Ryan Reign (New York Ruthless #4)(63)

A few seconds later, she opens the door and confirms that I no longer know her at all. She is wearing a barely there piece of pale pink silk fabric that skims her ass. Her hard nipples are clearly visible and I could kick myself for even giving them a cursory glance.

“Shane,” she breathes. “Thank you for coming over so late.”

“Seemed like I didn’t have much choice,” I say as she opens the door and I step inside. Does she really think this is going to work? One last desperate ploy to win me over?

“I have the papers here.” She glides over to the small table near the window and indicates the small manila folder.

I sit at the chair and open the folder, scanning the contract before I sign it. It relates to the sale of our family home and also the house in Carrickfergus where we are currently staying. It is the last home we have in Ireland and it’s time to let it go.

“Would you like a drink?” Erin asks as she holds up the bottle of Jameson Black label. It’s half empty and I wonder how much of it she has drank already this evening.

“No thanks,” I shake my head.

“Not even one to commiserate?” she pouts.

“Commiserate?”

“That was going to be our house, Shane. Remember?” She sniffs and a tear rolls down her cheek.

I do remember. “That was a long time ago, Erin. Things have changed.”

“If we hadn’t gone to New York, if we hadn’t had to get away because of your brothers, do you think we would have made it?”

I look at her. I did love her once although it felt like a different kind of love to what I feel with Jessie. It was safe and familiar. The love I have for Jessie is fire and fury, but she is home to me in a way that Erin never was. I held onto a piece of Ireland because in my heart it still felt like my home, but now my home is wherever Jessie Ryan is.

“We might have stayed together,” I tell her honestly, “but we wouldn’t have been happy.”

“What?”

“We never really made each other happy, Erin.”

“We did,” she insists. “Don’t try and rewrite our history, Shane. Just because you’ve found a whore who’ll let all your brothers fuck her…”

I push my chair back and stand so quickly that she flinches, but she has nothing to fear from me; I would never lay a hand on her ever again. I lean down and sign the papers. “Done.”

“I’ll get them filed tomorrow and then I can start looking at the contracts for the clubs you bought.”

“No,” I shake my head. “You misunderstand me. When I said done, I meant done. For good.”

“But I’ve worked for you and your family for years, Shane,” she snaps.

“You just called one of my family a whore,” I snarl at her. “Consider our working relationship terminated.”

“You’re just going to throw away everything we have built together for her?” she shrieks. “I can give you everything, Shane. Everything!” She walks over to me, pushing her tits out so that her nipples are almost touching my chest.

She breathes heavily. I smell the whiskey on her breath and the sweet perfume she has dabbed on her neck. Her pupils are dilated and her cheeks are flushed pink.

I lean my face close to hers and she gasps as the closeness. “You have nothing that I want,” I say and then I walk out of her hotel room.





Chapter 46





Jessie





I’m pulling my hair into a ponytail as I walk into the living area and blink in shock as I see Shane, Liam and Mikey wearing dress pants and smart shirts and looking good enough to eat. As I get nearer, I can smell their cologne too. I just finished a bath and I’m in one of Conor’s t-shirts. It’s Patrick’s funeral tomorrow and I had thought we were all going to have a few beers and watch a movie together.

“I didn’t realize we were going out?” I say with a frown as I look down at my under-dressed state.

Mikey pulls me into his arms and runs his nose along my throat. “We’re going out, Red, but not you.”

I step back and stare at him in surprise while Shane and Liam grin at me. “What? Why?” I can’t help feeling a little hurt that they’re all going out without me.

“You’re staying with me, Angel,” Conor growls in my ear as he walks up behind me and slides his arm around my waist too, until I’m pressed between him and Mikey. “The boys are giving us the place to ourselves.”

The tone of his voice sends shivers skittering up my spine. God, I have missed him. “Why?” I breathe.

“You’ll see,” he chuckles.

Shane leans forward and kisses my cheek before he looks over my shoulder at Conor. “Be good,” he warns.

“Of course,” Conor replies.

“See you in the morning, baby.” Liam gives me a kiss on the cheek too before Mikey seals his lips over mine and slips his tongue into my mouth while Conor holds onto me.

“Come on,” Shane says, pulling him away. “I thought you two were going to drink me under the table.”

“Oh yeah,” Mikey chuckles and the three of them head for the door.

“We won’t be on clean up duty when you get home, so don’t come anywhere near either of us if you’re going to puke. You got me?” Conor says to their backs and they all nod and mumble their agreement.