Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (48 page)

Swaggering his way over to her, he brings
that beautiful, sweaty, rock hard chest close enough to touch.
Damn. She seems to have lost her train of thought.

She was totally wrong when she thought that
his Irish accent couldn’t get any sexier. “Good idea. Let’s have
that conversation right after I shower, cook you dinner and then
fuck you until you’re sore and too tired to be mad at me.”

Gaaah! “Stop it! I’m angry with you and it
makes my panties wet when you say stuff like that.”

She didn’t mean to say that last part out
loud and she wishes she could take it back once she sees the
encouragement she’s just given him. She tries to stay angry, but
that chest just keeps on moving closer, his cock now swelling
inside his jeans, straining against the zipper. His smell is
intoxicating, the rugged salty scent of his sweat and engine oil.
Exhaling harshly, she tries to get a grip, but Ethan won’t let her,
he teases, keeping her right on the edge of arousal. He knows how
to do it so well.

“Well maybe we should work in the reverse
order then, Olivia. Let’s start with the fucking.”

Leaning his body against her, he presses his
hard cock into her stomach and looks down into her eyes. Warmth
blooms between her legs and her pulse takes off and is shifting
into third gear.

Not so fast mister! She musters up every
ounce of willpower she can and pushes him away. “Yuck, you’re all
sweaty. Go have a shower.”

Grinning, he steps away. “I guess this round
goes to you as well. That’s two today.” He holds up two fingers and
smirks. “I wouldn’t count on any more.”

She ignores his comment knowing that when
Ethan decides he needs to be inside her, there will be no stopping
him. She changes gears. “What did you want me to unpack? I might as
well start that while you’re… freshening up.”

He leads her into the house and she’s taken
back by how beautiful it is. It’s meticulously furnished and
decorated in a way that perfectly reflects Ethan, a stunning
combination of the modern male and the romantic dreamer.

He smiles at her reaction as her eyes
wander, taking everything in. “Ethan it’s perfect.”

“I was only joking about unpacking, there
are only just a few boxes of cd’s and books left. I can do them
later.”

He hands her two remotes, one for the TV and
the other for the stereo. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be quick.”
He disappears upstairs and hops in the shower.

The curiosity gets to her so she turns on
the stereo and then opens one of the boxes in the corner in front
of the bookshelf. Taking CDs out of the box a few at a time, she
looks at the covers trying to get a sense of who the man really is
as she puts them on the shelves. You can always tell by their music
selection. Olivia flips through an extremely eclectic selection of
artists, everything from Orchestral Waltz music to Jason Derulo. Oh
yes... she blushes as she turns the case over to look at the song
list. Jazz, Rap, music from the 20’s and 50’s, Hip Hop... Ethan has
it all. She’s not sure if that means he is well rounded and open
minded, or if he’s just a SPAZ who can’t decide what he likes.

She snickers as she puts the last few in
place and moves on to the next box. Unfolding the flaps of the box
of books, she notices the first few on the top are all medical and
business textbooks. She wonders why he would still need them, but
far be it for her to criticize anybody else’s pack rat tendencies.
The rest of the box contains hard cover books, extremely old in
appearance. She takes them out one at a time, cautiously, since the
covers and bindings appear to be extremely fragile.

She slides them carefully on a shelf at eye
level, so that they can be seen and appreciated. Curious, she skims
through a few of them still looking for clues to his taste. His
collection mostly consists of classic novels and poetry, many of
the authors she doesn’t recognize other than John Keats, EE
Cummings and Robert Browning. There is one last book in the bottom
of the box, clearly wrapped by a detailed perfectionist. It must be
extremely special to him.

Carefully unfolding the tissue paper, she
reveals its brown leather cover. The name stamped in gold on the
front cover is faded from age but she can still make out the faint
print… Romeo and Juliet. Brushing her fingers across the cover she
feels the slight impressions from the stamped title under her
fingers and gets that same unnerving feeling, the one she got when
she saw the bird house. Her heart beats in slow motion as she gets
the distinct feeling that this book too, is familiar to her
somehow.

Goose bumps form on her skin and she has to
remind herself to breathe. For the longest time she stands flipping
through the pages, reading the ones that he has left strips of
paper in to mark his favorites. He would never dog ear this
pressure treasure. Tears come to her eyes as she peruses his
selections, at a loss for an explanation as to why this book has
made her feel so emotional. She knows one thing for sure now, he’s
genuinely the romantic sole he seems to be. She has often dismissed
that side of him as an act but NO MAN would go through this much
trouble and research just to get girls into bed.

As Ethan comes down the stairs freshly
showered and dressed he stops dead midway down, watching her as she
thumbs delicately through the pages of the book. There are no words
to describe the feelings that move through him at that moment. It’s
like he’s been waiting for her all of his life, and just like
magic, one day she stepped right out of his dreams and into his
world. He knows; he absolutely knows without question, that they
are meant to be together. The only problem is convincing Olivia.
What he’s about to show her will make it either easier or so much
worse. As he continues down the rest of the stairs, she looks up to
see him, closes the book and holds it to her chest.

“This book is amazing.” She says
emotionally.

“I thought so too. I found it almost a year
ago in a tiny little village in Ireland. It cost me next to
nothing.” She passes it to him when he reaches for it. “Let me show
you something.” He flips it open, revealing the inside of the cover
and hands it back to her to read. In faded black ink, on the inside
of the cover someone has drawn the shape of a heart and inside it
is written “EO’C + OJ forever.”

Her eyes jerk up instantly to look at him.
“I’m confused.”

“That was written in it when I bought
it.”

“Get out of here, you’re messing with me.”
She studies his face, looking for something in his expression that
would indicate that he’s joking.

“No, I’m not messing with you. I even had
the ink carbon dated, the report is in the back of the book.”

She flips to the end and finds the paper
that’s folded and tucked in the back cover. Opening it she reads
the report and looks up at him with a surprised look on her face.
“Early 1920’s?” She flips back to the front cover to look at it
again and traces her finger around the heart. What the fuck is
going on here? First the dreams, then the birdhouse and now
this?

“Some coincidence, huh?” He takes the book
out of her hands and closes it, watching her reaction.

“I’ll say.” She’s pensive for a moment. “A
pretty huge coincidence.” This is the second time today she’s had a
gnawing feeling that he’s hiding something.

Putting the book on the shelf, he takes her
hand and leads her out to the back yard. “Come, it’s time for
dinner.”

It’s almost dusk and she wonders why they’re
heading outside. “In the dark?”

“Not for long.” Flipping a switch just
outside the door, he lights up a gazebo that he has set up on the
stone patio with hundreds of white twinkle lights. She gasps when
she sees it, the lights twinkling in the dark like fireflies as he
holds back the mesh doorway and lets her in. In the centre of the
gazebo he has set up a small round bistro table. It’s set with the
most elegant of dishes and a bottle of wine sits chilling in an ice
bucket on a sideboard nearby. Candles flicker in the centre of the
table and he picks up a small remote and presses a button, filling
the air with the smooth sound of jazz. She’s amazed at the time and
thought he put into it. When she looks over at him he returns her
smile and pulls out her chair. Once she’s seated, he pours her a
glass of wine and excuses himself for a moment.

Returning with two plates, he places them on
the table and then sits across from her.

“When did you have time to cook?” She asks,
surprised that dinner is ready.

He gives her that sexy boyish grin. “I can
be very resourceful.”

She stares at the plate in front of her.
Herbed chicken, roasted potatoes and asparagus.

“Ethan, it looks amazing.” She picks up her
cutlery and takes her first bite. “Mmmm, it is amazing. I’m sorry I
ever doubted you.”

“Non-believer.” He teases.

When they finish eating, he takes her by the
hand and leads her to a couch against the back wall of the gazebo.
It’s clearly a piece of outdoor furniture but it looks comfortable
and inviting with lots of soft and cushy throw pillows. Turning off
several strands of the little lights, he leaves them with not much
more than the soft glow of the candles. Sitting beside him, his arm
possessively wrapped around her shoulders, she feels the heat from
his body.

“I love the picture on the fireplace mantel.
I assume that’s your family?”

“Yes, that was taken at Christmas. Christmas
tradition is huge in my family. Every year my parents host a …” He
pauses for a moment not sure what word he is looking for “Well, I’m
not sure if it’s called a BALL here, but they rent a ballroom and
there’s an orchestra and dancing.”

“Really? It sounds wonderful, like the dream
I had.” She pauses. “Your sisters are very beautiful. It’s hard
being so far away from family.” She tries to stop a frown from
appearing on her face. “I know all about that.”

“You’re missing your sister?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Can I ask about your parents? You never
talk about them.” He feels her body go tense for a moment making
him regret bringing it up. “You don’t have to talk about them, if
it makes you feel uncomfortable.” Turning his head to the side, he
kisses her temple. Leaning into him, she reaches up to hold the
hand that’s heavily draped behind her, clinging to her shoulder.
Squeezing it, she takes a breath as if trying to build up
courage.

“They were killed in a car accident almost 7
years ago now. There is nobody left but Megan and me. She married
Rick almost a year after they died. I had a really hard time with
that.”

“I bet. I’m so sorry, baby.” Turning his
body towards her, his knees push against her thigh. When she turns
sideways he lifts her legs and lays them back down across his lap,
bridging his thighs so she’s facing him now. Ethan feels a chill
against his leg and looks down at her bare feet. “Where are your
shoes, woman? Your feet are freezing!”

“I took them off during dinner, they were
bugging me.” She smiles when he shakes his head at her, giving her
that special Ethan O’Connell smirk. The one that’s annoying and
extremely sexy at the same time. The same one that is most likely
to get him into her pants.

Rubbing her feet, he tries to restore some
heat to them before moving his hands to rest on her thigh. Holding
her there, he gently caresses her skin with his fingers as if
trying to erase her sorrow. “How did your sister end up on the East
Coast?”

“Rick’s company closed their distribution
centre here. He was relocated to the East Coast office.”

“Leaving you here alone?” Thinking about it
makes him feel irritated and sensing the topic is about to spoil
their romantic mood, Olivia decides to ease up on it.

“Not alone, Ethan. I have Scott and Rachel,
they are family to me.” She smiles trying to distract him from his
thoughts.

“And now you have me.” He looks at her with
an expression that very closely resembles a boyish innocence, as he
flattens his hand and rubs his palm heavily from her knee to her
hip. How long does she have him for? She reaches up, presses her
palm on the side of his cheek, and holds him there acknowledging
his sweet admission. Her eyes lock with his in a long silent pause.
In the past few days she’s seen a very different Ethan O’Connell.
She no longer sees only the ruthless business man but a whole
softer, gentler side. A side that, until now, was hidden by his
usual intensity.

A shiver moves through her and her eyes
wander, trying to avoid alerting him to how his closeness is
affecting her. She spots a guitar leaning hidden in the corner and
smiles.

Pointing at it, she asks. “Will you play
something for me?”

Smiling, he stands to get it and turns off
the stereo with the remote. Olivia gets comfortable on the couch
propping pillows around her and settling in. Pulling a stool over
in front of her, he starts to strum on the strings. She’s not sure
what she was expecting him to play but when she recognizes Hedley’s
hit song ‘Kiss You Inside Out’ her heart starts to throb. This
acoustic arrangement has a much slower melody and Ethan’s voice
caresses the words with tenderness.

I don’t know if you’re ready to go

Where I’m willing to take you girl

I will feel every inch of your skin

And you know I can rock your world

She can’t take her eyes off of him as he
serenades her.

Give up the fight

I’m in control

Why don’t you let it go.

Yeah, I wanna know you inside out

I’ll spend my life trying to figure out

Just close your eyes and shut your mouth

And let me kiss you inside out.

Ethan holds her gaze the entire time,
looking down at the guitar only a few times. She’s overwhelmed as
this beautiful, frustrating man sings her a love song.