Chapter 21
The water was a shock after the heat Tierney had been feeling up close with Kasia. She’d promised to be there to support her, though now all she could think of was being with her. And not just in a pure lust kind of way. Although, the image of putting her arms around Kasia’s lean body was taking her straight to them lying together in bed, limbs entwined.
She ducked her head beneath the water until her brain ached with the cold. What the fuck? She struck out with an overly violent stroke, annoyed about putting herself and, more importantly, Kasia into an awkward situation. But Kasia had felt it too, hadn’t she? She was sure she’d seen it in her eyes, and that had made her yearn to reach up on tiptoes and plant a kiss on her shiny lips.
Shit, she was doing it again. She turned and swam back to the pier. Even at her level of exertion, the cold was starting to get to her. Kasia’s blond head bobbed near the quay.
“I wondered where you were off to. It’s cold.” Kasia’s lips had a blue tinge.
“Were you waiting for me? You didn’t need to do that.” She swam close. “Let’s get out.” It was freezing cold out of the water even without the wind, so they grabbed their dry robes and hurried back to the warmth of Joey’s tower.
“You can change here.” Joey swung open the door to a side room with a bed and a small closet. They indicated a door at the far end of the room. “Shower’s in there.”
Kasia turned to Tierney, who waved her on. “You go first. I’ll wait by the fire.” There was no way she was going into a cramped space to get naked with Kasia.
Joey got busy mashing potato. “What’s going on with you two?”
Tierney pulled her arms inside her dry robe and wriggled out of the wet swimsuit. “Nothing. Kasia works for my family. I’m not going there.”
“That’s exactly how it looks when you’re staring at her with big puppy dog eyes.”
Tierney checked the door was still firmly closed and moved closer. “Shut up, will you? She’ll hear you.”
Joey shrugged. “I’ll say the same to Kasia. You two need to work out what’s going on. It’s getting more obvious by the minute.”
“We already went there, Joey. It didn’t work out.”
“Why are you whispering?” Joey waved toward the door. “Kasia ran away from that situation just as fast as you did. You never talked about it properly, and it’s clearly not resolved. Sort it out.”
Their abrupt manner was so uncharacteristic Tierney was taken aback. “What’s biting you?”
“You two have the chance to be happy together. You shouldn’t ignore it.”
“I massively disagree. We have the chance to hurt each other. I should walk away now, but I have to stay and do what I promised with the hotel.” She paced around the small space and Joey dropped the oven mitt to grasp her arm.
“Sit down, you’re making me dizzy.” They guided her to a chair at the table. “Just talk. See how she views it.”
Tierney jumped up when the bedroom door opened.
“Sorry I took a while. I couldn’t get warm.” Kasia’s lips still lacked their regular pink color, and her skin was paler than usual.
“I’m sorry if I made you stay in too long.” Tierney avoided her eyes as she squeezed past to get to the bedroom, glad of a few minutes alone.
When she emerged, Kasia had settled close to the fire, apparently lost in watching the flames. She didn’t turn as Tierney approached.
“Food’s ready.” Joey bustled in, carrying a large pot in each hand.
Kasia roused and they all sat at the table. The earlier intimate mood was replaced with an awkwardness Tierney was sure she had generated all by herself. The food was delicious, so for a while they were quiet as they devoured the succulent stew. When she finished her meal, Tierney glanced up. Surprisingly, Kasia was glaring at Joey. Joey, however, grinned back. She had clearly missed something. Just as clearly, she was sure she didn’t want to know.
“When we’re done, I just need to go and check something on the boat. It didn’t sound right on the way over.”
“We’ll get cleaned up here, won’t we, Tierney?” Kasia wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It’s the least we can do after that feast.”
“It was good.” Tierney emptied the last of the potato onto her plate. If she carried on eating, she wouldn’t be left alone with Kasia. She knew deep down Joey was right though. If she really was concerned about hurting Kasia, it made sense to talk it through. She just didn’t want to have the conversation. Finally, when she felt she consisted mostly of potato, she put down her knife and fork in defeat.
Kasia got up and gathered their plates. Joey squeezed Tierney’s shoulder before they threw on their coat and swung open the door, letting in a blast of icy air. “Won’t be long.”
Tierney let out a long breath before she followed Kasia to the kitchen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this weird. I really do appreciate what you’ve done for the hotel in Granny’s memory.”
She picked up a cloth and started drying. If she focused on the mundane, perhaps she could have a sensible conversation.
“You didn’t make it weird.” Kasia scrubbed at a plate with intensity before she handed it over. “We’re both feeling this. Poor Joey’s stuck in the middle watching us make hard work of it all.” She handed over another plate. “I wasn’t expecting to find you so irresistible.”
Startled, Tierney glanced at her, then looked away quickly. She should say something about it being mutual, but she couldn’t get the words out.
Kasia pulled the cloth from her grasp and dried her hands. “Nothing to add?”
She glanced at the door, fighting the urge to run. But Kasia stood in her way. Also, she was stuck on a rock in the ocean. Where was she going to run?
“I think we have to resist.” She shuffled her feet. “I can’t offer you anything long-term. And you work for my dad. It’s not right.”
Kasia’s sharp laugh made her jump. “This isn’t a marriage proposal, Tierney. I live on an island, and it’s winter. Let’s just try keeping each other warm for a while.” She stepped up close. “I don’t expect a promotion or engagement ring when the spring comes. You’ll move on, and I’ll keep running the hotel. I’m fully aware of our positions. But before then, we could enjoy each other. No need to freak out, be awkward, or run. You just have to tell me if it feels like too much pressure, or if you want to end it.” She shrugged and her fingertips traced the line of Tierney’s jaw to her collarbone. “Just fun. Nothing more.”
Tierney closed her eyes as memories of those fingers flickered through her mind. She wanted this, but Kasia’s admission that it would be nothing more than some fun to fill the winter nights sat heavily in her chest. She didn’t want commitment, so why did the thought of sex without any ties bother her? Deep inside she knew the answer.
With Kasia, casual would never be enough.
She saw her own desire reflected in Kasia’s eyes. Giving in, she pulled Kasia’s head lower. Kasia’s mouth settled on hers, and she stopped overthinking the situation—stopped thinking completely.
Hungrily, they explored each other’s mouths. Kasia’s tongue drove her crazy until she thought her legs would give way.
Eventually, Kasia pulled back. “Should we take this back to the hotel? Poor Joey’s going to die of hypothermia.”
Kasia’s lips had regained their color, and more. Tierney felt a flash of embarrassment that in the heat of their kiss she’d forgotten Joey was on the island. “I’ll finish up here. You go and tell Joey we’re ready to go if they’ve fixed their imaginary engine problem.”
Kasia snickered, gave her a last searing kiss, and put on her coat. When she’d left, Tierney cleaned up and put ashes on the embers of the fire. She propped the fireguard securely. The last thing Joey needed was to come back to find their fishing hut had burned down because Tierney wanted to get into bed with Kasia.
She gathered her stuff strewn around the room along with Kasia’s perfectly packed bag and headed out, trying not to show the urgency she felt in getting back to the hotel. Joey met her at the door and locked up, having the decency to do nothing more than smirk.
The trip back was quick. Kasia had wrapped up tightly in her coat and stood looking out as Inishderry grew on the horizon. Tierney resisted the urge to touch her. Instead, she dug around in her bag until she found her beanie. Kasia took it with a grateful smile and pulled it over her still damp hair. Tierney pulled up her hood. This wasn’t the weather to be wet. They really should’ve brought more clothes. She hated winter, and winter on Inishderry was long. But if she had to stick it out, maybe Kasia was right. Together they could make the long nights more bearable.
As they got off the boat, Joey whispered, “I’ll drop off your camera kit tomorrow.”
She’d forgotten she even owned a camera in her desire to leave the island. The trio said goodnight and Kasia and Tierney walked up the short hill between the harbor and the hotel.
When they reached the door, Kasia leaned in. “Don’t hurt me,” she murmured as their lips brushed.
Tierney pulled back slightly. “I promise I won’t.” She practically snatched the key from Kasia’s hand and pulled her inside, not letting up on the kiss until they were at the stairs. She ran up, pulling Kasia along with her, until they reached her rooms. Suddenly feeling she was intruding on Kasia’s private space without asking, Tierney pulled up in the doorway. Kasia ran into her from behind.
“I thought you were in a hurry?”
She turned. “Oh, I am, but this is your home, and I don’t want to act as though…” She paused, trying to say the right thing.
“You own the place?” Kasia’s eyes twinkled. She pushed past her into the room. “That’s sweet. Please join me.”
Tierney complied and closed the door behind them. She reached up to unbutton Kasia’s shirt, but Kasia brushed away her fingers and instead, pulled it off over her head. Tierney stared. Kasia’s breasts were partially covered by a thin white bra. Part of her brain wondered how Kasia always managed to look so well dressed, even half naked. Most of her just wanted the bra gone. As if reading her mind, Kasia unclipped it quickly and discarded it, then turned her efforts to Tierney’s T-shirt. Kasia removed it quickly, along with Tierney’s sports bra.
Kasia pushed Tierney back through a doorway and against the wall. Crushing their breasts together, Kasia cupped her face. Tierney groaned with need and took Kasia’s thumb into her mouth and sucked it. Kasia’s hips bucked, and she replaced her thumb with a crushing kiss that stole Tierney’s breath.
Without breaking their kiss, Kasia pulled down Tierney’s sweats. Tierney stepped out of them, glad she hadn’t bothered with underwear after their swim. Kasia’s strong hands wrapped around her waist and lifted. Tierney went with it, not caring they were in the kitchen, not the bedroom. The surface of the worktop was cold beneath her thighs. She shuffled back until Kasia stood between her legs. Kasia pulled away and looked into her eyes.
Tierney opened her knees wider. She needed Kasia’s hands on her. She’d waited too long for this moment. Kasia’s hands moved from her waist and cupped her breasts, flicking her tight nipples until Tierney gasped.
“Touch me, please.” She ran her fingers through Kasia’s hair and pulled her close.
Kasia gave a low laugh and moved her hands slowly down Tierney’s body. The anticipation was agony and delicious at the same time. When Kasia’s fingers entered her, she groaned and buried her head in Kasia’s neck, nuzzling the skin as she opened herself to Kasia’s touch. It didn’t take long for her climax to build, and when she reached the peak, she pushed so hard she nearly slipped off the smooth worktop. But Kasia’s body moved against her and kept her safe.
“I’ve got you.”
The soft voice in her ear almost made her come again. When she followed Kasia to the bedroom, Tierney couldn’t help revisiting the promise she’d just made. Was she sure she could keep it? Kasia’s vulnerability had been surprising and unnerving. This was meant to be sex and nothing more, but it already felt like something bigger than that. Instead of worrying about hurting Kasia, should she be concerned she might be the one to get her heart broken?