18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Addy set her empty bowl on the nightstand and wiped her gravy-smeared lips. “That, my love, is the most delicious stew ever to be stewed in the history of stew.”
Chuckling, Kieran plucked another tissue from the box and dabbed at the corner of her mouth. “Whatever it takes to keep you coming back for more.”
“Well, naked dinner after mind-blowing sex is a pretty powerful incentive. Here, you’ve got a drop in your beard.” She blotted gravy from his jawline, then kissed him for the hundredth time that night. “And you, Keeper, are the most delicious man ever to…um…”
Chuckling, he gripped her ass with both hands and pulled her atop him. “To what, love?”
She straddled him and sat up to drink in his beauty: warm hazel eyes glimmering with mischief, kiss-swollen lips, muscled chest and shoulders and arms that had become her refuge.
Her well-pleasured core throbbed at the sight of him laid out before her, and so did her well-loved heart.
Kieran’s quiet, steady support had finally given her the push she needed to confront her family—though not so quiet tonight. She’d never forget the shock on Aunt Tish’s face when Kieran tore her a new one, his Irish brogue thickening with each sharp word.
The promise of their shared future would buoy her through the hard days to come, when she rode the wave of her long-overdue defiance right through Bumfuck, Nebraska.
Addy twirled her fingertip in the auburn hair dusting Kieran’s pecs. “You are simply too glorious for words.”
She pecked his lips, but he was having none of her chaste kisses. With a seductive snarl, he rolled her onto her back and pressed his pelvis between her splayed thighs.
Addy squirmed beneath him. “Scratchy crumbs on the sheets.”
“Note to self,” Kieran said with a chuckle, “Get one of those little crumb-sucker vacuums.”
“Eventually, we’ll have to give up this habit of post-sex snacks in bed.”
“I suppose.” He lowered his head and circled her nipple with his tongue. “But for now, if you’re in my bed, I don’t want to leave it.” He sighed and rubbed his cheek between her breasts. “I’ll miss you, Addy girl.”
She stroked his soft curls and closed her eyes against the bittersweet pang washing through her. “Let’s video call every night.”
“And every morning.” He started in on her other nipple, teasing it to a tingling peak.
Addy arched into his caress. “I’ve never tried phone sex before. Are you up for it?
His laughter tickled her skin. “I’m not a young man, Addy, but with you, I find myself up most of the time.” He trailed kisses down her belly. “You know, I’m still hungry.”
Gasping, Addy sank into the pillows as Kieran’s magical tongue set her alight.
***
With Addy’s name on his lips, Kieran tumbled over the edge into a thundering climax.
In all his lonely years of self-pleasure, he’d never come this hard.
But the sight and sound of Addy crying out on his tablet screen amplified his bliss beyond anything he’d ever experienced—except, of course, for when she wrapped herself around him, her inner walls clutching him tight, her nails scraping his back.
Though almost eighteen hundred miles separated them—he’d looked it up—seeing her undulate in her hotel bed, eyes fluttering, teeth sunk into her plump lower lip, her chest and face flushed as she arched into her orgasm…Jaysus, the woman was simply magnificent.
When his breath settled enough for speech, he wiped his cum-striped belly and lay back on the pillows. “Thank you, love. I needed that.”
“Me too.” She swiped the dark hair off her forehead. “Especially today. God, I miss you.”
A soft whuff sounded outside the bedroom.
“Someone wants to say hello.”
Kieran pulled on his undershorts, because Addy’s dog had a tendency to poke his cold nose into sensitive places, then opened the door. The Lab bounded onto the bed, tail whipping as he searched for the sound of his mistress’s voice.
“Snoot!” Addy gushed, “How’s my buddy?”
Perplexed, the pup snuffled through the sheets. Finding to trace of Addy’s scent, he quickly lost interest and rolled onto his back for a belly rub.
“Give him extra pets for me,” Addy said with a fond smile. “I miss him almost as much as I miss you.”
Secretly, Kieran suspected it was more like fifty-fifty. Snoot was feckin’ adorable and kept him laughing through their evenings together.
“Aye aye, Doc.” He saluted with his free hand.
Addy’s expression shifted—still smiling, but tinged with sorrow. “Speaking of military matters, my terminal leave was approved.”
“So, you don’t have to return to the base?”
“No.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that, I’m no longer employed by Madigan Army Medical Center. It feels—”
“You have regrets?” Kieran asked, his cheek propped on his bent arm.
She drew a deep breath. “No. It’s a big change, but it’s the right decision for me.” Her lips compressed in a firm line. “About damn time I put my own needs first.”
“Amen.” Pride filled his chest. His Addy was a strong woman, whip-smart and determined. Once she set her course, nothing would hinder her.
Funny way to get to know someone, but the hours they’d spent video-chatting over the past two weeks—over his morning tea and her diner breakfast, between visitors to the lighthouse, on beach walks with Snoot, on his evening grocery run, and in his lonely bed—had deepened their connection considerably.
Not that Kieran’s bed was completely lonely. Snoot had his own bed beneath the window, but Kieran usually woke in the night to find the dog curled against his side.
“Got a call from your friend Liv,” he told Addy. “She put me in touch with a support group in Westport. Might even try some of those woo-woo therapies—tapping, lucid dreaming, whatever it takes.”
Addy snuggled into her stack of pillows. “I’m proud of you, Kieran.”
“Thank you, love. That means a lot. How’s it going in Bumfuck?
She rolled her eyes. “Awful. Today my cousins and aunts ambushed me for an ‘intervention,’ hoping to cure me of my wanderlust.” She snorted a laugh.
“They’ve been watching too much Dr. Phil.
And get this! Mom’s doctor confirmed that, other than high blood pressure and a touch of sciatica, she’s remarkably healthy and strong for her age.
He’s setting her up with a therapist to talk through her anger issues. ”
Her smile slid away, and she stroked her phone screen with her fingertip.
“I miss you like hell, but it took coming out here to prove things really are as bad as I remembered. In fact, they’re worse.
My family lives in an alternate universe fueled by gossip, social media, and reality TV.
When I come home next week, I’ll leave with a clean conscience.
I won’t allow them to steal one atom more of my happiness. ”
He hugged a pillow to his chest, the way he yearned to hold Addy. “And what makes you happy, love?”
Her dreamy smile bloomed again. “You do. Trappers Cove does. Helping patients does. Using my skills. Breathing in the salty sea air and falling asleep to the sound of the surf. But mostly you.”
She rolled onto her back and held her phone overhead, her hair flowing over the pillow like dark water. “Any sign of the ghost?”
“Mmm hmm.” It had been a long day, and his lids were getting heavy. “Saw her last night, out on the bluff. I called to her, but she didn’t turn around this time.” It hurt his heart to see the White Widow, endlessly searching, endlessly lonely—especially now that he knew what she was missing.
Addy sighed and wound a lock around her finger. “Poor restless soul.” She covered a yawn with the back of her hand.
Snoot echoed her yawn, head propped on Kieran’s thigh.
“I’ll be home soon, Buddy.” Addy’s musical laugh had become Kieran’s favorite sound. “Just a few more days, and then you and Kieran and I are going to have the best beach walks. But now, it’s time for sleep.”
He reached for the End Call button. “Good night, Addy. I love you.”
“I love you too, my handsome keeper.”