Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
K ieran’s velvet lips rested gently against Sara’s before gradually increasing the pressure. She could still pull away, still call a halt to this madness. But his mouth felt exactly the way she’d known it would. Wonderful.
He tasted of spicy mustard, a flavor she happened to love, and he… oh, yeah, this Irishman knew how to kiss. He didn’t rush it, but there was nothing tentative about his approach.
He wanted in, and she unlocked the door. With a soft groan he took the action from sweet to scorching, his tongue doing things that shredded every last one of her good intentions.
Cupping the back of his head in both hands, she buried her fingers in his luxurious dark hair and slackened her jaw, allowing all the access he needed to drive her insane. She did her best to return the favor.
The prickle of his upper lip was just enough to add erotic undertones. His breathing picked up and he pulled her closer, much closer.
No mistaking that move. He wasn’t shy about letting her know what he was thinking. So was she, now that he’d worked her into a lather with the most arousing first kiss of her life. If this was a prelude, she couldn’t wait for the main attraction.
Now what? They could have a creative make out session in the woods, but she didn’t want that. She wasn’t a teenager anymore and he certainly wasn’t. She was hip-to-hip with an experienced man who wouldn’t be satisfied with half measures.
That said, she’d already started unbuttoning his shirt. She longed to touch his skin, feel his heart pounding and his chest heave.
He lifted his mouth a fraction away from hers. “I want you, Sara.”
“Ditto, Kieran.”
“Not here.”
“No.”
“But where?”
She swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“Where do you sleep?”
“In one of the kids’ old rooms.”
“Alone?”
“With Lani.”
“Damn.” Slowly, reluctantly, he loosened his grip. “Where will Desiree put me?”
“In one of those rooms. My folks are in one, too.”
“Cozy.”
That made her giggle. “We’re a pair, aren’t we?”
“That we are. I need to back away now or I’ll start kissing you again, which will only make us both more frustrated.” He released her and put on his hat.
“I love how you say froostrated. ”
“I love how you look all rosy and kissed.”
She pressed her hand to her hot cheeks. “I get like that. I didn’t end up with freckles for some reason, but my skin turns pink really fast.”
“All over?” His blue eyes sparkled with a combination of laughter and lust.
“That’s a very intimate question, Mr. Haggerty.”
“I meant for it to be, Miss Armstrong.”
“I’d love for you to see for yourself, but I have no idea how we can ever make it happen.” She took a deep breath. “And even if we manage to enjoy ourselves this week….”
“It’s all we’ll ever have.”
“Except if I come to Dublin for work.”
“But you’ll be working. Not much time for other things.”
“Sad but true. Will you come back here?”
“It’s a lot of money.”
“And I’d have to coordinate my visit with yours.”
The gleam faded from his eyes. “I’ve told myself all that. Turns out when the chips were down, I didn’t care. I had to find out what your mouth felt like.”
“And?”
“Just as I thought.” He gave her a crooked smile. “The lips of an angel, the tongue of a devil.”
She laughed. “You’re a bad, bad boy.” He hadn’t buttoned his shirt. She’d opened it almost to the waistband of his jeans, so she had a nice peek at his broad chest sprinkled lightly with dark hair.
“I’m as bad as they come. I shouldn’t be thinking of taking you to bed. I should concentrate on the meeting with my brother. He’ll soon be facing the same shock I just had.”
“We should give up on this idea.”
He held her gaze. “We should.”
No telling how long they would have stood there enmeshed in their mutual longing if Sam hadn’t bounded out of the woods, his ruff loaded with leaves and pine needles.
“Aw, Sam.” Kieran started buttoning his shirt. “See what you’ve done. We can’t be taking you home looking like that, now, can we?”
“We won’t. But we need to start back so we have time to clean him up.”
“Then off we go.” He held out his hand.
Such a simple gesture, and so tender. Sliding her fingers through his made her chest swell with happiness.
As they started off, he gave her hand a squeeze. “I had the urge to do this on the way out. Tossed it aside.”
“Feels nice.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, geez. You’ve got me hooked, okay? That yes, ma’am routine is overkill.”
“No such thing. When we get back, Lani will take you aside like she did earlier. She’s your big sister. She has influence. I need to, um, solidify my position, if you know what I mean.”
“I get it, silly man. You’re ridiculous.”
“Seems I’d rather tease you than think about what’s coming up.”
She should have figured that out. “Tease me all you want, then.”
“I’d rather kiss you.”
“We don’t have time for that. We need to make Sam presentable.”
He looked down at the collie, who’d decided to stick with the humans for the trip back. “He’s a mess. Too bad we don’t have a dog brush.”
“We’ll stop by the barn and use a curry comb on him.”
“The barn?” Kieran’s eyebrows rose. “There’s an idea. In the dead of night, we can?—”
“I’d never get past Lani.”
“Then I guess you have to let her in on it.”
“She doesn’t approve of us getting together.”
“Neither do I. It’s pure foolishness to risk our hearts like that. Then again, they’re ours to risk.”
She let that sink in as they continued down the path. “I’ll take a wild guess that’s the philosophy that got you over here.”
“I suppose it is. I was risking Granny’s heart, too, and I asked her forgiveness in advance. I’ll ask yours, as well, if we find a way to be together this week. It’ll be complicated, since I need to make time to be with my brother. Assuming he wants that.”
“Oh, he will.”
“But he’s married, and a newlywed at that. Some of his hours are spoken for.”
“So are some of mine. We have the birthday party for Lani and Dallas on Saturday night. And if I know Desiree, she’ll want to invite everyone over tomorrow night to meet you.”
“Everybody? Like twenty people?”
“More than twenty. There’s all the kids, plus my brother Trent and his wife Brittany, and now Brittany’s mom is included in gatherings. The dads who’ve moved here might be invited, and the Wenches would be, for sure.”
“The wenches ? She invites working girls to the house?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Hope not.”
“Desiree started a group years ago called Wenches Who Read. It’s a book club.”
“A book club. Thank the Lord.”
“But it’s not just a book club.”
“Sara, if they’re running a brothel I don’t want to hear about it.”
She laughed. “They used to have a secret function, but it’s not a secret anymore.”
“I really don’t need to know?—”
“Relax. They read and critique Desiree’s work before she sends it to the publisher. They also brainstorm plots and help her with story problems. Nobody in town was supposed to know Desiree’s a bestselling author, so until recently they couldn’t breathe a word of it.”
“I was going to ask her why she decided now was the time to go public after thirty-five years.”
“Gee, I wonder why you forgot?”
“I wonder.”
“I think adding another bookstore has something to do with it. That’s Lucky’s project and she wants him to succeed. In a couple of weeks she’ll do a signing at the new Louis L’Amour and More bookstore in Apple Grove. It’ll be the first time M.R. Morrison has ever been seen in public.”
“That should bring in business.”
“Oh, yeah. My brother Trent created the marketing plan for that store. He’s almost as excited about that as he is about the baby.”
“When’s the due date?”
“Not for six months. Brittany’s not even showing yet, but Trent’s already the most excited daddy-to-be I’ve ever seen. It’s adorable.”
“Do you want any?”
She glanced over to find him looking at her with an affectionate smile.
“Kids?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure, someday. Why?”
“Because while you were talking about your brother’s baby, I had this sudden vision of you with a round belly, and how nice you’d look.”
His comment brought a flush to her cheeks and stirred a reaction deep in her core. “If you think you got a glimpse into the future, I’m not planning on it anytime soon.”
“I don’t know what it was. I’ve never looked at a woman and imagined her pregnant.”
“Do you want kids?”
“I haven’t let myself think about it. I’ve been too focused on this trip.”
“Maybe your subconscious is telling you something.”
“Could be. I haven’t let myself get serious about anyone, either.”
“So you put your life on hold?”
“I didn’t see it that way, but yeah, that’s exactly what I did.”
“And now you’re free to move forward, find someone special, make some babies.” What a depressing image.
“Possibly.”
“I hate to say it, but having a fling with me is going in the wrong direction. You need to keep your powder dry, as they say.”
His brow wrinkled. “I don’t get it.”
“Back in the day of muskets, they used gun powder and when a big battle was coming, they had to make sure they didn’t waste their powder or worse yet, let the rain get to it.”
“Ah.” He grinned. “No worries, lass. I’ve been in very few battles lately. I’ve kept my powder dry and I have plenty to spare.”