“I don’t trust you. I want the money in cash. What I do with it after that is none of your business.”
Ronan didn’t respond. He looked at her closely. She was hiding something from him. He could sense her fear, feel her agitation at things not going as she intended. Still, it wasn’t his concern. The money belonged to her, and if that is how she wanted it, then he’d give it to her in cash.
“Fine. I’ll get it together tomorrow and give you a call when I have it sorted so we can meet up and get this done.”
“Aye. Very well.”
“Sorry you wasted a trip. Maybe we could have dinner before you go.”
“Aye. I could eat.”
“Good. You want to go out somewhere or is downstairs in the hotel cafe good with you?”
“The hotel cafe is fine,” she replied, adding a quick, “Thanks,” after a brief hesitation.
“Great. I suppose we should get going then,” he told her, grabbing his jacket and following her toward the door.
Ronan told himself that the longing he felt for her was just because she was attractive. It sure wasn’t for her winning personality, he mused to himself. The woman obviously detested him, though he wasn’t sure entirely of the reasons for that. Sure, he’d been the one to bring down the clan she was marrying into, but he’d thought she’d see that as a favor more than anything.
In his mind, he’d saved her. What she made of it was anyone’s guess. He’d honestly been surprised she accepted his offer of dinner, so maybe there was the hope of things becoming a bit more civil between them in the days to come. It was no skin off his teeth if she wanted to be a hard case, but it wouldn’t do her any favors with the council. Perhaps that is why she was being more gracious.
“Pint?” he asked her as they stepped into the cafe and were seated.
“Yes, please,” she replied.
“Two pints of Guinness and menus,” he told the young server who had seated them.
“Aye,” the server replied, disappearing around a nearby counter and reappearing with two menus to rattle off their specials before excusing himself again to retrieve their drinks.
Over two bowls of steaming steak pies and roasted vegetables, they attempted what he supposed passed for amicable conversation between them. It was stilted, with long pauses between exchanges.
“Okay. I’m trying here, but you’re like talking to a brick wall,” he told her.
“I’m sorry that I don’t meet your standards,” she replied, not blinking an eye before stabbing another bite of her food.
Ronan sighed and leaned back in his seat, looking her up and down for a moment as if it would somehow explain her to him.
“All right then,” he said, motioning for the server to bring a check.
“Listen, I’m sorry,” she said finally, taking a sip of her beer.
“For?”
“For being such a pain in the ass. I had a dreadful day that I don’t really want to talk about and I’m taking it out on you. I know you are trying to help me and I know that you didn’t know who I was when you took me back to your room the night we met.”
“But you knew who I was, and you weren’t happy with me about what I’d done to your clan. Still, you fucked me.”
“Fucking you had nothing to do with who you are or what you did to my clan. I just wanted to do that, so I did.”
“Some might say you have an issue with impulse control. That’s not a good trait for an Alpha, or, in your case, an Omega.”
“My impulse control is fine. I want what I want. Do you ever think twice about bedding someone for no other reason than you want to fuck them? Men apply different standards to women. It’s okay for you to do whatever you want, and no one blinks an eye. Women do it, and we’re whores or have ulterior motives.”
“So, you’re a feminist then.”
“I don’t apply labels to myself. Men use that word to describe women who are sure of themselves and reject their notions of how a woman should behave. It’s your word, not mine.”
“Okay. Well, this has been enlightening,” he told her, signing the payment slip for the server and standing to leave.
She looked at him curiously but didn’t offer to get up or say anything about his intended departure. As the server walked away, he addressed her one last time.
“Thanks for having dinner with me. Would you like to come up to my room and fuck?”
“I’d love to,” she replied.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Maeve
Maeve returned home more confused than ever. How could she have let that happen again? Granted, it had been her original plan to seduce Ronan McNally and get inside his clan, take him down. Now, he was all she could think about.