Once Kissed: An O'Brien Family Novel (The O'Brien Family)

by Cecy Robson

  Tess stands next to Spender—or whatever the hell his name is—watching him laugh and rub elbows with the cluster of pricks circling him. He doesn’t care that she looks miserable. Instead he reaches for two glasses of champagne, one for him and one for the idiot next to him, while Tess’s hands stay empty except for the purse she’s clutching tight against her.

  “Curran, what’s going on?” Lety asks. She glances in the direction I’m eyeing. “Oh, shit. It’s about that girl, isn’t it? Christ Almighty, you’re not going to start a fight, are you?”

  “Humph,” Brody says. “And I thought this was going to be another boring-ass fundraiser.” He claps my shoulder. “I got your back if you need to throw down, dude.”

  “Brody, do not encourage him.” She stops mid-sentence. “Oh, no. Here comes your dad.”

  He looks to where his dad is maneuvering around a crowd of people making their way to the dance floor. “Yeah, he’s headed right toward us. Hey, Curran. He’ll probably do you one and mow over the bald prick to Spencer’s right. I think he slept with my mom.”

  “Jesus,” Lety mumbles.

  Brody’s dad stops his high-tech wheelchair directly beside his son. “Hello,” he says, frowning slightly, obviously aware something’s not right.

  Lety inches to his opposite side, taking point directly in front of me. She’s trying to distract me, worried I’m going to do something stupid.

  She’s probably right.

  “Curran, this is Edward Moore. My…”

  She seems to search for the right words. He smiles, and answers for her. “I’m Lety’s future father-in-law,” he says, causing Lety’s blush to return. “But you may call me Edward.”

  I try to smile, knowing I need to keep it together. “Hey, man, and congrats. I hear Lety’s gonna pop out at least seven grandkids for you.”

  His smile widens. “I was hoping for two, but this is excellent news indeed.”

  Brody cracks up when Lety clasps her hand over her eyes. “I like this guy,” he says. He lowers himself so that he’s eye level with his father. “But hey, Dad, Curran here doesn’t like Spencer.”

  Edward’s smile fades. “I can’t say that I blame him. He’s an imbecile, very much like his father.”

  Lety places her purse on Edward’s tray and adjusts his collar. “Then why are we here? We could have stayed in and watched all those Wolfman movies we planned on.”

  “Your mother-in-law insisted on getting me out, and her friend is the publicist running the event. She begged Dionna for her presence, and mine.”

  I’m only half-listening. Spencer motions in Tess’s direction. Whatever he says makes the men laugh, and causes her to edge further away from him.

  What did you just say about her, asshole?

  Nails dig into my arm, keeping me in place when I take a step forward. “Curran, don’t,” Lety warns. “You’re a cop, and this is a highly publicized and political event.”

  She’s right, and it pisses me off. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t embarrass her, especially now that others have seen me with her and her future family. I lean back on my heels, ready to apologize to Edward and Brody. They’re frowning, but it’s not because I’m seconds from charging Spencer and bashing his face in.

  “You need to get that girl out of here. Don’t you?” Brody asks me, leaving me with the impression he realizes how Tess is being treated.

  I square my shoulders. “Yeah. Will you help me?”

  He and his father say yes at the same time Lety says no.

  “I’ll go up first, Dad,” Brody says, straightening his tie. “You come up next and distract him so I can get her on the dance floor.” He grins at me then. “Curran, Lety’s one hell of a dancer,” he adds with a wink.

  “Be sure to tell him I’m torn between parties,” Edward says.

  Brody nods and takes off, leaving Lety to throw her hands out and swear. “Nice, Lety,” I tell her. “You kiss your future father-in-law with that mouth?”

  “Shut up, Curran,” she fires back, when Edward starts laughing.

  His wheelchair jerks and swerves as he attempts to steer between chuckles. He stops long enough to speak to someone he knows and give Brody time to strike up a conversation with good ol’ Spence. I’m not sure who Brody is around here. The security guard seemed to think he’s a big deal. Maybe he is, seeing how his presence draws Spencer’s attention away from the dumbass he’s been working. Again, a tray filled with champagne passes by. And again, Spence grabs two, one for Brody and another for himself.

  Brody motions to where his dad is making his way forward. Spencer’s face lights up, similar to how a cheetah would at the sight of a baby gazelle. Evidently it’s cash on wheels moving toward him. He doesn’t even notice Brody pass Tess his drink. She takes it, her gaze dropping to it like she’s shocked anyone noticed her.

  Brody makes a show of introducing Spencer and his dickless buddies to his dad. If Brody is a prince on a mound of bling, his dad is the king on a damn hill of diamonds. The men swarm him, with Spencer fighting to be front and center. Brody uses the moment to inch his way closer to Tess. He says something and motions to the dance floor. She shakes her head and smiles politely.

  Come on, angel face. Dance with him.

  Lety leans into me. Like me, she’s been watching everything closely. “Don’t worry, he’ll get her out there,” she promises.

  Brody takes a small step back, giving her room before saying something that widens her smile. “Let’s go,” I tell Lety, knowing her boy is getting it done.

  I clasp Lety’s hand and lead her onto the dance floor. The band starts playing a current tune, totally killing the song, but I don’t care so much now.

  We’re halfway through the dance floor when Brody brings Tess forward, his arm appearing to only lightly touch her back. “You like to spin?” he yells over his shoulder when he sees us.

  “What?” she asks.

  Instead of explaining, Brody takes her by the hand and spins her hard my way. I do the same to Lety, who laughs and keeps going, right into Brody’s arms. Tess stumbles, barely keeping her feet, only to freeze when she sees Brody lift Lety for one hell of a kiss.

  He places her down and leads her away, winking in Tess’s direction. Tess remains frozen, confused by his actions. At the moment, I can’t blame her. My girl doesn’t know what the hell is going on.

  Lety waves. “ ’Bye, Curran,” she calls through her laughter.

  Tess’s spine straightens as she slowly turns to find me standing there. I wrap my arm around her waist and take her hand, dancing with her as I lead her further away from her date.

  “Hi,” I tell her when we’re a good distance away. “I know I probably shouldn’t be in here, but yeah, hi.”

  Okay, not the smoothest thing I’ll ever say, but I hadn’t given much thought to what I’d tell her.

  “Hi,” she says, smiling softly. I lean forward when her arms circle my neck and she melts against me. It’s then I know that coming in here was the right thing to do. She needs me.

  And maybe I need to know that.

  My arms pull her closer in time for a slow dance. Neither of us says anything for the longest time. “You look beautiful,” I finally tell her, because she does, even in this old-lady getup.

  “Thank you,” she says. “But God, I really hate this dress.”

  I laugh and whisper close in her ear. “It’s kind of hot. You got support hose on beneath all that paisley?”

  Her voice gathers a husky edge. “Do you want to find out?”

  My hold on her tightens. “Yeah. I do.”

  “What time is your shift over?”

  I glance up at the clock. “I got another forty minutes.”

  “Enough time to return to my apartment.” She leans back so I can see her face. The heat in her eyes stops me dead where I stand. “What say we head back so you can help me out of this dress?”

  Chapter 15

  Tess

  I don’t say goodbye to Sp
encer and never bother to find my father, even though I know he’s here. Instead I hold tight to Curran’s hand as he leads me out of the ballroom, both of us laughing as we cross the street and reach his truck.

  He opens the door for me and helps me inside. I can’t stop smiling, especially when he slides into the driver’s seat and gives me a quick kiss. “Thank you,” I whisper against his mouth.

  Curran returns my grin, stroking the side of my face. “You’re welcome, angel face,” he tells me.

  I lean against his shoulder. This awful evening is now behind me, thanks to this man I can’t stop thinking about. But our night together? Well, that’s only just begun.

  “Is Lu on watch tonight?” I ask.

  Curran laughs, but it lacks some of its humor. “Yup. She’s on.”

  He cranks the engine and pulls out of the lot. I place my hand on his leg. “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I tell him truthfully.

  He rolls to a stop at the first light. “And I don’t want to pretend like there’s nothing between us when there obviously is.”

  “There’s something between us?” I muse.

  He shrugs. “Considering we’ve been miserable apart, I’m guessing there might be.”

  “Oh, hell,” I say, trying my best to imitate him. “We’re not going to have the ‘are you my boyfriend’ talk, are we?” I lift my arms and drop them like they weigh a ton. “Oh, we are, aren’t we?”

  He throws back his head, laughing as he steps on the gas, but then his good nature fades. “That Spencer guy, your date.”

  The name alone erases my grin. “What about him?”

  “I didn’t like you with him.”

  “I don’t like him with me, either,” I mutter.

  “Good,” he says, sounding satisfied. He taps the screen to his Bluetooth. “Hey, Lu,” he says when she answers.

  “I’ll be at the hotel in thirty,” she says by way of a greeting.

  “Don’t. Tess is headed back to her place.”

  There’s a pause before she says, “I take it you’re headed back with her?”

  Curran doesn’t hesitate. “Yup.”

  “You sweeping her apartment?”

  “Right again, Lu. She’s safe. We’ve got no tails. If anything changes I’ll call you back. Otherwise, I’ll meet you in the parking lot of her building.”

  She mumbles a few curses, most of which I’ve never said. “This is your damn signoff. Isn’t it, O’Brien?”

  Curran steals a glance my way. “Right again, Lu.”

  “Christ,” she mutters, and disconnects.

  We don’t say much once his “cop” face returns and he resumes his vigilant guard, checking for anyone who might be following us. Thirty minutes later, he pulls into the lot of my building, his eyes sweeping the area for any unfamiliar cars or potential threats.

  He backs into a spot beside Lu. “Wait till I come for you,” he says.

  He hops out and marches to Lu’s vehicle. She lowers her window and says something to which he immediately responds. Whatever he tells her earns him a stiff middle finger.

  I clasp my hand over my mouth, laughing. Curran opens my door and helps me out, grinning when he sees me. “Come on, angel face.”

  I smile at Lu and lean into Curran when he puts his arm around me, my way of assuring her that I want him with me. The last thing I want is Curran getting into trouble with his superiors, especially knowing I’m already in trouble myself.

  Yet I don’t think about my father now. He’s not here. Curran is. And he’s all that matters.

  Curran keeps his cop persona until he emerges from my bedroom, following a thorough sweep of my apartment. In the time he took to conduct his search, I removed my coat and placed two glasses of water on the coffee table.

  He walks to me slowly, taking each of my hands, one at a time, his light blue eyes sizzling with desire. “You still want me to help you out of that dress?” he asks.

  I move in closer, barely managing a nod when he hauls me to him.

  Curran doesn’t help me out of my dress.

  He tears it off me.

  I fumble with the buttons of his dress shirt, and then the zipper of his pants.

  My hands reach for his erection in time for him to pull off my panties and drag me to the floor. He angles our bodies, shoving my hips down to his face and granting me the perfect view of what I long to taste. My head dips down, my lips eager and my throat already moaning from the motions of Curran’s tongue.

  It’s not a race. We have all night, but the speed with which we’re working each other up tells a different tale, as does the way my hips rock against his suckling lips. I break my seal when Curran’s fingers join the frantic efforts of his tongue.

  “I want you,” I whimper. “God, I want you so much.”

  My words mark the start of a long night. Curran rolls me on my back, reaching for something near his abandoned jacket. I grip his shoulder, yanking him in for a long kiss while my hand continues to rile him. Something I do lures a particularly hard groan. So I do it again, and again, and again.

  “Fuck,” he says, using his teeth to rip open the small foil package. He lifts off me, breathing hard as he takes in my face. “Are you ready for me?”

  I reach for the condom and curl forward, giving him one last slow pull with my mouth. He gasps when my fingers roll the condom in place, releasing my hair to fall along my face. It’s then that he cradles me, spreading me parallel to the couch and tossing my leg over his shoulder.

  This time, he doesn’t kiss me. Instead he fastens his eyes onto mine as he eases his way inside. My spine arches, tilting my breasts upward with each of his presses. The wait, along with each subtle stretch of my body, is almost too much to take. But Curran takes his time filling me, using care and going deep. He’s quiet. I’m not. As I receive his full length and thickness, I’m the one swearing, and shaking with desire.

  His right arm slips behind my lower back, keeping me in position, while his other hand holds my face so I can’t escape his stare.

  But I don’t want to escape. Not from him.

  He withdraws slowly, then returns fast, repeating the motion. Each thrust is harder, faster, until his body slaps against me and I’m screaming from lust and the sensual agony overtaking me.

  One massive orgasm overpowers the other until Curran falls forward, his throaty moans cutting through his clenched teeth.

  My extended leg is lowered. Curran pants above me, smiling playfully as he bends to kiss me. I can’t move; my heart is beating out of control and my legs are quivering as if seizing. Every part of me throbs and tingles, but his fingers and teeth aren’t done with their exploration. They want to know my body and learn it well.

  My head lolls to the side when he nibbles the curve of my neck, his silky breath further tantalizing my heated skin. My hips begin to sway, inviting more of him. He complies, hardening again while his nips to my neck grow aggressively sexy.

  His fingers pass over my lips until I open my mouth and draw two in, licking, sucking, and sliding them in and out. He groans and pulls out, stirring my moans.

  As I reach for him, he withdraws further, fumbling between our bodies and quickly replacing the condom while I continue to suck and moisten his fingers. My hands slap against the wood floor as Curran pushes back inside of me.

  He pumps his hips against mine, slipping his wet fingers between my legs and circling, knowing where to go and how hard to rub.

  Good heavens. It’s as if every nerve ending along my skin can sense his touch, his warmth, his need. His motions send me into a tailspin of desire. I’m no longer simply writhing or screaming, I’m clawing at the floor.

  This time he lasts longer, his steady thrusts coming quicker, the movements of his hands faster. I thrash, losing all control—screaming, swearing, trembling.

  And I could give a damn.

  Curran soon follows, his throaty growls joining my cries. He slumps forward, gripping the edge of the couch to keep from land
ing on top of me. Gradually he slows to a halt.

  “Jesus,” I whimper, so consumed with want I can barely speak.

  He leans against me, chuckling against my ear. “You can just call me Curran,” he whispers.

  Curran

  Tess laughs as she bites into her bagel, courtesy of my morning’s coffee run following a pit stop to the drugstore for more condoms. Damn, what a night. She spreads out on her bed with just a sheet around her waist. She’s getting more comfortable being naked around me, which is fine by me. I don’t like her hiding that sweet body, especially now that I know it so well.

  She laughs again. “I’m serious,” I tell her.

  She takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m not laughing at you.”

  “You’re laughing with me?” I offer.

  Her shoulders shake as she tries to hold back. “It’s just that I’m having a hard time picturing you as an altar boy.”

  “I didn’t say I was good at it, just said I did it.” I polish off my breakfast sandwich. “All my brothers did it. It’s something our ma expected. Just like she expected Wren to teach Sunday school.”

  “And did she?”

  “Of course, but on her own terms, just like the rest of us.” I reach for my coffee on the nightstand. “I gotta tell you. She abused her power. Told the little bastards they’d burn in hell if they didn’t listen to her. Me and my brothers would steal sips of the holy wine, and one time Seamus was caught making out with his girlfriend in the confession booth. Grammie refused to walk beside us, convinced God would strike us all dead when we’d least expect it and take her with us before her time.”

  This time I join her in laughing. “I said we’re Catholics, Tess. I never said we’re good ones.”

  I help her gather the trash, then pull her on top of me, gripping her ass tight so, you know, she doesn’t fall off the bed and get hurt. What can I say? I’m a hell of a guy.

  She holds her hair away from her face so she can kiss the tip of my nose. I grin at her. If I didn’t think I liked her before, I sure know it now. “Are you on today?” she asks.