Duncan: The Lucky Irish Series - Book 1

by Anna Castor

  “Come, Kayla, let’s go inside.” When he noticed her look of surprise, he added, “I promised Maureen to get you back safe and sound. And you’re making me want to tear those clothes off of you and eat you alive.”

  Her eyes went wide at his boldness. He was a bit crude, but she knew he’d spoken the truth. She wanted him, and when he didn’t make a move toward the back door, she jumped him. Yep, she literally jumped from her spot and actually put her legs behind his back and her arms around his neck. He chuckled against her lips when she attacked him.

  They kissed fiercely, arms and legs intermingled, until someone behind them cleared his throat. “Umm, Maureen wants to leave. Are you coming? I mean, coming with Maureen... not coming right here....”

  Wow, talk about a cold bucket of water to bring you back from your daydream. Kayla slid from Duncan and stood before him.

  “Fuck off, Brennan,” Duncan growled. “We’ll be right in.”

  Brennan mumbled something unintelligible, and then the back door closed again.

  Duncan took a deep breath. “I want to get to know you. Fuck, now more than ever. Can we do that? Say you want this with me.”

  Kayla felt his breath on her lips as they still stood close. Her first instinct was to withdraw and act indifferent, act as if she was in control and couldn’t be this easily affected, but she couldn’t do it. She had to see where this would go.

  Even if he wasn’t exactly boyfriend material with his flirtatious nature, even if it was for one time only, she needed to see how much more he’d make her feel. Because he was starting to make her feel good again. She was feeling something other than fear, self-doubt, and sorrow. She felt alive, and damn, it was so good to be alive.

  “Okay.” She was hoping she wasn’t about to make a big mistake, but when she saw the smile on his face, she knew it would be okay. In a weird way, she trusted him, even though they’d only met last month.

  “Good. We’re going inside, and tomorrow I’m taking you out for lunch, okay? I don’t want to wait to pick you up at seven.” She’d completely forgotten their previously agreed date for tomorrow evening. He said it as if he was asking her, but he was more stating facts, and she couldn’t care less. She nodded, and when he led her through the back door, her cheeks warmed from embarrassment when Brennan looked at them from behind the bar.

  “Ignore him, wildflower,” he whispered in her ear, and with his hand on the small of her back, he led her over to Pops’s table.

  “Ah, there you are. Dear, do you mind if we leave early? I’m afraid I’m being a party pooper, but it’s my party, and I can go if I want to.” She giggled at her own words. Maureen always had a thing for throwing lyrics from her favorite songs into her conversations, no matter if she needed to change the text a little.

  “Of course, Maureen. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’ll grab our coats, and then we’ll be on our way.” Kayla wanted to turn around so she could walk toward their coats, but Caitlin halted her.

  “I’ve got them already.” Caitlin winked, and Kayla felt her cheeks flaming up even more as she guessed that Caitlin figured what they’d been doing outside.

  “I’m glad ye kids had a little talk, fine thing. Don’t ye let my boyo’s head get too big now, ye hear? He can be a bleedin’ muppet sometimes, but his heart is big and in the right place.” Pops squeezed her hand once, and then he picked up his whiskey and took a sip.

  “It means that I can be a fool sometimes,” Duncan offered when he noticed Kayla looking questionably at him. She simply nodded; she had no response to his confession that he could act like a fool. Duncan thought she couldn’t understand Pops’s words, but she was from Irish origin, and Pops reminded her of her own grandfather who died when she was a little girl. Meeting Pops resembled the familiarity of visiting with family.

  No, she understood Pops’s words, but she wondered in what way Duncan would be a fool. Was it because he was a player and a cheat who acted foolish and forgot he was with someone? Ugh, she had yet to go on a first date with him. She had to remind herself to take it back a notch. She had just jumped his bones, literally. She never, ever was the one to make such a move, so it was kind of unsettling for her, and she didn’t know how to go on from here.

  When she turned around, she bumped straight into Duncan’s hard chest. “I’ll walk you girls out, okay?” He took her by the hand, and she considered the feel of his large hand engulfing hers. It felt safe, as if he was taking care of her, and he was gentle, even. She was impressed that this big bad fighter who had a natural aura of dominance turned out to be so sweet and looked out for her.

  When they reached the El Camino, he opened the door for Maureen and gave her a little peck on the cheek. “Drive safe, Maureen.”

  She patted his cheek with her hand, which was again stuck in pink leather. “Yes, dear. Precious cargo, I know.” Maureen stepped into the car, and after Duncan closed her door, he went around the front of the car and opened the door for Kayla. She tried to get in, but he stopped her.

  “I’m not letting you go that easy,” he said with a smirk, and then he kissed her softly on the lips. He ended their kiss with a little nip of her bottom lip, and when he let go, he patted her bottom. “Go, wildflower. See you tomorrow.”

  “See ya, Duncan.” Caitlin grinned as she closed the door to the back seat. Duncan tapped the top of the car in response, and Maureen took that as a sign to start the engine.

  The ride home was quiet, and Kayla appreciated the way Maureen and Caitlin seemed to know, yet again, what she needed in that moment. They could be asking questions, telling stories of Duncan, but no, Maureen was occupied with driving, and when she’d looked over to Kayla, she only winked once with a big smile on her lips.

  “Thank you so much for inviting me today, Maureen. I had a wonderful time.” Kayla hugged Maureen in front of her door, and she was about to step away from her when Maureen pulled her even closer.

  “I’m so glad to hear you had a good time. You’re a sweet girl, and I’m certain happy times are coming. Good night, girls.” She let go of Kayla, hugged Caitlin, and entered her apartment, winking at Kayla as she closed the door.

  “Don’t say it.” Kayla held up her hand the moment she saw Caitlin’s grin.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything, but now you mention it....”

  “Good night, Caitlin.”

  “Aah, so no juicy details, then?”

  “Maybe tomorrow after our lunch date, okay? I don’t know what even happened tonight, but tomorrow, when I’ve had the chance to put things in perspective, I’m going to share some juicy details over a glass of wine, all right?”

  “Sounds like a plan, Kayla. See you tomorrow. Good night.”

  “Sleep tight.”

  After locking her own front door, Kayla was startled by her phone ringing in her purse. Pulling it out, she spotted her brother Calum’s name on the display.

  She tried to act cheery when she answered his call. “Hi, brother dearest, what’s up?”

  “Don’t ask me what’s up. Kayla Walsh, you tell me right now where you are, you hear?”

  Her family was no longer accepting her evasive answers. Leave it to her oldest brother to be the one to get his answers. He was a cop like their dad, and he could act all good cop, bad cop in one single conversation. “Please, sis, we miss you.” See?

  “I miss you too, I do, but I needed to spice things up a bit, you know?” She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth, hoping he would leave things be for once. But she already knew that hell would freeze over sooner. He always had to be the big brother, the protector of her and their siblings. He was strong, protective, and, on occasions, overbearing, but everything he did was from a big heart and with the best of intentions.

  “Mom’s crying in the kitchen when she thinks nobody’s watching. Dad and the guys are grumpy all the time. Our sisters are bickering more.... Sis, we miss you. Nothing is the same since you left. We never had the chance to say goodbye; you just up and lef
t. You know we’re not stupid, right? If we hadn’t heard from you at all, I’d have put an APB out the minute I realized you left your job, your apartment—fuck, you left your whole life.

  “You’ve said you couldn’t say goodbye because you’re not good at saying goodbye, but something’s not right. You know it, and I know it. Now, please let me in. Tell me where you are, and we’ll go out for coffee. Me and you. I promise I won’t drag you back by your hair—well, maybe I’ll throw you over my shoulder.” He chuckled.

  Kayla was laughing and sobbing at the same time. She had felt homesick every day since she’d left New Jersey. She cried herself to sleep at night, and when her family contacted her in the past weeks, she’d put on a front and said she was taking a year off for herself. A sabbatical year, so to speak, and she made it sound like she was sick of her life at home and she needed a change. Nothing could be further from the truth. She missed her family fiercely. She missed her bickering, overbearing but loving family so much that she was hurting inside because of it.

  “Please, sis. Let me in. Tell me where our Kay-Kay is and let me make it all better.”

  Kay-Kay was the name Kayla gave herself when she was only three years old. She wanted to play with her three big brothers when they had run outside in their big backyard. It was snowing, and their backyard had turned fully white. The boys tried to make a snowman, and Kayla wanted to help them with pushing a big ball of snow toward the snowman. She was shouting, “Kay-Kay help!” and her brothers helped her push the big ball. It was one of the first memories she had, and Kay-Kay became a pet name that only her brothers ever used.

  She pushed back the tears running over her cheeks and softly said, “Austin, Texas.”

  Sweat was dripping between Duncan’s shoulder blades down to his back. He was helping his brother Ronan get back into shape for his upcoming fight. Ronan ducked once again and made a play to give Duncan an uppercut. His little brother seemed to know that Duncan was preoccupied, as his thoughts were with Kayla and their “talk” in the back alley at Lucky last night.

  Duncan hated that he couldn’t fight professionally anymore. Fighting was his life. He was good at it—no, not just good, he was the best. He started Duncan Dojo with his prize money, and here he was helping the next generation Mills fighter, and Ronan was handing him his ass.

  In the beginning of this year, Duncan opened his own dojo in an old empty warehouse in the neighborhood of St. Johns in Austin. Because of his shoulder injury, he could no longer fight professionally. His four brothers and his dad had helped him in making the building ready for its new purpose. The demolition and renovation were over in a heartbeat, because all of the Mills men were built like Duncan—six-foot-four brick walls of muscle.

  The dojo had been busy with fighters who trained on the fighting mats and in the two boxing rings, as well as people working out in the fitness area. The fitness area and yoga classes made for a mixed clientele and gave less of a man cave feel to his dojo.

  Duncan’s jaw was pushed to the side after the hard blow from Ronan’s boxing glove. “Fuck!”

  Ronan danced around Duncan, resembling a little monkey on hot coals and looking smug. His little brother needed to be taught a lesson. “What was it you used to say, Dunc? If you snooze, you lose?”

  “Yes, little brother.” Duncan bowed his head, acting defeated, but he was looking at Ronan’s feet in search of his position so he could take advantage of his boasting brother who wasn’t paying attention.

  When he spotted Ronan in the perfect position, he charged him, slamming headfirst into Ronan’s chest and plowing him over. He then took a surprised-looking Ronan in a choke hold and held on as his stubborn little brother refused to tap out.

  “Never. Let. Your. Guard. Down,” Duncan growled as Ronan struggled against him, trying to throw him off. Eventually Ronan tapped with his palm on the mat, and Duncan let his brother go.

  “That was so cool, Duncan,” Cheryll purred when Duncan walked out of the dressing room back into the gym after taking his shower.

  She was wearing a ridiculous tight pink outfit that left nothing to the imagination. She had a killer body, he would give her that. It had been the only reason why he agreed to go to her apartment all those weeks ago. Her bleached blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her stomach was bare, and Duncan knew she had a piercing in her belly button when she wasn’t working out.

  “You still got it.” She winked at him and tried to drag her fake nails down his chest, but he sidestepped her.

  “And don’t you forget it.” He winked back and strolled to the parking lot in front of Duncan Dojo. Ronan was waiting for him next to his truck, his mood broody to say the least. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a big-ass frown on his face.

  “’Sup, brother?” Duncan asked as he put his gym bag in the back of his truck.

  “I don’t know, you tell me. Is there something I should know?” Ronan growled.

  Duncan had no clue what his brother was referring to, so he paused and looked Ronan in the eyes. He saw so much of himself in his six-years-younger brother. Ronan was just as cocky, had a big mouth, and he also had the need to prove himself. The only difference was that Duncan often shrugged things off. He could be the joker if he wanted to. Ronan was a hothead who would act first and think later, and right now, he was definitely pissed off.

  Duncan didn’t back down from Ronan. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, bro. Spit it out, will ye?” When pissed off, the yous shifted into ye. It was not a good sign if a Mills brother started to say ye.

  “Did ye fuck her?”

  Duncan had no clue to whom Ronan was referring. No, he couldn’t be talking about his wildflower, or was he? He instantly charged, gripping his brother’s throat with his large hand, and roared, “How do ye know Kayla?”

  Ronan pulled at Duncan’s hand around his throat and choked out, “K-Kayla? Who are ye talking ’bout! I mean Cheryll! Christ, ye can’t even remember her name, fuckface.”

  Duncan scoffed at his brother’s name for him and took a deep breath. “No, I didn’t fuck Cheryll. I know you’ve got the hots for her, bro. We have a code, right? I went to her apartment months ago, when you didn’t even know her yet, but nothing happened, I swear.”

  He let go of Ronan and took a step back. Ronan cracked his neck and said, “Hmm... good. So you’re not tapping that?”

  “No, Ro, I haven’t, and I wouldn’t do that to you. You know me. Cut me some slack, bro.”

  Ronan shook his head, as if he suddenly remembered something, and a smile spread across his lips. “Who is Kayla? She the one who was in your head while you got punched on the jaw?” Ronan was back to being his asshole self, and all was good in the world.

  “You’ll meet her soon, I promise, Ro. She’s something else. I’ve never, ever lost focus during training, but I can’t seem to get her out of my mind.” Duncan smiled at his own words. He had it bad, and he knew it.

  “Look at you, all smiling and shit. Shit, I’m sorry for coming at you, Dunc.” Ronan slapped him on the back.

  Duncan shook his head. “Don’t let her get to you, Ro. Cheryll’s not worth it. She goes through the fighters like others change underwear. She has nothing on Fianna.”

  Duncan knew he hit a nerve with bringing Fianna into the mix, but he wanted so much more for his brother than Cheryll. Ronan and Fianna had been together for a short period of time when they were younger, and they had a passionate but explosive relationship. It was kind of a love/hate thing, and the last couple of years, it was mostly hate. They couldn’t even be in the same room without starting a small war.

  But Duncan and the rest of his family still rooted for Fianna and Ronan to get back together. They had been so good together. He could see the love Fianna had for his brother, and he knew it was true love for Ronan as well. Ronan seemed to be more grounded when he was with Fianna, fighting less with everyone, and he wasn’t getting in as much trouble. But they were so much alike; they both loved and ha
ted fiercely.

  Fianna and her four sisters felt like family ever since they moved in next door when the twins, Ronan and Declan, had been only eight years old. Ronan instantly clicked with Fianna, and her younger sister Bree was always running after Declan to get his attention. Bree and Declan were still best friends. They had a friendship so close that even the hefty breakup of Ronan and Fianna couldn’t tear them apart.

  “Fuck off” was all the response Ronan gave Duncan, and he walked away.

  Duncan knew it was a low blow, but he wanted to shake some sense into Ronan. Cheryll was nasty, as she tried to play all the fighters against each other. She was such a drama queen. Duncan was glad to have sailed home free from that one. Thank God for Frozen.

  Duncan was well on his way to Mills Security when a call came in from his brother Declan. “Yo, Dec,” he said into the cabin of his truck.

  “Are you on hands-free, bro?” Yes, that would be his dutiful brother Declan.

  The twin brother of Ronan, and the exact opposite in so many ways, Declan was a cop and always on the good side of the law. Ronan, well, you could say he was not. But despite their differences, the twins were as thick as thieves. Duncan was certain that Declan had already received all the details about his encounter with Ronan earlier.

  “Of course, bro.”

  “So, who is Kayla?” Declan asked. Bunch of gossiping old ladies, his brothers.

  “You’ll meet her soon. I told Ro this already.” Duncan was not above pointing out their gossiping, but he had to admit he loved that they all cared enough to poke at him.

  “Good. Pops says he loved that ‘fine thing.’ She cute?”

  Great, how was he to answer without growling out that Declan didn’t need to know how fine she was? Duncan knew it was stupid, but he wanted to have Kayla for himself. He wanted to get to know her without his family butting in and scaring her away.

  He decided to joke, as was his way. “You ever seen me going out with a scarecrow?” He pulled into the parking lot of Mills Security.

  “Guess not. So Pops said she’s Irish as well, and boom, he decided to stick around longer and watch little Duncans run around at Lucky. His words, bro, not mine.” Declan chuckled at his grandfather’s words, and Duncan joined him.