Lachlan (Dangerous Doms #5) - Jane Henry Page 0,39
will you?”
“Aye,” Tiernan says, rising as well. It’s then that I notice we haven’t gone under the radar of my fellow classmates. Small groups of girls are whispering and pointing to Tiernan and Lachlan. Is it our accents? Or the way the two of them, with their muscles and ink, look completely out of place?
We go back, and Lachlan steps to the side to have a brief word with Tiernan. Their voices are heated, and Lachlan’s eyes are flashing. Tiernan’s shaking his head, and I want to know what the hell they’re talking about, when someone to my right taps me on the shoulder.
A tall, lanky youth with dirty blond hair and glasses points to the papers I’ve got.
“Excuse me, those are mine,” he says.
I look down at the map and schedule they gave me. “They’re not,” I tell him. “They had my name on them.”
He has the nerve to actually try to take them out of my hands. He knocks my backpack right off my shoulder.
“Give them here,” he says. “You took the wrong schedule.”
I pull away from him, astounded at his boldness, when a deep voice comes over my shoulder and I see Lachlan’s firm grip on the boy’s arm.
“Leave. Off,” he says, giving the guy a murderous look.
The boy runs and nearly trips.
“What a douche,” I mutter under my breath.
“Jesus,” Lachlan says under his breath. “Goddamn lucky we’re on a feckin’ college campus. Are we almost done here?”
I turn to him, and I don’t care who sees me or what they think. I lean in and kiss his scruff cheek.
“Aye. You know what? I am done. I’ve no interest in the rest of this. Let’s go.” With every minute that passes I feel less and less like I belong here and more like I need to be back home. I dismiss the feelings as homesickness. I need to be brave. I need to go out on my own. I can’t let my fears hold me back.
“Good girl,” he says approvingly. His Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows hard, and it takes me a second to realize I’m the one that affected him like that. Me. Fiona Hurston, barely over the cusp of womanhood, has the power to affect Lachlan.
Tiernan stays with Aisling for a while when the two of us head back to the hotel room.
“Lachlan, I have a dorm room here on campus, though.”
“Not anymore you don’t.”
I open my mouth to protest, then slam it shut. Is he saying what I think he is?
“Don’t ask, Fiona,” he says. “I have no fucking idea what we’re doing, but I do know a few things. First, I’m not allowed in your dorm. Second, if you think I’m sharing space with Aisling…” he shudders.
“Isn’t Keenan expecting you back, though?”
“The only way I go back to Ireland is if you’re with me. And since you’re here… my answer’s clear. Keenan’s put me as primary guard over you.”
Though I’m pleased to hear he won’t be leaving me, I can’t help but wonder. What does this mean for us? For him? Men of the Clan don’t casually date. I don’t know everything about their rules and bylaws and code, but I do know when they claim a woman, it’s for life.
“We have a lot to talk about, Lachlan.” I can’t stay in this place of uncertainty. I can’t keep wondering what will happen next or if I mean anything to him. Is it just a schoolgirl crush that has me hoping for more? Or is he really as devoted to me as I’ve dreamed he would be?
Chapter 10
Lachlan
I felt every eye of every man on campus when we were there. She has no idea how radiant she is, how beautiful. Everything about her radiates goodness and beauty, but she doesn’t see it. “Just a girl,” she says. And I know in my heart that she struggles with more than that. She isn’t just a girl. She’s not “just a girl from Stone City.”
It will take a long time for her to believe that she’s worthy of something, to see how beautiful she is. But I will help her see the truth for what it is.
I’m glad I followed my intuition and got my head out of my arse. I’m glad I came here. That I found her. That she’s safe, by my side.
But bloody hell, I’m only one man against God knows how many.
What next? What will they try?
Keenan calls when we’re walking back to the hotel.