by Marie Force
“I hate to hear you blaming yourself for what he did.”
“I don’t blame myself for the violence. I blame myself for failing to see the handwriting on the wall where he was concerned. But I learned from it, and I’ll never let it happen again.”
“I don’t want you to ever be afraid like that again.”
“Neither do I.” Her palm was warm against his cheek. “I can’t imagine ever being afraid when I’m with you. So don’t treat me any differently than you’d treat any other woman.”
“You’re not any other woman, Daisy. You’re special.”
“I feel special when I’m with you.” With her hand on the back of his head, she drew him toward her for another kiss.
He’d planned to keep it chaste, but she had other ideas, teasing him with her tongue until he had no choice but to let go of all his worries and lose himself in her sweetness. His hand traveled down her back, over the curve of her bottom to the hem of her dress. He nearly lost it when he encountered the warm, soft skin of her upper leg.
She moaned and slid her leg between both of his, encouraging him to touch her more intimately.
He wanted to so badly. It had been a very long time since he’d wanted anything as badly as he wanted her. With her body tight against his and her tongue teasing and tempting him, it was hard to remember any of the reasons why he had thought to practice restraint with her.
It occurred to him that there was plenty they could do without going too far. He slowly slid his hand up the back of her leg as her fingertips pressed into the muscles on his back. Did he dare to go a little higher? The sweet curve of her ass beckoned, almost daring him to go for it as the mewling sounds coming from her told him how much she wanted him to keep going.
His hand curved around a small but supple cheek, squeezing and kneading as the kiss intensified.
All at once, she broke the kiss and took a series of deep breaths.
“Too much?” he asked.
“Not enough,” she replied, chuckling.
“Daisy,” he groaned. “You’re not making this easy.”
“Good. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop yet.”
He might be capable of some measure of control, but he was certainly no saint, and he hadn’t had sex in a really long time. Thus, it didn’t take much encouragement on her part to continue caressing her bottom while she squirmed against his rigidly erect cock. It took very little encouragement to slip his fingers beneath the elastic of her panties and delve into the liquid heat between her legs.
“David,” she said, gasping as he found the center of her desire.
“Is this okay?”
She nodded and initiated another kiss, using her lips and tongue to drive him slowly mad. And then she was pulling at his belt and tugging at the button to his pants and her warm, soft hand was wrapping around his shaft. All thoughts of going slow evaporated in a haze of desire that overtook him.
He slid his fingers into her channel, stroking her inside and out as she did the same for him. Her thumb slid through the moisture that had gathered at the tip, moving back and forth until he was on the verge of exploding in her hand.
Breaking the kiss, he pressed his face into the curve of her neck, breathing hard from the effort it took to hold back. “Daisy…”
“Hmm?”
“God… Don’t stop.”
“Same to you.”
Even in the throes of runaway passion, she made him smile. Determined now to help her find the ultimate pleasure, he focused his attention on the tight bundle of nerves at her core, teasing and stroking and caressing until he felt her tighten and tremble as she came.
Her release triggered his, and she stayed with him all the way, her hand tight around him as he let go of the worries and gave in to the desire.
When the trembling aftershocks subsided, he eased his fingers from between her legs and drew her dress down over her bottom. “That was hot,” he whispered against her lips, “but we made a bit of a mess.”
“It was well worth it.”
“Mmm. I completely agree.” He used the tail of his dress shirt to clean up. “I should take you home.”
“Not yet.”
With her snuggled up to him, her hair fragrant against his face, the last thing he wanted to do was move. So he tried to relax and enjoy the sweet pleasure of holding her close. He closed his eyes, telling himself they’d leave soon. But first he wanted to hold her for a little while longer.
The moment Seamus’s mother was settled in her room for the night, Carolina walked out the back door and headed down the dirt road that led to the shore. She had to get out of that house before she lost her mind. Hours of pretending that nothing was wrong had left her worn and frazzled.
She couldn’t believe he’d done this to her—and to his mother. The poor woman had been shocked by how much older Carolina was than her son, which had been the first clue that Seamus had been less than honest about what he’d told his family back home in Ireland about her.
Carolina kept her head down and walked fast, guided by the light of the moon and the rage that drove her to get as far away from the house—and him—as she could get.
Pounding footsteps on the path had her spinning around as her rage intensified. “Go back to the house. I have nothing to say to you.”
“I have something to say to you.”
“What could you possibly say to fix this?”
“How about I’m sorry?”
“Sorry. You’re sorry. That’s great. I’m glad you’re sorry for completely humiliating me in front of your mother, not to mention how you made her feel by blindsiding her right off the boat. You made a total mess of this, and you’re sorry?” She tossed up her hands and turned to keep walking because she was afraid she might punch him again if she didn’t get away from him. Carolina Cantrell, who’d never struck another human being in her life, driven to violence by the man she loved. Wasn’t this a fine mess?
“Caro, honey, wait. Please let me explain.”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“I know, and I totally deserve that. But can I please tell you why I did it?”
Carolina would’ve chosen to keep walking if it wasn’t for the fact that his mother and cousin would be their guests for the next two weeks. Somehow, she had to make peace with Seamus or run the risk of alienating his family. “Fine. Tell me why you felt the need to lie to me and your mother.”
“I didn’t lie. Exactly.”
Incredulous, she said, “What would you call it?”
“I…I told her you were older than me.”
“Did you tell her how much older?”
“No.”
“Then you lied.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Make me understand, then.”
“My mum, she’s a lovely lady, but at times, she can be a bit… How to say this? Well, she can be judgmental. And I thought if she met you and saw how much I love you and how much you love me—or how much you loved me before you figured out I hadn’t told her about the age difference… I thought maybe if she saw us together, she’d see what I see when I look at you.” His hands curled around her hips. “I didn’t want her to come here with preconceived notions.”
“You should’ve told me so I’d be prepared for her reaction.”
“You’re absolutely right. I should have told you, and I’m so sorry I didn’t. You insisted we invite her here right when everything between us had settled into a good place. Your son knows, and the sky didn’t fall in. We were just getting somewhere. Finally. I didn’t want her to come here and undo all that by making you feel bad about yourself or your age or anything.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“I was scared, love.”
“Of what?”
“I was afraid if she knew about the age thing, she’d make it into a big deal in her mind before she even got here, and the whole thing would be a disaster. I wanted her to give you a chance.”
“I know, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am to have done that to you. That’s the last thing in the world I wanted.”
“You had to know it would happen when she saw me.”
“I’d hoped it wouldn’t.”
“Seamus…” She let her head fall forward onto his chest, because even when she was furious with him, she still loved him.
“I screwed up, love, and I hate that you got hurt.”
“I’m not hurt so much as angry. I hated being blindsided.”
“I’m so sorry. It’ll never happen again. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
In the faint glow of the moon, she could see the small smile that occupied his lips. “Forgive me, love?”
“Under one condition.”
“Anything. Whatever you want.”
“Shouldn’t you hear it before you agree to it?”
“If it means you’ll forgive me, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“I want you to tell your mother that I had nothing to do with the plan to deceive her.”
“Ugh, do I have to?”
“Do you want to be forgiven?”
“More than life itself.”
“Then that’s what you have to do.”
He moved his hands around to her back and stepped even closer to her. “I’ve already paid my fine. I told her it was all my dumb idea, and you had nothing to do with it. If it’s any consolation to you, she’s not happy with me either—and not because you’re older than me. Because I didn’t tell her before she came. So both the women I love best are mad at me.”
“Which you richly deserve.”
“Which I richly deserve. So am I forgiven?”
“You really told her I didn’t know?”
“I really told her, and for what it’s worth, she thinks you’re lovely and can easily see why I love you so much.”
“You made up that last part.”
“I did not! She really said that.”
“Your credibility has taken a bit of a hit tonight.”
“Do you still believe I love you?” he asked.
She shrugged, knowing her indifference would drive him mad. “I’m not sure. I might need some convincing.”
“Oh, love, do you know what happens when you toss a red flag in front of a bull?”
“I’m sure you’ll be happy to tell me all about what happens, but you have to catch me first.” Carolina pulled free of him and took off down the dirt lane she’d traversed her entire life.
He let out a bark of laughter and took off after her.
Knowing he was gaining on her, she ran faster, ducking into the brush to dodge him. She had the upper hand until her foot caught on a root and sent her flying into the darkness. “Crap,” she muttered, protecting her face with her arms as she landed hard in a bush full of thorns that tore at her skin as she came down.
“Caro? Where are you, love?”
She whimpered. Everything hurt, and she was hopelessly tangled and afraid to move for fear of further injuring herself.
“Oh my goodness,” Seamus said, using the flashlight app on his phone to illuminate her predicament. He pulled a knife from the leather case he wore on his belt and began hacking away at the branches.
“Watch your hands!”
“I don’t care about my hands. I’ve got to get you out of there.”
“Seamus…”
“What, love?” he asked, intent on his task.
“Hurts.”
“I know, honey. I’m going as fast as I can.” He cut and hacked at the branches until he had freed her limbs from the tangle. “Easy now,” he said as he took her hands and helped her to stand. “Aw, honey, you’re a bloody mess.”
Carolina tried to walk, but her tortured skin protested.
“Don’t try to move, Caro. I’ll carry you. Hold on to me.” He lifted her effortlessly and started back to the house. “That’ll teach you to run away from me.”
“I bet you put that thorn bush there to teach me a lesson.”
His quiet chuckle made her smile, even though she hurt everywhere. “I never want to see you hurt like this.” Back at the house, he used his foot to kick open the door and deposited her gently on a kitchen chair. “Let me get the first aid kit.”
Since it hurt to breathe, Carolina remained as still as she possibly could until he returned and flipped on a light so he could better see her.
“Oh, honey, God.”
Angry, bloody scratches, some of them deep, covered her arms and legs. Fortunately, her shorts and T-shirt had protected much of her body.
“We might need to call Dr. David.”
“No, no doctor. We can clean it up. Hand me the gauze and some of the antibacterial ointment.”
“Now, now, love, settle yourself. I'll tend to your wounds. It’s my fault you have them, after all.”
Carolina risked the pain of movement to touch his jaw, which was tight with tension. “It’s not your fault. I was being foolish when I ran away from you. That was my fault. Not yours.”
His hands trembled ever so slightly as he applied the ointment to her ravaged skin. “You never would’ve been out there if I hadn’t driven you to seek refuge from me.”
“Seamus, don’t. It was a silly accident. It’s not your fault.”
“Well, it’s not yours either.”
“Why are we fighting about this?”
“Because. I don’t know. Hold still.” He was exceedingly gentle as he cleaned each of the cuts and scratches on her arms and legs.
The pain was tremendous, but Carolina held still and stayed quiet until he got the deepest gash on her thigh. Too bad she’d been wearing shorts instead of jeans.
“I don’t know about this one, love. It might need a stitch or two.”
“There are butterfly bandages in there. Let’s use them and see how it is tomorrow.”
Carolina bit her lip and tried to stay silent while he dabbed the ointment into the cut. Tears rolled down her face that she brushed away.
“Please don’t cry,” he whispered. “I can’t take it.”
“Sorry. That one really hurt.”
“I know, love.” With a strip of butterfly bandages applied to her thigh, he wiped the dirt off her legs, plucked the leaves from her hair and finished by mopping up her tears. “Now, let’s get you into bed.” He lifted her from the chair and transported her to the bedroom, setting her down carefully. After months of cohabitation, he knew where everything was and found her a T-shirt to sleep in. He helped her out of her clothes and into the shirt, helped her to the bathroom and then tucked her into bed.
When she was settled under the covers, he sat on the edge of the mattress, looking down at her.
“I’m sorry you got hurt. I’m sorry about this whole stupid thing. After all my preaching about how our age difference doesn’t matter at all, after pushing and pushing for you to tell Joe about us, I couldn’t even bring myself to tell me own mum about it.” He shook his head, clearly disgusted with himself.
“Not as easy as it looks, is it?”
“No. Not at’all.” He brushed the hair back from her face and looked down at her, his torment reflected in his eyes, the rigid set of his lips, the tension in his shoulders. “It doesn’t mean I don’t love you and want you and everything else.”
“I know that, Seamus. When I was having trouble telling Joe about us, it didn’t mean I loved you any less.”
“And now you’re all scratched and bloody because I couldn’t come clean with me mum.”
“I’m scratched and bloody because I foolishly thought the path was in the same exact place it was when I was twelve and tramping through those woods. Clearly some things have changed since then.” Despite the pain it caused her, she raised her arm and ran a finger over his tightly set lips. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. The scratches will heal. We’re fine. Your mum is fine. We’re all fine.”
“Are we fine? Really?”
“Of course we are. Do you think I don’t understand how difficult it can be to break this news to loved ones?”
“I shouldn’t have let you be blindsided.”
“No, you shouldn’t have, and you won’t do that again, right?”
“No, love. Lesson learned. I like to think I can be trained.”
Carolina laughed. “That’ll be the day.” She curled her hand around his. “Come to bed. I can’t sleep without you next to me.”
“Maybe I should sleep on the sofa so I don’t hurt you.”
“You’ll hurt me if you don’t sleep with me.”
He bent down to kiss her softly, tenderly. “I love you so damned much, Carolina.”
“I love you just as much, even if I want to kill you most of the time.”
That drew the first genuine smile from him that she’d seen in hours. “I gotta keep ya on your toes.”
“That you do. That you do. Now come to bed so we can get some sleep.”
“I’m coming, love.”
Chapter 8
Daisy woke in the middle of the night and couldn’t remember where she was until she felt David breathing under her and his arms tight around her.
They’d fallen asleep wrapped up in each other in the darkness that was offset only by the glow of the TV. She reached for the remote and turned off the power. She knew she should wake him so he could take her home, but she didn’t want to be anywhere other than in his arms, tucked up against him as he slept.
So she returned her head to his chest and listened to the strong beat of his heart under her ear.
“We fell asleep, huh?” The rough, sleepy rumble of his voice made her smile. She loved the intimate feeling that went with knowing what his voice sounded like when he woke from a sound sleep. Now she wished she’d left the TV on so she could see his face, too.
“Looks that way.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“Not really. The accommodations are much nicer here.”
His lips skimmed her forehead and his fingers slid through her hair, making her sigh with contentment. “They could be better.”