“Did ye’ get many?” Keela inquired, apprehension to her voice. She and Alec were trying to get pregnant.
“Yes!” Bronagh huffed. “On me stomach, thighs, breasts, and even on me arse. Me fuckin’ arse!”
Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but Bronagh pointed her finger at him dangerously. “Not now,” she warned. “I don’t wanna hear it. I’m fat, I have stretch marks, I haven’t seen me feet in weeks, and I forget what regular sex feels like. Don’t annoy me more than I already am.”
Alec looked like he was about to pass out.
“Pregnancy stops you from having sex?” he asked wide-eyed before looking at Keela and saying, “We’re adopting.”
We all laughed.
“It’s only the past few weeks that it’s stopped,” Dominic grumbled. “It hurts her a little, so we don’t do it.”
“Why would it hurt?”
Everyone look at Branna for the answer to Kane’s question.
“Lots of different reasons, but there doesn’t have to be a specific one.” She shrugged. “When a woman is pregnant, there is more blood flow to the entire pelvic region, and that engorgement is sometimes just too uncomfortable durin’ sex. It goes away when the baby is born.”
“Praise Jesus for that, at least,” Dominic said. “And for anal.”
The women cringed while us men snickered.
“Bronagh,” Branna said. “Relax on the sofa.”
“I can’t. Me body is currently experiencin’ some technical difficulties.”
Branna stared at her sister. “What does that mean?”
“It means her ass is sore, and she can’t sit down.”
“Dominic!” Bronagh screeched, horrified.
Alec slapped his palm against our brother’s, and said, “My man.”
I shook my head, amused.
“You might as well do all the kinky shit now,” Kane mumbled. “After she has the baby, all that stuff only happens on rare occasions ... like when you get a babysitter.”
Branna tittered. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll find a way.”
“Damn right, we will.” Dominic grinned and winked at Bronagh who was shaking her head good-naturedly as she eased down onto the sofa next to Dominic who absentmindedly slung his arm over her shoulder. She said, “Change the subject.”
“Oh,” Keela chirped. “Then let’s play ‘Ask Me Anythin’. It’s a game for adults where all questions are appropriate. I’ll start simple. Alec, who is your celeb crush?”
I tuned out the conversation then as I stared at Branna, feeling like she was the only person in the room. I heard the laughter, the teasing, and even a few cusses here and there, but nothing pulled my attention away from the woman I loved or the smile on her face. I was fully aware that I was head over heels in love with her, and it made me mad to think I almost lost her because of my own foolishness. Never again would I keep a secret. I would always be truthful with her.
Always.
“Ryder, you go next.”
I looked at Damien when he spoke, then remembered that everyone was playing a game. I thought about what I wanted to know, then looked at Dominic and said, “What was the first thing about Bronagh that you found yourself attracted to?”
Dominic looked down at Bronagh, and said, “Your eyes. I had never seen eyes so emerald green before. They were, and still are, beautiful. Your ass got my attention, but your eyes held it.”
The women awed, and us men chuckled.
“Are all these questions gonna be about sex or a sexual act?” Alannah then questioned when she entered the room and leaned her arms on the back of the sofa beside Bronagh’s head. “Because sex is overrated.”
Every one of us snapped our attention to Alannah when she spoke. She rolled her eyes at us, and said, “It is; just because you all have good sex lives doesn’t mean everyone else does.”
Meaning her?
Alec grinned. “I know someone who would be more than happy to rectify that problem for you, Lana.”
The dumbass didn’t understand the term ‘subtle’.
“I’m going to get some water,” Damien said and shot up from his position on the sofa, and briskly walked into the kitchen.
Alannah focused on Alec. “I don’t think I need a someone when I have a somethin’.”
“Sex toys?” Keela questioned with her eyebrows raised. “You’re full of surprises, Ryan.”
I wasn’t surprise. Alannah was quiet compared to the rest of the girls, but she had a spark in her. I had a feeling that my baby brother knew all about that spark.
“It’s 2016,” she replied to Keela. “Vibrators are perfectly acceptable life partners.”
Bronagh frowned. “We need to get you a boyfriend.”
Alannah laughed. “Trust me, as long as I recharge me double A batteries, I’ll never need a man again.”
“Right now, as a man, I feel cheap,” Dominic teased. “We’re more than sex machines. We have feelings too, you know?”
Alannah rolled her eyes. “Please, in school, ye’ fucked your way through the girls in our year for sport. Their hurt feelin’s never made ye’ feel cheap, but I can guarantee your actions made them feel cheap.”
The conversation took a turn from playful to serious in a split second. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Dominic frowned. “I was a kid—”
“That doesn’t change anythin’,” Alannah angrily cut him off. “Ye’ were old enough to know what ye’ were doin’ was hurtful, but ye’ did it anyway. Ye’ broke hearts and didn’t care about it. Ye’ were so horrible.”
Dominic looked sullen as he said, “I’m not Damien, Alannah. I didn’t do those things to you.”
Alannah blinked her eyes, then darted a scared look over her shoulder to make sure Damien wasn’t in earshot. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she didn’t see him. I looked over my shoulder too, and from my angle, I saw he was leaning against the wall outside the living room. There was no doubt from the expression on his face that he had heard everything she just said.
“I know,” Alannah then mumbled to Dominic, “it’s just hard for me to separate the pair of ye’ sometimes. Ye’ have his face, and when I see it, I hurt all over again.”
“Lana—”
“Look, I’m sorry,” she quickly stated. “I had a bad start to me day, and I’m takin’ it out on all of you, and that’s not fair.”
“What happened?” I asked, concerned.
Alannah may not be dating any of my brothers, but she was part of our family, and we all loved her.
“Some arsehole rear ended me and I’ve to fork out a fortune to get me car fixed. It’s the last thing I need. Shit has just been goin’ from bad to worse for me lately. I just can’t catch a break,” she said and shrugged her shoulders.
Bronagh looked crestfallen with Alannah’s announcement.
“Talk to me.” She stood and rounded the chair until she was in front of Alannah. “What’s wrong?”
Alannah looked at Bronagh, then out of nowhere she burst into tears. “Me da,” she cried. “He is havin’ an affair, and me ma has no clue about it.”
“Oh, fuck,” Alec whispered when Bronagh folded her arms around Alannah.
“What am I goin’ to do, Bee?” she sobbed. “If I tell me ma, it’s goin’ to break ‘er heart, and if I don’t, I’ll be the worst daughter for keepin’ it from ‘er.”
Bronagh hugged Alannah tightly.
“Are ye’ sure he is havin’ an affair?” she quizzed. “Maybe you’re mistaken, babe.”
“I’m not,” Alannah sniffled. “I went into town yesterday evenin’ to get some ink cartridges for me printer, and as I was passin’ by a restaurant, somethin’ told me to look through the window. I did, and there he was, sittin’ with a woman half his age at the table near the window where anyone could see them. I think she might be the same age as me! At first, I didn’t even consider anythin’, then he reached out and took ‘er hand in his. One second, they were holdin’ hands, and the next, he leaned over, and they kissed!”