Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (41 page)

Perspiration dampens her skin as the
feelings build inside her, with the pulsing waves of pleasure
growing in intensity. She’s almost ready to explode when she
becomes completely still and stops moving beneath him. Ethan senses
the change, a tension slowly creeping in, and he knows that he’s
losing her. The muscles in her leg stiffen and once again it’s
gone, her pleasure stolen from her. Releasing her wrists, he stops
thrusting, his cock still pulsing and twitching inside her in
protest. Pulling back, he rests on his forearms so he can see her
face.

“Hey.” He says softly.

She’s non-responsive, lost in her
subconscious, where something shadowy has grabbed hold of her,
pulling her away. Still panting, he brushes the hair off of her
forehead and stares at her, his face only a few inches away.
“Olivia, look at me.”

His voice is little more than a whisper but
it echoes through her soul like a lifeline pulling her back from
the edge of darkness. Her hands grab onto him, her fingers digging
into his flesh, holding on as if her life depended on it. When she
opens her eyes to look at him she knows that he has sensed what has
just happened to her. “Stay with me.” He whispers.

She nods her head and takes a deep, slow
breath in through her nose. When she exhales she syncs her
breathing with the rise and fall of his chest. Holding his face in
her hands, she maintains eye contact. The love she sees in those
green Irish eyes heals her, saves her and keeps the darkness from
coming back for her. She pushes her hips against him, moving him
further inside her and encouraging him to continue. He follows her
lead, moving slowly at first and then growing stronger with his
desire. She runs her hands through his hair, pulling at it as she
rolls her hips.

His breathing becomes labored and his
movements become precise, each forward stroke orchestrated to rub
against the over stimulated nerves inside her. She opens herself to
him, giving him all of her, straining to take him all in. Her hands
slide down his muscular back and clutch his ass, feeling it flex as
he pistons into her. “Ethan!” Arching her back, she’s consumed by
wave after wave of glorious pleasure.

Ethan lowers his head to her throat and
breathes hot and humid against her as he continues to thrust into
her with a slower rhythm. “We’re safe now, right?”

“Yes, we’re safe.” She pants.

He pushes himself into her one last time,
rolling his hips and groaning as his abs tighten and his body
shakes, filling her with a hot rush of semen that seems
endless.

Only when her body stops twitching and she
relaxes beneath him does he pull out and collapse against her body.
Rolling off her, to relieve her of the weight of his body, he
slides his arm under her head and pulls her against him, tucking
her into the safety of his chest. They lay there forever, reeling
and waiting for their breathing to return to normal. Olivia anchors
herself around him, holding on tight and not wanting to let go.

Ethan is concerned about her, now that he
knows what drags her away from him in those moments. The monster in
her dreams recently identified as her Ex, Sam. He holds her close,
wrapping one arm completely around her waist while smoothing her
hair and holding her head against his chest with the other. “You
ok?” He asks in a tender Irish whisper, his breath warm in her hair
as he presses a kiss to the top of her head.

She nods her head enthusiastically.
Everything is ok when she’s in his arms. After drawing in a deep
breath, she lets it out slowly and makes the strangest purring
sound. “What kind of cologne are you wearing?”

“Dolce & Gabbana, The One Sport. Why? Do
you like it?”

“I love it. It smells like the ocean.” She
pauses and brushes her lips along his neck, taking another
appreciative breath. “Funny, because last night I dreamed that you
and I were at the ocean.” She whispers, nuzzling under his chin and
caressing her hands across his chest and down over the hard slab of
muscular abs.

Ethan tenses all over and then holds his
breath. Again? This is not the first dream that they’ve both
shared. Why is this happening? How is it possible?

“Ethan?”

“Yes?”

“Is everything ok?” Something’s not right.
Every muscle in his body goes taut all of a sudden.

“Yes.” Don’t say anything. Don’t say a damn
word. The girl will think you’re off your nut. “It sounds like a
lovely dream.”

“It was.” There was no sex in that dream.
Just love. Pure emotion. She sighs against his chest. “Do you have
to leave?” She wants to feel that way again and she can’t stand the
thought of being away from him, not even for a moment.

“Yes. I’m afraid so. John can’t be there so
I have to go.” He doesn’t want to leave either but he has no other
choice tonight. Not with John out of commission.

“But neither of you were there on Tuesday
night.” She holds her breath for a moment waiting for his
reaction.

His jaw clenches as anger flashes through
him. “You were there on Tuesday?” Sitting up, he collects their
discarded clothing with the long reach of his arm.

“Yes.”

“Alone?” It bothers him to ask when he
already knows the answer. Maybe subconsciously he needs to know if
she will tell him the truth. Passing her stuff to her, he watches
her reaction and wonders if she’ll lie.

“No.” The red hue that colors his face and
the ticking nerve on his temple indicates that he already knows the
truth. “I was there with Noah.”

Feeling flustered, he gets to his feet and
heads into the kitchen to retrieve his pants. She leans back and
watches him go, understanding why Diana couldn’t take her eyes off
him. His perfectly rounded Gluteus Maximus, supported by strong
muscular thighs is an impeccably powerful conformation. When he
turns she doesn’t even pretend to be ashamed of being caught
admiring the package between his legs that she often craves. He
walks towards the small first floor washroom so he can clean up
before re-dressing and leaves the door open so they can still talk.
His tone gets a little surly when he asks the question that he
really doesn’t want to know the answer to. “On a date?”

Olivia can sense his irascibility all the
way across the room. “No, not really. He just wanted to have dinner
there one last time before you re-open it as ‘Irelands’. We used to
hang out there all the time. I guess you can say that we were there
for sentimental reasons.” She finds a camisole and a pair of sweat
pants in the basket of laundry on the floor and dresses
quickly.

Ethan comes out of the bathroom and finds
her still sitting in the middle of the floor. Holding his hand out,
he helps her to her feet. She can tell that he’s desperately trying
to stay calm, but his body seems tense now, his expression
hardened; evidence of his inner turmoil.

“Do you have an agreement with Noah?” He
tries to hide his anxiety.

“No!” His jealousy niggles at her, giving
her a warm jittery feeling with the realization that this
incredible man really does have such deep feelings for her that he
feels possessive.

He brushes her hair away from her face.
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He wants to fuck you.“

“WHAT? No he doesn’t.” That will never
happen, she’s certain of it now.

“I know that look. I get it every time I
think about you.” He pulls her into his arms. “I can’t stand the
thought of him being anywhere near you.” Still basking from their
recent intimacy, he wants to be close to her but he feels tense,
agitated. “Tell me that there is no reason for me to feel jealous
of that wanker.”

She sighs against his chest. “Ethan, there
is no need for you to feel jealous of Noah. He and I are only
friends.” Odd that he should be jealous, since he’s the one that
has girls falling all over him wherever he goes.

Ethan wants to believe her, but he’s haunted
by these feelings of possessiveness. “Do you have arrangements with
other men that I should know about?” Stop it, you’re going to fuck
things up.

She frowns at him. “Nope, just you. But
since you started this conversation…” This is the perfect time to
get things out in the open. She hesitates, and then pulls back so
she can see his eyes. “Do you… are you and Hannah…”

Ethan is appalled and halts her questioning
immediately.

“Absolutely not.” Then it dawns on him.
“There’s nothing going on between me and that slapper.” John’s
instincts were right about Hannah.

“Liv, did Hannah say something? Is that why
you’ve been upset the past few days?”

Licking at her dry lips, she nods in
embarrassment. Ethan lets out a harsh breath as he grasps her arms
at the elbow and forces her to step back so he can see her face.
His voice is raspy and angry. “There is nothing going on between
her and I. You should have just asked me. Jesus, woman!”

She doesn’t answer, just stares at him.
Looking into her eyes, he tries to determine if what he sees there
are feelings for him that she’s trying to hide or his own feelings
reflected back at him. It makes his heart ache. Looking to the
ceiling, he utters a silent prayer and then pulls her back in
against his chest, holding her so tightly it’s difficult to
breathe.

When its time for him to leave, she follows
him to the door and leans against the stair rail. Putting his foot
on the edge of the step to tie his laces, he notices her rub a spot
on her elbow. He reaches for her and she winces from the pain as he
lifts her arm gently so he can see to her wound. Closing her eyes,
she lets out a long sigh as he lowers his lips to kiss the graze
caused by the rug. In a very loving, nurturing way, he continues
kissing his way up her forearm and across the back of her hand
giving each knuckle a tender playful kiss.

When he stops, she opens her eyes and meets
his gaze to find him frowning at her, his forehead wrinkled with
his disapproval. He tucks her hair behind her ear and in the same
sweeping motion runs his thumb across her cheek. Giving him a coy
smile, she turns her face slightly so that her cheek rests across
the palm of his hand. She pauses there for what seems like an
eternity in heaven when he finally breaks the silence. “You
wouldn’t get these boo boos if you would let me take you upstairs
to make love to you.” He wraps his arms around her again, knowing
that it’s a touchy subject for her.

“I can’t.” She whispers into his ear,
shaking her head. “I just can’t.”

“Ok, baby. I know.” Gently rubbing his hands
up and down her sides he attempts to soothe the tension that he
just felt creep through her body. Lowering his lips to the top of
her head, he dwells there for some time. Not pushing. Not
demanding.

“Promise me that one day you’ll tell me what
happened.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to.
You’ll treat me differently once you know.”

He’s perturbed by the hurt look on her face.
“That’s not true. Why would you think that?”

She shrugs. “Everybody treats me different
when they find out.”

“That’s ridiculous. Nothing you could tell
me would change the way I feel about you or the way I treat you. So
promise me… one day, when you’re ready, you’ll tell me.”

She wants to believe him. His sincerity
seems genuine and she feels herself surrounded by his safety. No
matter how hard she tries to fight it, she feels like he’s somehow
imprinted on her soul, almost as if he was her guardian in a past
life. Well now, that’s just silly. The warmth of his green eyes
soothes her and she lets out a slow gently sigh. “One day.” She
agrees.

Saturday morning, Olivia putters around the
house, catching up on chores and finally getting around to putting
away the basket of laundry that’s been sitting on the living room
floor. As she comes back down the stairs she slows her steps,
looking around the room. Everything reminds her of Ethan. The
counter where he stood while she knelt in front of him and rocked
his world; the table; the couch; the carpet! She gets turned on
just thinking about it, but confusing feelings quickly throw her
off balance. Plopping herself heavily into the chair, she lifts her
knees to her chest, her heels resting on the edge of the cushion,
and stares at the blanket and pillows that she has stacked on the
arm of the couch, ready for this evenings use.

Thank God, Ethan couldn’t stay with her last
night. What would she have done if he had said yes? She wonders why
on earth she asked him to stay in the first place. Realizing that
she gave it absolutely no thought at all at the time, she feels a
little anxious. The couch isn’t big enough for the both of them and
she couldn’t ask him to sleep on the floor. She would have had to
face her demons and at least attempt to sleep in the spare bedroom
with him.

Obviously, her three year abstinence didn’t
just leave her physically wanting. After Sam, she learned how to
turn off the part inside her that thrives on intimacy; the human
need to connect with others on an emotional level. Ethan fills that
space inside her, and it’s exactly what she was wanting to avoid in
order to protect her heart. He instills in her emotions that make
her acutely aware of the emptiness that was there before he came
along, even if sometimes that emotion is anger and frustration.

It’s clear in her mind this morning that
this is the reason why she asked him to stay and it’s hard for her
to face the truth. He’s a man, who knows her body so well that he’s
completely adept at looking after her physical needs, but last
night that wasn’t enough for her. Her brow furrows and she massages
her forehead with gentle pressure using her fingers trying to
smooth away the tension.

She thought she had done everything right to
avoid this need but here she is AGAIN, wanting, desiring his love,
needing it to feel alive and whole. And it’s getting stronger. She
rests her elbows on her knees and leans forward, holding her head
against the palm of her hands, dumbfounded by how this happened.
She decides that they only way to reign in these emotions is to
slow things down, and try to reinforce the agreement. It’s not
going to be easy, but she’s not eager to repeat the same mistake,
so she’ll try. Keep your heart out of it.