Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
TALLY
I take off the helmet, the rush of the cold night air helping cut through the conflict.
And that conflict is definitely a me issue.
Tynan and the others are merely doing what I asked.
I feel like a bitch because of it, but that’s not on them, either—or perhaps it is because they’ve been nothing but sweet.
They just show it in a slightly obsessive manner.
I start talking to myself on the way to the front door. “I always felt safe.” And continue once I’ve used the hand scanner and my code to unlock the door. “Even when they drugged…”
My rambling stops for a few seconds when I kick off my shoes and leave the helmet on the bench in the mudroom. Any further discussion I’m having with myself comes to a screeching halt when I walk into the main part of the house.
Compared to their oversized and grand apartment, the two-story walk-up is a modest space, at best. The floors are mostly bare, apart from a few throw rugs, and the furniture is fine but has seen better days.
A living area with a dining table and a sectional sofa takes up one side of the room, with a kitchen on the other.
It has what you need to survive—a cooktop, microwave, fridge, and sink—but you wouldn’t be cooking a gourmet dinner here, unlike in their massive kitchen.
The walls need repainting, the curtains need replacing, and when I explore the other rooms, similar work needs to be done in each. But it’s cozy. Cute, even. Freaking perfect.
Upstairs is already my favorite. The entire floor has been gutted, walls removed, opening it up into one large space. The floorboards have been whitewashed, adding to the ethereal aesthetic the large white canopy over the bed gives off.
The bed resembles a huge fluffy cloud—a storm cloud, that is.
There’s an inordinate number of white cushions thrown on it, too many, if I’m honest, along with a stack of unopened dark-colored blankets still in bags next to a handgun and a box of ammo.
Picking up the note, I lift it to my nose, finding Keegan’s scent is all over it.
You are an O’Connor. Shoot without hesitation. And don’t fucking miss.
I roll my eyes. If only he knew. Still, his grumpy note has me happier than, by rights, it should.
Walking to the small wardrobe, all my clothes have been hung up. It’s an easy jump to assume Rafferty did this, since his earthy sage scent is over everything. Same as my toiletries in the bathroom, adding to my spreading elation.
Leaving the bath to fill, I undress and go back downstairs in my sports bra and panties to see what’s to eat.
Swinging the door open, I find the fridge stacked.
I grab one of Tynan’s pre-made meals—the protein and carbs ratio is too regimented to be anyone else’s—and barely shut the door to the microwave when I get a message on my phone.
A film. From Ronin. Which is probably a warning in itself. Intrigue has me pressing play.
The reel starts in my old room, and he moves next to my bed, opening the bottom drawer where I kept all my vibrators and dildos.
His middle finger fills the frame before the whack job fires every bullet in his gun's cartridge into my collection. The ending is my favorite. Ronin flips the phone and points it down, fisting his hard cock, giving me a thumbs-up at the same time. The lack of audio is made up for in imagery, that’s for sure.
Saving the video to my library, because it’s that good, I do a walk around, checking I’m locked in, switching lights off, then grabbing a bottle of wine, my food, and phone.
Eating dinner amongst a sea of bubbles while sipping on the exceptional wine someone left for me is the best ending to a strangely good day.
Eventually, though, my eyes fight to stay open, and my skin resembles a prune.
Leaving the central heating on, I push off all the pillows, the blankets, too, leaving the gun in the drawer before climbing into bed naked.
Well, I go to, but when I pull back the quilt cover, I get my last surprise of the night.
A neatly folded collection of clothes. As I lift the first business shirt, Ronin’s chocolate scent takes my breath away.
It’s so strong. Laying it over my pillow, I do the same—inhale, enjoy, and place—one of Keegan’s T-shirts, a hoodie from Tynan, and a soft pair of sweats from Rafferty.
The little note I find is as sweet as he is . Wish we were with you.
I half curse Ronin for destroying my sex toys, but the buzz I get from being in my O’Connor bed brings me peace regardless, and I drop into a deep and dreamless sleep.
My alarm wakes me earlier than I should be awake, given how late my night was, but I want to be ready for breakfast. As good as they smell in my bed, until I figure out a few things, their clothes are going to be the only thing I sleep, sleep with.
I’m an Omega, for flip’s sake. If during this time, I end up naked and getting fucked into next week by one or all of them, clearly, I’m not going to bitch about that.
I’m downstairs, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, looking like shit but feeling a hundred percent better with our new living arrangement with nearly ten minutes to spare. Turning the lights and television on, I go to try to figure out the coffee machine when they arrive.
Keegan comes in first, Ronin right behind him, with Rafferty busy talking to Tynan. They walk in looking like sin and smelling like trouble.
“Why do you smell like smoke?”
Keegan answers with a wicked smirk that makes me glad I wore full brief panties and not a g-banger like I had first put on.
He’s in front of me the next moment, and that smile twists into something more heated and intimate.
His eyes fall to my mouth, and before I can even take another breath, his lips are on mine.
His kiss is hard and fast—freaking amazing. Then he’s pulling away to study my reaction, and since I’m not yelling or hissing like a cat, he comes in again. And this kiss is toe-curling.
“You sleep alright?”
“Didn’t even have to use the gun,” I say before shoving him off me.
Looking around, I find that Rafferty and Tynan are in the kitchen. Ronin is behind me, but I don’t realize until too late. He traps me by my hips, holding me close as he bites my neck, growling against my skin.
“What the hell is up with you?”
He laughs. Of course. I swear it’s all this man does. Until I remember he also kisses like the devil and fucks like a god.
“Are you coming back home, Tally girl?”
I look at him like he’s lost his marbles, then I use my words because, with Ronin, I need to be clear. “Err, no.”
He chuckles. “You should. You’d be safer with us.”
“I’m perfectly safe here.”
“Are you?”
“And what does that mean?”
“It’s a dangerous place, is all I’m saying.”
I turn around, searching his face for answers, or at least a clue at the mystery he’s alluding to.
Before he literally sweeps me off my feet, picking up the remote to sit on the sofa with me on his lap.
The sigh of relief he makes as he leans back, holding me close, is the precursor.
When the news starts, the lead story is about a fire that completely destroyed what suspiciously looks like The Shamrock.
Ronin’s mouth is against my ear again, and he talks over the journalist standing near the scene.
“Trouble’s coming, my girl, and it’ll keep happening as more and more people start playing the game.
My da’s not dead, but some of his men are acting it, wanting his place at the head of the Irish.
By rights, though, that place at the top of the triangle is mine, but in any situation, there’s always some tool who thinks they deserve it more.
Throw you in the mix, my own wife, and I’ll do worse than burn a pub down to remind those people who they’re playing with. ”
I twist on his lap to peer at him. His eyes aren’t on the TV; they’re waiting for mine. “You did that?”
“Aye. Well, not me, but it was done on my say so. Then the four of us stood round to watch it burn.”
“Jesus.”
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. My ma will clobber you over the back of the head if she hears you talking like that. I want to look at my ma with nothing but love in my eyes.”
Ronin is deadly serious. On all accounts too. He’s nonchalant about the fire but clearly passionate about the reason. He’s also extremely talkative this morning. Snuggly warm and smelling like heaven too.
“So, while we’re working things out in our pack, let’s get a few things straight, shall we? No fucking man or woman gets to touch you. None, Tally girl. I’ll break every bone in their body before ripping their hands off and using them to choke them to death.”
My mouth falls open. And not even his wry smile helps with the shock.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m in the fucking mafia.
And yes, I’m generally a very happy-go-lucky Alpha, but come for my family and I’ll be a right fucking psychopath not needing any further provocation asides talking shit about my family.
You’re my wife and part of my pack, so I’ll be as fucking postal as I need so others understand you’re mine. ”
“Ronin…”
“I’m not overreacting.”
I laugh. “I was going to say, can I please have a coffee before you start dumping all this in my lap?”
His eyebrows jump up high as I shock him. But I think that’s the key to Ronin, being as random as he is. It’s his style of communication, and I can respect it and hopefully keep up with it.
I pull my feet up and settle against him to confuse him some more. “And if we’re going over the rules, don’t you think we should all be a part of this?”
“What’s got you being so… accommodating this morning?”
I roll my eyes at him before explaining. “You gave me exactly what I asked for, a house for space and time. Though we’ll have to work on that a bit, because twenty hours apart hardly qualifies as time.”
“You like me house, ha?”
“’S all right,” I tease him. “It’s very cute, actually. Whose is it, though?”
He takes a long sigh, his mood doing another one-eighty. His mouth twists a little bit, and I swipe my finger over it, for no other reason than I want to. He leans into my touch and lets me see the rush of emotion in his eyes.
“Noinin’s,” I answer before he does, and the tight smile from him confirms it. “You would have been the best big brother in the world, Ronin. Thank you for letting me stay here.”
We get interrupted when Rafferty plants a noisy, and juicy, kiss on my cheek while his brother just sits on a chair opposite and lets his eyes do the talking.
Keegan carries over a huge platter of breakfast rolls, the bacon and egg double on some, placing it on my lap.
He reappears with a coffee mug for me, and he kicks over the coffee table.
“Hey, watch my house,” I scold, but my words get lost under the piece of food Ronin pushes past my lips.
The television gets forgotten as we sit around and chat.
Well, mostly Ronin, Keegan, and Rafferty do the talking.
And laughing. Every now and then, Tynan will add something, a word here or there, but mostly, he listens and watches.
The stories they share from their long history of time together bring a smile to my face, and a longing from somewhere deep inside me stirs.
Once the plates are collected, I hop off Ronin’s lap, carrying everything back into the kitchen before taking the last empty seat in the living room.
“I guess we need to talk about what happened last night.”
“Aye, we fucking do,” Keegan snarls. The noise should not make me feel the way it does, but I can’t help it.
I bare my teeth at him. It’s an involuntary response. One of many I have to him and this pack.
“I’m sorry about not wearing the ring, particularly after I said I would.”
“Not just a ring, Tally. Our wedding ring,” Rafferty says, his voice soft, his intention loud and clear.
A small wave of disappointment follows, but so it should. Not being able to acknowledge someone is hurt or emotional from something I’ve done isn’t who I want to be.
“I know,” I reply just as quietly, my eyes dropping.
I need a break from what’s in Rafferty’s gaze.
“So much is going on. And while a lot of me feels safe with you all, we’ve also skipped out on some important parts of a relationship.
I keep saying it, but if we’re pack, then this is something we’ll look back on with fondness.
Getting to know each other is important. ”
“So, you admit you know you’re ours?”
Tynan’s voice is more distant than usual, which is fine because his feelings are as valid as mine are.
I take a deep inhale, searching for a way to answer that won’t be like a stab later when they find out the truth. On so many levels, this pack is everything I’ve ever hoped for. If I was wanting a pack, they’d be high contenders. The highest, really.
Surprisingly, they don’t interject or point out our compatibility. They don’t argue or scream for an answer. They wait with bated breath, which is probably why I don’t lie at all. “Mostly, I do.”
“What’s holding you back?” Rafferty asks, leaning forward to grab my hand.
Our fingers align like magnets, and in the next moment, the pull increases and I end up on his lap, wrapped in his warmth and sage scent.
Rafferty feels like a lighthouse in the storm.
I wish I could stay sheltered there forever, but I am the storm.
I can’t lose my purpose simply because this pack is everything I desire in life.
I have to figure out how to answer without igniting their curiosity or lying.
I decide to keep it simple. “My past is holding me back. I know what I need to do to move in the same direction you’re going.
And that includes this house and my meaningless waitressing job.
Coincidentally, I’m not happy you burnt The Shamrock down.
You know I’m asking Walsh for another job, right?
Anyway, what’s stopping me from jumping in might not make sense to you, but it’s where I am at. ”
“And then?” Tynan asks.
Although any of them could have asked the question, I look at each of them before answering. “And then I guess we really do find out if we’re meant to be together.”