Page 6 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

“I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking, Leah. Brianna is a perfectly nice young lady, and I enjoy playing with her very much.”

Niall rarely had to use a hard tone when he wasn’t in the middle of a scene. But then he didn’t usually have subs being so intensely rude about other subs.

Leah’s sweet expression went distinctly sour.

“You can’t think she’s hot. She’s ten kinds of chunky.”

He glanced over where the young woman they were talking about stood with her friends.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Leah’s eyes rolled and not in a sweetly bratty way. In a “I don’t want to be around her”

bratty way.

“You all say that about every sub. Come on. You gotta be authentic. We connected the other day. You can be real with me.”

His crop had connected to her ass. It wasn’t like they talked a lot. He gave her the aftercare she required, and it did not include any sex at all. He hadn’t even taken her to a privacy room because the last thing he wanted was for Harlow to hear he was hanging out with subs in privacy rooms.

“I am being real with you. She’s lovely, and I enjoy her company. She’s smart and funny, and if I wasn’t interested in someone else, I might pursue her.”

Honesty. He’d made the decision to be open and honest. It’s what the whole damn lifestyle was about. Being open about what he wanted. He wanted Harlow. He was being honest about that.

It was just the whole why he was here and who he knew he wasn’t being entirely honest about.

“I do not get this place,”

she said under her breath. She stepped back and then she sighed, and when she looked at him again there was a pout on her face.

“Niall, come on. I was hoping we could play tonight. We had a good time last weekend.”

“Whoever you are, he’s not like most of the other Doms. He’s an actual working dude. He owns a gym, and not the fancy kind,”

a husky voice said. Harlow. She stood there with her fists on her hips and those glorious green eyes narrowed. Now she did sound like a sexy brat.

“His monthly fees are like forty bucks, and he lives in a studio apartment. If you’re looking for a trust fund, Gabe is in the back. You are barking up the wrong tree with this one. He drinks protein shakes he buys at Costco.”

They were pretty good.

“And he doesn’t even have a freaking Costco membership. He goes with whoever’s on a run that week and pays them back. With cash.”

She said the last like it was a bad thing.

Leah looked like she’d heard the most horrifying gossip she could have heard.

“Eww. He doesn’t even have an app?”

“Like his phone is smart,”

Harlow finished.

Leah ran as fast as she could.

Such a brat. The kind he wanted to spank and then fuck and then cuddle up with.

“Just to clear a few things up, I do have a smart phone. I like to keep my gym fees low. My studio is above the gym. It was part of the lease.”

“Is it crappy, Niall?”

He shrugged.

“Pretty much. And the Costco thing, they let me throw in the protein shakes because I help carry everything. I like cash. What’s wrong with cash?”

Her lips curled up.

“Nothing. Did I interrupt an interaction you were enjoying, Sir?”

Oh, he liked it when she called him Sir. He fucking loved it when she looked at him with that challenging gaze.

“No, I was not. She was being quite rude. I don’t think I want to service her anymore.”

“That’s an interesting word. I would think you would use the word play.”

This was definitely something he’d learned over the last couple of months. He was surprised how often the tops sat around and talked about what went on here on the dungeon floor. He would have expected them to brag about the sex or complain, but what they did was discuss the subs and their needs and how to provide for them. He was rapidly discovering being around people who genuinely cared about each other and were open about themselves made him want to be more open, too. He was kind of over the masculine bullshit that said he shouldn’t talk about his feelings—shouldn’t have feelings at all.

“Play is something we mutually enjoy. I have never enjoyed my sessions with Leah. I don’t believe she’s here for the right reasons.”

“She’s looking for a rich boyfriend,”

Harlow surmised.

“There are always a few. They’re usually allowed in by dumbass men who can’t see through the mask. I’m glad you did.”

“Oh, her mask is not firmly in place,”

Niall replied.

“But we should talk about shaming other people for not having a trust fund, daughter of billionaires.”

She managed a pretty flush, and her eyes turned slightly down.

“I wasn’t shaming you. I like your gym. You’ve got some trainers there who actually know how to work with women.”

He made sure of it.

“So the reason you never play with me isn’t because you find my blue-collar status distasteful?”

Her eyes came up, flashing a little fire.

“Of course not. I didn’t say those things because I believe them. I said them so you would see who Leah is, though now I get that you already knew. How was I supposed to know you’re the smart one? I certainly don’t care how much money you make as long as you’re working hard and trying to be a good person. Which you do.”

He knew this was wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. Their chemistry… He never felt anything like it. Never wanted any woman the way he wanted Harlow. Maybe he could ignore it if he thought for one second she didn’t feel it, too. He could absolutely ignore it, could sacrifice for Jensen if he thought she didn’t need him. But she did. The truth of the matter was they both needed him.

“So why don’t you play with me, Harlow?”

Those gorgeous eyes stared at him, sexy bottom lip disappearing behind her teeth.

“You know why.”

He reached out and touched her, running his fingers over her jawline and then brushing the pad of his thumb over her lips.

“Because you’re afraid of me.”

Her eyes rolled, and he was reminded how much he wanted to slap her ass a couple of times and get her to cry for him.

“I’m not scared of you.”

Little liar. She was absolutely afraid of what was between them.

“You are, but you have a question for me. You’re going to be brave today, and I might finally get what I want.”

“What do you want, Niall?”

The question came out a bit breathless.

He gave her a smile.

“A chance to show you exactly how good I can be for you, Harlow Dawson.”

The way she was looking at him damn near sent him to his knees. And then it changed, that gorgeous face frowning.

“Wait. How did you know I was going to ask you a question?”

He had an answer prepared because he decided to chuck Gabe under the bus the minute he told on Harlow. Oh, he knew the guy was trying to watch over his kingdom and shit and he liked him. The ladies deserved their privacy, however, no matter what King Gabe thought was true. Niall wasn’t lying to her about anything he didn’t absolutely have to.

“Gabe has a whole spy network going. He told me when I came in this evening.”

Her jaw dropped.

“That asshole. I thought it was the spy kids. I should have known they didn’t care about anything but the betting book and national secrets. When did you get here?”

“Around nine-thirty.”

He saw her car in the lot when he parked. He always checked on her. If she asked her question tonight, it would be far easier to do it since he could stop by her work and bring her coffee or stop by her place to see if she needed anything.

Or wake up in her bed.

She huffed.

“I only made this damn decision around nine and fucking Gabe Lodge already knows about it and goes straight to you? Unbelievable. I’m going to kick his ass. I think we’re going to have a fight club tonight.”

Oh, that wasn’t happening. He wasn’t worried about her taking care of herself. She was solid, but he didn’t want to waste time. He reached for her arm, pulling her back.

“Slow down, my Valkyrie.”

A brow rose over her eyes.

“Valkyrie?”

“I have a thing for warrior women,”

he admitted. He thought of her as one of the Viking warrior women because her fierce nature was always evident. She didn’t simper and pretend to be less strong than she was so she could get some man to do something for her. Not his Harlow.

God, he hoped she was his Harlow.

She frowned.

“Well, you’re in the right place, but I would think you would want a Taggart.”

He shook his head. The Taggart women were lovely and he enjoyed their company, but there had only been one woman for him.

“Nah. I walked in and knew exactly who I wanted.”

“I don’t think I’m a warrior woman, Niall. I’m a PI. I didn’t even go into the military like so many people here.”

She was playing around with semantics.

“What would you call yourself? Let’s see, you are absolutely an expert at self-defense.”

“Only because Big Tag tried to kill me a couple hundred times. Well, he sent people to. I had some weird training classes.”

He’d heard.

“You take on dangerous cases for not a ton of money.”

“I can fund us for a while,”

she admitted.

“You’re right about the trust fund baby status.”

“Didn’t call you that. Just said you had one. Stop interrupting me when I’m trying to explain how fucking amazing you are in my eyes.”

She stared up at him and he felt comfortable continuing.

“You take care of everyone around you. To the point of putting yourself in harm’s way.”

He glanced down at the scar on her chest. It was slightly above her right breast, and there was no way to pretend it wasn’t a bullet wound.

“I would love to meet the person who did this to you. You got it on a case, right?”

“Sort of.”

Her hand came up, absently rubbing the scar.

“I was protecting a friend. I didn’t do a great job.”

“Is she alive? Did she get shot?”

He knew the story but he wanted her to say it so she remembered how amazing she was.

“No, she got away,”

Harlow whispered.

“And she’s engaged and happy now.”

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Not what he wanted to kiss, but it still felt sweet to connect with her.

“Warrior princess. Ask me. I’m going to say yes, Harlow. I’ve been waiting to say yes to you for a long time.”

Her eyes closed briefly, and when she opened them again there was a wealth of wariness there.

“You’re going to break my heart.”

“Not if I can help it.”

He didn’t mean to. He meant to heal it, to open it up so she could take everything they had to give her.

“Will you help me on my case, Niall?”

she asked.

He felt a smile cross his face.

“I will. But I think you should play with me. Tonight.”

“Are we negotiating?”

Harlow asked, clear challenge in her voice.

“About the play? Absolutely. About me helping you? No. There are no conditions to my help. I’ll go wherever you need me to, do whatever you need me to do, but I thought we should probably talk about how you like to play. If you want to play with me, that is. But you know how this goes. I command and you decide because you’re always in control.”

She stared at him for a long moment and then her hands came up, one cupping the side of his face. He didn’t even fight the instinct. He leaned into her palm, loving the way she touched him.

“I’m scared you’re too good to be true.”

Fuck, that made his heart hurt. He reached up and took her hand in his, brought it to his chest where his heart lay.

“I’m only a man. I will disappoint you, but I’ll also try to make it up to you however I can. I have promises I made a long time ago, but I’m almost through those now.”

“Promises?”

she asked.

“To an old friend,”

he replied.

“To my best friend. I have things I have to do for him, but when I’m done with those errands, I need you to understand that I’m going to put any relationship I have with a woman first. As I only have interest in one woman, I’ll put you first.”

“This errand? Is it dangerous?”

“It’s more like emotional support. I might have to answer calls and go meet him and I can’t tell you why. I can tell you anything I do isn’t criminal and won’t put you in any danger.”

He wanted to tell her, but beyond his promise to Jensen he worried if she didn’t get to know him better, she would run as fast as she could.

“But that only applies to when we’re not on this mission of yours. My house could be burning down and I wouldn’t leave your side. Do you understand?”

“I can understand the need to keep a promise, and I can definitely understand that sometimes we have to keep secrets.”

She nodded as though making her decision. She moved in, getting close to him.

“Then let’s play, Sir. Let’s see if this can work.”

He intended to make it so when she learned the truth, she couldn’t leave. Because he was pretty damn sure he couldn’t live without her.