IRISH (The Trident Series Book 4)

by Jaime Lewis

  ◆◆◆

  She removed her clothes and slipped under the sheet on the massage table. The sheets alone felt wonderful against her skin. They were so soft.

  She buried her face in the cradle on the table and waited anxiously. The soft rainforest music playing, coupled with the low lighting, already had her feeling relaxed.

  She faintly heard the door open, and light footsteps followed. A few minutes later, the sheet was lowered to the top of her ass. She tensed up, but seconds later, strong hands began to move across her back in sweeping motions. Her eyelids started getting heavy, and she fell further and further into a relaxing state.

  Suddenly, her eyes popped open. Something didn’t feel right; someone was on top of her. She felt something long, hard, and thick between her butt cheeks. She lifted her head and looked over her shoulder to find Manny completely naked and straddling her legs.

  She flipped over, throwing the guy off onto the floor. She almost exposed her boobs when the sheet started to fall. He got up quickly as she pulled the sheet higher, covering her body.

  “Whoa, sweetie. Are you okay?” He asked her, standing there in his birthday suit like it was a choice of work attire.

  He was asking her if she was okay? No, she was far from okay. There was a naked man on top of her. Oh my god. What if I would’ve fallen asleep. Was he going to molest me? She took a deep breath and swallowed.

  “What are you doing?” She asked.

  Manny smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest, and his manhood stood at attention.

  “I don’t know why you’re in a tizzy. I’m giving you exactly what you asked and paid for. Do you not like it? Because I got other moves I could try out on you,” he said calmly but in a cocky and arrogant way—kind of like the man out at the front desk.

  She shook her head. Was this person for real? “Umm…I don’t remember paying or even asking for a prostitute.” Then she realized she’d been staring at his crotch the entire conversation and slapped her hand over her eyes.

  “Oh, my God…Can you please put that thing away?”

  She heard him laugh, then the rustling of clothes. She was so embarrassed and beside herself; she didn’t know whether she wanted to cry or kick the guy in the balls.

  “We don’t promote prostitution here. We use other methods to help women relax, like what I was doing with you. We use our entire bodies. Which is what you paid for. Rest assured, there is absolutely no type of sex going on here whatsoever.”

  Thank God for that because she wasn’t sure what she’d do if anyone found out about this. That lasted about two hours when Alex called her, and she agreed to meet her and her friend Tenley for lunch at Bayside.

  ◆◆◆

  “So, let me get this straight, your friends at work recommended Deep Waters and didn’t tell you about their method of relaxation?” Alex asked, using air quotes.

  “No! If they did, I sure as hell wouldn’t have gone. Oh, my God, it was so embarrassing. I hadn’t realized anything was different until the man climbed up on to the table and mounted me. His penis was cradled between my butt cheeks.”

  Bailey put her hand over her mouth, still completely shocked and worked up over the incident. However, that only made Alex and Tenley laugh more.

  “And then, I sat there having a conversation with the man, realizing that I was talking to his penis because I was staring at it. How could I not? It was so big and kept twitching every time he uttered a word. It looked so angry and mean.”

  “My God, Bailey. That is the funniest thing I’ve heard in weeks,” Tenley said, wiping her eyes. “Next time you want to get a massage, let me know, and I’ll set you up with my man Lei. He’s the bomb. And I promise he won’t try to molest you. You don’t have the right anatomy parts for Lei’s taste.” She winked, then explained that Lei was gay, but a great massage therapist and a great listener.

  “Bailey, what are you going to do when you have sex for the first time? You can’t scream and run from the man when he whips out Richard and the twins.”

  Bailey looked at Tenley. “Who the hell is Richard?”

  “Oh, Jesus!” Alex said, trying not to laugh at the serious expression on Bailey’s face.

  Tenley was now laughing so hard she sounded like she was wheezing. Her little pregnant belly was shaking so much Bailey swore the babies in there had to feel like they were in the middle of a spin cycle.

  “Richard isn’t an actual person. I’m talking about a man’s sex pistol, womb raider. You know, his dick.”

  “Oh….” Bailey replied, now completely embarrassed. She could feel how hot her cheeks were. She’d bet any amount of money her face was bright as a shiny new red fire engine. She had admitted earlier in the conversation with the two women that she was a virgin. Both Alex and Tenley found that hard to believe.

  “I think you frightened her, Tenley,” Alex told her friend between her bites of food. Then as if knowing Bailey was mortified, Alex shifted gears. “You should come to the dojo with me. It’s right by the base. They have an awesome kickboxing class that I take twice a week.” She hooked a thumb over at Tenley. “Preggo here used to go with me, but the only thing she’s been kicking up lately is her feet.”

  Tenley gave Alex an evil eye as she shoved another gooey cheese fry in her mouth, and Bailey giggled. She loved the comradery between the two best friends. She’d wished all her life for friends like these ladies.

  She looked at Alex and thought about it. Kickboxing just might be a good stress reliever. “I’d love to. What days and times are the sessions?”

  “I take the evening class on Tuesday and Thursday. The instructors are all former military. Ace knows them. They even offer other self-defense classes if you’re interested in that as well. But don’t be surprised if Irish tries to talk you out of going.” Alex gave her a grin, and Bailey scrunched her eyebrows together.

  “Why would he do that?” She asked.

  “Because most of the instructors and men who work out there are single, and you are cute as a button. I wouldn’t be surprised if you walked out of the first class with several offers of dates.”

  Bailey’s eyes widened. Okay, maybe kickboxing class wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “Will you stop, you’re scaring the poor girl,” Tenley told Alex.

  Bailey looked at Alex. “What does me going to a kickboxing class have to do with Irish?”

  “Honey, I’m just going to lay this out there for you. Irish wants you.”

  “Ah. I don’t think so.”

  “Nope, that man has been a completely different person since the night you two met.”

  Bailey shook her head. “No, you have it wrong. I’m way out of his league. I don’t fit into the demographic of the type of women that he is obviously into. I’ve seen them.”

  “And that is why. You aren’t like the rest of those women.”

  “But why would he want me? I’m just a boring kindergarten teacher. The women I’ve seen hanging on him and lusting over him are beautiful and confident. Plus, I’m not into just being a notch on somebody’s bedpost.” Bailey glanced out the window and pondered the what-ifs.

  “Trust me, Bailey, we’ve been in your shoes.”

  “I don’t know. I mean, I’m Sienna’s teacher. Then there are some personal issues I need to address before I’d consider dating anyone. Nobody needs to be brought into that mess.”

  “Does that mess have anything to do with the guy that Bear was ready to rip apart? At least that’s what I heard.”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Like I said, when one of the guys sets his sights on a woman, the entire team watches after said woman. News travels fast in our tight-knit community. Plus, Irish was at my house when Joker called him as the shit was going down. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Irish move as fast as he did.”

  So, that was who Joker was on the phone with. But she still didn’t understand why he came when he was flirting with that woman at the bar.


  “Who was the guy? Joker said he got physical with you.”

  She blew out a breath and touched her neck, where the small bruise was. She really didn’t want to air all her dirty laundry. Instead, she opted for the condensed version. “Randy is the guy my parents believe I should marry. If they had their way, I’d have been married probably before I even graduated college.”

  “Why was he here if he knows you don’t want to be with him?”

  “Because he can’t get it through his stubborn head. His family is just like mine, rich, and a bunch of assholes. All that matters to them is money and prestige. Hell, they probably all had a hand in finding me.” She shrugged her shoulders and shoved a fry in her mouth. “I just want to be left alone and live my life.”

  “Wow…I would’ve never guessed you came from a family like that. You’re so down to earth, caring, friendly, and you love children.”

  “That’s because I made a promise to myself. I swore I wouldn’t let money and greed run my life like it does my parents. I hated living in that lifestyle. After high school, I went to college and got my teaching degree. But it still wasn’t enough. My parents still hounded me and tried to control every waking minute of my life. It took a couple of years until I finally had enough of their shit. I applied for several teaching positions in various states. I got offered a job in each one, but in the end, I chose this town. I sold my house, packed up my belongings, and drove away with a smile on my face.”

  “Well, we’re certainly glad you did. And I’m almost certain that a certain SEAL is too.” Bailey went to protest, but Tenley held her hand up and smiled. “Sweetie, you really have no idea how lucky you are. You can deny it all you want, but I’m telling you, you’ve captured the eye of the most popular SEAL. Believe me, hearts are going to be breaking when the ladies find out Irish is taken.”

  Bailey went to respond, but a series of loud cheers rang out through the bar, and when she turned around to see what all the ruckus was about, her smile quickly faded.

  What she saw contradicted what Tenley and Alex were just telling her. Irish stood there, looking just as scrumptious as he always does. But that wasn’t what drove the smile from her face. It was the gorgeous, tall dirty blonde dressed in a form-fitting black dress paired with black stilettos. She had her arm looped through his as she hugged it to her chest and smiled up at him.

  Bailey quickly turned away, her heart breaking, again as she did. Then she snorted a laugh. At least what Tenley said was true. Hearts were breaking. But she never expected it would be hers shattering into a million pieces.

  She tried to shake off the feeling of being betrayed because in all honesty, she hadn’t been. She and Irish weren’t in a relationship.

  She grabbed the check the waitress left and fished out enough cash to cover the tab plus the tip. It was time to leave. She couldn’t sit back and watch him frolic with the ladies. She would go back to her lonely condo on the beach and dwell on the what-ifs.

  She slid her windbreaker on and prepared to leave. As she stood, she looked at Alex and Tenley, two women who had quickly become her friends. She then wondered if they would still even want to hang out with her. Hell, she honestly didn’t know if she could or even want to hang with them knowing that he would be around. And it’s not like she would ever ask them to choose between her and Irish. Irish was a part of their family. She, on the other hand, was an outsider. It was best if she removed herself from the entire equation. There were approximately 450,000 people in Virginia Beach; surely, she could make other friends. Maybe?

  A hand came down on her arm, stopping her from turning to leave, and she looked down and locked gazes with Alex.

  “Honey, whatever is going through your head right now, you need to shake it off.” She motioned with her head in the direction of the bar. “Look, he’s pushing her away. Believe me, Bailey, you are who he wants.”

  Bailey looked over, and the woman in question was sticking her bottom lip out in a pout as Irish ignored her while he spoke with Ace. Yeah, it was nice to see, but she realized that no matter what, she would always be competing with other women. That was even if he was truly interested in her. He’d made a few comments to her that gave her the impression he was interested, but there was still that nagging feeling she couldn’t shake. She needed to think, and now was the perfect time to make her exit before he saw her and made her feel even more awkward and confused.

  She looked back at Alex and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Alex, but I don’t think it will work. I need to get home, it’s getting dark, and I walked here.”

  Alex didn’t look happy but nodded her head, then patted Bailey’s hand. “Will you still meet me at the dojo tomorrow for kickboxing?”

  She was about ready to say no, but then she considered the incident the other night. If she knew a little self-defense, she could fight off Randy if he came sniffing around again.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there. We have some storm preparations we need to do at the school after the kids leave. I’ll meet you there around four?”

  Alex smiled. “That’s perfect. The class starts at 4:30. So that gives you time to fill out the paperwork they have all the newbies fill out.”

  She gave Alex a half-smile, took one last look toward the bar, and slipped out the side door. That seemed to be becoming a habit, but damn, was that door convenient.

  ◆◆◆

  Irish stood at the bar, talking with Ace and Potter. He’d only decided to make the drive to Bayside because Potter had texted a picture of Bailey sitting at the table with Alex and Tenley having dinner. Luckily, Sienna was at Juliet and Derek’s house, having dinner with them and Alejandra. He had a good hour before he needed to pick her up.

  Irish owed Potter for looking out for him. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Bailey since the other night when she gave him and Bear the slip. At first, he hadn’t understood why she left, but then the more he thought about it, he saw it from her point of view. But still, to sneak out, especially considering Bear explained to her that the guy who had been bothering her could’ve easily been waiting for her outside hadn’t been the brightest idea.

  Unfortunately, things couldn’t have gone any better this evening. It was like fucking deja vu. The first person he ran into on his way in tonight was no other than Zoey. Zoey was beautiful and someone he had slept with. But Zoey’s problem was she didn’t seem to understand when he told her before they had sex that sex was all that was going to happen between them. Although she agreed, she still wanted more afterward, and every time he showed up, and she was here, she would make a beeline for him, hoping he had changed his mind.

  After spending about ten minutes trying to be nice and not sound like an asshole, she finally got the message and moved on to another group of men across the room. Good riddance.

  “Dude, I think you missed your window of opportunity.” Potter lifted his beer in the direction toward the side door, and when Irish turned, he saw Bailey slip out the door. Dammit!

  Irish turned back to Ace and Potter. “What the hell? I know she saw me. She was looking right at me. Why would she leave?”

  “That’s just it. She did see you—with Zoey.”

  He squinted his eyes at Potter and then looked back toward the door his little pixie snuck out of. Son-of-a-bitch! His entire life, he’d never had to chase after a woman. But there was a first for everything. However, when he caught up with this one, he planned to never let her go.

  His past had come back to haunt him. So far, the three times he’d been here at Bayside with Bailey, he’d had to deal with overly aggressive women. He didn’t want those women. The only woman he wanted attention from was the one who kept slipping from his grasp.

  Quickly telling Ace and Potter he’d see them tomorrow; he ran out the same side door Bailey did. He made his way down to the beach and realized that there wasn’t very much lighting down here. His eyes adjusted to the darkness after a few seconds, and he scanned the shoreline. Thankfully, the moon was bright because if it
hadn’t been, he probably would have missed the short person walking about a hundred yards ahead of him. Damn, she walked fast. But then he thought that was a good thing, considering she fucking walked here, knowing it would be dark by the time she left. He definitely needed to have a talk with her about placing herself in dangerous situations.

  ◆◆◆

  Bailey was deep in thought about what happened back at the bar. Alex and Tenley were right; Irish did have a past. Though they both said he only had eyes for her, she was finding that hard to believe. She adjusted the volume on her phone. She had her earbuds in, listening to her torture playlist. The one full of sappy love songs she created. It was like being reminded of something she would never have. Love. She didn’t know why she put herself through that, but one thing she did know was as soon as she got home, she would take a nice hot shower, put on her PJs, pour a glass of white wine, and cuddle up with her soft blanket on her balcony. It was becoming a nightly routine. Except her thoughts would be on the one man that she could not get out of her head. It didn’t help matters that she wore his sweatshirt every night.

  She had the music so loud she hadn’t heard Irish calling her name as he jogged toward her. When his large firm hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her backward, it was no surprise that she screamed and threw a punch. Which did nothing but hurt her hand when she connected with Irish’s steel abs.

  “Goddammit, Bailey! Stop hitting me. It’s me, Ky!”

  Once her mind registered the face, her heart began to settle, she squinted her eyes at him, then unleashed a fury of hell on him.

  “What the hell? Do you realize that you could have given me a freaking heart attack? Hasn’t anyone taught you that you shouldn’t sneak up on people?” She shouted, poking him in the chest.

  All he did was plaster that gorgeous smile on his face, and she was ready to retract her claws and forgive him. My God, what in the hell am I thinking?