Page 24 of Three Irish Kings

“Isla...”

She suddenly clutches at the bottom of my shirt and gets down on her knees.

I hitch a ragged breath, looking at how she looks so desperate, her eyes huge, seeming to eat up her face.

“I’ll do anything,” she murmurs. “Please, just let me go.”

I can’t deny that I think about it. About what it’d be like to have her on her knees, forcing my cock down her throat. But I shake my head.

The only way I want that is ifshewants it, if she begs for it. Not while she’s under fucking duress.

I don’t take advantage of women. That’s part of my code. A code I thought the whole Hayes clan lived by, but I guess Ronan and Liam don’t anymore.

Ronan was always a ruthless guy, but there were lines he wouldn’t cross. But lately, those lines have been blurring. And apparently now, they have been erased altogether.

And he passed that ruthlessness on to Liam. He can be a real asshole when he wants to be, and right now, he’s that in spades.

“All right. Get up.” I lift her up, and she lets out a little gasp that makes my dick twitch. “None of that.”

“You don’t want me?” She pouts with that pretty pink mouth of hers, and I almost regret my decision.

I bark out a laugh. “Now,aghrá.You know as well as I do that I do want you. But not like this. I just want to keep you safe.”

“Really? You’re really going to keep me safe?”

I nod, hoping my honesty shows in my face. If I think about it, this might be the most honest I’ve ever been with anyone but Liam and Cil.

She sobs and throws herself into my arms, and she smells like fear-sweat and soap, and my heart starts to race.

“Hey,” I murmur close to her ear. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

She buries her face in my chest, wetting my shirt with her sobs, and I scoop her up, yanking the covers back with one hand and depositing her in bed.

Isla—or Maggie, or whatever her name is—clutches at me. “Don’t go. I don’t want to be alone.”

I hitch in a breath. “Can’t do that,a ghrá.For one, I don’t trust myself with you in bed right now, and for another, Liam and Cillian are talking about what to do with you right now. I need to be in on that conversation.”

“So you can keep me safe?”

“Iwillkeep you safe. Try not to worry.”

She scoffs. “Easy for you to say.”

There’s still fire in her hazel eyes, and I want to lean down and devour her so badly I almost ache.

Even though she just waltzed into my life a few hours ago, I want this woman. Badly.

I clear my throat instead, taking a few steps back, and she lies in bed, turning away from me. That makes my heart ache, but I slowly shut the door and walk outside, where Cillian and Liam are on the terrace, still arguing.

Chapter Seven

LIAM

I’mtired of going around in circles with Cillian. I take a deep breath, wrenching out of his grasp, and Cillian holds up his hands.

“I’m not questioning you, Liam, I just... This is not how we do things, not what Da would want?—”

“I don’t even know if he’s Da anymore!” I sigh.