Page 26 of A Seductive Beauty
“But I can come down and sit with you. I’m not in pain.” I try to go with him.
“You have no trousers, and I don’t want to kill any of my men who see your legs like that. Last night at the club with that dress was bad enough.”
“Do you have some sweatpants or shorts I can put on?” I try again.
“Just a moment.” He steps into the closet and comes out with a pair of black shorts that tie at the waist. I slip them on quickly and tie them tight.
He reaches out and takes my hand. I follow him out the door. The landing wraps around the floor with rooms coming off it. He leads me down the stairs. I hear voices when we get to the main floor, and I pull back, not sure about this now. I fidget and pull my hand from his and twist mine together.
“You look beautiful, Fiona. It’s only my brothers.” He assures me as his hand brushes gently down the side of my face. He’s careful not to touch any of my bruises. I lean into his touch, craving it. He takes my hand again and leads me through the family room into a large breakfast nook and adjoining kitchen. Sitting around a large table are six men. I recognize most of them from the gala, but I didn’t get to meet them all. I look over and take in the kitchen. It’s all stainless with a large commercial range, ovens, and refrigerator. This is my dream kitchen right here.
“This is Fiona. Fiona, these men are my brothers.” He points to a guy with brown hair similar to his and green eyes. He’s dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a leather vest. “My brother Brody.” The next guy has dark blond hair, almost a brown, and green eyes too. He’s dressed in jeans and a sweater. His hair is longer than Aidan’s and hangs in his eyes. I recognize him from Uni. “My youngest brother, Rory.” He points to Seamus next. “You already know Seamus and Shane, and that man between them is Lex.” This man has brown hair but his hair is more curled and he has very light eyes. Finally, Aidan points to a tall red-haired guy. “That is Grady.”
“Hello,” I say quietly and hold onto Aidan tighter with my right hand. I use my other hand to pull my hair forward to cover my face, and forgetting my aching fingers, I cringe.
“Gentle, beauty,” Aidan growls next to me.
“I need to call Moira and let her and the girls know where I am.” I look around and don’t see my purse or phone.
“They know you’re with me and safe.”
“I need my phone.”
“We found your phone on the ground last night. It’s not broken, considering.” Lex stands up and hands me my phone.
“Thank you.” I send a quick text to Moira and let her know I’m okay. She’d tear apart Belfast looking for me if I didn’t message her. I turn back to the guys as they watch me.
“Do you all live around here?” I try to distract from the attention of them staring me down.
“Yeah, around here.” Brody chuckles.
Aidan looks down at me and I look up at him. My insides tremble from how close he is to me. “Brody lives in a house next door. The others all live here. Speaking of that, why are you all in the kitchen?” Aidan looks back at them.
“We were trying to figure out what we could make for breakfast.”
“Today is Cook’s day off. I told her we wouldn’t need anything because I figured you all would be hungover instead of wanting food.”
“I can make something.” I pipe in.
“You should be resting. I’ll figure it out.” Aidan pulls out a chair at the island and lifts me up to sit in it being careful of my ribs. I watch as he opens and closes cupboards and then the fridge.
“What do you have?”
“Some leftover ham.” I can tell he’s frustrated. I climb down from the chair and walk around the island to him. I open the cupboard I saw baking products in and pull out the things I need.
“You’ll cut that ham into small dices. What cheese do you have?”
“I told you, you need to rest.”
“I’m not going to sit there watching you defile this beautiful kitchen when I know what to make. You have the fixings for ham and cheese crepes, and a hollandaise sauce. If you cut, because I know my fingers won’t be able to do that, I can cook for you.”
“Let her cook, you’ll only burn it.” Rory laughs, and I turn to see all the guys watching us argue as they stand where I was just sitting.
“Beauty, that sounds amazing, but again, I told you to sit. I’ll make it. You tell me how.” He advances on me. I straighten my spine and stand up to him.
“Do you know how to make crepes?” I place my hands on my hips. “Or even a classic hollandaise without breaking it?”
“I don’t even know what that means?”
