“Had a change of heart about Miss Adler, have you?”
Ewan didn’t answer his uncle. He just kept watching as Mr. Shaw explained something to Quinn quite animatedly.
“Son, you might want to go over there and rescue her from Shaw. He’ll keep her there for hours talking about beets. The man has the strangest obsession with root vegetables.”
Ewan watched as Quinn politely laughed and smiled at the old man. She slowly tried to ease her way toward the bar. Shaw was turning in his seat, and Ewan narrowed his eyes at the old man, who was ogling her ass as she walked away.
He’d thought about that ass all day long. He might have even dreamed of it last night. That and her perfect tits and the way her tight pussy had welcomed him. He had really underestimated just how perfect her body was. Here he’d thought she was thin as a reed. Although she was on the slender side, turned out she was cut and toned in all the right places.
He had no idea why he’d followed her into the garden shed last night. He’d seen her slip away from the fight and before he knew it, he’d been chasing her through town back to her aunt’s place. The sight of her throwing things and screaming at the ceiling had amused him in some sort of twisted way. He knew he’d caught her in a weak moment. A moment she probably didn’t want the world to see.
But guess what, world? Quinn Adler didn’t really have all her shit together after all.
He’d meant to throw more fuel on her fire by taunting her to hit him. But the more she’d fought, the more he’d wanted her.
God, she was nothing like he’d expected. He was beginning to see that she had sharper edges than he’d first thought.
Maybe it was the lack of sex, but last night with Quinn had rocked him to the core. He’d felt satiated as soon as he’d come down from his orgasm, but he’d known immediately that he wasn’t anywhere close to being satisfied.
As he watched her make her way toward the bar, he didn’t think spending every night with Quinn for the next month would end in complete satisfaction. It just proved yet one more reason Quinn Adler was an enigma.
He’d expected to feel less of a pull toward her after it was over, but it’d had the opposite effect. He was on the verge of throwing the last few patrons out, locking the front door, and taking her on the pub’s bar. Logistically speaking, that wouldn’t work, as the bar was too high. Maybe one of the booths would be better.
“Good evening, lass,” his uncle said to Quinn as she pulled herself up on the stool beside him.
“Hi, Mr. McKenna.” She met Ewan’s gaze and smiled. “Hi, Ewan.”
“Hey.”
She bit her lower lip, and all of a sudden there was no more room left underneath the zipper of his jeans. He needed to get rid of all these people.
Uncle Connor cleared his throat. “Well, it’s late and the Mrs. is surely wondering where I am.” He shrugged on his tweed jacket. “Give my best to your aunt, young lady.”
“I will,” she replied. “Good night.”
With a quick wink to Ewan, he moseyed toward the door, trying to stay clear of Shaw on his way out. Ewan regarded Quinn as she propped her elbows on the bar. “You want a drink?”
She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ve had plenty this evening.”
He leaned against the bar across from her. He could smell the slightest hint of beer, and her eyes were a little weary. “You look tired,” he said.
She shrugged, taking a deep breath. “I had a rather late night last night.”
“Did you?” he asked.
The sexy grin on her face had him gripping the edges of the bar. Her shirt was thin enough that he could see the outline of her white bra underneath. He was burning up inside. He looked into her eyes, and he hoped his expression told her all she needed to know about what he was going to do to her.
He’d told himself that the next time they were together he would take it slow. In the garden house, he’d been so overcome with lust that his body acted of its own volition.
But as he looked across the bar at her, his dick was taking control again, and a slow rendition of what’d happened the night before was out of the question.
“Are you going to be free soon?” she asked.
He counted five people lingering over by the fireplace. Shit. Maybe if he started turning off the lights they’d get the hint.
“I think they’re talking about vegetables or something.” She looked over toward the door.
Ewan chuckled. “They can damn well talk about vegetables somewhere else.”
He walked around the end of the bar and coughed loudly. He scraped a chair on the old floorboards before swinging it up and dropping it loudly upside down on a tabletop.
“Ewan, are you closing early tonight? It’s quarter till one,” Mr. Shaw asked.
“Yeah, sorry. I have to count some inventory before the weekend,” Ewan answered. He moved on to the next table and started pulling more chairs up.
“All right, we’ll be heading out then,” the old man said. He looked over to Quinn at the bar before saying, “Miss Adler, do you need me to walk you home?”
“I’ll be okay, Mr. Shaw.” Quinn smiled. “But thanks for asking.”
“All right, dear. Maybe Ewan here can make sure you get home.” He clapped Ewan on the shoulder with an exaggerated wink before pulling the door open. They all exchanged good nights, and Ewan locked the door behind them. As soon as he was sure they’d made their way across the street and out of sight of the pub, he shut off the front lights.
“I hope you’re not tired,” he said as he slowly walked toward her. “’Cause I’m going to keep you up all night.”
“That sounds nice.”
Nice? He shook his head. “Would you like me to tell you what I had in mind?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.
She nodded slowly as the smile in her eyes faded, replaced by a nervous anticipation. He was glad she was finally grasping the seriousness of the situation.
“First,” he began, as he pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “every single stitch of your clothing is coming off. And once I’ve had my fill of looking at your naked body, I’m going to take my tongue and lick this”—he brushed his thumb over her left nipple—“until you moan. Then I’ll move my teeth to this one,” he continued, this time gently pinching her right nipple between his thumb and forefinger, “until you can’t catch your breath. Then I’m going to fuck you with my fingers and make you come.”
Her startled eyes shot up to his face as she sucked in her lower lip.
“And if you don’t stop biting your lip, I’m not gonna be able to make it up the fucking stairs before I kick my plan into action. That would of course be fine with me, but it wouldn’t be very comfortable for you on those hard steps.”
She released her lip from behind her teeth and swallowed.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she whispered.
Goddamn.
His mouth was on hers so fast she didn’t have time to take a breath. He grabbed her ass and squeezed hard. She pulled air from his mouth as she gasped. He hoisted her up so her legs wrapped around his waist and carried her quickly up the stairway, pausing only to throw open his apartment door and switch on the lights.
He feverishly licked along the insides of her mouth like it was a flavor he’d never tasted before. She closed her lips and sucked on his tongue.
Holy fuck.
After kicking the door shut, he unceremoniously dropped her onto the couch. He looked down at her as he stood panting beside the sofa. She was sprawled out, watching him with pleading eyes.
“Plan B.” He ripped his shirt over his head. He pulled open the button on her jeans and quickly lowered the zipper. She lifted her hips up so that he could pull the pants down her legs, revealing white cotton panties with a tiny pink bow in the middle of the waistband. He put an arm under her to prop her up while he helped her yank her T-shirt over her head. Her bra matched her underwear with a pink bow tied in the middle of her breasts. Wit
h one knee nudged between her thighs, he crawled up the sofa and let his weight rest on his forearms until he could feel the warm skin of her abdomen against his stomach.
He returned to her mouth, demanding her to let him in, which she did without hesitation. Their tongues tangled, and she lifted her pelvis into where his erection strained against his fly. The touch of her warm, silky skin seared him to the point that his blood was boiling. He licked and kissed his way across her chin. He ran his teeth down the tender cord on the side of her neck.
She turned her head and moaned into the couch cushion, and he could feel her trembling beneath him. He smelled lavender along her collarbone and ran his tongue around the hollow at the base of her neck. Her fingernails dug into the muscles on his back, and the sweet sting almost did him in.
He’d wanted to go slow. He’d wanted to savor her, take every delicious part of her into memory. But he was so close to losing it he couldn’t do anything but pray he’d get his zipper down in time.
She turned her head and sucked his earlobe into her mouth, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut so his brain could yell at his dick to calm the fuck down. With the patience of a horny teenager, he unzipped himself. With no grace whatsoever, he yanked her panties far enough down her legs to allow her to open for him. And with the gentleness of a rutting bull, he pushed into her in one strong thrust.
Quinn gasped loudly. He stilled and silently willed her not to move. She felt so good that he was on the brink of embarrassing himself. Her head was thrown back with her hair spread over the arm of the sofa. She looked at him through lowered lids as she breathed in short, quick breaths.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of her surrounding him. Her muscles squeezed him from inside in response. His hips started to move. He penetrated and withdrew, the tip of his cock barely reaching her opening before driving back into her. She arched toward him, and her cotton bra rubbed against his chest, creating a rough friction. He reached down with one arm, bending her leg up so that he could push deeper. A moan escaped her throat, and he knew he’d hit a spot she liked.
He took her mouth again and kissed her hard. His hips rocked harder as their bodies crashed together. She ran her hands down his spine to his butt, where she pressed him closer to her.
“Ewan, I can’t….” Her voice trailed off, and he knew she was about to climax as he felt her body begin to tremble beneath him.
He ran his hand down her thigh and under her hip and pulled her to meet his thrusts. He heard her breath quicken and watched as her mouth opened in a breathless moan. Her body began to spasm, and as she closed around his cock like a vice, he finally allowed himself to let go. With a final push, he threw back his head with a curse. His dick kicked inside of her as he spilled himself. The wave of heat washed through him as his tense body strained in release.
When his head finally cleared, he opened his eyes to find Quinn looking up at him with sleepy eyes. In the span of twenty-four hours, he’d had the two best orgasms he’d ever had. The first one he’d chalked up to his lack of sex in the past couple months. But he didn’t have an excuse for this one. This one had been more mind-blowing than the first. And the scary part was that his body was still humming and wanting more.
Even if he wanted to—which he didn’t—he wouldn’t be able to name the last woman he’d been with. All he could think about was the woman underneath him, whose panting breath he could still feel against his neck. With his mind still spinning like a carousel, he couldn’t draw any explanations.
Why hadn’t it ever felt like this before? Where did all her passion come from?
Jealousy burned at the thought of her with other guys. There was no way that things would have broken off between her and her old lovers if the sex had been this good. The bastards must have been shit in bed. Thank you, Jesus.
“Please tell me you’re not going to make me move right now,” she sighed.
Ewan grinned and slowly lifted his body, freeing her petite frame. Her pink skin glistened with perspiration.
She was beautiful, lying there half-naked on his couch.
Quinn had a long, graceful neck above her smooth shoulders. He could see the definition of her muscles as he ran his eyes down her arms. He wasn’t surprised with the amount of yard work she did. Her strength was sexy as hell. Her breasts were hidden underneath her white bra. Her smooth, flat stomach narrowed into her lean waist. He followed the faint lines of her abdomen to the light brown curls at the apex of her thighs. Her shapely hips gave way to fit, lean legs.
Goddamn. He was getting hard, and he wanted to take her again. He felt like he needed to mark her so that others would know she was his.
His.
Jesus. What the fuck was that about? Before he allowed himself to dwell on what part of her was his and why that scared the shit out of him, he got up, zipped his pants, and walked into the kitchen to get some water. He heard clothes rustling and, after a few moments, heard her soft footsteps stop at the entrance of the kitchen.
“How old are you?” he heard her ask from the doorway.
“Thirty-two.”
He filled two glasses with water and handed one to her. She smiled at him before taking a sip. He sat down at the small rectangular table near the window, and she slid into the chair opposite him.
“How long have you lived here?” she said, looking around his apartment.
“This apartment? About six years. But I’ve been in Ballagh since I was nine years old.”
“Do you have family here other than your uncle’s family?”
He shook his head. He knew she meant his parents, but that was definitely a discussion he didn’t want to have. “How about you? Were you born in Pittsburgh?”
“Born and raised. Aunt Maura is my mother’s sister. She and Rory are the only relatives I have in the U.S. My father was from Germany, and all of his family still live there. I’ve met them a few times, but I’m not that close to them.”
“How long do you plan to stay in Ballagh?”
“Just through the summer.”
Silence hung between them. Ewan knew that he only had four more months to get his fill of her before she left. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.
“Where’s your bathroom?”
He nodded toward his bedroom. “Through there.”
She stood and left the room, his eyes appreciating the way her jeans hugged her ass. He heard her turn on the faucet in the other room. After a few minutes, she reappeared and sat back down, her face washed and her hair pulled up in an elastic band. She looked cute with her cheeks flushed. She had those little wrinkle lines between her eyebrows again and was thinking hard about something.
“Something wrong?”
She looked up at him, realized he was watching her, and smiled. “Are you…” She paused. “Are you sleeping with anyone else?”
He heard the hesitation in her voice as she asked.
“I told you I haven’t been with anyone for over a month,” he replied.
She frowned and stared at her water glass. “I guess I didn’t ask the right question. What I should have said was are you planning to sleep with anyone else?”
He frowned, not understanding her meaning. “Not at the moment.”
Ewan watched her face as she started to say something but then stopped. Whatever it was that rolled around in her head had her tongue-tied. She took another breath and tried again. “I’m sure it’s no big surprise, but I’m not sleeping with anyone else. And I don’t want to,” she said. “And I’d hope you wouldn’t want to either.”
When he didn’t immediately respond, she began to shift in her seat.
“I’m not asking for a relationship or anything, but I don’t think I can sleep with you if you’re sleeping with other women.” She stopped and tilted her chin up. “It’s…it’s just how I feel.”
He didn’t have any plans to be with anyone else at the moment. He couldn’t imagine anything else feeling as good as it did when he was with her.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on why that was. She was nervous, and he wanted to reassure her, but he had to be careful to say the right thing. He couldn’t promise her anything long term.
She gave him a timid smile. “It’s kind of a deal breaker.”
“I’m guessing that you’ve been burned before?”
She nodded. The look on her face, a mix of pain and embarrassment, bothered him. He didn’t ask for an explanation, and he almost wished that she wouldn’t talk about it, so that she wouldn’t have to sift through whatever was causing her to look so unhappy.
“I had this boyfriend in undergrad at the University of Pittsburgh; his name was Ben. He seemed like a nice guy. I’d met him in my chemistry lab during sophomore year, and we’d hit it off. He asked me out to dinner a few times before we officially started seeing each other. He took me to his fraternity formal, bought me flowers…you know, all those things that boyfriends do.”
Ewan didn’t know all those things that boyfriends did since he’d never been a boyfriend before. Even though she was skimming through her story as if it were insignificant, he sensed her sadness. Whatever this asshole did had hurt her.
“He tried to get me to sleep with him, several times, in fact. But I’d resisted. I’m not sure why I did, but I just wasn’t ready yet. I hadn’t consciously thought that Ben wasn’t the right one. I just hadn’t had that ah-ha moment where I’d known it was the right time to lose my virginity.”
Ewan nodded but cringed inside, knowing exactly where this story was going to end up.
“I’ll spare you the details, but one night, things went a little further than before. He took it as a sign that I was finally ready. And I thought I would be able to, but at the last minute, I stopped him. I just couldn’t go through with it,” she said. “He was mad. He called me some very unflattering things. He said I was a tease.”
Ewan had known guys like this Ben. Guys who would do just about anything to get under a woman’s skirt, try to make them feel guilty for leading them on. They were pathetic, and it made him sick that someone had treated her this way.
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