The Mighty Quinns: Danny (14 page)

Jordan set her wineglass on the tray of a passing waiter and grabbed another one. “I'm not naive enough to believe you've never been with a woman before me. What you do to me in bed I'm sure comes from lots of experience.”

“Not lots,” he said. “Well, maybe lots, but that depends upon what you mean by lots.”

“You don't need to tell me,” Jordan said.

“They don't make any difference,” he said. “You're the only woman I want.”

“Now,” Jordan said.

“Now. Always. Any time.” He gave her a seductive smile. “And that sounded really trite, didn't it?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her along to a quiet corner in the gallery.

“This really isn't necessary.” Jordan put down her
glass and covered her ears. “I don't need to know. I don't want to know.”

“You need to know this,” he said. Danny slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. “I'm glad you're here with me tonight. There isn't anyone else I'd rather have here. And I like introducing you as my girlfriend, because that's what you are. And that's important.”

“Have you had a lot of girlfriends?” Jordan asked.

“No,” he said. “I can count them on one hand. Actually, on three fingers, counting you. And that says something about my feelings for you, Jordan. I think I'm falling for you.”

Jordan slowly lowered her hands and took a quick sip of her wine. This was not what she expected. His revelation changed everything. She felt the undeniable urge to run away and glanced around, looking for an escape route.

“No,” he said. “You don't have to run. It's all right. I'm just being honest. No harm in that.”

“But I—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “I know. And that's all right.” He looked at his watch. “Why don't we get out of here? I've been the accommodating artist for three hours. I think I'm all right to leave.”

“I could use some air,” she admitted.

Danny said his goodbyes and a few minutes later, they were back on the street, strolling among the crowds of locals and tourists on O'Connell Street. Danny slipped his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the end of the street, to the river. They found a spot
near the bridge and Jordan leaned against the railing and stared into the water.

“I shouldn't have said that,” Danny murmured.

“No, I'm glad you did,” she said. “It's how I feel, too.”

“You do?”

“I do. But I don't know what it means. I guess it's not unexpected. We've been spending every minute together for over a month. It would be difficult not to develop feelings for each other.”

“Exactly,” he said.

“I just don't think we should have too many expectations,” she said.

“Expectations.” Danny chuckled softly. “That's funny. Maybe it's about time someone expected something from me when it came to romance.”

“Can we just enjoy our weekend here and not worry so much about the future?” Jordan asked.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, we can do that. Come on, let's go find a pub, have a pint and enjoy ourselves.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, standing beneath a street lamp while the river flowed quietly nearby. For Jordan, it was the most perfect kiss they'd ever shared because it confirmed the words he'd spoken earlier.

He was falling for her. She should have been jumping for joy, shouting to the rooftops that the man she wanted felt the same way about her. But the revelation was bittersweet. It didn't make things simpler. It only made them more difficult.

 

D
ANNY GLANCED AT THE CLOCK
on the bedside table. It was nearly eleven and he'd made no attempt to crawl
out of bed and get the day started. After the show last night, he and Jordan had hit the town, finding a pub near the hotel and spending the night dancing and laughing and having more fun than he'd ever had with a woman.

He loved introducing her to the wonders of Ireland. Last night it was Irish art and Guinness. Today it would be a decent Irish breakfast and a stroll along the Liffey.

He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes, snuggling into her warm, naked body. From the moment he'd met Jordan, there'd been an undeniable attraction between them, a connection that seemed to be strengthened with each moment they spent in bed. They'd been so wrapped up in each other, he'd forgotten that she wasn't completely his.

Was this what Riley had gone through with Nan? His brother had fallen in love with an American tourist with a life and a career in the States. But he'd made it work, he'd convinced her to stay. How had he made that happen?

When they'd begun, Danny was happy just being with Jordan. He'd never thought about anything beyond the next time they found themselves in bed. But somewhere along the line, he'd forgotten about immediate gratification and begun thinking about the future.

She was an incredibly seductive woman. And though she claimed that he was the only one who thought so, Danny suspected the American men she'd known had seen the beauty beneath the businesslike facade. She was his inspiration, his muse, his temptress. Danny couldn't think of anything more he wanted from a woman than what he had with Jordan.

Rolling to his side, Danny wrapped his arm around
her waist and gently brushed a strand of hair from her temple. She sighed softly as he pressed his lips to her forehead. And when his mouth found hers, Jordan stirred and opened her eyes.

“What time is it?” she murmured.

“Almost eleven,” he whispered.

Jordan groaned. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“It's Sunday. Unless you want to go to church, there isn't much else to do in Dublin. Besides, I kept you up too late last night.”

“I'm going to need a vacation from my vacation,” she said. “I think I've had more sex in the past month than I've had in my whole entire life. In fact, I'm quite certain of that.”

“Well, now there's an accomplishment I can boast about.”

“Don't you dare. Your brothers don't need to know about our sex life.”

“I'm sure they've already speculated. You don't know what it's like when they get bored at the Hound.” He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “Speaking of the Hound, Riley and Nan's engagement party is coming up. Would you like to go?”

“Wow. Two dates. I don't know,” she teased. “Don't you think we're moving a bit fast?”

“Yes,” he said, his voice serious. “But I don't have a problem with that. Do you?”

She frowned, staring into his eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Are you angry with me?”

“No,” Danny said. “I'm just trying to be honest. I don't want to think about you leaving, Jordan. I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to go on as if
we're going to be together as long as we want to be together. Just like any other couple.”

“But we aren't any other couple,” she said. “I live across the ocean.”

“Not now, you don't. Right now, you live in Ireland.”

She snuggled closer to his naked body. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

“We have the whole day ahead of us. What would you like to do?”

“I'll let you be the tour guide,” she said, sliding her hand down his belly. She wrapped her fingers around his shaft, now hard and ready. It always amazed him how quickly that happened with Jordan. All he had to do was think about her and the blood rushed to his crotch.

Danny groaned softly as she began to stroke him, aroused by the prospect of another lazy morning in bed. “I swear to God, you do have fairy blood running through your veins,” he murmured. “There's pure magic in the way you touch me.”

“Maybe I do,” Jordan replied, her touch now playfully teasing. “Since the fairy circle I have been feeling a bit different.”

“You're not human,” he said, groaning as his pleasure grew. “I'm beginning to believe that I can't live without this.” Danny's breath caught in his throat. “I've never been with a woman who makes me feel the way you do.”

“I can make you feel even better,” she said.

“I'm not sure that's possible,” Danny replied.

Jordan slid down along his body, drawing the sheet back, inch by inch. When she reached his waist, she
traced a line of kisses across his belly, then moved lower still.

Danny knew what was coming and he wasn't about to stop her. Instead, he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back, waiting for the warmth of her mouth to surround him. When she finally took him between her lips, he was forced to look away. Watching her made it almost impossible to control his release.

There were many things that Jordan was good at, but she excelled at this particular activity. In fact, there were times when he wondered if it could get any better.

But it wasn't just about him. It was about the two of them sharing something so intimate that a touch replaced a word, a sigh replaced a glance. When real life was pushed aside, they had this pleasure between them and it was a powerful drug that he found himself craving constantly.

“Do you know what this does to me?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she said. “But isn't that the intended result?”

“No. I'm not talking about an orgasm,” he said.

She looked up at him, her hair tumbled around her face, her lips damp. “What?”

“I can't resist you,” he murmured. “I don't want to anymore. You've stolen my ability to think for myself.”

“That's not true.”

He ran his fingers through her hair. “Ask me anything. I'll be your knight in shining armor. I'll slay dragons for you and rescue you from the tower. I'll lay down my life for you. That's what I feel when you touch me.”

“Well, the next time I run into a dragon, I'll give you a call,” she said, smiling. She moved back to her task, her tongue soft and warm against his shaft.

She thought he was joking. And for a moment, Danny almost let it slide. But he wanted her to understand what she meant to him, how deeply he cared about her. “It's not funny,” he said. “I'm tired of dancing around it, playing like it doesn't really matter. You do matter to me, Jordan.”

She stared at him. “Don't do this,” she murmured. “Don't make it more difficult than it already is.”

“I don't give a feck if it is difficult. It should be. It should feel like a knife to the heart, like falling off a cliff onto sharp rocks. It should make your soul bleed. I want it to be hard.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet up around her body. “Why? It doesn't have to be.”

“It's the only way we're going to know it was real,” Danny said.

He reached out and grabbed her waist, then pulled her on top of him. She watched him, warily, all of her insecurities reflected in her expression. He shifted and then he was inside her, in the sweet warmth that had become home to him.

As he moved, Danny felt his need rise, a knot tightening deep inside of him until the ache was too much to bear. He reached between them and touched her, so that he could make her come right along with him.

Danny waited until her face grew flushed with desire, until her breath came in quick, desperate gasps. And then, when he felt her swell around him, he came. The intensity of his release was enough to make his body jerk and his muscles tense. He opened his eyes and watched her dissolve into her own orgasm, her fingers digging into his chest as she rocked above him.

And when she grew still, he pulled her down on top of him, holding her close. “Don't you dare tell me it's going to be easy,” he whispered. Danny drew a ragged breath. “I'm going to do everything I can to convince you to stay.”

“Please don't do that,” Jordan said.

“I don't have any choice.”

She fell back asleep stretched out on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips, her head resting on his shoulder. But Danny couldn't sleep. His mind was filled with desperate thoughts.

It was clear she didn't feel the same way about him as he did about her. Every time he brought up the future, she deflected the conversation. He only had two choices—convince her of his point of view or prepare to let her go. But he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He had a chance to change the course of his life, to make Jordan a part of it. And he'd do anything to make that happen.

J
ORDAN CAREFULLY LAID
the tape measure down on the floor, measuring the width of the library. She scribbled the number on a pad of paper, then slowly measured in the opposite direction. Kellan had said that if there was a secret entrance into the house, they'd find it this way.

Drawing a ragged breath, she walked out into the foyer. What difference did it make? In a few weeks, the new owners could worry about it. They could afford to hire someone to come in and draw a new floorplan. She glanced down at her watch.

She was already an hour late for Nan and Riley's engagement party and though she was dressed and ready to go, she couldn't bring herself to walk out the front door. Everything was such a mess. The closer she got to finishing, the more confused she became. She'd put off talking to her father for fear that it might force her into a decision she wasn't ready to make. Whenever Danny spoke of the future, she deftly changed the subject. And now, she was quickly losing interest in finally finishing the house.

She pushed the button on the tape measure and it
snapped back into the plastic case. All this indecision was beginning to wear on her. She wanted to know if she had a future at Kencor. She needed to know if she had a future with Danny. It was time to ask the hard questions and get on with the rest of her life.

Jordan grabbed her pad and pencil and strode back to the library. She'd do it now. She'd call her father and if it all went bad, she'd have the party to distract her mind for the rest of the night.

Grabbing her cell phone from the desk, she quickly punched in her father's number and waited as it rang. It was Saturday afternoon in New York. He'd probably be finishing up his regular round of golf at his country club and having a few drinks with his buddies. Now would be a good time. Two martinis always made him more amenable.

The phone rang and then went to voice mail. Drawing a shaky breath, she decided to forgo a message. Maybe it wasn't the right time. But then, a few seconds later, the phone buzzed and she saw an incoming text from her father. “Busy. What do you want?” she read aloud.

“All right. Do it now,” Jordan murmured to herself. Ireland job done in two weeks. I want hotel project.

“Matt already started. Maybe next time,” she read.

No next time! Hotel project, now, or… Jordan bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. This was the right thing to do. She didn't want to go on working for someone who didn't appreciate her talents.

“Or what?” she murmured.

Was she ready to do this? She was playing a giant game of poker and she was ready to go all in. …I quit. She stared at the words for a long moment, drew another
breath and then hit Send. “Oh, God,” Jordan groaned. “Please, please, please, let this work. This has to work.”

“Hey, what's going on? Why are you still here?”

Jordan jumped at the sound of Danny's voice. She spun around in her chair. “I'm sorry. I just—I had to do this. It couldn't wait.”

“What couldn't wait?” Danny asked. “I've been trying to ring you and you haven't answered. I was getting worried.”

“I was trying to find the passageway,” Jordan lied, grabbing the paper. “I didn't want to leave the house without—”

“The house will be fine. And I promise, we'll look for the passageway tomorrow. I'll help you. It's Sunday, it will be a good way to pass our only day off for the week.”

Jordan's phone buzzed and a sick feeling came over her.

“Are you going to answer that?” Danny asked.

She shook her head. “No, not right now.” She quickly stood. “I'm ready. Let's go.”

Jordan smoothed her hands over the front of her dress, slipping her phone into her skirt pocket, then pasted a smile on her face. Though she'd been looking forward to the party in Ballykirk, right now she felt like crawling into bed and pulling the covers over her head. She'd never held another job. From the moment she was old enough to draw a paycheck from Kencor, she'd worked there.

When they reached the front door, Danny pulled it open, then paused. “Are you all right?”

“Sure. I'm fine.” Jordan stopped short. “Wait. I forgot
the gifts. They're on my desk.” She turned around and ran back through the foyer and into the library. The two presents had been neatly wrapped earlier that afternoon. But before she picked them up, Jordan pulled her phone from her pocket.

Her throat filled with emotion as she looked at the text. Don't like ultimatums. Finish Cnoc project. Send resignation letter.

That was it, Jordan thought to herself. Just a few sentences and it was over. She waited for the tears, for any reaction. But the only thing she felt was relief. She made her stand, asked for what she wanted and she'd been refused.

“Jordan! What's the holdup?”

She numbly tossed the cell phone on the desk and turned for the door. She'd figure this all out later. Tonight she'd have fun with Danny and his family, drink a bit too much and let him make love to her until nothing mattered but the feel of his body moving inside hers.

When she reached the entryway, she handed him the gifts. “Did you get these?” he asked.

She nodded. “I know it said no gifts on the invitation, but I'm not going to be here for the—” She sighed. “I wasn't going to be here for the wedding, so I wanted to get them something.”

“You got them two things?” he asked.

“The smaller is a first-edition Yeats. A collection of his poems. And the other is silver. Hotel silver. It's kind of a trendy thing. You use it for everyday silverware. They're engraved with Qs and Ns and Rs.”

“You got them a book and silverware?”

“Yes. I wasn't quite sure which was appropriate so I just bought them both.”

“A toaster would have been appropriate.”

“But that's so unimaginative,” she said. “Everyone buys toasters. I bought something romantic and something useful.”

“Should I have gotten a gift?”

“No. The gifts are from the two of us.”

As they walked out to the car, Danny gave her hand a squeeze. “I like that,” he murmured. “I like that we're a couple.”

The pub was packed with barely enough room to move when Danny and Jordan arrived. She stood at his side, clutching his arm and shifting from foot to foot, trying to appear cheerful. A band played on a stage at one end of the pub and a crowd was already on the dance floor, shouting and stomping and clapping. Jordan had been to engagement parties before, but they'd always been very sedate affairs.

The song came to an end and Riley stepped up to the microphone, then pointed directly at them. “It seems my little brother has come back and with a very lovely lass on his arm.”

The crowd shouted Danny's name and he chuckled beside her.

“Now, those of you who know Danny know that this is an unusual thing. But I want all of you to give our boyo a good word when you chat with Jordan. She's American and she's beautiful and I don't know what the hell she's doing hanging around my brother, but let's all pretend that he's worth it.”

“Hello, Jordan!” the crowd cried out.

Jordan forced a smile and gave them all a weak wave. “Hello,” she called. “Nice to be here.”

“Kellan, get these two a drink. I'm going to be takin' a break for a few songs so I can go kiss my fiancée,” Riley said. “And after that, I've got a special song I want to sing for her.”

Kellan had saved seats for them both at the bar and Danny pulled her along through the crowd. She held tight to Danny's hand and was grateful to see a familiar face in Kellan.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi, Joe,” Kellen replied with a grin. “What can I get you to drink?”

Jordan glanced around. “A large glass of whatever will get me drunk very quickly. How about one of Nan's margaritas?”

“Forget the fruity drinks,” Kellan advised. “Whiskey. A double?”

“Make it a triple.”

Kellan poured her a glass, then turned to Danny. “How about you, brother?”

“Nothing for now. I'm driving.”

“No, you're not. You're joining in the celebration. And if you have too much, you two can stay up at your place.”

“All right, then, give me a pint,” Danny said.

Over the next half hour, Jordan was introduced to an endless line of people. She met Danny's parents, Eamon and Maggie Quinn, and his two older sisters and their families. And first cousins and second cousins and third cousins.

Jordan had to wonder where the crowd had come
from. Ballykirk was such a small village. But everyone in attendance seemed to know the couple quite well, considering that Nan had only lived in Ireland for a few months.

This was what family was like, she mused. One big, happy crowd of people who cared. She'd never really experienced that before, never even imagined what it would feel like to be completely comfortable with the people she was related to.

As the evening went on, the crowd became more and more boisterous and the music more raucous. This was the perfect way to distract herself. How could she feel depressed when faced with Irish pub music? It was all so cheerful and lively. Danny joined his two brothers on stage for a set and Jordan found a spot in the shadows to watch them.

“They're a wild bunch.”

Jordan glanced to her left to find Nan standing next to her. “I've never seen him like this,” she said. “He hums while he works, but this is a surprise. I didn't realize he could sing.”

Nan gave her a long look. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Jordan replied. “I'm…I'm fine.”

The brothers finally left the stage after a rousing rendition of an Irish reel that left the audience exhausted. But Riley came back, sitting down on a stool with an acoustic guitar.

“This is a song for my lovely Nan. It's a song I wrote especially for her and I've only sung it to her once before and she promptly fell in love with me. I reckon if I sing it now, she might just marry me.”

Nan leaned closer. “He's going to sing the selkie
song.” Her eyes fixed on Riley as he spun the tale of a man in love with a beautiful selkie. The way he sang the ballad, it was as if the two of them were the mortal man and the beautiful creature from the sea.

Jordan watched him, amazed at the depth of emotion he conveyed to the audience…to Nan, tears swimming in her eyes. This was love, she thought to herself. Jordan could see it in Riley's eyes, in the way he smiled at his fiancée.

Riley sang two more songs, both of them sweet love songs, before he nodded to the crowd and stepped off stage, a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. He was headed directly to Nan, but his trip was interrupted again and again by enthusiastic fans—mostly female.

When he finally reached Nan, he gave her a kiss. “Was it good?”

Her eyes shone. “It was beautiful,” she said.

Jordan stood up. “Here, take my seat.”

“No, that's all right,” Riley said. “How are you, Jordan?”

“I'm great,” she said.

Danny came up behind Riley and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Riley. You got yourself a good one. Now don't do anything to feck it up.”

“And you'd do well to take your own advice,” Riley teased.

“I could really use some air,” Jordan said.

Danny led her to the front door and then out into the cool October night. Jordan wrapped her arm around his as they strolled aimlessly toward the waterfront. The sounds from the pub faded and when they were finally
alone, she spoke. “They make a cute couple. It makes me believe that love might be possible.”

“You don't believe in love?”

Jordan shook her head. “I think people fall in love, like us. But I'm not sure it can last forever. Sometimes life just gets in the way.”

“But then you have someone to help you with life,” Danny said. “Two people against the world are a lot better odds than just one.”

There were a few people wandering along the quay and they all recognized Danny and said hello. He found a spot for them to sit. Jordan felt a nervous twist in her stomach. She shouldn't have said that to him. It wasn't that she didn't believe in love. She was just used to looking at life in more realistic terms.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “Don't listen to me. I don't know what I'm talking about. I never really took the time to think about romance when I was younger. I was too busy trying to keep up. I never dressed up as a bride or secretly planned my wedding or fantasized about what it would be like to find my Prince Charming.”

“Love isn't a fairy tale, Jordan. It's life, as real as it gets.”

“I know. But I'm supposed to be thrilled by it and it just scares me. It would change everything.”

“Yes, it will. It's supposed to.”

A moment later, a soft, slow ballad drifted into the cool night air from inside the pub. “There wasn't much room to dance inside. Maybe you'd dance with me here?” Danny asked.

He slipped his arm around her waist then took her
hand in his. His body was strong and hard against hers, their movement generating its own warmth. Jordan tipped her head back and drew a deep breath, then slowly let it go. This was her life, this moment in time, with this man in her arms. Nothing else mattered.

She let her hands trail over his body as she danced, creating a soothing counterpoint to the music. But this wasn't about desire. It was about comfort and protection. Even though the world she'd always known was falling apart, all her dreams disappearing before her eyes, it wasn't completely tragic.

“Maybe we should go back to the party,” she said.

“We've made our appearance,” Danny said. “I don't think we'll be missed. And I know you'd rather be alone.”

“There's plenty of time for that later,” she said. “I think maybe I want to learn another one of those Irish dances.”