I nodded but took him by the shirt, keeping him close to me. “I hate to admit this,” I said. “But I’m attached to you now.”
He grinned, then leaned down and kissed me—he stole my breath, the marauding bastard. “That’s why hearts are a pain in the arse, darlin’. They cause all sorts of trouble when you try to leave them behind.”
“Grand,” I said. “Just fucking grand.”
He laughed, leaving me in the library all alone. A minute passed. Two. Three. On the fourth tick, something that felt a lot like fear hit me in the center of my chest. It turned my blood ice cold.
I took the steps two at a time, almost biting it once or twice when I almost lost my footing. Once on the bottom floor, I slid, catching myself right at the entrance of the kitchen. “Where’s Cash?” I asked my brothers.
They were huddled around the table, still playing poker.
Harrison pointed behind me. “Just walked out.”
I hustled to the door, yanking it open, just before he turned the key in the lock. His eyes flashed up to mine, not expecting it, but then they narrowed.
“You didn’t kiss me long enough,” I said, stalling, because I had no fucking clue what else to say.
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. He kissed me, but it still didn’t feel long enough. My hands were fisted in his shirt, and I wished for claws to sink into his skin so he could never leave me.
He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead, his mouth lingering before he pulled away. Out of all the times he’d kissed me, none of them seemed to mean more than that one. It expressed everything I doubted he’d ever admit to me. How he’d take care of me for as long as he lived. How he loved me, even if he’d never say it.
“Cash Kelly!” I said to his retreating back. It took him a second, but he stopped. “Take care of yourself.”
He turned his head a fraction, and I could see the heart-stopping grin from the dim lights on the warehouse. He went to leave again when I called out for him once more.
“I fucking mean it.”
He nodded toward me. “I put my heart on a chain for you, darlin’. It’s wrapped around your neck. No safer place for it to be.”
“That’s not good enough.” I was surprised that my words came out so strong. A lump had lodged in my throat, a clot coming straight from my gut.
“You love me,” he said, like he was having a second revelation of what he’d realized in Ireland.
“From the moment I saw you,” I whispered. “I loved you. I love you.” He had brought life to me in that cemetery.
“I’m all right then,” he said, nodding behind me. “Get inside and lock the door.”
He waited until I did, but a minute or two later, I opened it again, looking out. He was gone. He’d melted with the darkness that surrounded him, nothing but his green eyes to bring attention to the force that walked these streets alone.
My fingers wrapped around the pendant. Even though he told me I wore his heart around my neck, it felt like he had taken it with him.
“Keely,” Lachlan said to me, laying a card face down. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor. Go to sleep.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snapped.
It’d been an hour since Cash left, and even though it was normal for him to be gone for hours at a time, it bothered me for some reason. I kept telling myself it was only because we’d spent so much time together, and my attachment had grown strong, too strong for me to feel comfortable when he was gone. I understood then why Harrison used to call Mari “Strings.” My heart felt like it had been taken over by hundreds of threads, and every single one was connected to Cash Kelly.
My feet, which seemed to have a direct connection to one of those strings, burned some tension by pacing in front of the kitchen, close to the front door.
“Keely Kelly,” Owen said. “You out of beer in this New York mansion?”
“Are you gonna play or complain all night?” Declan said.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, not sure what else to do. No—I knew. I was about to leave. Surprise Kelly at his office. He’d fuck me on his