Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (47 page)

“Really? In Ireland?” That would explain why
her dreams feel like they are in a far away land.

She speaks softly, risking the chance that
he’ll think she’s completely nuts. “I think that I’ve dreamt about
it.”

This time Ethan looks down, hiding his eyes
from her. It’s such an odd thing for him to do that she doesn’t
know how to react. What is he hiding?

When he looks back up, he opens his mouth as
if there is something he wants to say and then presses his lips
closed tightly and gives his head a little shake. How can he tell
her the truth? That he dreams about this house too. This is not the
first time she has mentioned a dream that he has also shared. She
barely trusts him now, how would she react if he told her that he’s
somehow stalking her in her dreams? Deciding to say nothing, he
tugs gently on her hands and pulls her forward. Moving his hands to
her hips, he directs her between his legs and towards his lap.
Bending her knees, she sits, putting her arm around his neck. His
eyes look dark and hooded.

Feeling a little concerned and totally off
balance by his strange behavior she asks, “Is everything ok?”

He recovers quickly. “No, actually. I came
by because I noticed on my way out last night that one of your
tires looked like it was losing air. It’s been bothering me all
morning.”

“What?” Where did that come from? Why was he
checking out her tires at 3am in the morning?

He reaches into his pocket and takes out a
key fob. “I want you to trade me cars for the day so I can take
yours and get it checked out.”

She blinks at him a few times trying to
ascertain if he’s serious or not. “You want to take my car and have
the tires checked?”

“Yes.” He drops his hand to her knee, still
holding the key fob tightly in his palm.

She starts to chuckle.

“Why is that so funny?” He asks, feeling
like he’s missed a private joke.

“You’ve got quite the inner control freak.”
She laughs, not realizing that he’s not laughing with her.

He starts to get defensive, his tone harder,
colder. “I won’t make excuses for wanting to make sure you’re safe.
When was the last time you bought new tires?”

She shrugs. “Good question. But it’s not
your job to look after my car maintenance anyways.”

She feels his body tense under her. Oh no,
she’s struck a nerve and she really doesn’t want to fight with him
today. Wishing she had kept her big mouth shut she braces for an
argument.

His jaw tenses and the nerve at his temple
twitches. “Would you fucking stop, please. Do you have to fight me
at every turn? I’m concerned about your safety… not trying to take
over your life.”

At that, she stiffens against him bringing
to his attention her obvious anxiety. Still annoyed with her answer
he makes a loud tsk sound in frustration and lifts the key fob up
in front of her face. “I ordered you, your very own key fob and I’m
offering you the chance to drive the Challenger for the day. Full
tank of gas. Are you going to pass on the opportunity?”

Relieved that an argument doesn’t seem
imminent, she tries to lighten the mood. “Hmmmm. And all I have to
do is let you take my car to get the tire checked?”

“Well no… there are a few more
conditions.”

Of course there is. ”She smiles, knowing
where this is going. “Like?”

“Like… you have to come to the new house to
trade back later and have dinner with me.”

She narrows her eyes at him suspiciously.
“Are you cooking?’

“Yes.”

She’s surprised. “Can you cook?”

He raises his eyebrows with an expression
that lets her know that she has just insulted him.

“Yes.”

She nods.“Alright then. Luckily… I like
dinner. Is that all?”

“There was something else, let me think.” He
teases.

She raises her eyebrows and gives him a
wicked little grin. “I’m listening.”

“Oh, I remember… there are still a few boxes
to unpack.” He smiles knowing that’s not what she thought she was
going to hear.

Hmm, so that’s the way it’s going to be huh?
Two can play that game. Scowling at him, she grabs the key fob out
of his hand. “Deal. I’ll get you my keys.” Getting to her feet, she
heads into the house. Once she’s inside he stares back at the
birdhouse and a torrent breath escapes him. “Un-fucking
believable.”

“What?” She asks returning with the spare
keys.

Startled by her quick return, he gets to his
feet. “Nothing.” Extending her arm she holds out the keys and as he
reaches for him she pulls them back out of his reach. She laughs at
his awkward attempt to grab them and he glares at her with an evil
smirk that sends chills through her. Oh Crap! She didn’t think that
through very well. She’s on the edge of the porch and has no escape
route. Grinning, he’s on her in an instant, forcing her back
against the brick wall of the neighboring townhouse that closes in
the side of her porch. Holy Shit the man is fast.

Putting his palms against the wall on either
side of her head, he cages her in while he slowly, seductively
moves forward and secures her there by pressing his hips in to her.
His body is so solidly in place that there is no space between them
and the cool brick offers her relief from the heat that is pulsing
through her body. He feels it when her belly squeezes and she
clenches her thighs together in excitement, and his dick hardens in
response. When his lips come down to her throat she lifts her chin
willing him to kiss her there. Determined to teach him a lesson for
his earlier teasing she puts a stop to his advances. “Down boy!”
She finally says breathlessly. “Don’t you have a tire to fix?” She
tries to pull away but has no where to go.

He laughs against her neck and then pulls
away reluctantly. “We’ll continue later then. NO excuses.”

“Pffft, I don’t need an excuse, I don’t
believe that SEX was part of our deal. Only dinner and
unpacking.”

Ethan finds the way she challenges him
refreshing, irresistible and very, very sexy. He’s not even
concerned that his joke may have backfired on him. “We’ll see about
that. For now, you win round one.” He chuckles as he walks away,
humoring her.

She’s amused that he thinks she could
actually refuse him when he pulls out that authoritative tone.
She’s defenseless. She doesn’t think he’s actually figured that out
yet and she’s thankful for that. When he does, she’ll be in all
sorts of trouble. Little does she know he has already got her all
figured out, he’s just waiting for the right time.

He holds out his hand. “Give me your
keys.”

Trying not to smile, she licks her lips as
she extends her arm and hovers the keys over his hand. He tilts his
head to the side and shoots her a warning look, which prompts her
to drop them instantly.

“Thank you.” Slapping her playfully on the
ass, he makes her giggle, as she walks with him towards the
laneway. His phone rings and he pulls it out of his pocket and
checks the display. “O’Connell.” She smiles at the way he answers
his phone, all masculine and authoritative.

There is quick change in demeanor as
business Ethan makes an appearance. She can tell from the tone of
the next few sentences that it’s about the Artemis Project and when
he stops walking, she waits at his side. “This can wait until
tomorrow.” He says into his phone. “Because it’s Sunday.” His voice
is stern. She thinks she can hear laughter on the other end of the
phone and she can tell by Ethan’s expression he’s not impressed.
But how is that the fault of the person on the other end of the
phone? Ethan has admitted that he works 24/7. John McCabe is
saddled with the same work hours because of it. “Call John in the
morning. And if you want to keep your job I wouldn’t bother me
again today unless it’s something really important.”

She watches him feeling a little
intimidated. She doesn’t think she will ever get used to that side
of him. And why is Sunday no longer a work day? What’s changed?
He’s acting very strange today indeed.

“Is there anything you need out of the car
before I go?” He unlocks the door and waits for her answer. She
stands still, watching him, staring at his lips, remember how good
they feel against her skin and thinking about how delicious they
tasted in her dream. She shrugs at his question. “I don’t think
so.”

“So, I will see you later? Around six, ok?
I’ve set the GPS all you have to do is hit the GO HOME option and
follow the directions.”

“Pretty confident that I would agree, were
you?” She shakes her head annoyed at his arrogance. Some things
never change.

“I can be very persuasive.” He flashes her
that smile that makes her melt. “Have fun, but promise me you’ll be
careful. No stunt driving.”

She scrunches up her face and makes a
clicking noise with her tongue. “I don’t get to have any fun.”

A questioning look washes over his face.
“Are you feeling sick?

“No, I feel fine. Why?” She asks
curiously.

“Because the entire time you’ve been
standing here talking to me, you’ve been rubbing your belly. I
thought maybe you were feeling unwell.”

Fear shoots through her as she realizes he’s
right. Damn him! This man doesn’t miss a thing... EVER! She was
standing there, thinking about her dream and mindlessly rubbing her
hand on her tummy as if she were soothing a pregnancy. She drops
her hand to her side and turns absolutely beat red.

“I’m ok. Really.”

“Alright.” He narrows his eyes. “I’m glad.”
He stares at her trying to figure out what just happened and then
starts to chuckle. “Sometimes… you are the strangest girl!” He
scratches his head. “ I don’t even want to know what that was all
about.” Opening the door, he gets inside and leaves her feeling
flushed and embarrassed.

As he drives out of the laneway, he looks in
the rear view window and see’s her standing with her hands over her
face covering it in shame. Very strange but adorable girl, he
thinks. Tonight he’s finally going to kiss those beautiful
lips.

When Olivia gets to Ethan’s house, she finds
him in the driveway with the hood up on her car. Pulling up beside
him, she see’s that he’s shirtless, wearing only a pair of soft
denim jeans, ripped at the knee. Looking up as she gets out of the
car, he smiles at her, his hands are covered in grease and he has
an old rag stuck in his back pocket. “Did you enjoy your
drive?”

“It was amazing!” She gushes. Leaning
against the Challenger, she watches him check to make sure that all
her fluids are topped up, and chuckling at her reply. She smiles.
It’s such an endearing sight and yet completely sexy. Him standing
there naked from the waist up in a pair of jeans that she has a
compelling urge to strip him out of right here and now. She would
if his ass didn’t look so perfect in them.

She jumps when he closes the hood with a
hard slam. Wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his
forearm, he gives her that devilish Irish grin. He’s dirty and
sweaty and yet it doesn’t matter, he is still so totally
fuckable.

As if he can read her mind, he walks towards
her. “You’re looking at me with bedroom eyes, Miss James. Should we
skip dinner and get straight to dessert?” He wipes his hands on the
tattered rag and tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“And miss your awesome cooking skills? Hell
no!” She runs her tongue along her lips, trying to moisten them. He
oozes sexuality that is nowhere near subtle. And can we talk about
that tattoo! The man is pure sex all wrapped up beautifully in a
well-hung, Irish package.

“I have so many other skills.” He says,
raising an eyebrow and giving her a slow simmering smile. God she
loves the way he flirts.

“Yes, but I’ve seen those skills already.”
She knows that he likes to be teased, and it’s a good thing,
because she loves to tease him.

Moving closer, the air becomes charged
around them. “Baby, we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”

Her belly squeezes. Geez he’s good. She
wonders if she will ever be able to outplay him at his game. Her
face blushes and she looks down for a moment and notices a white
marking on the front tire. She glances at the back one and sees the
same mark, and it hits her.

“You put new tires on my car?”

Shit. Busted! “No.” He had hoped she
wouldn’t notice until after she got home.

She glares at him and walks around her car
checking all four tires.

“You’re still a horrible liar, Ireland. Why
do you even bother?” She shakes her head completely flustered with
the man.

“What do you mean still? I’ve never lied to
you before.” He says it, believing it’s true. Her eyebrows shoot up
and she stares at him in amazement.

“How about the time you told me that you
didn’t get into the bathtub with me when I was sick?”

Fuck! Completely forgot. He cringes and rubs
his hand against the whiskers on his chin. “Is there anything I can
say here that won’t get me into any more trouble?”

“Nope, and I think you’re a total asshole
for lying to me about it.” Whoa! Where did that come from? So much
for her previous habit of avoiding conflict. She crosses her arms
in front of herself and takes on an angry stance.

He pleads his case with sincerity in those
beautiful green eyes. “Olivia, I needed to get your fever down, you
refused to get into the tub unless I did too. I kept my shorts on…
you had your panties on. Nothing happened. I thought you would feel
uncomfortable about it so I figured that there was no harm in not
mentioning it since you didn’t remember anyways.”

“But I did remember and when I asked you,
you still lied. And now you’re lying about having four brand new
tires installed on my car? We need to have a serious talk about
boundaries, Ethan. ” She scolds him knowing it won’t make a bit of
difference. He will always do whatever he wants. The man is
incorrigible and it’s hopeless to try to change him.