“To Waterford. I’ve made arrangements for a place we can stay tonight, at least.”
“Why am I sitting back here?”
“Because you can lie down.”
“No.” I opened the front passenger door instead.
“So feckin’ stubborn,” she muttered, getting in beside me.
“If I was as stubborn as you seem to think I am, I’d insist on driving.”
Siren laughed.
“Come here,” I said, motioning her closer.
“What?”
“Just come here.”
“I am here.”
I reached out and grasped the back of her neck, pulling her so I could touch her lips with mine.
“What was that all about?” she asked when I released her.
“Later, when these meds wear off, I won’t have the balls to do that.”
“I know you better than that, Smoke. You have the balls—”
I kissed her again. I couldn’t help it. I’d missed the feel of her lush lips, her soft tongue, her naked body against mine so fucking much.
“If you want me to stop doing that, you best not say another word about my balls, Siren.”
* * *
By the time we turned down the residential street in Waterford where Siren said she’d arranged for us to stay, I was wishing I’d stretched out in the backseat like she suggested, even if the width of the car would’ve meant I’d have to bend my knees practically up to my chin.
“Whose place is this?” I asked when I saw lights on inside.
“My uncle’s. Well, he’s not really my uncle, but that’s what I’ve called him most of my life.”
The front door opened, and an older man walked toward us. “Can I help?” he asked.
“Uncle Gene, this is Smoke. If you’ll get on one side, I’ll be on the other.”
They each took an arm and helped me inside. At first, I thought about telling them I was fine on my own, but after a couple of steps, I realized how light-headed I felt.
They didn’t stop until they’d reached a door that led to a bedroom.
“Shannon, that’s my neighbor, came over and helped me get the room ready for him. Fresh sheets and all.”
“Thank you, Uncle Gene,” said Siren, sitting beside me when I lay down.
“There’s water on the bureau. The toilet is right across the hallway. Shannon also brought over some soup for when you’re hungry.”
“Smoke, do you want some soup?” Siren asked.
“Sleep,” I mumbled.
“I’ll leave you be,” said Siren’s uncle, or whoever he was.
When I felt Siren stand, I reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Don’t leave.”
“You need your rest. I’ll just be in the other room.”
“Don’t leave,” I repeated.
She sat back down. “Is this how it’s going to be, then? You’ll expect me to do your bidding? Be at your beck and call?”
“I want you next to me.” I groaned when I tried to turn from my stomach to my side.
“Where is Maureen with that syringe full of pain medicine when you need her?” Siren muttered.
“I don’t like her.”
Siren stood again, and I grabbed her leg. “For crying out loud, I’m just getting a pill.”
I could hear water being poured into a glass.
“Open,” she said. “Stick out your tongue.” She put a pill on it. “Now, drink.” She brought the glass to my lips.
When I swallowed the pill, she set the glass on the table and stretched out beside me. “Tell me why you don’t like Maureen.”
“She helped you leave.”
“Smoke…”
“Look at me, Siren.”
She turned so she was facing me.
“Why did you leave like that?”
“There’ll be time for us to talk about that later.”
I shook my head. “That’s what you said before. It’s later. Talk.”
“Admit it, Smoke. You were glad I left.”
“Not true.”
“Don’t lie.”
It was a struggle to keep my eyes open, but I was determined to have this conversation. “I’m not lying.”
She tried to get up, but this time, I put my arm around her waist. It hurt like hell when I did, but I couldn’t let her leave. I was too afraid I’d never see her again.
“Not lying,” I repeated.
“I heard you.”
She heard me? “What are you talking about?”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Talking to Decker.”
“When?”
“Before I left.”
It was getting as hard to talk as it was to keep my eyes open.
“Go to sleep, Smoke.” When she ran her fingers through my hair, I couldn’t fight it any longer.
* * *
It took me a minute to figure out where I was when I opened my eyes and light was streaming in through the bedroom window.
My body was stiff from sleeping in the same position all night, and my neck ached when I tried to turn it when I heard the door open.
“You’re awake,” said Siren’s uncle who really wasn’t her uncle. What the hell was his name? I couldn’t remember.
“Where’s Siren?”
“Siren? You mean Siobhan? She’s just in the other room, on the phone.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. “I need the bathroom.”
“Let me get some help.”
He rushed off before I could stop him. I shifted my body until I was close to the edge of the bed, bent my waist, and tried to sit up.
“Hang on, let me help you.”
“Hughes? What are you doing here?”
“I drove down to Kinsale last night. Took me a fecking long time to locate the two of you.”
I had a lot of questions, to most of which I didn’t really care what the answers were. “Listen, Hughes, I gotta take a piss.” He helped me up from the bed and held my arm. “I can walk, dammit.”
“The ogre is finally awake,” I heard Siren say from down the hall as I closed the bathroom door behind me.
* * *
When I came out, I didn’t see Hughes, but Siren was standing across the hallway.
“How are you feeling?” she asked at the same time she handed me a pill and a glass of water.
“Like a burning building fell on top of me. How about you? I had to have hurt you when I landed on top of you.”
“Come on,” she said, taking my arm and leading me back into the bedroom.
“Siren? You didn’t answer me.”
“I’m fine, Smoke. A little sore is all.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry for saving my life, you eejit.” She gently helped me back onto the bed and then walked around to lie next to me.
“Your uncle…what’s his name?”
“Gene O’Brien.”
“Right. He said you were on the phone.”
“I had a few calls to make.”
“Anything I need to know about?”
“I called to see how Jimmy Mallory was.”
“And?”
“It’s a miracle, but he’s alive.”
“He’s the shop owner.”
“The former shop. Not much left of it.”
“I can’t believe you went in there after him.”
“It’s what we’re trained to do, Smoke. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”
“There were firefighters there. Why didn’t you tell them to go in.”
She shrugged. “I just reacted.”
“I could’ve lost you. I’d—”
“Smoke. Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t act like this is more than it is.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I know we were never what I thought we were. Not before, and not now.”
I wanted to argue with her, tell her I wanted us to be more, wanted us to be together, but she was righ
t. The reasons we’d never be a good fit hadn’t changed.
“I have a house in Dublin. It’s a shorter drive than from Kinsale to here. Do you think you’d be up for it?”
“Siren, you don’t have to—”
She sat up and turned her back to me. “When you’re able to travel, you can go wherever you’d like. Just allow me to help you like you helped me. Could you please just do that?”
“Yes.”
She looked over her shoulder at me. “Good.”
Since Hughes’ car was quite a bit bigger than Siren’s, I rode with him and, this time, agreed to stretching out in the back seat. There was really no way to strap me in, so Siren insisted we stop so she could buy pillows to stuff around me. Had I known that’s why we were stopping or what her intentions were, I wouldn’t have allowed it. On the other hand, this was Siren I was talking about. It wasn’t like I’d ever had much say about what she did or didn’t do.
“She drives like a damn bat out of hell,” muttered Hughes.
“You got that right. A blind one at that.”
He laughed.
“Smoke, you know it isn’t going to be possible for me to keep Siren’s condition a secret forever.”
I shifted so I was sitting up. “What do you mean?”
“The head injury.”
“The doctors in Asheville said there was no medical reason for her amnesia. Now that her memory is back, I don’t see what the issue is.”
“Her memory isn’t back.”
“Of course it is.”
He shook his head. “That’s why she’s on leave—not that I told Byrne that.”
“But that’s why she left the States and returned to Ireland.” Wasn’t it? I vaguely remembered her saying something about overhearing me before I fell into a pain-medicine-induced deep sleep.
* * *
“It looks like you,” I said when Hughes helped me inside Siren’s house when she arrived a few minutes after we did.
“What’s that mean?”
I stepped closer to her. “Warm, loving, never argumentative, stubborn, or belligerent.”
“Very funny,” she muttered.
“How did we arrive before you?” asked Hughes. “You were flying ahead of us.”
“I had to stop.” She held up what looked like a burner phone.
“Right. This brute crushed yours.” Hughes pointed his thumb at me.
“He was saving my life,” Siren mumbled. “You need to sit before you fall,” she said to me. “Or would you prefer to lie down?”
She was close enough that I could grasp her arm. I pulled her closer and leaned in. “If you’ll be in bed next to me, I’d much prefer it.”
Siren rolled her eyes. “Pain meds.”
We both looked in that direction when there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” said Hughes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Casper when she raced inside and then abruptly stopped.
“I heard you almost died yesterday,” she said, glaring at Siren.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” said Siren, sending the nasty look back to her.
“Decker asked me to come. He’s on his way too.”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” I heard Siren mumble. “It’s a feckin’ second-degree burn.” She threw up her hands and went up the staircase.
“Excuse me,” I said, following her. “What’s going on?” I asked when I found her sitting on the edge of a bed with her back to the door.
“Nothing.”
I went and sat beside her. “People don’t generally rush out of a room over nothing.”
“It’s my house. I’ll do what I want.”
“Siren, look at me.”
She shook her head.
“Please.”
“They think I can’t take care of you.”
“I’m sure that isn’t the case.”
“Your precious Invincibles arrive within forty-eight hours and…”
“And what?”
“Nothing.” She tried to stand, but I wouldn’t let her.
“And what?” I repeated.
“Just go ahead and leave.”
“Huh?”
“She’s here to take you back to the States, so just leave. You’ll be better off there anyway.”
“Casper’s on assignment in France. The same mission I was on. That’s the only reason she’s here.”
“The two of you are working together?”
I shook my head. “Same op, but not together.”
She slowly turned her head and studied me with one eyebrow raised.
“There’s no reason for you to be jealous of Casper.”
“You feckin’ eejit.”
When she stood, I snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her onto my lap. “I’ll ask her to leave.”
“Just go with her.”
I nuzzled her neck. “You owe me.”
“I what?”
“All that time I took care of you. It’s only fair.”
“You hired a nurse.”
She shuddered when I kissed her neck right below her ear. “There were other ways I took care of you, Siren. Admit it.”
“Stop it,” she murmured with no conviction whatsoever.
I reached up and circled her nipple with the tip of my finger through her sweater.
“Smoke,” she groaned.
“Yeah?” I squeezed her breast. “I’m going to take care of you now, Siren.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“Of course I can.” I cupped her mound with my palm.
“Your friend is downstairs,” she murmured.
“So is yours. In fact, at one time, he was your lover. I’m the one who should be jealous.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Prove it.”
Her hooded eyes opened wide. “How?”
“Take your clothes off.”
“Now? You’re—”
“Do it, Siren. Let me see you naked.” I let her stand, anxious to see if she’d walk out of the room or do as I asked. “Good girl,” I said when she pulled her sweater over her head. “Now the pants.”
She pointed to her bra.
“Leave it on.”
She shimmied her jeans over her hips and pushed them to the floor.
“On the bed. Spread your legs for me.”
“Smoke—”
“Do it, Siobhan.”
I turned so my body was facing hers and put one of her legs across my lap and the other behind me. I ran one finger through her glistening folds, pressed my thumb against her clit, thrust two fingers inside her, and groaned. Siren’s eyes met mine.
“There can be no pain with this much pleasure.” As much as I wanted to replace my fingers with my throbbing cock, I knew that would be pushing my tolerance too far. Plus, this was me taking care of Siobhan. I had to taste her, though. I withdrew my hand and brought it to my mouth. Siren’s body writhed on the bed. “Feeling empty, sweetheart?”
She nodded.
“Tell me what you need.”
She grabbed my hand and brought it back to her pussy. I followed her gaze to the door of the bedroom I’d forgotten open. I stood and shut it, making sure it was locked.
God, I wanted to fuck her. It was more than a want; I had to fuck her. I stalked back over to the bed and settled my body between her legs.
“Smoke, we can’t—”
I might pay for this later, but it would be worth it. I was inside her with a single, hard thrust. “Put your legs around me.”
“You’re crazy,” she moaned, but she did it. I was deeper this way. I could pleasure us both with less movement. I braced my body on my arms and rotated my hips.
I stilled when the realization hit me that I wasn’t wearing a condom. I looked into Siren’s eyes. “Birth control?”
“I’m on the pill,” she said, grinding against me and then thrusting her hips, increasing the tempo until I rammed against her. I
squeezed out every ounce of our pleasure before separating my body from hers. Siren rolled out from under me, and I lowered myself, face first, to the mattress. I felt a dip and then her body next to mine. Her leg was across my thighs, and I could feel her wet pussy against my hip. I didn’t care what kind of pain I might be in when my brain finally registered it. Being inside Siren’s steamy, hot body was worth it, especially when I felt her tongue trailing down my arm.
28
Siren
Smoke’s cheek rested against the pillow, and I let my gaze linger on his face while he slept. Leave it to him to insist we have sex the day after burning rafters fell on him, singeing his flesh. He had to be in pain, yet he was able to sleep through it.
I heard noises from downstairs and wondered if Decker had arrived. I knew I should get up, put my clothes back on, and go check, but I didn’t want to leave Smoke’s side. I bent my neck and ran the tip of my tongue over the outline of the tattoo on his shoulder. It was of a bird in flight. A small bird. I wondered what its significance was as I studied the other ink that adorned his skin.
There were so many things I didn’t know about Smoke. I wondered if there was anyone he revealed himself to more than superficially.
I remembered Ms. Wynona saying there was always a war waging inside of him. Why was that? What demons had started that war? Would I ever know? Would he soon leave to return to America while I stayed here in Ireland?
When melancholia overcame me, I eased my body from the bed, put on my clothes, and crept out of the room. As I came down the stairs, three sets of eyes turned and looked up at me.
“Decker,” I said, meeting his gaze first.
“How are you, Siren?”
“I’ve been better, but I’ve also been worse.”
“How’s Smoke?”
“Resting now.” I walked over to where he, Casper, and Hughes were seated at my dining table. I pulled out the fourth chair and sat. “What’s your plan?”
“What do you mean?”
“The reason you’re all here.”
“Siren, we—”
“I asked Decker.” I didn’t bother looking at Casper when she spoke. While I’d never had anything against her before, I didn’t like that she came to my house uninvited.
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