Keira #2
Fionn lets go and pockets his hand, his broad shoulders loose, expression contained, and still every inch of him seems aimed at her. While Sera holds her glass like she’s about to smash it and go for his jugular.
“Your brother seems to like Harringtons,” Fionn nods in my direction. “Maybe he’s evolved.”
“Keira’s basically a Tallon now, Fionn,” Sera counters. “You’re a betting man, aren’t ya? How about we put a wager on my brother asking her to marry him and making it official?”
My scalp tingles at the thought of it.
Fionn takes a confident step into her and holds out his hand. “If my sister becomes a Tallon, you’ll have to become a Harrington to balance the scales.”
Sera looks at his hand, then laughs. “I wouldn’t wish that fate on any woman.”
“And I wouldn’t choose a Tallon as my bride,” he laughs. “My future’s already arranged.”
“I have zero interest in your life plans.” She holds her ground, eyes darkening under the lights. “I’m only humoring ya out of respect for Keira.”
My brother smiles and lifts the whiskey to his mouth, letting her wait as he drinks.
“Trying to win my approval, little wild thing?”
Sera makes a face at him. “Little wild thing? I bite harder than I flirt, Harrington.”
His smile stays in place.
“I remember.” Fionn takes a mouthful of liquor, swallowing before he adds, “The Tallons will respect my sister while she decides where she wants to stand. If anyone struggles with that, I’ll make it very simple for them.”
I bump Fionn with my shoulder. “Stop it. This conversation is over.”
Fionn glances at me. “You’re right. This isn’t the time or place. Come home soon, Keira. There are things we need to talk about.”
“That’s it,” Sera says. “Be a good dog and behave yourself.”
His gaze flicks to her mouth. “Say dog one more time, and I’ll start thinking you want me to chase you.”
Eilish’s fingers touch Sera’s wrist, light enough to look casual and firm enough to stop whatever Sera’s about to do.
Sera chews the inside of her cheek, and whatever insult she had ready stays behind her teeth.
“Nice meeting you, Eilish.” Fionn winks. “We’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I hope not,” Sera mutters.
Fionn steps back, one hand still in his pocket, the other carrying his drink.
“Not you, little wild thing.” His gaze slides to Eilish. “Your pretty friend.”
He angles away from her and catches my eye. “Keira.”
“Fionn.”
For a second, he looks at me the way he used to before every choice became a side. The look gets under my ribs, and I rise onto my toes, throwing my arms around his neck.
“I’m sorry it has to be like this, Fionn,” I whisper against his shoulder.
His arms close around me, and his voice drops near my ear. “There isn’t a line I won’t cross to protect you.”
The next thing I know, Saint’s moving across the room, the crowd parting with every step he takes. He stops beside Sera, close enough to be felt and restrained enough to let me choose when to let go.
“I mean it.” Fionn’s hold tightens before he lets me go. “You’re still my sister.”
As he says it, his attention cuts to Saint who gives it back without moving.
Fionn releases me fully, then catches my chin with his thumb, the touch brief enough to pass for affection and pointed enough to be a claim.
He looks past me to Saint.
“Tallon,” he says.
Saint’s jaw ticks. “Harrington.”
One word each, and everyone close enough to hear them finds a reason to look elsewhere.
Sera’s mouth curves. “Almost civilized.”
Fionn locks his gaze with hers. “Coming from you, that almost sounds sentimental.”
“Over you?” She rolls her eyes. “I’d rather choke.”
His smile comes quick and cold. “Yeah. You would.”
Sera draws in a shallow breath, catches it, then holds her glass up. “Off ya fuck, Harrington.”
One hand still in his pocket, Fionn turns away, smirking as if he’s already won something. His men push off from the wall and fall in behind him.
Sera lifts her champagne again, but she doesn’t drink. Her gaze follows him as people move out of his path, then she catches herself and looks elsewhere
Women only look away that quickly when there’s something worth hiding.
Eilish leans close and murmurs into her ear, and Sera answers with a sigh and the careless lift of one shoulder.
Fionn reaches the exit without looking back, and the timing of it slips under my skin. He came in long enough to draw every eye, trade one warning with Saint, unsettle Sera with a handful of words, and leave on his own terms.
He says something to the man beside him, then stops and stares across the room, not hunting me or Saint, but Sera.
Saint slides his arm around my waist and tugs me into him.
“It’s started,” I whisper.
“Do you think your father’s planning something big?”
I keep my gaze on Fionn, on the way he stands near the doors with one hand in his pocket, his smile dimpling his cheek while his attention flicks back to Sera.
“I don’t know, but he’s definitely roped Fionn into it.”
Saint lowers his mouth to my ear. “Then we deal with it together.”
“My father?”
His gaze comes to mine. “All of them.”
The answer should frighten me. Maybe it does. But fear is no longer the thing choosing for me.
Later, when the cabin is dark, I stand in the bathroom and place my toothbrush beside his. Such a small, ordinary thing, almost ridiculous after everything that brought us here.
Blood. Land. Lies.
A kiss at my father’s gala.
A cabin I was never supposed to want.
Saint watches from the doorway, one shoulder against the frame, his face unreadable except for the part of him he’s stopped hiding from me.
“Are you definitely staying, princess?”
I look at the two toothbrushes beside the sink, then back at him.
“You know I am.”
His mouth curves, faint and dangerous, and when he reaches for me, I take his hand and smile.
The land is still an issue. My father is still coming. The war between our families is far from over.
But I’m not leverage anymore.
I chose Saint Tallon.
THE END…