Page 16 of Killian

I don’t trust anyone, but Conor is as close as I can get. I took him in off the streets when he was fourteen. I gave him a job and took him under my wing. Honestly, some days I feel he is more like a son than a soldier, but still, I’m hesitant to trust him. Family means nothing in this world.

I watch as Conor checks the vehicle before opening the door for me. I slide in the back, pulling out my phone to check emails.

Once we arrive, I slide the phone into my inside pocket before exiting. I look up at O’Reilly’s Irish Pub.

To most, it is a bar that offers traditional Irish fare and ambiance. To others, it is the base of my operation here in New York.

I nod to a couple of my guys as I head inside to my office. I stop at the door, turning to Conor.

“Let me know when she arrives.”

Shutting myself in my office, I work on pub business until I hear her.

“I don’t need you to introduce me. Trust me, he knows who I am.”

I chuckle as my door swings open to reveal the feisty woman on the other side.

“A ghrá.Thank you for coming.”

She slams the door shut behind her, the frame rattling with the impact. She strides right over to my desk, placing her palms face down, pressing across to lean right in my face.

“I don’t appreciate being ordered to do things, Killian.”

Fuck, she’s sexy.

Glancing down, my breath catches. She’s wearing a shirt that looks like it means to be a sweater, but wraps tightly over each breast, leaving the “V” between her breasts bare to anyone who takes a close enough look.

“It’s fucking fifty degrees outside, Greer. What the fuck are you wearing?”

Her eyes narrow, telling me that was the exact wrong thing to say. The burning sensation in my chest disagrees. It wants to roar its disapproval.

“You don’t dictate what I wear. Contrary to what you think, you don’t dictateanythingI do.”

The growl that squeezes out of my throat comes naturally and without thought.

Before she can react, I’m up out of my seat, my hand around her neck, holding her pinned between me and my desk.

“Watch it. I let you walk a very thin line,aghrá, but you need to remember who you’re talking to.”

I don’t release my hold, staring into her eyes to see her reaction. Sure, there’s anger, but there is something else. A flare of lust telling me she likes our bantering just as much as I do.

I bet if I slide my hand down into her panties, she would be soaked for me. The twitch in my pants reminds me I’m not unaffected. I could break rocks with how painfully hard I am.

No time for that now, though. Not with listening ears and the potential of being caught.

Leaning in, I press a soft kiss on her lips. “I missed you,” I tell her, letting her go as she falls back.

I didn’t realize that she had gone on her tiptoes in the exchange.

She takes a minute to calm her breathing before speaking. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“You weren’t saying that last night or this morning when you were crawling out of my bed.” I shake my head. “Fine. Let’s get onto business then.”

Walking around her, I open the door, surprised to see not only Conor, but two other Italians standing right outside.

I nod to Enzo, recognizing him as Greer’s personal guard. The other, I can’t place.

I reach out, handing Conor my phone.

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