She nodded. "I know." Teagan cleared her throat. "So, tell me, what do you want? Don't tell me what I want to hear. Tell me the truth."
He debated his next words before saying, "I think I want to try and get my memories back. However, if kissing the Todd woman doesn't work, I'll give the Stonefire doctors two weeks to help. After that, you allow me to start a new life, the best I can, which means stop meddling in my life or placing extra restrictions on what I do or say."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "So far, that seems reasonable. Anything else?"
"I think it's best if Brenna keeps her distance from me as much as possible. When she's near, I want her. And that will only lead to hurting her."
Teagan shook her head. "That will be harder to do, Killian. Brenna is the reason you can travel to the UK at all. If she doesn't go, the DDA could be finicky and say you should stay in Ireland; they would love the excuse to punish my clan after recent events. Or, if they catch you alone, you could even end up in prison."
An hour ago, he probably would've cursed and said he'd think of his own idea. However, Teagan was being honest and trying to help him. He owed her more than that. "If I have to be near her, then there's only one thing I can do."
"Which is?"
"I need to learn to control my emotions so Brenna won't know how she affects me. Can you teach me a few tricks?"
The woman studied him a second before saying, "While I'm happy you're asking for help, I'm uneasy about doing this to Brenna."
He resisted a growl. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
Aaron joined them and said, "How about just telling her the truth? Deceit usually backfires in a spectacular way. Brenna is an adult. Lay out rules and try to follow them."
Teagan rolled her eyes. "Because your rules worked so well in the beginning, what with 'this is sex for one night only' rubbish."
Aaron frowned. "If I recall, Killian's phone call is what interrupted the night. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't done so. I might've followed our rule."
Teagan narrowed her eyes. "Right, I'm sure that's how it would've worked out." She looked at Killian again. "It couldn't hurt to give you a little training. After all, it'll be easy to keep your distance from Brenna until you leave, and Gran can give you at least one coaching session before you depart in the morning. If my mother is successful with negotiating with Lorcan, then you may only have a few hours in each other’s company. I'm sure both of you can resist each other for a short while."
The thought of kissing anyone but Brenna didn't sit well with him, but he pushed aside the feeling. "And if kissing that Northcastle woman doesn't work?"
Teagan shrugged a shoulder. "Then I'm afraid you'll have to go to Stonefire and discuss what happens there with Brenna."
"So my choices are either kiss a stranger and possibly end up with a child at the end of it, or spend weeks living with the woman I'm supposed to keep my distance from," Killian bit out.
"I'm afraid so," Teagan stated. "But if the kiss with Georgiana Todd doesn't work, then who knows what will happen. Maybe Brenna can be yours after all."
"I never said I wanted her forever," Killian grunted out.
Aaron took a few steps closer to Killian. "Don't you fucking hurt my cousin. Because if you do and you come back here, then I'm going to make your life hell."
Teagan stepped between them. "Just stop it, you two. If I ever have children, I hope they're girls. The last thing I need is more testosterone in my life."
Killian retreated to the far side of the room and paced. "So what happens now?"
Teagan leaned against Aaron's side. "You wait here until our mother contacts us. Then we can start making more concrete plans."
Unable to stand still, Killian paced the room. He couldn't wait for the day when he didn't need to rely on so many people just to live his life.
The pacing gave him time to remember his kiss with Brenna. What he wouldn't give to have that every day.
No. She deserved better than a man who could fall unconscious at any moment, and who might not ever wake up. The best thing for everyone was for Killian to fulfill Teagan's requirements and work on controlling his emotions. He doubted he'd ever be able to fully hide his longing for Brenna's touch, but he was going to do the best he could.
~~~
Caitlin O'Shea sat inside one of the private conference rooms located in the Protectors central command building and plucked at her trouser leg.
Waiting to see if Lorcan would answer her message and contact her via video conference wasn't easy. She could handle the rejection if it weren't for Killian. She'd do almost anything to ensure her son had a chance at being happy once again.
Shifting in her seat, she resisted looking at the clock again. It'd been less than half an hour since she'd called Northcastle's main contact number. The female on the other end had ensured she'd pass along the strange message.