Page 101 of Ireland

Cross, he thought dourly. Her brother had the money and power to expose expunged criminal history. And Ronan was going to face the brunt of that power at some point...

He rolled onto all fours. Next thing, he was sprawled on his face by a kick in the ass.

The roar of laughter was deafening.

Cursing the saints, Ronan gave up on playing nice and sprang to his feet, pivoting quickly to avoid another swipe of her leg. Bouncing a bit on the balls of his feet, he raised his hands and ducked another palm thrust. His lip was pulsing with pain, his mouth awash in the metallic taste of blood.

“I’ll put you on a video call with her,” he told her, deflecting another jab.Maudit, she was fast. He ducked her incoming fist. “You can ask her yourself!”

There were moreooooohs,and he started to feel like they were on a reality TV show.

Jaw set with determination, Ireland eyed him grimly. They circled, their footsteps the only sound in the now quiet room.

“And I’m sorry about the studios,” he said, feinting when she got too close to force her to retreat. “They’ll be up and running by the morning.”

And he’d bled cash to get it done. The company that had taken the equipment off their hands had charged three times what they’d paid to return it all.

“What do you want me to say?” she snapped. “Thank you?”

He leaped to avoid another leg swipe. “Jules acted without my knowledge.”

Darting forward, she caught him in the shoulder with her palm. “You don’t seem to know what you’re doing with this takeover,” she taunted. “Why not just give up and go home?”

“Why not save Vidal instead?Oof!” He doubled over, gasping, still feeling the sole of her foot in his gut.

She stopped moving, her breathing rapid. “What?”

Ronan straightened and grabbed her, pulling her in for a hard, open-mouthed kiss and holding her to it with a hand cupping her head. The pain in his lip was like fire, but her flavorsoothed him and quenched his thirst. There was a weighted silence around them, but when she didn’t resist him, it broke with raucous applause.

When she gripped his hips, he lifted his head and held her luminous gaze. “I said, let’s save it. Together.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Smith yelled, herding the crowd away from them. “Show’s over! Time to do what you came here to do, people! Let’s go!”

Ireland pulled away from him. She licked his blood off her lip, and that turned him on so fiercely it was only the physical pain he felt that kept him from getting hard.

Shaking her head, she said faintly, “I don’t understand.”

“Give me a chance to explain.” He fought the urge to take her hand and keep her from leaving. “All of it. I’ll lay out my entire life for you.”

Smith walked over. “You two good now?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Well, get the hell out of here if you’re not here to work. You’re distracting.”

Ireland stepped outside Parker’s studio with Ronan beside her, and it felt surreal. For one, seeing him outside of work in a routine part of her life felt intimate. And two, shehadbelieved he’d finished what he came here to do and gone home. She’d lived with that thought for hours that felt like days because the emotional pain was so merciless.

What was he doing to her? How was he doing it?

She felt the intensity of his focus on her as they paused together on the sidewalk under a streetlamp. His energy was so fierce.

“Can we get a drink?” he asked. “Or coffee? Dinner, maybe?”

He was so heart-stoppingly handsome, standing before her so earnest and penitent. The longing was like a vortex, pulling her inexorably down.

Shaking her head, she said, “When I’m with you, I feel like I know you. I would swear to it. But then I learn things about you that don’t align with who I think you are, and it’s such a mindfuck.”

The entrance door opened, and another student walked out. He looked at both of them and asked, “Everything all right?”

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