Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series

by Tricia Daniels

  “Stop it.” He whispers into her ear.

  Ethan reads her body like it’s one of his favorite books. Knowing the plot… anticipating the outcome. He knows that she’s excited. His control and her resistance, are the source of her arousal. Ethan’s lips form a wicked grin. “Seems you’ve got quite the nasty temper yourself, baby girl. Tell me, how long did you think you’d be able to keep that a secret?” Nibbling that tender spot on her shoulder, he makes her breathing stutter and then he leans in close. “Jesus Christ, do you see the affect you have on me? I am so turned on right now.” He growls, his voice saturated with sexual desire, as his rock hard erection pushes heavily into her back.

  Biting at her lip, she holds back her smile. Locked firmly in his arms she continues to play. The more she fights him, the harder he grows. The more he tries to restrain her, the wetter her panties get. It’s so wrong, but so incredibly arousing. He takes a couple of steps, overpowering her, pressing her body into the wall and holding her there, his chest expanding as he breathes heavily against the back of her neck.

  Ethan is a master at this game and when she teases him a little bit more, her movement causes him to press harder into her. Dipping down, he rubs himself along her backside, drawing a low sensual growl from deep in his throat. His hands rub down her sides and curl around the hem of her skirt, dragging it upwards to expose her thighs. She tries to hide the amusement in her voice. “Apparently… holding me here against my will makes your dick hard Mr. O’Connell.”

  He smirks as his erection pulses and swells harder at her words. “Apparently.” He admits. “It was THAT... and the way your dirty mouth talks about my dick.” Breathing heavily against her ear, he glides his hand between her legs and into her damp panties. Her body keens as he presses and rubs against her very sensitive clit.

  “There is something wrong with you.” She teases as she moans, her muscles now exhausted from struggling with him, she surrenders to his hand. He laughs once and moves his lips down her neck. After brushing her hair to the side he gently slides her top off her shoulder to expose her skin and kisses her there. “That’s funny, because the only time I ever feel right is when I’m with you.” He whispers against her skin.

  Chapter 22

  Loud, squeaky hinges echo through the stairwell, as the heavy door swings open and footsteps bound toward them. Startled by the intrusion Ethan eases away, allowing Olivia to turn around and face him, her back now resting against the concrete wall. Standing sideways against her hip, he leans his forearm against the wall and hides his arousal from the person approaching. Pretending to be engaged in nothing but a casual conversation, Olivia looks at him, appearing to be listening intently. Her gaze keeps dropping down to his lips. His warm, soft, delicious lips. She longs to have them pressed against hers, tasting him, kissing him, despite the acidity of the words spoken in his office. For heavens sake hurry up and pass already!

  Rounding the corner of the landing, the intruder slows as he sees them, glancing at them awkwardly as he passes. Ethan nods a polite greeting while Olivia avoids eye contact all together. When the door to the underground parking slams shut, she slides her hands into the space between his jacket and his body, running them from his abs to his hips and making his muscles tighten under her touch. Oh how she wishes that his crisply ironed dress shirt didn’t prevent her from touching his skin. She scrunches the fabric in her hands thinking about pulling it free from the waist band of his pants and getting underneath it. “Please… kiss me.” She says desperately.

  Ethan grins, very eager to comply, lowering his lips to brush across hers gently and then pulling away. “I’m contemplating on doing more than just kissing you here.” He growls, his voice dark and edgy. Sliding his fingers under her skirt, lifting it well over her thighs, he smoothes his palms past her hips and over the rounded flesh of her bottom. Exhaling a long tortured breath, he pulls her forward, and then in a quick movement, skims his hands along the edge of her panties, tightening his fingers around the thin fabric. His wicked glare is full of sinful promises; her pulse beats erratically as she realizes his intentions are to rid her of them. “Do it!” She begs, squeezing her thighs together, trying to appease the ache between them and encouraging his dick to jump and press harder against her. Straining against the pleated fabric of his pants, he tightens his grip on the delicate lace, seconds from ripping them away with a forceful tug, when his cell phone springs to life in his pocket.

  The theme from Rocky blares out loudly in the enclosed space of the stairwell and Olivia frowns, completely frustrated. Growling his displeasure, Ethan leans his forehead against her and drops his hands, pulling the edge of her skirt back into place and straightening it. “John’s new ring tone.” Ethan confirms as he pulls it out of his pocket. “Yeah? Yes, I know… I know… I said I KNOW. Well stall them a few minutes.” He looks at Olivia and rolls his eyes. “Just make something up. Don’t you have a list of excuses ready for these occasions? Well then I’m obviously paying you too much money.” John loudly protests and Ethan winces, holding the phone away from his ear and making Olivia giggle. Ethan smiles and winks at her.

  How does he do that? How does he make her completely forget about all the ugliness with such a small gesture?

  “So let’s recap shall we… I’M the boss, and YOU’RE the assistant. So assist me… by lying to them. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He looks at his watch and then disconnects the call. Olivia is holding her stomach and full out laughing when he turns his attention back to her. He thinks it’s the most beautiful sound in the world. “I figure he’s going to kick my ass later anyways I might as well make It worth his while.” He shrugs. “Come…” He holds out his hand. “I’m going to make sure you’re safely locked in your car and then get back to work. Not that I’m going to be able to think about anything other than you for the rest of the day.”

  She smiles at his honesty, but as they walk to the car, there is something she needs to ask him. “Ethan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you have any other baby mamma’s I should know about?”

  Ethan’s hand tightens around hers painfully and it forces her to look up at him. She can’t read the expression on his face as he shakes his head. “None. Well, at least none that have made themselves known to me.” He opens her car door for her and when he turns to look at her, she’s standing with a worried expression on her face. “That’s not funny, Ethan.”

  He frowns. “I’m sorry babe. My bad.” Grabbing her, he pulls her into him, crushing her against his chest and lowers his lips in a greedy kiss. He pulls away cursing when the LCD display of his phone lights up in the dim parking garage and Rocky plays again. Kissing her on the top of her head, he exhales heavily. “I have to go.”

  She gives him an understanding expression and nods. “I know.” He hates the disappointed expression on her face. It would suit him if he never had to see it, EVER.

  Once she climbs in behind the steering wheel, he closes her in, making sure she’s safe. As he turns to walk away she rolls down her window. “Hey, Ireland?”

  He turns to look at her, walking backwards towards the stairwell door.

  “Do I have a ringtone?” She asks curiously.

  Grinning, he takes another step backwards without disclosing anything.

  Knew it! “What is it?”

  He ignores her and keeps moving backwards towards the door, smirking in a way that she knows can’t be good at all. Reaching over, she hits speed dial on her cell and when the call is connected to his phone, Olly Murs ‘Troublemaker’ rings loudly from his pocket and echoes through the underground garage. Ethan closes his eyes in regret. When he opens one eye to peak at her, she’s staring at him with her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open and her arms crossed angrily in front of her. “SERIOUSLY?” She yells.

  He starts to laugh and continues to back away. She tries hard to be angry with him but his laugh is contagious and the sides of her mouth start to curl into a smile. Rolling her eyes, she
shakes her head. Ethan places his hand to his mouth, blows her a kiss and then turns and jogs to the door.

  On his way to John’s office, Scott meets him in the hallway. “Is Olivia ok?” He’s concerned about how upset she looked when she left.

  Ethan nods, but it in no way makes Scott feel at ease. He puts his hand up as Ethan passes, placing it firmly on his chest and stopping him. Ethan raises his eyebrows and gives him a look to warn him that he’s dangerously close to crossing the line. He looks down at Scott’s hand and then glances up to meet his irate expression. “I believe my wife has already explained what will happen if you do anything to hurt Olivia.”

  Ethan pushes his hand away and returns his stare. “She’s fine, Parker. And if you’re looking to kick my ass today… you’ll have to get in line.” Shouldering past him, he opens the door to John’s office finding both him and Miss Quinn there.

  “What did you tell the people from Bramtech?” He asks, standing in the doorway.

  John stands. “I told them you were detained and I’ve sent them down to the executive lounge for coffee.” He hesitates. “It’s not like you to be late for an appointment.”

  He purposely avoids the last statement. “Thank you, John. Could you give Miss Quinn and I a few moments alone to talk?” John looks nervous, and he’s hesitant to reply. When he looks over at Shannon she’s nodding, her expression indicating that she’s comfortable with his request. “Ok. I’ll go down to the lounge and bring your clients back to your office.”

  Ethan nods and closes the door behind him. Shannon stands so she can meet his gaze when he turns around to address her. He’s full of regret and not sure where to start, but he has promised Olivia that he would apologize and make things right and he intends to do so.

  When John returns to his office, he hesitantly opens the door, afraid to learn what has transpired while he was gone. He finds them engaged in a casual conversation and Shannon is smiling. Relief washes over him. “Ethan, I have taken Mr. Anwar and Miss Daniels to your office.”

  Ethan stands and buttons his suit jacket, nodding at John as he passes. “Thank you. You can join us when you’re ready.” Making his way to his office directly across the hall he stops and looks back at them with a warm smile before he puts on his business face and opens the door.

  Shannon lets out a loud breath and physically relaxes. Walking towards her, John runs his hand up her arm in a comforting gesture. “What happened?”

  “He apologized.”

  John’s face morphs into shock. “He what?”

  Shannon nods her head. “Believe it. He apologized.”

  “Wow! Shae, you have no idea how HUGE that is for Ethan.” John is flabbergasted.

  “I think I understand just how huge that is. But that’s not all.” She watches him nervously, not sure how he’ll react. “He’s asked me to stay until after the grand opening of the bar, all expenses paid.”

  “That’s two weeks from now.” He blinks a few times in disbelief.

  “I know.” She whispers.

  John is hit with an overwhelming amount of emotions all at the same time. Suspicion, surprise and joy. Joy being the outward emotion that he wants to convey to Shannon but he’s hesitated just long enough to make her feel insecure about his reaction, even when he wraps his arms around her and lifts her off the ground. When he touches her feet to the ground she leans back so she can see his face. “John, I…I don’t have to stay. That’s a long time for you to be stuck with me. Just say that word if you need some space and I can go.”

  “Stuck with you? Are you kidding me?” He leans down and kisses her briefly, barely skimming her lips when his cell phone vibrates in his pocket. He reads the message and sifts through a stack of folders on his desk and pulls one out. “I’ll be right back, Ethan needs this file.”

  She nods, but she’s still feeling uncomfortable with his answer. Reading it in her eyes, he puts down the file and rounds the desk to get to her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She shrugs and then busies herself with the documents in front her, pretending that it doesn’t affect her when he presses his body against her side. “Shae? Talk to me. Do YOU want to stay?”

  She stops what’s she’s doing, distracted by his hot breath against her ear. Hesitantly, he reaches for her chin and turns her, searching her eyes. “Shannon? Answer me… do you want to stay?”

  She swallows hard as her breathing becomes shallow, her body tingling in reaction to the muscular body pressing against her. “Yes.”

  She blushes and it makes him smile. “Good, because I really want you here with me.”

  She sighs in relief and closes her eyes, visibly relaxing. Pressing his lips to her temple, he lingers there. “I’ll call your hotel and arrange for them to check you out and have your stuff sent to my hotel. No point in having two rooms when you won’t be there.”

  Her eyes open in shock and she stiffens in his arms. She looks up into his eyes, loving him enough to give him an ‘out’. “Are you sure you want me to stay with you the whole time?”

  Putting his hands on her hips, he pulls her into him. “Let me show you just how sure I am.”

  He lowers his lips to hers in a slow teasing kiss. When her hands snake up his arms to his shoulders and then around his neck holding him in place, he deepens it, parting his lips and encouraging her with his tongue.

  They don’t even stop when Ethan bursts through the door. He stops frozen and clears his throat trying to interrupt them. “Ahem. I need that file lover boy.” He finally says, trying not to laugh. Without breaking his kiss John reaches down to pick up the folder and holds it out in his direction.

  Ethan chuckles lightly, taking it out of his hand, while John continues to kiss and caress his woman as if he isn’t even in the room. Feeling a little awkward, he shakes his head quickly to break his stare and then smiles. “Ok then, don’t let me interrupt… ” He salutes with two fingers. “Carry on!” He leaves the room feeling warm and happy, and he’s not sure why all of a sudden he has become some kind of romantic, sappy guy. A few months ago there was no room for disruptive women in his career. He wouldn’t have tolerated that from John either. But now here they are… both of them distracted…enamored and totally consumed with thoughts of the warm tenderness of a loving woman. It’s a huge contrast from his normal persona… Ethan O’Connell, badass executive.

  When John finally joins them, Ethan has just finished wrapping up the meeting. Mr. Anwar gets to his feet and shakes his hand before he leaves. Stacey Daniels however, hovers… twirling her blonde hair and drawing out finished conversations trying to prolong her time with Ethan. Leaning forward, she makes sure he can see down her blouse and when that doesn’t seem to get his attention, she sits back and crosses her legs allowing her skirt to ride up high enough to expose her thighs and long, silk stocking covered legs.

  John eyes Ethan nervously, knowing where this is going. John has seen it happen all too often and Ethan, being Ethan, has always been receptive to their advances. He has flirted… schmoozed… and charmed them. He knows for a fact, that early on in his career Ethan had bedded a few of his female business associates with the intention of “firming up” business deals. Not that he condoned it but he certainly understood. He made every effort to discourage it once Ethan hired him full time.

  That doesn’t seem to be the case today. Something seems a little off as he notices Ethan’s somewhat uncomfortable expression and tense body language. An unusual behavior, since Miss Daniels is an incredibly sexy young woman.

  “I think we might be able to do business together.” She smiles, batting her eyelashes at him.

  “I think it makes good business sense.“ Ethan nods in agreement, walking to the door hoping that she will follow his lead and get on her way.

  Instead, she takes a breath and bites her lip. “I was wondering...”

  Gliding over to where he’s standing, she reaches up to touch his arm. “Maybe we could discuss how our arrangement could be
mutually beneficial… over dinner?” She squeezes his bicep as she takes an appreciate gaze at his chest.

  Ethan glances over at John. Arrangement? Fuck he hates that word, he thinks to himself. When he hesitates in his reply, she finds a way to make him agree.

  “After all, I am the swing vote on this deal with Bramtech.” She reminds him, feeling his body tense beneath her hand as she says it. “I’m staying downtown for a few nights and I’m so tired of eating greasy fast food and bored out of my skull. I thought you could think of something for us to do?”

  “Us?” Ethan asks nervously, his male mind betrays him and takes a long perusing look at her body.

  She smiles when she notices. “Yes silly, you and me. Later, my friends are coming to meet me downtown and you could take us to all the best night clubs in the city.” She bats her eyelashes and smiles. “Maybe you could introduce my girls to some of your hot friends so we can all have some fun?”

  Ethan has never felt uncomfortable in this type of situation before but this is something he definitely doesn’t want to do. All he wants to do is to go home to Olivia and finish what they started in the stairwell. He runs his fingers through his hair and steps away from her.

  “Miss Daniels, could you please excuse John and I for a moment while we check the schedule for this evening? You can just wait here in my office, please make yourself comfortable.”

  She grins. “Certainly, and call me Stacey, please.”

  John opens the door and closes it behind them as they step into the hall. “In your office.” Ethan directs. Shannon is startled when the door swings open and she sees the look of distress on Ethan’s face. He drops heavily into one of the chairs as John sits beside him with his phone in his hand and his schedule open just to humor him. “Ethan you know there is nothing on the schedule tonight right? You had me clear it earlier.”