“That sucks. Let me check around. I’m sure one of the guys in here does.” Casey shuffled off, leaving Rory alone with Clare.

“You live around here?” he asked her.

He could tell that she was nervous as she bit her lip again and focused on anything but him. Her reaction bolstered his confidence, or at least some small hint of it, that feeling he used to know so well. He had thought that feeling of assuredness was long gone, and yet somehow, Clare was able to bring it back to him. He felt like pieces of the old fighter Rory were coming back.

“Yeah, actually right around the corner. I’m supposed to start my shift at O’Leary’s soon, but I need my car to work. It’s such a piece of crap.” She kicked the ground with her shoe, another adorable gesture if ever there was one.

“O’Leary’s is only a few blocks from here. Woodlawn itself is no bigger than fifteen blocks, so why not just walk?”

“I would, but I don’t get off of my shift until one in the morning. Walking home at that time of day isn’t the best idea for a woman.”

Rory took a step toward her, which caused her to take a step back, leaving her trapped against the club’s wall. His eyes flared wide with desire as he noticed the nervousness sweeping over her as his second step brought him almost flush against her. Her mouth parted slightly. He held his breath and leaned down, loving the feeling of her heart beating rapidly against him.

“Something to be scared of, mhuirnín?” he whispered huskily, smelling a soft vanilla scent mixed with something delectable that he couldn’t distinguish.

Pressed up against her, he felt her legs wobble and her knees buckle. He quickly slid a hand around her waist, steadying her against him. Her hands smashed forward upon his chest and her eyes grew ever wider with anticipation.

Clare licked her lips and he almost lost control at that sight alone, feeling his entire body stiffen as he fought himself from crashing his mouth against hers right then and there.

“Careful, mhuirnín, can’t have you falling over me.”

“I’m fine. I don’t need your help.” She cleared her throat and pushed her hands against his chest, forcing him a few steps back. The sassy side of her that he loved was quickly returning.

He could have stopped her if he wanted to, but he wasn’t the type to force himself on a woman. He now knew exactly why he felt differently about her than he had all the other women he spent his nights with. She was feisty, not easy. Clare had spirit and pride; she wasn’t one to just take orders from a man. They were traits that he both respected and found frustrating.

“No luck, Clare.” Casey waltzed up between them, oblivious to the conversation that had just occurred. “Can’t find any jumper cables and none of the guys have any. Most everyone around here walks. I’m headed over that way; want me to walk with you to work?”

“All right, that sounds good.” Clare gave one last pat on the head to Ace, who had yet to leave her side, then turned and opened the club door. Casey was only a few steps behind her, but she turned around and pointed a finger at her cousin.

“Don’t even think about it, Rory.” She narrowed her eyes and spoke sternly.

“What?” He put his hands up, playing innocent.

“I like Clare, I think she and I could be good friends, and I also think she has had a lot of crap in her life. She doesn’t need more. Especially not from a man who doesn’t have his shit together, like you. I’m not losing another friend because one of my asshole brothers strings her along only to break her heart.”

“What if I don’t break her heart?” Rory jested, but at the same time, he wondered if truth belied his teasing statement.

Casey rolled her eyes and huffed, sticking her middle finger up at him as she traipsed out the door. Rory snorted as he headed back to the office. He adored Casey and definitely didn’t want to upset her, but he wasn’t one for taking orders, either.

He liked Clare, and he had no intention of breaking her heart.

What he wanted was to possess it.

Chapter 4

“I agreed to train him, didn’t I?” Rory responded to his mother, as the two of them and his father talked in the office of Legends.

“Yeah, that’s a start¸” his father said and grunted.

“Seamus, he can do a lot more than just that!” his mother exclaimed to her husband from where she was sitting at the desk, annoyed that he wasn’t backing her up.

“What do you want him to do, Dee? He can’t go back to fighting with his knee messed up,” Seamus insisted as Rory exhaled loudly, not enjoying being talked about as if he wasn’t in the room.

“He has a graduate degree in business! He can do anything with that!” she insisted, her hand resting on the canine head that was propped on her knees as the rest of the dog sat beside her.

“I’m standing right here, Ma.” Rory glared at Ace for betraying him by cuddling up with his mother when she was scolding him. The dog ignored him, enjoying the petting he was receiving.

“Well, then you tell me. What are you going to do, Rory?” Dee turned to him and Seamus put his hands up, trading a look with his son that said he was on his own.

“About what, Ma?”

“About your life. You spend all your time drinking or doing God knows what.” Her voice was forceful and stern.

“I don’t know. I will figure it out. I want to go back into business eventually. It’s not like I’m broke and living on the street. I still have enough money left over from my fighting days to buy this whole damn block if I want to,” he said in exasperation, trying to sidestep around his father to leave the office. He was beginning to feel trapped.

“When is ‘eventually,’ Rory?” Dee followed him.

“Dee, leave the boy alone. He’s training Kane, so he’s doing something.” His father tried to step in for him, but his mother was too anxious to be calmed.

“Exactly—I spent like six hours with him today!” Rory retorted, running his hands over his head, through his thick, wavy hair.

“Okay, but what about a hobby? Maybe working at a charity or something like that. Something to do with your days would be good,” his mother continued.

Rory kept a straight face at her statement, since no one in his family knew he was very involved with volunteering at the shelter he got Ace from. It was conversations just like this that made him like to keep his life private. He had had no desire in the last year to share his life with anyone, even his family.

“Dee, enough,” his father said, with more authority this time.

“Seamus, I’m just wor—” Dee started.

“I said enough, leave him alone. He’s twenty-seven years old; he can figure it out by himself.”

Rory’s mother crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed at both of them.

“Ma, I’ll be okay, I promise. I love you.” Rory stepped over to where she was sitting with Ace and leaned down to wrap her in a hug.

“I just worry about you, Rory.”

“I know, but did you see Quinn’s new haircut? That’s what you should be worried about.”

“What? But he has such beautiful hair! What did he do?” Dee squawked, standing up abruptly. Ace had to step back to avoid being trampled. It was easy to distract the stereotypical Irish mother with any news about her sons.

“Where is he? Is he here?” Dee went storming off into the club to find Quinn.

—

“It’s not that bad, Cian,” Clare told her boss as she stood behind him in the back office, watching him fix the bandage over his nose in the mirror.

“Oh, sure, and your martinis aren’t that bad, either,” he snapped back, gingerly reapplying some balm to his bruised flesh.

“Hey, I’m still in training!”