Chapter Thirty-Four #2
“Lorcan, what if someone catches us?”
He kissed my folds then slid his tongue between them.
I gripped his head and widened my stance to give him better access as his tongue stroked along my sensitive flesh with skilled precision.
Fifteen minutes later, Lorcan and I emerged from the cupboard, my skin flushed from two orgasms thanks to Lorcan’s tongue and fingers.
My core still pulsated slightly. It took my eyes a moment to get used to the light, and when I saw Lorcan, I bit my lip.
His lips were shiny and his chin and cheeks red from friction.
“Everyone will know what we were up to!”
Lorcan took my hand and pulled me down the hallway. “We’re not heading downstairs yet. There are more cupboards to explore.”
In the next cupboard, it was my turn to give back with my mouth. When we emerged from that room, I knew without looking at myself in the mirror, that my lips were swollen and red.
The next one, Lorcan lifted me off the ground and wrapped my legs around his waist so he could fuck me against the wall.
By now I was too wrapped up in the pleasure to worry if someone could hear the sounds of Lorcan’s thrusts slamming me against the wall.
I was lost to the feel of him, his passionate kisses.
Surrounded by darkness, my other senses heightened, making every stroke of Lorcan’s length more intense.
When we both exploded, Lorcan sank to the ground with me sitting on his lap.
We stayed like that for a long time, simply listening to each other’s ragged breathing and basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking.
I froze. It was the first time I thought of it like that. Was it more than fucking? Right now, right here, in the dark it felt like it.
“What’s up?” Lorcan rumbled against my cheek.
“What is this?”
“Shouldn’t you know by now?”
I shook my head, my throat tight. “It doesn’t feel like fucking.”
My voice was barely audible.
“No?”
“It feels like more.”
Lorcan kissed my lips and cupped my head. I was glad for the blackness as it made this conversation easier. “It does.”
We remained in silence for quite a bit.
“Like…” I swallowed. Was it too soon?
“Like lovemaking,” Lorcan murmured.
I nodded. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. “I’m scared of calling it that,” I admitted.
The last few weeks had been intense. Lorcan had stood by my side and had helped me with Finn and Imogen. We’d really worked together as a couple, maybe because the circumstances prevented us from looking at our egos.
“I fell for you a long time ago. I’m not scared of anything. Not even my feelings for you, sweet Aislinn.”
I shivered. Lorcan was still buried inside of me, our bodies still intimately connected and now it felt as if our souls had the same connection. “I didn’t want to develop feelings for you.”
Lorcan kissed me slowly. I wrapped my arms tightly around him. “I think I love you.”
“I think I love you too,” Lorcan said with a small chuckle. Our lips touched again and we kissed in the dark for a long time, forgetting all else.
When Aislinn and I crossed Aran on the way downstairs, he gave me a wink. It was probably still obvious what Aislinn and I had been up to.
“Let’s go outside for a breath of fresh air,” I said, tugging Aislinn into the conservatory and onto the elevated terrace overlooking the cottage garden and the ocean further down.
Aislinn leaned against me. We hadn’t talked since we’d left the darkness of the cupboard. It was too soon for us to affirm our words in the light of day. In the dark we had the chance to admit to something we both weren’t ready for otherwise.
The cold wind tugged at us, but we let it. I glanced down at Aislinn. Her face was no longer flushed and sweaty from our lovemaking. Now her cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold. “Let’s go in.”
She gave a small nod and followed me inside, our hands linked.
My brothers had arrived by now and soon we all settled around the long table.
Father’s cook and maid, Doreann, had cooked up a delicious feast of several meat and chicken pies, pea soup, soda bread and apple cake.
She served it with cider from her family’s apple orchard.
I could see that the tasty food relaxed Aislinn, and Finn was listening curiously to my father’s hunting tales.
For the first time since Imogen’s accident, Aislinn looked truly relaxed.
Maybe she’d finally accepted that her sister’s state wouldn’t change soon and that she had a life to live too .
After dinner, we all settled in the fireplace room. There were enough couches and armchairs strewn about for everyone. Father cornered me before I could sit down beside Aislinn, who was relaxing on the couch closest to the fire.
“She won’t make it easy for you.”
I smiled wryly. “Believe me, I know. Did Mum make it easy for you?”
Father chuckled, his eyes wistful. “Oh no. She challenged my patience every day. I miss her.”
I squeezed his arm.
“Go to your wife. I promised the boy another story about wild boar hunts.”
Father sank down beside Finn on a sheep skin in front of the fireplace with all three Wolfhounds stretched out around them. Finn’s eyes widened at something Father said. Father knew how to spin an engaging tale. He was good at twisting the truth a bit. It’s what made him a successful business man.
I made my way over to Aislinn, sank down and pulled her against my side. Balor and Aran were busy discussing business and the twins were drinking from flasks, though they were already drunk. “I hope Caden doesn’t puke into the flames again.”
Aislinn’s eyes widened, then her gaze returned to Finn.
In a couple of days, we’d head to Dublin to visit Aoife.
Finn had missed her but when we’d asked him if he’d prefer to live with her again, he’d said he wanted to live with us.
He was happy when we told him our plans to have him live with us indefinitely and assured him that he would still get to see his grandma as often as possible.
Father was pleased that we’d have reason to return to Ireland more often.
An hour later, Finn lay curled up in front of the fireplace, fast asleep, Yeats stretched out beside him.
Father had fallen asleep in his favorite armchair and was snoring away loudly.
Aran had ushered Caden and Callahan outside a couple of minutes ago so they could puke into the bushes, so now only Balor remained.
He regarded Aislinn and me with an unreadable expression then got up and gave me a nod.
He needed a wife, but I knew his heart still belonged to the woman he hadn’t seen in a decade.
I stroked Aislinn’s arm. She tilted her head back and gave me a tired smile.
I kissed her gently then rested my cheek on top of her head.
I felt ready to fall asleep, soothed by the heat of the fire and Aislinn’s soft body against mine.
We hadn’t arrived where we wanted to be yet, but we were on the right track.
Finn beamed up at me when we arrived at Merchant’s Arch. Aislinn on the other hand had a nervous air about her. I squeezed her hip. “I can deal with your mother’s dislike. Don’t look so nervous.”
“She’ll change her mind about you.”
“I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.”
We walked up the steep staircase to the apartment that had been Aislinn’s and Finn’s home in the past. Before we could knock, the door swung open and Aoife appeared in the doorway.
Finn rushed toward her and she pulled him into a tight hug.
Then she hugged Aislinn. When they moved apart, her eyes locked on mine.
She gave me a small smile and a nod. “Lorcan.”
“Aoife,” I said with a wry smile.
She stepped back and let us in.
We settled around the small kitchen table, and Aoife put a pot with stew in the center. “I tried my hand at your favorite stew recipe,” she said to Aislinn.
Aislinn’s eyes widened. “Really? You cooked?”
Finn eyed the lumpy concoction in the pot critically, then gave me an uncertain look.
“I followed your recipe,” Aoife said as she ladled stew into our bowls.
Aislinn took her spoon in her hand but didn’t eat. Finn focused on the bought soda bread.
Maybe this was my chance to get in Aoife’s good graces. I took a big spoonful of the stew. It was bland and the meat was dry and stringy. I chewed for a while before I felt confident that I could swallow the meat lump without choking.
Aoife, Aislinn and Finn regarded me closely.
I forced a smile. “It’s…good.”
Aoife scoffed as she ate a second bite then shook her head. “It’s not. My gosh.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You don’t have to lie to me.”
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to be nice to my mother-in-law. ”
She sighed, then she looked at Finn and Aislinn who fumbled with their spoons.
“All right. I have some cheese and chutneys in the fridge.”
“Sounds perfect,” Aislinn said, sounding relieved, and got up to help her mother get everything.
I speared another piece of meat and pushed it into my mouth then grabbed my throat and pretended to choke on it to Finn’s utter amusement. He giggled, his face becoming red.
Aoife pursed her lips, but mirth danced in her eyes.
Aislinn stifled a smile as she put down a wooden board with a selection of cheeses on the table. Her hip nudged my arm then she winked. She reached for the pot, but I got up and took it from her. “Let me do the heavy lifting.” I turned to Aoife. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Put it on the stove. I’m not a picky eater when I come home past midnight and need a quick meal.”
“There’s a lot of chewing involved, so nothing quick about it.”
She sent Aislinn an indignant look. “He’s impossible.”
“I know, trust me,” my sweet wife said as she sank on her chair again.
I smirked as I sat down.
After a delicious dinner of cheese, bread and cider, Finn went to bed in his old room. Aislinn had managed to convince me that we would spend the night here.
When Aoife returned to the table after reading Finn a goodnight story, her expression sobered. “I’m sad to see you leave again so soon.”
Aislinn glanced at me. “You can come with us.”
Aoife shook her head. “I’ll fly over when Imogen wakes. Until then I need to work to pay back my debts.”
“Your debts would be a thing of the past if you stopped being so stubborn,” Aislinn muttered.
Aoife shook her head, her jaw locking tight.
“How about I reduce your interest rates?” I suggested again.
Aoife popped another piece of cheese into her mouth then gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I suppose that would be an option.”
Surprise crossed Aislinn’s face, then she gave me a quick grin.
I held out my hand. “Then it’s a deal.”
Aoife took my hand. “Deal. ”
She pulled back and quickly pushed to her feet with a look of discomfort. “I need a beer. What about you?”
“Definitely,” I agreed. Aislinn took my hand under the table and squeezed, happiness dancing in her eyes.
Maybe her mother was really coming around. While I could deal with Aoife’s cold shoulder treatment, I was happy for Aislinn.
While Aislinn was getting ready for bed, Aoife cornered me on my way to the bedroom. “I never thought a Devaney was the forgiving type, so I was surprised how you handled Aislinn’s… mishap.”
Betrayal , but I didn’t bother correcting her. “I’m not the forgiving type, but Aislinn is the exception and it was an exceptional situation back then. I care deeply for your daughter.”
She nodded. “Protect her and treat her like a queen, that’s all I ask for, then I can ignore your last name.”
I chuckled. “Killeen isn’t a last name that makes my father sing hallelujah either.” Then I sobered. “But don’t worry, I have every intention of protecting Aislinn until my last breath, and treat her like the feisty Irish queen that she is.”
Aislinn emerged from the bathroom in very chaste pajamas. Her eyes darted between her mother and me. “Everything okay?”
“Now it is,” Aoife said before she went toward the bathroom. “And I’m a light sleeper.”
Aislinn flushed. I stalked toward her with a grin, but she narrowed her eyes before I could do or say anything. “Don’t you dare.”
She swatted my arm.
“That’s not the deterrent you think it is. Where I come from, it’s foreplay.”
She rolled her eyes, but I caught the hint of a smile on her face. I leaned down. “Don’t worry. I’ll behave for once. I don’t want to ruin my newfound spiritual kinship with your mother.”
Aislinn giggled, took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom.