by Sierra Dafoe
Beast. Monster. Freak.
Her head drooped, and tears sprang to her eyes. She could feel Sean watching her, but she couldn’t make herself meet his gaze. “You have no idea how much you meant to me, Sean.”
Taking a deep breath, she wiped away her tears with the heel of her hand, and looked at him, smiling bravely. “Thank you. And thank you for letting me sing your song.” She held out her hand. With a flash of that lopsided, self-mocking smile, he took it, held it a moment, then let her go.
“Well… goodbye.” Picking up the guitar case, Lu turned away.
“I wrote it as a duet, you know.”
She stopped short at the edge of the loading dock. Her heart gave a painful thud in her chest as she looked back uncertainly.
“And we could…” He shrugged. “We could find out what happens if you bite a human.”
What?
“Are you crazy?”
Sean grinned. “No, I’m Irish.” Reaching out, he took Tori’s guitar case from her suddenly nerveless fingers. He looked down at her, his deep blue eyes gleaming. “I really want kids, Lu. And I’d rather they be mine.”
“Sean…”
He jumped down lightly from the loading dock to the pavement, turned back to look at her, and frowned.
“What?” she asked nervously.
“Good God, woman, aren’t you ever going to learn to keep your shoes tied?” Setting down the guitar, he knotted them briskly, then stepped back and looked up at her. “Now, are you coming or not?”
He stretched his hands up toward her. Her mind was whirling. “Sean, I… I don’t understand.”
He chuckled ruefully. “Well, I did tell you I’m hopeless at this. But if you really want me to get down on one knee, Lu, you’ll have to come down here for me to do it.”
He didn’t… He couldn’t possibly mean… But there he was, standing with his arms stretched out to catch her. Waiting. Waiting as he’d waited for only one other woman. And this time, Lu knew instinctively, he wouldn’t wait forever.
“If it’s right,” he murmured, his eyes dark with desire, “don’t hesitate, lass.”
And it was right. It was so right Lu could hardly even begin to believe it. But she remembered what he’d said to her, in her bedroom…
“I believe in you, Sean O’Shaughnessey,” she whispered -- and let herself fall.
* * *
The amplifier thunked against the top step, and Sean, his chest heaving, called for a halt. Dropping his end, he leaned against the stairwell and shook his head disbelievingly at Lu who carried her end with one hand and his guitar case in the other. “You know, I always thought I was in pretty good shape.”
“Sean…”
“It’s an unfair advantage you have, to be sure, lass -- but just think, our first three sons can all be professional football players…”
“Our first three?”
“And you and I will never have to work another day in our lives.” He grinned up at her. “Ready?”
Lu refrained from pointing out that she wasn’t the one who’d called a halt, and they hauled the amp into the apartment.
Persia threw Sean a snotty glance from the sofa. “What’s he gonna be? Our token male?”
Tori, emerging from the kitchen, smiled maliciously. “No, Per. I’m afraid we’re retiring your Stratocaster.”
“What? Tori!”
Taking his Gibson out of its case, Sean burst into a riff that rattled the windows, his left hand flying over the frets as Persia watched, speechless. Then she flopped down on the cushions in a fit of pique. “We have neighbors, you know.”
“I guess we’ll call that settled, then.” Sean grinned at Lu. Kissing her cheek, he added, “I’ll get the rest of my stuff.” Lu closed the door behind him.
Persia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Tori, he’s not… You’re not letting him… He’s not moving in here!”
“Yup.”
Glaring at the two of them, Persia rose and stalked stiffly out of the room. Tori raised an eyebrow at her departure, and murmured to Lu, “Was that as good for you as it was for me?”
“More. God, I adore pissing her off.”
She grinned. Tori smiled. “It’s good to see you happy, Lu.” She kissed Lu’s cheek, and headed toward the kitchen.
“Tor?”
Tori glanced back, and Lu marveled again at her ethereal beauty. She deserved to smile, dammit, a lot more often than she did. “Tori, I really hope some day you get to be this happy, too.”
Tori laughed lightly. “I don’t know, Lu. You know me -- things with me always seem to turn out… bloody.”
With a last, wry look, she disappeared into the kitchen.
Lu heard Sean in the hallway, and opened the door for him. Then she helped him carry his stuff into her -- their -- bedroom. Almost before she could put the box she was carrying down, Sean pulled her onto the bed, his hands eagerly tugging at her tank top. Smiling, she ran her hands through his raven-black curls as he lowered his mouth to her breasts. Unbuttoning his jeans with one hand as he kicked his shoes off, Sean disrobed them both even as he continued his tender assault.
Just as he was about to enter her though, Lu felt a suspicious weight at the foot of the bed. Sean must have felt it too, because he whipped his head around to glare at the chubby white cat just as Lu hollered in exasperation, “Persia!”
Bombarded by two hiking boots, one pillow, and a notebook, Persia streaked from the room, yowling.
“Lock?” Sean looked at Lu.
“Definitely.”
“I’ll buy one tomorrow. Now,” he said, his deep blue eyes gleaming, “where were we?”
Sierra Dafoe
Sierra Dafoe published her first erotic romance with Changeling Press in May of 2006, and hasn’t stopped since! Named a Rising Star of Romance in July by Love Romances and More, she received three 2006 CAPA nominations including Favorite Erotic Author (a fact which still has her stunned!)
Sierra lives in northern New Hampshire’s White Mountains with her incredibly tolerant hubby, her thoroughly obnoxious cat, and her twelve-year-old puppy. Visit her at www.sierradafoe.com for free stories and monthly contests, and join her yahoogroup at http://groups.yahoo.com/The_Sierra_Club -- she loves hearing from her readers!
