Page 14 of Explosive Union
I choke back a laugh and see I’m the only one. Everyone else chuckles.
“Didn’t they teach you manners inside?” the old woman sneers.
“They tried. I see you’re still not in a home, though. I’ll get on to that right away.”
Christ, it’s like Mom and Nonna.
“You little scamp,” the woman snaps as she gets to her feet. “I have prayed that the devil would be removed from you, but I see I need to pray harder.”
“Granny, seeing as you’re the devil incarnate, praying away the devil is considered suicide. I don’t think God’s down with that. I, on the other hand, have no such qualms. So please, keep praying. We’ll get some peace if you succeed.”
“You little bitc—”
“Mam, that’s enough,” Liam grinds out as he reaches the older woman. The door opens and Hayes Gallagher walks in with his wife in tow, along with his three children.
“You need to take that one over your knee and teach her some manners.”
Jade giggles, and my cock once again stirs. Christ. “Granny, you should borrow some of Hayden’s toys if you like spanking. He’s got chains, whips, and floggers.”
My brothers and I glance at each other. That’s a fuck of a lot more than we ever needed to know about Hayden, especially as he is promised to my sister, Adelina. Hayden merely smirks at us when we glare at him.
Hayes chuckles. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he says as he wraps his sister into his arms and lifts her into the air.
“Hayes, let your sister breathe,” Edwina sighs, like this is an everyday occurrence.
“So, have I missed anything?” he questions as he releases his sister.
“Nope,” Jade replies as she makes herself a cup of coffee. “Other than Granny being her delightful self. Oh, and I’ve met my fiancé.”
The tone she uses when she says fiancé is anything but welcoming. I guess I’m not the only one who isn’t happy about this union.
“Well, at least he’s pretty,” the young girl that’s standing beside her mother says with a shy smile.
Liam, Hayden, and Hayes all turn to glare at the young girl.
Her mother laughs. “Jill, honey, don’t give your dad a heart attack.”
“Breakfast is served,” Edwina says as she once again enters the room and places even more food on the table. “Everyone, take a seat, and help yourself.”
Immediately everyone moves toward the table, and somehow, the only seat available is beside me, and of course it’s Jade who’s the last one to be seated.
“Oh good, it’ll give you two time to get to know one another,” Edwina beams from across the table at us.
“I’d rather claw my eyes out with a rusted fork,” Jade mutters under her breath, making me smile. Fucking dramatic, to say the least.
“Worried?” I question her with a smirk.
Her lips twist in disgust and her bright blue eyes narrow in on me. “What, exactly, do I have to be worried about?”
The disdain in her voice only makes my cock twitch. “That you want me.”
Her laughter is throaty and hoarse. “God, you’re full of yourself.Amadan,” she mutters. “You’re a lot older than I would have expected. I mean, aren’t you Italians married off by the time you hit twenty-five? You’re what, thirty?”
I grit my teeth, Christ, what’s the deal with her? “Babe, I’m seven years older than you. It just means that I can teach you everything.”
She continues to laugh. “You’re forgetting something, Rocco. I’m not Italian; I’m Irish.”
I glare at the woman beside me. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”