“Yeah.” No sense sharing any of those insights at the moment. They were too personal, too damn deep, and he was just beginning to comprehend what his subconscious had known all along – Lexi was The One. His heart. His croie. Maybe some instinctual part of him had recognized it way back then, but they had been so young. No wonder he had locked it away and buried it beneath a decade of denial.
“I’m heading upstairs for a few. Keep an eye on her, would you?”
Jake nodded. “She’ll be in with Taryn for a while yet I’d bet, but yeah, I got it.” Feeling a little more at ease knowing that Jake had his back, Ian ran up to their private living quarters to change and grab a few items.
* * *
Ian was still upstairs when Kieran’s bike roared up out front a short while later. Within seconds, the youngest Callaghan was blowing through the door, resembling a massive, dark storm cloud.
Lexi and Taryn came from the back, their light laughter ceasing the moment they caught the stormy expression on Kieran’s face.
“Uh-oh,” murmured Taryn.
“Kieran,” Lexi called softly. At the sound of her voice Kieran turned, the dark expression morphing instantly into relief.
“Lexi! I thought I missed you!” In a few long strides he crossed the floor and Lexi disappeared in a thorough embrace.
“I’ve decided to stay out the week,” she said, her words muffled against his chest as she laughingly extricated herself. Then she smacked him solidly, though it had the same effect as a fly landing on his arm.
“What was that for?”
“For believing for one second I would leave without saying good-bye, no matter how much you pissed me off.”
His eyes softened then. “Sorry, Lex. After last night...”
“I know,” she said, patting the area where she’d smacked him. “I’m sorry, too, Kier.”
“You still know how to scare the shit out of me, you know that?”
The sound of a throat clearing had them both looking toward the bar, where Ian now stood beside Jake. There was no mistaking the look on Ian’s face. It screamed possession.
Kieran pulled Lexi tightly against him and glared over the top of her head at Ian, his message clear.
“Ah, shit...” murmured Jake, pushing Taryn safely behind him.
Kieran’s jaw clenched, his body rippling with barely restrained anger. Ian straightened himself to his full height and faced him head on, his body in a battle-ready stance.
The two men faced off, clearly on the verge of blows. But before anything happened, Lexi placed her hand on Kieran’s arm. “Kieran,” she said quietly.
He looked down, reading the truth in her eyes. “Oh, fuck no.”
Across the room, Ian tensed even further. Jake discreetly put a hand on his shoulder, warning him to stay put.
Kieran’s tone was one of total disbelief. “What the hell were you thinking, Lex?”
She was silent for a few moments, trying to think of words that could explain what she herself didn’t quite understand. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet but level. “I’m not thinking, Kier. I’m living.”
“But Lex –“
“Leave her alone,” Ian said, stepping forward.
Kieran stiffened immediately, tension rippling through his body. He pushed Lexi behind him, his body a massive shield. “Why don’t you fuck off?”
Ian’s eyes glittered, silvery specs against a darkening blue. “She’s not a child, Kieran. Stop treating her like one.”
Kieran looked down at Lexi, disbelief etched in every feature. “You didn’t tell him, did you? He doesn’t know.”
“Know what?” Ian demanded.
If it was possible, Kieran grew even larger with his barely controlled rage. “You have no clue what you’re messing with, Ian. She’s not one of your whores.”
Ian would have launched himself at Kieran at that point had Lexi not spoken up and shocked them all. “Yes, Kier,” she said clearly. “That’s exactly what I am. At least for the next few days.”
Taryn gasped audibly, her hand flying up to her mouth. Beyond that, you could have heard a pin drop in the heavy silence. The men were shell-shocked, their expressions ranging from disbelief (Jake) to devastation (Kieran) and outright anger (Ian). It might have been funny under different circumstances.
“No...” Kieran began shaking his head as if he could dislodge the words and nullify them at the same time.
“It’s what I want,” she added, petting his arm as if she could soothe him, her voice a little softer. She wanted – no, needed - Kieran to understand. “Please try to understand, Kier. I just want to feel normal for a little while.”
Lexi felt awful for hurting him, but it was the truth. She couldn’t blame him for being upset. He’d always looked out for her, been her protector. This was like a betrayal in his eyes. She could only hope he would come to understand and forgive her someday.
Lexi smoothed away imaginary wrinkles from her top to hide her shaking hands. With willpower and courage she didn’t know she had, she began walking toward the door, her head held high. With a glance toward Ian, she said, “You promised me a ride.”
Then she walked through the doors and waited on the sidewalk, keeping her eyes directed away from the inside of the Pub, hoping desperately that Ian would simply follow her out and no one would get hurt.
* * *
“If you hurt her I’ll kill you,” Kieran seethed. “I don’t care how good you think you are, I’ll slit your fucking throat in your own fucking bed.” Then he turned and stalked away, leaving the others in stunned silence.
“Well, that went well,” Jake breathed. “He took it better than I expected.”
Ian shot him a look before following Lexi outside.
He was almost as furious as Kieran. How could Lexi have said what she did? Was it possible that she actually believed that’s all she was to him? Didn’t she understand that she had become everything to him? Didn’t she feel the same way?
He stormed outside with every intention of setting her straight, but pulled up short a few feet behind her. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was crying by the slight rise and fall of her shoulders. All of his rage was swept away instantly. The hurt he would deal with later.
Pulling her into his arms, he cradled her against him, drawing them back into a hidden alcove along the side of the building. “Ssshhh, Lex, it’s alright,” he soothed, rubbing her back.
“I hurt him.”
“He’s alright, baby. He’s a big boy. He’ll come around, you’ll see. He’s just trying to protect you.”
Lexi wasn’t a sobber or a wailer. Her tears were subtler than that, quiet little hitches that drew little or no attention. He held her until she calmed down.
“What you said, Lex. It just isn’t true.” He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. She had to know she was so much more than that to him. Christ, in the span of a few days she had become everything.
She attempted a smile, wiping impatiently at her eyes, neither confirming nor disputing him. “So. Do I get that ride or not?”
The sadness in her eyes faded into the background, replaced by that implacable mask he’d seen the day of her father’s funeral. She was pulling away, distancing herself, and he hated it. But he also sensed that it was not the time to push it.
“Yeah,” he said, shelving the topic for later. “A deal’s a deal.”
An hour later, all bad thoughts had faded into the background as he opened up the throttle. Lexi was snuggled securely against his back, her arms holding tightly around his waist. He’d taken it slow through town, letting her become acclimated to the feel of the bike, learning how to move with him. It required a fair measure of trust on her part, following his movements and instructions exactly until he was assured she wouldn’t panic.
He shouldn’t have worried. She was a natural, moving with him as if she were a part of him. Before long he felt confident enough to head out onto the twisting, winding mountain road
s.
Having Lexi with him felt so right. Before long he felt all of the tension leave her body, replaced by childlike excitement. He could feel it in the way she held him, and in the little exclamations she let out every now and then. Ian pulled off the road near the top of the mountain. Her hair was windblown, her face flushed with joy, and her eyes glowing almost as brightly as they had in her hotel room.
“That’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt!” she exclaimed as Ian lifted her off the bike. He raised his eyebrow doubtfully. “Well,” she amended, blushing a furious pink, “the second best, anyway.”
Ian laughed out loud and kissed her. “Come on,” he coaxed. “Bet you’ve never seen this before...”
He led her along a barely visible path to a little rocky shelf that overlooked the entire valley. “Oh, Ian,” she said in breathless awe. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yes,” he said softly, sliding his arms beneath hers and pulling her back to his chest. “You are.”
I am desperately, hopelessly in love with you, Lexi. Marry me and be mine forever. The words were right there in his head and on the tip of his tongue, all too ready to be spoken. He even took a breath in preparation to say them.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said quietly.
“Do what?”
“Say things like that. I already said I’d stay through the end of the week.”
Ian turned her around to face him, disbelief evident. “You think I’m kidding?”
She shrugged. Ian was dumbstruck. Lexi wasn’t just attractive, she was gorgeous. Her clear amber eyes, the multi-hued hair that curved into her body. And that body! Dear Lord, she was like a Greek goddess in the flesh. But more than that, more than the physical features that had every male turning his head, was an inner beauty that was infinitely more attractive, yet she was completely unaware of it. She was at once vulnerable yet strong. Innocent yet passionate. Quiet yet intense. But how could he make her see that?
He couldn’t. Not in words, anyway. So Ian resorted to the next best thing. He would show her.
Ian lowered his head and claimed her mouth with absolute possession. He poured everything he felt for her into that kiss, willing her to understand. Within seconds she melted against him, becoming pliant in his arms. That was his Lexi. He forced himself to pull away, his breathing nearly as ragged as hers.
“You. Are. Beautiful.”
She gazed up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. He loved that he could do this to her with just a kiss. “Make love to me, Ian.”
Ian didn’t know what surprised him more – the fact that she suggested it or the fact that he hadn’t already been thinking of doing exactly that. The truth was that he had been perfectly content sharing the view with her in his arms, happy to simply be with her and share her excitement. Seeing things through her eyes was like experiencing them for the first time himself, whether it be sex, riding the Harley, or looking out over the breathtaking valley. Something told him that would never change, either. No matter how many times she gave herself to him it would never be enough. They could come back to this ledge a hundred times and each time would be better than the last.
Now that she’d made the suggestion, however, the hunger was there, panting like a dog in front of a prime rib. He groaned, holding her body closely against his, his erection letting them both know that it was so on board with that plan.
“Here?” he asked incredulously. “Now?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her hands slipping down to his belt. “Right here. Right now.”
He managed to coax her away from the overhang, pulling her to a more private location among the trees.
“Sweet baby,” he murmured, helping as she tried desperately to remove his shirt. So hungry, so needful for that which only he could give her. Ian felt as though he had been given a tremendous gift. He laid his clothes over a fallen tree, easing himself back onto it. Once he was sure it would hold, he pulled Lexi onto his lap so that she straddled him. Her head flew back in rapture, her nails digging into his shoulders as he lowered her onto him, his hands guiding her hips with strength and unerring precision.
Ian guided her in a slow, easy rhythm until the pressure became too great for her to resist and she gave herself over to him completely. Ian knew the moment she did, had been waiting for it.
“You’re mine, Lexi,” he whispered as he thrust upwards.
She buried her face against his neck, biting into his shoulder to keep from crying out. Ian swore under his breath and quickened his pace until her entire body closed around him and she convulsed so violently that he struggled to hold on. Relinquishing his own control, he took one, two, three mighty strokes and erupted deep within her.
“Thank you,” she whispered into his neck, her words thick with an emotion he fully understood. Unable to speak, he held her that much tighter, as if by doing so he could hold on to the moment forever.
Chapter Nineteen
If this was a dream, then Lexi didn’t want to wake up. She stretched out on the blanket, feeling the full moon on her naked back as if it were the midday sun. The night air was still relatively balmy in the high 80’s, but the cool breeze coming in off of the lake was a welcome caress. Ian lay beside her, propped up on his side, lazily tracing the peaks and valleys of her curves with the pads of his fingers as if memorizing each and every inch.
How he had the energy, she couldn’t fathom. After rowing out to a secluded spot on the far end of the lake, they’d shed their clothes and skinny-dipped in the cold, spring-fed waters. It must have super-charged Ian, because afterwards he was a driven man. He was a tireless lover, making love to her on the shore for several hours, bringing her to climax an astounding four times.
Her eyes drifted shut as she soaked up his warmth and the touch of his hand, sated and boneless, too tired even to sample the dinner they’d packed.
She was slowing down, she could feel it. The whirlwind pace of the last few days was catching up to her, the reduction in her meds exacerbating the fatigue and muscle weakness. Thankfully, Ian seemed to accept her lassitude as that of a well-sated mate, which was certainly true. Still, she would have to be careful and try to do a better job of pacing herself until she could get back to Benton and her medicine cabinet full of miracles.
* * *
Ian smoothed the imaginary wrinkles from his crisp white dress shirt, feeling every bit as anxious as he had when he went to his first school dance. He did a quick self-inspection: black slacks, pressed and creased, check. Black shoes, matching and polished, check. Tailored suit jacket and coordinated blue-striped tie, check.
He rapped his knuckles against the door, clutching the bouquet of miniature flowers - white rosebuds and sunset-colored lilies. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that he was a twenty-seven year old ex-SEAL, and he had done far more difficult things than this.
Lexi was his croie. Taking her out to an exclusive restaurant and proposing was the next natural step. He would wait until after dessert, then –
As they had once before, Ian’s systems went into total lockdown when Lexi opened the door. Struck dumb, he could only stare.
“What?” she asked, taking a step back to let him in. “I look ridiculous, don’t I? I told Taryn this was too much. I’m going to change - ”
“Don’t.” Ian forced the word out, his voice rough and husky, his eyes pleading. “Please. Just... just let me look at you, Lex.”
His heart pounded against the inner walls of his chest as his eyes roamed the length of her body and back up again, certain that he was dreaming. Lexi was dressed in a form-fitting white sheath that had the draped looked of a toga, trimmed in gold with slight accents of blue. The dress showcased her lightly bronzed skin, now glowing with sun-kissed radiance. Slim bands of gold chains adorned her neck, her upper right arm, and her left ankle. Her unpierced ears held gold ear cuffs draped with sapphires. She wore her hair up, allowing streaked strands to fall loosely around her back and shoulders.
“Ian?
What’s wrong?” Lexi asked, her brows knitting together in concern.
“Just... give me a moment.”
In his near thirty years, he’d never been quite so thoroughly stricken. Lexi had done what career soldiers could not – she had rendered him completely and utterly helpless. He struggled to breathe through the constriction in his chest.
“Ian? Are you okay?” Lexi took a step toward him, cupping his face gently in her hands. Ian suddenly knew what it was like to be touched by a goddess. She looked up into his face, those golden amber eyes filled with concern and love. For him.
He managed to put his hand over hers, only slightly aware that he was shaking. He closed his eyes and turned to kiss her fingers, saying a silent prayer of thanks. “I am now,” he said softly.
Lexi’s worried expression eased, replaced by a genuine, if not slightly disbelieving, smile, and in that moment Ian knew he would do anything to make her smile again. It would become a lifelong pursuit to make sure she smiled at him, just like this, every day for the rest of their lives.
“How did you ever manage to get us in here?” Lexi asked, clearly impressed as they sat at a premier table in the back corner of the restaurant. From there, they had an unimpeded view of a magnificent waterfall flowing among pristine gardens.
Ian had never been to this particular restaurant before, but he knew of its reputation. D’Armini’s was one of the most-sought after places to go, the top-rated restaurant in the Northeast US, boasting the talents of one of the world’s greatest master chefs – Francesco D’Armini. People came from all over the world to dine under his mastery. Getting in, let alone on a Friday night, was next to impossible unless you were a high-ranking political figure or of comparable rock star status.
First and Only: Callaghan Brothers, Book 2 Page 15
