Page 20

Briar

R ory and I climbed the town house steps, the carpet soft and plush beneath my feet. What was Lorcan doing living in his little house in Byron Bay with all this at his fingertips?

She gestured around as we reached the first floor, pointing out features.

“You can go anywhere in the entire town house, including the corporate offices, if you want to. I’m sure that Cormac will secure your access cards shortly.

The ballroom, drawing room, and art gallery are on this floor.

The staff can access this space only for special events, so you shouldn’t run into anyone. Do you like artwork?”

I glanced around, my heart fluttering. I was entirely out of place here. “Mm-hmm.” The syllable was hardly audible, even to me.

Rory stopped as we rounded the hallway toward another door. “There’s a whole gallery—” I felt nauseous. She laid her fingers on my arm, her touch tender. “I know this is a lot, especially if you aren’t used to this world, but I’m here to help. Cormac, too.”

But I wanted Lorcan to guide me through it.

I hadn’t realized until the plane last night how little he wanted to do with me when he refused to lie in the bed beside me.

We hadn’t even shared a kiss, so I wasn’t expecting mad, passionate sex, but curling up next to him would have been nice.

Instead, I was left alone, with only my dreams of lying in his arms after riding his cock until we both came.

A cool draft whispered through the hall, and the muted light from a nearby chandelier cast intricate patterns on the floor, giving the space an otherworldly glow. I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll get used to it.”

Rory pulled a white key card from her pocket and waved it in front of a reader next to the door. The latch clicked, and she opened the door, gesturing for me to climb the stairs ahead of her.

I glanced back over my shoulder. “All this belongs to Lorcan’s family?”

Rory smiled. “Lorcan, too, if he wants it.”

We continued climbing to the second floor. “The first two rooms on the left belong to Kieran and Aine. On the right, Cormac, Lorcan, Aiden, and then Conall. A family library and drawing room are at the end of the hall. Cormac and I share his room. Should I assume…”

I chuckled. “No, you shouldn’t.” I looked down at my hands.

“I don’t think that will happen, even if I want it to.

Lorcan has clarified that he will help me with this research, but wants nothing more to do with me.

” My voice was more strained than I wanted it to be, and a sadness settled in my chest.

“He doesn’t know what he missed on the flight here.

” She laughed lightly, but there was a flicker of something—amusement or perhaps a secret she wasn’t sharing—in her eyes before she pointed at another set of steps.

“To the guest chambers. There are also a few rooms for household staff up here, but Cormac has given them some time off.”

We ascended to the third floor, the stairs creaking under us. At the top, Rory opened the first door, revealing an opulent space.

“This should work for you,” she said with a smile. I followed her into the room.

The sitting room was luxurious, the marble fireplace mantel gleaming in the faint light.

Thick forest-green velvet curtains framed the large windows.

The sitting room had a sofa and a chair in the center.

In front of the fireplace, two chairs flanked a small table, perfect for a cozy meal.

Through the open door beside the fireplace, I could glimpse the bedroom.

The bed rested on the far wall with its intricately carved Victorian headboard and a bench at the end.

“You have a bathroom through that door, which also connects to the bedroom,” said Rory, pointing at a door farther down the wall from the one next to the fireplace.

I crept forward, my heart in my throat. How could I stay in this home that was worlds away from my life?

I would have to pretend I was in a lavish hotel.

I walked through the door to the bedroom. An armoire matching the bed stood along the wall outside the bathroom.

Rory followed me in. “I’ll see that Paul brings your bags up.” She gestured to the armoire. “If you need anything, check in there first. If it’s not there, let us know. The house is entirely stocked for surprise guests.”

I frowned. “What do you mean, stocked?”

Rory laughed. “Boxing Day takes on a whole new meaning here. Cormac explained it to me because we don’t even have Boxing Day in Savannah.”

I tilted my head.

“Instead of boxing up leftovers, the O’Cillian staff boxes up entire wardrobes.

Aine—Cormac and Lorcan’s mother—has given strict instructions that no one should need to bring anything when traveling to an O’Cillian home.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the staff empties every dresser and cabinet, then purchases entirely new wardrobes.

They help themselves to whatever they want before donating the rest.”

“But…”

“Don’t ask. It makes no sense to me, either. Cormac told me once it is her way of showing the utmost hospitality.”

“How strange,” I murmured.

Rory nodded. “But it’s convenient when we travel—we pack light.”

“Except for your private jet,” I teased.

Rory smirked. “Well, there is that.”

I traced a finger along the edge of the bed’s carved headboard, marveling at the level of detail. The opulence was overwhelming, a stark contrast to the simplicity of my life back home. “Was your life like this before you met Cormac?”

Rory shook her head. “Oak Leaf Hallow isn’t nearly this grand, but it is just about as historic. I’d barely left that city when Cormac and I met.”

We returned to the sitting room, and I gestured for her to sit.

She settled in gracefully. My gaze fell to the set of silver pendants against her chest, each delicately carved with a large cat.

I raised my eyes to hers and smiled. It seemed she never took them off.

I wondered about their significance, but I didn’t want to intrude.

She lifted her hand to the necklace. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

I leaned forward, clasping my hands together. “I still don’t understand Lorcan’s issue with his family.”

Rory’s smile faltered, and she glanced at the window as if searching for the right words, her hands smoothing over the fabric of her skirt. “Have you tried asking him about it? There is only so much I can share.”

I frowned, frustration bubbling up. It was a conversation I’d tried to broach with both Lorcan and Rory over the past week.

Now, her evasiveness only deepened my curiosity, and I gripped the edge of my seat.

“All he ever says is he’ll help me learn what happened to Lady Isobel, but I shouldn’t be involved with his family.

” My gaze dropped to the coffee table. “Or him.”

Rory’s smile turned knowing. “And that’s not what you want? You know, you’ve never outright said.”

Heat rose to my cheeks as my fingers curled into the hem of my shirt. “No,” I admitted softly, the weight of the truth catching me off guard. “I just keep hoping…”

“The O’Cillian boys are a little difficult to resist, aren’t they?

” Rory’s voice held a hint of amusement.

“I wanted nothing to do with Cormac when I met him, but that all changed. Lorcan has more trouble with his family than most. Work with him to find what you need and let him broach the subject of their past. One thing I know for certain—if Lorcan told you he would help you learn the truth, you will.”

I laughed softly, realizing we had spoken little about the journal in our time together. “Did anyone tell you why I insisted he help me?”

Rory shook her head.

“In Lady Isobel’s journal, she wrote about the Marquess of Dún Na Farraige, Lord Lorcan O’Cillian. She also insisted she killed a vampire.”

Rory’s smile widened. “They enjoy their family names in the Clan O’Cillian.”

She pulled in a breath and stood. “I should let you get settled. You recall where I told you the drawing room was on the floor below us?”

I nodded.

“There will be tea there in about an hour. Cormac usually eats soon after we land. And the chef here makes food that is to die for.”

“I thought you said the staff had been given time off?”

The sun shifted on the floor, playing with the shadows.

“The kitchen here is also open for the corporate staff. It is just the household staff who have time off.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Right, the corporate staff who work next door for the company the O’Cillians own?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s the company called?”

Aurora smiled, her voice light. “Dún Na Farraige Estates Incorporated.”

My heart skipped a beat. Vampires weren’t real.

This was all just a coincidence, wasn’t it?

Yet the name tugged at something deep within me, something that insisted there was more.

But why wouldn’t the O’Cillians use the name Dún Na Farraige?

After all, it was only normal to remain associated with a title like that, wasn’t it?