Page 46 of His Temptation

Frustration clawed at her, mingling with the helpless arousal that still pulsed low in her belly. “I’m not running.”

Daragh sat up, his gaze dark, knowing. “You are. And you know how I feel about disobedience.”

Siobhan’s stomach twisted, a pulse of heat flickering through her she refused to acknowledge. She tried to yank her hand free, but it was useless.

“I just need to think.”

Daragh’s grip eased, but his dominance didn’t. He studied her, his eyes scanning her face, reading her in a way that made her want to crawl out of her own skin.

“Think all you want,” he murmured, dragging his knuckles down the inside of her arm. “But it won’t change anything.”

She wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that none of this was fair, that he had taken her choices and made them his own. But the words wouldn’t come. Because deep down, she knew—this wasn’t something she could walk away from.

Not because of the bond. Not because of the sex. But because of him.

Daragh O’Neill wasn’t just a possessive bastard. He wasn’t just dangerous or controlling or the kind of man who took what he wanted without hesitation. He was loyal. He was ruthless in his protection. He was hers, in the same way she was his.

And that terrified her more than anything else.

A knock at the door shattered the moment. Daragh’s head snapped toward the sound, his entire body going taut with tension.

Murphy’s voice was grim. “Daragh, you need to come downstairs.”

Daragh was out of bed in an instant, grabbing his pants from the chair and pulling them on with practiced ease. Siobhan scrambled for the robe he had given her earlier, tying it tightly around her waist as he threw open the door.

Murphy’s expression was stone cold. “It’s Sebastian.”

Siobhan’s breath stalled.

Daragh’s entire body tensed. “What now?”

Murphy’s gaze flicked to her before settling back on Daragh. “He’s put another bounty out. On her this time.”

Siobhan’s stomach dropped.

Daragh’s fists clenched at his sides. “How much?”

Murphy’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Two million. Dead or alive.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

Siobhan’s fingers curled into the fabric of her robe. Two million. That kind of money would draw every mercenary, every desperate killer looking for an easy payday. It wasn’t just an escalation. It was a declaration.

Sebastian wasn’t just trying to reclaim her. He was making sure she wouldn’t survive if he couldn’t have her.

Daragh’s jaw tightened, his voice a lethal promise. “Tell Finn to gather the men.”

Murphy nodded once, disappearing down the hall. Siobhan’s breath came too fast, too shallow, her mind racing through every possible outcome.

Siobhan’s hands shook, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. “They won’t stop, Daragh.”

His lips curled into something deadly. “Neither will I.”

CHAPTER 13

DARAGH

The estate’s war room was a converted library, its bookshelves lined with a mixture of old-world literature and more practical reading—military strategy, legal codes, and the occasional book on tracking and hunting. The long mahogany table in the center of the room was scattered with maps, schematics, and intelligence reports. A large screen on the far wall displayed an encrypted feed from Con’s sources, the MI5 insignia glaring like a warning neither he nor the O’Neills could afford to ignore.

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