She makes a beeline for a small group of men standing at a table on the other side of the room.
揝ean??she says as she reaches them and the man with his back to her turns and smiles.
揈rin McGrath??he grins at her. 揌ow long has it been??
揘ot long enough, Sean,?she smiles at him and reaches back for me before pulling me to stand beside her. 揟his is Jessie. Shane抯 girlfriend.?
揌i,?I say, extending my hand and feeling incredibly awkward all of a sudden.
揑t is a pleasure to meet you, Jessie,?Sean says as he takes my outstretched hand and kisses my knuckles.
揑 have to talk to a few people. Can you look after Jessie for me??Erin flutters her eyelashes.
Sean nods his head in agreement. 揙f course. Anything for Shane.?He turns back to me and winks.
揋reat. Thanks,?she says before she disappears in a waft of Chanel perfume.
揝o, Jessie??Sean says as he looks me over. 揧ou and Shane Ryan??
揧es,?I stammer.
揗e and Shane go way back,?he smiles at me. 揑抦 glad to see he抯 dumped that one.?He indicates his head toward Erin抯 retreating back. 揝he has a stick so far up her arse, it抯 a wonder she can sit down.?
I smile and stifle a laugh.
揂nd she抯 a lawyer,?he says quietly behind his hand, pretending to hide what he抯 saying. 揇o you know what the difference is between a lawyer and God??
揘o,?I frown at him.
揋od doesn抰 think he抯 a lawyer,?he winks at me and I can抰 help laughing now. It抯 a terrible joke, but that抯 what makes it so funny.
I抦 walking to the ladies?room when a strong arm grabs me by the waist, pulling me into a dark corner and pressing me against the wall. I look up into Shane抯 fierce glare. He leans down, his breath dancing over my neck and making me shiver. 揑f you don抰 stop flirting with Sean O扖onnor, I will take off my belt, along with your panties, and spank your ass in the middle of this room,?he growls.
揥hat??I suck in a breath as I look into his eyes to determine whether he is being serious or not. He glares back at me, his green eyes almost black as they smolder like the embers of a fire. 揑 wasn抰 flirting with him.?I try to pull back from his grasp but that only makes him hold me tighter.
揧ou weren抰？？He narrows his eyes at me. 揃ecause the two of you looked all kinds of friendly over there.?
揈xactly. Friendly. We were just talking. He is friendly,?I start to say but he cuts me off.
揝o, he was flirting with you??
揘o,?I shake my head.
揃ecause if that抯 case, I抦 more than happy to walk you back over there and fuck you over his table if that抯 what it takes to show everyone in this room who you belong to.?
揧ou wouldn抰，？I swallow.
揥atch me, Hacker. And I will take perverse satisfaction in making them watch while you come so hard that you scream my name.?
揧ou抮e an asshole,?I hiss.
He leans closer to me, caging me in with his arms and pressing his groin into mine. 揧eah? But I抦 your asshole, sweetheart. And you belong to me. So behave your fucking self.?
Despite my annoyance, I feel a familiar fluttering in my abdomen that always comes from being this close to Shane Ryan. But I refuse to accept that I have done anything wrong. 揑 was just talking,?I snap.
揘o,?he takes my hand and pulls me forward so that we are no longer in the shadows. 揟hat,?he points at Erin, who stands demurely with about two feet of space around her entire person, 搃s just talking.?
The tears prick at my eyes and I swallow the emotion that balls in my throat. Erin! How fucking dare he! I spin on my heel and glare at him, wishing I could make him feel some of the pain he just caused me. 揘o! That is having the personality of a fucking ice cube. But if she is the woman you抎 rather I behaved like, why don抰 you just go fuck her in front of all these people instead. Because I am going back to the hotel.?
揟he fuck you are!?he hisses.
揝o, you expect me to just stand in this room on my own and not smile or make eye contact with anyone? Is that it??
揓ust fucking behave, Jessie,?he snarls, but before I can respond we are approached by an older couple.
揂re you not going to introduce us to your lovely lady, Shane??the man says loudly while the woman I assume is his wife beams at the two of us.
Shane smiles as he slips an arm around my waist. 揙f course, Jacob. This is Jessie,?he says with a warning glance and I force my best smile as I greet them.
They ask Shane about his brothers and listening to him talking about them makes me miss them so much, but after a few minutes someone else comes along and demands his attention. He leaves me talking to Jacob and his wife, Ruth, and I assume Shane抯 twisted logic considers them safe for me to converse with.
I抦 still talking to Jacob and Ruth when I catch Erin staring at me with a smug grin on her face. I excuse myself and make my way over to her.
揑s something about me amusing you this afternoon, Erin??
She tilts her head as she looks me up and down. 揌mm. Perhaps I should have warned you how much Shane hates Sean O扖onnor,?she says with a smile before she takes a sip of her champagne.
God, she is a Grade A bitch. But why did I expect any less from her? I can抰 even be bothered arguing with her about it. 揥hy does he hate him so much??
揃ecause Sean was always his father抯 right hand man, at least until Shane was old enough to be anyway. He hated that Patrick抯 son took over and he did everything he could to make his life as difficult as possible. He was especially partial to fucking Shane抯 girlfriends if he ever got the chance to be alone with them, whether they consented or not,?she says with a shudder and suddenly I wonder if she was ever a victim of Sean抯 advances.
揃ut why didn抰 Shane deal with him??I frown because I can抰 imagine the man I know allowing any of that to go unpunished.
揃ecause Patrick Ryan loved Sean. No doubt he saw a lot of himself in the sadistic prick. So he was basically untouchable. If Shane had retaliated, then Mikey and Liam would have borne the brunt of their father抯 frustrations.?
I shake my head. The more I learn about Patrick, the more I wonder how his sons turned out to be the men they are today.
揑t was fun watching Shane抯 face turn purple when he saw you and Sean chatting like old pals.?She laughs and it抯 not a pleasant sound, more of an annoying, high-pitched whinny.
I glare at her, wondering how much of a commotion it would cause if I were to punch her in the face right now. But that would only make her look like the victim and I can think of a much better way to hurt her.
揧eah, he sure was pissed,?I say with a smile. 揝o, thank you, Erin.?
She frowns at me. 揥hat for??
I look over at Shane. He is talking to a group of people and they are all hanging on his every word. Dressed in his exquisitely tailored suit that hugs his broad shoulders and thick thighs perfectly, he can hold a room like no-one I have ever met and he is the sexiest man in here by a long shot. He glances at me, and our eyes meet for a second, making me swallow in anticipation before I turn back to Erin. 揧ou must remember how good that man fucks? And when he抯 pissed? Wow!?I fan myself with my hand. 揑 doubt either of us will be getting any sleep tonight.?I flash my eyebrows at her before walking away and leaving her standing with her mouth open and the shadow of a scowl on her botoxed forehead.
As I walk away from Erin, I look around the room for Jacob and Ruth again but they are talking to Sean O扖onnor, and despite the fact that I抦 still completely pissed at Shane, I understand now why he wouldn抰 want me talking to him. I make my way to the bar instead and sit on a stool while I order a glass of soda.