“What does he want?”
Izzy shrugged. “I have no idea. I just know that he wanted you in the Desert Lands—and here you are.”
Izzy didn’t know what bothered her more. The fact that Éibhear seemed completely unfazed by all this. Or the fact that he said he’d follow her anywhere . . . if she “needed” him to. What did that even mean?
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Éibhear finally said.
“You wouldn’t?”
“What’s the point of worrying? It won’t change anything.”
“I can’t live like that,” Izzy admitted.
“Why not?”
“Because if you don’t worry about the possible worst-case scenario, then it’ll happen.”
“That is incredibly ridiculous.”
“That is not ridiculous. What am I supposed to do? Wait to see what happens? Just let horrible things rain down on me and my men?”
“I didn’t say you shouldn’t plan for possible worst-case scenarios, Izzy. I said you shouldn’t worry about them. All worry does is cause you to panic and, I might add, make your voice a little bit shrill.”
“My voice does not get shrill.”
“It does. Sometimes you sound just like your mother when you get like that.”
Izzy gasped, outraged. “That is an unfair thing to say to me.”
“Well—”
“I am not like my mother. Not when it comes to that. I don’t sit around obsessing all day about all the little things that can go wrong.”
“Right. You just worry about the big things that can go wrong.”
She tapped her foot.
“I wouldn’t let that bother you, though,” he went on. “You’re as cute as your mum when you do it.”
“Oh. Am I? I see you still have a thing for my mother. Too bad Daddy got to her first.”
“That’s all right. I can always settle for you.”
Izzy froze, her hands curling into fists, the back of her neck getting tight. “Settle for me? You can settle for me?”
“You’re better than nothing.”
And that’s when she swung on him.
Laughing, Éibhear caught hold of Izzy’s waist and pulled her onto his lap, knees on either side of his hips. Once he had her there, he quickly grabbed her wrists to stop the onslaught of her fists. She had a right hook that clearly one of his brothers had taught her and she used it to devastating effect.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to hear it. You are such a bastard.”
He pinned her arms behind her back and held her like that until she looked at him. “I’m sorry. I was only joking.”
“If you’d rather have had my mother, just admit it.”
“Your mother is beautiful, but she likes to argue a bit too much for my taste.”Izzy’s eyebrow went up. “As opposed to us?”
“We don’t argue.”
“Uh . . . okay.”
Éibhear leaned in and rubbed his nose against her jaw.
“What are you doing?”
“Nuzzling. Animals do it in the wild.”
“See a lot of that in the Ice Lands, did you?”
“Nothing else to do but watch animals nuzzle. You know, when we weren’t eating them.”
Shaking her head, Izzy tried to slip off Éibhear’s lap, but he wasn’t in the mood to let her go. Although he wouldn’t mind if she kept wiggling her ass around like that. It felt wonderful.
“Are you going to release me?”
“No. You might start hitting me again. And your tiny little fists hurt my sensitive human skin.”
“You’re pathetic,” she laughed.
“So my brothers keep saying.” He kissed her jaw, moved down her neck.
“Éibhear, we can’t.”
“Why not?”
“We’re going to have to go to dinner soon.”
“Not for a bit. We’ve got time.” And even if they didn’t, he’d make time.
“I have to change.”
“Oh. Well . . . let me help you with that.”
Éibhear released Izzy’s wrists but only so he could grab hold of her chain-mail shirt and pull it up over her head. He tossed it on the bed behind him and moved in for the bindings she wrapped around her br**sts. He got that off in short order, then wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her in closer, loving how her tits felt pressed against his chest.
“Now kiss me, Izzy.”
“This isn’t what we should be doing. I thought we weren’t going to let this get complicated.”
“Izzy . . . I’m Mì-runach.”
“Which means . . . what? Exactly?”
“That when I told you I wasn’t going to let this get complicated I was merely lying to get what I want. That’s what we do. That’s what we’re trained to do.”
“You were trained to lie? You mean like your sister?”
“No. Keita lies for queen and country, but the Mì-runach lie for ale and pu**y.”
“You lot need training for that?”
“It’s definitely a skill.”
“Oh, well, when you put it like that . . .”
“Just kiss me, Iz.” He nipped her chin. “Before I go mad from the waiting.”