Page 25 of Stolen Temptation (Irish Kings #3)

Rory

Vibration drags me from the depths of unconsciousness.

It takes me a second to realize that I’m not waking up from that restless, half-asleep, half-anxious-for-tomorrow bullshit I usually get between the hours of two and nine in the morning. This is…the most comfortable and well-rested I’ve felt in a long time.

The vibration continues its annoying buzz from somewhere under the covers.

With my eyes still closed, I fumble around until my phone winds up in my hand.

It’s still vibrating. Won’t stop.

My eyes snap open. An alert stares back at me.

A level five security breach? My heart stutters into a sprint like someone hit me with an AED.

As I rush out of bed, a small sound passes Kiara’s lips, and I remember for the first time where I am and what happened last night.

The dim, recessed lighting gives my old office a faint glow. It’s enough for me to see Kiara’s sleeping form sprawled over mine.

Kiara’s moans as she came resurface in my memory unbidden.

For fuck’s sake. As if my dick isn’t hard already at this time of morning.

As gently as I can, I untangle myself from her and sit up, the phone in my hand still buzzing nonstop. I maneuver off the mattress, pulling my pants on and zipping them up with some difficulty.

Once I’m decent, I slip out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind me.

I’m one millisecond from dialing Darren. He’s the one who will have sounded the alarm in the first place?—

A call from Finn surges through, and I nearly fumble the phone onto the ground.

Shit. I pick up on the first ring.

“Where are you?” Finn snarls.

“Med unit. I saw the alert from Darren. What the hell’s going on up there?”

“Your little canary flew away last night, and no one knows how.” The angrier Finn is, the faster he speaks. My early morning mind struggles to keep up. “Which means the mole may have abducted her. Or worse, Leo and his cronies got onto the estate right underneath our fucking noses.”

My stomach hits the ground beneath my feet, heavy as a damn bowling ball.

My lack of foresight stuns me. I can’t believe I forgot everything and fell asleep down here with Kiara last night. I’m also shocked to realize that I don’t feel the least bit sorry about my actions.

Compared to last night when all the guilt in the world draped over my shoulders, my body feels light. Maybe a little panicked because I caused some chaos and need to figure out how to explain things to Finn, but I don’t regret anything that happened.

In fact, I feel something else entirely.

Something I can’t think about right now.

Not with Finn breathing down my neck across the line.

“Call off the dogs.” I set my shoulders, bracing for the furious questions Finn’s about to flay me with. “The target didn’t escape. She’s here with me in the medical unit.”

Dead silence. I start counting in my head and get to ten before rage thunders full force into my ear. “Rory, you have five seconds to explain to me what the fuck is going on. Did she get hurt ? Why didn’t you report back to me like we agreed?”

“I was analyzing the chatter like you told me to, but when I checked on the video feed in her room, I saw her trying to escape. She climbed out her window. I caught her at the bottom, but she didn’t make it easy. She did get hurt. Not too bad, but enough that I brought her down to the med unit?—”

“ Where the hell did you take her ?” Finn demands, causing my teeth to grind. I haven’t lied yet, but I’m about to. “The medical staff wasn’t even on duty last night.”

Proceeding with caution, I release a deep breath. “I forgot. But once we arrived and everything was dark, I knew there was nothing I could do except administer first aid.”

More silence. Followed by more of Finn’s clipped, irate syllables.

“And you had to administer first aid all night ?”

“Of course not. I patched her up, and she fell asleep in my old office. I wanted to have a nurse check her out this morning, so I thought it was better not to move her. I monitored her overnight.”

What should scare me is what Finn’s going to do when he inevitably finds out that I’m lying. He has a way of sussing out when someone’s not telling the whole story.

Instead, what actually scares me is how easily my lie about last night slipped out.

Finn is one of the deadliest enforcers in the city. Interrogation is his specialty. Friend or not, pushing him too far is a bad idea. Deceiving him is an even worse one.

Yet my tongue refuses to confess.

The quiet between us drags on, which can only mean one thing.

He doesn’t believe me.

An angry exhale causes the line to frizz and snap in my ear. “Get up here. Now .”

The call drops, leaving me alone in the basement hallway.

I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans, trepidation already rearing its ugly head.

I can’t believe I just did that.

What was I thinking, bringing Kiara down to my old office? Of course no one searched in there. The room has gone unused for years, ever since I got the security hub up and running in the main estate.

The space is underground and not subject to any surveillance cameras.

Even trackers go offline down here.

If I really stop and think about it, the whole thing feels a little predatory.

Like I planned the seduction out perfectly so that we’d have the opportunity and privacy to get carried away last night.

At least, that’s what Finn’s going to assume when I get upstairs to his office and he forces me to explain the story again in greater detail.

I wish I had something new to report. Something that would distract Finn and anyone else in the loop from the obvious spectacle of me being a jackass. But all I can tell him is the few new details I squeezed out of Kiara last night.

They’re the only bones I can throw Finn, Shane, and the others. The picture is bigger than we initially thought. Both Kiara and her mother have a history with the De Lucas, which triggers even more questions.

And instead of burying myself between Kiara’s thighs, now I need to wake her up and escort her back to her room. Jesus, I haven’t even been awake long enough to come up with what I’m going to say.

Hey, good morning. So what did you think of last night? Was it everything you hoped for reading those cheesy grocery store romance novels?

Hope you slept well. It’s once again time for me to start acting like the guy who’s holding you hostage, so it’s back to your cage now. Thanks for the fun, though.

I ache to slam my head into the nearest wall.

When I re-enter the office, Kiara is still fast asleep.

Must be nice.

Her sweet, relaxed expression and the silent rise and fall of her chest capture my attention. Kiara’s vulnerability draws me in like the flickering heat of an open flame. If I’m not careful, it won’t be just me who gets burned.

The only life I’ve ever known could go up in flames too.

But for some reason, that doesn’t seem to matter to me as much as it should.

Not after what we just shared.

Not after the way we held each other like two people lost at sea, desperately clinging to the only thing floating for miles. Or the way I worshipped her, praised her, told her how much of a good girl she was while her body bucked and spasmed from her very first climax with a man.

Jesus, this girl is a cock ache and a half .

I squeeze my forehead in my palm, forcing out a breath to help me get my shit together.

I can’t stand here stalling. Finn’s waiting, and he will come down here if I don’t report to him within the hour. Last thing I need is for that guy to explode on me.

When Finn flies off the handle, it’s Arma-fucking-geddon.

“Hey, wake up.”

Kiara’s eyelids start to move. She rolls over, running one lithe hand through that stunning dark hair of hers.

Her eyelids slowly flutter open. Confusion clouds her gaze, but a moment later, she seems to remember where she is and sits up.

She focuses on me, her cheeks flushing a rosy pink when she shifts her body and realizes she’s naked.

I almost snort when she grips the sheet to her chest.

“What is it?” Her groggy morning voice has no right to be that arousing.

“Time to get back to your room. I’ve got work to do, and you’ve got books to read.”

After handing off her clothes, I turn my back and wait until she tells me it’s okay to look.

She yawns before inching toward the edge of the mattress. “Books?” The prospect causes some of her initial shyness to dissipate.

“Yes. Books. Had some sent up for you, remember?”

“Oh, right.” She tugs on her running shoes, and within a few moments, we’re leaving the medical unit. As soon as we get back to the garden, I realize the time.

Ass crack of dawn.

Fucking hell.

“Why is it still dark outside?” Kiara folds her arms around herself. “And why is it so cold?”

“Come on.” Setting a brisk pace now that I know she can keep up, I hasten through the labyrinth back toward the main house.

Her footsteps follow mine, so I don’t bother looking back.

Now that she knows what awaits her beneath the cover of these hedges, I don’t foresee another escape attempt anytime soon.

Still, she’s reckless enough to merit a warning.

As we pass the fountain, I stop. She bumps right into the back of me, just like the night we met.

“Try that little stunt again, Kiara, and you’ll regret it.”

Surprise brightens her features. Then my meaning sinks in. Her face falls as her defenses rise. I can tell by the tension in her shoulders.

Defiant, she flicks her eyes away from mine and huffs out in irritation.

“I mean it.” Resisting the urge to grip her takes strength . “There’s no guarantee that I’ll be the one to find you next time.”

Her shoulders relax a little, and her lips press into a tiny, ridiculously cute pout that makes me want to stick my tongue in her mouth.

She squeezes herself tighter, and when she speaks, her voice is pliant and unexpectedly sweet. “Fine. I’ll behave.”

Not gonna lie. Those three words set something off in me.