Page 25 of Shamrocked
Irritation made me surge up out of Warwick's lap. I stomped over to my paintings I'd lined up against a makeshift wall. "The answers are here. We just have to decipher them."
The four men joined me. Ivarr let out a low appreciative whistle. "You painted these,mo stór?"
"Yes. What does that mean?Mo stór?"
"My treasure."
"But you're the treasures."
Ivarr and Keane looked at each other and shrugged, but it was Aidan who surprised me by replying, "And you'reourtreasure."
14
Iwas nervous about the guys meeting Vivi. I knew it was stupid. I knew she'd never do anything to deliberately hurt me, like flirt with my boyfriend or come on to him. Even if I had four or five boyfriends. It wasn't her I was worried about.
It was them.
Jonathan had made a pass at her once when he was drunk. She'd clubbed him over the head with her purse and he'd hated her afterwards. But the point was—he'd still done it. Maybe all men were weak when it came to gorgeous women. Maybe I wouldn't stand a chance once they saw her.
It didn't matter how often they called me "treasure." Not once they caught a glimpse of my red-headed goddess best friend.
She strode in before the sun rose the next morning bearing a to-go carrier of several cups of coffee that I knew she'd made at home. Her hair was loose about her shoulders, shining like gorgeous red velvet, and she'd donned plain blue jeans—that looked painted on her ten-mile long legs. She hadn't put on any makeup, but she didn't need to for her perfect skin to glow.
Meanwhile, I'd pulled my dark hair back in a ponytail, my eyes were puffy and red with exhaustion, and I wore a shapeless hoodie and dark jeans. Yeah, they were as tight as hers and I filled mine out plenty, thank you very much, but I had to be honest with myself. If any healthy male had his choice—
A hard hand grabbed my arm and spun me around. I crashed into an equally hard chest and Aidan’s mouth came down on mine. He inhaled my mouth, one hand sliding behind my head to clutch me tightly to him. The smell of leather engulfed me, partly his jacket, but his scent too. Leather and gunpowder, the clash of swords and war. Panting, he lifted his mouth and pressed my face into his neck, squeezing me so hard I could barely breathe. His pulse thundered against my cheek.:You’re ours, Riann, as no other woman could ever be. And if you think I’d rather look at some random woman than you, then you’ll be snatched up and kissed like this again until you know that you’re the very breath I need to stay alive.:
My eyes burned. I slid my hand up beneath his jacket and clutched a handful of his shirt in the small of his back, softening against him. He was so hard, vibrating on the edge of violence, uncomfortable to even lean against. Prickly and sarcastic, rude as hell.
And mine, all mine.
He huffed out a harsh laugh, dropped a kiss on my head, and loosened his fierce hold on me. But now that he’d put me here against him… I didn’t want to leave.
“Good morning,” I said to Vivi, turning my head enough to see her without leaving his arms.
“Good morning to you too.” Her eyes danced with amusement as she set the drinks down on the table. “Looks like you’ve been a busy girl.”
“You have no idea.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I’ve shown them the paintings and the maps, so we have a rough idea of where we’re going. The only problem is that they don’t know how to free Doran once we find him.”
She handed me a cup, and though I loved leaning against Aidan, I loved her coffee, too. After yet another sleepless night, I needed caffeine more than I needed to hear his heart beat beneath my ear. I didn’t move away from him entirely, though, and he kept his arm looped around my waist, his hip pressed to mine. “There aren’t any clues in your paintings?”
“Not that we can tell. The paintings are more clues to his location, not how to free him.”
“What about your dreams? Anything there?”
I sighed. “I haven’t slept in forever, and the last dream…” My cheeks heated, making her snicker. Even Aidan cracked a smile. “Let’s just say Doran hasn’t been too interested in telling me how to break his curse.”
“Well, all we can do is try with what we know. Should I rent us a big car for the drive down? Maybe an SUV?”
Aidan shook his head. “We’ve got that covered, as long as you don’t mind catching a ride on the back of a motorcycle.”
Despite his demonstration a few minutes ago, my stomach did a queasy flip-flop at the idea of Vivi clutching one of my guys around the waist as we drove down the road, her face on his back.
“Excuse us a moment,” he said to Vivi, and then he cupped my cheek and dragged me back against him in another toe-curling kiss. He claimed my mouth like he was staking his territory, stealing my breath and crushing my lips beneath his, his tongue deep in my mouth. He slid his fingers up into my hair, messing up my ponytail, twisting his fingers just enough to make me feel his strength. To wonder what it’d be like to have him gripping me so firmly in bed, trapped beneath his weight.
