Then again, she had been that night in the bar as well.
Nice to know some things didn’t change.
“I hate to cut this short, but I do have a pressing engagement,” I said.
“A pressing engagement?”
“Yes. I’m meeting with a couple of police detectives.”
“Trying to funnel more information on me?” Philomena asked. “Liam, are you having me followed? Is someone taking pictures of me in the shower?”
“No, but they are attempting to help me track down who broke into my place a few weeks ago.”
I felt her eyes scan my body as I straightened out my back. It wasn’t something I wanted to talk about. Not something I wanted to indulge. So, I continued on with the conversation before she could pull me into a conversation about it.
“I trust you’ll be able to pull out something from your bag of tricks that will leave me ready to sign any papers you request of me,” I said. “I have no desire to start from scratch with another agent. It’s tiresome, and I’m done playing games. You know me better than most people, so use that to your advantage.”
“Trust me, I expect to,” she said. “Though I wish you would’ve divulged this information sooner.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because the properties I’ve been showing you have been centered around views and status, not security. Which would make sense why you’re wearing a very expensive watch with an outfit that leaves much to be desired. How much did you have stolen?”
“More than I care to talk about.”
“Then I’ll make sure our next properties have a nice slice of home security to go along with it, Mr. Walsh.”
I bit down onto the inside of my cheek as she led the way back to her Jeep. I didn’t like thinking about how my world had been invaded. I didn’t like reliving the moment when I stepped into my apartment and realized everything I treasured had been taken away from me. So, my eyes dropped to admire the way she swung her hips. Left to right. Rhythmically and smoothly. With her flexed calves and her pert ass that more than filled the palms of my hands.
What I wouldn’t have given to bend her over the hood of her car.
Anything to get my mind off all that shit.
“You’re not an easy man to please, but it’ll make my success worthy of a celebration,” Philomena said. “With each property, I get to know you a little better, and that’s real estate agent gold. I’m painting an interesting picture in my head, which is very unlike the picture I had of you during our first encounter. It’s no wonder others have had a hard time envisioning what you have in that mind of yours.”
She started the engine and those long legs called out to my left hand. I reached out for the tanned skin calling to me, but before I could touch her I felt a stinging sensation ricochet up my arm.
“Down boy,” she said, grinning. “I’m the one driving. If you want to make it to your prior engagement alive, you better put that thing where it belongs.”
“That’s what I was doing,” I said.
Her eyes glanced over to me as she pulled out onto the road. It was empty. Barren. Nothing but the top down and the breeze to keep us company. We drove along the coastline, soaking up the salted air and the sun that beat against our bodies.
“I’m going to slide my hand over your thigh,” I said.
I crept my fingers along her skin, watching as her leg jumped.
“I’m going to slide my hand up the inside of your leg,” I said.
Her hands began white-knuckling her steering wheel as she shifted to make room for me. Her nipples poked through her blouse, light homing beacons as my hand traveled where she wanted it the most. Her thick thighs spread for me as we cruised down the road, her eyes focused a little too hard on the cement ahead of us.
“I’m going to pull your panties to the side,” I said.
Her chest panted as I slid my fingertips along the damp fabric of her silken underwear.
“Feels like someone’s been thinking a little too many thoughts.”
“Shut up, Liam,” she said breathlessly.
A chuckle fell from my lips as I slid my fingers up her dripping slit. I smoothed her skirt back, watching it roll up her glistening legs. Her droplets of desire pooled against my fingertips and I brought it to my lips. I licked her off my fingers, humming in appreciation as her head darted over to look at me.
“Eyes on the road,” I said. “You don’t want to crash, do you?”
Her head whipped back around to look out the windshield as I took up my station. The lips of her pussy were humming for me. I felt them jump as I traced my fingers along their outer layer. I watched Philomena put the car into cruise control before her leg lifted away from the gas, spreading for me so she could buck into my hand.
The softness of her skin was enticing. It made my cock throb against the zipper of my jeans. My nostrils flared as I took in her scent. The beautiful sea air mixed with her womanly musk and it pushed my thoughts into a tailspin. I felt her heat growing with intensity as we raced down the road, her hands barely keeping us in the lane as her hips bucked against my palm.
“Always full of surprises,” Philomena said breathlessly.
“Never done anything like this before?”
I watched her swallow thickly and I felt my cock leak against my boxers. The idea of exposing her to something new made my body come alive. The confession in her stare gave me all the incentive I needed to strike while the iron was hot.
“Liam,” she said, whispering.
The desire in her small plea was too much for me. The slickness of her lips had me wishing I could use my tongue at the same time. I still tasted her on the tip of my tongue. Every night when I laid in bed and thought about all the wonderful things I’d do to her body. But I had laid down the gauntlet and, for once, she was following my lead.
And I wasn’t going to let her down in my efforts.
“It’s very difficult to sit here and do nothing about my current condition,” I said.
My finger played at the entrance of her pussy as my thumb slowly swirled around her clit. She made a conscious effort to swallow my finger down by hunching in her seat to drive me in to the first knuckle. I swallowed my groan at her raging heat. The way her walls pulsed around my intrusion. I wanted to rut like an animal. Buck against the fabric of my pants for any sort of reciprocated friction my body cried out for.
I pushed all the way inside of her and watched her eyes flutter closed for a split second. Her muscles massaged every inch of my finger as she willingly took me in. She barely kept the car on the road, swerving dangerously close to the guardrail. Everything was lost in the sea of emotions, and the way her eyes clouded over with lust made my hand eager to please.
I slid another finger in as my thumb sped up its movements. She rolled against my palm, greedily taking in whatever I offered her. I stared at the profile of her face. Watched her every expression as ecstasy rolled over her features. Her walls clamped down around me. Her clit pulsed underneath my ministrations. But when she began to audibly pant, I knew she was close.
“That’s it. Philomena. Just a little bit more. I want you to cum all over my finger. Do you want that?”
“Keep doing that and you’re going to get your wish.”
“But is it your wish?”
I backed off my ministrations just slightly and grinned at her groan of frustration.
“I’m going to crash us into a tree if you keep teasing me,” she said.
“Well we certainly don’t want that. Think about all the questions people in your company would ask,” I said.
I pressed my thumb deep into her clit and felt that telltale ripple. Then, the rhythmic squeezing began. I stroked the pads of my two fingers along that pebbled ridge within her body and watched as she began to tremble. Her pussy milked my fingers as my cock throbbed with an ache I could do nothing about. I watched her eyes flutter, her body barely able to keep them open as the car began to swerve.
�
�Liam. Shit.”
We were lucky there was no one coming from the other direction. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as the Jeep dipped into the other lane. She shoved her back into her seat, her hand beating against the steering wheel as my thumb circled the outline of her clit. Prolonging her orgasm as a light sheen of sweat burst upon her forehead right before my very eyes.
I slid my fingers in and out, relishing the noise as my palm connected with her hips. She dripped into my hand. Her legs shook so hard her heels clicked violently on the floorboard of her car. She panted. Groaned. Whimpered so sweetly I could’ve mistaken her for a virgin.
I loved watching her unravel for me.
She came back to her senses with a few deep breaths and put both hands back on the wheel. I slid my hand from between her decadent thighs and brought it to my lips. I licked every droplet off my skin, her eyes taking a peek at my salacious snack. I slid my tongue around my fingers, curling it around each knuckle as I relished her taste. Her skin flushed hotter than it already was, and I could only imagine the images playing upon the forefront of her mind.
She was too sweet of a woman to give up. Even if that meant turning down every property on the Eastern seaboard.
Chapter Nine
Philomena
I stood at the front door, looking over the very place that had started all of this. It seemed like only yesterday I was dancing seductively to whatever tune was thumping out of the speakers. The cracked window had been repaired and the floors were newly waxed, bringing out the luster of the dark hardwood.
Galway Bay.
The name at the top of Liam’s contact list was Rachel. The head bartender and manager for the place. He had given me a window of opportunity to speak to her in private without his knowledge by mentioning he had a prior engagement that couldn’t be rescheduled. And I figured if I was going to learn as much about Liam Walsh as I needed in order to step up my game, his heart and soul was a good place to start.
I could smell stale beer when I opened the door. They weren’t open, but there was one regular patron sitting there, nursing a long neck bottle and staring at the way that a woman was bent over the bar. I had a feeling she already knew she had unwanted attention.
“I’ll be right with you,” she said. “We’re not open, but I’m sure you can twist my arm for a drink.”
She was a breath of fresh air, and she didn’t mind titillating her audience with flashes of skin. I could hear the pride in her voice she had for the place, and already she had me on her side. I took a few tentative steps towards the bar before I stopped, taking in my surroundings.
I was standing in the exact location where Liam and I had that crowd cheering us on.
I tensed as music filled my ears. The bar came alive before my very eyes as I stood there with the memory of Liam’s hand between my thighs. He was no Fred Astaire that night, but he had moves that would make Mick Jagger proud.
“Can I help you?”
Her voice ripped me from my trance before my eyes fell to her shirt. ‘Rachel’ was stitched in terrible stitching along her breast, automatically drawing my eye to the curves this woman donned. I recognized women like her instantly. Women who didn’t worry about flaunting what they had to make a living. Kindred spirits, her and I.
“I’ll have whatever you have on tap along with some advice of the lovelorn variety. I could use a sympathetic ear to lean on,” I said.
“Then belly-up and talk to your local therapist about your problems,” she said.
Liam’s photograph was over the bar, and he was wearing a Boston Bruins ball cap and leather jacket signed by the entire team. Something else the two of us had in common. Hockey was my sport of choice. There was nothing like a majestic scene of burly men ice skating in wearing tight pants and slamming into one another.
“So? Tell me your troubles,” Rachel said as she sat a pint down in front of me.
“I’m getting to know this guy, and he’s hard to read. Closed off. Uses his sexual musk and domineering nature to throw people off his trail.”
“I’m familiar with the type. You want to know how to peel back those layers, don’t you?” she asked.
“I figured you would be familiar with the type. Though I think you might know this particular man as your boss. Liam Walsh?”
The rag in her hand come to a complete stop as her eyes hooked with mine.
“I was wondering when I was going to meet the girl that had him walking around in a fog. I wasn’t expecting you to come here, but you have piqued my curiosity.”
“A fog?” I asked.
She giggled as a sly grin slid across her lips, but she didn’t answer my question.
“Why are you here, Philomena?”
She chewed on my name like she was two seconds away from spitting it out.
“You mean a lot to him. We’ve conversed about you and this bar on several occasions,” I said. “But you can tell a lot about a man from the contacts on his phone. He has you on speed dial. Number one, if I’m not mistaken. I’ve watched him dial it a time or two.”
“What can I say? I’m alluring to most men,” she said.
“I came here hoping you could give me an inside look into the man.”
“Struggling to find him a place?”
I picked up the pint of beer in front of me and slowly brought it to my lips. An unanswered question for an unanswered question. Fairness was always my game when dealing with unknown entities like Rachel.
“We dated for a short time and found out we were better off as friends. I don’t want to go behind his back telling tales where it’s not necessary, though. Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll do my best to answer without betraying my friendship to Liam. He gave me a chance to prove myself in this place when I needed it the most, and I would never want to do anything to make him think I wasn’t appreciative.”
“Dated, huh?” I asked.
“I’m not a threat to you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Trust me, I never see women as a threat.”
“Confidence with arrogance. I can see why he’s smitten with you.”
My eyebrows ticked with curiosity, but I had to stay on track. She opened another bottle and slid it down the bar to the only other patron, and he easily captured it in his fist. He raked his eyes over me before giving his sole attention to his cold glass bottle, so I went back to the original reason why I had come back.
“Before I feed you information on Liam, I’m curious to know what you think of him,” Rachel said.
“That’s a simple question with a straightforward answer. He’s handsome, charming, and the Irish accent gives him an unfair advantage.”
“I already know those things,” she said. “I want to know what you think of him. Not your impression of him.”
Oh, I really liked this woman. She was good.
But I was better.
“You say the two of you dated for a little while. Long enough to build intimacy?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Oh, come on. It’s just us, Rachel. It doesn’t seem possible you didn’t at least take him for one test drive. Just between us girls, I would like to know what kind of man he is in your opinion.”
“I can’t deny anything you’re saying, but I stand by my word. Liam and I were never intimate. We had a few dinners here and there, but nothing that backtracked to the bedroom.”
“But you did think about it, right?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t be a woman if I didn’t,” she said as she tossed me a wink.
“Is Liam the kind of man to believe in love? Has he ever been in love, as far as you know?” I asked.
“Interesting question for a real estate agent.”
“Knowing all I can about my clients is paramount to what I do.”
“Then let me start by saying that he has been hurt in the past. He protects himself by never getting too close to the flame to get burned. His love life isn’t exactly something to be proud of. He won’t a
dmit it, but a woman knows when a man has been in love by the faraway look in his eyes after a few drinks.”
I could hear the man at the end of the bar mumbling underneath his breath.
My gut screamed with a warning for me to stay away. To run from Liam as fast as I could and keep what we had strictly professional. There was even the smallest little chirp in the back of my mind that tried to convince me to foil my perfect record with clients and find him another agent to work with. And it was good advice. All of it. But I wasn’t sure I could follow it.
Mostly because I wasn’t sure why I had walked into the bar any longer.
I told myself it was to get to know Liam better. To help him find a property he could call home. But was that really why I was sitting there talking with some woman he’d apparently dated? Was that really why I was allowing my memories to drag me back to the first night I’d felt his hands on my hips?
“A word of advice?” Rachel asked.
“Hit me with it,” I said.
“You can’t honestly help anyone without being honest with yourself.”
Then she walked away from the bar, slinging the rag over her shoulder.
I stood from the bar and walked around with the pint of beer in my hands. I took in the surroundings as my mind clamored for more memories. I had learned a little more about Liam, even though my questions didn’t go anywhere near as planned, and each new piece of new information it gave me the freedom to express myself with him.
But I didn’t know why.
I’d never been dragged in by a man like this before. I’d never allowed him control over any of my actions until this very moment. Sure, I’d never failed this epically with a client before, but I’d also never been so happy about it either. Yes, it was frustrating. And yes, it was annoying every time I listened to him nitpick a piece of property. But with every ‘no’ came another adventure for us to take. Another backroad for us to drive. Another meeting for us to arrange.
I stood in the middle of the bar and closed my eyes.
The unheard music played in my head again and I was afraid that it would never stop. That my memories would hold me hostage until Liam walked in here and found me standing in the middle of his pride and joy. I was under his influence with nothing left to lose. I was intoxicated by the heat and sight and sound and taste of Liam. But what was all this? What were we?
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