Chapter 28 Kira
TWENTY-EIGHT
KIRA
IF I COULD, I’D BOTTLE THIS
Starting off my day with an impromptu party was not on my schedule. I parked my car and rushed into the taproom, dabbing at my brow with the back of my arm. August was showing itself to be just as hot as July. In deference to the heat, I went with a sundress and flats.
While not in my plans, the boost of morale was important. And hopefully most of the staff could make it in to enjoy a little fun after all the work we’d done.
Not to mention all the work still to be done to get us to the finish line. It was a good idea to show them just how much we appreciated them.
As I came in, the Manning boys were standing at the bar with Lennon tending it. She was flirting with Justin, showing off her balancing techniques. One of her best tricks was how she could twirl and catch a bottle with nearly any body part.
Justin was leaning over the bar as she caught a shaker at the small of her back, using her very curvaceous butt to tip it back along the curve of her spine. She did this little hip bump and the shaker flipped, landing neatly into her palm.
She shook it and twirled it a few times along the flat of her hand before breaking the seal on the two stainless steel cups to pour whatever she was making over a martini style glass.
“There she is. Just in time to try my new B3 Mule!” Lennon waved me over. “Wait ’til you try it.”
“It’s not even nine in the morning.” I dumped my bag behind the bar.
Justin gave me a sleepy smile. “You gotta catch up. We’ve been drinking since six.”
“No way I’m catching up.”
“C’mon. You gotta try Len’s magic Mule.”
Lennon snorted. “That is not the name.”
“Well, it should be. It’s friggin’ magically delicious,” he slurred.
“Just how much have you been drinking today, Justin?”
He shrugged. “There was the tasting with our masterful brewmaster, and then Lennon joined the party with her Paula Red infused vodka.” He made a chef’s kiss noise with his fingers. “Magic.”
“It is pretty magical.” She strained off the drink and pushed it down to me.
“I’m assuming Moscow Mule-ish?”
Lennon’s dark eyes twinkled. “Try it.”
“If we’re going to be drinking like this, make sure you take keys.” I lifted the glass. “Sláinte.”
“Yes, boss.” Lennon’s burgundy tipped dark hair was plaited down in two fat braids. She was wearing her usual black-on-black ensemble, but today was a tank top instead of a cropped T-shirt. Her eyes were made up with glittery purple shadow and thick lashes.
I was pretty sure Justin was ready to ask her out based on the way he was looking at her, with his head propped on his hand. Little heart bubbles were practically popping around his eyes.
Then again, Justin was a perpetual flirt. No woman was safe in a thirty mile radius.
I took a careful sip and the warm, sweet layer of apples in the otherwise refreshing drink was amazing. “Wow.”
Lennon winked at me and brought out the homemade apple vodka from behind the bar. “I might have to go up against moonshine boy with my creation.”
“Don’t say that too loud. Hayes will be talking your ear off about the process.” Justin wrinkled his nose adorably. “You don’t want that.”
Lennon glanced over to where Hayes and Beckett were talking quietly at the other end of the bar. “I don’t know, maybe I want to talk geek with him. He’s hot.”
Justin frowned. “Hey. What about me?”
She reached over and tapped his nose. “You’re adorable, too.”
His smile was soft and…well, adorable. There was no other word for it. Then again, I’d always looked at Justin as my baby brother. He was twenty-three and still thought an evening of beer and darts was the height of fun.
He worked hard, but he was definitely still in the play hard mindset.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever had that.
Lennon snapped her fingers in front of me. “Lighten up, boss. You’re getting a frown line already. Today is for celebrating.”
I rolled my eyes and took another drink. “What are we celebrating? Besides all the hard work you guys have been doing for us.”
“That’s all you, mama. I just come in and look pretty most of the time.”
“And boy, are you,” Justin said with a sigh.
She shook her head with a laugh. “Don’t make me cut you off.”
“You’ve been working your ass off, too. Just look at that bar you’ve created. You’ve been training the new staff in between all your trips. You’ve been invaluable.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts and Justin perked up.
I elbowed him. “Don’t be gross.”
“I can’t help it. She’s wow.”
Lennon gave me a half grin. “He’s harmless. But I do appreciate it. I wasn’t sure about taking this gig, but I’ve never had complete control of a bar before. I kinda like it.”
“We love what you’ve done for us, Lennon.” Ronan’s voice floated behind me.
I forced myself not to stiffen, even when he came closer to me. God, all that warmth was right there and it would be so easy to just lean back on him. Not smart to do at work. Not professional in any way, but I was so very tempted.
I turned with the glass in my hand. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” His gaze drifted to my mouth then back to my eyes. The heat was on display for everyone. Sheesh.
I took a fortifying sip from my drink. “Have you tried The B3 Mule?”
“Nope. I’m still trying to recover from her Firefly Margarita.”
“Firefly?” I turned my attention to Lennon. “He let you try it?”
“He did. I can’t wait to make some cocktails with all of them.”
“All?”
Ronan lifted me off my feet and spun me around. “Come see.”
I gripped his shoulder with one hand and held my drink up and away so I didn’t douse us. “Ronan, put me down!”
I said that a whole lot when it came to this man.
Lennon stepped up on the footrest behind the bar and snatched the glass out of my hand. “Go on, you two lovebirds.”
I frowned. “Put me down.” I looked around. “We’re at work.”
He put me down, looking mildly contrite. But it didn’t last long, because he grabbed my hand and dragged me across the dining room, to the patio.
I glanced at Beckett, who stopped talking to Hayes as we rushed through the room. Great. This didn’t look at all suspicious. Nope.
Ronan rushed me down the steps and across to his workshop. “I worked all night.”
“You didn’t go home?” Now that I looked at him, I noticed how disheveled he was.
The top part of his hair was scraped back in a stubby tail while the rest of his curls rioted around his ears.
His work pants were splattered with a rainbow of colors, and he smelled of syrup and lemons.
Thankfully, he’d put on a shirt, because I left him shirtless at around two that morning.
“Nope. I was too keyed up. Now, I think I’m a little buzzed.” His dark eyes were unfocused. “Whatever. It’s a good day.” He urged me past the workbench that was littered with glasses.
“What’s going on?”
He pulled me into the fermenting shed with two large steel drums. There were a number of smaller containers stacked along the wall. I’d never really been back here before. It was the only temperature controlled area in his workshop.
The pasteurizers were in another part of the farm, but he’d been working toward that part of the process. The last few weeks had been perfecting the formula.
Luckily, most of the small batches could be done right in the workshop until he and Hayes decided which would be mass produced.
“First.” He slammed the door and crowded me against it. His ginger scent had a tart, lemon tone to it, and then his mouth was on mine. The kiss skipped teasing and went right to intense.
I didn’t have time to push him back and remind him a bunch of people were out there waiting for me. Mostly because my brain went offline and I found myself wrapping my arms around him.
He lifted me off my toes as one hand snuck under the skirt of my dress to grip my thigh and hike it up along his hip. He ground his rapidly hardening cock against my center. “Just a quick taste,” he said against my mouth. “Promise.”
And then we both went under again. He rolled his hips to grind himself against the cotton panties I was wearing. His hand went higher on my hip to find the top band of my underwear.
“Are you wet for me? Can I see?” His pupils were blown out as he nipped my lower lip.
“Did you drag me in here to get laid?” I huffed out a breath and tugged his hair.
“No. I dragged you in here to show you something, but then you looked so pretty and fresh.”
“So, now you’re going to make me a wrinkled mess?”
He licked his lips and stared at my mouth while his long fingers slipped down into the front panel of my panties. “I like wrinkling you up. I like touching you. I like you in my space.” He ducked his face into my neck. “I like your taste on my lips.”
I gripped his belt loop. “Ronan. How much have you had to drink?”
“Kind of a lot. God, you’re pretty.” He leaned harder and his shaft dug deep into my thigh. “I already miss being inside you.” He slipped the tips of two fingers along my slit. “Let me sink in for just a second. Just so I can taste you.”
“Ronan.” I stared at him, all unfocused. An edge of excitement vibrated off him that was very contagious. I relaxed with a groan as he slipped two fingers into me and twisted so he could pulse lightly.
“Ahh, there it is. Slick for me. I just need a little taste to get through the day.” He rested his forehead against mine. “I showed Beckett and his brothers my new brews. The brews I made because of you. For you.”
I tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but even buzzed, Ronan knew exactly how to get me off. “You let them taste Firefly?”
He rubbed the top of my pussy with his palm as he pushed back into me. “Yeah. So much of me and you. It’s all for you, you know. My sweet and saucy muse.”
Before I could reply to whatever that meant, he covered my mouth and drove me up and through a ridiculously fast orgasm. He swallowed the groans, and the rumble in his chest made me grip whatever I had available to me.