The sensation flared from uncomfortable to downright painful.
Did Matt still want to meet his father? Is that why she was doing this? He could understand that. Faith would do anything for her son, and if the kid really needed the closure, then hell, he was onboard with that plan. Except he should be there, too. Protecting Faith and being there when Matt learned what a piece of shit his father was.
No matter what Faith said.
Oh, yeah, Kieran had done his research. He knew exactly the kind of man Nathan Longstreet was. High school superstar with a rich daddy, lauded college athlete until he graduated and came back for an instant and unearned partnership in Daddy’s law firm.
But his privileged youth wasn’t what bothered Kieran. It was the fact that Nathan Longstreet was still every bit the smarmy bastard he used to be. Despite the fact that he was married, he had a long trail of mistresses. No more illegitimate kids, though. At least Nathan seemed to have learned the benefits of using a condom.
Did Faith still have feelings for Longstreet, Kieran wondered? She’d obviously cared for him once. She’d said as much. Faith was no liar, nor was she the kind of woman that would give herself freely. He was willing to bet that Nathan Longstreet was the only one she’d ever given that particular gift to, and that alone was enough for Kieran to want to kill him.
At least until him. Faith had offered herself to him, too, that night when he’d slid beside her in bed and held her in his arms. And he’d turned her down, thinking he was doing something honorable. He should have listened to his heart and accepted her gift. He should have spent the entire night making love to her, showing her exactly what she was to him and what he was to her, erasing every doubt, every fear she had.
If he’d done that, the ring he’d purchased specifically for her would be comfortably ensconced on her finger instead of making time in his nightstand drawer. Hell, maybe they’d even be married by now, and he’d be spending every night wrapping his body around her, inside her. And – the pain reached a fever pitch at this point – a little brother or sister for Matt might already be growing inside her.
Faith was his croie. He could try to deny it, bury it beneath layers of self-pity, but that didn’t change the truth.
The sound that ripped out of him was of one of such power and torment that the desk lamp actually shook.
Two floors below, heads tilted toward the ceiling. “Sounds like he’s finally ready,” Ian sighed. “Didn’t take him nearly as long to figure it out as it took me.”
Lexi smiled.
Fifteen minutes later Kieran was racing down the steps with an overnight pack slung over his shoulder. His hair was still wet from his shower, his face once again shaven boy-smooth.
“Hey, Ian, I’m heading over to Sean’s to see if he can - ”
He stopped, pulling up short when Sean stood up. He grabbed the bag from Kieran and gave him a hard shove toward the door. “About fucking time. Move it, man. Our flight plan says we leave in thirty, and I hate refiling flight plans.”
Chapter Eighteen
It was surreal; that was the thought that struck her as they were lifting into the air. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped Matt’s hand tightly. This was the first time either of them had been on a plane, but Matt was apparently handling it better than she was. Faith said a silent prayer for having the foresight to pass on the greasy burgers at the fast food place they’d stopped at on the way to the airport.
“This is so cool,” she heard Matt remark from beside her. Inside, she felt the same way, but apparently she had a fear of flying that she’d never known about.
Or maybe it wasn’t the flying at all. Maybe it was the thought of where they were going and why that had her stomach feeling like it was filled with little squirmy creatures.
A small smile graced her lips as she heard Kieran’s voice in her head, as clearly as if he was sitting beside her. “Breathe, Faith,” he would command softly, not realizing that whenever he spoke to her like that it would take the rest of her breath away. Then he would lace those long, sexy fingers through hers, giving her an anchor and a whole head full of nothing but Kieran Callaghan and fantasies of what it would be like to have the rest of their bodies as intertwined as their hands...
She missed him so much, more than she thought possible. Missed seeing his boyish face and that cockeyed grin that never failed to make her weak in the knees. Hearing his deep, rumbling laughter when she invariably did something that amused him. Feeling the heat of his hard body when he was nearby. Smelling that delicious scent that was uniquely his.