One King's Way (On Dublin Street 6.5)

Rain scrutinized him and the tension in her shoulders suddenly relaxed as she said, “I believe you mean that.”

He squeezed her hand. “I do. I have sisters. If that happened to them I’d want to kill the bastard.”

“Oh, I want to kill him but I’ll settle for a little justice instead.”

“And what’s the plan for that?”

“Angus comes here a lot.” She gave a bitter, rueful smile. “Well, he’s supposed to appear here a lot but so far I’ve seen no sign of him. My plan was to ingratiate myself with him . . . find a way deep enough into his life to get something on him . . . something I can use to ruin him like he ruined Darcy.”

Craig gave her a sad smile. “You don’t seem like the revenge sort, Rain. Perhaps this isn’t the best idea.”

She pulled her hands out of his hold, her defenses flying back up around her again, and he cursed himself for not treading more carefully. “I failed my sister once before. I won’t again.”

“But how is this the best plan? Surely this guy will be suspicious of you trying to be pals with him?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You underestimate this man’s arrogance.”

Craig gave her a nod and sat back to finish his sandwich. As he did Rain nibbled on the sandwich he’d given her and he studied her. The truth was he admired the determination he saw in her tired eyes. This wasn’t something she wanted to do, but it was something she certainly felt she needed to do.

All because of her loyalty to her sister.

And that, Craig could admire.

“You’re staring,” Rain murmured.

Because you’re absolutely fucking beautiful . . . and I have a feeling that beauty runs deep. “There’s a lot to stare at,” he murmured back, taking a casual swig of his water.

He didn’t want to scare her off. He wanted to put her at ease. For whatever reason this woman brought out his protective instincts. Craig didn’t want her going through the drama of dealing with Angus. If it were him he’d punch the arsehole and move on. He thought that was a much healthier way to deal with it. The lengthy process of revenge that Rain was discussing would take its toll on her.

He didn’t want that for her.

I want her spending all her free time on far more pleasurable pursuits.

Like getting to know him in the biblical and non-biblical sense.

“Stay until closing. Let me walk you home. No funny stuff,” he reassured. Let me change your mind about everything. Life was never too short for justice, but revenge, yes. Life was too short for revenge. And life was too short to ignore the kind of connection between them.

For the first time ever Craig felt more than the impulse for sex. He wanted to know everything there was to know about this woman, and if that meant giving the whole dating thing a go then so be it. He’d slowly convince Rain to give him a chance, and while he was doing it he’d distract her from this tiresome need for revenge.

“You’re very determined and stubborn, aren’t you?” she said, eyeing him thoughtfully.

“Probably about as determined and stubborn as you,” he said.

She gave a huff of laughter. “I don’t know about that.”

“Will you stay, then?”

“No funny stuff?” she said softly.

“I promise.”

Slowly she nodded.

Pleased, Craig relaxed a little and guided her back to the bar after his break. He shooed a customer off Rain’s vacated stool (to the annoyance of Joss and Alistair) so he could keep her in his sights.

It turned out, however, he’d let himself become too relaxed, because when he went to retrieve something from the stock room and returned, she’d disappeared. His hope was that she’d gone to the restroom, but when she didn’t appear after ten minutes he asked Joss to take a look for him. She returned shaking her head and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.

For the rest of the night his colleagues kept their distance and Craig did nothing to improve his tips—flirtation and quick quips dried up on his tongue along with any sign of his earlier good mood.

Rain

There were a crazy amount of butterflies in my stomach.

I hadn’t felt this nervous about something since I was trying to convince Darcy to forgive me all those years ago.

Standing on George Street, staring down at the entrance to Club 39, there was a huge part of me that wanted to turn around, go home, and snuggle up with a blanket and a cup of tea.

Angus was in there. For definite this time. I knew this because I’d actually lowered myself to stalking him on social media.

I shivered in the cool night air and turned to stare longingly down George Street. Black cabs moved up and down the street¸ picking up and dropping off passengers—girls dressed to the nines and guys eyeing up all the girls dressed to the nines.

Laughter echoed down the street, mingling with the sound of engines and heels clacking on concrete.

I could just disappear into the night. Another girl in a pretty dress and heels.

But I couldn’t.

Throwing back my shoulders and ignoring that sick uneasiness in my stomach, I made my way carefully down the stairs to the basement club.

“Evening.” The doorman smiled at me.

I nodded hello and ventured inside to face one man I hated and one man I liked too much.

Leaving Craig last Friday had been cowardly, but at the time I saw no other way. As much as he assured me there would be “no funny stuff” between us, I read something else entirely in his eyes. For whatever reason, he was interested in me. However, I’d seen him with all of his female customers. I’d never known a bigger flirt than Craig Lanaghan, and I wasn’t the kind of woman who could handle that.