Chapter 3
Gina
Hot water cascades over my body. I’ve been in the shower so long that my fingertips are shriveled.
I tossed and turned all night thinking about Sean bloody O’Leary.
It’s both amazing and annoying that after all these years the way he says my name in his Irish lilt can still have an effect on me.
My body's been on fire ever since he walked into the clubhouse last night.
Strutted in smiling and teasing as if seven years hadn't passed.
Whenever I think about that cocky grin, wet heat surges between my legs.
God damn that man.
I fought the urge all night to reach for my Magic Wand. If I give in to getting myself off while fantasizing about Sean, it’s one step closer to giving in to the real man.
But as the hot water falls on my nipples, making them pebble, I can’t help running a hand over my breasts.
Promising myself I will definitely not think about Sean O’Leary, I slide my hands down my body, over my stomach to the sweet spot below.
My fingers press gently against the course hair, make little circles with my fingertips.
“Hello Gina.” I can almost hear my name on his lips, and the thought makes my core tighten.
But I banish the memory from my mind. If I’m going to do this, I will not think about that man.
As my circles get firmer, his cocky smile and dancing eyes flash into my mind. I wonder if his long beard would scratch my thighs. I wonder if he still works out. I wonder if he has any new tattoos.
There was a time when I knew Sean’s body as well as my own. And I wonder what it would be like to explore him again.
Dammit, I’m not going to think of Sean while I do this.
Feeling frustrated, I try to concentrate on myself. After seven years of being alone, I’ve gotten pretty good at self-love. One hand caresses my nipples, pinching them with the perfect amount of force.
But they turn into Sean hands, always rough with mechanic grease under his fingernails. I imagine them on me as I slide my finger between my wet folds.
The shrill ring of my phone pierces the air and pulls me out of my fantasy.
My eyes snap open and I’m back in the bathroom, just me with wrinkly fingers and my phone ringing. Disappointment and relief battle inside as the fantasy crashes around me.
Turning off the shower, I reach an arm out and grab my phone off the vanity. I’m expecting a call from the plumber today, and I don’t want to miss it.
I'm expecting him to tell me I can move back into my apartment. But that’s not why he’s calling. They’ve hit a pipe. There’s no damage, but it does mean there’ll be no water for two days. Two more days before I can move back home.
Two more days, stuck here with Sean O’Leary in the room next to mine. That’s the last thing I need.
I was hoping that putting some distance between us would calm this turmoil that’s been inside of me ever since he strode through the clubhouse door. But I’ll have to stick it out for a few more days.
As long as I can avoid him and his cocky grin, I’ll be fine.
I step out of the shower and grab my towel. It’s a small bathroom, and I’m a big woman. It takes a bit of gymnastics to shut the shower door and get myself dry.
I’m bent over with the towel between my toes when the door behind me opens.
I almost jump out of my skin. I was sure I locked that door, and now someone’s getting a full view of my wide ass.
“Shit.”
I straighten up, trying to wrap the towel around me, but it doesn’t fit my substantial body.
From the low chuckle, I know before I turn around exactly who it is that’s walked in on me.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?”
Sean's got one hand on the bathroom door as he watches me struggle to get the towel over my boobs while not showing off my lady parts. By the look on his face, he’s obviously enjoying the show.
“I need a piss.”
“Still so vulgar.”
“Still so beautiful,” he snaps back without missing a beat.
I try not to let the words affect me. Sean was always a charmer, but it’s been a long time since anyone called me beautiful.
“I’m having a shower,” I say indignantly, wanting to wipe that smirk of his face. “Didn't you hear the water running?”
“I just woke up, didn't hear a thing.”
He's got a perpetually cocky grin, and it reminds me that I could never quite tell if he was joking or not. Or if what he was saying was the truth.
“I thought I locked that door.”
“It was unlocked.”
His face is a picture of innocence, which makes me suspicious. I wouldn’t put it past Sean to pick the lock.
I pull the towel tighter around my chest, but that only makes it ride up my legs.
Sean’s gaze travels to my exposed thighs, and he licks his lips.
He looks hungry, like a man who hasn’t eaten in weeks looking at a juicy steak. That hungry look sends a thrill through my body and makes my core ache.
“You do look good, Gina.” He takes a step toward me. “I wonder if you taste the same.”
Damn his audacity. It has me clenching my thighs together as my body betrays every warning my mind is screaming at it.
I take a step back and bump up hard against the vanity.
“I’ve thought about you every day for the last seven years, Gina, wondering if I’ll ever get a chance to kiss you again.”
He takes another step forward, and I’ve got no place to go. His thighs bump against mine, and his hot breath skims my lips.
We’re inches apart and I should push him away, but I’m also wondering if he tastes the same.
“It was a long shower, Gina. Makes me wonder what you were doing in there.”
Oh fuck. Caught.
“I was washing my hair,” I say quickly, but I can’t meet his eye and my cheeks flush.
Sean gives a low chuckle, his eyes sparkling.
“Was it me you were thinking of Gina?”
He’s as arrogant as I remember, and I’d love to wipe that cocky grin right off his face. But I'd also like to grab that face and bury it between my legs.
Only a few inches separate us, and the heat between us is intense. It feels like my pussy is on fire.
If I hadn't been interrupted taking care of business, I'm sure I wouldn't feel this way. But I’m already horny and the way he’s talking to me isn’t helping, saying my name at every opportunity as if he knows what that does to me.
He takes a strand of wet hair between his fingers.
“I’ve never met anyone with this exact shade of hair, Gina. Gold, flecked with auburn.”
He tucks the hair behind my ear, and God help me, my pussy gives an involuntary jerk at his touch.
I feel powerless to resist him. I feel like I'm twenty-four again and letting myself be seduced with sweet words and an Irish lilt.
I shouldn’t do this, I really shouldn’t. But as his mouth moves toward mine, I part my lips in anticipation.
Maybe it’s because it's been seven years since a man touched me. Maybe it’s because Sean’s the only man that ever touched me.
Or maybe it’s because I've thought about Sean every day for the last seven years too. Whatever my reasons, when his lips press against mine, it’s like fireworks going off over my whole body.
His mouth is soft and achingly familiar. An involuntary sigh escapes my lips. It feels so right, even though my head is telling me it’s all wrong.
His kiss wakes up parts of me that have been sleeping for seven years. With one kiss my body feels alive, every nerve ending on fire.
My nipples tingle, my toes curl, and my pussy practically purrs.
Sean cups my cheeks in his hands as he kisses me. His touch is gentle, so tender. It's everything I didn’t know I was missing, and everything I can't let in.
I wrench myself from the kiss, pulling myself out of the sweetness of the moment, and I push him away.
I'm not that twenty-four-year-old girl anymore. I'm a woman who knows her mind. And I won't give into this base desire. Because that's all it is. A desire for something familiar, something nostalgic.
But I know how that ends, with Sean leaving and me left alone. Entirely alone.
“No, Sean, I’m not doing this.”
“Gina, I've missed you so much. I never stopped loving you.”
I hold up my hand, cutting him off. I don't want to hear his sweet talk; I don’t want his Irish charm.
I spent too long building up my defenses. I'm annoyed that I let them down so easily, but it won't happen again.
“It was nice to kiss you, Sean. But it was a mistake.”
“Not if it's what we both want.”
“It’s not what I want.”
The disappointment on his face almost makes me waver, but he’s probably just upset that he's not getting laid. I have to protect my own heart.
“Let me make myself clear, Sean. You broke my heart once. I won’t let it happen again. There is no chance of anything happening between us. Ever again.”
Before he can say anything to change my mind, I exit the bathroom through the door that leads to my room and lock it firmly behind me.
I will not give myself to Sean O’Leary. Not my body and certainly not my heart.