“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted to get your attention. Here let me kiss it better.” She draws in a deep breath as he brushes a kiss across the healing skin.
“Oh, you got my attention all right. I damn near came apart when you did it.”
“Really?” He ‘s intrigued. “That’s interesting.” He pulls her shirt back down over her stomach and lays his head on it.
“It sounds wrong to say it out loud, but I like seeing my mark on you. And it pleases me to know that you’ll think of me, every time you feel how sore you are.”
“Gee, that’s romantic. I don’t recall ever reading that in Romeo and Juliet.” She teases.
Grinning, he lifts his head to look at her. “No? Are you sure?” Moving his body to the head of the bed, he lays his cheek beside her on the pillow, wrapping his arms around her and whispering in her ear. “I think we may have traumatized your sister.”
Olivia grins and tries to hold back a snicker. When Ethan starts to chuckle, she bursts into laughter. God he loves that sound. He would do anything to hear it more often.
Chapter 29
For the rest of the week, when they aren’t working, Ethan and Olivia spend every moment together doing the things that couples do, although Olivia continues to deny that they are a couple. Ethan does his best to ignore the times when she catches a pretty girl looking at him and reminds him that he’s free to date other girls if that’s what he wants. He tries to put her at ease by reminding her irrefutably that she’s the only girl that he wants, because he knows that the events of the past week have left her feeling unsettled and insecure. However, by Friday, under the weight of a few stressful workdays it has started to grind on his nerves.
Obsessed with the possibility that Sam might be back in town, he has Shannon trying to find out as much information as she can about him, leaving his personal investigation to the team in Ireland. In addition to everything else, Carter just barely made his presentation deadline, and has spent all the rest of his time holed up in his hotel room brooding about something. He even turns down Ethan’s invitation to go a few rounds at the gym, an opportunity that he would normally never forego. After Ethan has burnt off some of his frustration in the ring, he showers and then walks the few blocks to the hotel and bangs on Carters door. He stands waiting in the hallway for a long time.
“Open the door, you dick. I know you’re in there.” He bangs again.
Finally, he hears the deadbolt turn and the door swings open. Ethan looks around the room and then back at Carter, waiting for an explanation.
“What are you doing here?” Carter asks, annoyed at the intrusion.
“I came to see what the hell is wrong is you.”
“Nothing is wrong.” Well, nothing that he could share with Ethan anyways.
“Really? It’s not like you to pass up an opportunity to take a few swings at me. I’m not leaving until you tell me.”
“Fine.” Carter sighs. “Let me get my shoes and we can go down to the Lionshead for a beer.”
Two beers in and Carter is still not giving away any information that would give Ethan a clue to his odd behavior. Feeling uncomfortable about the real reason that he’s feeling off balance, Carter tries to avoid Ethan’s questions all together. Instead, he occupies himself with a woman sitting at a corner table on the other side of the bar. He has seen her there almost every night since he arrived, but for some reason he can’t seem to take his eyes off her tonight. Several times during their conversation, he looks past Ethan to see what she’s doing. Ethan finally turns completely in his seat to see what has him so captivated. She’s a beautiful woman, probably 5’11 in those heels, and all soft, feminine curves to her body. Her long blonde hair is swept away from her face and fastened on top of her head. Even from across the bar her raspberry lips look soft and delicious, but they are nothing in comparison to the intense blue of her eyes, sparkling like sapphires.
Ethan whistles. “Fuck man, is that what’s got you so twisted?”
“What?” No!” Carter denies it. Then realizing that he can’t tell his friend the truth about the woman he has fallen in love with, he decides that maybe the beautiful blonde would be a good diversion for his questions.
“Lying bastard.” He tips his beer glass against his lips. “Have you talked to her?”
Carter glances over at her and then back to Ethan. “No, what’s the point. I’m going home in a week.”
“Did you just ask me what the point is? The point is you’re still here for a week. What the fuck is wrong with you? I seriously think you need a good shag.”
Carter tenses. There is only one girl that he’s interested in right now and he can’t have her. However, Ethan may have a point. He was not attracted to Stacey at all; his being with her was more duty than pleasure. Maybe this beautiful girl would take the edge off, distract him until he leaves for home and is half way around the world from the source of his affliction.
“Are you going to sulk for the rest of the week? Or are you going to talk to her?”
“That depends, are you going to be an annoying dick for the rest of the week?”
Ethan laughs. “Ok, not another word I swear.”
“Thanks mate, I appreciate it.” Carter gets up and makes his way to the bathroom at the back of the bar. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ethan walks straight over to her. She watches him cross the floor and smiles when he stops at her table.
“Hi!” She says in a friendly manner.
“Hello, Ethan O’Connell.” He holds his hand out and she promptly shakes it.
“Katherine Ryan.” She says as she releases his hand.
“Ah, Ryan is good old Irish name. Are you from Ireland?” There is a glimmer in his eyes.
She laughs. “Maybe many generations back, but I was born in Canada and so were my parents and grandparents.”
“Shame, I’m feeling a little homesick and it would be nice to find someone from home to talk to.”
“Sorry, I can’t help you with that.” There is something in her eyes that is sensual… almost erotic, like she’s hiding some very dark naughty desires. Her smile is in complete contrast - warm and friendly. She’s a beautiful woman in every aspect, but those eyes… wow! Ethan understands Carter’s attraction.
While he’s chatting her up, Carter returns to his seat and glares at him from across the room.
“How about your friend, is he Irish?” She asks curiously.
“Carter? No, he’s from Australia.” He notices that she’s staring at Carter, unable to tear away her gaze.
“Australia? No kidding?”
“No kidding, he’s only here for another week and then he’s heading home.”
“Oh.” Picking up her purse, she digs through one of the compartments. Pulling out one of her business cards, she asks Ethan to borrow a pen.
Turning her card over, she writes something on it, and then hands it to Ethan. “Why don’t you give your friend my number? I’m here on an extended work project so I won’t be going home for a long time. Tell him to call me. Maybe we could keep each other company next week.” She peeks up at Ethan, her face turning a little red.
Ethan grins as he turns over the card to see her phone number and her name. Kate.
“I’ll give this to him, Kate.”
She grins and lets out a little laugh. “I won’t be offended if he doesn’t call. He’s been here every night this week. I catch him staring but he doesn’t seem to be a very chatty kind of guy.”
Ethan grins. “Well, that’s not usually the case, trust me. I believe that your beauty has left him speechless. I can’t say I blame him, any man would feel unworthy of your attention.”
Blushing, she looks over at Carter and smiles.
Carter can’t stand to watch what’s going on and turns to face the opposite direction, trying not to lose his mind right now. Ethan has never been able to resist a beautiful woman but this is too much. Olivia is head over heels in love with him and he’s ov
er there flirting with another woman. Carter wants to kill him right now and he silently vows that if O’Connell does anything to break Olivia’s heart, he absolutely will. Fuck the friendship. Nervously jiggling his leg on the rung of the bar stool, he repeatedly taps the drink coaster on the hard edge of the bar. When he can’t stand it anymore and turns with the intentions of confronting him, Ethan is standing behind him.
“Whoa! Relax buddy, it looks like that vein in your forehead is about to explode.”
“What the fuck, Ethan?”
“I did it for you.” Ethan slides the card towards him with her name and number side up. “In case you change your mind. Just so you know I didn’t ask for it. She was asking questions about you. She said she’s here on an extended work project and that maybe you could keep each other company next week. Oh, and she said she noticed that you’ve been here every night this week and wondered why you haven’t stopped to chat with her.“
Carter is vaguely aware that Ethan is still talking to him as he settles their bar tab. He’s not sure that he’s interested, but he picks up the card and slides it into his wallet anyways. Ethan would never let it go and he wants to avoid any more speculation on his part about why he’s been brooding. Maybe he should just go over there, say hello, and keep Ethan off his back. When they stand to leave, Carter glances at her table but she’s gone.
On the way back to the hotel, the boys fall back into their familiar male banter. They are insulting each other and making obscene suggestions about just about everything, when something Ethan says sparks Carter’s curiosity.
“What do you mean Olivia doesn’t want to be in a committed relationship?” Is his friend absolutely nuts? A beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman like Olivia James and he’s not staking his claim? If it were him, he would do everything in his power to make sure she belonged only to him, claiming her for his own and NEVER let her go. Olivia is one of those girls you come across once in a lifetime. The kind you marry, have babies with and grow old with. You’d have to be a complete idiot to let one of those girls slip through your fingers.
Ethan shakes his head in frustration. “She’s still a little freaked out Carter. She’s just learning how to trust again and I only made it worse the other night.”
“Are you kidding me, mate? You agreed to a non-committed relationship? YOU? The Ethan O’Connell who, in university, demanded that the girls you brought back to the flat agreed to submit complete control to you? If I remember correctly, exclusivity was part of that deal. Well except for those girls that you and Reese…” Carter stops, deciding it’s wise to refrain from finishing his sentence. He glances over at Ethan who looks pissed that he almost brought it up.
“Things have changed since university. And for the record I am in complete control of my relationship.”
Carter laughs. “You’re fucked, mate. I’ve met Olivia remember?”
Ethan gives him an annoyed look. “She’s not the kind of girl to be dominated in all areas of her life Carter, and I don’t think I would love her so much if she was. Trust me when I tell you that she submits in the bedroom. It’s the one area that she does allow me complete control.”
“Obviously that’s the one place that you still need it.“ Carter says, shaking his head.
“She can call it a non-committed relationship if she wants. It’s completely irrelevant since I have no intention of seeing any other girls.”
“And have you considered that the agreement also gives her permission to see other guys and there is nothing you can do about it if she does?”
“Oh there is plenty I can do about it.” Ethan is feeling extremely possessive and the thought makes him angry.
“Are you willing to share her, mate?”
Ethan’s face turns red as his anger starts to boil. “Fuck no!”
Carter shakes his head. “That’s what I thought. Think about it Ethan. Once again you’ve left the door open for assholes like Reese to get their foot inside.”
That comment cuts straight into his heart. “Fuck you, Brant!”
Carter stops in his tracks and turns to face him. “Sorry. But you needed to hear it. Like I told you the other night Ethan, that girl loves you. Get your shit sorted out, treat her right and don’t fuck it up because there will always be some prick waiting for a chance with a girl like Olivia.”
Ethan drives back to his office and is beyond distracted by his conversation with Carter. Especially since he had the nerve to bring up Reese. He would have never believed it possible that his friend was capable of such a betrayal, but Jessica and Reese proved to him that there are some things can’t be protected, not even by loyalty. Women being one of them.
Pulling into the underground parking, his jaws clench when he finds Eva Storm standing in her favorite place in the middle of his parking spot. “What the hell?” He edges forward slowly, herding her off to the side so he can park. What does this crazy woman want? He’s definitely not in the mood for this today. He needs to put a stop to this insanity. Growling, he gets out of the car and slams the door. “What is it that you want from me?”
She stands firm, not intimidated at all. “You and your heart are a little out of step. Your souls need to realign themselves and then you’ll be where you need to be. I’m here to help you.” Reaching for his hand, she quickly flips it over and studies his palm, tracing several of the lines with her finger and looking pleased at something she reads there. “Ah, you’ve been dreaming, haven’t you, lad? You know other things you can’t explain.”
Skeptical, and still not yet ready to accept what she’s saying as the truth, he pulls his hand away. “She’s having the same dreams.”
Smiling at his glower, she begins to back away. “Whatever souls are made of, yours and hers are made the same.”
“That’s Emily Bronte.” Ethan recognizes the famous quote. He’s read her work several times. Rubbing his hands through his hair, he considers what’s she’s saying. “She’s much more stubborn than I am.”
Backing into darkness, Eva is no longer visible to him, but her voice calls out one last time. “Without her, you will never find balance in your world. It’s time for you both to believe.”
Ethan tries to restore some normalcy to his day by sorting through some files on his desk. Opening his bottom drawer to store them, he looks down to see Olivia’s panties. He had forgotten about them there. They’ve been in there since she left them behind at the bar. A souvenir of the first night of their agreement. He remembers it like it was yesterday. He had been so rough with her that night, a fact that he regretted often. That thought is always in the back of his mind when they’re together; forcing him to restrain himself at times from the things that he would really like to do to her. Although she said she had similar desires, he fears that if he takes her there he runs the risk of losing control and pushing her further than her limits.
Grasping the soft material in his hand, he pulls them out of the drawer and holds them up, remembering how beautiful she was that night. The memory of pressing her up against his office door and lifting the bottom of her dress so he could get his hands on them, stirs arousal in him. His enjoyment however, is short lived as he shudders, imagining some other guy helping her out of them. He curses as he thinks about Carter’s earlier words; his chest pulling tight as he acknowledges that he’s right. He can’t allow this agreement to continue any longer. He needs her all to himself. What was he thinking when he agreed to a non-committed relationship? Did he really put himself in this position because he was obsessed with having her and it was the only way? Christ, what this woman has done to him. He has never felt this out of control in his life, and he hates it! Eva Storm just may be on to something, his head and his heart are definitely out of sync. He needs to get things under control, restore the natural order of things. REALIGN THEIR SOULS
All the way home, he stresses over how he’s going to approach the subject with her. He has the notion to just tell her straight out that he’ll no longer accept it, but he kn
ows her too well to know that if he deals with it using his dominate side she will likely bolt, leaving his ass and ruining any chance of them being together. No. It’s too risky; he needs to find a way to convince her that she doesn’t want this agreement either. A way that makes her think that stopping this nonsense is her idea.
Think O’Connell. How are you going to do that?
Rachel! Of course! He dials the phone and Scott answers. “Hey, what are you up to?”
“Working on my honey do list.” He laughs. ”Do you want to come rescue me?“
“Not a chance. I need to talk to your wife.”
“Oh, that can’t be good. Are you sure? He chuckles while he walks the phone to where Rachel is sitting.
“Yeah, I need to ask her a question.” Ethan’s tone turns serious and Scott gives Rachel a concerned look when he hands her the phone. “It’s Ethan.”
“Hey! What’s up? Don’t tell me that you miss my cooking?”
“Umm… of course I do!” He lies and she knows it. Looking at Scott, she wrinkles her nose in a playful gesture.
“Listen, Rachel, I need to talk to you about Olivia.” He can’t hide the concern in his voice and immediately she starts to worry.
“Is everything ok?”
“Yes… No.” He growls in frustration. “Yes Olivia is fine, but I need your advice on something.”
Rachel shrugs when Scott gives her a questioning look. “Ok, well, why don’t you come by the house. We’re just going to eat dinner.”
“Thanks Rach, I’m just coming up the street.”
The door is unlocked so he lets himself in. Rachel is standing in the kitchen and heads toward him for a hug. Sensing the tension in his shoulders, she gives him a little extra squeeze in acknowledgement and frowns at him. “Let me get you a beer. Dinner is almost ready.”
The basement door swings open and Scott joins them, popping the cap off of one of the beers in his hand, he passes it to him. While the boys set the table, Rachel serves up pot roast with roasted potatoes and carrots. Ladling the gravy into the gravy boat, she makes a face at Scott.
Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series Page 54
