Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sunlight sneaked through the gap between the edge of the window covering and wall, hitting Cass right in the eyes.

She really needed to do something about that.

She rolled over, trying to get away from the sun, and connected with something warm and hard. She snapped her eyes open and drowned in Irish’s eyes. The blue was brighter than normal in the morning sunlight. “Irish!” she squeaked her surprise. “What are you—oh, right.” She didn’t need to finish her sentence, as the memories of the previous evening came back to her.

Cass rolled away from him onto her back and stared at her ceiling, now a pristine white. When she’d first moved in, it’d had the yellow stain from a smoker. It had taken weeks to get the smell of cigarette smoke out of her bedroom.

It was funny how random, inconsequential thoughts filled her mind instead of facing the reality of the past twelve hours.

“Are you hungry?” Irish asked, as if waking up next to her was a normal occurrence.

A large part of her wished it was. Wished that they were each other’s person. Wished she could hide away with him in her house and forget everything she’d seen yesterday.

Cass couldn’t. What she needed to do was face what she’d found. Read it all and try to make some sense of it.

“Not really, but thank you.” She cupped his cheek. Her skin warmed from the contact, and she longed for him to hold her. Kiss her like he had the night before. They didn’t have that type of relationship, no matter how much she wanted it. “I think I need to get up and get into the office. You know, deal with what I found yesterday.”

“Do you mind if we stop at my place so I can shower and change? And then we can go to the office together. Or would you prefer me to drop you off?”

How was this guy still single?

Everything he’d done with her. Every interaction, he’d always put her considerations first. The night they’d spent together, Irish had even made sure she reached her orgasm first before he did.

No one really knew the real Irish. Heck, even Cass didn’t. She’d seen glimpses of him. Like last night, when he’d known what she’d needed before even she did.

If she offered to make her own way to the office, he’d stare at her as if she’d sprouted another head. Plus, if she could put off looking into the file she’d cracked, then she was happy to do it.

“I don’t mind waiting for you to get ready.”

Irish nodded. “Okay I’ll go make you coffee. I know how much you love your caffeine.”

He wasn’t wrong. If she could have an IV attached to her full of coffee, she’d be delighted. Since that wasn’t possible—not to mention not a very healthy option—she’d stick to her three cups before lunchtime routine.

“Thank you.”

Irish studied her, his gaze going from her eyes to her lips and then back again.

Her heart rate increased, and a bubble of desire formed in her belly. All of a sudden, it hit that they were in bed together.

From where she was lying, she had a good view of his bare chest. Last night, she’d been held against him and didn’t even register he was shirtless.

“Dylan?” she whispered and propped up on one elbow, the sheet falling down to reveal the tank top she slept in.

His eyes widened, and his tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip.

She wanted to feel those lips against hers again. Taste him. Lose herself in his embrace. Find a little peace that being with him always gave her.

None of that happened.

Instead, he hauled himself off the bed as if it was on fire and strode out of her room, his fine ass the last thing she saw before she flopped back down.

Why didn’t she take the initiative and kiss him?

Cass was an independent woman who was in control of her life. She could’ve easily taken charge and kissed him like she wanted to.

The moment had passed, and there was no point lamenting on what might have been. Or what could’ve been. However, the next time it looked like he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to him, she wasn’t going to be so timid.

Walking in with Irish didn’t raise an eyebrow from Yolanda, their receptionist. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen them arrive together. If she thought something was going on between them, she’d never said anything to Cass.

Not that it mattered if she asked because Cass could be totally honest and tell her there was nothing happening between the two of them.

“You going to be okay?” Irish asked as they reached her office.

“Of course.” She injected bravado into her voice she wasn’t really feeling.

“Right.”

Clearly, Irish didn’t believe her, and she was surprised he hadn’t rolled his eyes at her response.

“I want you to promise me something, Alastriona. ”

There it was again, the Irish form of her name.

The way he said it, the slight inflection of a long-ago Irish accent that would surprise most people, always made her gooey inside. Not to mention made Cass feel special, as though she were the most important person to him. Sometimes she did feel that way.

“What’s that, Dylan?” She didn’t often use his given name, but right this second, it seemed the right thing to do.

“When you open that file, and I know you will, I want you to call me. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Once again, Irish had shown how he always knew when she needed him. It would be easy to ignore the offer and dive right into the sham of her life and face everything by herself.

Cass didn’t want to. She wanted him by her side.

“I promise I will.”

He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “Don’t forget.”

Her skin tingled from the brief contact. “I won’t.”

They stared at each other for another heated moment.

All her fake courage from earlier about taking Irish by his cheeks the next time she wanted to kiss him was nowhere to be found.

They were in the office as well, so it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for her to kiss Irish senseless, no matter how much she wanted to. Not that anyone would care if they did. At least, she didn’t think they would.

“I need to go. I have a meeting with the guys,” Irish said, breaking the bubble that had formed around them.

If he was in a meeting, how could he come and help if she decided to open the file in the next half an hour?

“Interrupt me, okay?” Irish commanded, and Cass nodded, not the least bit surprised he’d picked up on what she was thinking.

After another long look, Irish swiveled and headed back toward the conference room.

Cass closed her eyes, grabbing at the door handle to anchor her so she didn’t collapse to the ground.

She and Irish had shared some intense moments. There’d been times when she’d been super angry with him for his overbearing nature in trying to get her to stop working when she had a headache. Or when she’d been sitting at her desk for hours on end, trying to find a missing person.

However, the brief moment they’d just shared was different. A shift had occurred between them, and Cass didn’t mind it at all.