Page 26 of Ireland

“Don’t we all dress to impress in one way or another?” She shrugged, resigned to how things were. Her brothers had their power; she was still establishing hers. “I’m not the only one who makes an effort.”

“But I’d wager you’re the one to do it most often,” he rejoined, his gaze challenging her to deny it.

His keen insight was often startling. She loved howseenshe felt with him. But she didn’t even know if she’d see him tomorrow. A day with him was enjoyed as a singular, separate event from the rest of her life.

Her mood darkened again. “You and I are moving at different speeds,” she said curtly. “And maybe that answers the questions I had. Are you hungry? Should we start with mimosas?”

“Let’s start with your questions.” Straightening, Ronan moved to the opposite side of the island. He somehow looked even more gorgeous assuming command, his lips still sensual even while unsmiling. He seemed unreal at times, nearly too perfect to be anything other than a fever dream.

“And now you’re scowling,” he noted, amused. “And still breathtakingly gorgeous anyway.”

He remained standing, his hands sliding into his back pockets. The pose showed off the power of his biceps and shoulders, along with the leanness of his hips. Did he do that on purpose? Did he realize the effect it had on her?

Ireland turned to the fridge to pull out the freshly squeezed orange juice she’d ordered and a bottle of Cristal. “Are you baiting me?”

“Possibly.”

She arched her brow at him as she set the bottles down. “Why?”

“So I can recognize you. You’ve disguised yourself this morning.”

“Bullshit.”

His brows lifted.

Planting her palms on the marble, she glared at him. “Stop playing with me.”

“I haven’t even started.” The sudden heat in his gaze startled her and knocked her off balance.

Up to that moment, he’d flirted outrageously but playfully. While lust burned within her, he’d barely registered at a simmer. That teasing glimpse of fire was acutely frustrating, taunting her with the man she wanted but wasn’t sure she could ever have.

“Am I too young for you? Is that the problem?” she snapped. “Not worldly enough for your comfort? Are you worried I won’t be able to let you go when you leave, and I’ll become inconvenient?”

His jaw tightened, then his words came clipped and fast. “You’re already inconvenient, and I don’t think that highly of myself,cher.”

“Yeah, well,Ithink of you. Pretty much nonstop since we met.”

“The captivation is mutual, so we’re not moving at different speeds. At least in that regard.”

Irritated, she turned to open the cupboard where she kept her stemmed glasses. “Something you said, which I brushed off at first, really struck me as important last night.”

“Oh…?”

“You said we wouldn’t become intimate until you were sure I wouldn’t regret it.” Setting the flutes down, she watched him pick up the champagne. “And I’ve wracked my brain trying to figure out what that means. Then I realizedyou’rethe only thingthat could make me regret being with you. You would have to do something or say something to hurt me or make me lose respect for you. So, you don’t think I can handle whatever we’re doing here?”

His expression didn’t change, his gaze fixed and steady on her face even as he unwrapped the foil. “We’re already intimate. We were talking about fucking in that conversation. Two very different things.”

Her lips parted.Fuck—and all of its various derivatives—was a hard, crude, occasionally insulting word, and the Southern gentleman he’d been thus far wouldn’t have used it with her. But Ronan wasn’t that man now. He was harsher than she’d seen him before, less controlled. And so much sexier that she gritted her teeth against the urge to hurtle over the island and kiss him senseless.

She swallowed hard and nodded. “We were, yes.”

“And when we met, I asked you how far you wanted this thing between us to go, and you replied that you were worried you’d regret me. Do you recall saying that?”

She blinked in surprise. “Uh… I didn’t remember that, no.”

The stern line of his mouth softened. “What were you expecting to regret?”

Ireland pressed a hand to her forehead. “You’ve got me all mixed up now.”

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