I shrug. “Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
Her eyes narrow on me. “What if I want to talk about the dildo I’m ordering or how I masturbated last night while watching bare-knuckled fighting on TV?”
I shrug again. “Have at it. Would be entertaining.”
Fiona sighs, but she doesn’t look too put out.
“Just a little privacy is all we need,” Aisling says.
“Privacy’s overrated, and I’m here to protect her. Maybe she shouldn’t have a friend who wants to fuck with her safety.”
Aisling glares.
I stand my ground and glare right back at her.
“Fine,” Aisling finally says. She flushes a little when we walk toward the garden. “Ok, ok, I’m giving him crap but girl, I would do anything for a man who looked at me like that. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you’d come with me to get a tattoo.”
Seriously, this is what was so top secret?
Fiona’s eyes come to mine, and my belly warms at the look she’s giving me, silently asking for permission. I shake my head. She takes a step over to me and whispers in my ear. “I’ve wanted your initials on my hip. It’s like a thing.”
I lean over and whisper back, “The only marks you’ll bear will be mine. Also a thing.”
I can see her nipples harden straight through her tiny top. She swallows hard, and her pupils dilate.
“Not this time,” she tells Aisling.
Aisling looks put out, but doesn’t argue. Good. “Are you coming back to the dorm at all?”
“No,” I respond for her.
Aisling sighs.
She turns to Fiona. “Do you do everything he tells you?”
Fiona rolls her eyes. “No.”
It’s true. She likes the occasional spanking.
Aisling finally takes her leave, and we walk back to where she fell.
“Does she always pressure you like that?”
“No, only when I’m being watched by an overly protective barbarian,” she says, but she’s grinning. “Is that right?” I tug her a little closer. “I can be a hell of a lot more protective and barbaric than this.”
“She’s a good friend, Lach. She knows everything there is about me and still loves me. She has listened to me all these years. She’ll come around. I think she just had it in her head that when I came here, I’d be spending every minute of every day with her.” She sighs.
I squeeze her hand. “You alright, Fiona?”
She doesn’t respond. “No phone,” she says with a sigh. “And I have to go to my next class.”
“Fine,” I say reluctantly. “We’ll have to get you a new phone, and I’ll take you to class after we grab something quick to eat.”
She’s silent and sullen while we eat in the cafe, and leaves for class without a backward glance. I blame her friend, but something else is at play.
Is she too young for me? Have I taken her away from the life that she needs right now? I know I’m here for her protection, but I’m afraid the very fear I had about her being with me is coming to light. I don’t want her not to be able to have her friends and her dreams. But if she’s with me, I won’t let her make reckless decisions, either.
Keenan calls while I’m waiting for Fiona.
“What’s the story, brother?”
“Nothing much new here,” I tell him. I lower my voice. “Afraid I’m slipping, though. Some fucking bloke nearly knocked her over today and I had my hand on my weapon before I realized what I was doing.”
Keenan’s silent for a minute. “High strung, are you?”
“Aye.” I sigh. Jesus, but it feels good to talk to him. I didn’t realize how much I depended on his leadership and guidance until we were three thousand miles apart.
“I don’t blame you, Lachlan,” Keenan says. “Mam’s been sick now for days, and my first thoughts go to whether or not she’s really sick, or if something else is happening.”
I frown. “Fiona had the same thought.”
“Did she?”
“Aye.”
“Bloody hell,” he mutters. “Much easier to fight when you can see your enemy, isn’t it?”
“Aye.”
“I think it’d be easier if you were here,” he says. “You’d have the protection of the Clan. You’d have the brotherhood at your back.”
“Aye, and not the purchased protection of the Boston Clan.”
“Exactly. And you’ve no idea who could’ve targeted her?”
“Calum says he has ideas. Supposed to fill me in tonight.”
“Good,” Keenan says. “Update me, of course, will you?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t care what time it is. I’ll wait up. And Lachlan?”
“Yes?”
“They’ll come when you least expect it. I’ve been in this position too many times before and know exactly how they act. It’s never outright, but insidious and malicious. Watch everyone. Trust no one. And when your gut instinct says something’s wrong, listen to it. You’ve got that intuition for a reason.”
I nod. “Will do. Thanks for that, Keenan. And let me know how Maeve is, will you?”
She’s the mother of us all, and it breaks my heart that she’s ill.