by J. J. McAvoy
“But he still isn’t your dad,” I finished for him. “I understand, what were your parents like? Your mother’s name was Kelly Laoghaire?”
He nodded. “She grew up in Boston, then moved to Chicago to marry my father, Killian. She’d only met him once when they were teenagers.”
“No way? It was an arranged marriage?” People still did that?
He nodded. “My grandfather arranged marriages for both of his sons. He was all about ‘keeping it Irish.’ ”
I frowned at that knowing that if I ever met his grandfather it would be…interesting.
“Don’t worry.” He kissed my lips softly. “Sedric didn’t listen to him either. Evelyn, my aunt, is half Irish, half American. My grandfather almost went insane, trying to get him to marry the woman he chose. But Sedric wouldn’t. He married Evelyn the moment they were both legally able to.”
“What did you grandfather do?”
He smiled. “He disowned him and cut him off from the family money. It was only after my father died that he was forced to get over it since Sedric had to take over the family business.”
“Family business?”
He paused for a second and it was so quick that I wouldn’t have even noticed it if it weren’t for the fact that he looked like he was kicking himself in the head, as he moved away from me and back around the counter to the stove.
“My family owns shares in many small business all around the country.” He stirred the pot.
“If it was so hard back then, how did the Callahans come into money?” I paused thinking more to myself than anything.
He snickered softly. “Fights.”
“You’re kidding.”
He shook his head. “At the very beginning, the Callahan family was nothing bunch of hot blooded Irish men in boxing rings. On our family crest it says; Troid le do lámha, bite le do chuid fiacla, déan cinnte a théann siad a codladh.”
I shivered and leaned towards him. He sounded so…exotic when he spoke like that.
“What does that mean?”
“Fight with your hands, bite with your teeth, make sure they go to sleep.” He smiled.
“The fighting Irish.”
“Damn straight.”
I giggled as I shook my head.
“One order of spicy minced beef and pea curry, milady,” he stated as he placed the food in front of me.
I looked up at him as he waited for me to pass judgment on his cooking skills. Taking a bite, I said the first and only thing that came to mind. “Wow.”
Smiling to himself, he came over and sat beside me. “My aunt would bring chefs to the house for cooking classes when we were younger. She said that every man should know how to cook.”
“She’s so wise, keep listening to her.” I took another bite.
“I’ll let her know you think so.”
He grabbed the remote and I turned to him. “What?”
“I love this song. I heard it once before, but I haven’t been able to find it again.”
I put down my spoon and took him by the hand as I led him towards the windows.
“The food—”
“You can’t let a good song go to waste,” I said as I forced him to dance with me.
He spun me around with ease.
“Great. You can dance too.”
“What can I say, I’m almost the perfect man…almost.”
Almost? He was the perfect man.
We were dancing at first and then both of us just started to sway back and forth on the living room floor. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes.
“I don’t want to go back tomorrow,” I confessed.
“Neither do I.”
I smiled. “Run away with me then, this time it will be my treat.”
He snickered and kissed the top of my head. “You make a tempting offer. But I can’t, my family needs me.”
“Yeah, I know.” I knew I was going to have to deal with my family again too.
When the song ended, we were still swaying without really caring about what was playing on the radio.
“What do you want to do tonight…?” I drifted off when my stomach growled.
“Well, one of your requirements was to feed you, so let’s start with that.” He led me back to the kitchen. Grabbing my plate, he covered it before he placed it into the microwave. He only had it in there for a minute before the steaming plate of food was placed in front of me again.
“Step one, done,” I said, taking a hot bite. “What else?”
“Tell me more about you.”
“More? I’m not sure what more there is left to tell about me.”
He nodded as he sat next to me on the bar stool. “What are your hopes and dreams, Coraline? Where do you see yourself in the future?”
“Only if you answer as well.”
“Fine by me. But I can’t promise to answer everything.”
There he went again, pulling me closer while pushing me away. I wasn’t sure what he could possibly think was so scary about him.
“Okay, let see. I hope and dream for something more out of life. I’m not sure what it is exactly…I guess I dream about being happy. But then again who doesn’t,” I said softly.
“And what about in the future?”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
He shook his head. “Close your eyes.”
I put my fork down and did what he said. It was only when he brushed my hair behind my ears and kissed my shoulder did I realize he was behind me. His chest pressed against my back, as his hands slid to my waist and his mouth barely touched my ear.
“Imagine yourself ten years from now. You wake up, and what’s the first thing you see?”
“The sun, it’s blinding me, so I turn around and curl up next to…”
“Next to who?”
Him, but I didn’t want to say that. “I’m not sure.”
“What do you do next?”
“I give up on sleep and kiss the man beside me. He smiles and rolls on top of me.”
“Do you both fuck or make love?”
“A little of both.”
“And when you’re done?”
I smiled leaning against his back. “We want to go at it again but our kids start banging on the door.”
“Cock blockers,” he whispered and I giggled.
“Welcome cock blockers…ahh…the man besides me gets up, and only after we have on our robes, he picks our son and daughter up in his arms. They’re laughing their heads off and I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. We’re going to have a family picnic.”
“A picnic?”
“Yes, not just for us, but a whole family picnic. We will dance around a fire pit in the middle of the park while our kids play with their cousins. I’ll plan the whole thing.” The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.
“It sounds like the perfect happily ever after.”
I stopped, and turned on the stool to face him. “It isn’t a happily ever after, it’s just the beginning of a new story.”
“How do I read it?”
“Just fill in the blanks in your head,” I said and reached up to touch his face. He hadn’t shaved since he’d gotten here. While I liked the little scruff he had going, I also liked it when he was clean-shaven too. “You said you would shave before we headed back.”
He nodded. “My aunt prefers all of us to look clean and proper.”
“Let me do it?”
“Later.”
And then he kissed me.
DECLAN
It was midnight and she sat on my lap, her legs on either side of me, dressed only in my shirt. My whole shaving kit was on the table, washcloth, straight razor, and shaving cream. Using the brush, she gently spread it all across my chin and cheeks.
“Hey, head up,” she demanded, as she grabbed the razor blade. “You trust me, right?”
“I’ll let you know,” I lifted my head for her. I had never been shaven by anyone. I preferred to be the only person who held
a knife to my throat. But I couldn’t say no to her. She was so serious, concentrating only on my skin as she pressed the blade from my neck to the top of my chin slowly.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered.
“Don’t distract me.” She smiled without meeting my gaze.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She bit her bottom lip, and I could see myself in her brown eyes.
“Close your eyes. I can feel you burning a hole in the side of my face.”
“You’re really going to deny me the sight of you?”
“For only for five more minutes.”
“Fine,” I whined, and as I closed my eyes, I found that I was even more aware of her. She smelled like fresh jasmine.
Our flight was in five hours. I wanted to stay with her longer, but I couldn’t. Sedric would want me back before the family went to church. There were two things the Callahan family always did together; dinner and noon mass…
“Done.”
I grabbed the hot towel and cleaned the rest of the shaving cream off of me. Opening my eyes, she handed me the mirror.
“What do you think?”
Shifting my head side to side, I touched my smooth skin and smirked. “I might employ you full time.”
“Come on, we should go to bed.” She stretched out her hand for me.
Taking it, I followed her into the bedroom and allowed her to crawl into bed before I slid in beside her. She rested her head on my chest, as I put my arm around her.
“You never asked me what I hoped for, or where I saw myself in ten years,” I whispered, staring up at the ceiling.
“You distract me too easily,” she said as she yawned, “tell me in the morning.”
I waited a few minutes, and sure enough she started to snore, but I had gotten used to it…funny enough it made me feel comfortable that she could sleep so well in my arms.
“I try not to think of the future,” I whispered. “In my life I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow or if we will even make it to tomorrow. But for now, Cora…I want to be that guy next to you in ten years. You deserve a good man and I’m not good, Cora. I can’t change that about myself. But I still want to be that guy next to you in ten years.”
These last seven days…they weren’t nearly enough. I wanted more.
I was going to hurt her.
She was going hate me.
I knew it. I could see it happening.
But I wanted her anyway.
NINE
“Love, like fortune, favors the bold.”
―E.A. Bucchianeri
CORALINE
I stared up at the large, white house in front of me with the perfectly trimmed lawn and I wanted to crawl back into his Aston Martin. I already missed the warm Cancun air, the heat of the sun, and the sand under my toes.
“You’re coming to mass right?” he asked, drawing my attention away from the house in front of me.
Glancing at my watch it was only ten a.m., which meant I had more than enough time to get ready. “Yeah. We made it back faster than I thought.”
“Good. I can’t wait to feed you again.”
“Declan!”
“Feed you the host, Coraline.” He laughed at me and I knew he held back on purpose.
“You can’t make church dirty, Declan.”
“Of course I can’t, the Bible already did that.”
I shook my head at him. “I’ll see you—”
“I’ll pick you up?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and it was the first time I had ever seen him look a little nervous.
“What happened to just one week?”
“You don’t want me to?”
“No. I really want to, but…” I wanted to know what was happening between us.
“Okay then, I’ll pick you up at eleven thirty. We can go to lunch afterward. Our second official date?”
I nodded and he leaned in and kissed my cheek before he moved over to the driver’s side door.
“See you later.” I waved.
“Later.” He winked getting in.
I watched him drive off before heading inside my house. The very first person coming down the stairs was none other my Aunt Trisha.
“Are you leaving for your trip now?” She yawned and stretched her neck. “We’re going to need some money before you go.”
Wow.
“Aunty, I already left…I’ve been gone for a week. I left money for you all before I went.”
Her eyes glanced me over once before she turned back up the stairs. “You son of a bitch! Where’s the money at, Adam?!”
She yelled so loud I had to plug my ears.
“There ain’t no money!” he screamed back down at her.
“You a fucking liar!” She stomped back up the stairs. “What you do with it, huh? You spent it getting your cocked sucked ain’t you? Going to the club pretending you some big ass man when you can’t do shit.”
“Coming from the bitch who’s so drunk she ain’t even know what day it is…”
“Welcome home, Coraline,” I whispered to myself as I headed upstairs to my own room and they continued fighting.
Over the years I had gotten used to it. My aunt would never leave my uncle no matter what he did to her. It was partially because of the money, but mostly because she loved him despite everything. And my uncle…well he had some good traits. I think in some way, he really cared about her…they were so dysfunctional, that they somehow made it work.
“So you’re back?” Imani said from the doorway.
I glanced up at her and immediately noticed that her hair was now a light golden color and that the ring curls stopping at her shoulders.
“You noticed I left.”
“You left me at my most critical time, how could I not notice?” She frowned as she took a seat on the edge of my bed…of course it had to be about her.
“Can’t one person in this family ask me whether or not I had a good time? Or at the very least where I went?!” I buried my face in my pillow. Couldn’t someone just care?!
“Fine. Where you did you go?”
I smiled. “Paradise. It was—”
“Ah,” she groaned. And when I turned to her she was picking at a bandage on the back of her neck, and checking it out in my mirror.
“What happened?” I sat up quickly.
“Nothing. I got a tattoo.” She smiled as she pulled it off for me to see. It read “7B.” It kind of looked like half the wing of a butterfly though. “Did you hear? Otis’ club burned down, so he and his partners are building a new one.”
Stay away from him. Declan’s voice spoke in my mind again.
“Imani, what does Otis do?”
“He’s a club owner, duh.” She rolled her eyes at me as she patted her bandage back into place.
“You said he was from Southbend. How did he get the money to set up a club in downtown Chicago?”
“He’s got business partners. Why are you asking so many damn questions?”
“Why are you being so defensive?”
“You know what?” She stood up and glared at me. “Wherever the hell you were, you should have stayed there. No one missed your ass anyway.”
She slammed the door on her way out.
“Fine,” I whispered as I stood up and headed over to my closet. I knew she would be back. We would go shopping and she would apologize…or at least take back what she’d said.
Grabbing my short lace ivory Prada dress, with the bow in the front, along with a pair of nude pumps, I laid them across my bed and matched them with a simple watch and a pair of earrings before I headed into my bathroom. Turning on the shower, I stripped down and stepped inside. But when I looked at my body now, I couldn’t see it the same way I did before…not without seeing…without feeling him. His hands gripping on to my thighs. His lips kissing my skin…
“Ah,” I moaned as I touched myself the way he touched me. I pinched my nipple to simulate the way he’d bite on it.
Leaning against the door, I wish
ed he was here, thrusting deep into me again, as he whispered how beautiful he thought I was, while I lost myself to pleasure. I could feel him everywhere on my skin. Remembering how on our sixth day together he’d spent the night tracing my body with his lips and tongue. He started at the top of my leg and didn’t stop until he’d tasted all of me. By the time his lips met mine, I was so wet as I wrapped my legs around him, but he forced them apart…
“I’ve taught you how to fuck.
I’ve taught you how to made love.
Now I need to teach you the full extent of foreplay.”
And he did. He teased me to the point of tears, while I melted in his hands.
“You came here sweet and innocent…you will leave dirty and sinful…I won’t stop until you hear me in your dreams, Coraline,” he whispered behind me, while we were on our knees on top of the bed, as his hand slowly rubbed that sweet spot between my thighs.
“Oh God,” I moaned as I bit my lips.
“Just look at you, Coraline.” He snickered as he kissed my ear. “Your mouth’s open, your pussy dripping, just begging me to fuck you. Say it.”
“Fuck me,” I whispered.
“Louder, Coraline. I want everyone to hear you.”
“Fuck me!” I moaned louder as my hand sped up just as his had done.
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
I bit my bottom lip harder as I inserted another finger into myself, while I feverishly palmed my breast.
“Declan!” I gasped out as I opened my eyes to find myself standing alone under the hot shower. Bracing myself against the wall, I breathed in slowly and deeply.
“What have you done to me, Declan?” I whispered to myself.
This was bad. What if I couldn’t let him go? I felt like my fate was now in his hands.
But church was a good sign, right? He wanted to be seen with me, right?
I needed to ask him where he saw us going. I needed to know if we were both still playing around or if this was serious. I needed to put my fears aside and be bold.
