Page 79 of Taming Irish

Chapter 23

Makena

“Shit,”Shane curses, pulling out quickly and practically jumping off thebed.

I gostill.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He continues to curse, his back to me, but I can tell he’s rolling the condom off. He tosses it in the garbage can beside the bed, dragging his hands back through his hair and cupping the back of his head as hepaces.

“Did I…” I sit up, tugging the blanket to my chest. “Do somethingwrong?”

He glances over at me, and I see the etched fear tugging at his features. “Please tell me ye’re on thepill.”

“No.”

He curses again, then says roughly, “The condombroke.”

“Oh.” I don’t know what else to say. Trying to ease the tension, I say lightly, but not without a small ping of concern, “Should I be worried about anSTD?”

“Fuck no,” he spits out. “I’m clean.” His nostrils flare. “I get checked out regularly. Plus, before ye, it’d been months since I was with anyone-” He shakes his head, muttering harshly. “Fucking defective condoms. I should sue the goddamncompany.”

He’s still naked. His muscles ripple and tense as he keepspacing.

“Shane, it’sfine-”

He narrows his gaze on me, suspicion filling it. “And what the hell is that supposed tomean?”

“If you’re worried about me getting pregnant, you don’t have to be. I can’t…” My voice breaks, and I swallow hard. “I can’t havechildren.”

Silence.

“Ye’re sure?” The muscles in his jaw clench and he starts to paceagain.

I laugh bitterly. “Three years of trying and two specialists confirmedit.”

He stops and looks down at me. But instead of the relief I expect to see, there’s something I can’t read in his expression. He holds my gaze for a long, tense moment. And for the first time since I realized that I’d never be able to have kids of my own, I’m actually grateful, because the man standing in front of me is definitely not daddymaterial.

Shaking his head, he runs his palms roughly over his face, and mutters, “I’msorry.”

Twisting the blankets around me, I shift off the bed and move to gather myclothes.

“Makena.” He says my name gruffly, but I don’t turnaround.

“Where’s my bra?” I say more to myself, crouching and checking under the bed. A swarm of emotion buzzes inside of me, but mostly I just feel empty. Something sharp cuts into my palm when I reach under the bed. “Damn it.” I pull my hand back, muttering another curse when I see the small cut that’s already starting tobleed.

“Let mesee.”

“I’mfine.”

He captures my arm and pulls me up, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me towards his hard, naked body, then takes my wrist to examine my hand. “You need to wash itout-”

“I said I’m fine.” I pull my wrist back, moving around him and starting towards thebathroom.

Shane sighs behind me. “I shouldn’t have overreacted the way I did. It’sjust...”

“Trust me. I understand. Getting knocked up by a stranger isn’t something I’d be happy abouteither.”

“I’m not a stranger.” The words are more of a growl. He’s still standing in front of me, naked. His muscles tense and bunch as he cups the back of his head and looks up at the ceiling. “Ye don’t get it. There are a lot of women who would jump at the chance of having mykid-”

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