Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (13 page)

Her breathing comes in short excited breaths
making her feel weak and she’s just about to give into him when
logic takes over. Would she be able to stay in control? She highly
doubts that Ethan O’Connell concedes control to ANYONE. Does she
have the emotional stability to handle his dark controlling moods?
The struggle between mind and body ends with a victory for her
logical side. She struggles to breathe in enough air so she can
speak. Swallowing hard she forces out her request. “You promised to
leave once you were done. I’d like you to leave.”

Ethan’s body goes stiff as he drops his
hands to his side and backs away. “Ok, if that’s what you want. I
don’t do non-consensual.” He’s never had to. Not once has any of
the women that Ethan O’Connell set his sights on, told him NO. He’s
frustrated by her capricious behavior. He knows that she feels the
same very strong attraction, wanting him as much as he wants her.
It occurs to him that he could force the ‘submissive’ card, but
this is a bad time to gamble and be wrong. His mind races with
questions he wants answers to, and he’s frustrated that Rachel
never did tell him what happened to her. If she’s saying no, then
he’ll leave.

Olivia watches him as he picks up his keys
and puts on his shoes. She’s already wishing she could take back
her rejection. He looks miserable and she really doesn’t want him
to leave. As he starts down the stairs towards the door, she calls
his name. “Ethan.”

With his patience completely spent and at
the brink of emotional exhaustion he ignores her. This time it’s
him that needs to put some space between them. He feels his anger
building and he knows that any further discussion with her will
coax it to the surface.

“Ethan, please wait.” She stands at the top
of the stairs feeling dizzy. Hesitating briefly, he flashes her a
look that’s dark and unforgiving before he opens the door and
leaves.

That look haunts her for the rest of the
night as she struggles to put him out of her mind. She sits with
her cell phone in her hand, fighting the urge to call him. She was
the one who sent him away and now she sits waiting and hoping he’ll
call. Realizing that, she too is having bi-polar mood swings where
he’s concerned, she wonders how they could have developed such
intense feelings for each other in such a short time.

The phone rings in her hand, making her
jump. She anxiously answers without even looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?”

“Hi!”

“Oh. Hi, Megan.” The disappointment is
evident in her voice.

“Gee, don’t sound so excited to hear from
me.”

“I’m sorry. Of course I’m happy to hear from
you.” Looking up at the wall clock, she squints, trying to figure
out what time it is. “It’s late there. Is everything ok?”

“Yes, I just got everyone into bed and Rick
is asleep on the couch. I was wondering how things went with
Noah.”

“Don’t ask.”

“Oh no, what happened?” She’s a little too
loud, waking her husband. Turning to him, she whispers. “It’s
Olivia, go back to sleep.”

“Sorry about that. Go ahead, I’ve switched
to the cordless and I’m heading into the kitchen. So tell me that
you talked to him.”

“Yes, I did.”

“And he said no?” Megan is shocked.

“No, he said YES.”

“I’m confused, what happened?”

“We made plans to go out for dinner last
night and he blew me off for a pretty little blonde with long legs
and fake boobs.” She tries to make it sound like she’s not upset
but her sister knows better.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“You sound tired, have you been sleeping?”
Megan turns on the water and fills the sink. Carefully, she drops
the dinner dishes into the water and begins to wash them, holding
the phone to her ear with her shoulder.

“Actually, don’t laugh, but the other day I
tipped out of my chair and cut my leg. I went to the doctor today
and it’s badly infected. He’s given me a couple of different
antibiotics to take, but I’m feeling quite miserable right
now.”

Megan tries to unsuccessfully stifle her
laughter. “You fell out of your chair?”

“I said don’t laugh.” Olivia says dryly.

“Sorry.” She regrets her lack of restraint.
“So, I’m wondering now, who were you hoping to hear from tonight.
It certainly wasn’t me.”

Olivia hesitates, not sure if she wants to
discuss Ethan with her sister.

“Was it a man?” When Olivia doesn’t answer,
she knows. “IT IS A MAN! What’s his name? Where did you meet him?”
She can barely contain her excitement.

“Whoa! Relax, girl! His Name is Ethan. He’s
Scott’s boss. But there is nothing going on between us. He’s
actually the most frustrating man I have ever met.”

“Then why were you disappointed when it
wasn’t him on the phone?” Finishing the dishes she pulls the plug
and lets the water drain.

“I don’t know… we kind of had an argument
earlier and I felt bad how things were left.” Feeling chilly,
Olivia wraps the blanket from the couch around her and shivers.

“So you just want to be friends then?” Megan
can’t let it go.

“Yes. I mean no… I guess so.” She exhales a
very heavy sigh.

“Sweetheart, why are you so conflicted?
What’s really going on?”

“I don’t know. I’m so confused.”

“About what?”

“My feelings for him.” She fluffs the throw
pillow, tosses it to the end of the couch and lies down.

“How do you feel about him?” Megan dries her
hands and settles comfortably at the kitchen table with a cup of
tea.

“It’s hard to explain. I’m definitely
attracted to him. He is beyond super hot.”

“Well that doesn’t sound so horrible.”

“I know but… one minute he’s so sweet and
charming and the next minute he goes all Michael Collins on
me.”

“Who?”

“Michael Collins.” Olivia sighs. “He was one
of the leaders of the IRA in the early 1900’s.”

“Oh, ok. I’m not sure I get it.”

“He can be very controlling. Argumentative
at times.”

“And that scares you because you’re trying
to regain control of your life.” It suddenly becomes clear to
Megan.

“Yes, exactly. He has the most beautiful
green eyes I have ever seen and yet there is just something in them
that warns me that he has a dark side. Just like Sam.” She says his
name with shame in her voice.

“Do you think he would hurt you? If you
think he’s at all capable of that then you need to stay away from
him.”

“When I’m around him I feel very safe, like
I’ve known him forever. But he makes me extremely nervous and I
guess that’s what’s so confusing. My brain and my heart are always
in conflict. It’s like trying to force together the opposite ends
of two magnets and it’s exhausting.”

“Maybe you’re confusing the good nervous
with the bad one.”

“I don’t know. I’m…. afraid.”

“Olivia, you’ve been through a very
traumatic experience, just take things slow.” The babies cries can
be heard in the background. “I need to go, the baby is awake. He’s
teething, poor little guy.”

“Ok, give him a hug and kiss for me.”

“I will. Before I go, I want to know what
you’re going to do about Ethan.”

“I have no idea. I asked him to leave
tonight and then regretted it the minute he closed the door behind
him. I guess I’ll just have to take one day at a time and see what
happens.”

“Call me anytime if you want to talk! I’ll
check in with you in a few days to see how you’re feeling.”

“Ok, love you.”

“Love you too! Good night.”

Olivia’s eyes become heavy as she makes
herself more comfortable on the couch. Thinking about Ethan’s
abrupt mood changes, she wonders if she’s responsible for turning
sweet and loving men into monsters. She places her phone on the
cushion beside her in case he calls, feeling ridiculous that she’s
so affected by a man who is practically a complete stranger. The
last thing she sees is the bag of medicine sitting unopened on the
table. She needs to take those before she falls asleep. If she
could just get back up, she would do that.

That evening, Olivia’s sleep is continually
interrupted by dreams of a time long ago. She’s been having the
same recurring dreams for several weeks now, where she is
teleported back in time to somewhere in the early 1900’s, or so she
thinks. They are so remarkably clear in her thoughts that she
wonders how she has knowledge of that period in time. When she
wakes, she doesn’t always remember the details but there is one
thing she is sure of; the beautiful woman with the long chestnut
hair and flowing curls is definitely her. What bothers her is the
mysterious man, unmistakably her lover. She vaguely remembers what
he looks like when she wakes up, but what baffles her is that he
doesn’t seem to resemble any of the men in her life. Is it possible
to dream about a complete stranger and experience such strong
feelings for them?

Her disrupted sleep is aggravated by the
fact that she didn’t take the antibiotics before she fell asleep
last night, and over the past several hours, the fever consumes her
as the infection spreads. Tossing and turning uncomfortably on the
couch, she’s soaked in perspiration and yet chilled to the bone and
shivering. Opening her eyes briefly, she sees her little green,
feathered friend sitting in the windowsill, watching her and
tapping his beak against the glass. Olivia can barely lift her head
off the pillow but manages to reach up and close the blinds to
block out both the sun and the worried little bird.

The morning passes as Olivia fades in and
out of consciousness. She manages only once to force her weary body
to get up and take the medication. A pointless effort since not
even water will stay down at this point, and the minute they hit
her stomach they are forced back up. Making her way back to the
couch she picks up her phone and tries to dial Rachel’s number but
the battery is dead. Her hands and arms are heavy, like they’re
encased in cement, and the phone slips from her hand and hits the
floor. Once again, her eyes become heavy and she drifts back to
sleep.

Lying in bed Ethan is awake and replays the
past week in his mind repeatedly. He needs to find the strength to
put Olivia James out of his mind. Not an easy task considering
that, for months now, even before he had met her, it’s been her
that waltzes with him through his dreams. He doesn’t understand how
it’s possible but he recognized her the minute she stepped out of
her car at the soccer game. Since then she’s the last thing he
thinks about when he falls asleep and the first thing he thinks
about when he wakes up. His dick gets hard just thinking about her
beautiful rounded breasts and the curve of her hips. He’s going to
have to dig down deep to find the will power to stay away from her.
He spends the morning and part of the early afternoon working from
his laptop and reviewing some proposals for the upcoming week but
when that fails to prevent him from thinking about her, even after
he has stroked himself to release, he decides a rigorous work out
is in order to get her out of his head.

Rachel calls Olivia several times during the
day without reaching her and now Sunday afternoon is nearly gone.
Concerned that she still can’t reach her she decides she should
check on her in person. The last time Olivia didn’t return her
calls she found her nearly dead in a pool of blood and those
memories play in her mind as she drives over there.

She hasn’t been gone long when Scott’s cell
phone rings. “Hey, how’s Olivia? Is everything ok?”

“Oh my God, Scott! She’s not in good shape.”
Anxiety is evident in Rachel’s voice.

“What’s going on?”

“When I arrived she was laying on the couch
barely conscious. I’m freaking out here! I’ve tried to wake her up
a few times but she refuses to let me take her to the hospital. I
don’t know what to do.“

She can hear Scott’s heavy footsteps on the
stairs. “Hang on Rach, I’m going to get Ethan.”

“Ok…. why?” It seems like an odd thing to
do.

Ethan isn’t in his room and he calls out to
him. He searches until he hears the sound of the treadmill in the
basement. “Um... ok, Rachel listen… Ethan doesn’t like people to
know this but he took a couple of years of medical school before he
switched to Business. He still works part time with the emergency
medical response team in Ireland.” Reaching the bottom of the
stairs, he motions for Ethan to take off his headphones.

“What’s going on?” He puffs between
breaths.

Scott hands him the phone. “It’s Rachel. She
needs to talk to you about Olivia.”

Ethan shakes his head and pushes the phone
away. “No, I’m done talking about her. Besides, Olivia has made it
perfectly clear that she doesn’t want me around.” He continues to
run and puts his headphones back in.

Scott reaches over and shuts off the
machine. Angrily, Ethan pulls off his headphones and glares at him.
“What the hell are you doing? I said I don’t want to hear any more
about her. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Aggravated, Scott hands the phone to him
again. “Olivia is really sick. Rachel is over there right now and
she thinks there is something seriously wrong.”

The thought of Olivia being in distress
alarms him more than he would like to admit, making it hard to
refuse Scott’s request. Stepping off the treadmill, he wipes the
sweat from his face with a towel, and reluctantly takes the phone.
“Rachel, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, she hasn’t returned any of my
calls since last night so I came over and she’s lying on the couch.
I can’t keep her awake. She opens her eyes and closes them again.
She’s burning up, Ethan. I’m really worried.“

“How high is her fever?” He asks, heading
upstairs.

“I don’t know!” Rachel bites at him in
frustration. “How am I supposed to know?”