Page 48 of After Indigo Irish Nights
She was mush when he said that.
“Sometimes I stop breathing, looking at you.”
Mush. Complete mush.
Aware her pulse was speeding up, she went for a snarky comment. “You clearly don’t stop breathing for too long or you’d turn blue.”
“Why would I risk death when I’ve only just found you?”
They loved to tease each other, so she’d expected laughter or a witty comeback. His tone was serious, though. His eyes steady. Her pulse skipped, and sure as hell, she smelled oranges. Did he?
She didn’t have the courage to ask, and that annoyed her.
“Good thing you’re a smart man.” She let herself take another plunge, one she’d been chewing over for a few days. “I’m going to be at the Brazen Donkey tomorrow night with Ellie and some of your friends. Can you cut your training early and join us?”
They hadn’t had an official date yet. Few save Ellie and Brady—and Liam, of course—knew that they were together. She’d thought a group night might be the way to get the message out. People could see them together. Make inferences.
He sat up and pulled her more squarely onto his lap. She crossed her wrists around his neck as he studied her quietly. Yes, he knew what she was suggesting, and he was thinking it through.
“I can meet you and the rest tomorrow night,mo chroí,” he said, his voice a rough rumble of baritone delight.
The Gaelic endearment almost had her grinning in relief. They were so doing this. “Super. It’ll be fun.”
He kissed her softly before whispering, “Will you let me buy you a drink?”
Did he remember how she’d asked him that the day she’d first arrived? “I will, yes.”
His fingers slowly traced her jaw, the caress causing her belly to tighten with need. “Will you sit on my lap if one of our friends needs a chair?”
Thatwouldbe one hell of a declaration. Her heart raced with the knowledge of what he was telling her. “Of course.”
His mouth curved, his dimples flashing. He gently gripped the necklace she never took off, fingering the ring he’d asked about days ago. She’d told him it was her mother’s without going into the story. “You know the Claddagh ring doesn’t only mean true love. That’s one part, represented by the heart. The hands holding the heart mean friendship.”
She knew the symbolism. Her parents had told her as much. But she wanted to hear the words from him.
“And the crown over the heart?” she asked, everything within her still as he held the ring between his thumb and forefinger before raising his gaze to hers.
“That’s for loyalty.”
She could feel the message in the timbre of his voice. Having been betrayed, she knew the importance of loyalty in addition to love and friendship. “My pop believes all three are needed for a happy marriage, which is why he gave my mom the ring when he asked her to go steady.” He’d known he wanted to marry her, even then, he’d always said.
“Were they happy?” Declan asked.
“Yes.” She took a breath and took another plunge. “I believe it’s because they got the formula right. It’s one I believe in.”
He slowly lowered the ring until it rested over her heart. “It’s early yet, but I figure we’re making good progress at all three.”
God, the openness between them tonight was going to slay her. “I’m glad you think so. I agree with you.”
He kissed her again, the merest brush of lips. “It’s like training. You measure benchmarks as you go.”
“Benchmarks, huh? That’s something my brothers would say, but you’re right. How’s this for a benchmark?”
She leaned in and rested her cheek against his, wrapping her body around him. His hands encircled her, one embracing her around the middle of the back while the other pressed her low at the waist. She could feel his arousal wedged between them, but he didn’t move away from the tenderness of the moment.
Something she’d learned about Declan was he was surprisingly tender. Maybe that wasn’t the word he’d use. He was a physical man, after all, and physical acts of affection seemed to be second nature to him. A few of her brothers were like that. They were the toughest guys around, but they were also the huggers, the ones who’d wrap an arm around you as you talked or watched TV. Their affection—when they trusted you—seemed to be infinite.
“I like this,” she whispered, feeling her way through the newness of him and what lay between them.
