Chapter 12
twelve
CIAR
Ciar and Gray entered the kitchen at the same time.
Everyone was there, helping themselves to a buffet-style breakfast. They would have been fifteen minutes earlier, but when Gray happened to bend over to pick her panties off the floor, his dick had other ideas despite how many times they’d come together last night.
He should be exhausted, but nothing but exhilaration coursed through his satisfied body. He glanced in Gray’s direction, where she was pouring herself some tea. She must have felt his eyes, because hers tipped up, her cheeks flushing pink when he smiled.
Ciar loaded his plate full. The night’s cardio had left him starved. He was about to sit by Dagr at the high bar when Mags announced, “I’m not surprised to see you eating enough for three, Ciar, after last night. The things I heard outside Gray’s room made even me blush.”
Ciar fumbled his plate, cursing under his breath before zeroing in on a smirking Mags. Blair covered her mouth, but it was clear she was hiding a silent laugh.
“In the shit now,” Dagr murmured at his side, not lifting his face from his plate.
“What the fuck are you on about, Mags?” Daniel asked.
“It’s Mags,” Jonathan chuckled. “The woman doesn’t need a reason to be a nut.”
“Fuck off, Jon. I’m only trying to help our friends come clean. I can reenact what I heard if everyone’s game.”
Bébhinn stepped beside Gray, bumping her side to see if her friend would shed light on Mags’ allegations.
“Don’t you dare,” Gray hissed.
“What the hell is this about, Gray?” Daniel asked with a look of confusion, not yet connecting the dots.
Ciar had agreed with Gray to wait, but right then, he wanted to kiss Mags’ shit-stirring little toes. Gray looked at him, her teacup frozen midair.
If she thought he could magically put the cows back in the barn, she had way too much faith in him.
Setting his plate down, he gave Gray a stern look before making his way toward her. Her panicked, silent “no” didn’t stop him. He took her cup and set it on the counter while wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her tightly into his body.
“Gray and I are together. Exclusively. I’m hers, and she’s mine. Oh, and we also plan on having sex every chance we get.” He grasped her chin and made her look up at his face before kissing her tenderly.
Background noise filtered through his haze of satisfaction at claiming her in front of their friends.
“The romance of it all,” Mags sighed.
“I’ll be damned,” Daniel cursed. “I fucking knew it, you bastard. I swore the night I slept on the couch that I heard you talking to a woman in the kitchen. From the noises, I was forced to endure, more than talking. It was Gray.”
Ciar could only smirk and shrug. “Guilty.”
“I always knew you had a thing for Gray, Ciar. I’m only shocked she returns the sentiment,” Bébhinn laughed. “I’m happy for both of you.”
“Thomas MacGregor is going to break every bone in your body,” Jonathan added cheerfully.
“Why don’t you look surprised, Dag?” Bébhinn asked. “Sharing is caring, you ass.”
When Ciar let Gray up for air, she was putty in his arms. He caught Blair’s sparkling eyes first. She signed, “About time.”
Mags grabbed Gray’s shoulders and brought her into a hug. “Forgive me for outing you, but I know you well enough that you'd overthink your relationship until water turned to wine. At least I didn’t truly reenact you screaming Ciar’s name.”
Turning to Ciar, Mags said, “Let me know at least three months before you propose, boyo. I’ve already envisioned the perfect embroidery for Gray’s veil.”
Ciar and Gray spent the next four days working on pub business in the morning. Their days were filled with white water rafting, hiking, trail riding on horses, ziplining, and checking out Telluride’s nightlife.
Tonight was their final night in Colorado, and despite the nagging worry about what his boss needed to see him about, this had been one of the best holidays he’d ever taken.
Being inside Gray every chance he could, paired with the wild landscape around them, made this time together more special. It was going to be hard to leave tomorrow morning.
They were going out tonight, and from Dagr’s frayed nerves over the past five hours, Ciar had a feeling he knew what tonight’s main event would be.
Ciar finished buttoning his dress shirt and smoothing his hands down the front of his dress pants when Gray walked into the bathroom.
Once the group knew they were a couple, he moved into her room immediately. He hadn’t brought up how well they got along living in the same space, but he planned to make his case. Soon. That night.
He already knew the two-story, historic brick building close to his new pub was for sale, and it would make the perfect home for him and Gray.
Her job would take her all over the world, but he knew that Gray and Bébhinn planned on making a name for themselves in Dublin.
Mags and Blair had yet to commit to either Ireland or Scotland.
Tonight, he would tell her that he’d already made an offer on the property. By the time it was renovated, she would hopefully have come around to his high-handedness.
It had taken him almost two years to lock Gray MacGregor down, and he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers.
“You look stunning,” he said, leaning down to kiss her soft lips, “and you’re all mine.”
She ran her hands down his chest, kissing him back. “You’re lucky I lo—” she cut herself off, “like you so much, Ciar Murphy, because my body hasn’t been this sore since I did two hot spin classes in a row last year.”
He pulled her against his chest. “Don’t tell me about how sore your body is, baby,” he groaned, “or we won’t make it to dinner and miss Dag’s big announcement.”
She hummed against his lips, seemingly contemplating his offer, which had him fighting an instant hard-on.
“Gray,” he warned. She was wearing a black slip dress that showed her curves to perfection, and his unruly body was already wondering how long it would be before he could peel the material from her body.
“Tonight,” she promised. “So, you’ve figured out what Dagr has in store for Bébhinn tonight, huh?”
“I’d have to be the King of Obliviousness not to know. It’s taken everything Daniel, Jonathan, and I have to keep quiet. The man’s blood is pumping through his veins at such a rate that his normally pale skin looks sunburned.”
“It’s romantic,” she sighed. “The girls and I have had a damn hard time keeping Bébhinn in the dark.”
He didn't want to bring up their living arrangements yet, but with Dagr’s proposal, he was getting nervous that he wouldn’t have his chance if he waited.
Grasping her silk-covered hips, he told her what he’d done without her permission. “I put an offer on the building near the new pub.”
Gray’s gray eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. Well, I suppose that makes sense. I grew up hearing that one could never own enough property. Good for you. It’s a beautiful neighborhood. Maybe you could reno and lease.”
“I plan on you and Bébhinn renovating the place.”
“Oh, well…that’s…well, of course.”
She was flustered but still not grasping what he was saying. “I want the space for us, Gray. To make a home together.”
Her sudden intake of breath had her choking. He never let her go, just watching her face for any indication that she might not hate the idea.
“You…” she paused, her gaze steady as she met his. “You purchased a home for us after only a few days of dating each other, and without consulting me?”
“Yes.” He gave her lips a quick smacking kiss. “You are mine, right?”
She scowled at him but eventually rolled her eyes and admitted, “You know I am.”
“Through good times and bad, baby. I just have to survive your dad, and we’re golden,” he teased.
“Christ, have mercy,” she moaned. “Dad.”
Her grimace said it all. Thomas MacGregor would be a tough sale. “Don’t stress, baby. If my offer goes through, which it will, I want to be in by Christmas. Can you manage the new pub, our home, and school?”
Her head hit his chest, and her groan of exasperation vibrated his collarbone. “You’re a shithead, Ciar Murphy.”
“But you love me anyway?”
“I do, fool that I am.”