“Yeah, I do like it,” she affirmed.
“Then, that’s all that matters. It sure beats having a PhD behind your name and hating every minute of it.”
“I guess so.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I believe you,” she said, taking another bite and wishing he’d let it go.
“Let me guess, someone doesn’t approve of your occupation.”
“You could say that,” she shrugged. “But I don’t care what he thinks.”
Silence lengthened between them for a few more seconds, the only sound being the slow cadence of rhythmic hoof beats on the paved road. She thought he gave up, was glad for it, and looked out into the distance, the pattern of rock-walled pastures occupying her thoughts while she rocked in the saddle.
“Would this person happen to be your boyfriend?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I sense some animosity,” he prodded. “How long has it been?”
She gave him a sideways glance. “How long has what been?”
“Since you found out your boyfriend was unfaithful.”
Choking on the last bite of her snack, she milked the time it took to cough it clear. How the hell did he know that? Was she that easy to read? Or was he just that perceptive?
By the time she was ready to say something, he was holding out an ice-cold water bottle. She gratefully took what he had to offer, uncapped it and drank heavily, her mind frazzled.
She lowered the bottle, eyeing the sweat on the side to give her something to look at other than Leif. The last thing she wanted to do was bring her troubles along with her to Ireland. She was perfectly content to leave them all behind. The whole purpose of this vacation had been to forget about Jack and his infidelity. Now that she found a man worthy of making her forget, she sure as hell didn’t want to make him think he was the rebound guy.
However, she was not a good liar. She never had been. “A few days ago.”
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. She knew whatever chance she had with Leif, had now been slighted. Better yet—destroyed. She couldn’t look at him. Seeing the vivid storms of blue in his eyes paling to a mediocre color of disenchantment was more than she could bear.
She took another drink, the second bout of awkward silence raking on her nerves like nails down a chalkboard.
“Rain.” His deep susurrant voice washed over her like silk. “Is that why you’re here? Alone?”
Oh, it sounded so pitiful coming from him. “Yes.”
The heat of embarrassment burned hot in her cheeks and she wished she could suddenly disappear. She didn’t want to drag this day out any longer than necessary. He was clearly ready to wash his hands of her now and she wouldn’t doubt it if he decided to end his horse-guided tour of Inis Mór prematurely. She had entirely too much baggage for one man to handle.
“Rain,” he repeated, halting his horse abruptly.
Hers did the same and she prepared herself for a gentle let down. He circled her with his horse until he could face her. Their knees bumped and he took hold of her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his gaze. “It’s his loss…and my gain.”
Chapter Ten
Leif’s words took her by complete surprise. Had he not had a hold of her, she probably would’ve fallen backward off her horse. She stared at him, wondering if she heard him correctly, or if this was another episode of imagining things that weren’t really happening.
“Rain, you have about five seconds to say something halfway intelligible before I haul you over my shoulder to the doc’s.”
Her heart sped up as she glanced at his lips, full, perfect, and parted, waiting for her to respond. He looked at her lips too it seemed, the moments ticking by between them. It almost felt as if he were about to kiss her should she say the right thing. The hunger in his eyes was insatiable at best and nothing came to her mind except taking his mouth and feeding from it.
“I’m hungry,” she mumbled.
Laughter erupted from his blessed mouth as he straightened his back and righted himself in his saddle. “Intelligible enough, I suppose. Not what I predicted, but it was, indeed, intelligible. If we pick up the pace a bit, I imagine we can have you fed in less than ten minutes.” He tilted his head in a delicate dare. “You game?”
Lorraine was not so disoriented as to miss his subtle challenge. She fed on dares, especially those that involved sprinting horses. Shaking away the evocative cobwebs of his words, his touch, his voice, she gathered her reins and sank down in her saddle, preparing to bolt at his say-so.
“I take it that’s a—”
Freyja lunged forward, leaving Leif in the dust.
****
“For the winner.”
Leif set a heaping plate of The Catch of the Day with Chips in front of Lorraine on the outdoor picnic table at Joe Watty’s bar. “Remember, we have to eat fast. With the horses hobbled, I’m not so worried about them walking away as much as I’m fretting dung clean-up.”
Her eyes were as big as pint rims. “Um…surely this isn’t all for me?”
He took a huge gulp of his Guinness and settled in across from her. “What you can’t eat, I’ll finish.”
It was cute how she raised her brow and folded her hands in her lap as if contemplating where to start. “I could use your help now.”
Leif sat up and leaned forward, snatching a narrow plank of fish and holding it to her lips.
Lorraine glanced at the food and back at him. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you eat.”
“I didn’t mean help me like that. I meant for you to eat some with me.”
Leif kept the battered fish hovering at lip level. “Come on, humor me.”
Lorraine shifted her eyes across the many picnic tables crowded with camera-toting, raincoat-wearing tourists. “Here? In this place?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Because it’s a public place. People will see.”
“It’s a pub,” he reminded her. “I think they’ve seen far worse things than a woman eating from a man’s hand. Hell, I think last week they found a couple passed out on this very table—in position.”
Lorraine’s eyes widened even more. “In position like…that kind of position? You’re kidding.”
“Actually, I am.” Ducking, he dodged a chip she snatched from her plate. “You’ll throw food in a public place but you won’t eat from my hand?”
“All right, if it’ll make you happy.”
He half expected her to take a quick bite, over and done with before he could get a chance to relish her open mouth. But she proved him wrong.
She placed her hand on his, steadying him, and slowly parted her lips. With eyes fixed, she guided the plank into her mouth and closed her lips around his fingertips. Taking care of his digits, she sunk her teeth into the flesh of the fish and pulled away. Her little pink tongue darted out and licked the tiny particles of batter left on her bottom lip.
Leif just about fell over.
His limbs went numb and all the blood plummeted from his brain to his groin. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t speak. Hell, what does a man say after a sight like that?
He asked for it, practically begged for it, so he can’t say he didn’t know it was coming. But he sure as heck wasn’t prepared to see her accommodate his wishes so earnestly and with such allure. Over and over again, he imagined her luscious lips puckering around his fingertips. What he wouldn’t give…
Bloody hell, don’t even think it!
Too late.
His body stiffened beneath the zipper of his jeans, his erection immediately hardening to steel. He shifted as casually as he could to give his arousal more room, but it did nothing to alleviate his raging imagination.
“You gonna be all right there, Leif? I know a good doctor down the road.”
He tried laughing it off. When that didn’t help, he scooped up his pint glass and guzzled the beer. “You’re right,” he muttered, s
lamming his glass to the table.
“About?”
“About a woman eating from a man’s hand. A pub—even an outdoor one—is not the place for it.”
Leif watched her fingers dance above the plate until she chose a perfectly sized chip to eat. “Where is the right place?”
Leif words lodged in his throat as she tucked the bite-sized chip between her lips and sucked the salt from her fingertips on the way out. He knew she didn’t mean to taunt him, but no matter what she put in or pulled out of her mouth, he was mesmerized.
He fisted his hand beneath the table and leaned back on the bench, looking away. Toward the large Ti Joe Watty’s sign painted on the building. Toward the horse-drawn cart going by on the paved road. Toward the several patrons sitting at the other picnic tables, chatting. Toward anything but her.
“Leif, you have about five seconds to say something halfway intelligible before I haul you over my shoulder to the doc’s.”
Leif looked at her askance, amused that she’d quoted him verbatim. “The right place,” he said thoughtfully, “is equivalent to perfect timing, neither of which is here.”
“If here is not the right place…then where?”
He stood up and braced himself on the table. “You’ll know when you’re there.” Before she could reply, he changed the subject. “I’m getting another Guinness. You want another Tequila Sunrise?”
She popped another chip in her mouth and shrugged. “Nah, I’m good.”
“That you are.”
****
Lorraine was so happy she was near giddy. She hadn’t spoken out of her head or had any crazy visions since she awoke this morning and, more importantly, everything seemed to be going well between her and Leif.
Maybe even a little too well.
Neither of them needed a relationship—a long distance relationship. Because of his livelihood, Leif was probably a man who needed to pack up and travel at a moment’s notice, and be gone for who-knows-how-long on an archeological dig. Being tied down to a woman who lived across the seas would seriously put a strain the independent lifestyle he’s used to.
And because of Lorraine’s recent break-up, the last thing she needed was to jump into another relationship with a man who could never commit. She’d wasted too many years of her life already and didn’t need to walk down the same fruitless path again. It was time to blaze a new trail.
Plus, Patrick would kick her behind for leaping head-long into another unhealthy affair. She could just hear it… You can’t go falling in love with the first man who pays you attention, Rain. I know you are starving for it, but just ‘cause he seems interested, doesn’t mean he’s interested in you. Most men will say almost anything to make you believe they care.
As she ate her lunch, she thought about Leif and all the charming things he had said to her since they first met: To let a poor, lonely, injured beauty like yourself wander the craggy fields of the Erin in the middle of the night…in the rain…would not be very noble of me, now would it?
I’m definitely not ready to wash my hands of you yet.
It’s his loss…and my gain.
Each one was better than the last. Did that mean they were all attempts to win her over and make her believe he cared?
He did try to warn her. But you did give me too much credit with that ‘kind and gentlemanly’ nonsense. You might not think that come morning.
“I wonder…”
“Wonder what?” Leif’s voice startled her as he circled their table, drink in hand.
“Um…I was wondering…” Trying to make up something on the fly proved impossible as he flashed that sexy bright smile. He made her heart flutter and every thing else went haywire.
She tried again, directing her eyes toward the food. “I was wondering where we’re going after lunch. I mean, what’s next on the tour?”
“Got some place in mind?”
Lorraine was unable to interpret his mood, but she still couldn’t help but feel the familiar weight of it, as if she knew deep down, he was always this way. “You’re the expert. What are some recommended places of interest on this isle?”
“Depends on what you’re interested in. If you’re a woman who just likes to ‘ooh and aah’ over castle ruins, megaliths, and scenic cliffs then we can go just about anywhere. But if you’re a woman who likes to learn something as you go, then I’ve got a few locations I think you might enjoy.”
Lorraine popped another piece of fish in her mouth. “Care to guess which woman you think I am?”
Leif leaned forward and stole a chip from her plate. “I don’t usually speculate anything. I’m a researcher and I conclude findings based on facts, not presumptions.”
“Chicken.”
“Maybe. Or perhaps it’s my way of keeping you around longer. You forget, I enjoy research. I enjoy digging deep and finding things out on my own. It’s what I do.”
“And what if you don’t like what you find?” Yeah, she was baiting him. But she wanted to know.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“I thought you didn’t speculate things, Leif.”
He slid his hand across the surface of the table and covered hers, his fingertips burning four distinct holes into her skin. His eyes drank her in. “That’s not me guessing,” he stated, his voice as rich as dark chocolate. “That’s a gut feeling.”
Chapter Eleven
The hours in the day flew by, and before Lorraine knew it, it was nearly five o’clock. Leif had taken her to many historic sites on the island; the eighth-century St. Edna’s Church, tucked away amid the dunes and sawgrass; and what was left of St. Benen’s Church sitting high atop a ridge near the remains of a round tower and holy well. At each location, he’d rattle off intriguing facts about the site, the people who built them, and the influence they had on the island as a whole.
Everything he’d explained, whether it be truth or legend, held Lorraine’s utmost attention. Her historian on horseback was obviously well-versed in the island’s history and he knew how to narrate without making it feel like a boring college lecture.
It didn’t hurt that her tour guide was ruggedly handsome, built like a linebacker, and spoke with unwavering confidence. At moments when they’d dismount to get a closer look at medieval ruins, she took pleasure in the slight pressure of his hand at the small of her back, steadying her as she walked over the rocky ground. She felt as if no one was there on the isle with him, save her. She barely noticed the shifts of backpackers coming off the pier throughout the day or the occasional straggling tourist walking into her camera sights.
To escape the crowds, he finally took her to a remote part of the isle where the road eventually disappeared and the terrain became too dangerous for the horses. On foot, Leif guided Lorraine toward the great Dún Dúchathair. Left lonely and vulnerable, the ancient fort sat preeminently on a jagged outcrop stretching out toward the sea. It looked as if the island’s bedrock had fallen away around it, leaving it to fend off the severe gales and crashing Atlantic waves below all by itself.
Lorraine stood in awe as Leif adjusted a pack he had brought, slinging it over his shoulder. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Where is everyone? There’s not a soul here.”
Leif outstretched his arm, ushering her forward over the uneven earth. “It’s just you, me, and the herons.”
“Is it like this all the time?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a nod. “Most people come to Inis Mór for the more famous Dún Aonghasa and only a few thorough-going tourists know this fort even exists.”
Lorraine glanced behind her. “So, what’s with the cantle bag?”
“You’ll see.”
She knew the pack contained the enigmatic can of whipped cream, but the curiosity over the bag’s contents dwarfed in comparison to the spectacular view before her. Clicking her camera as she went, Lorraine captured the stark beauty of the aged stronghold behind a backdrop of vibrant blue sky and white puffy clouds. S
he even snapped a few pictures of Leif standing at the cliff’s edge, his blond hair blowing in the breeze.
With his hands on his hips, his jaw set, and his eyes on the distant horizon, he looked like a king—a Norse warrior chieftain who gazed out over his newly conquered land and stood proud, fulfilled.
Turning around, he finally realized he was being watched. “What are you doing?”
Despite the wind rushing passed her, she felt the heat of his eyes as he came near. “Taking your picture. Is that all right?”
“I’ve got a better idea. “ He seized the camera from her hands. After a few seconds of glancing over the buttons, he held the camera up and zoomed in on her face. “Picture perfect.”
“Quit,” she warned, blocking the lens.
Leif backed up and rotated the camera, off-centering the harsh stone fort and the crashing sea to her left. “Oh, this would make a great black and white.”
Lorraine tried to grab for the camera, but he lifted it out of her reach. She stood with her hands planted on her hips, her smile betraying her. “Seriously, can I have my camera back?”
His vibrant smile reached his eyes. “I’m helping you document your trip. I want you to be able to look back on these photos and remember you were actually here.”
No sooner than those words fell from his mouth, his face changed, the laugh lines disappeared and the icy-cool blue color of his eyes darkened, intensified. He stared at her. “I want you to remember you were here with me.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
“You might,” he said matter-of-factly. “Unless…”
She saw his eyes drift downward over her lips. He made no effort to move, but she could almost bet that every muscle in his body wanted to.
She swallowed. “Unless what?”
His mouth twitched in one corner, a sense of amusement tickling him. He stepped forward, his massive body pleasantly invading her space. She could tell he was calculating his moves, wondering whether or not his advancement might backfire.
There was nothing she wanted more than to feel Leif’s kiss. She needed it. After all she’d been through with Jack, she damn well deserved it. She removed her hands from her hips and slipped them underneath the sides of his unzipped jacket.
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