Chapter 4 #7
Ronan headed inside the house to obtain the bottle.
I could feel anxiety mounting within. A walk in the dark.
This could be, no, it would be scary for sure.
My heart began beating harder in my chest thinking about walking in the dark with this broad-shouldered, six-foot-something man.
He was extremely hot, and the red hair made me want to ignite his whole world.
I was beginning to think this liquid courage was a bad idea.
I had already had a few beers, and we were nowhere near done with the night.
There was great potential for the night to not be done with us.
He returned with two glasses and a bottle of Irish whiskey. He poured a bit in each glass and screwed the cap back on. Handing me one of the glasses, he clinked the rim of his with mine.
“To new adventures.”
“New adventures.”
I tipped the glass to my lips, downed the drink in one gulp, and smiled at Ronan.
“It’s gonna take more than that,” I said, picking up the bottle and unscrewing the cap. I tipped the bottle to my lips and took a swig. Ronan finished his drink and set the glass down on the table.
“Ready to go?” he said, holding out his hand to me.
I placed my hand in his. It was large, warm, and rough.
I absentmindedly ran my thumb over his knuckles and a smile appeared on his well-defined face.
His beard didn’t hide how sharp the lines of his face were.
His skin was tan and lightly freckled, but absolutely flawless.
I snagged the bottle as we left the patio and started walking down the driveway. It was frighteningly obvious that there were no streetlights this far out of town. As we walked, we passed the bottle back and forth between us a couple of times before I put the top back on.
We heard some noise, mainly when the wind blew. No light at all unless I pulled my phone out—that just made it creepy. We could only see what the moon was allowing, and tonight, it wasn’t much.
After walking in silence for quite some time, or at least it felt like a while, Ronan asked if I was ready to head back.
“Yes, please,” I responded, thankful for the question.
As we swung around to change direction, he swung me with a little extra strength that caused me to not only face him but run into him.
His free hand caught my cheek, and his lips met mine.
He held me firmly against him and deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue against mine.
He tasted like whiskey, and it was delicious.
The kiss ended, and with our foreheads pressed against one another, we did our best to catch our breath.
“I really like ye, Joslyn.” He kissed my lips again, softly this time.
“I really like you too. Can we get back to the house, and then we can have whatever conversation you want? Or we cannot talk either; just back at the house. Okay?”
“Let’s go.” He pulled me in the direction of the house.
When we reached the manor, I could see that Charlotte’s bedroom light was on.
I had no desire to talk to her right now.
We walked around to the back patio and checked the fire.
It was still burning, so I headed to the other side of the firepit where the couch was.
A large fur blanket was lying over the arm.
I picked it up and took a seat. Ronan’s eyebrows rose and he followed me to the couch.
We wasted no time picking up where we left off on the road.
His kisses were a slow burn; lingering, and it was the sweetest torture.
I wanted him to take his time, but my body wasn’t trying to go along with that plan.
My hips kept rising to grind against his pelvis.
I could hear his frustrated moans, he was releasing against my tongue and lips.
He pulled away a couple of inches and stared into my eyes.
“I am trying to be a gentleman ’ere, and ye are making dat extremely ’ard. No pun intended.”
“We are adults; we can totally make out without having sex. We are not horny teenagers,” I said this aloud, in a futile attempt to convince us both.
“Okay, so I won’t put dis…,” he said, putting his hand over my hand still cupping his manhood. “In ’ere.” He moved his hand between my legs. Moisture pooled in my core at his touch, even over my pants.
“Deal.” I grabbed his face, bringing his lips to mine.
His pelvis pushed against me, and my legs opened wider pushing back.
I sat up and pulled off my jacket. This fur blanket was no joke, and my skin was on fire.
As soon as my jacket was off, Ronan reached down and grabbed the bottom of my sweater and pulled it over my head.
He kissed me deeply and then pulled away and sat up. “I really don’t tink I would be able to stop myself once I change yer mind and dat is what I would be committed to doing,” he said smiling at me.
“Okay, I can probably agree with that especially since I have been drinking, and it would be easy to get me to change my mind.” I grabbed my sweater and pulled it back over my head.
I sat up and adjusted my clothes. “Well, I can tell you that I’m not about to let you drive home, so you have to stay here. ” He let out a deep breath.
“I can sleep on de couch, dat would make it easier,” he responded.
“It will drive me crazy; you being on the couch. Besides, I don’t want Charlotte coming downstairs for a drink of water and seeing a hot guy on the couch. She might take advantage of your sleepy state.”
“Okay, well I highly doubt dat I am going to get raped by a five-foot-nothing girl dat barely tips de scale at a ‘undred pounds. Besides, trust me when I tell you dat she is not de one dat I am interested in.” He leaned forward and gave me a sweet peck on the lips.
Ronan stood up and held out his hand. “We better clean up our mess on de way in.”
I grabbed his hand and stood up from the couch.
Picking up the whiskey and beer bottles, I walked toward the house.
Ronan gathered our pizza mess and glasses, following behind me.
Inside the house, I locked the door and set the alarm.
We dropped everything off in the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water, and headed up the stairs.
I flipped on the light as we entered the room and headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.
With a clean face and teeth, I returned to my room searching for the oversized tee that I used as a nightgown.
I found it in the top drawer and facing away from Ronan, I pulled my sweater and tank top over my head and undid my bra, throwing them in the clothes hamper.
I pulled the tee over my head and then pulled off my jeans and socks.
When I turned around, Ronan was under the blankets with his hands behind his head resting on the pillows. He was wearing the biggest grin.
“Ye did dat on purpose. Too bad dat dresser didn’t ’ave a mirror.”
I switched off the light, walked over to the bed and crawled up to Ronan, pressing my lips to his; pulling him on top of me.
I put my hands in his hair holding his lips to mine.
He started running his hand from my hip to the side of my chest lightly; causing goosebumps.
At some point I realized he was only wearing boxer briefs.
He was going to make this impossible. Wearing only a few garments of clothing somehow made it seem like we were wearing far too much.
It’s funny how that works. The only thing between us was two pairs of underwear and a tee.
“Do ye want me to go to de couch yet?” He asked out of breath but smiling.
“No, I definitely do not want you to go to the couch. I have to say though you have me questioning my decision downstairs.” I was rapidly changing my mind about wanting to wait.
I kissed his lips one last time and then pushed him off.
“However, it is time for us to go to sleep. I am trying to stick to my guns, and you’re pretty persuasive. ”
“If ye insist.”
He turned onto his side to face me. I turned away from him and pulled his arm around my waist. Moments later, I was fast asleep wrapped in his arms with his breath in my hair.
I was ripped from my sleep by a blood-curdling scream accompanied by the sound of glass smashing. Ronan and I both shot out of the bed and ran to the door, flinging it open. We ran to my cousin’s room and barreled through the door. There was glass on the floor under a broken window.
“Charlotte!?” I screamed as I frantically scanned the room for my cousin.
I screamed her name again and ran into the bathroom to see if she went in there to hide.
She wasn’t there either. Ronan was peering out the broken window.
I ran into my room and snatched my sweatpants from the floor and ran down the stairs.
I quickly pulled them on and slid into my shoes, which were still next to the door.
I flung the door open, ran outside, and around the house.
Once I was under the broken window, I was screaming Charlotte’s name into the darkness while I ran toward the back of the estate.
When I reached the back patio Ronan came out of the back door holding my jacket.
“Joslyn, get in de truck!” he yelled to me as he tossed the coat.
I caught it and put it on as we ran to the front and jumped into his truck. He tore out of the driveway and took the first road going west.
“Where are you going, Ronan? We aren’t even sure who took her or which way they went.”
“I am going to talk to someone. He might ’ave some information dat could aid us in locating Charlotte.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Who the hell could you possibly know that could help us with something we don’t even know anything about? Who or what could take a person out of a second-story window? Shouldn’t we call the police?”