Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
The strength left Jal’s legs as soon as the door to the waiting area closed, but Ciaran was there to catch her before she sank very far. Jal turned and buried her face in his chest for a moment and just breathed in his scent.
“Are you all right, Miss Morrow?” Takeda’s voice came from nearby.
Jal turned her head to find him standing a few feet away, while his partner remained where she had been. Though his eyes had softened, Jal found that it just made her more upset. “Am I alright?” she demanded.
At the same time, Ciaran snapped, “You told us that you would keep him away from her.”
Takeda grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. Good, he should feel bad. “My apologies,” he replied. “We should have escorted you out.”
Jal didn’t bother to respond and turned her attention to the desk officer. “We’ll take that receipt, please.”
The woman handed it over. “Here you go.”
Jal folded the paper neatly and tucked it into her pocket.
“Is there anything else that I can get you?” the woman asked, leveling Takeda a meaningful look that had him retreating to his partner’s side.
Jal glanced up at Ciaran, who reached over and laced his fingers with hers, and she could swear her legs felt stronger as if some of his strength passed into her at the contact. She turned back to the officer. “Yes, you can give me the paperwork for an order of protection.”
The woman glanced at the door where Andy and his snail-trail of a lawyer had disappeared and then over to where Takeda still lingered. The look she gave him was one that made Jal hope that Takeda was religious and that he had made peace with his god.
Her gaze softened when she turned back to Jal. “Honey, I’ll even help you rush it through.”
The five-floor walk-up had never felt longer than it did now, though her exhaustion was far more mental than physical. Jal mounted the last step and stopped. At the other end of the hallway outside her door, stood Elena and Lexi.
She whirled on Ciaran, her eyes wide, and prickling. That the tears she had so far warded off weren’t going to be held back much longer. “How?”
“I texted them while we were in the taxi.”
Jal smiled. “How do you have their numbers?”
Ciaran shrugged. “They conned me into it when we were at Darcy’s a couple of weeks ago.”
“And where was I?”
“Washroom? Jukebox? Does it really matter?”
Guess not. She rose up on her toes to kiss him, then went to meet her friends who were already heading toward them.
She met them halfway, the three of them embracing in a tangle of arms. They surrounded her, their voices overlapping as they expressed relief, and peppered her with questions, none of which registered.
Jal just soaked up as much of their support as she could.
How had she made it through the last two years while pushing these two women away?
From behind her, Ciaran cleared his throat. Jal turned, her head resting on Elena’s shoulder. “I have to get back to work,” he said reluctantly.
Jal detached herself from her friends and crossed to him. Without hesitation, or concern for their audience, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. One she had been meaning to give him since they left the station.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her against him, her feet dangling a few inches from the floor.
She gasped in surprise against his lips and he took advantage, his tongue swept in, claiming her mouth.
It could have been seconds, or minutes, or days, that he kissed her, but she knew that no matter how long it was, it wasn’t long enough. It would never be long enough.
A decade later, Ciaran broke the kiss, but didn’t let her go.
“Get a room, you two.”
Jal tapped his shoulder and Ciaran sighed, and loosened his grip just enough so she stayed pressed tightly against him as she slid to her feet, an obvious hardness trapped against her belly. She turned and Ciaran’s arms fell away, leaving her feeling like a balloon whose string had been cut.
There was a rustle of material from behind her as if Ciaran was adjusting his coat. “You two happen to be blocking the way.” He groused, though his voice was laced with amusement.
Jal chuckled and swatted him playfully on his chest. “Go, I’ll be fine.” She told him, and gave him a quick kiss in dismissal. “Dinner later?”
“Try and stop me, lass.” he replied and left her to her friends.