Olcan (Boston Bear Brothers 2)

Afterward, he helped her to her knees and they finished rinsing off, climbing out of the shower and making their way back out to the bedroom. This time, Olcan kissed her softly before looking down at her thoughtfully.

“Now, I’ll get dressed and let myself out,” he told her with a playful smirk.CHAPTER NINENiamh

AS THE WEEKS PASSED, it was easy to get caught up in her relationship with Olcan. Things had moved fast between them. There was something to be said for the imprinting they had experienced. It had removed any doubt as to whether they were intended for one another, and she’d allowed herself to get lost in it all.

One phone call quickly changed that.

“Hello?” she said, not recognizing the number that popped up on her phone.

“Hello, Niamh.”

Her entire body went numb. She’d allowed herself to forget why she was here, and now, she’d be forced into a reckoning.

“Hello, Alpha.”

“How are things going there?”

“They’re going well. I’m doing as asked.”

“Are you? Because I’ve some little birds on the streets that tell me you seem to be quite taken with one of the McNally lads.”

“I’m doing as asked, Alpha. I’m getting close to the McNally clan so that I can get the information that you require.”

“Aye. Good lass. Tell me what you know of them.”

“Not much yet, I’m afraid. They aren’t exactly the sort to open up and confess their sins to a stranger.”

“Aye. Just like their auld fella then. How is he?”

“Dead.”

“Oh? I’d not gotten word of that. Strange. How long?”

“I don’t know. A couple of years, I think. The oldest son is Alpha now. Fergus.”

Niamh left off the fact that he was on sabbatical and that Olcan was the Alpha for now. She wasn’t sure why, other than she felt some need to protect him if at all possible. She’d been able to put everything aside until now, forget that she was here for another purpose. With her clan Alpha checking in personally, though, it was a challenging thing to push aside.

“That’s good. Newer blood will be less prepared for us. I need you to get closer to the older brother. I don’t care how you do it. Seduce him if you must.”

“He’s happily married.”

“Oh, lass. No man is happily married if you tempt him rightly. I’ve seen your assets. You are perfectly capable of bending his will.”

The comment left her nauseous, a memory of her last days after Sean had died pushing forward to the front of her brain like an unwanted tumor. She pushed it back, a shudder running through her.

“Aye, Alpha,” she managed, choking back the bile rising up from her very soul.

“How much longer do you have with the job there?”

“Not long. They will be back in a couple of weeks.”

“You’ll need longer. The McNally Clan isn’t quick to trust, not even when you keep their dick wet. You’ll need to find a place nearby. I’ll free up some money in your account for that. Nothing fancy that will arouse their curiosity. You might need to find a job to avoid suspicion as to how you pay your bills.”

“They know I’m a widow. They’ll just assume I have money from that.”

“How would they know that?” he said, sounding agitated.

“The couple here, they told Olcan McNally.”

“Aye. Bloody Americans and their big gobs. All right, well, do what you’re tasked to do. I’m not going to give you more than another month and I expect to have what I need to move on this.”

“Aye, Alpha.”

“Niamh?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t get any ideas that might not be good for your health. Do what you’re told, lass. I’m a man of my word. Do what you were sent for, and you’ll have your freedom. Cross me, and you’ll wish you were never born.”

“Aye, Alpha,” she replied, her heart thumping against her chest as if trying to escape its confines.

He hung up without another word, and she sat down on the sofa behind her, realizing she was shaking all over. It had been so easy to pretend she could just go about her business here and not worry about what might happen in Dublin, but the Maguire clan had exceedingly long arms. If she’d thought, even for a moment, that she could just stay and be free of them, she had another think coming, and she knew it.

The room felt like it was spinning as she tried to focus on what she should do. She could tell Olcan, confess everything to him and see how he reacted, but what if he left her? Or worse, what if he retaliated?

Olcan had changed with her. He was still a bit rough around the edges, but she’d been able to see and feel his love for her grow. How would she bear the man she knew she loved and felt loved her treating her in the way she’d been treated before she arrived?