with my name on your lips. I’d love to be balls-deep in the heat of your cunny, but won’t push my luck. But please, if you’re determined to push me away, at least let me make you feel good first.”

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