“Oh, Killian.”
My name, spoken like that ’bout set me on fire. I ran my tongue along her collarbone and she groaned some more, bringing a hand behind my head as I worked my way across her skin. I came back up and hit that spot along her neck that thrilled her, then spoke in her ear. I don’t know why I said what I said, but I was compelled to do it. I don’t know if I was asking her permission, ordering her, or giving her a warning. But I was simply stating the facts. “I am going to circle your nipple slowly with my tongue, then suck you into my mouth, and I want you to watch.” Then I did just that.
I yanked her bra out of the way and held her gaze while I did it. Her eyes were wide when I brought my mouth down, but they became hooded and she threw her head back. Perhaps a dash too hard because she hit the cabinet. But she didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, Killian, yes!”
That last syllable was laced with pleasure, and I didn’t know if I’d ever stop making love to this woman.
“Take me to bed. Take me to bed!”
Before she’d even finished speaking, I scooped her from the counter and moved toward the door. When we reached the open archway, I went in the wrong direction in my haze of lust. She laughed, running her hands through my hair.
“Wrong way.”
“Ahh.” I changed direction, and we stopped kissing for the rest of our journey along the hall and stared into each other’s eyes. I think that was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. What we were about to do was serious, and we were aware of it.
When I arrived at the bedroom, I placed her gently on the mattress of a big four-poster bed. I sat beside her and took a deep breath. “Are you sure you want to do this? There’s no hurry, you know?”
Instead of answering she stroked my face and began to tenderly kiss me. I, in turn, placed my fingers in her hair and brushed my thumb over her cheek. I could have stayed like that forever. The sweetness of it brought tears to my eyes. I don’t know if she felt it, but I knew my life was about to change, and I couldn’t have been happier about that. Until I remembered.
I jumped to my feet. “Damn.” I put a hand in my pocket, although I knew what I was searching for was not there. “Damn!” I checked each pocket, then checked again—I don’t know—in case they magically appeared. Placed by the condom fairy, I supposed. “Damn! Damn! I don’t have a—” I looked at her. She held a condom package between two fingers. A bedside table drawer was open.
A grin split my face. “You’re brilliant.” Of course Josephine would be prepared. But the next moment, my heart sank a fraction.
She must be experienced. She’s not as innocent as she appears.
I don’t know why it should have mattered to me. I wasn’t as pure as a newborn babe. Why should she be? Wouldn’t be having some experience be a good thing? Again, I put a hand behind her hair and ran a thumb along her jawline. I had no right to ask, but I did.
“You’ve…done this, before?”
She dropped her head, then shook it and looked into my face, wincing.
“I’m…sorry.”
Gawd, she was beautiful.
I put my other hand on the opposite cheek. “No. No. Don’t be.” I breathed in and out slowly. “I have to ask again, are you sure?”
She put a hand on top of one of mine. “I want you to be my first.”
My heart swelled. Well, honey…I want to be your first, and last, and only. It was a selfish thought, but I thought it all the same. I leaned in and kissed her, then laid her gently back, stretching out beside her. Our kisses were long, deep, and steady. I made love to her, and it was incredible. Unlike anything I’d ever done before. The care I took heightened the pleasure, and I vowed we must do it again that way. And again. And again. I wanted to tell her I loved her. I wanted to scream, “I love you!” But…I was afraid. Afraid it might scare her. Afraid she wouldn’t feel quite the same. I was a damned coward. Right before I climaxed I pulled away to look into her face, because we’d left the lights on.
I panted afterwards. “Oh, Josephine.” Then she did the most delightful thing. She giggled like a naughty school girl, and I joined in, falling to the side. I turned my head on my pillow and looked at her. I took her hand. I needed to stay connected to her. “You’re okay?”
A smile stretched across her face. “I’m more than okay.”
Again, I wanted to tell her I loved her. But—for now—my actions needed to speak for themselves. She lifted her head and laid it on my chest and I circled her with my arm, stroking hers, silently. I stared at the ceiling and replayed each moment we’d spent together since the first time she entered the door of Paddy’s.
I loved her. I wanted to be the man she deserved.
When I woke, the room was still dark. Bath water was running. I raised up to look at the clock. Five a.m. Had she set an alarm? I didn’t think I’d heard one. I laid back, my eyes open and I smiled the smile of a happy man. I jumped out of bed, slid on my jeans, and crept along the hallway.
I paused outside the bathroom doorway, realizing for the first time the door had been removed. I knocked on the frame.
“So now he knocks.”
I stuck me noggin around the corner. “Good morning.”
The smile on her face grew slowly. Bubbles were covering that wicked body of hers, and a saying of me da’s floated to mind.
If it’s drowning you’re after, Killian, don’t torment yourself with shallow water.
Or, as me American friends would say, “Go big or go home.” So I did what any sane man would do. I stepped into the tub, with my jeans and all, and laid over her, kissing her face.
“Killian!” She laughed and put two wet hands on me cheeks. “You’re crazy!”
“That I am.” Crazy about you. “And here’s another crazy idea. How about I take you out tonight on a real, bona fide, genuine, certifiable date?”
Her eyes widened. “Really?” I couldn’t read her expression.
“Now, I know you’re a thinker, Miss Josie. So don’t answer now. If the idea is pleasing to you, meet me at Paddy’s at five. I promise I’ll take you somewhere with more privacy and less…characters…Actually, the place I’m thinking will probably have more characters, but we can disappear better. Would five work, timewise?”
She nodded but seemed struck dumb.
“Just think about it. If you’re agreeable, show up at five. If it doesn’t suit you, I’ll know when you don’t show.” I kissed her again. “You know, you’re mighty tempting naked, lying under me.”
She smiled. “You may have to take those jeans off and put them in my dryer. Then you’ll be naked, and we may have to find something to do while we wait for them to dry.”
I kissed her, and she slid under the water for a moment. Her laughter when she rose was like the song of the sirens.
Chapter 22
Josephine
It had been one hell of a day. A child vomited on me—luckily, I’d brought my date clothes to change into and could exchange my skirt for jeans. Not very principally, but very necessary. Sam threw the puked-on clothes in the kitchen laundry for me.
I wanted to tell her and Dani about Killian and me. I mean, they were instrumental in bringing us together. At the same time, I didn’t want to jinx things by saying anything too early, so I kept my mouth shut. But even so, simply thinking about it brought out a smile that indicted me.
“You’re awfully chipper for someone who’s been puked on,” Sam said, crossing her arms.
This was better. Having a secret to keep from them. “Oh, am I?” I turned and strolled away leaving them both as curious as could be. I loved it.
But as I continued along the hall to my office, the smile faded.
And…I love him.
I told myself not go there. I told myself it was only one evening. But how could I help but to fall in love with Killian? He was so sweet, and…so good in bed. Not that I had anything to compare the experience with…experiences. I smiled remembering. He almost made me late for
work. And it would have been so worth it.
I reached my office, closed the door behind me, and plopped into my desk chair. I folded my arms on my desk, and set my chin on top of them, grinning from ear-to-ear.
Oh, Killian Murphey. You’ll be the death of me…but what better way to die?
I knew better than to think I was anything more than another notch in his belt…or however the Irish tallied these things. But I was certain he genuinely cared for me. I couldn’t be misreading him that much. I sighed, straightened, and rolled my desk chair in.
No more thinking about him.
Right.
I would drive myself insane going through it all in my mind until I saw him later. I needed to get some work done. Promptly at four-thirty, I stood, turned the light off in my office, and prepared to shut the door behind me, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the superintendent of schools in the outer office. Thank goodness I’d changed back into my skirt when it was clean.
“Oh, Hank. Did we have an appointment?”
“No, Josephine. I’m sorry. I was driving by and thought I’d stop in to ask you about the upcoming school board meeting. Did you have a minute? Or were you leaving?”
“Well, I was. But I have a few minutes.”
A few minutes turned into twenty-three. Luckily, Paddy’s was close. I walked Hank out to his car and got in mine. Trying to make up for lost time, I was going a smidge faster than I usually went and not paying attention. I hit a huge pothole and a minute or two later a horrendous noise filled the car. It took me a few minutes to figure out I had a flat. I managed to steer it into the parking lot of an abandoned business. What a day to have left my phone at home. But Killian was quite the distraction. Paddy’s was only a few blocks away. If I hightailed it, I should be able to make it, pretty much on time.
I set off with my bag of clothes to change into, thinking we could take care of the car after dinner, though not exactly something I wanted to be doing on our first date, but…. I caught the time on a bank’s sign. These blocks were longer than I thought. I increased my pace, sweating a bit in my bulky coat. Again distracted, I hit a section of uneven sidewalk and went sprawling. I laid there for a moment, grimacing at the pain in my knees and left elbow. I lifted my head. Most of the contents of my bag were spread out in front of me, but my makeup bag managed to be wedged into my gut, caught between my body and the concrete. A guy came rushing down his driveway.
“Are you okay?”
He helped me to my feet. “Yes, thank you. I’m fine.” I brushed at my skirt, trying to decide if it would make it through the episode.
“Do you want me to get a first aid kit?”
“Oh, no. Thanks. It’s only a scraped knee.” And hand, and elbow. But who’s counting?
He brought me my shoe, the heel having stuck in the sidewalk crack. “Thank you again.”
“Do you need a ride somewhere?”
I jumped around, trying to get the shoe back on. He offered his arm to steady me. He seemed like a nice man, but he was a stranger. “No. I’m meeting someone just up the way. But thanks.”
His forehead was creased. I began to wonder exactly how bad I was looking. “Okay. If you’re sure?”
“Yep.” I got the shoe on and tried to appear put together. “Have a nice night. And thanks again.” I breathed a sigh of relief when he left, but ten feet farther down the sidewalk I wished I’d taken him up on the ride. The heel completely separated from the sole of my shoe, hobbling me further.
Yeah. I was definitely going to be late.
Killian
I never knew a shift to take so long.
“So….” Dooly filled a pint at my elbow as I wiped the bar. “Why are you in such an all-fire hurry to get out of ’ere tonight?”
I looked at him sideways. “Well, if you must know, I have a date.”
“Oh, do ya now? With that bird you left ’ere with last night?”
“If you mean Josephine, yes.”
“Oh, Josephine, is it?” He gave me a half-elbow. “She what’s got the smile on yer face?”
I put me bar towel down. “Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
He laughed. “Ahh. Ye don’t do sly well, Killian.”
I smiled and looked at my watch. “Ya got this now, Dools?”
“Aye. Git out of ’ere.”
I stole my coat from the back bar and went to check myself in the mirror. I had on a sweater vest. Too much like what I’d worn the night before? Nah. No tie.
And besides, she seemed to like what I wore last night anyway.
I grinned at that. The way I’d been smilin’ all day. I hadn’t been so alive since before I’d lost my parents. No. I’d probably never been. The world was full of so much possibility. I ran a hand through my hair. Aiy. It was a lost cause, so it was.
Fifteen minutes later I was sitting at the end of the bar tapping my fingers to nonexistent music.
Dooly approached. “Your bird not show?”
“Must be late.” Though it’s not like Josephine to be late. In fact, she’s always early.
“You want I should get you a pint, then?”
Tempting…. “Nah. She’ll be here any minute. Thanks, though, Dools.”
But I wondered. I told her, after thinking about it, if she didn’t want to go on a date with me, all she needed to do was not show. Did I completely misread everything? I tried to quit checking the parking lot, but after a bit I had to get off my stool and pace about. She was never late. Josie was never late. As much as I was buzzin’ earlier, I began to droop.
By five-thirty, my stomach was heavy, and it weren’t from bein’ hungry. Dooly kept shooting me soulful glances, like he was sorry for me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed my coat and marched out to my car. I was about to slide behind the wheel when I heard something. I turned, and she was comin’ hobblin’ along the street, leggin’ it like crazy and waving her arms wildly.
“Killian! Killian! Wait!”
I walked toward her, trying to assess the situation. She slipped out of her shoes and ran to me, a canvas bag hanging off her shoulder. I took her arms and she huffed and puffed.
“Sorry. I….” She gulped for air. “They….” She held up a shoe minus a heel in one hand, and in her other hand, a cracked heel. I took a step back to examine her further.
“You’re bleedin’! You’re hurt.”
She looked at her knees. “Nah…I….” She bent over, grabbing my arm. “Flat tire….”
“You had a flat?” I looked down the street, but didn’t see her car. “Where?”
“Back there,” she answered without elaborating. “The superintendent showed up….”
I laughed. “My. Looks like you had a time of it.”
She nodded, laughing as much as her lack of breath would allow her. “Shoo,” she said finally, straightening.
I was so overjoyed she hadn’t dumped me after all, I grabbed her face and laid one on her. When I stepped away she opened her eyes slowly.
“Wow. What was that for?”
I shrugged and looked away for a moment before returning my gaze to her. My words came out softly. “I missed you something fierce today.”
She grinned. “And I missed you, too. Could hardly get any work done for thinking of you.” It warmed me heart. She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. “Do you think you could give me a ride back to get my spare shoes out of my car?”
“Of course.”
“Then I’ll change really quickly at Paddy’s—” she indicated her bag “—if that’s okay—and we can go.”
I turned toward Paddy’s and offered my arm. “Sound as a pound.”
She slipped her hand through my arm and used the other to brush at her skirt. “This poor skirt. It’s been thrown up on today, and now it’s ripped.”
“You were sick?”
“Oh, no. A student vomited on me.”
I grimaced. “That’s brutal.”
She grinned. “Tell me about it. But Dani an
d Sam cleaned it for me in the kitchen’s laundry room.”
“Ahh.” We walked a bit further. “I suspect their tongues’ll be waggin’ about us.”
“Oh, no.” She looked at me. “I didn’t tell them.”
“No?”
She gave my arm a squeeze. “I wanted to keep it our little secret for now.” We’d arrived at Paddy’s.
I looked in the window and ol’ Dooly waved his towel. “I best not go in or they may make a worker out of me.”
“Well we can’t have that. I’ll be right out. I promise. Then we can grab my extra shoes and be on our way.”
I went to warm the car.
She didn’t tell her friends about us. Is she embarrassed by it?
The thought invaded my mind like a bed bug and there was no getting rid of it. But by the time we got to our destination, being with her had brightened me. When I opened her car door, loud laughter came to us from the restaurant’s patio.
“Place is heavin’ tonight. And it’s decent enough weather, even the patio people are out.” A half-dozen was gathered around the outdoor heater as we walked by, smoking cigarettes. “Although, to be fair, they’d be out here even if it were perishing.” We turned the corner and I held the door for her. “Welcome to McGillicutty’s.”
The place made Paddy’s look like a doll house. Designed in an old brick building that used to be a feed store, they’d gotten rid of the second floor to raise the ceiling. The bar was twice the size of ours and huge chalkboards hung on either side with the list of craft beers, and current and coming entertainment. When we entered, the Orange, Green, and Green were playing a raucous tune and many were clapping along.
The hostess looked up. “Killian.”
“Darcy, my love.” I kissed her on the cheek.
“Where’ve you been hidin’ yourself?”
“Oh, you know. Here and there. Is Mick in?”
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