Chapter 32 #2
Except Ronan doesn’t even look at her.
He keeps his eyes solely on me.
“My wife and I would like two more bottles of tequila.” He picks up my empty tequila bottle and hands it to the flight attendant without so much as glancing at her.
I cover my mouth to stop myself from smiling as the woman ducks her head and scurries away. “That was mean.”
“What was mean?”
“She clearly thought you were attractive.”
“So? That doesn’t mean she’s entitled to my attention.”
“Is anyone?”
“You are.”
That shuts me up.
“I think I won that round.” He nods his head toward the stash of liquor bottles. “Pick your poison.”
I scowl as I snatch up the whiskey and take a drink, though I instantly regret it. “I don’t know why I did that. I hate whiskey.”
Ronan throws his head back and laughs, and I’m momentarily stunned by the sight of him. By the way his eyes crease at the corners and the slight dimple that appears in his cheek.
“I’m going to guess your favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast,” he teases, but I’m still too distracted by how gorgeous he looks when he laughs to catch onto the joke. “Ciara?”
“Uh, my favorite movie is The Devil Wears Prada.”
“I guess I have to take a drink.”
Ronan watches me closely as he takes the bottle from my hands, his fingertips brushing against mine, and I forget to breathe as I stare at the powerful column of his neck, overwhelmed by the need to run my tongue along it—
“Here you are, Mr. Sullivan.”
I hadn’t even noticed the flight attendant return, but I’m grateful for the interruption as it seems from the look in Ronan’s eyes that he was having similar thoughts to me.
This is going to be a very, very long flight.
After I lose two more rounds and finish another bottle of tequila, I curl my legs up beneath me and turn to glare at Ronan. “Like I said, this game is rigged.”
“I just know you better.,” he says matter-of-factly.
“But that’s not fair.”
“Why not?”
“Because you give nothing away!” I throw my hands up.
“Fine, I’ll give you an easy one. What’s my favorite sex position?”
“Ronan!” My cheeks burn as I glance over my shoulder to see if anyone’s listening.
“What? It’s part of the game.”
I glare at him, but laughter dances in his dark eyes as he looks at me.
“You like it from behind,” I say quietly.
“Do I now?”
My blood heats as I remember what it’s like to feel his strong body pressed against my back as he thrusts his cock so deep inside me that I see stars.
“What’s mine?” I ask a little breathlessly.
He thinks for a moment, his eyes searching my face as he moves even closer.
I don’t dare look at his lap to see if he’s remembering the nights we spent together. But from the way his eyes darken, I know he is, and I grow slick between my thighs.
“I think yours is the same.” His voice is thick with arousal.
“W-why do you say that?”
“Because it always has you screaming—”
I slap a hand over Ronan’s mouth just in time for another flight attendant to walk past.
Ronan’s body shakes with silent laughter, and I playfully hit him on the shoulder with my free hand.
“You’re so bad!”
He gently wraps his fingers around my wrist and lowers my hand from his mouth, but he doesn’t release me. Not until he presses a soft kiss to the inside of my wrist, and my breath catches in my throat.
“Feeling better?” He looks up at me beneath his dark lashes.
I shake my head as I glance at his fingers, which are still wrapped around my wrist. The panic slowly building in my chest is no longer to do with flying but has a different reason entirely.
Him.
This side of Ronan, the one who distracts me from my fears and who makes me laugh, feels even more dangerous than flying. Because not only can I feel myself falling for him, but I’m starting to want him too. Not the reluctant husband or the ruthless mafia don.
I want the man beneath all that.
The one he guards like a secret.
But the reality is that I can’t afford that kind of want. Not when my loyalty to my father is hardwired into my blood, and my brother is out there plotting something that could destroy his entire empire.
My stomach twists with guilt as I look into Ronan’s dark eyes.
If he finds out I knew Callum was plotting and didn’t tell him, I’ll lose whatever ground I’ve gained with him, but turning Callum in feels like the ultimate betrayal. The final nail in the coffin of my old life that I thought I’d hate to leave behind.
Now I’m not so sure.
“Hey.” Ronan snaps me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
I nod as I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Yeah… Thanks for distracting me.”
He shrugs like what he did was nothing, when in reality it meant everything.
As silence settles between us, the sounds of our laughter long gone, I consider opening up to him. After all, his actions today have shown nothing other than care and concern for my well-being, which certainly wasn’t in the marriage contract.
I could tell him how I can feel myself starting to fall for him, despite the history between our families, but I don’t. Only because I’m afraid of what it would mean if he says he feels the same way.
“Why are we really going to Vegas?” I try to distract myself.
“I told you earlier, you said you’ve never been, so I figured why not now?” He smoothes his hands over his thighs.
I open my mouth to press him further, but he doesn’t give me a chance.
“I also want to talk to someone. An old friend of my father’s, who lives in Vegas. I’m hoping he can shed some light on a few things.”
And just like that, the bubble bursts.
Of course, this trip isn’t about connecting with me. It’s about business, just like everything else.
I was stupid to ever think otherwise.
“Sounds fun.” I force a smile, though my eyes sting with tears.
The walls around my heart go back up as I pull away emotionally and slip back into the version of myself that keeps Ronan at arm’s length. The version of me that protects her heart because I know how our story ends, and it’s not with a happily-ever-after in a Vegas penthouse suite.
It ends with me shattered and broken on the floor, wondering how I ever thought I could survive loving a man like Ronan Sullivan.