Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (77 page)

He calms his tone but he is still
aggravated. “Yes… more than stubborn. Like a precious metal from
some other fucking planet that won’t be shaped.”

She sits pensively, her hands stilled in her
lap. ”Rigid.” She whispers sadly.

Ethan continues, not even noticing that
she’s given up and no longer fighting. “You won’t just let things
happen, it’s like you try to calculate every little thing that can
go wrong and then avoid everything that would put you on that
path.”

He’s right, that’s exactly what she does.
She can’t even bring herself to defend herself.

“Life shouldn’t be lived that way, Olivia.
You should jump in with both feet and experience it. Life is not a
straight line… it has BENDS in it. You have to learn how to
bend.”

The message would have been much better
received, if not growled at her in anger. Tears form in her eyes as
her emotions turn to sadness. “Well then… I understand why you
would prefer to be with the pretty blonde with all the boobage. She
certainly seems to be more… bendable.” Her voice cracks as her
insecurities take control of her. She’s been dreading this day; the
day she can no longer restrain the tears.

Ethan still has no idea why she feels so
threatened by Hannah. Realizing how damaging his words have been,
he softens his approach. “How could you possibly think that I would
rather be with Hannah? Haven’t I proven to you, time and again that
it’s YOU that I want? God knows why… you are the most difficult
woman I have ever met.” He shakes his head and rubs his hand along
the whiskers on his jaw. “When I’m with you, I feel like our souls
are tangled together and we’re not meant to be apart. Don’t even
suggest that you don’t feel the same. How can you question
something THAT strong?”

She says nothing, and it makes him angrier.
Sighing, he continues to fight hard enough for the both of them.
“Has it ever occurred to you that I’m scared too? This is new to
me, I’ve never felt like this before either and you don’t make it
easy on me. I have to weigh every word before it comes out of my
mouth, every action and movement has to be carefully considered. I
fight my own nature because I’m terrified that I’ll scare you away.
Please stop running. Let me love you… we’ll figure it out
together.”

Olivia wishes she could believe him, but
how? How long could he be happy with her? How long would it be
before another Stacey or Hannah comes along and gets his attention?
“Why her, Ethan? Of all the girls that fall all over you, why did
it have to be her?”

The guilt hits him right in the stomach,
harder than one of McCabe’s punches. “Olivia,”.

“Every night I go to bed,” She interrupts.
“And I worry that all those things she said to me a few weeks ago
and again tonight are true.” Tears well up in her eyes and she
fights them with everything she has.

“What did she say to you, Olivia? Tell me.”
There isn’t a word to describe the emotion he feels when he sees
the tears in her eyes. “Please, don’t cry. For fuck sakes, just
tell me what she said. How many times do I have to beg that of
you?” Begging, he reaches for her hand, tortured by seeing her so
upset. He gets a sharp pain in his heart when she pulls away,
moving closer to the door.

Sniffling, she sits forward and drops his
jacket off her shoulders and onto the seat then pulls away from
him, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Ethan becomes distressed. “Olivia, what are
you doing?” He recognizes her response. She’s going to run. Pulling
on the handle, she opens the door, swinging her legs out and
standing. “I’m walking home.”

“Don’t you dare walk away, we’re not
finished talking about this.” He commands. Jumping out of the car,
he quickly rounds the hood and gets to her side. Continuing to walk
towards the road, she completely ignores him. Desperate, he grabs
her arm from behind, stopping her in mid-step and forcing her to
turn around and look at him. “You have to know there’s not a chance
in hell that I’m letting you walk anywhere alone at this time of
night. Get your ass in the car!” He yells.

Looking down at her elbow where he has a
firm hold on her, anger starts to pulse through her blood like a
jolt of electricity. When she lifts her gaze, Ethan sees for the
very first time, unsettled anger in her eyes. Finding the strength
to challenge his authority, she glares at him with a cold, dark
look of fury. Frightened by what he sees in her expression, he
releases her immediately, his hand dropping heavily to his side. A
stabbing pain pierces his chest and straight into his heart. He
doesn’t ever want to see that expression on her face again. His
anxiety is evident in the rise and fall of his chest as he
desperately considers how to stop her from leaving.

“Olivia.” Whispering in a gentle,
non-threatening tone, he tries to persuade her to stay. “Be
reasonable. I’m sorry. No more yelling, we’ll just talk. Please,
just get in the car.”

She takes a step back, not once looking away
from his eyes.

“Olivia, wait.” He reaches for her again and
she stops him with an arctic stare, stepping back, further away
from him and out of his reach.

Turning, she moves away at a brisk pace
leaving him frozen where he stands, watching her disappear, her
voice trailing off into the cool dark veil of night. “Go fuck
yourself, Ireland.”