“Is that your way of implyin’ that I’m fake like a doll?”
I tilted my head. “Uh, no, you little weirdo.”
“Now you’re callin’ me short?” She huffed. “You’re a real—”
I surprised her when I began to laugh. She went completely silent, and I concluded it was because she never heard me laugh before.
“You need to calm down,” I said. “I’m not insulting you. First, all I’m saying is you need looking after. You being here proves my point, so that’s what I meant by babying. Second, you look gorgeous, fucking unreal, so that is what I meant by a doll. Put them together and you get baby doll, baby doll.”
Her voice was soft as she said, “And little?”
I grinned. “You’re a little bitty thing, what can I say?”
Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she couldn’t look me in the eye. She was pleased with what I said, but her damn pride wouldn’t allow her to admit it.
“Your observations and sugar sweet words won’t get ye’ anywhere with me, so ye’ can let go of me arms.”
The challenge in her tone amused me. “Make me.”
She scowled up at me. “I don’t have time for this. I just saw somethin’ I shouldn’t have, and I have to leave before they find me—”
“I already found you,” I interrupted.
Her jaw dropped. “You were in that room?”
I shrugged in response.
She placed her delicate hands on my chest and tried to push me away. “Get away from me.”
She looked scared of me then, and I hated that.
“It’s not what you think. I was more of an observer than an active participant in that room.”
Her eyes widened. “So ye’ watched a helpless man get attacked? How fuckin’ noble of ye’, Kane.”
“Aideen, you take people at face value too often.”
She regarded me. “I clearly do because I thought you weren’t into anythin’ bad. Looks like I was very wrong.”
She rounded on me then and turned right, trying to find her way out the club. I followed her.
“I’m not a bad man, Aideen.”
She scoffed. “What are ye’ doin’ back ‘ere then?”
“Working.”
She stopped midstride and turned to face me. “What type of work?”
“It’s nothing that concerns you, babe—trust me.”
“Bite me, Slater.”
I took a step closer to her. “Tell me where and I’ll be happy to oblige.”
Her pupils dilated a fraction, and her breathing became audible as I moved closer to her. She stared up at me with doe like eyes, and said, “Kane?”
I lowered my face to hers. “Aideen?”
Her lips parted ever so slightly, and her eyes locked on my lips.
“What’re ye’ doin’?”
I wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt.
“Call it an act of impulse.”
She shivered. “Ye’... ye’ better not be thinkin’ what I think you’re thinkin’.”
“I bet our thoughts are pretty identical right now, baby doll.”
“Get away from me,” she said with no conviction. “Lose the stupid nickname, too.”
She didn’t want me to do either of those things. Her cheeks were flushed, her body was leaning into mine, and she was all but panting before me.
“Not a chance in hell on either count, baby doll.”
Before she could yell at me, I pressed my lips against hers. I waited for any sign that she truly didn’t want me. I had it planned out in my head, and I’d let her smack me if she wanted to, and then I would apologise profusely if she wanted nothing to do with me. But the possibility of that vanished when she opened her mouth and flicked her tongue against my lips. She moaned when I kissed her back she slid her hands up my arms to my shoulders where she pressed her fingers firmly into my flesh.
I pressed her back against the wall and moulded my body to hers. I slid my hands to her sides, then around to her ass where I roughly palmed her behind and drew a hiss from her parted lips. I positioned my hands under her butt and lifted her so I could kiss her without bending down. I pinned her in place with my hips, hooked my right hand under her ass to support her, and her cupped her face with my left hand as I kissed her. Her legs moved around my hips and squeezed me. A groan left me as she rolled her pelvis against mine, sending a shudder throughout my body. My already aching cock throbbed.
Without a word, I broke our kiss, lowered her to the ground, grabbed her hand, and tugged her along behind me.
“Where are we goin’?”
I didn’t answer her, the need to push her back up against the wall and fuck her screamed at me. I refused to take her in a place so tainted. She was worth too much to be degraded by the likes of Darkness. Aideen had to practically run to keep up with me, and I appreciated it because if she slowed down, I was more than tempted to toss her over my shoulder and start running.