Finn Brannon blinked a few times as the noise around him in the pub fell silent. All the regulars ceased their conversations and had tuned in to the one that had included him. This small wisp of a woman comes in here, carrying luggage and announcing to him this was her place?
No way. He didn’t think so.
“Now lass. I will admit while full of shit, that’s an interesting claim.” He dismissed her with nothing more than a look and focused back on his wily grandfather. “You put her up to this? Is that what you created while you were over there in America, nothing but another ploy of yours to get me married off?”
She emitted a sharp gasp, but he couldn’t look at her right now, because behind all the false bluster she projected there was this fear and he wanted to wipe that from her.
In the time frame of forever.
He wanted to pull her close and tuck her beneath his chin, an act allowing him to bury his nose in her hair.
Women didn’t affect him like this. He had one on them and he liked it that way. He could get what he wanted, made sure they were pleased and go on about his business. But as far as they were concerned, he went to them when he wanted one and left when he was done. Not her. She stood there, shivering in her wet clothes, the cotton, adhering to her body, showing not just him, but everyone there, her full chest.
Finn clenched a fist ever so briefly. He wanted to warm her on so many levels. And this reaction didn’t make the slightest bit of sense to him. It made him feel out of control and the one thing Finn Brannon wasn’t, was a loose cannon. He didn’t let things get the best of him.
Until now.
“I didn’t put her up to anything.” McSweeny crossed his thin arms and glared at him. “I had the pleasure of sitting beside this lovely thing on the flight. She told me she was coming to…” he trailed off. “Change her luck.”
What is the old man up to now? “Why are you glaring at me. This isn’t her place.”
“Her, is still here and doesn’t appreciate being talked about as if she were incapable of holding a discussion with two men.” Her words were crisp and perfectly clear while being drenched in anger.
Okay, that did it.
He snapped his focus back to her and instantly regretted it. Grateful for the half apron he wore to help hide the proof of the thickness in his jeans growing, he raked his gaze over her once more.
Smooth skin the color of golden brown butterscotch, had his mouth watering to see if it tasted as good as it looked. Her black hair hung past her shoulders, plastering to her head because of the rain as well. Her light grey shirt allowed him to see a bit of her bra strap, not as much as he wanted to see. Medium blue jeans and white tennis shoes completed her outfit, yet she still shivered.
“What do you want to contribute to the conversation then, lass?” He cocked an eyebrow as disdain leeched into his tone. Hell, it was the only way to keep his hands, and lips, to himself. Touching her skin when he moved her wrist had been just a small experience of which he craved more.
So much more and on an entirely grander level.
She narrowed her gaze at them both then dropped to her knees before him. A few gasps and titters came from the crowd and she snapped her head to glare at them into silence, before she unzipped a pocket of her luggage and pulled out a stack of papers. Pushing back to her feet, she smacked him in the chest with them.
“Just that.”
Finn gripped her hand and held it against him before allowing her to pull free, leaving him with the papers. He unfolded them, and anger surged through him. Looking at his grandfather, the old man was actually not paying him any mind, but instead using the towel on the woman there, helping to dry off her hair. Speaking to her in a low soft lilt of his words.
“Excuse us,” he said seconds before he snatched her hand and pulled her through to the back and up the stairs to the second floor. The entire level had been converted into the living space, granted it wasn’t the best but there were nights he crashed on the side that didn’t have the hole in the roof over it.
“What the hell are you doing? Stop pulling me around like I’m a piece of meat.” She smacked at his hand until he released her. Then she rubbed her hands over her upper arms, reminding him again that she was soaking wet and if he didn’t get that taken care of she would be sick and it would be on him. Not likely but that’s how it would play out.
“Where did you get this paper?”
She drew back from the venom in his tone, but he didn’t try to make her feel any more at ease.
After swallowing a few times, she lowered her hands to her sides, fingers curled into fists. She lifted her chin. He had to give her credit. Woman had moxy, there was no disguising her fear but she didn’t back down.
“A woman named Mrs. Garcia tracked me down in Pittsburgh to give them to me. Do I have the wrong Village Dunphy and bar, excuse me, pub named Emerald Myst?”
Fuck she was sexy when she was being snide and patronizing. His hands itched to touch her, yank her flush to him and ravage her. See how condescending she could be when her feet couldn’t touch the ground because his cock was so far in her it wasn’t happening. A thought his dick was well onboard with.
Then her words fully sank in.
He shoved a hand through his hair. Shit. Shit. Shit.
This pub had belonged to Patrick Donaghue, but when the man headed for the States, he gave it to Finn’s father to keep an eye on. Finn’s old man was much better suited to being on the customer side of the bar than actually running it. When Finn had gotten word his father had passed he had returned home. The establishment had been like it was now, he had plans for it, but he was working on getting it back up and in the black as opposed to bleeding red like it had been when he arrived.
“Where’s Patrick?”
“My parents died years ago.” She flicked the tip of her tongue over her lips before continuing. “It took Mrs. Garcia a while to find me.”
Don’t tease me lass, not sure how much I can take before I sample those full lips of yours.
He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. Fuck, she was goddamn adorable. He wanted to pull her close and show her how perfectly they would align to one another. “Apparently. Patrick left thirty years ago. I am sorry for your loss but why wait so long once she did find you to come claim this place?”
Something dark sparked in her eyes. “I’ve known for less than two weeks I inherited this place. And it’s all I have left in the world.” Her voice cracked a bit on that but she forged ahead. “So I’m not going to be run out of here by someone who wants to believe he owns it yet has done a shitty job about upkeep.”
She has fire. He approved.
“Don’t take this out on me, lass. I’ve not exactly been flush with money to do a lot of the upkeep.” He uncrossed his arms and glared at her.
She didn’t back down, actually instead she matched him stare for stare.
“Here are your bags, lass.”
McSweeny’s voice busted through the tension bubble encompassing them.
“What did you bring them up here for?” Finn demanded.
“She’s staying while you two work this out. There is more than enough space up here for the both of you to share the place while you get the Emerald Myst back to the fine shape I recall it used to be in.” The old bastard sounded positively cheerful about that prospect.
“How do you know what was on the paper? I thought you said you didn’t put her up to any of this?”
Those white eyebrows rose up to the thin hair line. “You’re not exactly subtle, lad in your shouting at the wee lass.” He gave her a smile. “Besides, if she is here to run the bar, you can focus on what you truly like to do. Construction.”
Damn his grandfather for making sense.
“You think I’m staying here with a man I don’t even know?” She sounded aghast, like he would be throwing himself at her in bed the first opportunity he could.
Okay, so bedding her wasn’t a horrible idea but he wasn’t a letch, he could control his urges.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you conceding already, lass? Giving up on the only thing you have left in the world?” Challenge leaked from every word he just said. Part of him wanted to see her do an about face and never set foot in here again, however, there was another bit of her that really wanted to see if she had the mettle to follow what she set out to do.
She turned in a circle taking in the second floor. Even the bathroom didn’t have a complete door on it.
“Hepatitis may be the least of my worries.” Her words were so low he knew she’d not meant to spill them.
His lips twitched but he got himself back under control when she snapped her head back up in his direction. Determination stamped all over her features.
Her brown gaze held his as she marched up to him. There it was again, that fresh citrus scent he’d been smacked with the first time he’d touched her. His cock swelled again as the smell tantalized him.
“I’m not conceding anything. I’ll stay here, work with you to get this back to how it should be and then we will see what happens.”
“Good.” He bent a bit closer to her. “I hate women who don’t have a spine. And look forward to seeing how much you’re enjoying this once the nights of sleeping on a hard floor don’t look so appetizing to you.”
She ran a pointed look over him. “Nothing about this entire situation is appetizing to me.” She gave him her back even before the words faded from the air. By McSweeny once more, she took her bags and deliberately made her way to the side that didn’t have the hole in the roof.
“What about me?” he called after her.
“I would suggest you get up there and fix it post haste or it’s going to be a wet night.” She scanned the area she stood in and he imagined she was trying to figure out where she was going to sleep. It wasn’t warm up here and the night would be even colder. “For you.”
McSweeney laughed and kissed her cheek.
“I like her, Brannon. I expect you to keep her safe and none of your shenanigans.” He beckoned to her. “Come on lass. Let’s go take you over to Alice O’Neal’s for some more clothing. Don’t worry about your things, they’re safe here.”
Within moments he was again alone in the upper level of the business. This was his bar, he’d been busting his ass to keep it afloat for the past few months since he’d come home. Sure the thought of being able to fix things up held a great deal of promise to him, but he had to ensure the clientele had drinks or they would find another place to give money to, so that had come first.
“Probably can’t even pour a drink with head.”
His statement gave him another vision he didn’t need right now. One of her giving him head, her thick black hair falling around his groin as she bobbed her head up and down on his shaft. All the while, being toward him so he could enjoy her pussy.
This time, he reached under the apron and adjusted himself, trying to alleviate some of the pressure in his jeans. Wasn’t easy and he didn’t expect it to be any better until he could pull it out and wack off a few times, just until the urge that had replaced the blood in his body was appeased. Yeah, it would be a while.
“Why doesn’t she just sashay her ass right back to Pittsburgh and leave me alone.”
One deep breath and he went back down to find the conversation once again died the moment they realized he was there.
“Who’s she and what is she doing here?” Todd Tulley called out as he shoved a handful of bar mix in his mouth.
“Patrick Donaghue’s daughter. She’s come to claim the business.” There wasn’t any point in keeping it from them, surely it was already known. His grandfather prided himself on spreading gossip and news.
“She is of fair Paddy Donaghue?”
He narrowed his gaze on Todd. “I’m sure your question is because you find her beautiful and are unsure as to how Paddy was able to sire such a lovely lass, not anything else, right Todd?”
He tolerated a lot of shit from those in his place, but there were a few things he wouldn’t even begin to entertain and any thinking along those kinds of lines about races, weren’t one of them. When he’d served in the Irish Army, he’d learned to work with people who were of the same mind as he was. How they looked, didn’t matter to him. Not that it had prior, but his twelve years serving made him serious about things like that.
Todd nodded but didn’t speak on it. Finn let it go for the moment but the gravity of what was going to happen smacked him. People would either be happy to see Paddy’s child here, or they wouldn’t and it could very well have to do with the coloring of her skin. People could have narrow views. However, Patrick “Paddy” Donaghue had been a well-liked man and Finn could still recall the day the man had decided to leave.
“What is she going to do here?” another called out. Seamus if he were to think about it.
Make me horny as shit and have to wank off numerous times a day. “Run the bar which frees me up to some of the much-needed maintenance around this place.”
“Does she know how to run a bar?”
Why the fuck would she? “I don’t know. She will by the time I’m done with her. Besides, you lot don’t ask for much, just your drinks and the mix to eat while you gossip like old ladies and play darts.”
“I don’t want to have to change my behavior because there’s a woman in the establishment.”
Finn tossed the dish towel over his shoulder and shook his head as he smiled indulgently. “You do know there are women in here now, right, Sam?”
“But these here are our women. We know they can take it. She looks, delicate.”
A few skitters of laughter met Sam’s statement.
“Time will tell, Sam.”
Sure, he’d thought so to begin with but when she refused to back down and squared off with him upstairs, he wasn’t thinking anything about her being delicate.
“Are you sure it’s hers? Maybe she is lying and making it up.”
“Believe me, I thought about it but no, it’s legit. Do you remember when Paddy changed the name of the pub from Donaghue’s?”
Sam nodded, his fire engine red hair falling into his eyes as he did so. “I do. You weren’t born yet so how do you? Never mind, I forgot how close your Da was to Paddy. He changed it to Emerald Myst. We were none to happy. It was a girly name not strong like Donaghue’s.”
“Right. Paddy named his daughter Emerald exactly as he’d said he would name his daughter, when he had her. And that’s who she is. Emerald M. Donaghue. All the documents are in order.”
“I don’t want to see any flowery curtains in the windows,” Sam said defiantly.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You better or I’ll head over to Dougall’s. We all will.”
Finn looked over everyone there. Some agreed with Sam, others didn’t. “Do what you will, Sam. There will be others to fill your seat.” I hope. Even if he didn’t fully stand with her, he wasn’t going to show a divided front to the people of the bar. He would have her back because if any of them hurt her, they would have him to deal with.
The rest of the day passed without him seeing her once more before closing. She entered with McSweeny about twenty minutes prior to closing. Even across the bar, he could see her exhaustion. And it made sense. She wasn’t used to this time zone yet. His grandfather escorted her across the floor to the bar where he stood.
His damn cock stood at attention the moment she’d walked in and only grew harder the closer she got to him. He noticed a few others watching her move over the floor and he bit back a snarl with the proprietary need that filled him.
This didn’t bode well. He had to figure out a way to control these urges he was having.
“You able to dry glasses?” Sarcasm lined his question.
“Sometimes I can even chew gum and walk at the same time,” she snarked back at him.
“Get to it then. We don’t close until it’s all clean.”
She walked around the bar and he couldn’t help but notice the slight curl of her lip when her shoes stuck to the floor. He waited for her to comment on it, but she didn’t. Just went to the sink and got to work cleaning and drying the glasses.
“I better not hear of you treating her like hired help, Brannon.”
“You brought her here, McSweeny,” he retorted. “You don’t like how I handle this, you should convince her to leave.”
“I didn’t bring her, I met her on the plane over. That’s it.”
Right. He still wasn’t positive about that.
She didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night either, but she watched him. How he dealt with the people there, both the men and women. She listened to the jokes but still stayed in the background.
When he finally was able to close the doors behind the last one to leave, he locked it. Ensuring that all the doors were locked, he cracked his neck and went to the bar where she stood, as if unsure about sitting.
Behind her, not a single dish was left dirty. They’d all been washed and if not dried and put away, they were in the drainer so come morning they would be.
“Looks good.”
Her tired smile was brief.
“I just have to do the paperwork then we’re done.” He gestured to the stairs. “Go ahead and try to get comfortable up there. I’ll swing by to check on you before I head out.”
Her eyes widened a bit and she lifted her head. “So, you’re not staying here?”
“Did you want me to?” Her gaze narrowed, and he sighed. “My mom is not far from here. Once I get this done, I’ll go there.”
“Do what you will but I’ll wait until you do paperwork. I need to learn your system sometime.”
“And assuming you’re not running back to Pittsburg anytime soon, we have time. I know you’re exhausted. Go try to get some sleep. The blankets up there are clean, I sleep here sometimes and make sure to have clean ones up there.”
“I won’t need—”
“Fine, don’t use anything I may have touched. Freeze.”
She lowered her gaze and walked away. Guilt speared him as she made her way into the back and up the stairs. Her light steps were still noticeable with no music pumping through the place. Just another reminder how they were there. Alone.
Grabbing the money and the receipts, he sat at the bar and swiftly took care of his least favorite part of the job. Once it was all documented, he climbed off the stool and made his way to the safe and locked it in. He would deposit it tomorrow.
Finn scrubbed a hand down his face as he made his way to the stairs and followed the path she’d just taken less than thirty minutes ago. He’d heard the water in the bathroom, so he’d hoped she was ready for him to come in. He needed to apologize. His mother would take a switch to him if it got out how he’d treated her.
Hell, I am not even sure what she wants to be called. He knew her name from the papers he’d read but never once asked her what her name was, or how she preferred to be called.
“I’m coming up,” he announced moments before he got to the top of the stairs. No response at all from her.
A single light burned at the top of the stairs, allowing a bit of light to filter into the living space. He stepped into it and froze. The side of the room, she’d taken no longer looked like the empty warehouse space it had. A twin bed with one sleeping woman sat there. A small dresser along with mirror, a chair, and a few other shapes he couldn’t quite make out sat over in the spot she had decidedly claimed as her own. She lay beneath a bunch of blankets, looking all toasty warm.
It hit him now why she’d tried to tell him she wouldn’t be needing any blankets. She had some. But that wasn’t all. Not to far from her was another bed and on that were the blankets he typically used if he crashed on the couch up there.
Damn her for going and thinking of him when he was trying to be an asshole.
“Are you awake?” he asked in a low tone.
Again, there was no response.
He moved over to where she lay on the bed and crouched down. Her deep even breathing told him, she’d finally succumbed to the exhaustion she’d felt. The plip of water stopped him and he swore, jerking his hand back from where it had been stroking along one of her thick curls. The feeling created within him, somehow even more proprietary than he would have believed possible. Nothing should feel so soft.
Making his way to the bucket, he noticed she’d emptied the other one and put an empty below it. He’d put some plastic over the hole in the roof but it still leaked, he truly needed to fix that.
Tomorrow.
Instead of heading for his mother’s, he bedded down there. He needed to make sure she was safe. Not too far from a woman who’d blown into his life like the rolling mist and for all intents and purposes, was going to be sticking around. Right before sleep claimed him, he realized she gave him the bigger bed.
You are full of surprises, Emerald Donaghue. Full of surprises. And suddenly, I’m looking forward to discovering them all.