Page 15 of Celtic Dragon
“You need to make me stop, baby. I want you so bad right now, I don’t know if I can,” I plead with her. She melts against me with a sigh.Oh fuck, this is not good. I can’t do this now. Not with a house full of people just outside her room.“Ari, please …” I beg. I know I have to stop, but I don’t have the strength. I am counting on her. She is the only one that has the power over me to make me stop.
She signs, moans, and then says, “Rebel, we can’t. Ice is …”
That’s all I needed to hear. A metaphorical bucket of ice drops on my head.My prez is a fucking cock blocker.
Emma
We all proceed into the kitchen and about fifteen minutes later, Rebel and Ari join us, both looking a little flushed. Nobody says anything about it taking so long for them to drop packages off in a room until Hawk starts laughing.
“What?” Rebel asks guiltily.
Hawk doesn’t say a word; he just continues to laugh. I can see that Caden is trying his best to not embarrass his sister by laughing as well, but it’s clear that he’s having a difficult time. The corners of his mouth twitch and begin to form into a smile. I look over at Ari and see that she looks absolutely mortified. I know that Rebel is her first real boyfriend and this dating thing is all new to her. And having her brother as his best friend doesn’t help matters either.
Immediately, I lean over and kiss Caden full on the mouth. I deepen the kiss and allow all my passion for this man to flow from my mouth to his. Before I know it, I’m in his arms and he is kissing me back.
The laughter around the table stops and I know that everyone’s attention is now focused on Caden and me. When I’m done with my kiss, I look around the room to see everyone staring at us in surprise—just as I expected.Mission accomplished.
“Pregnancy hormones,” I say. “I can’t control them sometimes.” Ari looks over at me with thankfulness and relief in her expression. Cade puts his arm around me when he realizes what I have just done. He leans in close and whispers, “Was that a promise of what’s to come?”
I smile back and whisper teasingly, “Maybe.” Sometimes it pays to be observant.
“So Reb, tell us about your mom and dad,” Hawks says abruptly, clearly hoping to ease some of the tension still lingering in the room.
“There’s really not much to tell, they’re my mam and da,” Rebel retorts.
“But they’re IRA!” Hawk exclaims.
Rebel shakes his head. “It’s not glamorous or cool, believe me. Living that life is like always being on edge. You always wonder what the next day will bring and who will die, or worse, who will get arrested. It’s definitely not worth it.”
“Arrested?” Hawk says quizzically, “Why would getting arrested by worse than death?”
“Not sure you want me to go there.” Rebel looks around the room to Ari, Honey and I. “It’s really not something we should discuss right now.”
Caden jumps in and says, “I agree.” And with his words, the topic is muted. He then turns to Ari and says, “So Ari, you excited about getting back to school?”
“Not really, Caden,” she says, her voice low and sad. But then she perks up and adds, “Actually, I was thinking. I would like to take the rest of the semester off and stay here.”
“Hell no!” Cade states, the authority in his voice resonating through the room.
“But Caden, it’s my …”
He doesn’t give her a chance to finish. “Ari, we will not discuss this further. This is your last semester. You are finishing school. End of discussion.”
I can see the frustration on Ari’s face, but she doesn’t argue with him further. She’s learned, as all of us have, that once Cade makes his mind up about something, you can’t change it.
Personally, I don’t think her reluctance to return to school has anything to do with school … I think it has everything to do with Rebel. Maybe it’s a good thing he’s leaving. It will make her return to school much easier on her.
When dinner is over, Ari and I help Honey clean up. The majority of the club leaves, thanking Honey and me for a good meal. I wish I could take some credit for it, but it was all Honey. But she doesn’t say a word and lets them think we did it together. Cade calls out “Doc, Ryder, and Dbag, don’t forget—10 am at Betty’s tomorrow. We have a lot of shit to discuss.”
“Got it,” they say as they walk out the door.
Hawk and Rebel remain with Cade and they all go into the game room with their scotch and cigars. They start a game of pool as they smoke and drink. I’m happy to discover that the cigar smell travels into the kitchen. I never thought I’d like cigar smoke in a million years … but I do.
After the kitchen is spotless, we join the guys and watch Caden and Hawk finish their game. When Hawk wins, he suggests that the girls play the guys. We all agree and frankly, I don’t remember who won because I was too busy laughing throughout the entire game.
After the game ends, Cade sits down on one of the bar stools. I walk over to him and crawl onto his lap, facing him while I straddle him. “I’m ready for bed,” I whisper into his ear. “Join me?” I say teasingly.
He gives me a squeeze as he moves me off his lap. “Well guys, I think Emma and I are going to turn in.”
