Lino echoed, and I felt my own lips tip up into a smile. For the first time, I understood what Matteo saw in Yavin’s eyes. That knowing that came the first time we laid eyes on our women. Most couldn't relate.
Most could never understand, but men like us knew what was ours.
And we took it.
"Liam, it seems Yavin will accommodate your request for an alliance through marriage." Matteo chuckled. "More power to him," he added, giving Aoife a cursory glance. Her lips twisted into a grimace.
"And who is Yavin to you?" Liam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yavin manages Tease," Lino inserted. "He primarily works in the legitimate sector of our business, but he's one of us. He is my wife's brother, so he is a Bellandi through marriage, though his connection to us goes back to childhood."
"He's Irish," Ryker said with a laugh. "It's kind of serendipitous."
"What the fuck do you know about serendipity?" Simon asked him with a laugh and a punch to the arm. "The lot of you are insane."
"Half Irish," Yavin corrected, never taking his eyes from Aoife once Matteo freed him from their stare down.
"The man who marries my Aoife will take over my family. I am afraid you will need to find yourself someone new to run Tease, if we agree to this match," Liam said, his lips curving up. "The business knowledge should come in handy with our legal enterprises. Is he capable of such an undertaking? If I teach him what I know?"
Matteo nodded. "He's a good man. A fast learner. He'll be capable of heading your organization, and he'll always have our help behind him." Studying Yavin's face, I watched as the kind words struck him in the chest. It was no secret Yavin had separated himself from the Bellandis to some extent after Lino married Samara. The betrayal had been personal for him, to touch and take his sister when they'd all grown up together.
I suspected he understood the inclination a little more now that he'd felt that instantaneous desire for himself. I'd never understood it until Sadie, either.
Liam’s man who had followed Aoife into the office chuckled, trailing doubtful eyes over Yavin. With his leaner build that resembled Lino’s more than the rest of ours, he was easy to question when enclosed in a room with men like Ryker and Matteo. “He couldn’t handle Aoife,” the guard said, turning smiling eyes back to Liam.
Yavin moved quickly, like I’d taught him. His knuckles connected with the guard’s throat, making him sputter for the breath Yavin stole from him as he backed a step away from Aoife. When his hand went for the gun in his holster, Yavin shot his other hand forward and grabbed the barrel. Twisting it out of his grip, he pressed it to the guard’s forehead. His face didn’t so much as twitch to betray any emotion as he cocked his head to the side. “You were saying?”
The man’s glare settled on Yavin, hatred like ice between the two men. There would be no love lost there when Yavin took over O’Connell’s syndicate. Softening his expression only slightly, Yavin spun the gun in his hand and held it out for the other man to snatch back.
"It sounds like a promising match," Liam said with a pleased grin, jotting down a note to himself. "The Irish heritage pleases me, even if it is only half."
"You cannot be serious! I've never even met him!" Aoife snarled, her fingers tightening around his desk.
"I'll not leave you unprotected if something happens to me. Girls like you need husbands to keep you safe, Aoife. Otherwise you end up a casualty of war."
She straightened to full height, her long legs tensing as she pulled herself together and shoved down the surge of emotion that made tears sting her eyes. Yavin moved to step toward her, and she spun on him. Their eyes clashed in a silent battle, her blue against his grey.
I'd thought Sadie was stubborn, but the fury in Aoife's eyes made me wonder if it was possible for her to be worse. Finally storming toward the door to Liam's office, she paused beside Yavin long enough to lean in and whisper something into his ear. He reached a hand up, gripping her chin in his hand harshly and running his thumb over her bottom lip. Aoife grabbed that thumb, yanking it backward until I knew the angle must have been painful for Yavin. Still, he only released her when he