Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (33 page)

Olivia is trying hard to follow with her
fuzzy wine brain. “Ok, I think I understand so far.”

“About a year and a half ago I ran into an
old friend I went to medical school with. Dave Cameron. He went on
to finish medical school and become an Obstetrician. He specializes
in premature births and high risk pregnancies.”

Olivia swallows down her last mouthful of
wine and puts the empty glass on the coffee table beside his. He
grins at her, picks up his glass and dumps what’s left of his wine
into hers.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Already
feeling all warm and fuzzy, she tries extremely hard not to think
about his naked body.

“Not at all. Don’t drink it if you don’t
want.” He gives her that charming smile, making ‘warm and fuzzy’
soar like a rocket into ‘hot and bothered’ .

She laughs. “Like that will ever happen.
Carry on. You were telling me about your friend.”

“Dave and I got talking and he was telling
me that he had approached a small company to develop a piece of
equipment for him. One that could be placed in every emergency room
or delivery room in every hospital. It would have the capabilities
to provide the obstetrician with the ability to monitor everything
right there instantly, providing trauma and resuscitative care and
eliminating delay times in those precious few moments after the
birth. It could possibly save the lives of hundreds of newborns in
distress.”

Olivia watches Ethan as he talks. She finds
his passion for this subject extremely appealing and she
understands why it’s so important to him. Technology like that
could possibly have saved his sister. “It sounds wonderful.”

“Yes, I thought so too. And so, against my
father’s wishes I began the acquisition of this small company so I
could gain the rights to the design and take over the project. We
call it Artemis.”

“Artemis? After the Greek Goddess?”

“Very good, Miss James, I am impressed. I
like that she’s the twin sister of Apollo and although she has been
referred to as the Goddess of many things she was also considered
by many to be the Goddess of Childbirth. That kind of sealed the
deal for me and so we named her Artemis.”

She reaches over and touches his hand, the
warmth of his skin enticing. “So what happened today with your
father that upset you?”

Ethan suddenly feels guilty for putting such
a dim light on the evening. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping all
this mess on you.”

Reaching up, she runs her hand along his
cheek. Her touch is so welcome that he relaxes and rubs his face in
her hand, soothing himself. When he opens his eyes, she’s watching
him. “Ethan, I want to help. You need someone to talk to.”

He has thought of her non-stop since the
first day he saw her. Thoughts that make his dick hard. Thoughts of
all the things he wants to do to her for physical pleasure. Today,
when he was feeling stressed all he could think about was being
comforted in her arms and surrounded by her softness. He doesn’t
need just someone to talk to, he needs HER. “My father’s office in
Ireland scheduled a meeting with me today. They’ve been talking
about this project amongst themselves. They called to tell me that
the project is delayed because they are unable to work out some
design problems and that they have decided to put the entire
project on the back burner.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. But certainly they’ve
given it a lot of thought. They must feel it’s the right
decision.”

Ethan tenses. “You don’t understand. Failing
is not an option.” His anguish is evident in his tone. “Not on this
project! Not on anything that I do. I cannot fail.”

Olivia feels horrible that she’s upset him
and she tries to soothe him. “Ok, so step away from it for a few
weeks. Then take a look at it again with fresh eyes. Maybe hire an
outside consultant to come in and review everything. Scott’s a
brilliant engineer, have you thought about having him take a look
at it?”

“That’s a brilliant idea.” He reaches over
and brushes her hair away from her face with his fingers. Is it
really that simple? He’s been stressing about it all day long and
the solution comes from a beautiful woman sitting a foot away from
him on the couch in bare feet, drinking red wine and looking pretty
damn alluring. Take a deep breath, you promised her you wanted
nothing from her tonight. That was before she touched his hand,
before she stroked his cheek. Her perfume smelling so sweet,
flowery, and feminine. There goes his dick again.

“Come here.” She holds open her arms for him
to nuzzle in for a hug. That’s not going to help at all, but he
takes full advantage of the opportunity to get closer to her. She
feels the tension leave his shoulders as she caresses him with
healing hands. With his head against her chest and his lips against
the bare skin exposed by the v-neck of her t-shirt he sighs. “Do
you know what the worst part about that call was?

“No, what?” She rakes her fingers through
his hair, making his dick twitch.

“After I got off the phone with my father,
that bloody Irish Jiminy Cricket chirped in my ear all morning.

It only takes her a moment to figure out
that he’s talking about John McCabe. She some how sensed from the
moment that she met John that he was not just a friend but Ethan’s
outer conscience.

“Ah, and what words of wisdom did John have
for you?”

He smiles at her acknowledgement. She is
undoubtedly the brightest woman he has ever met. “Well, when they
said they were going to suspend the project I got angry and… well I
pulled rank and said that they would continue until I had a chance
to review the files.” He looks at Olivia feeling a little
embarrassed. “John feels that even though I have controlling
interest in the company, that it’s still my father’s company and
that it would help our relationship some, if I let him run the
business and stopped over ruling him.”

“I see. Sounds like good advice to me. You
and your father don’t get along?”

Ethan shakes his head. “No, we had a falling
out a few months ago. He has barely spoken to me since.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Olivia takes a deep breath.
“Well you sure have had a miserable day, Mr. O’Connell. Tell me
what you need? How can I help make it better?”

“Just being here with you makes it
better.”

She smiles. There is so much more to this
man than she ever thought possible.

Suddenly he sits straight up, pulling
himself away from her, a wicked grin curling on his lips. “There is
one thing you can help me with.”

She takes another large mouthful of wine.
“What’s that?”

“It seems that I’ve been unable to provide
you with an orgasm. Maybe you can help me understand why.”

Olivia is shocked. Her stomach jumps up into
her chest like she is on a roller coaster that has reached the
highest peak and is plummeting down the other side. Her face turns
beat red and she doesn’t know where to look. Ethan doesn’t take his
eyes off her and she can feel them searing right through her.

“You didn’t think that I would be that
intimate with you and not notice? I felt it. You were almost there
both times and then for some reason you denied me. Then you lied to
me about it and I want to know why.”

“I didn’t deny you, I mean… I didn’t mean
to.” The wine has taken hold of her tongue and she can’t get her
thoughts out.

”So you’re admitting that you lied to
me?”

Olivia feels ashamed and puts her hands over
her face. “Are we really having this conversation?” She can’t stand
to look at him any longer and lowers her eyes.

“Yes. Answer me. Why did you chase away your
orgasm?

Don’t let him intimidate you, John said. Is
he for real? Ethan can sense submissive all over her and damn it,
if he hasn’t already figured out that she’ll respond to his
command.

She finds a moment of bravery and lowers her
hands to meet his stare. “I don’t know. I wanted to. I really did.
I… I just can’t.”

“Yes you can.” He doesn’t blink.

“NO… I can’t. I tried.” She continues to
argue, reaching over and picking up the glass of wine and dashes
the remaining contents down in one gulp.

Taking the empty glass out of her hand, he
puts it on the table. His voice gets softer, as he lifts her hand
to his mouth and presses his lips against it. “You can.” He leans
back on his elbow and lifts his legs onto the couch. “Lie down with
me.” He coaxes, grateful that Reese insisted that he learn how to
be a responsible Dom and how to look after the submissive in his
care. He’ll show Olivia how to stop fighting, give up control and
just feel pleasure.

The wine makes her feel a bit woozie, making
her stare at him for quite some time before she leans down and
rests her head on his arm. She lifts her legs so that she is lying
beside him, her back fully pressed against his chest. The summer
sun is starting to set, leaving the room in darkness. Wrapping his
arms around her, he pulls her closer and causes her to panic.
“Ethan, I’m just starting my period.”

“Are you bleeding yet?” He adjusts his
position trying to make them both more comfortable.

“No. But…”

“Shhh. It’s ok Olivia. I won’t fuck
you.”

She’s confused. “You won’t?”

“It wouldn’t bother me at all, but no, not
if you’re not comfortable with it. I don’t need to in order to show
you that you’re capable of having mind blowing orgasms. Do you
trust me?”

“I have no idea why, but yes, completely.”
Dear God, what is he going to do? An electric charge zips through
her blood stream as she thinks about all possibilities.

“Good. Just relax.” Relax? Jesus, he is
almost going out of his mind being this close to her. How the
ever-loving-hell is he going to control himself? His entire body is
thrumming with excitement.

Olivia can’t help but feel nervous. This
whole don’t let him intimate you thing just doesn’t seem to work
for her. “I’m trying. You’d think all that wine would have
helped.”

He moves his mouth to the side of her ear
and whispers. “Let me help you then. We’ll do it together. Put
everything out of your mind. There is absolutely nothing in this
world but YOU and Me. The only thing you’re going to think about
for the next little while is US. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She exhales a very long breath.

“Good, put everything else out of your mind.
Do you feel me behind you? Can you feel the rise and fall of my
chest as I breathe?”

“Yes.” That’s not all she can feel. His
growing erection presses against her back, reminding her of how
large that impressive package really is. Oh my!

He rewards her with a tender kiss on the
shoulder. “Yes, that’s right. I want us to breathe in together as
one. Can you do that? Can you match your breathing to mine?”

“Yes.” She concentrates on the movement of
his chest and matches the rhythm. In and out, in and out. Trailing
tender kisses across her shoulder and up to her neck, he breathes
heavily into her ear, showing her that they are breathing in
unison. It’s such a simple gesture and yet it feels so erotic. She
begins to crave his touch.

“Nothing but you and me. And we are now
one.” He whispers.

“Yes.” She fights the urge to squirm. She
wants to force her body against his and explore his desires.

“What else do you notice?”

She is completely relaxed now. I notice how
hard your dick is! “I can smell your cologne.”

His voice is raw sexiness in a deep primal
growl. “Do you know why I wear cologne?”

“For me?”

“Clever girl. You’re catching on. I wear
this cologne for you. Do you like the smell?”

His voice, whispering in her ear is driving
her crazy. “Yes.”

“How do you feel when you smell it on my
skin?”

“Aroused.” She clenches involuntarily,
trying to relieve the throbbing ache that’s building between her
legs.

“I wear cologne for you, so that after I’m
with you the scent will linger on your body. And every time you
smell it, you’ll be reminded of where I have touched you and how
I’ve made you feel.”

He moves his hand under her t-shirt, taking
her breast in hand and holds it there. Her heart races and her
breathing starts to come in short desirous breaths. No longer able
to contain herself any longer, she squeezes the muscles between her
legs and pushes her hips back against him. Why isn’t’ he moving his
hand? Please!

Ethan moves his mouth right against her ear.
“Be still.” He tries to calm himself as well. If she keeps rubbing
her ass against his dick, he’ll lose it for sure.

She wiggles restlessly. “I’m trying.”

“Stay with me. Concentrate. What do you feel
now?”

“You… touching my breast.”

“You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve
ever seen. Thinking about them makes my dick hard. Do you like it
when I touch them?” He nibbles on her ear sending scalding hot
ripples through her body. She tries to continue matching his
breathing but her arousal is building and her heart is pounding
like a jackhammer in her chest.

“Yes, please. More.” Starting to feel
desperate, she shifts her weight and rubs her legs together.
Twisting her body a little, she tries to encourage him to move his
large hand and caress her breast.

He tries not to chuckle as she struggles.
“Woman, I said keep still. Do you want me to touch your body?” She
lets out an extremely edgy frustrated breath. “Concentrate on your
breathing, baby” His voice never rises above a whisper, as he rubs
his nose in her hair. Nuzzling. Soothing. Trying to keep her
focused on him. “What do you want?”

“I want you to touch my body. I want to feel
your skin against mine.” She begs.

Lifting her shirt over her head, he discards
it on the floor. “As you wish.” Kissing that sensitive spot on the
back of her shoulder and then across to her neck, he continues to
skim his lips across her body, making it impossible for her to
anticipate his touch. He lets out a low growl as he unlatches her
pink lace bra and slides it over her shoulder, exposing her breast
to the air and making her shiver. His hands leave her momentarily
as he tugs his shirt over his head and drops it on the floor. When
he settles back in behind her she quickly tries to match his
breathing again, fearing that she’s about to tense up and freak
out. It takes less concentration this time, allowing her to focus
on his touch. Enjoying the heat of his hard chest pressed against
her back, she begins to perspire as her heart races and desire
builds within her like a generously stoked fire.