He laughed hard. “Prepare for another shirt.”
Groaning, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I knew my brothers, and once they found out I’d been bitten by whatever the fuck this was, they would give me hell.
My phone buzzed in my pocket with a text message.
Maebh: Are you free for a quick breakfast?
The way my stomach dropped at the sight of her name shouldn’t have surprised me. But it did.
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Maebh asked if I was free for breakfast. I guess it’s now or never that I tell her I’ve got plans this weekend.”
Trevor grabbed my arm. “Dude! Do you want her to think you’re spending it with another woman?”
“No.”
“Then don’t tell her you have plans. Shit, you’ll make her think you’re going with someone else.”
I frowned. “Then what in the hell do I tell her?”
“The truth. You’re going up to our folks’ place to take a much-needed weekend away.”
“Maybe I should ask her to go with me?”
Trevor gave me a horrified look. “What? Y’all are just getting started with the whole dating thing and you want to take her away over the weekend? What the hell is wrong with you?”
I shrugged. “What’s wrong with that? I want to be with her. Get to know her better.”
He shook his head. “Might as well put a ring on her finger.”
My heart dropped. Maybe he was right. We needed to date before I started talking about taking her away for long weekends. Drawing in a deep breath, I hit her number and called her.
“Hello?”
I smiled when I heard her voice. “Hey, it’s Cord.”
“A phone call, huh? This must mean bad news.”
I chuckled. “Not at all. Listen, I’d love to have breakfast with you, but I’m heading out of town for the weekend.”
“Oh?”
That was all she said.
Oh.
What did that mean? Was that an ‘Oh! I’m happy you’re getting away’ or was it an ‘Oh, who are you going out of town with’ comment?
“I’m sorry. I was about to call you and let you know I was heading out of town, but if you want me to stay, we can meet for breakfast.”
“That’s alright.” I could practically hear the smile in her voice. “I don’t want to interrupt your plans. I’m actually heading out of town meself and wasn’t sure how to tell you. With everything that happened the other night, I didn’t want you to think I was avoiding you if I didn’t answer a call or text, but I had the holiday planned before the other night.”
“Really? You’re going out of town, too? Alone?”
She laughed. “Yes! Are you going alone?”
“Just me and some fishing poles. I’ve needed the time away. Where are you going?”
“It’s funny you should ask because I’m heading to your…”
“Cord! Cord!”
Screaming came from the back supply closet.
“Is everything okay?” Maebh asked
“I’ve got to run, baby. I’ll text you when I’m leaving and call you when I get to the lake house.”
“Lake house?”
“Cord!” Tammy screamed again.
“I’ve got to go. Something just happened to Tammy. Please be careful and let me know when you get there.”
“Um, yes. Of course.”
“Talk soon, my beautiful Irish cailin.”
“Bye, Cord.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, and I hated hanging up. As I raced back to the storage room, on the heels of Trevor, I hit End and pushed my phone into my pocket.
We got to the storage room, and my heart about jumped out of my damn chest.
“What happened?”
Tammy was lying on the floor holding onto her ankle.
“I fell trying to reach that case of club soda.”
Trevor rushed to Tammy and looked at her ankle.
“It’s not swelling up, so you didn’t break it.”
“Thank goodness. It sure hurts though,” Tammy stated.
“That’s it. I’m not leaving,” I said, letting out a frustrated breath. Hell, Tammy wasn’t even supposed to be here this early and had only come in because I was leaving town.
“Bullshit, you’re leaving,” Trevor said. “Tammy’s fine. I’ve seen plenty of broken and sprained ankles. Her ankle isn’t even swelling. I’m sure she twisted it, and that’s all.”
Tammy looked at Trevor and then back to me. “He’s right, Cord. It just scared me. I thought the case was going to fall and land on me. I panicked.”
I moved around and grabbed the case before it could fall.
Trevor helped Tammy up. “Dude, it’s fine. Even if she did hurt her ankle, I can run this bar. I did it when you went to Vegas.”
Vegas.
I shuddered at the memory and the hook-up from that weekend. My past hook-ups were starting to bother me, and I knew it was because of Maebh. The last thing I’d ever really want was for her to know exactly how much of a manwhore I’d been my entire life.
A thought hit me. Was I ready…or even able…to make a commitment to Maebh? I knew I wanted like hell to try.
Maybe I should see where Maebh is going for the weekend and go with her?
Fuck. I’d never been so confused. I wanted to call Maebh and ask her where she was going. Would she even agree to go somewhere with me? Trevor must have seen the wheels spinning in my head. He walked over while Laney helped Tammy out of the storage room.
“You need the break from here, Cord. And what a better way to test this whole you want to commit to one woman thing out than to be around a bunch of hot women in bikinis.”
I laughed as I rubbed the back of my neck. “You’re right. You sure you got this?”
He slapped me on the side of my arm.
“I got this. Just go fish and don’t worry about anything.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gave it a squeeze. “Thanks, man. You know I’m here if you need to talk.”
He nodded. “I know, dude. I know.”
Trevor headed out to the main bar while I went to my office and grabbed the bag I’d packed for this weekend. Only the bare essentials. I planned to either sit around and watch movies, or float on the lake and fish.
It was going to be heaven.
As I walked to my truck, it felt like a piece of my heaven was going to be missing, though.
My Irish angel isn’t going to be there…
“Stupid phone!” I shouted as I pulled into a store and parked in the supermarket lot.
The address was right, so why was my phone telling me to go a different way than the directions Melanie had sent?
With a sigh, I mumbled, “Might as well get some petrol and a snack.”
After filling up the tank, I headed into the store and looked at the minerals. After deciding on Diet Pepsi, I grabbed a bag of crisps and headed to the check out.
“He was so dreamy!” the young girl gushed. I couldn’t help but smile at how silly they were being. Oh, to be a teenager again.
“Dreamy wasn’t the word. He was hot! Did you see him smile at me?”
“Sounds like you ladies found yourself a handsome lad.”
They both grinned. “He was!”
I nodded me head and handed the girl the cash to pay for me goods.
“Did you get his number?” I asked with a smile.
“Nah. He was older than us and was trying to call his girlfriend.”
“Or just a friend!” the other girl interjected with hope in her eyes.
“Nah, it was his girlfriend. You should have seen the way his eyes lit up when her voicemail came on. He’s smitten!”
All three of us giggled.
As I walked to my car, me phone buzzed, and I had voicemail from Cord. Grinning just like those two girls, I pulled up the message the moment I got back in me car.
“Hey. I’m almost
here. My signal…not so…these hills…call back…answer, keep trying. I should…asked you…here…talk…”
Me brows furrowed. The message had gone in and out, and I’d only gotten bits and pieces. I thought he said he was going to a lake? Now he’s going to the hills? What hills?
I had to admit, a small part of me was hoping he was heading to his parents’ house to surprise me. What were the odds we were both heading out of town this weekend and both going to a lake house?
Hitting his number, it went straight to voicemail. I left a message and pulled up the directions on my phone again. It appeared I was less than ten minutes away.
Soon I was pulling up to a driveway with a large iron gate.
“Holy shite,” I whispered as I punched in the gate code Melanie had given me. The drive was long and winding, but when I finally reached the house, I couldn’t help but smile. I was instantly taken back to Ireland, and the summer home we had on the coast.
Me heart ached at the thought of Ireland. I was going to have to go back and visit soon.
At the end of the drive, I found a three-car garage. I’d have to ask Melanie what the code was to open it so I could park inside. I was still trying to get used to this Texas heat and leaving me car out to bake was not ideal.
Reaching for my phone, I sent Melanie a text.
Me: Just got here. Looks beautiful from the outside!
Before I put my phone back in me purse, she replied,
Melanie: You haven’t gone in yet? What are you doing? Sitting in the car? Go in! Go in! Go in!
I dropped the phone in me purse, grabbed me bag, and headed up the stairs to the grand entrance.
“Does everything have a code to get in?” I mumbled, pressing the numbers for the door code. It made a noise and the door unlocked.
Stepping inside, I felt giddy. The home was glorious. It wasn’t like I didn’t love me little apartment above Aisling, but growing up in a home that had twenty bedrooms and bathrooms, and then switching to one that had two of each, was an adjustment. This home had ten bedrooms Melanie said, and two of them were master suites. Making me way up the grand staircase, I decided to drop me luggage off first and change into me swimsuit. I’d try Cord again and let him know where I was and see where exactly he was. I was missing him already.
“Left or right?” Melanie had said the masters were at the very end of each hallway. I went left as I made me way down the hall. I had a strange feeling Melanie had something up her sleeve but couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
It wasn’t a coincidence that Cord was out of town the same weekend as me, or was it?
Lake house. Melanie’s excitement for me to get here. It was all falling into place.
Me chest tightened as I peeked into the bedroom, and I stopped when I saw a bag thrown onto the bed. Me heart raced, and I quickly looked around the massive room. Cord’s broken message made sense now. We had both been heading up here for the weekend.
Me gaze landed on the large picture window that overlooked a lake and I gasped. It was stunning.
And romantic.
The perfect place for someone to push two people together.
“Melanie!” I hissed. Grabbing me phone, I dialed her number.
A noise in the bathroom made me jump.
“Hello?”
“Melanie! What did you do?”
“What was that? Maebh, sweetheart, I can’t hear you. Are you whispering?”
Taking a step toward the bathroom, me heart pounded in me chest. “You double booked the house!”
“I didn’t double book, dear. I knew exactly what I was doing.”
I froze.
Holy. Shite. She did. She set us up.
“What did you do?”
Melanie laughed. “Enjoy your weekend with my son!”
The line went dead, and I spun around to look at the bag on the bed. Moving closer, I saw a wallet. Me hands shook as I reached down and picked it up, instantly recognizing it as the same wallet that Cord had dropped a few weeks back.
“Cord.”
I dropped the wallet like it was about to bite me and took a few steps backwards.
“Oh, she wouldn’t!”
A hard object stopped me, and I held me breath as I felt a rush of electricity.
“She would, and she obviously did.”
I spun around, and I jumped back when I saw him.
Cord Parker was standing in front of me with a towel wrapped around his waist. Very, very low on his waist. Me greedy eyes roamed over his perfect body. From the V that dipped below the white cotton towel, up to the perfect set of abs, to the chest that should have been registered as a danger to women’s health, and finally up to his deep blue eyes.
By the time I remembered how to breathe, I was sucking in a breath and saying his name.
“C-Cord?”
It sounded strained and somewhat frightened.
“Maebh, are you stalking me?”
Me eyes widened, and I quickly started to back away from him.
“What! No! I…your ma…I wasn’t…I’ll leave.”
I headed to the door, grabbing me bag and walking as fast as me feet would carry me.
“Maebh! Wait!”
His arms wrapped around me, bringing me to an immediate stop.
His warm breath on me neck made me legs tremble. Not to mention I was against his naked body. Now I knew how he felt a few nights back when I was naked under me robe.
Lord Jesus, please don’t let me attack him and do something stupid.
“I was kidding, baby. I figured the second I saw you that my mother had arranged this whole little thing. Truth be told, a part of me was hoping you were heading up here when you said you were going out of town.”
Shaking me head, I replied, “I didn’t know you were on holiday this weekend until this morning. I swear. Do you really want me to stay?”
Cord moved his hands to me arms and turned me around.
“Are you fucking nuts? I was just thinking about how much I wanted to see you. Kiss you. I left you a voicemail saying how much I wished I’d asked you to come with me.”
He waggled his brows, making me grin.
“Really?”
Leaning down, he rubbed his nose against mine. “Really, really.”
I worried me lip. “It’s your holiday though. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Do you like to fish?”
Looking down at the floor, I replied, “I’ve never gone fishing.”
“What!” Cord exclaimed. “You’ve never gone fishing?”
“Nope.”
His smile nearly blew me over. “Then I get to be the first one to take you. I like this whole thing about me being the first to do things with you…and to you.”
Me cheeks felt hot.
Cord pulled me into him, causing me body to light up with a heat so strong it made me lower stomach pull and the throb between me legs grow.
Me arms were down at me sides. If I lifted them, I’d be forced to touch him, and if I touched him, I wouldn’t stop.
Every. Single. Inch.
The hug was over as fast as it started.
“Why don’t you unpack your stuff, and we’ll grab lunch if you haven’t already eaten.”
“I haven’t. You’re alright with this?”
He smiled and it took me breath away. “One hundred percent.”
“Alright, I’ll go to the other master bedroom.”
“You sure you don’t want to share this room with me?”
The sexy way he spoke made me want to tell him yes. Sometimes I felt like I would say yes to anything this man asked of me.
“I’m sure. Give me a couple of minutes to change?” I said.
He nodded and me eyes roamed over his body again. A slow smile moved across me face, and I felt like being a little daring.
“You know, it seems only fair that you drop your towel.”
Cord looked at me with confusion. “You want me to drop my towel?”
Lifting my brow, I nodded. “You saw me naked. Tit for tat.”
Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would drop his towel. But he did. And I nearly passed out at the sight in front of me. Half of a naked Cord played with me body, but the full thing nearly made me hit the floor.
It honestly would have been better if I had passed out because all I seemed to be able to do was stand there, mouth open, staring at the most impressive cock I’d ever seen. He was huge and circumcised.
Holy shite. So that’s what a circumcised penis looks like?
I stared at it a little too long, studying the way the edge of it looked. It was smooth. Me fingers itched to trace a path along the rim.
For feck’s sake. Did I just really think that to myself, that Cord’s dick looks smooth?
I wanted to lick it and tell him how big he was, but I was positive the eejit would make some sort of sexual remark. So I closed me trap, shrugged me shoulders, and looked back into his eyes.
“Guess we’re even then…I’ll go change. Five minutes, tops.”
The look on Cord’s face was one I would never forget for as long as I lived. It took everything out of me not to smile.
With a quick turn on me heels, I rushed out of the room and down the long hall to the other bedroom.
“That’s it? Not even one comment?” he called after me.
“Like?” I asked, gazing over me shoulder and seeing him walking down the hallway, wrapping the towel back around him.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe like, Wow, that’s impressive. Or, Gosh, Cord, your dick is pretty big!”
Stopping at the door, I turned, lifted a brow, and asked, “Is it? Impressive and big? I don’t have much experience with this sort of thing…remember?”
Cord let out a gruff laugh. “You want me to tell you if my cock is big?”
Me teeth sank into my lip, and I had to force meself to stay strong.
He stepped closer and buried his face in me neck, taking in a deep breath. Me body trembled and he chuckled. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
Bastard.
When his lips brushed over me skin, I held me breath. Cord’s mouth was next to me ear as he whispered, “You’ll have to decide that for yourself when I make love to you, agra.”
Me legs trembled, and I reached for the doorjamb with both hands to hold me up.
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