Page 36 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“You’re not enjoying yourself. Is it because my father forced you to marry me?”

He didn’t say anything.

“It could be worse. I could be ugly.”

He snorted, which only set my happy mood on edge. I stopped in my tracks and glared at him. “You think I’m ugly?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t contradict me! I said I could be ugly, and your immediate response should have been that I’m the most gorgeous woman you’ve ever met!”

“You are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met.”

“See?” I sighed, taking another sip of my drink. “Now you’re just saying that because I called you out on your poor manners. I can’t believe a thing you say now.”

“What if it was true?”

“Then I would say that’s a great compliment.”

He grabbed me by the arm and turned me to face him. I sighed as I stared at his beautiful face. No man should look that handsome with such beautiful eyes. Yet, here I was, staring at a face that had my panties wet. And I’d never get satisfaction.

“Jade, from the moment I saw you, I knew you’d be my downfall,” he said in a low voice I could hardly understand. “There’s something about you that I just can’t walk away from, even if I wanted to. And when this is all over, I still won’t be able to leave you alone. You’re mine now,” he growled right before slamming his lips down on mine.

I moaned and melted into his touch. His hands slid around my back, but just as quickly as the electric current flowing between us sent sparks through my body, he pulled away and cursed himself.

I sighed heavily. “See? It’s there,” I murmured right before the world tilted and I slid sideways.

15

ASHER

That kiss was just as amazing as when I kissed her in the church. But then her eyes rolled back and she passed out. I didn’t bother trying to catch the glass as it fell to the ground. My only thoughts were keeping her from hitting the ground. Hoisting her up into my arms, I carried her back to the bungalow and laid her out on the bed. The next few hours were going to be miserable for her.

I grabbed the garbage can from the bathroom and placed it next to the bed. No matter how much work I had to do, there was no way I was leaving her to choke on her vomit. Based on how quickly she got drunk, I’d say she’d never really had a drink before. And with the lack of food in her stomach, it hit her hard.

I briefly thought about calling Patrick in here to take care of her, but she was my responsibility. And aside from that, I found myself staring down at her, wanting to make sure she was okay. I brushed a strand of hair from her face and smiled down at her. God, she was fucking beautiful. That line between keeping my distance and wanting her with everything in me was beginning to blur. Deep down, I knew she would never be just a business arrangement.

The problem was, I had to take down her father, and I had no idea how she would react to that. It was clear she didn’t like him, that she feared him, but he was still family. There was no way to know if she would be relieved or angry. And then there was the matter of the other people she was close with at her father’s estate. Her mother was still there, and while I didn’t know why she hadn’t shown up for the wedding, I couldn’t imagine she would be okay with her mother being caught up in any of this. Either way I spun it, this was going to be a clusterfuck when it was over.

Without thinking, I bent over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Her soft features made me think of an innocent woman I needed to protect, but my gut told me something entirely different, that she had fight in her that was dying to break free. I just had to figure out how to unleash that.

My phone rang and I quickly answered it, not wanting to wake her up. I walked to the edge of the bungalow and glanced back at her one last time as I swiped the phone open. “Yes?” I answered, knowing Ambrose was on the other line.

“I hope the honeymoon is going well.”

He didn’t give a shit about the honeymoon. “What do you want?”

“An update?”

I glanced outside and let it fly before I could really consider the consequences. “The sun is shining, the breeze is amazing, and your daughter is passed out in my bed right now.”

He was silent for a moment, but I could feel the anger building over the phone. “You’d better watch your fucking tone with me. You haven’t made your way inside yet.”

I gritted my teeth, wishing I could tell him what I really thought of him, but I had to remember the main objective here. “I married your daughter. That’s what you wanted. Now I’m out here playing the good husband because you have friends that would expect to see that kind of behavior from your son-in-law. You’re playing both sides of the fence, Ambrose. If you want your golf club buddies to think you’re a good guy, you have to play the game. Which means I have to also. So, again I’m asking, what the fuck do you want?”

“An associate needs a shipment of weapons next week. Twenty crates, and he requires the best. I want each one tested before you hand it over to him. And if you fuck him over, you’ll have me to answer to.”

“Noted,” I said, then hung up the phone.

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