Chapter 4 #2
Maybe it was because Bonnie spoke of him often.
Talked about the way he cared for his aunt.
For her. How admired he was in the legal field.
She told me he volunteered at places that benefited children.
He read to them at libraries. Mentored a group of teens.
Led another group in building and maintaining green spaces.
Gardens. He was passionate about the environment.
And judging from his drugging kisses, that wasn’t the only thing he was passionate about.
It was hard to believe he had kissed me. Or that I had kissed him back. Initiated it. From the moment I knew who he was and I was safe with him, I had felt the draw between us. A spark I had heard of but never felt before. I had also never kissed a man the way I kissed Sully so quickly.
And I was surprised I didn’t feel bad about it. In fact, I wanted to do it again.
“Whatever you’re thinking right now,” Sully growled, “share with me.”
I looked up, meeting his beautiful eyes. Set under thick brows, their color was stunning. This close, I could see the whiskey-gold and dark brown melded together in the firelight. Some might call them simply brown, but they were anything but.
And right now, they were staring at me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
“Did I wake you?” I asked.
“The way you’re squirming woke something,” he muttered.
I gasped, realizing I had been doing just that. And now I could feel him. All of him.
I scrambled backward, sitting on him. That was a mistake. I straddled him, and now the feeling was between my legs. He groaned, gripping my hips.
“That isn’t helping, mo fhiadh beag.”
“Oh God.”
He rose effortlessly, bringing our chests into contact. My nipples were hard and erect, brushing on the cotton of his shirt. My nightgown had ridden up, bunched around my hips. His eyes darkened, and his hold on my hips tightened.
“I should move,” I whispered.
“No. Stay,” he added in a quiet voice.
Staring at him, I knew I should feel embarrassed.
Shocked at my brazenness. But instead, I felt powerful.
Needy. Desired. This sexy man was begging me with his eyes.
Pleading with me to stay. Slowly moving under me, dragging his cock back and forth, biting his lips as if trying to hold in his pleasure.
He reached up, wrapping his hand around my nape and dragging my face to his. He kissed me as if he needed me to breathe. As if my mouth was the only way to survive. He cupped my breast, his huge hand palming me, teasing the nipple, making me whimper.
I slid my hand under his shirt, feeling his stomach clench as I touched him. He pulled back, yanking his shirt over his head and flinging it behind him. I gaped at the map of muscles and tendons, the strength and power they exuded. I shivered, never having known desire so strong.
I had never wanted a man the way I wanted this one. I lifted my gaze to his, seeing the same desire reflected back. And gentleness. I knew if I slid off and left him, there’d be no recriminations, no yelling or accusations.
But I didn’t want to move off him. I felt reckless. Filled with passion. I wanted him.
I bent and kissed him, feeling him fist my nightgown, separating from my mouth long enough to tear it over my head and let it join his shirt on the floor.
We explored each other, tasting skin and muscle, soft flesh and hard sinew.
His touch was gentle yet firm. He knew how to pull pleasure from me I had never experienced.
He groaned as he sucked at my breasts, muttering about how spectacular they were.
He cupped my ass, stroking the cheeks and groaning.
Clutched my hips and informed me he wanted me to ride him so he could watch me.
I met his eyes, my confidence faltering. He shook his head.
“No. Stay with me. You are so beautiful, Autumn. Every inch of you.”
“I’m—”
“Perfect,” he finished. “Just perfect.”
In seconds, my underwear was torn off, and he lifted his hips, yanking down his sweats. I tried not to react. Even his cock was beautiful. Heavy and hard, the crown already weeping. He suddenly froze. “I have no condoms.”
I met his gaze. “I can’t have kids, and there hasn’t been anyone for a long time.”
He lifted himself up, his mouth grazing mine. “Then we’re perfect for each other. The same for me—on both counts.”
He wrapped an arm around me, positioning me over his cock. I let out a long breath of pleasure, surprise, and shock as he filled me leisurely. I had never felt so full. So stretched.
So intensely needing more. Anything he could give me.
He let his head fall back with a long hiss. “You are so tight. So perfect. How can you be so perfect?” he muttered, then began to move.
I forgot everything else but the feel of him.
Of us. How it felt to have him inside me.
How the push and drag of him made me whimper and clutch at him.
He moved quickly, taking me hard and fast. Sliding his fingers between us and playing with me, making me cry out with the intense sensations building.
He groaned and cursed, thrusting deep, playing with my breasts, kissing me, his tongue mimicking his cock.
He licked and bit at my neck, and I was certain he was leaving marks.
I returned the favor.
Then the grasp he had on my hips tightened. He flung back his head, the cords in his neck tightening, the sinewy muscles standing out. He yelled out something in Irish, as well as my name, and my orgasm crashed into me, a blaze of heat and ecstasy I had never known.
Then I collapsed on his chest, every ounce of energy used up. I couldn’t move.
I felt him draw the blanket around us, holding me tight. He was still inside me, half hard, a sensation that was all at once unusual and new.
He pressed a kiss to my head after a few moments of silence. “Don’t regret it,” he pleaded.
I lifted my head, meeting his concerned gaze. “I don’t,” I assured him.
He smiled, brushing my hair from my face. “You are so gorgeous right now. I thought last night you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but right now, you are stunning.”
“Right now?” I repeated, shocked at his words. I had never been called beautiful before.
“With your lips swollen, your hair mussed, and my teeth marks on your skin? Fecking hell. I have never seen anything so sexy.”
I felt myself blush. That was how he saw me?
He snickered, pulling my mouth back to his and kissing me again. “I need coffee. Then you again.”
I sat up, his eyes widening as I did, taking in my breasts and following my torso down to where we were joined.
“Forget the coffee,” he grunted, pulling me back down. “Another round, then we’ll have caffeine.”
He kissed me, long, hard, and deep.
“Maybe two rounds,” he murmured with a wicked grin. “We have no place to go.”
I was surprisingly good with that.
I made coffee, standing in the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around me, my fuzzy socks on, plus the warmest clothing I had with me.
Sully had assured me this was odd weather—he certainly hadn’t expected it or he wouldn’t have come out this weekend.
Then he grinned and pulled me in for a fast kiss before he went outside to check on the heat pump.
“I’m glad I did, though,” he said with a wink. “Best decision of my life.”
I leaned against the counter, thinking of this morning. I had never experienced passion the way I had with him. I had never slept with a man I had only just met. In fact, I had only slept with two men my entire life, and I had been far more cautious with them.
Sully, it seemed, was the exception to many rules.
Turning to the coffee, I gently pressed the plunger, inhaling the scent that filled the kitchen.
Outside, I could hear noises that sounded like a shovel being used.
It was still snowing, although not as fiercely, but when we listened to the radio again, it said the trains were not running yet.
Sully had sighed and informed me they might not start up again until later that weekend.
“Maybe Sunday or even Monday,” he mused. Then he had lifted an eyebrow, teasing, “What a shame.”
The door opened, the icy wind whipping through the slightly warmer air. Sully pulled off his coat and boots, placing a box on the floor and heading straight for me. I thought he was going to kiss me, and I lifted my head for his mouth. Except he took the mug from my hand and drank it.
“Hey,” I protested. “That was mine.”
He bent and kissed me, tasting of coffee and cold. “I saw what you wanted, Autumn.”
“Really,” I drawled.
He grinned, taking another sip of coffee. “Those beautiful eyes of yours are very expressive.”
Then he kissed me again, pulling me close and making me shiver.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re forgiven.”
He chuckled as I poured us each a fresh cup of coffee.
“I needed that.”
“How’s it look out there?”
“The pump was completely encased in ice and snow. No wonder it shut down. I got as much as I could off, and I found the heater that I used to use. I’ll let it warm up, and we’ll see if it works. I hope now that I’ve cleaned off the heat pump, it will start again.”
“I’m surprised we haven’t lost power.”
He shook his head as he took a sip of coffee.
“Nope. I have a generator. If the power goes out, it will kick in right away. I checked it and it was fine.” He frowned.
“I’ll be having a word with the people who installed the heat pump.
Bad location. Maybe we can put some sort of protective roof over it or something.
” He met my eyes. “I’m glad you weren’t alone when this happened.
Cell service is iffy at best, and there is no Wi-Fi out here. ”
“I noticed. Once the storm started, I got nothing.”
“I go into the village if I need to call someone and can’t find a signal.” He threw another log onto the fire. “It was always the point to come here and get away. I couldn’t be reached.”
“What if you got sick or something?”
“I have a signal booster that usually works. Or head to the village. I guess the storm knocked it out.”
We returned to the living room, and he sat down beside me, reaching over and pulling me to his side. Without thinking, I nestled against him. It felt oddly right.
For a moment, there was silence, with only the sound of the roaring fire and the storm outside. Then he spoke.
“So, you live in Toronto?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Three weeks. I have three more, unless the project runs longer.”
“No ties to head back to quickly?”
“Some friends. My aunt is there. I check in on her every couple of days.” I smiled. “She thought it was a fabulous opportunity and made me come.”
“You’re close?”
“We are. She stepped in when my mom died. She’s in a care home now, but I see her often.”
“Was it a huge decision to accept this project?”
“Aside from worrying about Auntie Lynn, no. But she insisted I come. She knew that I always wanted to see Scotland, and I knew I needed the space—I mean, a break—so I was happy to accept it.”
“Hmmph.” He paused. “Do you like the big city?”
I tensed up a bit, thinking about my life back in Toronto.
“I, ah, lived in a great little house in a suburb. Still busy, but we had a quiet spot on a nice street. Close to the subway, so easy access to and from work. The city is crazy, for sure, and I prefer to live somewhere a bit quieter.”
“Lived?” he asked. “Had? As in used to?”
I took a sip of coffee to give myself a chance to arrange my thoughts. I should have been more careful with my words.
“Yes. I’m looking for a new place.”
He nodded, sipping his coffee and staring into the fire. He didn’t say anything for a bit, so I relaxed.
Then he turned his head and locked his intense gaze on me.
“Why?”