One King's Way (On Dublin Street #6.5)(11)

“Four is a lot on top of wine. Especially for a lightweight.”

“I know.” She looked sad. “But I got sick of waiting.”

Aha! “Sick of waiting for what? Or who?”

Rain’s eyes searched his. “Why are you so keen to know?”

“Because I’m intrigued.”

“But why?”

He laughed. “Why is the sky f*cking blue? You intrigue me and that’s all I know.”

“There is a scientific reason for the sky being blue. Something about the elastic scattering of sunlight in the atmosphere or something . . .” She shrugged.

Still amused, Craig shook his head. “If you want a scientific reason for my intrigue then let’s call it chemistry. We have it, whether you want to admit to it or not.”

She seemed to consider this. “Just because we have chemistry doesn’t mean we have to have sex. Best friends have chemistry. It’s just a different kind.”

“Then we’ll pretend we’ve got that kind if it makes you more comfortable.” He winked cheekily at her.

Rain rolled her eyes but she couldn’t hide the smile quirking up the corners of her lips.

Needing to touch her, Craig reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Tell me what’s going on. Why Club 39?”

“Are bartenders like priests and doctors? We can tell you anything without fear of reprisal because of the confidentiality thing?”

Chuckling, he nodded. “We’ll go with doctor since I’ve played ‘doctor’ before but never ‘priest.’ Never met anyone kinky enough yet.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, making her laugh.

She had a throaty laugh and it made his cock twitch. It also, however, caused a pang in his chest area. He felt triumphant whenever he made her smile or laugh.

Fuck, he murmured inwardly at the revelation.

“Fine.” The laughter in her eyes dimmed. “I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here to get revenge for my sister.”

For a moment Craig had a sudden fear her sister was someone he’d slept with and then never called again. Had he dated a Darcy? He couldn’t think. Shit. “Your sister?”

“Darcy. Let’s just say when she was younger I didn’t protect her from a situation that I should have. It took her a long time to forgive me and for us to rebuild our relationship.”

Craig squeezed her hand, unhappy with the guilt he saw in her eyes.

“Nine months ago Darcy started dating this postgrad student. Angus York. I disliked him from the moment I met him, especially when he made it clear that he was attracted to me. But Darcy was in love so I buried my head in the sand. And once again I let her get hurt. I didn’t protect her.”

Uneasiness swept over Craig. “What did he do?”

Pure, undiluted anger blazed out of her dark eyes. “He convinced her to make a sex tape and then he showed it to his friends at a party.”

“Son of a bitch,” he hissed, thinking about his own sisters and how he’d murder any man who humiliated them like that.

“Darcy . . . she couldn’t handle it. She was betrayed and heartbroken. She broke up with him and fled to Australia. She’s out there just now, staying with a friend, trying to get over it so she can come back home.”

“That’s awful,” he murmured, taking her hand in both of his now. “I’m sorry that happened to her.”

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 f*cking 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.