Tiernan Chapter 8

Everyone had gone home for the night. While the whole family didn’t end up joining us for the cookout, all of them, at one point or another, stopped by to see how Kynedi was doing and to ask if either of them needed anything. As if I wouldn’t ensure they were taken care of. They were doing it mainly to make her feel welcome but also to tweak me a bit. When she wasn’t paying attention, I gave most of them the finger or mouthed fuck you .

Aidan, Riza, Khloe, Daid , Mam , Ais, Alistair, Shane, and Cathal joined us for dinner. It was an unspoken agreement that the main bunch of us would have time alone with her. Khloe and Cass had a blast playing together. Kynedi commented about how astonished she was at how at ease he was with all of us and Khloe in particular.

Cassius, after his bath and reading a book with me, you guessed it, about horses, he passed out in his bed. I had him sleep in the extra bedroom on the first floor. Now that he was settled, it was time to sit down and talk to Kynedi about what needed to be clarified between us. She wasn’t sleeping with her son or in another bed. If she refused to share mine with me, then I’d go upstairs. However, I was praying by the time we were done talking, she’d allow me to share it with her. I wasn’t asking for sex, just to be close to her.

We were in the sitting room that was attached to the master. She was checking it out. “Tiernan, I can’t believe this. Between this, the bathroom, and your bedroom, why ever leave?”

“I do have to eat, and there’s this pesky thing called work, but I get it. It is comfortable. Everything about this house called to me when I saw the plans.”

“I think it’s wild that after each of you turned eighteen, you had a house built. Although, I think it’s wonderful your families wanted you all to stay close to them.”

“They wanted us to be independent while staying nearby. I know many people don’t understand how we all grew up in one house and still want to live essentially together.”

“I think it’s wonderful. If I had a family like yours, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The kids get to grow up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents galore.”

I hadn’t heard back from Cody, and I made him promise not to tell me anything except what posed a threat. Here was a chance to find out something about her from her.

“Do you have family, or is it just you and Cassius?”

She gazed down at her hands. I thought she wasn’t going to answer me until she began talking. Her voice was scratchy but not as bad as it was. “I don’t have anyone on my side other than Cass. My parents had me later in life, so I grew up an only child. Mom’s pregnancy was rough on her. They always said they were thrilled just to have me. Dad had a brother who was killed in the military, and his parents died before I was born. Mom’s parents and other family members weren’t in the picture. Her younger sister was wild and unstable, so there was no relationship between them. I have no clue if she’s even alive. Sad when you think about it.

“I was twelve when Mom died from an undiagnosed heart condition. She just didn’t wake up one morning. It devastated Dad and me. We didn’t know what to do without her, but we inched along. After a couple of years, I got better, but he had lost his true love. He died right after I turned eighteen and was finishing my senior year of high school. There was an accident on the construction site where he worked.”

“ Dia , I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.”

“They’re painful and happy at the same time, so no need to apologize. After Dad died, what money we had went to paying off our debt and keeping the house long enough for me to graduate. I’d been planning to go to college, but with him gone, I needed a way to earn money. College wasn’t a possibility. It led me to make decisions that I might’ve made differently if my parents weren’t gone and I wasn’t alone and lonely.”

She didn’t say more, but I wondered if she meant Cassius’s father was one of those. I was dying to know who he was and what he did. However, tonight wasn’t the night for that conversation. “I hate that you were alone. It kind of explains you to a degree.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t trust people. Earlier, you accused me of playing with you and asked me to stop. I said we’d talk about it later. I’d like us to do it now, Kynedi. I want to understand why you assumed I was playing a game. I didn’t lie. I love seeing you blush. And what did you mean by I’m not a man who should be playing them, especially with someone like you?”

She glanced up to meet my gaze. “I think it’s obvious. You’re a rich, successful, and extremely good-looking man. If I was a different person, you might find yourself trying to get away from me. I don’t need to tell you there are lots of grasping, conniving women who would go after you and try to force you into a relationship with them. Lucky for you, I’m not like that, but you can’t be too careful. Of course, since you’re in the public eye so much, I know the kind of women you prefer, so there’s no getting the wrong idea either.”

“Tell me, what kind of woman do I prefer?”

I knew the women she’d seen connected to me in the media. What she didn’t know was not a single one of them meant a damn thing to me. All they were used for was sex and casual companionship. I made sure not to sleep with anyone who didn’t know the score or who was innocent. Some might have hoped for more, but it was never happening. Others did it for reasons such as notoriety, to advance their career by being even temporarily associated with me and my family, or for sex.

“Come on, do you really want me to say it?”

“I do.”

“Fine. They are rich model types who either don’t have to work or, if they do, they have careers to complement you. They wear designer clothes, travel the world, and go to parties and events every night. You know, women who’re in your income bracket with similar backgrounds. That’s the kind of woman you’ll settle down with one day and have those grandbabies your parents want.”

“You really think that’s what I want? That I’m so fucking shallow that I want someone who’s all flash on the outside and has nothing of substance on the inside?” It hurts, but it shouldn’t. Plenty of people thought that. I guess it bothered me this time since it was her.

“No! Tiernan, I’m not saying this right. I’m not saying you’re shallow or they have nothing inside. I meant they’re your equal. Common factors that’ll bring you together.”

“What about love?”

“What about it?”

“I told you I believe in soulmates. That wasn’t a lie. I want someone I can love and grow together with. Someone to be by my side and me next to hers until the day I leave this world. I want kids.”

“And you’ll have it one day with one of them.”

Her inability to see that those women wouldn’t give me that and that she was the one who could if she’d open her eyes and heart frustrated me. I went to stand up. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She halted me by grabbing my hands. Her touch sent streaks of fire through me. Unable to resist, even if this backfired on me, I quit fighting myself and I let go. Growling, I reached for her. I dragged her the short distance between us on the loveseat we were on. I wasn’t overly rough, but I did bring her flush against me. Holding the back of her neck, I tilted her head back as I lowered my head and lay claim to her mouth.

Her gasp was sucked into my lungs as I kissed her with the pent-up desire I had for her. Her mouth being open allowed me to slip my tongue inside while pressing my lips against hers. I found her tongue unerringly and tangled mine with hers. She moaned, which made my stiffening cock harden faster. The sweetness of the wine she’d recently drank, coupled with what I thought was her natural flavor, made me more ravenous. I pressed my mouth over and over to hers, in between nibbling on her lips and wrestling with her tongue.

Cognizant of her sore scalp, face, and body, I eased her onto my lap. Her dress was a long one, so it hiked up enough to allow her to straddle me but not enough to expose her. As much as I wanted to see her bare, I knew it was too soon for that. We kissed for I don’t know how long before I broke away to pant in her ear.

“Do you get it now?”

“Get what?” she gasped back.

“I don’t want those women. I don’t want some pale comparison. The reason I’ve never been tempted to make one of them mine is simple, Kynedi. They’re not you. They’re not who I wanted to make mine. You are.”

I watched astonishment, then disbelief overtake her expression. She tried to pull away, but I only let her put a few inches between us. Both of my hands came up to capture and hold her face, again, making sure not to press on her bruising.

“Yo-you want me?” she stuttered breathlessly.

“You’re goddamn right I do. I know this is fast, and you have doubts and questions. I get it. But you have to believe me, I want you, Kynedi. And it’s not for a night, a week, a month, or even a year. I want forever. You’re what makes me want to strive to be better. I want to give you the world.”

“But what about Cassius?”

“What about him?”

“My son is a part of me, Tiernan. He’s not disappearing. Where I go, he goes. I won’t give him up.”

The fierceness in her tone and the words made me sit further back. I stared at her in disbelief. “Why the hell would I want you to give him up?”

“Because he’s not like most kids, and he’s not yours. Even fathers don’t always like or want their own kids, let alone someone else’s.”

Fury shot through me at her answer. Not necessarily because she thought I’d be that way, but more so because I knew this was what Cassius’s father had done. He didn’t want his own kid. I brought her closer to me.

“Listen to my words. I don’t give a shit if Cassius was fathered by someone else. That was just contributing genetic material. And I sure as hell don’t want you to get rid of him. For one thing, he’s a part of you. Another reason is I adore that kid. His father did that, didn’t he? He wanted nothing to do with his own child. He’s a fucking lowlife,” I snapped.

Tears were gathering in her eyes. She nodded. “Yes, you’re right. Bram didn’t see Cassius as his son. All he saw was he wasn’t perfect in his mind. He was defective. That was unacceptable. Bram didn’t deal with it well.”

“You said he was out of your lives and not a threat. Why are you so sure he isn’t? He was physically abusive, wasn’t he?”

She flinched, and I noted uncertainty. I didn’t want to push her to confide in me before she was ready. “You don’t need to tell me everything. Just tell me if I’m on the right track.”

“You are. Bram became a terrible person. Or maybe he always was, and I never knew it. I don’t regret meeting him because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have my son. However, I would’ve saved us both a lot of pain and heartache if I hadn’t. He knew I was lonely and vulnerable, and he targeted me. Or I assume he did. It’s not as if I could ask him, and he’d tell the truth.”

“I don’t play games, and lying to someone I care about is a hard no. There may be things I don’t talk about due to wanting to protect you, but it’s not to get away with shady stuff. Do you think I invite people to my family’s safe harbor, introduce them to my whole family, and ask them to stay with me? The answer is no.”

“You’re a kind man and you want Maggie’s to be a success. Plus, you know Cass and I don’t have family.”

“I don’t know how kind I am, but the other two things are true, but I wouldn’t have you here if it weren’t more. I could have men standing outside your apartment, making sure the two of you are safe. I don’t because I can’t stand the thought of not protecting you myself. I want you and Cassius. My desire for you is why your things were placed in my bedroom. I’m not asking for sex, Kynedi. I know you need time to get to know me. I’m not an animal. I can control my urges, but I want to be able to hold you at night.”

“Are you sure? If you’re not, we can’t do this,” she pleaded.

Her response gave me a spark of hope. “I’m beyond sure. Say yes. Say you’ll let me in and that we’ll get to know each other and grow. I have no doubt this is headed toward a committed relationship.”

Her nod made me give a whoop, and then I kissed her again. I was slipping toward the edge of control, so I halted it. We were both breathing hard.

“I’d love nothing more than to continue this, but we need to get some sleep. Are you sleeping in here with me, or do I leave this bed to you and go upstairs?”

She gave me a bemused look, then smiled. “Well, since you put it that way, how can I say no? Let’s go to bed.”

I stood, still holding her in my arms, and I walked her into the bedroom. The bed was already turned down, so all I had to do was slip her in and cover her up. “I’ll be out in a few. I just need to take a shower. Go to sleep. Sweet dreams.”

I gave her a swift kiss and then went to grab clean underwear. I usually slept nude, but I didn’t see her being okay with that. There was a second reason for my shower. I needed privacy to rub one out to get rid of the relentless erection. I was determined to give her the time she needed, but it wouldn’t be easy.

???

As sexually frustrating as last night was, it had been one of the best nights of sleep I’d had in years. Waking up to Kynedi snuggled into me had been heaven. We were woken up around six o’clock by Cass. He’d gotten up and came looking for us. When Kynedi came awake, she panicked to find him standing next to the bed. Cassius didn’t blink an eye at finding his mama in bed with me. Instead, he asked what was for breakfast and if he was going to camp.

Fast forward several hours, and he was at camp, and Kynedi was at the house with Mama, and a few others were nearby if she needed anything. I had to persuade her not to go into the spa to work. Yesterday, she had no clients, but she did today. I was surprised when she agreed and called to have them rescheduled. I knew that didn’t mean she’d sit back and relax all day. We’d brought her laptop from her place, so I knew she’d work on her transcription jobs. As soon as she fully accepted me, there would be no working three damn jobs. I had no problem with her doing what she loved, but there was no way she loved to work nonstop. I went to work at our St. Aug offices.

I’d been working for two hours when my desk phone rang. I answered it. “Tiernan.”

“Hey, Tier, do you have time to talk? I found something,” Cody stated. There was an undertone to his voice that told me I wouldn’t like what he had to tell me. I’d held back from going to his office first thing this morning and bugging him to see if he’d had time to dig into Kynedi’s ex.

“I do. Come to my office in five.”

“Will do,” he said before hanging up.

Not knowing how long it might take, I got Olive on the phone and had her push back my calls by an hour. Olive, Ladd, Adeline, and Collins were the four executive assistants who worked for us in the corporate office. Instead of us all having one, we shared the four of them in a pool. They were whizzes, and I don’t know what we’d do without them. They kept us and everything straight, which was a damn miracle.

I was pacing when Cody knocked on my open door. I waved him inside. He shut the door behind him. His face was dark, not his typical smiling self. I sat at the small table in my office. “Tell me what you found.”

Cody was carrying a tablet with him. He rarely went anywhere without one or a laptop. As for a phone, we thought one may be permanently attached to his body. He placed the tablet on the table between us and then stared at me.

“You’re not going to like this, T. I haven’t had time to dig deeper yet. I got sidetracked with something Darragh had me doing. I didn’t get to begin this until yesterday. I wanted to do it myself.”

Cody tended to do any projects that were personal to the family himself. Despite trusting those on his team, he was possessive about protecting us. “Cody, I know you have a lot of demands on your time. If it were an emergency, I would’ve said so. I found out a little on my own last night.”

“What?”

“He was physically abusive and didn’t like or want his son because he wasn’t perfect in his mind. There’s more, but Kynedi wasn’t at the sharing stage on the rest.”

He snorted. “Yeah, you could say the fucker was abusive and didn’t want his kid. Let me start at the beginning. Bram Farr and Kynedi began dating when she was nineteen. It wasn’t long before she was pregnant. On the surface, they appeared to be happy. They moved in together and prepared for the baby. He’s six years her senior, so he was established in his career as a pharmaceutical rep. He had to travel for his job, which at times included overnight trips. On the surface, everything appeared to be okay even after Cassius was born. It wasn’t until the kid was over a year old that it changed.

“I’m not sure who noted it, but Cassius was taken to his pediatrician, and further testing was done. His medical records show that he was having odd behaviors. Some listed in his records were limited eye contact, difficulty making his needs known, crying and throwing fits when his routine was changed, avoidance of physical contact, not responding to his name, not expressing his emotions, and texture issues. After extensive testing, he was given the official diagnosis of autism. The doctor informed them that Cassius was intelligent, just not able to process or cope like other children. Cassius would need therapy to help him reach his full potential, but he’d most likely be able to have a full, fulfilling life.” He paused.

“Go on.”

“It seems that Kynedi dove into educating herself so she could give her son what he needed. She sought out therapy and more. It was his father who didn’t put any effort toward helping him. I don’t know what it was like in their home, but I imagine it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t long after Cassius’s diagnosis that the trips to the ER started for her. She’d have bruises and injuries, even a few broken bones. When asked if she was being abused, she denied it. The boy didn’t have any marks on him.”

My anger was rising fast. I held on to my temper to allow him to finish. I gestured for him to hurry up. He tapped on his tablet and showed me a picture of a man. There was enough of Cassius in his coloring and around his eyes to tell me it was Bram.

“I need more time, but I know why she’s sure that her ex, who, by the way, never married her, isn’t a threat to come after them. He can’t. He’s serving time, Tiernan—a fifteen-year sentence.”

“For what?”

“Kynedi put him there. She testified and provided proof that he was planning to get rid of their son. He was about to sell him when she found out. She confronted him and secretly recorded him. The idiot confessed it all. She provided the police with the proof and sworn statements about the numerous beatings he’d given her. They were due to her protecting her boy from his father. He was put away four years ago.”

Madness hit me as what Cody said fully sank in. I roared out my outrage as I came to my feet. I swept the glass bowl in the middle of the table to the floor, breaking it. I pounded my fists on the table. All I could see was Bram Farr’s face and my fist beating it in. I yearned to pound him to death for what he did to her and his son. What kind of monster would beat his woman and try to sell his own child? One who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as them.

The madness didn’t begin to fade until I felt myself being touched on the shoulders, and arms and bodies were standing around me. They didn’t crowd me. They knew in this berserker rage, I’d hurt them. Focusing on their faces, I saw it was Shane, Darragh, Declan, Rian, Daid , and Alistair. Cody was still there.

“There you are. Come back and tell us what set you off,” Daid demanded.

I was panting as I glanced at Cody. “You called them?”

“I did. You were losing it, Tiernan. I didn’t tell them why.”

I ran my hand through the top of my hair, not caring if it messed it up. I blew out a long breath and then walked to the bar against the far wall. All of us had one in our offices for those times we might need one or we were offering a drink to a guest. I poured a shot of Redbreast, one of my favorite Irish whiskeys, and downed it. Walking back to the table, which was on its side, I flipped it back upright. The others were all silently watching me as they righted chairs.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to go off.”

“Obviously, you were hit hard with something. Tell us. Maybe we can help. Does it have something to do with Kynedi and Cassius?” Darragh asked.

I nodded. “It does. Hell, Cody, tell them what you told me. I don’t know if I can repeat it yet.”

Cody launched into the retelling. It wasn’t much easier to hear a second time. By the time he was done, the others were all swearing and slamming their fists on furniture or their palms.

“You want to kill him,” Daid stated.

“ Diabhal, right, I do. That fíochmhar , fucker, has earned it. Not only did he abuse her repeatedly, he tried to sell his child. Who does that?” I snarled.

“Only a no-good píosa cac , piece of shit, whoring bastaird , bastard,” Shane swore.

I snorted. “Tell me how you really feel, deartháir , brother.”

“ Greim orm , bite me,” he said with a smirk.

“You’re lucky your mama isn’t here. She’d be washing out your mouths,” Alistair teased. I knew it was to ease the tension.

“I doubt it. In this instance, she’d be teaching us more. Mam has a mouth on her when you get her going,” I reminded him.

“I know she does. Where do you think your sister learned it?” Alistair winked.

All of us laughed at that one. Once we stopped, more tension had abated. “What do you want to do? He’s in prison, so he’s not a threat to them, but I don’t see you waiting until he makes parole down the road to deal with him,” Declan said calmly.

“I’d love to march in there and beat him to death with my bare hands, but the warden and guards tend to frown on that sort of thing. I know waiting for him to get out isn’t in me. Let me think about it. Until I decide, Cody, I want you to do more research and find out if there’s more to the story. Kynedi is beginning to open up to me, but she didn’t tell me this, only that he was abusive and didn’t want an imperfect son. Last night, I told her I wanted her. She brought up the fact Cassius came as part of the deal. I didn’t understand why she said it, not even after she said Bram didn’t want him after they discovered he was autistic. Now, I get why she told me that. She was alone, and he was the person she was supposed to rely on. Thank God they never married. I won’t have to worry about waiting until the shit is dead to marry her.”

“About time you told her how you feel about her. The way you moon over her is sickening,” Shane joked.

“Jealous?” I shot back.

“You know I am, you lucky shit. It’s not fair. I should get my anamchara before you,” he prodded.

“Hey, neither of you nor Declan should get one before me. I’ll be thirty-nine soon,” Rian groused.

Their banter helped to dispel more of my anger and allowed me to think clearly again. I knew that no matter what I chose to do to Bram Farr, he was living on short, borrowed time. After a few more minutes of half-serious talk, they excused themselves. I was then left to get back to work. I had no in-person meetings today, but I did have more calls. I was anxious to be away from the office and outdoors. Tomorrow, I’d have time with Cassius at the stables. Thinking of the stable gave me an idea. I just needed to see if I could talk Kynedi into it.