A Merciless Husband (The Irish Demon #2)

1. Kerry

Kerry

I’m losing her. Just when I thought I had her.

Astero is cancelling my arranged marriage with Amy.

Just when we were getting somewhere. My chest feels tight, my head buzzing with a myriad of emotions and the start of a headache.

The bloody bastard thinks he can get away with this?

As if I’m not called the Irish Demon? As if Kerry Alasdair doesn’t get what he wants?

My little leannán is looking up at me like it’s been revealed I’ve been a predator all along and now I’m on the hunt.

Like our marriage arrangement was the only thing keeping me from hurting her.

Like all of the sweet confessions that spilled from my lips just moments ago were all hinging on me getting the docks.

And that pisses me off even more.

Amy stands up slowly, like she’s trying not to scare a wild animal.

Her brows are pinched, and she looks just as pale as she did after her blasted grandfather made her sit through his little torture session.

“I-I can go. You want me to go, right? I’ll leave.

” She turns to go, scrambling towards the door like I’m holding her at gunpoint instead of just looking at her.

My long legs eat up the distance she puts between us, and I wrap my hand around her arm, yanking her back towards me. The shriek she lets out makes me feel sick, but I don’t stop myself from holding her close. I can’t.

“Please, I don’t know what my grandfather is thinking, but I’m not part of it, I swear! You’ve seen how he keeps everything from me!”

“Amy.” My voice sounds so much deeper in contrast to her shrill, panicked voice. It also sounds deceptively calmer than how I feel, only a bit of fire to it, hinting at my true feelings.

She ignores me and continues rattling on. “I didn’t want anything to do with this world, I hate it! I’m innocent in all of this, you must know. Please, care that I’m innocent in this, please, please.”

“Amy.”

“I don’t want to be enemies with you!” She cries out, and I can’t help but soften at the genuine emotion in her voice. Not just fear, but also some level of anguish. The realization that she feels something for me and is mourning what she felt we had feels like a miracle.

I grab her chin, my touch barely more than a light caress, and make her look at me. “Then let’s not be enemies, leannán.”

The fear in her eyes slowly dissipates as she finally looks up at me. “Kerry…?” My name slips from her lips like I’m a ghost of the man she loves and who she just saw a glimpse of through the veil of the beyond.

It propels me to show her I’m still flesh and blood.

My lips crash against hers, desperate to taste her after hearing her call me Kerry for the first time.

She gasps into the kiss, and I slide my tongue into her mouth at the opportunity she’s handed me.

Her fingers dig into my arms, pulling me closer, and I’m all too happy to oblige her.

My hands fit against her hips, gliding along her sides, drinking in the feel of her that I’ve been craving since the first day we met.

She tastes so sweet, just like I knew she would.

Her little breathy gasps heat my blood until my cock is standing at full attention, needing her like I’ve never needed anything before.

She pulls away to take a breath, dodging me when I try to chase after her lips again, not ready to be done after getting my first taste of her. “W-wait, wait! You’re not mad?”

“Mad for you, perhaps,” I respond through labored breaths before kissing her again.

She indulges me for another moment before pulling away again, making me growl in frustration. “But you said the wedding is off. You won’t get the docks, which is the whole point of this.” She gestures between us, and I scoff.

I grab her hand, pulling her towards the dining table that sits before the expansive view of the city.

There’s neatly stacked manilla folders on its surface, and I grab the top one, flinging it open.

Dozens of pictures of her from over the years I’ve been observing her come spilling out across the tabletop.

The gasp that comes from her lips makes me feel invigorated.

“You think I only give a damn about the docks, Amy? You think this is purely business? You think I got on my knees before you because I wanted money? Fuck money. I have loads of it. Fuck power. I’ve had my fill of it.

But you? I’ll never have enough of you. Five.

Fucking. Years. Of desperation. Of self-control.

Of careful planning. Of a chasm of yearning in my chest splitting me open.

I won’t have all of my care undone by a pathetic little man throwing a temper tantrum. ”

She stares at the photos and then back at me, before repeating the process over again. Good. Let her see. Let her understand who I am and exactly what I feel for her. “I…this is…not about the docks?”

My heart hammers in my chest as I stare at her for a long moment, trying to figure out how to express the mania of my need for her. I do the only thing I can think of, and drop to my knees in front of her again, tugging on her hips and mouthing kisses to her stomach through her shirt.

She’s looking down at me like I’m crazy, and I don’t give a damn.

I know I am. “Amy, sweet Amy, what can I do to make you understand? For you to see how mad I am for you? How far I’ll go just to hold you in my arms?

How I would wrench down the moon just so I can see you bathed in its silvery light?

The docks are nothing, not in the long run.

The docks were an excuse. They were what I needed to get you, the silly thing everyone expected me to want.

But you? You are so much more than the world I live in could ever give me. ”

I feel almost high when I feel her fingers run through my hair, my cheek pressed against the softness of her stomach, her fingernails scraping deliciously against my scalp and making my cock twitch in my trousers.

“I…what should we do then?” I can tell her voice is strained, that seeing me like this is somewhat overwhelming for her.

I can’t say I blame her. This ravenous need for her in my chest overwhelms me as well, turning me into a man out of control when I’m usually the opposite.

But this craving, this desire, this hunger for her overrides any sense of sensibility, my desperate need for control, any pride I might be feeling.

It consumes me until all I can think of is her, until my lungs only want to breathe in the scent of her, until my mind chants I want her, I want her, I want her…

I glance up at her from where my face is pressed against her abdomen, her eyes darting around my face, lips parted, cheeks beautifully flushed.

“What do you want to do, my leannán?” I barely recognize my own voice, gravelly with an unfamiliar whine to it.

“Because I know what I still want. What I’ve always wanted. ”

“And what’s that?” She whispers it, like she already knows the answer but still has to ask.

“You. In my arms. In my bed. With my ring on your finger.”

She chews on her bottom lip, making my lips tingle with the need to kiss her again, to bite that plush flesh, too.

“Then what do we do? You told my grandfather that you’re at war.

” Her voice wobbles, and the fear that passes through her eyes makes me stand up.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight to my chest.

I kiss the top of her head. “I am at war with him now, yes. And I apologize to you for what I’m going to do to him because of what he’s done.

This sort of thing cannot go without consequence, leannán.

But you…” I pull back so I can cup her face with both of my hands.

“Well, do you feel differently now? About me? About us? Should I pack up your things and send you back to your mam’s house up north? ”

Her eyes widen briefly at the fact that I know where she lives, but then her eyes glance at the pictures and back at me, and her expression goes back to normal. As if she’s recalled the obsession I’ve revealed and decided it was completely normal.

It made the urge to kiss her all the harder to ignore.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve barely had a chance to process this week, much less think about what I’d do if I actually had any choice in the matter.” Her voice is quiet, meek. Like she’s scared to tell me this for fear of my reaction.

However, it makes perfect sense to me.

I slide my hand down to her neck, caressing her skin along the way.

“I will give you time, then. Whatever you want. Whatever you need. Anything for my Amy.” Her eyes widen slightly, surprised by my reassurance.

“But I will not go far, leannán. I cannot. I will not. I will follow you wherever you go, but I will give you whatever time you need. I don’t give a single shite anymore, I’ll follow you like a dog.

You’re all I want. And if that reduces me to a simpering pet, then so be it. ”

She tilts her head, thinking with furrowed brows. “Is that really letting me go, giving me space?”

A low growl rips from my throat before I can stop it.

“I will do whatever I can for you, Amy. Anything you ask. But let you go? I’ll never be able to do that.

” My hand grips her cheek and neck a bit tighter, still being careful not to hurt her.

“Amy…you must know by now that I’m not an honorable man.

I know that’s the right thing to do, but I cannot bring myself to do it.

I may love you, but I’m still the Irish Demon, leannán.

” I can’t help but rest my forehead against hers as my hands grasp her hips.

They’re trembling. All of me is. “Please. Understand me, Amy. I’m trying to be good, so good…

everything within me just wants to take, like I always do.

I want to sweep you off your feet and take you to Ireland to bathe you in riches and all of your heart’s desires so you’ll never leave me.

I want you to choose me, I do, Amy. But I’m not sane enough to handle it if you reject me. ”

I feel her fingers in my hair again, firmer this time, pulling my head back and forcing me to look down at her.

“Kerry…” Her sweet voice saying my name makes my eyes roll back in my head.

“Kerry. Look at me.” I open my eyes again to focus back in on her.

“I need to make sure you want me because you actually want me, and not just because you want to get back at my grandfather. That I’m not just another thing like the docks to get revenge. ”

I stare at her for a moment before pushing away from her, feeling frenetic as the blood pounds through my veins.

I run a hand through my hair, my mind registering that I must look crazy, but I don’t care.

“Tell me how to prove it to you. I’ll abandon the docks.

Hell, I’ll abandon Ireland. Tell me where you want to go, just the two of us.

We can live off of what I already have. I’ll never think of your pruny old grandfather again. I’ll only think of you.”

She furrows her brows as she watches me, and my mind struggles to comprehend why. What can I say to fix this? To make her believe me? To break down all of her reservations? My poor Amy, who always seems to be in limbo, waiting for someone else to make the decisions for her.

Not today. No. Everything is within her control now. She has the final say.

“And then have you resent me? I don’t think so.” Her voice is quiet.

“Resent you? I could never!” My voice is loud.

She takes a step towards me, and it loosens the knot of need that’s wrapped around my heart, just slightly.

“Kerry.” The sound of my name on her lips again makes me take a breath, and then another, calming me.

“I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for me.

I just…I need to know I’m not another thing to you. ”

“You’re not.” My voice is rough, desperate. I shake my head, turning away from her, confused by the burning of tears in my eyes. “You could never be.”

She exhales softly, out of exasperation or surprise, I’m not sure, and it’s driving me mad. “We’ve known each other for like…three days.”

I jerk my head towards her, knowing the intensity of my gaze is all-consuming and perhaps overwhelming. I don’t care. “No, you’ve known me for three days. I’ve known you for so much longer, leannán. And my soul is tired of not being allowed to love you.”

I want to wipe the look of confusion and concern off of her face.

I’ve seen far too much of that expression on her and I’m tired of it.

She takes another step forward, putting her hand up like I’m a wild animal she wants to calm.

Hell, perhaps I am. I barely recognize myself, barely register anything but these raging emotions inside of me and the pounding of the blood in my ears.

“But we’ve never met before this week. Don’t you think that’s a bit different?

Don’t you think that you can’t really get to know someone until you actually interact with them? ”

I suck in a deep breath, ignoring the panging ache in my chest. “Except I’ve read everything I can about you.

Except I’ve observed you for years. Not just through pictures.

Amy, I’ve been in the shadows of your life, skirting around the outer edges of your vision, just out of sight.

I know what I want and I do not lose sight of my goal once it’s set.

And this week, we’ve spent a lot of time together.

Meaningful time. The length of it is irrelevant. ”

She stares at me for a moment, searching my face. “Is it irrelevant, though?” She asks quietly, and I want to shake her and shout, NO! Of course it’s irrelevant! Not when my feelings are this deep, this intense! I’ve barely been able to be apart from you!

I step towards her and take her outstretched hand in mine.

“Amy. You started as a mission. An avenue. A goal. A way to get to your grandfather. And then…I learned of you. I understood you. I breathed you in, how you thought, your way of life, your very mind. And I entangled my thoughts up in you until they couldn’t be separated.

I never half-ass anything. So when I tell you I am obsessed, trust that I mean it.

Not you on paper. Not the idea of you. But you.

As you are. And it’s only grown stronger as we’ve come together, as I’ve spent time in your presence, growing more addicted…

as I’ve tasted the sweetness of your lips. ”

Those very lips part slightly, drawing my attention to them. My mind buzzes more with those thoughts again… I want her, I want her, I want…

Her other hand wraps around mine as her eyes search my face. “I…I think I understand. So tell me what your plan is. Where do we go from here?”