by Callie Quigg
When Ronan confided in her about his past, her heart ached for him. And then there was his comment about her using him to make her lies more convincing. Sure, it was off-hand, but it resonated with her. Things were finally going smoothly, and she should feel happy, but the way she got the job niggled at her like a toothache.
She stepped into the shower and allowed the strong spray to needle her skin. The one thing she could do to ease her conscience and straighten out the tangled mess she’d created could create an even bigger mess. If it ruined her career, it ruined it, but since they were so close to the wedding, Lily might allow her to finish the job. And if Lily didn’t, in time, she’d pick up the pieces and put her self-respect back together. Moving back to Long Island wouldn’t be so bad. She leaned her head against the shower wall. Who was she kidding, it would suck.
Once the remnants of sleep were washed away, she grabbed a towel and got out of the shower. An extremely awake Ronan leaned against the vanity sporting nothing but a smile and a delicious morning erection.
“Good. You brought breakfast.”
Ronan tossed a towel at her and laughed. “I don’t know if you’re that hungry.”
She bent at the waist, wrapped the towel around her hair, and regarded him with a sideways glance. “Cocky, aren’t you?”
He raised an eyebrow and laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You’re impossible.” She forced herself to drag her gaze from his naked body. “I want to meet with everyone after breakfast.”
“Why?” He gave her bare butt a slap, before smoothing his hand over her skin. “Didn’t we settle everything yesterday?”
“Not everything. There’re a few things I have to finalize.”
He stepped into the shower cubicle. “They can wait for an hour or so. Come in here and help me reach the spots I can’t.”
She gave him the widest smile she could manage. It wouldn’t hurt to pretend he was her fiancé for a little while longer. Spilling her guts could wait, because when she had nothing left, and she was curled up in her childhood bed in her parents’ house, she would at least have her memories.
She dropped her towel to the floor and followed him.
There wasn’t an inch of space their bodies didn’t fill in the steamed-up cubicle. He was irresistible, standing there naked and hard for her. She’d miss this. Miss the intimacy. The closeness. The affection. But most of all, she’d miss him.
The water hit Ronan’s face, and he lifted his head toward the spray, squeezing his eyes shut.
“How’s your head?” she asked. When he got back from his jog around the castle grounds yesterday, the lump on the back of his head looked as if he was hosting a foreign life form.
“Better.”
“Next time don’t go running on iced-over snow. You’re lucky you didn’t crack your skull open.”
“I know. I was stupid.”
She stood behind him and pressed her breasts against his back. “We should dry each other off and go back to bed. There’s no room to do anything in here.”
He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a wicked smile. “We can make it work.”
Thrilling desire rocked her body, and even though he’d forced his way into her life, Ronan was one of the nice guys, and she wished they’d met under different circumstances.
If this would be their last time together, she needed to touch every inch of him, to commit every muscle, every vein, and every rise and fall to memory. Usually, they were playful and teased each other, but this was different, final. A goodbye of sorts.
She ran her hands down his torso and swiped them over the tops of his thighs, committing the topography of his body to memory.
The way his thick muscles flexed and rippled beneath her fingers told her how much pleasure her touch gave him. Leaning her cheek against the smooth skin of his back, she moved her fingers lower and lower until they brushed over his shaft.
He shuddered and sighed.
“Turn around,” she whispered.
He faced her. Beneath the rushing water, he was more statuesque than ever. She had to taste him, feel him pulse against her tongue, her lips. Had to lick and suck every inch of his velvety skin.
“I’ll grab a condom,” he said. The pads of his thumbs traced down the column of her neck.
She lowered her hand and wrapped her fingers around his width. “Don’t.”
He gave a deep growl in response, the sound filling the small space they shared.
Hot water sluiced over his body, raining down, drenching her. She kissed his stomach and gripped his thighs. His cock was a whisper away from her lips. She dipped her head and licked him from root to tip. Fierce bursts of arousal sent heat between her legs and pleasure circled her stomach. Heaven. There was no other way to describe the taste or the feel of him in her mouth.
Ronan gave her hair a gentle tug, guiding her forward. Blood pounded a rhythmic beat through her ears, and the inferno blazing inside her threatened to spiral out of control. Mindlessly, she rubbed her parted lips over his flared head and slid the flat of her tongue over his hot flesh. She took him deep before freeing him completely.
“Jesus, your sweet mouth is a dangerous thing.” He tangled his fingers in her hair, his thigh muscles tightening and shaking.
Her heart and stomach jumped at the rawness, the desire in his voice. Everything about him was everything she wanted, and it would be so easy for her to keep the lie alive, to keep pretending he was her fiancé.
He gathered her hair into a ponytail and wrapped the wet strands around his hand, tugging until her follicles hurt.
“Wrap your hand around my cock. Jerk me off while you suck me.”
She hummed deep in her throat, her nipples and clit throbbing at his dirty talk and roughness. Curling one of her hands around him, she took control of the speed and depth of his thrusts. She wanted to be in charge, to know that when he exploded, it was all because of her.
His length twitched within the circle of her fingers. Her nipples puckered and hardened, seeking relief from his touch.
Releasing her hair, Ronan slapped a hand against the wall behind her.
Quinn glanced up and saw him watching her. His pupils eclipsed his eyes, and his eyelids dropped to half-mast. Being with him was nothing like the sex—the lovemaking—she experienced before. It was different with him. More intimate. More sensual. More everything.
The intensity of her feelings surprised her, shocked her even. Theirs would’ve been a relationship filled with battles. Of him wanting to take control. Of her wrestling control back. But that didn’t matter now. None of it did. She couldn’t afford to fall in love with him, not after everything that had happened the last time she fell in love. Ronan was about fun. Orgasms and no strings, and she had to remember that.
She swirled her tongue over his slick head and picked up a teardrop of saltiness oozing from the tip.
“Fuck,” he growled.
“You liked that.”
“Hated it, couldn’t you tell.”
“Then you’re going to despise this.”
Hollowing her cheeks, she took him deep, working her lips along his thickening length again and again. The pleasure and awe on his face seared her mind and would stay there forever. Satisfying him in this way would be something she’d never forget.
Pain-pleasure masked his face, and his breath came in short, sexy gasps. The tendons in his neck corded. Holding back was killing him, and that kind of power intoxicated her. She rested a hand on his abdomen, delighting in the flutter of his muscles every time she flicked her tongue. His breathing and movements sped up. But then, with what seemed like a herculean effort, he slowed down and placed a hand either side of her head, dragging her lips from him.
“We have to stop. You’re going to make me explode.”
“What if I don’t want to stop?” She gave him a playful smile and flicked the tip of her t
ongue around her lips.
“Get up here.” He took her hands and gently pulled her up. Her knees melted like ice on a hundred-degree day, and she pressed her shoulders back against the tiled wall to steady herself.
“Spread your legs.”
She shuffled her feet apart.
His fingers massaged either side of her clit. The gentle back and forth stole all reason from her.
“So fucking wet.”
Quinn closed her eyes and rocked her hips, losing herself in the calming splash of water and the desire unfurling in her belly. She needed to feel him deep inside of her. To feel every twitch, every pulse.
“I want you inside me. All of you.”
Ronan’s lips drifted over hers. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
Desperate for him, her inner walls tightened, wanting, waiting. Shuddering breaths shook her chest, her breathing as erratic as her heartbeat. In another time, in another world, he’d be hers. Their fairytale would never end, and she’d get her happy ever after. But this was real life and happy ever afters only happened in fairytales and movies.
His strong hands picked her up as if she weighed ten pounds. Quinn followed his lead and wrapped her legs around his waist, hauling him to her so the head of his hard-on hit against her swollen clit. She moaned, her legs clamping around his hips, her body arching into his.
“You want more?” He scraped the edge of his teeth along her bottom lip.
“Everything you have.” She couldn’t get enough. Eternity wouldn’t be enough, but an eternity was something they didn’t have.
When he pressed her against the wall, she draped her arms over his shoulders. Her breasts molded into his chest, swollen to the point of pain, and her nipples ached with every brush of his skin.
She’d never forget how he looked right now. Never forget the hair slicked back from his face, the dark, possessive look in his eyes, or his slightly parted lips. Ronan maneuvered her until he was in line with her entrance.
He slid deep. Opening. Stretching. When the first waves crashed over her body, she was sure her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
Her forehead sagged against his shoulder. “Make me remember this forever.”
Taking her full weight in his arms, he surged deeper. Currents of pleasure rippled through her, sending her higher. She was so close, so, so close. The squelching, slapping sound of wet skin against skin filled the cubicle. The rising tempo of their combined moans beat a salacious percussion over the splashing water. The sound of his harsh breaths hurtled her to the edge of bliss.
He was as close as she was.
“I’m going to come,” she gasped.
With a flex of his hips, Ronan’s strokes became short, fast, almost punishing. The buildup of tension excruciating. It grew and expanded, and if it didn’t shatter soon, she’d break in two.
His mouth found hers. Their teeth clashed, their tongues fought, and she rode him hard.
Make me forget.
Make me remember.
She jerked forward, her thighs trembled, her lower back tingled, and her inner muscles squeezed.
Her climax came in a rush of blinding waves that stole her breath, her mind, her sanity. She whimpered into his mouth. Her nails clawed into the strained muscles of his back. He pumped harder, faster. He threw his head back and with a hoarse groan, took her with punishing strokes, releasing himself deep inside her.
The sound of their lovemaking ricocheted off the walls, and when their bodies couldn’t give or take any more, Ronan lowered her. She wasn’t ready to let go and clung onto him, panting and boneless.
Neither of them spoke. They stood under the water until it cooled and their skins wrinkled. How could she risk losing him? Maybe she should wait before talking to everyone. Think it through a little more.
No. No more lies.
She wanted Ronan to fully trust her, and this was the only way.
****
Quinn found Brendan standing by the stove cooking breakfast. A pot of coffee percolated, and pork sausages and bacon sparked in a skillet. Quinn waited by the entrance to the kitchen and watched him work. He seemed happier than he’d been when she’d first met him. For weeks, she’d pleaded with him to open the castle gates, and now here she was letting him down. Brendan wasn’t an accomplice. He was a victim. She was taking so many innocent people down with her, but she couldn’t lie anymore.
“Look at you and your spatula.” Quinn walked into the kitchen and eyed the food. “Have we unleashed a beast?”
“Ah, it’s only a fry.” He flipped some sizzling strips of bacon. “But I’ve been thinking I need to move on. My mind’s been whirring all night with ideas for menus and all of the things I could do with this place. Lily’s been a massive help.”
“Lily?” Quinn stood on her tiptoes and removed a coffee mug from the cupboard.
Brendan busied himself, rolling the sausages, but Quinn didn’t miss the flush on his cheeks. “She’s a lovely woman.”
“Is she now?” It seemed Quinn and Ronan weren’t the only two people in the castle having fun.
He nodded. “She thinks I have a little goldmine here. She’s going to help me with marketing and promotion.”
“Does this have anything to do with your wine cellar?” Quinn pinched a sausage from a platter by the stovetop and took a bite.
“I’m not saying I did, but I might have given her a tour of the cellar last night.”
“I bet that’s not all you gave her a tour of, you old charmer.”
His eyes twinkled. “A gentleman never tells.”
“What happens next week when she goes back to her champagne lifestyle?” Quinn poured herself a mug of coffee and held it to her chest.
“She’s going to spend Christmas and New Year’s here…”
“You’re a fast worker. I’m impressed.”
“For years, my heart’s known nothing but misery and grief. It’s time I let go and got on with my life.” He laid down the spatula and cracked an egg into the pan. “I like Lily. She takes no prisoners, no bullshit.”
“Damn skippy I don’t.” Lily strutted into the kitchen with Max by her heels.
“By, God, it’s a glorious day.” Brendan gave Lily a quick wink.
Quinn quirked an eyebrow at the love story unfolding in front of her and took a sip of coffee. “I guess it is.”
Lily scampered over to Brendan and wrapped her arms around his waist. How Brendan had tamed a tigress like Lily was beyond Quinn’s comprehension.
“Quinn, honey, you look shocked,” Lily said. “Aren’t us old fogies allowed to fall in love too?”
“Love? So soon.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Brendan said with a happy sigh.
Ronan strolled in, and his scent wafted over her like a cool breeze on a sultry summer day. It was all she could do not to drag him back to the bedroom.
“Exactly what I need,” he said, “a greasy fry up. That’ll chase the cobwebs away nicely.”
She didn’t know if what she was about to say was the right thing. It could all backfire and leave her jobless, but she had to risk it.
With muscles as taut as a snow-laden power line, Quinn shuffled toward Ronan and squeezed his hand. She swallowed and cleared her throat. “Everyone, there’s something I have to say.”
Awareness flared in Ronan’s eyes, and he closed a hand around her bicep. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?’
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Later. There are a few things I need to talk to everyone about.”
“If it’s what I think it is, you don’t.”
She took a deep breath. “Ronan isn’t my fiancé. I didn’t even know him until this week.”
Ronan dropped his hand from Quinn’s arm, and his eyes blazed in disbelief and anger. She’d lost him, and there was no going back.
“Meh! Tell me something I didn’t kno
w.” Lily shrugged her shoulders and waved a hand.
Stunned, Quinn gaped at her and reached for the countertop to balance herself. “Wait. What? You knew?”
“Oh, honey, I deal with actresses every day. They could lie to the devil, and he’d buy it. And that ring on your finger. Where’d you find it? In a kid’s dress up box? You weren’t fooling anyone.”
“She fooled me.” Brendan scooped an overcooked egg from the frying pan and threw it into the trash. “I knew something wasn’t right, but not that. I thought maybe he had cold feet.”
“You.” Lily cast a stony glance toward Ronan. “Who are you? Someone she hired to play her doting fiancé?”
Ronan’s jaw tensed. The potent cocktail of emotions emanating from him all but knocked Quinn over. She’d made a mistake—a huge one.
“Ronan Donovan.” His tone was precariously low.
“Donovan, Donovan—” Lilly snapped her fingers. “Donovan Events. Didn’t your company make a pitch for the wedding?”
Ronan nodded but didn’t speak. The muscles in his cheek worked as he swallowed.
“Why’d you pretend to be her fated fiancée?” Lily continued.
“If you want to know all of the details,” Quinn said, “I’ll tell you.”
Lily poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned over the butcher’s block. “You know, now it’s out in the open, I think I do want the details. My client is shelling out thousands for this farce. I guess I should stop the wire transfer.”
“No, please don’t.” Quinn took a sip of coffee to wet her mouth. “It wasn’t his doing. I needed the job to save my business. I got into some trouble this year. I have creditors who want paid. I’d read enough gossip about Ella to know since she filmed Prophecy here she was crazy about Ireland and Irish mythology, so I figured—”
“You figured if you told her what she wanted to hear then you’d be home free.” The rhythmic click, click, click of Lily’s fingernails against her mug grated on Quinn’s unraveling nerves. “You, Romeo. If you want to save her sweet little ass, tell me your side of the story.”