Page 42 of Whiskey & Witches

“Not completely, but I will.”

She pressed her scarred cheek against his chest and looked at Cian and Piper. She almost laughed when she saw the other woman wiping away tears. Hereshehad been struggling against breaking down, yet Piper had no problem letting her true feelings show.

It took Roisin a long minute or two before she could force herself to break their embrace—in Carrick’s arms was where she could live forever—but she eventually pulled back. She had a job to do, and the wards weren’t going to strengthen themselves.

“Where’s Aeden?” she asked him.

“Directly above us with Bridget and Hoyt watching over him.”

“My dad won’t let anything happen to him, Roisin,” Piper said with firm conviction.

“Right.” Roisin nodded toward the lit candles, now burned a third of the way down. “We should finish this before we’ve no wick left, yeah?”

Carrick smiled, and in his warm gaze, she saw his understanding of her uncomfortableness. Never had she liked being the center of attention.

“Can we help, or will we be a hindrance?”

“You both seem to have a small amount of power…” She looked at Piper, who nodded her agreement.

“The more, the merrier, I always say.”

Cian snorted. “Sure, and that’s not what you say when I mention—oomph!” Hamming it up, he bent double from Piper’s elbow to his stomach and caused the rest of them to laugh.

“Take your place over there, youeejit,” Piper said, her amusement still heavy in her voice.

“Now, Piper me love, I’ll not have ya callin’ me names in front of others,” he warned with a wicked gleam. “Tonight, you’ll get a proper spank—”

She covered his mouth with a horrified sputter. “Shut it!”

Laughing, he drew her hand from his face and kissed her. “You’re beautiful when you’re scarlet, darlin’.” As she growled, he danced backward out of striking distance. “No more messin’ about,” he scolded as if she were the one being the fool. “We’ve a job to do.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Piper muttered in an aside to Roisin. “Dead as a doornail.”

“And I’ll help dispose of the body,” Roisin told her. “It’s the least I can do for your kindness to Aeden.”

“I already adore you.”

Laughing, Roisin bumped Piper’s shoulder just as the other woman had done to her earlier. “The feeling is mutual.”

“Feckin’ hell, Cian!” Carrick punched his brother on his bicep. “Look what you’ve gone and done. You’ve got them ganging up on us, and we’ve lost the balance of power.”

“Sure, and don’t blame me that you can’t keep your woman under control. I’ve no troub—”

“Don’t finish that line if you ever want a taste of my lucky charms again,” Piper warned.

“Sound advice,” Carrick added.

His brother opened his mouth to retort, but Piper narrowed her eyes.

Cian clammed up and mimed locking up his lips.

She nodded her satisfaction. “Good boy.”

For Roisin, the teasing seemed foreign. She hadn’t had much of it in the months she’d been separated from the O’Malleys, but she remembered how quick they were to laugh or rib each other. Piper fit in well with their group, and Cian was happy in a way he’d never truly been before. If nothing else, Roisin was grateful to Piper for adding the missing element this family needed.

They were inside the circle when her head began to throb. A random thought came to Roisin that she should add a line to the spell for the wards, but she couldn’t quite recall what it was until Piper spoke the first part.

A high-pitched ringing started in her ears, and though she couldn’t hear her own voice, she said, “Rochtain a cheadú doRonan.” A small sharp stab in the front right side of her head distracted her from all the gasps.

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