Chapter 35

Declan~

K eavy was staring back at me defiantly, and it was easy to get lost in how beautiful she was. Even with as tired as she looked, I'd never seen anything so fucking lovely in all my life. Her black hair was a damp curtain around her face, her wet lashes made her green eyes glow like expensive emeralds, and with a face free from makeup, Keavy Collins was a true beauty in every sense of the word.

I also knew that I'd lose her if I tried to curb her spirit, but I also knew that I wasn't the type of man to just allow the woman that I loved to run a-fucking-mok. As it was, I wasn't going to ever be able to forget how weak and clammy she'd been when we had arrived at the cabin. She'd been shot, and that was as close to losing her as I ever wanted to get. Nevertheless, she really wasn't like other women, and I was going to have to find a way to wrap my mind around that if this was going to work.

"We both know that I can," I finally said. "So, don't make me, Keavy."

She sat up straighter in the tub, the bubbles sliding gloriously down her body with the movement of the hot water, and I could feel my dick getting inappropriately hard. The woman had been shot, was in pain, was exhausted, and here I was, wanting nothing more than to slide back inside her.

"They shot me, Declan," she said like I was stupid or something. "They broke into my home to rob it, then shot me. I can't let that go."

"And you're not," I pointed out. "You're just allowing me to take care of it."

Keavy's head cocked a bit before leaning back in the tub, the bubbles covering her again, much to my disappointment. I watched as she dropped her head back against the tub, closed her eyes, then let out a tired sigh. While most people would think that she was giving up, I knew better. Keavy wasn't only smart, but she was calculating, and if I allowed it, she'd probably be one of my best soldiers.

"I'm willing to do it together," she finally said. "If not, then we're going to have bigger problems than just me not marrying you."

"Quit feckin' sayin' da," I bit out. "Yer marryin' me, whetha ye want ta er not."

"That's the deal, Declan," she said, dismissing my insistence on getting married.

Done with taking the high road, I stood up, then started taking off my clothes. While I couldn't fuck her, I could hold her, and I needed to hold her while the image of her bleeding out was still fresh in my mind. I also wanted to remind her of what it felt like to be in my arms, just us with no witnesses.

As soon as I was completely naked, I said, "Scoot up."

Keavy's eyes opened, and she didn't look impressed as her eyes raked me up and down, but I knew better. Those screams when she'd been on my dick had been the real deal.

Luckily for the both of us, Keavy listened without argument this time, and when she made her way forward, I got into the tub behind her. With my added size, the water spilled over the edge, but that was the last thing that I was concerned with.

When Keavy leaned back against my chest, I was careful to stay away from her left shoulder, holding her close with my right arm instead. The steady sound of her breathing felt comforting in the spacious bathroom, and it was a relief from the choppy struggle that she'd been dealing with at the cabin.

In all actuality, I was kind of proud of myself for how I was handling the entire mess. I wanted to go after Klive just as much as Keavy did, but she was the priority right now. Even over Cooper Donaldson, the cabin, everything that I'd just learned about her, and her refusal to marry me, Keavy's gunshot wound was more important than anything else.

"How does your shoulder feel?" I asked.

"It'll be fine with a few aspirin," she replied like we were discussing baking recipes.

Deciding to try a different approach, I said, "Tell me about O'Connell."

She tensed a little in my arms, but then asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Was he as smart as people said he was?"

"Smarter," she answered. "He was so brilliant that he didn't know how to exist around normal people. His brain couldn't understand why other people weren't as intuitive as he was."

"How did you end up with him?"

"What? You don't know?" she huffed.

"I know how you ended up with him, I just don't know why," I amended.

She let out a tired sigh before saying, "He believed that God had sent me to him because of where the accident had taken place and the fact that I had survived when I shouldn't have. If you've seen the photos of the accident, it would shock anyone that I had survived."

"The Bronntanas Dé Corporation was named after you, wasn't it?"

Keavy nodded. "Everything that Cian did was for me," she replied. "Whatever made him believe that I was special, he believed it until his dying day."

"You never resented him for taking you from your family?" I asked, my fingertips running across her stomach.

"No," she answered honestly. "I know that most people would be curious, or that they would have sought their family out as soon as they'd been old enough, but…" She let out another sigh. "I didn't know those people. Cian was all that I knew, and he treated me like I was the most important thing in his life, which I supposed that I was."

"They looked for you," I informed her.

"I know they did," she replied, surprising me. "Cian always showed me every article and every mention of me and my family in the news. He hadn't lied about what he'd done, and…" She let out a low chuckle. "He used to hate it when I called him Papa. He hadn't wanted any lies between us, and so he'd been honest about every little thing, even making it clear that he wasn't my father. Still, the joke was on him. While he might not have been my father, he'd been my entire world."

"Would you ever consider reaching out to your family?" I asked, wondering how her curiosity didn't get the better of her.

"I'm not sure," she answered. "Right now, my life is quiet and uncomplicated, and that's how I like it."

I nearly choked on my surprise. "You consider murdering four people in one week quiet and uncomplicated? Not to mention how we're going to be questioned about Cooper Donaldson soon."

"In both instances, I was defending myself, Declan," she replied. "There's nothing complicated about that. Reaching out to my family will bring questions, awkwardness, and a whole host of emotions that I'm not sure if I'm capable of dealing with. While I might not be as brilliant as Cian had been, I'd been raised by the man, and I'm not like other people. My family is probably normal, and I think it might be best if I let them continue to be normal without my interference."

We sat in silence for a couple of relaxing minutes before I said, "I can't have you going after Klive, baby. If you want to be involved, I'm okay with that, but involved means staying inside the cabin while me and my guys search the woods."

"That's not going to work for me, Declan."

"Lass, I'm not asking."

"I can take care of myself," she retorted.

"And when you have to, I'll be fine with that," I replied. "However, in this instance, you don't have to. You've got me to get bloody for you, Keavy."

"I don't have a problem getting bloody."

"Don't remind me," I replied dryly.

After a few seconds, she said, "Cian taught me how to succeed when there's no help available. I'm more independent than you can probably handle, Declan."

"I can handle anything that you throw my way, lass," I assured her. "I mean, I better be able to since I have every intention of marrying you, no matter how much you object."

"I feel like I'm back in your basement."

That got a laugh out of me. "I think that we're a long way from where we started out in the basement, baby."

"Don't you mean the bar?" she asked haughtily. "You knew who I was all along."

"Yes, I did," I admitted.

"Declan, once the novelty wears off, you're going to find yourself in an uncomfortable position of trying to figure out what to do with me next."

"You're out of your beautiful mind if you think that I will ever get tired of you," I replied, meaning every fucking word. "You can't possibly know what you do to me, Keavy."

"I'm tired," she sighed. "Can we put the fighting off until later?"

"Not a problem," I chuckled. "Besides, I have a feeling that our relationship will present lots of opportunities for future fights."

"You're not wrong," she replied, her voice losing its luster.

"Let's get out of here, so that you can get some sleep, baby."

"For once, I agree with you."