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Xavier turned toward her, smirking.“You like accents.”

“I like handsome men with accents.”She gave Xavier a once-over, then sighed in pretend disappointment.“Sorry.”She tossed in a bright smile.“But your accent is cute!”

Xavier’s expression went slack in either surprise or affront, but only for a moment.He grinned, taking a step toward her.Annie tipped her head back, holding his gaze, and hoped he couldn’t tell how his nearness was affecting her.

“Are you trying to insult me?”he purred.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annie saw Colum watching their exchange, his eyes bouncing between them like a spectator at Wimbledon.

“Do you feel insulted?”

“I might, if you weren’t a terrible liar.”

Annie was actually an excellent liar.“What if I’m not lying?”

“We both know you are.”Xavier’s eyes sparkled, and his gaze kept slipping from her eyes to her mouth.He was enjoying this as much as she was.

“Are you delusional or arrogant?”Annie poked out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout of concern.

Xavier grunted, his gaze fixed on her mouth.“I know what I am, and I know what you need.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”Actually, she was sure Xavier could give her exactly what she needed, assuming he could cash the checks his mouth was writing.

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“I’m saying prove it.”

“Stop fighting,” Colum burst out, his expression troubled.

Annie blinked, still looking up at Xavier.A moment of shared understanding passed between them.And a small, almost tender smile touched Xavier’s lips.

Annie turned to Colum.

“Oh, Colum.”She placed her hand on his forearm.“We’re not fighting.We’re just flirting.”

“That’s flirting?”Colum asked, wide-eyed.

“We’re simply blowing off some steam, relieving the sexual tension,” she said, trying to find a way to explain.

Xavier grinned.“I know a better way… We should fuck.”He gestured from Annie to Colum, and then to himself.

Colum reared back a full step.“All of us?!”

Annie shot Xavier a look, warning him to behave himself.“We’re not fucking.”At least not yet, she mentally added to herself, because like Xavier, she thought it was a good idea.Or maybe that was her libido talking.

“Why not?We—” Xavier started.

Annie didn’t have enough energy to continue mentally sparring with Xavier.“Tell you what.Let’s stick a pin in that suggestion.I’m exhausted.”

“Stick a pin in it,” Colum muttered, running a hand through his hair in that way she was coming to understand was one of his tells.He did it every time he was confused or uneasy.

Annie leaned into him, gripping his forearm and pushing up on her toes.“Good night, Colum.”She gave him a quick, fairly platonic kiss, mouths closed, no tongue, and while Colum didn’t pull away, he also didn’t push for more.Dammit.

When she stepped back, she saw an almost pained expression on his face that told her he hadn’t wanted to hold back.That soothed the tiny part of her that feared this attraction of hers was one-sided.

“Thank you for the kiss,” he said softly.

She looked up at Colum through half-open eyelids as they both shared a smile, hers tinged with desire, his reflecting awe.God save her from sexy Irishmen.