“Here. Drink a bit of this. It will take the burn away,” Nikki told me as she passed me her beer. I might not be the biggest fan of beer in the world, but the sour, foul smelling beverage was better than this horrible burn.

“Yuck. Why would anyone do that twice?”

“You’ll find out, baby girl,” assured Kieran.

“Ohh. I love this song. Let’s dance,” screamed Nikki as she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dance floor.

“Wait for me,” shouted Tommy.

“Tommy, you’re worse than a fucking girl, I swear.” Kieran shook his head and laughed. I hadn’t danced since I was little, and one shot and a swig of beer wasn’t nearly enough Dutch courage. But watching Tommy shake his arse all the way to the dance floor was the funniest thing I think I’d ever seen. Nikki and I laughed so hard, we literally doubled over. He didn’t stop once he started dancing, either. Throwing shapes and moving around like some seventies disco diva, he did it all with a perfectly straight face. I looked up at the DJ booth to see Kieran having a word with the DJ. When he started smirking and shaking his head, I knew that he was up to something. Moments later, the opening bars to “Raining Men” by the Weather Girls sounded out across the club, and the dance floor erupted. Tommy stopped, looked at Nikki and me, grinned, then went absolutely nuts. This was definitely his party trick. I’d never have guessed, but it was attracting women like magnets, and a huge group of girls soon surrounded us. Laughing together, we threw ourselves into the mix. Chucking our limbs around and copying Tommy’s moves, I was having so much fun that I forgot to worry about Frank and anyone else who might be around me. I let go of everything and became caught up in the sheer joy of the moment. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d had so much fun. O’Connell promised me that he had my back, and I had absolute faith in him. I didn’t need a white knight to swoop in and save me from my crappy life. I was just fine saving myself. Besides, O’Connell wasn’t a knight. He was the battle-scarred dragon that would lay waste to armies to protect me. This mismatched band of people, educated and uneducated, fighters and pacifists, were slowly becoming the family that I’d never had. With them around me, I was young and happy, and for the first time in my life, carefree.

Eventually, the diva songs morphed into something a little edgier and the dance floor became crowded. I couldn’t see O’Connell or the other guys, but I knew that they were out there somewhere, keeping an eye on me. A couple of guys, who looked like college students, had been dancing near us for a while. One of them leant down next to me to speak over the loud music.

“Do you know what time it is?” he asked.

I clearly wasn’t wearing a watch or holding a purse, so I frowned as I tried to work out why he thought I’d know. A shiver ran down my spine as strong, big hands skimmed my hips.

“What do you want?” O’Connell asked this guy from behind me.

“Chill out. I was just asking her for the time.” The guy smiled, though he looked very nervous. It wasn’t hard to work out why. I could feel the anger radiating from O’Connell like heat.

“It’s time for you to fuck off. Right. Now,” he added, unnecessarily.

The guy was already moving off the dance floor, looking like he was going to piss himself at any second. I turned around to face O’Connell.

“That was rude. He was only after the time!” I lectured.

He laughed, as he tightened his hold on me. I lay my hands against his chest, trying not to show him how hot his possessiveness made me.

“We’ve been watching those arseholes eye fuck you and Nikki for ten minutes. I think I deserve a kiss for showing enough restraint to warn him first instead of just walking over and punching him in the face.”

“Really?” I exclaimed, pondering whether or not that was a good enough excuse for a platonic kiss.

When Nikki announced that it was time for shots again, I was reluctant to let him go, but desperately in need of another drink. Wanting anything that would quench my thirst, I threw back the shot that Kieran passed me and chased it again with a beer. O’Connell looked at me with an unfathomable expression, probably worried that I couldn’t handle the drink.

A couple of hours, and countless dances later, I’d lost track of how many drinks we’d had, and my pleasant buzz now had me feeling a bit sick and dizzy. Mac and Albie were still happily shooting the breeze as they had been all night. Nikki was on the dance floor with Kieran, which meant that Ryan stood, beer in hand, staring daggers at the both of them. I’d seen Tommy a while back sucking face with some random girl, who sat in his lap as the others milled around. My ongoing euphoria died a death when I spotted Katrina by the bar, looking at me like road kill she’d like to reverse back over. Right then, I lost my footing and to my mortification, realised that I was going to face plant right at her feet. As I fell, strong hands lifted me like I was weightless, just long enough for me to regain my footing. I turned around clumsily in O’Connell’s arms, and no longer caring about Katrina, kissed him full on the lips. This gorgeous, sexy, lethal man could have as many Katrinas as he wanted, but he’d chosen me. Right now, as drunk as I was, I couldn’t see a reason for not showing him how happy that made me. His firm lips moulded to mine in a way so natural and powerful that it was addictive. Every breath made me crave him even more. His kiss ramped up every one of my senses until all I could smell was the whisper of his aftershave and the uniquely addictive scent of his skin. All I could hear was the rasp of our breathing as we struggled to take in as much oxygen as possible between kisses. All I could feel was the hard strength of his muscles tensing as he hauled me against him, and the gentle shiver that ran through his body when I stroked the soft skin at his lower back. He broke away from the kiss to whisper in my ear.

“Fuck, sunshine. You have no idea how much willpower I’m exercising by not wrapping your legs around my waist and carrying you out of here right now.”

Just the idea of wrapping myself around his body filled me with lust. Alcohol had stripped me of all inhibitions, and I stared at him longingly, silently willing him to do it. He looked pained as he shook his head.

“No,” he said firmly, and my heart sank at his blatant rejection. The great Cormac O’Connell, who’d fucked countless women, was turning me down. He tilted my chin up with his finger until I met his eyes.