Within minutes of my arrival at Biddies Bar, it became pretty clear that Cormac wasn’t Bella’s top priority. The minute I sat down at the table with the lads, she’d made a beeline for my lap and hadn’t left since.

I spent most of the night trying to avoid making eye contact with the short skirt she was wearing. It physically pained me - not because I was having some emotional reaction toward her, but because my balls ached. That fucking groin injury.

It wasn’t that Bella wasn’t an attractive girl. The issue was that I was done. I was over it, whatever the hell it had been between us, and I had been for a long time.

Her ass always found its way back to my lap, and I just ended up getting drunk faster. No amount of no or never again seemed to make a difference. She wouldn’t leave me alone. I didn’t want to embarrass the girl, though. I wasn’t a complete prick. Which was why I was tolerating this shite.

By half one, my head was swimming, the alcohol in my veins, mixed with the strong-ass medication I was still taking, making me clumsy and uncoordinated. On a bright note, I couldn’t feel a fucking thing.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Bella purred, leaning close to my ear. Sliding her hand into the opening of my shirt, she trailed her fingers over my collarbone. “Somewhere a little more private?”

“No, Bella,” I grumbled, my words coming out slurred. “Stop doing that.” Capturing her hand, I removed it from my shirt and put it back on her lap. “I’m not in the mood.”

Cupping my face with both her hands, Bella dragged my face down to hers, smashing her lips to mine. Because of the alcohol coursing through my veins, it took me an extra few seconds to register what was happening. The feel of her tongue sliding against my lips was like a douse of water.

“Kav,” Gibsie warned as he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back, pulling me away from Bella. “{{user}}'s right over there, lad."

I swung around to find a wide-eyed {{user}} staring back at me.

“For fuck’s sake,” I groaned.