Escape With Me

by Kristen Proby

“I need two pints of Guinness and a glass of whiskey on the rocks,” I say as I approach the bar where Keegan’s standing, talking with a customer. “I’ll be back to get those in a sec. Have to put a food order in.”

  I don’t look Keegan in the eyes as I flutter away to the kitchen, pushing through the door, almost running smack-dab into Lexi.

  “Whoa. Sorry,” I say with a laugh. “You okay?”

  “Oh, no worries. We’re always running about. We’re bound to run into each other. How’s your day going?”

  “Good, actually.” Aside from the part where Maggie and Maeve basically told me I have no chance at anything long-term with their brother. “It’s busy in the pub tonight, and that makes it fun.”

  “I agree.” She hurries back to the freezer and returns with a huge bag of fries.

  “What do you have for us, Izzy?” Shawn asks. I still can’t look him in the eye after he caught Keegan and I lip-locked yesterday. “Okay, let’s talk about it.”

  I look up. “Talk about what?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Oh, I don’t really have time for—”

  “You have a minute,” he says. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. You’re both consenting adults, Izzy.”

  “I know.” I blow out a breath and then shrug a shoulder. Given that I’ve decided not to see Keegan anymore, there’s no reason to be slightly embarrassed. “Okay, you’re right. I’m fine.”

  “Well, that was easy.” Shawn grins and nods toward the notebook in my hand. “What do you have for us?”

  I put in my order for food and then bustle away, back to the bar where Keegan’s loaded up my tray.

  “Thanks.”

  “Hey, Izzy.”

  I stop and look up at him with a raised brow. “Yeah?”

  “Is everything okay, lass?”

  The lass still makes my stomach jump. Damn him. “Everything’s perfectly fine.”

  I turn away and go back to work, seeing to my customers. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten so much better at this job. I haven’t broken a glass in weeks, my feet aren’t killing me, and I remember not only the customers’ names but also their orders most of the time. I do still use the notebook, just in case.

  I’ve come to feel like I belong here, and I’m not going to mess it up by getting involved with Keegan for a short-term fling, and then have to try and act like nothing happened so I can keep my job.

  I’m way too old and too smart to fall into that trap.

  The rest of the evening is fun and lively, with joyful Irish music and happy customers. Maggie gets up to sing a song or two with the band, and I have a bounce in my step as I make my way from table to table, enjoying the camaraderie in the bar. I even sing along with some of the songs that I’m coming to recognize.

  The night flies by, and before long, Keegan is turning the lock on the door, and we’re mopping floors and cleaning tables.

  “It was a good night,” Maggie says with a grin as she counts her tips. “Tourist season may be winding down, but our locals never let us down.”

  “It was fun,” I agree as I toss my rag into the dirty laundry basket and glance around the bar. “I think we’re done for the night.”

  “We’re done, too,” Shawn adds as he and Lexi walk out of the bar. “Hey, Maggie, can you give us a lift home? We walked over this afternoon.”

  “Of course.” The three of them walk to the door, and just as I turn to join them, Keegan’s voice, strong and firm, stops me.

  “Stop.”

  I turn with a raised brow. “Excuse me?”

  “I’d like to have a word with Izzy. You three go. I’ll make sure she gets home.”

  “Okay, see you in a bit,” Maggie says with a wave. When the three of them are gone, and the door is locked once more, Keegan turns to me with intense green eyes.

  “We’re going to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you, Isabella.”

  I raise my chin. “Nothing is bothering me.”

  “That’s bullshit if ever I heard it.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “I had a good evening. I feel pretty good. I can’t think of anything at all that’s wrong.”

  “I feel you pulling away from me,” he says. “I felt the shift the second you walked into the pub this afternoon. What happened?”

  I sigh, resigned to having this conversation, and hoping he doesn’t fire me. Not that I think Keegan is that kind of a boss, but still.

  “Look, I just think it’s probably a good idea if we cool things between us. I don’t want any weirdness when it’s over.”

  “When it’s over.” He shifts on his feet and tucks his hands into his pockets.

  “Yeah, when it’s over. Your sisters told me today that you’re not really the kind of guy who gets serious about someone. And I’m not saying that I want to marry you tomorrow or anything like that—trust me, I’m not ready for that—but I do deserve to be with someone who might entertain the possibility of someday wanting me to be an important part of his life. And I’m not judging you for not being that person. Not at all. I guess I was just made aware that we’re very different people, and I love this job. And you and your family. So, I think it’s a good idea if we go back to being friends.”

  I let out a breath and watch as Keegan rolls his tongue over his teeth, then nods his head and rubs his hand over his lips in agitation.

  “You’re mad.”

  “Frustrated is a better word for what I am,” he says slowly. “First of all, Maeve and Mary Margaret don’t speak for me. They don’t know the inner workings of any of my past relationships, and they aren’t psychic, so they can’t read my bleeding mind. Second of all, I think this is a decision I should be a part of.”

  “Well, it’s just—”

  “I’m not finished. You had your say, so I’ll have mine, as well.”

  I close my mouth and nod.

  “Is this what you really want, Isabella? Do you want me to back off and keep my hands to meself?”

  His Irish has kicked up big time with his agitation, only adding to the sexiness factor.

  “Well, I—”

  “Because I will, if it’s what you’re wanting. I won’t bother you at all, and I’ll be the kind and respectful boss I’ve always been.”

  That actually sounds horrible. And standing ten feet away from him, all I want is for him to pull me close and hug me. To reassure me that everything his sisters said is wrong.

  I should have just talked to him rather than assume—making a mess in the process.

  “I don’t think that’s what I want,” I admit.

  He crosses to me and frames my face in his hands. Immediately, I’m calmer. My hands grasp his wrists as I look up into those intense eyes.

  “I should have talked to you.”

  “You should have, aye,” he breathes. “You’ve already become an important part of my life, Izzy. It’s only been a short time, but I look forward to my time with you, and I only crave more. Kissing you is at once heaven and hell because I want to take it further, but I don’t know what you’re ready for. Everything about you is a morgen’s call.”

  “What’s a morgen?” I ask softly.

  “It’s the Irish version of the Greek siren,” he says with a grin.

  “Oh, that’s actually really nice.” My hands move up his arms and down his sides, then fist in his plain white T-shirt. “In case you’re wondering, I’m ready for much more than kissing. Although, the kissing is pretty damn hot.”

  “Is it, then?”

  “As is your accent.”

  “It’s my accent you like, is it?”

  “That can’t be the first time you’ve heard that.”

  His lips twitch, but he doesn’t confirm or deny.

  “So, if I invited you to stay the night with me upstairs…?”

  “I’d accept.”

  He lifts me into his strong hold, and I wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers diving into his thick, dark hair. Our lips fuse together.
He kisses me as if he’s starving.

  It’s the sexiest thing ever.

  Keegan is the sexiest man ever.

  And, hell yes, I want to stay the night with him. I want to be with him, in his big bed, tumbling around naked and enjoying each other.

  I have a feeling sex will take on a whole new meaning with this man.

  He easily climbs the stairs to his apartment, opens the door, and carries me right through to the bedroom.

  Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.

  I like his style.

  I expect him to drop me onto the bed, but he sets me on my feet and takes a deep breath before reaching up and tugging my hair from its ponytail.

  “I love it when your golden hair is down around your shoulders.”

  I shake it out and watch as Keegan’s eyes darken.

  “Are you just going to look at me?”

  “For a moment,” he says as his gaze travels the length of my body to my feet, and then moves back up to my face, leaving heat and desire in its wake. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

  He finally reaches out and tugs my shirt from my jeans, slowly pulling it over my head. He doesn’t toss it onto the floor, though. He lays it nicely over the back of a chair in the corner.

  “Is this going to take a long time?”

  “What?”

  “Getting naked. Because you’re moving rather slow, and I’m impatient.”

  He laughs and unfastens the button of my jeans. “It’s like unwrapping a present. You can go fast and tear the paper to get to the goods—and sometimes, that’s appropriate. But you can also unwrap it carefully, making sure not to damage what’s underneath. It’s a tease, isn’t it? Wondering what you’re about to uncover but enjoying the anticipation at the same time.”

  “Definitely a tease,” I whisper as he guides my jeans over my hips and down my legs. He urges me to step out of them, then lays them carefully with my shirt. I’m standing before him in just my underwear. I move to cross my arms over my chest, but he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles.

  “There’s never a need to cover yourself in front of me, love. You’re absolutely breathtaking.”

  “And you’re overdressed.”

  I dip my hands under his T-shirt and feel the warm skin with my fingertips. His muscles ripple at my touch, making me smile.

  When I get the fabric over his head, I let my eyes roam over his toned body, appreciating the lines of muscles on his torso and shoulders.

  I smell his shirt, enjoying the musky scent of him before folding it and placing it on the seat of the chair.

  “I’ll be taking that with me,” I inform him when I turn back and slide my fingers into the waistband of his jeans.

  I’ve never done this before. In the past, sex has always been fast and frantic, in the dark. Not slow and fun.

  He’s already hard. He can’t hide that fact, even behind the denim, and when my finger slips down just a bit farther, I can feel the tip of him.

  He sucks in a breath, air hissing between his teeth.

  I pop the button free and slide the zipper down. With my eyes on his, I let the jeans pool around his feet.

  “Shall I fold those for you?”

  Without answering, he lifts me easily onto the mattress and covers me. He takes my wrist then slips down to link our fingers and pin the back of my hand to the bed over my head as his lips travel from my ear to my collarbone, making me moan and writhe beneath him.

  I’m lost, drowning in sensation.

  He unclasps the front of my bra and cups my breast with his free hand. I’m a chesty girl, have always been a bit self-conscious of my breasts, but he lovingly kisses and teases my nipple until it’s firm and fully awake.

  “Fucking hell, you’re gorgeous.” His voice is strained and rough with arousal. He releases my hand so he can move farther down my body, exploring each and every inch along the way.

  He nudges his way between my legs and pulls my panties to the side. The next thing I know, stars explode behind my eyes as he covers me with his mouth and does things to me that I didn’t even know were possible.

  I cry out, grip his hair, and ride the wave of orgasm flowing through me.

  When I can breathe again, Keegan opens his nightstand and fetches a condom. With his eyes on mine, he tears the packet with his teeth and quickly sheathes himself. But he doesn’t fill me right away. He tips his forehead against mine and rubs our noses together.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I grin and raise my hips in invitation. “Now would be a good time.”

  He goes back to kissing my neck and shoulder, then drags his knuckles over the tight nipple of my left breast. Just when I think I might spontaneously combust from the lust, he urges my knees up higher around his hips and then slowly slips inside of me.

  I gasp at the size of him. He clenches his eyes shut.

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you’re damn tight,” he growls.

  “You’re just big,” I reply, earning a half-grin. I clench my muscles, and that grin fades as he starts to move.

  “I’ll never last long, love.” He buries his face in my neck as he moves, and each time his pubis hits my clit, I see stars all over again.

  “Me, either.”

  “You’re too sweet. Too damn good.” He moves faster until he succumbs to his release, taking me over with him.

  We’re a tangle of sweaty limbs as we try to catch our breath. I’m not sure I can move, even if I wanted to.

  But Keegan finds the strength to roll to his side, taking his weight off me, and then cups my cheek gently.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” I kiss his palm and roll to face him. “You didn’t hurt me.”

  I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, someone kissing my neck and shoulder wakes me.

  And Lord have mercy, it feels damn good.

  “Well, hello there,” I murmur and turn around to find Keegan smiling down at me.

  “Good morning.”

  “Morning?” I sit up and push my hair out of my face. “It’s morning?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Nine a.m., in fact.”

  I stare at him in surprise. “It feels like I slept for like twenty minutes.”

  “You were out,” he says. “I should have just let you sleep.”

  “No, it’s okay.” My phone rings, surprising me, but Keegan just goes back to kissing my shoulder.

  “Ignore it.” His hand dives under the covers and slips between my legs.

  “Talked me into it.”

  He laughs and continues the delicious torture, but several seconds later, my phone rings again.

  “Just ignore it.”

  “What if it’s an emergency?”

  Keegan sighs and reaches for my phone. His eyes narrow, and he answers, putting it on speaker.

  “Yes, Mary Margaret?”

  “Oh. If you’re answering, Izzy must be with you.”

  “I’m here,” I say. “Is everything okay?”

  “That’s what I was wondering. When I got up this morning and saw that you didn’t come home last night, I worried.”

  “You knew she was with me,” Keegan says.

  “I’m just making sure she’s safe, that’s all.”

  “Mary Margaret.” Keegan sighs as I get out of bed and reach for his T-shirt. “I know you mean well, but you’re a bloody cockblocker.”

  I giggle as I slip the cotton over my head.

  “Okay, I can take a hint,” Maggie says. “See you both later.”

  She clicks off, and I turn to find Keegan lying on his back, his hands under his head. “Come back here.”

  “No way. Let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

  “And then can we come back here?”

  I shrug. “Sure.”

  “Promise?”

  I laugh. “I promise after you feed me, we can come back here, turn off the phone, and have sex all day.”

&nbs
p; “It’s a deal.”

  Chapter 8

  ~Keegan~

  “Well, hello there,” I greet my gorgeous—and very pregnant—sister-in-law. She’s sitting in the sunroom at the back of the house, her hands folded over her belly, watching the water past the cliffs.

  “Good morning,” she says with a sweet smile. “Whales have been playing out there this morning. I was just watching.”

  “It’s a good spot for watching. When will the wee one be here?”

  “In the next week or so.” She rubs her belly. “Not soon enough. I can’t make my cakes anymore because I can’t reach everything I need, and I can’t lift them. I’m bored out of my mind, except when I’m cleaning everything because I’m nesting. Also, my ankles are always swollen. Anyway, what are you up to?”

  My mind swirls with that information dump, so I shake my head and refocus.

  “I came to chat with your husband, but I think this is much better for now.” I sit next to her and let out a long breath. “You just can’t beat this view. Reminds me of Ireland.”

  She smiles over at me. “That’s what Kane says, too. It’s why he bought this property.”

  I already know that, of course. I was with him the day he bought it.

  “When are you going to buy yourself something like this?” she asks, surprising me.

  “Well, if you’d asked me that a few months ago, I would have said that I’m content above the pub.”

  “And now?”

  I shrug a shoulder, not sure I want to give voice to the thoughts recently filling my head. Suddenly, I think I might want more than just the pub.

  “You can tell me,” she insists and reaches over to pat my hand. “I’m a vault.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t concern me.”

  “What does concern you, Keegan?”

  “I suppose it’s normal for a person to have a change in plans at some point in his life. I have always been absorbed in the pub, and I liked it that way.”

  Her lips twitch. “Do go on.”

  “It’s nosy you are, Anastasia O’Callaghan.”

  She laughs and then nods her head. “True enough. Only because I love you and I want to know how you are. Izzy seems like a special girl.”

  “She’s that,” I agree without elaborating.