Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series

by Tricia Daniels

  “I like you… in my bed, staying with me.”

  She sighs drowsily. “Me too.” The feel of his naked body pressing against her is distracting. “Ethan? Where are your boxers?”

  “On the floor. I don’t need them.” His voice is sleepy and he yawns loudly.

  She smiles remembering how freely he could strip down to nothing at the soccer field. “You don’t have any problems with being naked, do you?”

  “No, not really. Especially around you.” He presses his hips against her backside and his dick starts to respond.

  She looks at him over her shoulder. “Would you please control that thing and go to sleep?”

  He grins against the base of her neck. “I don’t want to sleep. I want to stay up all night and watch you. It’s like having one of Gods own angels sleeping next to me and I’m afraid if I close my eyes you’ll disappear.”

  Olivia’s heart thumps against her chest. “Hush now, I’m not going anywhere. Please go to sleep.”

  “Ok, but just so you know. I’m not letting you go. Not even for one second. I’m going to hold you in my arms all night long and that will most definitely make my dick hard. So you’ll just have to deal.”

  Ethan wasn’t kidding. When she opens her eyes a few hours later she is covered in over 200lbs of an extremely warm, incredibly muscular Irish blanket. His legs twisted around hers, his arm draped heavily over her middle and a rock hard erection pressing against the small of her back. His head lay beside her, sharing her pillow and exhaling his warm breath softly against her neck. She smiles at the incredible feeling of him around her. What woman wouldn’t want to wake up every morning wrapped in Ethan O’Connell? Suddenly she hears the sound that woke her.

  “Ethan, you’re phone is ringing.” She says sleepily. No response. Nothing. How the hell can he sleep through that? She nudges him with her elbow. “Ethan, your phone.”

  “Hmmm? What time is it?” He releases her and rolls onto his back, stretching as he yawns.

  She looks over at the blue glowing light of the alarm clock. “It’s 5am.”

  Ethan bolts straight upwards. “Shit!” He grabs his phone. “O’Connell. Good morning, sir. I’m sorry, I had stepped into the other room for a moment.”

  He looks at Olivia with an expression that slightly resembles panic. Picking his boxers up off the floor, he tries to step into them, using one hand to pull them up while holding his phone to his ear. He looks almost embarrassed and she wonders why he’s worried about putting his boxers on now? Does he think the person on the phone knows he’s not wearing any underwear? She chuckles, watching him trying to maneuver into them with one hand and listens curiously to the conversation.

  “Friday? Yes sir, I can have it to you before next Friday. It outlines my plan to increase our presence in international markets. I think there are some huge opportunities in Australia and South Africa. Carter Brant is here with me now. I’ll be working with him myself over the next week to nail down a business plan. Yes sir, he’s the right man for the job, you won’t be disappointed. Landon Scott will be on point in South Africa, I haven’t decided yet if I should go there to work with him. We can go over the presentation when I’m back at the end of the month. I like Canada just fine, but I’m looking forward to coming home. Yes. I have no doubt that Miss Quinn will get to the bottom of it. Yes. Ok. Have your assistant send the dates to John and I’ll make sure to attend. Thank you sir, you have a good day as well.”

  Olivia is dumbfounded and it shows on her face. “The BIG boss.” He explains after he hangs up. “It’s already mid morning over there.”

  “Oh, I haven’t really thought about you having a boss.” But that’s not what got her attention.

  “One day, I plan on being the BIG BOSS, if I haven’t screwed that up already.” He sits back down on the bed and pulls her into his lap.

  “You’re going back to Ireland?” She tries not to sound upset.

  “Yes, after the grand opening of the restaurant. I have a couple of events that are mandatory for me to attend, as well as some personal things I need to tend to.” His head snaps up, suddenly wide awake and realizing that it means he’ll be away from her for a very long time. He doesn’t like that idea at all. “We can talk about it later.” He says, already thinking about how he can shorten his trip… or convince her to go with him. Somehow he’s pretty sure she will never agree to that. Rachel has already told him that she won’t leave work long enough to even take a vacation.

  There’s a long dramatic pause then she finally asks. “Are you coming back?” She had never thought to ask him if he would be in Canada permanently. She suddenly feels panic.

  Raking his fingers through her hair, he plays with the long strands. “Of course, originally I planned to be gone for about a month.”

  A month! Her stomach does a flip-flop and no matter how good of an actress she is, she’s certain that he can see the horror on her face. WTF? She finally gives in to him and agrees to be in a relationship and he’s leaving?

  “You don’t look very happy about that.” He’s glad that she doesn’t seem to like the idea any more that he does.

  “I… I just didn’t know you were going. It’s a long time, that’s all.”

  He nods. “Yes it is.”

  His phone rings again and he grabs for it, looking at the display. “Oh this can’t be good.” Placing Olivia back on the bed beside him, he gets to is feet. “Mom? Is everything alright?”

  “No, not really Ethan.”

  “Madison? Why are you at Mom’s house? Is she ok?”

  “Yes, Mom is fine. Ethan, Jess phoned here this morning.”

  “SHE WHAT?”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Because I only found out yesterday. I’m dealing with my lawyers. Maddie, there is no way that baby is mine. You believe me right?”

  “She says it is.”

  “I know. We’re trying to arrange for a paternity test to be done when I get home. Who else knows about it?”

  “Everyone.”

  “Fuck.” He scrubs his hand across the bristles on his jaw.

  “Kaylie is here, she wants to talk to you.” She hands the phone to Kaylie who answers already extremely upset.

  “Hi” She says, sniffling.

  “Hey, don’t listen to what everyone is saying Kaylie. It’s not true. Everything is going to be ok.” Taking a deep breath, he looks over at Olivia who tries to give him a reassuring smile. “Kaylie, you’re killing me. Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

  He hears a muffled voice in the background and then the sound of Kaylie breaking down into a hard sob.

  “You’re a right asshole, you know that?” Comes the voice of an extremely angry Irish woman.

  “McKenna? Jesus Christ… are you all there?”

  “Yes and Mom wants to talk to you.”

  “McKenna, wait… don’t put mom on the phone. I don’t want to talk to her right now.”

  “Ethan.” His mother says dryly into the phone.

  Ethan closes his eyes and his shoulders slouch. “Hi, Mom.”

  “What are your plans son?”

  “Mom, I’m dealing with it through my lawyers. I’m going to be home in a couple of weeks and then we’ll do the tests to confirm that it’s not mine.”

  “You sound pretty sure that it’s not yours.”

  “I’m positive it’s not mine Mom, I was very careful. I think it’s Reese’s.”

  Whoa! Reese Wilson? Olivia tries to hide the look of shock on her face. Reese Wilson is sleeping with Ethan’s ex? No wonder Carter looked uncomfortable when she asked questions about him at dinner. Oh My God! Her heart dips and her stomach bottoms out. Reese is the man that she was sleeping with while they were together! The reason he left her. She cheated on him with his best friend? For Pete’s sake. What is wrong with some women?

  “Well, you listen to me Ethan Joseph O’Connell… if it turns out that this child is yours you will make sure they are both properly looked after. N
othing short of that will be acceptable son.” Her voice is stern as she lays down her expectations.

  Ethan stands up tall and stiff responding to her tone. “Of course, Mom. Does Dad know?”

  “Yes boy… You can’t keep a secret like that in this town.”

  He becomes agitated. “No, I guess not. Can everyone just believe me this time? Is that too much to ask?”

  “Of course we believe you. I never trusted that woman, she always seemed right crazy to me.”

  Ethan curses under his breath. “Well I had no idea that there was an “I hate Jessica Club” until after I left her.”

  “Just get home and look after your business, Ethan. This is difficult for all of us, son.”

  “I will, Mom. I’ll be there in a couple of weeks. Is Kaylie ok?”

  “She’ll be fine. She’s been very emotional the past couple of days. I think she’s on her period.”

  Ethan cringes. ”MOM! I don’t want to know that stuff!”

  He’s sure he hears her snicker after a brief silence. “I love you, Ethan. No matter what.”

  “I love you too, Mom. Can you put McKenna back on the phone?”

  Olivia is sitting on the side of the bed listening to the conversation as he paces back and forth in front of her. Reaching out and grabbing his hand, she makes him stop for a moment and look at her. Giving him a sympathetic smile, she lifts his hand to her mouth, kissing it, to show her support. Her heart feels sad.

  After a few moments, McKenna comes back to the phone. “What do you want, dick?”

  “Nice mouth, McKenna. I hope Mom’s not in the room. Listen, I need you to handle this with Dad.”

  “Not a chance. Grow some balls and come home and talk to him yourself.”

  “McKenna, I’m not asking. I’m telling. When you get to the office you need to tell him the truth. That Jess is only looking for ways to get money from me and that he should NOT give her any if she contacts him. Be pissed at me if you want, but you will do that one thing for me.”

  “Fine.”

  “Thank you McKenna. I really miss you guys.”

  “Madison and Kaylie miss you.” She says sharply.

  “And you? Don’t you miss me?”

  “Not really. You’re a pain in the ass.”

  Ethan chuckles. “So I’m told, on a regular basis… by a lot of people actually.” He glances over at Olivia who is smiling, although she can’t hear the other end of the conversation she’s pretty sure she knows what was said. “Thank you for looking after everyone while I’m gone, McKenna. I love you.”

  There is silence for a few moments. “I love you too.” She says in a softer voice. “But Ethan, I’m telling you if you don’t get this Jessica thing under control soon I’m going to take things into my own hands and there will be bloodshed.”

  “McKenna, don’t do anything stupid. We need to let the lawyers handle it. Ok?”

  “Whatever, I better go. Ian has called me at least a dozen times this morning wanting to know where I am.”

  “Well then you better get into the office. You’ll handle Dad, yeah? You’re the only one he’ll listen to.”

  McKenna sighs. “It’s exhausting covering your ass all the time.”

  Ethan chuckles. “I’m sure it is. I’ll check in with you later.” Ethan disconnects the call and looks down at Olivia with a look of despair. “I don’t suppose I have to explain that call do I?

  Shaking her head No, she tugs on his hand, pulling him back down onto the bed and moving over so he can sit and lean back against the headboard. She stretches out beside him as he dials a number and puts his phone to his ear.

  “Hi, Shannon. I’m sorry, I know it’s early.”

  Olivia watches him on the phone staring at his bare chest and the muscular breadth of his shoulders. She doesn’t know what it is about that tattoo that does it for her, but her insides squeeze every time she sees it. Whew! Did it just get hot in here? She should probably try to go back to sleep for another hour or two but she’s wide awake now and her mind is racing with naughty thoughts.

  “I’ve just received a call from my family.”

  Poor Ethan. She wishes she could give his mind a break from everything that’s going on. He has all these problems already crammed in his brain and he isn’t even dressed for the day yet. An idea strikes her.

  “Jessica has contacted them this morning about the pregnancy.”

  No time like the present to settle up on debts. In a flash she’s sitting on top of him straddling his legs. He’s not the only one that can move quickly when he wants to. He gives her a quizzical look and she grins as she pulls down the waistband of his boxers uncovering his dick.

  “There must be something we can do? Can we get some kind of a court order to stop her from contacting my family?” He raises his eyebrows as she takes it in her hand and rubs it from base to tip making it spring to life. “Ok.” Focusing on Olivia, he puts his hand over the speaker. “What are you doing?” He whispers.

  She grins as she strokes him with a firm hand up the heavy shaft, and then back down again. “A bet’s a bet right?”

  His dick hardens swiftly with her touch and he hurries to end his call. “Thank you, Shannon. Let me know when I get to the office later.” With his gaze still locked onto Olivia’s, he disconnects his call and places his phone on the bedside table. Grabbing his boxers, she pulls them all the way off, quickly moving between his legs when he spreads them wider to give her better access. Reaching down, he twists her hair around his hand, pulling it gently and making her look up at him. “You don’t have to do this.”

  She licks her lips. “Oh, I’m sure I’d never hear the end of it if I backed out of a bet so you just try and stop me.”

  He grins. “Right then, if you insist… have at it.” He releases her hair, letting it fall softly around her face.

  Holding him firmly with both hands, she directs her mouth over him. His legs muscles twitch and then tense as she slides him into her mouth, her hands wrapped along the base, squeezing the rest of his length. He groans as she moves her head up and down, closing around him and pressing hard along his shaft with the flattened edge of her tongue. Licking all the way up the hard length of him, she closes her lips tightly around the head, sucking it and swirling her tongue around it, again… and again. When she slides her mouth all the way down the length of him again, her long, soft hair brushes against the bare skin of his thighs, her curls sprawling across him and she hears his sharp intake of breath. Pressing his hips up, it takes everything he has to resist the urge to take over and fuck her mouth fast and hard. Looking up at him through the fallen strands of hair, she can see the precise moment that his mind empties of all thoughts except for his pleasure. The pleasure SHE is giving him. His stomach tightens as it builds inside him, climbing faster with every stroke of her tongue, every downward thrust of her mouth. He is so damn close already.

  Reaching down, he pushes her hair to the side, tucking it behind her ear so he can see her face and watch her soft, warm mouth slide down his cock. “Beautiful.” He whispers. “So beautiful.”

  She’s even more determined now to rock his world. Locking her gaze to his, she slides her mouth down taking him in as far as she can, then pauses taking a quick breath, relaxes the muscles in her throat, widens her mouth and then takes him in even deeper - to the furthest spot deep within her throat. All the while her hazel eyes remain locked to the green of his. Pleasure surges through him, his balls pulling tight and taking him by surprise as he explodes in her mouth giving her no warning.

  She’s unprepared when the first hot spurt of come hits the back of her throat. He curses, then groans, his hands tangling in her hair. He’s so deep that she can barely swallow around him. He continues to come in what seems like an endless climax and she struggles to keep up. Gasping slightly she tries to swallow without choking, her eyes beginning to water. He hadn’t meant for that to happen at all, he pulls back trying to slide out of her mouth and give her space to breath
. She stops him from withdrawing, completely determined to follow through with her promise and lick clean every drop of come that he can give her. She releases him only when he has completely emptied himself and begins to soften in her mouth.

  He reaches down with both hands, grasps her by the ribs and pulls her up onto his lap. Making her straddle his hips, he presses her against his chest and wipes the moisture from her eyes as she clears her throat a few times, coughing lightly.

  “I’m so sorry, baby. I had no intentions of making you go through with that. But you looked up at me with those eyes and your sweet lips wrapped around my dick… and I… It just happened so fast. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t stop it.”

  Leaning her head against his chest, she’s extremely pleased that she was responsible for making Ethan O’Connell lose control for a change. She wished she had thought to look at the clock since she’s certain that she had beaten his record of 4 minutes 28 seconds.

  “My God, you’re amazing.” He presses his lips to the top of her head. “It’s barely even 5:30 am and you would do that for me? Even after you woke up to the shit storm that’s my life these days?”

  “I meant to distract you from it all, even if it was for just a few minutes.” Running her hand up and down his bicep, she squeezes it occasionally when he flexes, her hand barely even circling half way around the thickset muscle.

  Lifting her chin so he can see into her eyes, he lowers his lips for a kiss. “My sweet, sweet girl. You are far better than I deserve.”

  She smiles, tracing the black ink of his tattoo. “You’re naked again.”

  “That happens a lot when I’m around you.” Running his hands down her sides and sliding them underneath her, he cups her bottom and gives it a firm squeeze. “I need to have a shower.”

  He lifts her by her bottom and swings his legs over the side of the bed, getting to his feet. She squeals and wraps her arms and legs around him to stop from falling. “Ethan! Put me down!”

  “What? You’re not going to join me?”

  “Nooooo! Don’t think I don’t know that it’s a trap to get me naked so you can ravage my body again.“