Taking Risk Series Read online

  I smirk up at him before saying, “Lookin’ sharp there, Kane.”

  Kane gives me a look before dropping the paper on the desk. On the front is a picture of Amberlyn and me from the movies. I am holding her so tight that her shirt has come up in the back, but we both look so blissful as we share a long kiss. I want to keep staring, but then I see the headline above it.

  Is she out for the O’Callaghan fortune?

  “Ah, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter before reading the article. It a bunch of hogwash, basically saying that my girl is a gold-digging American out to steal everything from my family. It’s disgusting and so far from the truth that I crumple it up before tossing it in the trash. “Bullshite, that is,” I say, pointing to the paper and hoping like hell Amberlyn hasn’t seen it. I doubt she has though because we’ve been in the paper many times and she hasn’t said anything. Since she hasn’t brought it up, I sure won’t. No reason talking about something that is a complete lie and means nothing.

  Kane nods. “I agree. She hasn’t seen it from what Fiona said,” he says, answering my unasked question.

  “Grand. Fuck, why do they say these things? They don’t know anything about us.”

  “You know that Amanda Dralls has a thing for ya, so you better believe she is going to do everything to run your relationship through the mud,” he points out, speaking of the local paper editor. I slept with Amanda once when I was a kid, but I haven’t spoken to her since. She is a little off her rocker, obsessed with me and shite, which makes what Kane just said plausible.

  “Fuckin’ bitch,” I say, venom lacing my voice.

  “Sure is,” Kane agrees, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Your da saw it, though.”

  “Fuck it, I thought today was supposed to be a good day,” I groan, rubbing my temples with my fingers.

  “The night is still young, Dec.”

  I roll my eyes. “Maybe, but you know my da will have something to say.”

  He nods. “I know, but don’t let it get to you. It doesn’t matter.”

  “True, true,” I mutter, even though I know I’ll still allow it to bother me.

  “All right, well, I’m excited to get my hands on Fiona. So I guess on that note, I’m off. See ya tonight.”

  I glance at the clock. The ball doesn’t start for another two hours. “Why so early?”

  He turns, a grin on his face before he says, “I’m taking her to dinner before and hoping for a quickie somewhere in between.”

  “You’re a dirty man, Kane Levy.”

  Kane laughs as he heads through the door. “Be jealous, Dec.”

  I stand, coming around the desk as I call out, “What the hell do I have to be jealous about?”

  The grin remains on Kane’s face as he looks back at me. “That I’m getting it and you’re not.”

  “Ah, fuck off,” I say, turning my back to him.

  “Exactly,” Kane says just as I slam the door before returning behind my desk.

  With annoyance flowing through me, I lean back in my seat, running my hands down my face. He is a fuckin’ gobshite, that Kane. How dare he tease me when he knows my girl isn’t ready for that kind of thing yet? He knows the whole story; I’ve confided in him and trusted him with the information about Amberlyn. Now I wish I hadn’t. Okay, that’s going a little too far since he is my best friend. I also know that I would do the same to him about any other girl he was not getting it from, but it’s not funny to joke about Amberlyn. I would not do that to him with Fiona; I know she is different. As Amberlyn is different.

  Ugh, he gets on my nerves, but I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it every second of the day since meeting Amberlyn. She has awakened the need, and boy, how I would love to get between her thighs. Just remembering how she felt has me getting harder by the second. Groaning, I let my head fall to the desk as I inhale a long breath. Damn Kane. This is his fault. I was fine with how things were, stolen kisses and hot touches, but now I am craving the whole damn thing. I want to get lost in her kisses, I want to get tangled in the sheets, I want to feel her in the most intimate way, and I hate myself for it. I don’t want to rush her. I don’t want to her to feel obligated. I want her to do it because she loves me.

  When my phone vibrates on the desk, I reach for it to see it’s from the lady who has my whole body tight with need.

  I can’t wait to see you tonight.

  I’ve been thinking about you all day, I admit.

  Good things?

  Good, great, and dirty, I must say.

  Oooo…sounds scandalous. You’ll have to share.

  Leaning back, I smile as I type out quickly, It involves you and me and my hands on every inch of you.

  Mr. O’Callaghan! My goodness! So dirty!

  I laugh out loud, as I type: Lol. Are you offended?

  Quite the opposite really. Turned on is more like it.

  Groaning, I shift in my seat. You’re killing me.

  Haha. Well, let’s stop before someone gets hurt. I’ll see you soon?

  Yes. I can’t wait.

  Me neither.

  Sitting up, I run my hands down my face, squeezing it hard before letting out a long breath. Deciding that no work will get done after the last half hour I’ve had, I stand up and head out of the office. I think a shower is in order.

  A nice, long, hot shower.

  Looking at myself in the mirror, I let out my hundredth sigh of the day. It’s been a stressful one. Between working all morning, seeing the paper, and then having Kane remind me that I’m not getting laid, I’ve also have to deal with the fact that I have to forgo my beanie tonight. Not only is it tacky to wear a beanie with a dark, Italian -tailored suit, my ma would murder me. So as I run a comb through my thick, tight curls, I curse them and even consider shaving my head. Knowing again that my ma would murder me if I did so, as I apparently have the curls from her great-grandda or some crap, I throw my comb down in the hopes that I look okay.

  I think I look like a fool.

  Rolling my eyes, I head out of my room and toward the back of the house since the front is busy with guests arriving. The ball is starting in twenty minutes, and I may be running a tad late. Since I didn’t want to come to this God-awful thing anyway, I take my time getting in my car and heading to the Maclaster land. Kane sent me a text earlier inviting Amberlyn and me to dinner with them, but I declined since my stomach is a mess from Amberlyn meeting my da.

  I haven’t seen him yet, nor do I want to, but I can just imagine all the things he is thinking after reading that rubbish in the paper. I want to call Amanda and tell her that she needs to stop writing that shite, but it will fuel her more. I just wish it would all go away. Can’t I date a girl and be happy without the whole world and my family having a say on her? I don’t know why I am letting it bother me, but it drives me insane. With other girls I dated, I didn’t give a shite. I was happy, dicking around with whom I pleased, and didn’t give a damn what they thought of the girl, but with Amberlyn, I want them to respect her. She is more than some floozy; she is my future.

  She just doesn’t know that yet.

  Shaking my head to rid the stress from today, I pull into the driveway and see that Amberlyn is looking out the window. When she sees that it’s me, she grins before letting the curtain fall. I hate that I’ve kept her waiting, and I hope she isn’t too mad at me. Nervous, I head toward the door. I go to knock, but Mrs. Maclaster pulls the door open with a bright grin on her face.

  “Declan, how are ya?”

  I smile as I step in and go to answer her, but the most beautiful thing in the world catches my eyes. Before, no one has ever caught my eye the way Amberlyn does and right now is no different. Standing in a sinfully gorgeous dress with her dark, reddish hair in curls around her face, I can’t seem to form a coherent thought. Her face is made up in a soft, beautiful way, her lips as pink as the shoes she wears, her smile formed in such a shy manner. I don’t know what it is, maybe the see-through fabric below her breasts, or