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“Yes.”

“And you’re the one who put the land in Keira’s name.”

“Your family lost that land before I’d even enrolled in St. Killians.”

Her gaze holds mine, full of fire. “But now you're older.”

I fix the towel at my hips.

“My father wanted it in a family trust,” I say. “I did what he asked.”

Her laugh is quiet. “Good little Fionn.”

The muscles in my jaw clench.

“So that’s it?” she asks. “Alasdair pulls a string, and you move?”

“When I was younger, I mistook obedience for power.”

Her eyes narrow. “And now?”

“Now I know power is deciding who moves first.”

She turns and drops the deed, letting it float to the desk.

“And this?” She points to the stack of papers. “Is this you getting ready to destroy my family?”

I step closer, and she holds her ground, standing straighter, so full of confidence she almost convinces me she is not shaken.

“That’s me making sure no one controls the ground around the docks unless I let them.”

“The docks belong to us.”

“And now everything around them belongs to me.”

Her hand presses to her stomach.

“You’re no different from your father,” she says. “I don’t know what I expected.”

There it is. My father’s shadow, thrown across my bedroom by a woman still wearing what I did to her.

“If I were no different from him, you wouldn’t be with me right now.”

“Clearly, I shouldn’t be with ya, Fionn. You’re using me to satisfy whatever kink you’ve found, and one of these days, you’ll destroy my family and me with it.”

I let the silence press against her before I answer. “Perhaps you should stop pretending you don’t understand men like me.”

“Oh, I understand men like you just fine.”

“No,” I say. “You understand men like my father.”

Her chin lifts. “Then what are ya?”

“Worse in some ways.”

Color climbs her throat, and I know it is anger as she sets her hands on her hips. “Just some?”

“My father takes what’s in front of him.” My voice drops, raspy and thick. “I see the bigger picture and take what gives me the next move.”