Chapter 6
Killian’s POV
When we eventually got home, it was late. I just had to relax after all that happened in court. My mind was still spinning, and I realized I wouldn’t be able to rest until the thoughts were out. I stepped into my room and took a shower. The water would wash my head clear, or that was what I had hoped for.
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To be honest, when I agreed to marry Fiona it was for selfish reasons. I thought I could aid her at the time, but the further I plunged into her world, the more I learned how much hurt she had endured. I hated to see her like that, but what I hated more was the injustice she’d suffered. Even she didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
In court this morning, everything had gone sideways. The news of Edward took me by surprise. I should have seen something like this coming. I should’ve had somebody watching him. I relaxed, believing it was merely a little matter, something I could manage with ease. But I was wrong. Now knowing that this was not going to be easy, I had to view things differently.
I couldn’t help but think, If I hadn’t underestimated it in the first place, the whole thing would’ve been resolved by now. But I hadn’t been able to change the past, and worrying about it wasn’t going to help anyone. Fiona’s husband, whoever the hell he was, sounded like he had more power than I’d bargained for. That bastard had managed to pull something that I hadn’t anticipated and that in itself spoke volumes about him.
–
—
to have killed Edward – He couldn’t be all that he seemed, could he? For someone to have done this secrets trapped deep. I couldn’t discount that this might be more than I realized.
–
meant there were
I let out a breath and rubbed my face in frustration. I had told Fiona she was safe with me, and I wasn’t going to go back on that. This was not simply about avenging grievances. She had given me something more, and I now had to fight for it.
She gave herself to me, and now I was supposed to fix everything for her, with whatever it took. With that thought, I smiled, picked up a towel and wrapped it around my waist. The pressure on my chest felt just a little bit relieved.
The moment I came out of the bathroom, my room door banged open.
I wasn’t startled. I knew exactly who it was. Fiona. But she didn’t know I’d just gotten out of the shower.
She froze when she saw me. I can see the shock in her eyes. She blushed with surprise, and before I even had time to register what was happening, she screamed and put her hands over her eyes.
She looked unsettled, as she flailed her hands to block her eyes. But it didn’t faze me. This wasn’t the first time I witnessed something like this. Still, I couldn’t help but smirk, but I also knew when I first laid eyes on her in that position, it was a little more than just funny.
“Fiona,” I called. “It’s just me. No need to scream.”
But she didn’t respond. She still had her eyes covered, as though the very idea of seeing me like this was too much for her to bear.
—
I knew this wasn’t her fault. But I also understood that adjusting to all of this me, my life, the way that we were now bound – was going to be difficult for her. Yet the way she reacted was … endearing. It was humorous, but I didn’t want to shame her.
Her face flushed with embarrassment and I felt a tingle of guilt. I should have been more considerate though. But on the other hand, she was here by her own choice. But I couldn’t help myself at my own amusement, though. And she didn’t see it coming, and I just loved the surprise, the element of surprise.
Fiona brought her hands down slowly, but her eyes remained closed. She wasn’t prepared to confront me like this.
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3:02 pm
Chapter 6
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“Are you going to open your eyes now, or are you going to keep pretending that I’m not standing here?” I smirked, folding my arms across my chest.
I felt the pressure in that room. But Fiona was clearly still processing the shock. Gradually, she lowered her hands, her eyes still closed, and muttered something to herself.
I grinned. It was too easy to mess with her like this. But for a moment I could not help but feel slightly defensive.
Her throat tightened and her breath lodged. I sensed her distress, and it was strangely reassuring. For some reason, watching her so flustered, so out of her element, gave me a feeling I didn’t quite expect.
–
She kept her eyes peeping out though, a glimpse here and there from behind her hands. She thought she was following her own intuitions pretty darn smartly, but I could see it all the curiosity, the intrigue, and possibly a craving hint of more. It made me think of the girl I used to know, the one who was naughty and loved to break the rules. Okay, so she changed when she married her ex–husband, but it sure seemed to me like a part of that old Fiona still lived on.
She had always been plucky, never backing down from a challenge. I’d loved that about her – the way she never backed down. That fire in her had been what attracted me to her in the first place. But after all this time, I had hoped that part of her had faded. It appeared, however, that I had been mistaken. She was just as unpredictable as always, and I couldn’t help but to smile at that.
It felt like a small victory, like I’d glimpsed the girl I once loved – the one who was full of life, full of mischief. The truth was she had changed. She had matured, grown up, become another person after all she had been through. But here she was in front of me, and I thought maybe she hadn’t lost everything that made her… her.
Keeping that in mind, I turned away from her, grabbed a singlet draped over the side of my bed and peeled it slowly over my head. When I turned to look at her again, a little smile throbbed up in me. There she was, still standing there with her hands over her eyes, but clearly not ready to look away.
I smirked at her. “Do you want to continue searching?” I inquired, my tone steady yet playful.
Fiona stuttered as she fell quickly her hands to her sides her face flushing dark. “What–what look? What are you talking about? I wasn’t looking! I–I was covering my eyes!”
Her protest only widened my smile. She was still attempting to deny it, but her response said everything. She’d been sneaking a look, even if she didn’t want to confess to it.
“And you,” I said, moving toward her.
“why are you not covering your body?” she asked.
“I’m just curious. Is it not polite to be naked in my own room?”
Fiona’s expression turned from embarrassment to something funny. She appeared flustered, obviously surprised that I had responded. “This is my room, you know. I can be naked if I feel like it, Fiona,” I said, noting how she squirmed. “And you’ve forgotten whose house this is, whose rules. So don’t complain that I’m not covered in my own space.”
Her eyes opened wide, both in surprise and a hint of shame. I could see she hadn’t anticipated this confrontation. I wasn’t going to let her off the hook so easy.
“Still,” she muttered, her voice low, “there’s no reason to be naked. I mean, you’re now living with someone, Killian.”
Her words struck a chord. I could hear the slight change in her voice, as if she were recognizing what she hadn’t before. But I wasn’t going to let that moment pass me by. Fiona’s face was still pink, her eyes darting everywhere except at me.
I stepped closer to her, my chest just a little more vulnerable. She couldn’t avoid me now. “Are you tempted?” I asked, my tone slightly more teasing, slightly more playful. “Are you falling in love with me?”
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3:02 pm
Chapter 6
Fiona froze. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Huh?” she said, her voice nearly a whisper.
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