This Love

by Kelly Elliott

  Where is Cord learning all these words in Irish? The other day he’d called me his cailin, which meant “girl.”

  And just like that, Cord Parker’s muscular, hot body was walking down the hallway while I stood in tatters, yearning for him to do things I’d only read about in romance books.

  One last glance back and I saw that he had the nerve to pull his towel off again, giving me a great view of his arse.

  Dead, I’m simply dead. And all I can think about are all the things I know he’s capable of doing to me.

  Very naughty things.

  After tugging on shorts, a T-shirt and baseball cap, I slipped my feet into flip flops and headed downstairs. It was nice forgoing the jeans, boots, and cowboy hat.

  I grabbed my phone off the counter and looked to see who might be the mastermind behind this.

  Paxton.

  Hitting her cell phone number, I waited.

  “Cord! How’s the lake?

  “You knew?”

  She chuckled. “I might have planted the idea in your mother’s ear.”

  “You little shit.”

  “Tell me you’re upset Maebh is there, and I’ll do anything you want me to do for a whole year.”

  My hand raked through my hair. “I wanted a few days to think, Paxton.”

  “About?”

  “If I can do this?”

  She scoffed. “Do what?”

  “This whole one-woman thing. I’ve never had the desire to date one woman. What if I—”

  “Stop right there. You never had the desire because the right situation never presented itself. Cord, you don’t have to ask her to marry you. Take a deep breath and enjoy the next four days getting to know each other with no interference from anyone. Not your family, your jobs, nothing. It’s just the two of y’all. Let your guard down and live in the moment. I can hear it in your voice. You’re not upset she’s there.”

  I grinned. “Maebh said I made her feel like she was living in the moment the other night.”

  Paxton chuckled. “See. Stop thinking too hard, and just be.”

  A voice cleared from behind me, and I turned to see Maebh coming down the steps.

  Holy Christ. She was in a pair of cut-off jeans, a white tank top, and pink Converse. It was topped off with a baseball cap that said I’m Irish, bitch. Back off.

  Swallowing hard, I whispered, “I think I just fell in love.”

  “Let me guess, the cut-off jean shorts I suggested she pack?” Paxton asked, laughing.

  “Bye, Paxton.”

  “Wait! Cord!”

  I hit End and let my eyes move over her body. “You look adorably sexy.”

  “Adorably sexy? Is that a Texas thing?”

  “It’s a Maebh thing.”

  Her gaze traveled over my body and then back up to the baseball cap I had on backwards.

  Her teeth captured the corner of her mouth, and she chewed on it as she eye-fucked the shit out of me.

  “You’re in flip-flops and a baseball hat.”

  I nodded. “We’re at the lake. The whole cowboy attire gets put up.”

  Her cheeks blushed. “It’s just…I’m used to seeing you in jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat.”

  “And I’m used to seeing you covered…a bit more.”

  Maebh glanced down to what she was wearing. “Do you not like what I have on?”

  “Fuck yes, I like it, but I’m not going to like all the guys staring at you.”

  Her face lit up. I found myself liking the way I could make her smile.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded and laced her fingers with mine. For someone who thought he needed a few days to think this shit over, I was eager as fuck to get our weekend started. I was going to have to do something special for my mother and Paxton when I got back.

  We headed to the back door instead of the front.

  “Um, where are we going?”

  “To the boat.”

  “Boat?”

  “Yep.”

  She looked confused, and it was cute as hell, especially when that round button nose scrunched up. “Are we eating on the boat?”

  Laughing, I pulled her closer and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we headed to the boat dock.

  “I called on the way here and had Rick, our neighbor and a good friend of my father’s, get the boat ready to be taken out. I thought I’d be grabbing a quick bite and heading out to fish, but with the appearance of my sweet Irish beauty, those plans changed. We’re taking it out and going to a restaurant.”

  She giggled. “I feel stupid now.”

  After helping Maebh onto the boat, I got us ready to head out onto the lake. Maebh leaned her head back and let the sun hit her face as I drove us over the water. She held onto her hat as I made my way across the lake. A strange feeling hit me in the chest each time I looked her way. Maebh O’Sullivan was working her way into a part of my heart I never dreamed I’d open up. I found myself trying to think of ways to make her see that she was so much more to me than a hook-up. That I was serious about a relationship, even though at times it still freaked me out.

  When a gust of wind hit her hat and blew it off, Maebh jumped up and screamed. She somehow managed to get it and plopped it back on her head. She was laughing the entire time, and I found myself laughing along with her. Laughing in a way I’d never done before. It felt fucking amazing.

  If my brothers were here I knew they would be teasing me. If I could look at myself in a mirror I’d see I was wearing the same damn smile I’d given them all hell about. Maebh looked at me with a huge smile. Her emerald green eyes sparkled as she yelled, “That was close! I almost lost me hat!”

  Christ. After only a few minutes alone with her, I knew.

  I’d been freaking Smurfed.

  “I’m stuffed!” Maebh said as we walked back toward the boat.

  “Was it good?” I asked, wrapping my arm around her waist as an asshole walked toward us, checking her out. When his eyes caught mine, I smirked.

  That’s right, fucker. She’s mine.

  “It was really good.”

  I stared at the asshole as he walked by. He tipped his head as if letting me know he got the hint.

  Dick.

  “Now what!” Maebh asked, excitement laced in her voice.

  “Well, what were you planning on doing when you got here?”

  She shrugged. “Don’t know. Relax. Read. Take long walks.”

  I took her hand in mine and helped her onto the boat. Then I grabbed the lines and tossed them to her as I pushed the boat from the dock and jumped in.

  “How about we do some fishing next? You game to learn?”

  She grinned. “If it means spending time with you. Yes.”

  “Then let’s do this. I’ll teach you how to fish.”

  “Will you be catching our dinner for tonight?”

  I lifted a brow. “If I catch it, you have to prepare and cook it.”

  “What if I catch it?”

  Laughing, I hit the throttle, causing her to stumble back and land on the chair.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, babe.”

  An hour later, I was watching Maebh reel in a fish. A big fish. The kind of fish that if I had caught it I’d most likely be getting my phone’s camera ready to send a picture to my brothers and rub it in their faces.

  “This thing weighs a ton!” she yelled as I helped her bring the fish in.

  “Use your index finger like I showed you to control the release of the line.”

  “Got it!” she gleefully shouted. I loved working at reeling in what looked like a pretty big fish.

  “Let me grab the net,” I said. “This thing is huge. Looks like a bass.”

  The way she giggled made my heart soar. She was loving this and that made me happy. I loved to fish, so dating a woman who enjoyed it had to be a plus.

  When I saw the damn fish jumping out of the water, my eyes nearly popped. I knew the little bastard was big, but holy shit.

&
nbsp; “There it is!” Maebh screamed.

  “Don’t let go of the pole, babe! Let me get this under it.”

  Once I got the fish into the net, I got a good look at it and laughed.

  “What’s wrong? Is it the wrong kind of fish?”

  “No! This is a largemouth bass. Shit, it has to be about ten pounds.”

  She grinned. “Is that good?”

  I loved how damn innocent she was. Grabbing the back of her neck with my hand, I pulled her to me and kissed her quickly. Then I dumped him into the live tank and grabbed my phone.

  “Let’s get some pictures of you holding him, then we’ll put him back.”

  Her smile dropped.

  “What?”

  “What?” I asked. Was she upset we were putting him back into the lake?

  Her face turned white. “You want me to hold him?”

  “Yes! You’ve got to get your picture with your first badass fish.”

  Maebh slowly shook her head. “I can’t hold him.”

  I frowned. “Why not?”

  Her eyes jerked down to look at the fish swimming in the live well.

  “He…he looks slimy.”

  Trying my best to hold my laughter back, I glanced between Maebh and the bass before settling my stare on her. “Maebh, you cook fish all the time. You can’t tell me you’ve never handled a whole fish before.”

  “I have. It was dead though. This one will be looking at me…and squirming.”

  “You’re afraid the fish is going to look at you and wiggle?”

  She nodded. “I don’t want him to be mad at me for taking his life.”

  That’s when I knew I was fucked. Because just when I thought I couldn’t fall for this woman any more than I already had, she went off and said something like that. Her heart was the purest I’d ever known. That was sexy as hell.

  “Baby, he’s not going to be mad at you. You’re going to take a picture with him and put him back into the water.”

  Her eyes widened. “We’re not keeping him?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  Her smile actually made my knees weak, and I had to take a step to make sure I didn’t tip over the edge of the boat.

  Chewing on the corner of her mouth, Maebh finally said, “Alright. Let’s take a picture with Bob.”

  “Bob?”

  “He looks like a Bob.”

  Laughing, I drew her into my arms and looked into those beautiful eyes. They’d visited my dreams from the first moment she ran into me at my bar.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you before.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Is that a good thing?”

  “A very good thing,” I whispered, covering my mouth over hers. Maebh wrapped her arms around my neck and I lifted her off the ground, causing her to let out a little moan that shot straight to my dick.

  My heart hammered in my chest as our tongues danced around each other. She tasted like mint, and I wanted more. So much more.

  I slowly set her down, and we broke the connection. “I love kissing you,” I said against her mouth.

  “You leave me dizzy with your kisses, Cord Parker.”

  I smiled. “Good. That means you’ll come back for more.”

  Our eyes met, and I saw the same hunger in hers that I knew were in mine.

  Slow. Go slow, Cord. This is all new.

  “Let’s get that picture.”

  Maebh nodded, and I was stunned to see her lean into the well and ask how to take the fish out. After I told her how to hold it, I got my phone ready and quickly took a few pictures.

  “He’s so heavy!” Maebh said as she leaned over the boat and let Bob slide out of her hands and back into the lake. “There he goes!” she said, clapping while she jumped. My eyes landed on her breasts, and I had to fight the urge to push my hands under her tank top and cup them.

  Spinning back to face me, Maebh declared that this had been one of the best experiences of her life. I wanted to tell her I felt the same way. But I didn’t, I simply smiled at her.

  “I think I love fishing!” she exclaimed, her accent thick and heavy in her excitement.

  Laughing, I cast my line back out, then put my pole in the rod holder before sitting down on the chair and taking in the lake. I loved it out here. This boat was one of two my father owned. This one was used more for fishing and tooling around the lake. His other boat was stored at the coast, a yacht. Trevor and I both said we were going to take it around the world when we were in college. I’m pretty sure my father would have let me if it had meant not opening Cord’s Place and coming to work on the ranch, but that bar was my dream and one I would never regret.

  “You say that because you just caught an impressive fish. Sit here for hours with no bite at all and tell me if you feel the same way.”

  Maebh smiled, then looked at a boat passing us by.

  “What type of boat is that?”

  I turned to look. “A bass boat. See how they can stand on either side and fish. This is a fishing boat, but you can seat six people on it.”

  She looked back at me as I adjusted my ball cap on my head. Her eyes darkened, and I wanted to know what she was thinking. It didn’t take me long to figure out when she sat down on me, straddling me so that her core was against my quickly hardening cock.

  “Maebh,” I groaned while she took my hat off and laced her fingers in my hair.

  “Is this alright?” she asked, moving her lips over my neck and to my ear.

  My hands grabbed her hips, and I pulled her into me, letting her feel just how alright it really was. I fucking loved her confidence and how she wasn’t afraid to let me know what she wanted.

  Maebh searched my face while digging her teeth into her lip and wrinkling up that cute nose.

  Hottest fucking thing ever. She was so damn adorable it was turning me on even more.

  “I want to kiss you, Cord.”

  Smiling, I cupped her face and replied, “Then kiss me, arga.”

  Her eyes closed, and she pressed her lips to mine. My hands slid under her tank top, and Maebh jumped. When I stopped, she pulled back and panted. “Don’t stop touching me. Please.”

  I brought my hand around to her front, brushing my knuckles against her flat, toned stomach. When I rubbed my thumb over the lace of her bra and made her nipple pebble up, she grinded against my cock, making me moan while her hands tugged harder at my hair.

  Christ, she responded to me like no woman had ever before. Or maybe I was only noticing how this particular woman responded to me…and how I responded to her.

  “Maebh,” I whispered, pushing into her.

  “More,” she groaned, kissing me. “Please.”

  I pushed her bra up and cupped her perfect tits in my hand. When I squeezed her nipple slightly, she gasped and pulled back from my mouth for some air.

  “Yes,” she hissed, rocking against my cock. “Oh, God.”

  I’d dry humped plenty of women, but Maebh grinding into my cock with us both fully clothed—and right the fuck in the middle of the lake—was hot as hell.

  Using my other hand, I pulled her mouth back to mine, kissing her hard and fast. Maebh rocked faster and the friction of my cock against her pussy was causing a build-up. Jesus, it felt like high school, and I was actually worried I’d come in my pants if she let go.

  “Cord,” she gasped.

  I pinched her other nipple as she pressed her hips into me more.

  She pulled back and looked directly into my eyes. “I’m going to come,” she whimpered. I felt her entire body tremble as she rocked faster against me.

  “That’s it, baby. Let me hear you come.”

  Her forehead dropped to mine, and she cried out my name softly along with a few moans as her orgasm hit her.

  Holy Christ.

  My heart was pounding. That was the hottest fucking moment of my life, and we weren’t even naked. All I had done was touched her nipples and kissed her. What in the world was she going to be like lying on my bed
with me touching, kissing, and licking every inch of her?

  She’ll be screaming my name all night if I have anything to say about it.

  Maebh froze on me, her forehead pressed to mine. Her eyes closed as she let her body settle back down. My cock was aching in my shorts.

  When she snapped her eyes open, she looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You were sitting there looking all hot, and I wanted…I wanted…”

  “To come?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll make you come whenever your pretty heart desires, baby.”

  A wide smile grew over her face. “I like it when you call me that.”

  “Baby?”

  She nodded. “And your Irish cailin.”

  “You are my girl, Maebh.”

  Her eyes filled with tears before she quickly blinked them back. I wanted to know what she was thinking and was about to ask when I got my answer.

  “I want to make you come now.”

  I swallowed hard. “Um, Maebh, I don’t need to come. Ahhh…”

  She moved off me, her hands quickly unbuttoning my shorts. I shut my mouth. I didn’t have any boxers on, so she was fixin’ to get a surprise.

  My cock lifted out of my pants when Maebh unzipped them. She stared at me for the longest time. I was so damn hard it was throbbing. Her staring wasn’t making things any easier.

  “Unless you’ve got some sort of superpower that will make me come just by staring at it, I don’t think this is going to work, darlin’.”

  She slapped my shoulder. “It’s just. Well. You’re so big.”

  I grinned. “So you do think I’m big.”

  Maebh’s cheeks flushed.

  When her hand landed around my cock, I nearly bucked her off.

  “Shit!” I hissed. My whole body felt like a shock had bolted through it. Plenty of women had jerked me off, but Maebh touching me felt different. Like I knew I’d never want another woman touching me again…except for her.

  When her eyes lifted and she looked around, I knew what she was about to do.

  She kneeled before me and leaned forward, her mouth inches from my cock. “I’ve never given a blowjob before, so tell me if I do something wrong.”

  My eyes widened, and I couldn’t even think to form words in my head.