Where the Streets have no Name

by Taylor, Danielle

…whatever it was…

  He didn’t remember.

  After everything they did last night, he didn’t remember.

  And she didn’t know whether to feel relieved for his alcohol-induced memory loss or let down, like she wasn’t memorable enough to make it through the filter. Truthfully, she couldn’t blame him for forgetting.

  So they hadn’t gone all the way, but he took her to the bedroom where he began peeling her clothing off piece by piece. He’d kissed her mouth, her neck. He’d licked the curve between her breasts and sucked her nipples into his mouth. He’d thrust the steel-girder stiff length of him between her thighs…

  The temperature rose in the main living area of the caravan. Amelia eased out of her sweater, trying not to look at Daniel; hoping he was watching her and fearing that he was at the same time. She hadn’t been ready for more, and she told him as much, then embarrassment settled over her, prompting retreat to the bottle.

  “Amelia?”

  She wasn’t ready to talk. The thought of putting food in her stomach sounded like torture, but less painful than telling him what happened…what almost happened. The nearest plate on the table held an assortment of cookies. Chocolate. Damn…her hips were not going to forgive her for all this junk-food.

  “Amelia…” Daniel sighed. “Ah hell.” His head dropped into his hands and shoved his hands through his hair. “What did I do to you last night?”

  “To me?”

  He looked up then. “Not…to you?”

  She shook her head, indicating the negative. “With me.”

  “With you,” he repeated. Disbelief stormed in his eyes. “Did we…uh…”

  “No, not…” This was the single most embarrassing conversation she’d ever had.

  Daniel laughed, taking her hands in his. “I didn’t hump you like some horny teenager, did I?”

  In spite of herself, Amelia giggled. “It’s a pretty good description.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry–”

  “Don’t,” she cut him off. “Don’t apologise. You were there, I was there, and we both wanted… We both…”

  In a flash he was at her side, his big arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. For a second she tried to fight the urge to return his embrace. Amelia failed. And as her hands slid up to link behind his neck, a shudder tore through Daniel. He held her like he’d never let her go. Held her like he was acting out his heart’s desires.

  She returned his embrace just as firmly, her face shoved into the crook of his shoulder against his neck where she inhaled his manly scent and drove herself wild with the memories of last night.

  Later that afternoon the rain let up to a fine drizzly mist. They decided to continue on with their journey and play by ear when it came to the weather. She’d checked on her computer and the storms were predicted to keep up through the day and into the night.

  He stopped at a beach so she could continue spreading her grandfather’s ashes. Each time she performed the task, lovingly and with her head held high, Daniel longed to hold her close and kiss away the pain. Instead he stood back giving her time and space.

  After the beach, Daniel spotted a pub and decided they needed to stop for some food. It was already close to four and the last thing they’d eaten was a plateful of biscuits early that morning. He pulled up to the small stone building and parked.

  “Hungry?”

  Her head rolled to the side. Exhaustion oozed from her pores. “Starving.”

  “Let’s go get something to eat then. Might as well sit outside with it while the rain has stopped, aye?”

  “Sounds good.” She waited for him to come around to the passenger side to help her out and into the pub.

  Though she took no notice, Daniel was acutely aware of the number of eyes attached to him during their walk through the doors. It was to be expected though. In prison he received taunts through the cell bars from other inmates, beatings from the guards and, when sent out with the general population, was attacked with all manner of weapons.

  Most of the time, he prayed for death. Prayed for it so hard that, by the time he was told about his impending release, Daniel no longer believed in a God. If one existed, surely he wouldn’t have allowed any of that to happen to one of his children.

  Amelia guided him to the bar and, in her usual pleasant way, greeted the large man drying pint glasses. He handed her two menus and she instructed Daniel to have a look at what they were offering. Even before she spoke, he knew exactly what they would be having. It was her new favourite thing, and a dish he’d been missing ever since he was a lad.

  The barman came back, ignoring Daniel as he blatantly flirted with Amelia. The whole display was shameless and despicable. A married man – the thin gold band on his finger told him as much, not to mention his wife in the photograph above the till of the pair of them kissing – carrying on like this and the worst he’d be likely to get is a sharp word from his wife. The world had gone topsy-turvy and he wanted off the ride.

  “Damned Yanks,” the old man at the end of the bar muttered into his pint glass.

  Blood boiling, Daniel straightened up to right the bastard’s mistake when she put a hand on his arm. Daniel turned, looking down at the woman who, despite receiving as warm a welcome as himself, had a smile on her face. It was a real one too, not the forced kind. He could tell, since it reached her cobalt eyes.

  “It’s not worth it, really,” she whispered.

  “Not worth it? How can you let him think you’re one thing when it’s not even close? He meant it as an insult!”

  Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. Just proves his ignorance and I’m only insulted if I allow his comment to get under my skin in the way he intended it to. There’s nothing wrong with being American, or Canadian, or anything else for that matter. The only thing I need to worry about in life is that I treat people the way I want to be treated. If they don’t return the courtesy, well, there isn’t really anything I can do about it. The man must have had a bad experience sometime in his past and I’m unlikely to change his opinion.”

  “You’re a better person than I am then,” he mumbled, collecting the paper bag from the bar as it was placed there. He held out his arm for her to take and she did, leaning into him for support.

  “Nah, just ‘too good for my own good’ as my Poppa used to say.” She giggled, pushing the door open.

  If nothing else, the man sure pegged her.

  Like a sad little puppy – rather than the thirty-two year old man that he was – Daniel helped her across the deserted street, away from the car, to a lone picnic bench near the sea. Amelia reminded him of a child at times, so unaffected by the world, innocent and sweet. The little things, more than anything else, drew him to her like a moth to the flame. Mind, he’d rather be drawn to her flame than anyone else’s. At least her flame would only be there to provide warmth and comfort. The others burned.

  Yes, the little things pulled him in, like how she twirled her hair, bit her lip, and giggled when she read, seeming more like a girl in school than a woman of twenty-five. Or, as she did at that moment, taking off her rain coat to spread over the bench for them to sit on. Ignoring the frigid wind and light spray of precipitation in the air, only caring that their backsides didn’t get wet as they ate.

  Amelia hardly gave herself a second’s thought. If he wasn’t there to do it for her, then who would?

  Daniel continued to have this maddening urge to scoop her into his arms and keep her safe, tucked against his chest. That in itself confused the hell out of him. The last thing Amelia needed was an ex-convict hanging around. If he had any brains at all, he’d cut himself off from her.

  But when it came to Amelia, his mind went blank of anything and everything, save for the memories they’d made over the past few days.

  “Come on, Daniel! The chips are getting cold!”

  That isn’t the only thing that’ll get cold, he thought. Better he get sick than Amelia, and he pulled off his own jacket, giving her an
I’m in charge here look, which she rolled her eyes at.

  She laughed, accepting the warmth of his coat before helping herself to one of the cardboard containers of chips. Just for a minute, he watched her stab the small wooden fork into a chip covered in curry sauce and bring it to her lips.

  “Mmm… I think I would die if I couldn’t have this again,” she sighed after swallowing. “This is just the thing for a hangover too, I think.”

  Daniel chuckled, shaking his head. Just the other day she tried the dish for the first time and practically melted in her seat. Honestly, he’d never seen anyone enjoy food the way she did, other than himself of course. They may have different reasons, but it was something shared, a passion for flavours and textures, the quality of food as opposed to simply quantity.

  “Where are you?”

  Startled by her voice and the question, Daniel cocked his head to the side in his own inquiry. His eyes and the confused rise of his brows wondered whatever do you mean?

  “You had this vacant look in your eyes,” she explained. “You get it quite often, actually.”

  High time he was honest with her. Though Daniel had not a penny to his name, other than the euro credit from the government, he couldn’t let her keep him this way. “Have you noticed how people watch me? How they cower or glare?”

  Spearing another chip, she gave a nod of her head and bit the morsel from its wooden fork.

  “And why do you think that is?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  By God, she could be exasperating! “Amelia, I’ve been in pri–”

  “Daniel, I don’t care.” Sighing heavily, she dropped her fork and turned to face him, straddling the bench. “Sometimes people make mistakes, do stupid things. Hell, if everyone who screwed up was cast aside, no one on this godforsaken planet would have any friends. So listen to me when I tell you that I don’t care what you did before the day you met me. Since then, you’ve been nothing short of incredible. I’ll never regret stopping on the side of the road to give you a ride. Never, you got it?”

  “But I–”

  She pressed the chilled pad of her index finger to his mouth. “Never. Now, eat your chips before I eat them for you.”

  He would have said something along the lines of ‘yes Mam’ but the thought was just too damned painful to bear. Instead, Daniel took her hand as she went to remove it, clutched it between both of his, and brought her palm back to his lips. He planted a kiss in the centre of her sensitive palm. Soft. Slid his lips over the skin. Teasing.

  Her face turned the deepest shade of crimson. Totally worth it.

  Embarrassment fit her well, just like she suited those flannel pajamas she wore each night, with little sheep on them. Funny how something that would be so innocuous on anyone else turned him to putty when it came to Amelia.

  Finished with their meals, Daniel helped Amelia back to the car before seeing to the rubbish. He was stiff from being stuck in her tiny rental and suffering the after-effects of overindulging in the whisky. What he wanted most he couldn’t ask for and what he needed, he wouldn’t get. He had no right to ask Amelia for a long soak in a bath and he didn’t dare consider asking her to give in to the attraction between them.

  The inn they stopped at for the night had two rooms. Amelia handed over her credit card to pay for them. She spent money like it was water dripping through her fingers and knew she had copious amounts in reserve. Driving her around the island didn’t feel good enough for the generosity and kindness she showed him since their meeting.

  Daniel cringed at the memory. He acted an utter arse to her when she showed him naught but kindness. Well no matter. From here on in he’d treat her exactly how she deserved.

  A crabby, middle aged brunette took their luggage up the narrow flight of stairs. Daniel helped Amelia up, taking care not to rush her. The feel of her body pressing against his burned through clothing and his soul clawed at the surface, desperate to consume her.

  “There we are, right ‘cross the hall from one another, should you be needin’ any help. Calls between rooms are free, as are local calls, but if you’re wantin’ to ring home, lass, we’ll have to charge you for it.” The woman scowled.

  “Don’t worry,” Amelia said with a gracious and genuine smile. “I have a cell phone I use for that. And of course I’d pay for any calls I made on your line.” Her smile widened, crinkling the corners of her eyes.

  Damn but she was sweet to even the most hateful old goats.

  “Well. Supper in the pub. Startin’ at six. Gives you ‘bout an hour. Last orders taken at eight thirty and no later.” She turned on her heels and stomped back down the steps.

  Amelia shoved a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter. “Poppa would have said she’s got bees in her knickers,” she said through fits of giggling.

  Daniel’s eyes shot wide. “Is that so? Not in her bonnet?”

  “Nope.” Amelia looked up, meeting his gaze. “Bees in someone’s underwear would definitely make them grumpier than bees in their hat. A hat you can take off in public!”

  Deep, growling laughter bubbled from his gut. “Right. You’re right there. Now, let’s get you settled before we have to get down and have our supper. I’d prefer not to be down there late. She might disintegrate me with her evil glare.” He gave a shudder. “The woman terrifies me.”

  “Me too!” Amelia laughed harder and turned the key in her door.

  Daniel left her in her room, resting on the bed, suitcase up on the rack and open so she could easily find clothing to change if she needed or wanted it. In his room, he jumped in the shower. A cold one. Frigid water did nothing to the need clawing at him.

  Jaysus, he wasn’t like a bloody teenaged lad…he was worse. All the testosterone of a man with the horny desires of a lad.

  Get your goddamned head together, Daniel.

  Too bad telling himself that didn’t work.

  A few minutes prior to six, Daniel helped Amelia down the stairs. By the time they got into the pub, the hour of six had come. They dined in relative silence; those around them spoke amongst themselves, and a telly showing a footy game were the only other sounds.

  Tonight felt so different to the previous nights he spent in her company. Daniel opened his mouth close to fifty times to ask what she had on her mind only to remember he had no right asking. He wanted to know, but being nosy didn’t give him the right. She was stuck with him until her knee healed up.

  Whatever else he saw, he imagined, no doubt. No chance a beauty like Amelia had thoughts about him like his thoughts about her. None. She was stuck with him. He put her in this position.

  “So do you think tomorrow we’ll hit Dublin?”

  Daniel nodded. He’d tried to take his time driving through to the capitol, fearing he’d be recognised. But unless he drove inland and around it, which would take them far from the coast, he couldn’t get away from the big city.

  “Since I’m here and I don’t know when I’ll be in Dublin again, I thought tomorrow we could do something touristy? I mean, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” he lied. The last place he wanted to go and spend the day, of all places in the world, was Dublin, or any medium-sized city.

  “Cool.” She pushed the last bite of steak past her lips and sighed.

  How did a lass eat so much meat and potatoes, and maintain a physique like Amelia’s? She must spend loads of time in the gym, he mused.

  “I think I’m done for the night.” Amelia motioned to the man behind the bar and handed him more than enough to cover their meal and drinks, including a sizeable tip. “If I eat anything else, I might explode.”

  “Aye then.” Daniel stood, moving around the table to help her up. “Let’s get you to bed then, shall we?”

  “Thanks.”

  He did himself proud getting her up to her room, cleaning her knee, and getting into his room across the hall without letting his gaze linger too long on the tempting curve of her neck or the swell of her brea
sts, or the way her thighs rested lazily on her bed. She had the kind of body that made a man go mad with wanting, and enough smarts to scare him away.

  If only there was a way to tell his heart not to get so attached…

  Sweltering heat one minute. Frigid chills the next. Invisible lumps in his pillow. Daniel could not, for the life of him, find a comfortable position to sleep.

  He missed Amelia.

  Since the first time she kissed him, Daniel recalled that memory a thousand times an hour. Soft, warm lips, so open and inviting. The hesitant slide of her tongue on the seam of his shocked lips, breaking through years of pent up need made for a moment like nothing he dreamed. Damn, but she made him want everything he wasn’t worthy of.

  He missed her though and if it took begging her to let him sleep at the foot of her bed like a dog just to be in the same room as her, then so be it.

  Sucking up his pride, Daniel opened his door as quiet as he could, then made his way across the hall. He stood at her door for an eternity, hand raised, fisted, making a list of pros and cons in his head, wondering if he should knock or not.

  The door swung open.

  Amelia stood there, hair wild, pajamas rumpled. Her eyes shot wide, seeing him on the other side of the door.

  “Erm,” Daniel whispered.

  What should he say?

  “I can’t sleep,” she offered.

  He sighed his relief. “Me either.”

  “Can we go to your room and watch TV then? I might be able to get some rest with the company.”

  He swallowed.

  Then nodded.

  “Aye, yeah, if…if that’s what you’re wanting.”

  “It is.” Her gaze didn’t falter.

  Hours passed in a second. “Right then.” He stepped aside, holding out an arm to help her.

  Amelia smiled and took his hand, pulling him across the hall with her. For a little sprite of a thing she had one hell of a presence.

  Daniel sat on the same side of the bed he slept in during the previous nights. Amelia climbed in next to him, pulling the duvet around her waist. Tonight she wore a cotton short-sleeved top, the stretchy fabric hugging her breasts like a second skin. Temperatures in the small space soared.