29. Talia

Chapter 29

Talia

A fter an early breakfast Saturday, Gabe drives me home for a few hours so Kieran and Leo can have privacy for their appointment. I intend to spend the time working on the book I’ve almost convinced myself to write. Instead, I end up staring at the wall opposite my desk, replaying last night over and over in my mind.

I almost told Kieran the truth. Almost. My mouth was open, the words seconds from spilling, when his hand lowered beneath the water to cup me possessively between the legs. The next few hours were a blur of skin and sweat and finally sleep after we blew out all the candles and dragged his comforter and pillows from the closet.

Now that I know he remembers me, I absolutely have to tell him I was the girl he met in the graveyard. God willing, he won’t feel betrayed or manipulated .

On our drive back to the coast, I’m still mulling on the best way to broach the subject when Gabe’s voice draws me from my thoughts.

“How are you adjusting to everything, Doc?”

I meet his concerned gaze in the rearview. Realizing he’s attributing my subdued mood to his presence and that of the two men in the car behind us, I smile in reassurance. “Talia, please. And I’m fine, Gabe. Honestly. Sorry I’m bad company at the moment.”

He shakes his head. “Not at all. Never feel obligated to fill the silence with me. Just want you to know I’m here if you have any questions or concerns.”

I shift in my seat. “Now that you mention it, I do have one concern—bringing all three of you to Crossroads tonight.”

“What are you worried about?”

To my relief, he doesn’t sound disapproving, only curious.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Sven’s judgment—Bo and Elian seem great, and I trust you implicitly. But I’m protective of the club and its members. Things can get very vulnerable and emotional in the Q he’s long gone, anyway.

Gabe types on his phone. A few seconds later, he puts the car in park and turns it off. “Okay, we’re good to head inside,” he says, but his brow is furrowed slightly as he exits the car and veers around to my side. Bo and Elian park and join us.

“Who’s here?” I ask Gabe softly as he leads the way to the front door.

He glances back at me, still frowning. “Oliver McCann, Lumitech’s Chief Information Officer.” He looks over my shoulder, looping in Bo and Elian. “Sven says the conversation isn’t a pleasant one. We’ll take Talia straight to Kieran’s bedroom.”

I barely notice the fact I’m not a part of that decision. My thoughts have snagged on the name and the odd interaction I had with Oliver at Rhubarb last week.

Gabe opens the front door and an angry voice meets our ears mid-tirade.

“—without even speaking to us! Do you have any idea how this will make us look? Like fucking idiots!”

Kieran’s answer is low and measured, the tone more icy than I’ve ever heard it. “Consider it a courtesy I told you at all, Oliver.”

I glimpse the men in the living room. Kieran sits on one of the couches, his arms spread and head cocked. His profile shows me an expression to match his voice. Even though Oliver is standing, almost looming over him, there’s no question who’s in charge.

Sven stands by the windows. I catch his gaze for an instant before I’m ushered down the hallway to Kieran’s bedroom. Bo and Elian take up positions outside the door. Gabe pauses on the threshold.

“You good here?” he asks.

I nod. “Before you go—quick question. Did Kieran tell his executive team he was going to the Maldives instead of Ireland?”

Gabe frowns. “No. They know he goes back to Ireland every couple of months. Why?”

I tell him about seeing Oliver last week and what he said. By the time I’m finished, Gabe’s expression is so neutral I know it’s forced.

“Why would he say that? Was he trying to see if I’d contradict him? Reveal the real reason Kieran was in Ireland?”

“I don’t know, but thank you for telling me. I’ll share it with Sven. Fair warning, he might have some follow-up questions.”

My heart skips a beat. “Does that mean Oliver’s a suspect?”

Gabe steps quickly inside the room and closes the door. “Excluding Alistair, yes—all Lumitech execs are under investigation at this point.”

“Makes sense,” I muse. “The people closest to Kieran would have the most access to him. ”

Gabe opens his mouth, hesitates, and finally says, “So far there’s no evidence implicating Oliver or anyone else, but we’re on high alert.”

I think about the overheard conversation. “He told them about the trials.”

He nods. “Early this morning.”

I chew my lip. “I don’t like him—Oliver. He makes my skin crawl.”

Gabe gives me a dry smile of agreement. “None of us like him, but Kieran’s known him far longer than we have.”

I nod distractedly. “For Kieran’s sake, I hope it isn’t him.”

“I agree.”

The door opens behind Gabe. My thoughts evaporate as Kieran strides toward me, his troubled expression melting into one of relief. I barely notice Gabe’s retreat or the door closing because I’m enveloped in a crushing embrace.

“I missed you,” he mumbles against my neck.

My heart expands like a balloon, pushing against the confines of my ribs. “I missed you, too.” Leaning back, I frame his face with my hands. “Are you okay?”

Stormy blue eyes roam my face. “I am now.”

“How was therapy?”

“Good.”

“Do you?—”

His lips swallow my words, the kiss swiftly turning ravenous. Hands flow down my back to my ass, kneading me through my jeans. All my thoughts and worries flee.

“Are you sore?” he asks between kisses.

I pull up his shirt, palming his warm skin. “Does it matter to you? Because it doesn’t matter to me.”

His answer is a groan.

Our clothes hit the floor and we fall onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Kieran rolls us and rises to his forearms. My legs frame his hips. I arch into him, eager and mindless, before realizing he’s stopped moving. Relaxing back to see his face, my breath catches. Sunlight from the windows turns his eyes to blue flame, and he stares down at me like… like…

“Tá mé i ngrá leat,” he murmurs. “I’m in love with you. Tá grá agam duit — I love you . Mo ghrá — my love. You’re everything to me.”

My vision blurs until I blink, forcing tears from the corners of my eyes.

“I love you, too,” I whisper.

No words I’ve spoken in my entire life have been truer, and from the softening of his beautiful lips, he knows it. Eyes holding mine, he slowly fills me. My body—my heart—my every breath becomes entangled with his.

There’s no dirty talk. None of our usual teasing or the power struggles we both enjoy. No sounds but our quiet gasps and the slow slide of skin against skin. We don’t even kiss. We make love to each other without breaking eye contact once, as close as we can be, our bodies the sand and waves on the beach below—irreversibly mingled, locked together forever by nature’s design.

We shatter as one, trembling in the humming silence. As our heartbeats slow, he kisses me at last and tells me again that he loves me. And I say it back three times. Once for the girl I was. Once for the woman I am. And once for my monster, free now, purring and content because all she wanted was a dream.

And now she has it.