One King's Way (On Dublin Street #6.5)(34)

His blazed utter fury at me.

Well that only fanned the flames of my rage.

How dare he! How dare he look at me like I was the one who had done something wrong!

I ran my gaze over him in disgust, putting everything I’d felt tonight into my expression.

His mouth slackened in shock.

Feeling no words were necessary, I walked away, hating him for making me want forever with him when he had never had any intention of creating forever with me.





Craig



Craig stared after Rain as she stalked out of the bar, wondering how the f*ck in this equation he had turned out to be the bad guy.

That final look she had given him—it had cut him to the quick. It also sent him into a flying panic.

“Go after her.” Joss was suddenly beside him, her expression grave. “We can cover the bar.”

Craig looked at Alistair, who was by Joss’s side. His friend nodded. “Go.”

“We’ll get rid of this arse,” Adam assured him, gesturing to Angus, who was still sitting on the floor like the attention-seeking idiot he was.

“Thanks.” Craig pushed past them and through the crowds of customers that had gathered. Well, he didn’t really have to push through them. They got out of his way as soon as they saw him coming.

He could give a shit.

It had felt great to punch that slimy bastard.

When he saw him touching Rain, and her letting him, Craig’s head had nearly exploded. He’d never felt such rage mixed with such hurt.

Aye. Fucking hurt. Because that’s what happened when you loved someone. They could hurt you like no other could.

So why the hell was she the one wearing the wounded look?

He rushed up the basement steps onto George Street just in time to see his girlfriend getting into a black cab. “Rain!” he shouted, hurrying after her. He got to the door just as she was pulling it closed and he jumped inside.

“What are you doing?” she snapped, and he flinched at her red eyes and the tear streaks running through her makeup.

Craig sat down on the bench seat beside her and gave the taxi driver her address.

“You want him here, darlin’?” the taxi driver said, eyeing Craig with suspicion.

Rain looked panicked. Probably at the thought of him throwing another punch. “It’s fine.”

The driver pulled off into traffic and Craig stared at his girlfriend’s elegant profile. She refused to turn to him.

“Why?” he said. Not sure if he was asking why she flirted with that arsehole, or why she’d looked at him like he had hurt her, or why she was crying right now when he’d never seen her cry.

“Not here,” she whispered, her fingers curling into the fabric of her dress.

Everything about her was wounded and vulnerable, and despite how angry he was with her, all he wanted to do was pull her against him and take away whatever pain she was feeling.

Instead they sat in absolute silence all the way back to her flat. She paid the expensive cab fare because Craig had left his wallet and keys back at the bar.

Reluctantly she let him into her flat and they strode into her large living area.

“So.” He crossed his arms over his chest and sat on the arm of her couch. “Want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to let that f*cker touch you? And then do you want to tell me why you were so pissed I hit him?”

Rain was walking past him when she caught sight of her face in the mirror above her fireplace. She gave her reflection a bitter smile as she wiped at her smeared makeup. Catching him looking at her through the mirror, her smile fell. “I wasn’t pissed you hit him. I rather enjoyed that part. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said gruffly. “Now what about the part where you let him touch you?”

She shrugged as if Angus touching her wasn’t a big deal, and Craig wished the arse was in front of him so he could punch him again. “It escalated quickly. He was smarter than I thought. He knew I was up to something. He was being a creep. I was about to push him off.”

Fury suffused him. “So the f*cker was attacking you?” He stood up, wanting to go back to the bar to kill him.

She shook her head. “He was just messing with me.”

Craig considered the fact that she’d been in the position to allow Angus to mess with her. “And how did he manage that, eh? I thought we agreed that you were over the whole childish revenge scenario. What made you approach him?”

Her eyes brightened with anger as she whirled to face him. “One, I didn’t approach him, he approached me! And two, I never agreed to let it go.”

“Well you’re f*cking letting it go now!” he yelled. “How do you think your sister would feel about this? You really think she’d be okay about you doing whatever it takes to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend? Did you really think she’d been fine with you f*cking her ex?”

“I would never have slept with him!” Rain shouted. “I’m not a whore! Unlike some people I know!”

He jerked back, feeling like she’d hit him. “And what the hell does that mean?”

“You know exactly what it means,” she hissed, stepping toward him, her whole body bristling. “I am a complete idiot!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I had to sit there in that bar tonight and watch you with those women.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.