by Moni Boyce
His tone implied that she somehow took issue with him being a bartender.
“Conor, you know more than that. You’ve run this place for the last eight years. You could bartend or manage in New York. There are tons of bars. Once you were ready you could re-enroll in school and get your degree in Architecture. I know you miss it.”
The expression on his face darkened. “You know nothing.” He bit out the words.
Hurt and disappoint were the first emotions that filled her. The look on his face when he took her on a tour of the city and showed her his favorite architecture spoke the truth, the words he wouldn’t dare speak aloud or let himself believe. “You’re not even going to consider it? What about us? Don’t you want to be with me?”
“I have obligations here.” His raised voice was no longer filled with agitation, but anger. Dropping his gaze to the floor, he pinched the bridge of his nose. His silence was all the answer she needed.
Tears stung her eyes. Maybe he wasn’t as serious about the two of them as she thought. She turned and fled before she could make an even bigger fool out of herself.
“Wait. Jordan, come back.” Conor called after her.
As she came around the corner, she saw Cash standing at the door. The look on his face told her that he’d heard at least part of their argument.
Great. What else could be added to her humiliation?
Jordan ran past his brother, out the door and through the pub.
“Lass, where you goin’? I thought you were going to stay and have a drink with us.” Fergus called out to her, but she ignored him and kept going until she was out on the street.
She rubbed her palms against her thighs and took in big gulps of air to calm herself.
“Jordan.”
When she turned, she found Cash on the sidewalk behind her. Not exactly the person she wanted to see.
“What do you want? Haven’t you gotten your show for the day?” Turning away from him, she placed her hands on top of her head, turning her glassy eyes up to the sky. She willed herself not to cry.
Cash stepped in front of her. “My brother’s an eejit.”
Jordan sniffled and gave him a wan smile that felt more like a grimace.
“He’s a big giant arsehole.” Cash continued, smiling, and trying to make her laugh.
She giggled and dropped her hands to her sides. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better.”
“Sorry I was taking the piss earlier.” He apologized.
“You mean acting the maggot.” She countered.
“Och, who’s been teaching you Irish slang?” Cash looked impressed.
“Your brother’s been teaching me some, but I’m learning the really fun stuff from Siobhan.”
Jordan turned somber again when the argument with Conor crept back into her mind.
“Naw, naw. Don’t go gettin’ in your head again, over my brother. You’re in Dublin, one of the best cities in the world. C’mon, let’s go grab lunch.” He slung his arm around her shoulder.
Confusion knotted her brow. With her thumb she motioned in the direction of the pub. “Don’t you have to go back and man the bar?”
“Naw. It’ll be fine. I need to make sure that you don’t go back to your hotel room and cry into your pillow.”
Jordan allowed Cash to steer her towards the next street in search of food. For now, she would let him get her mind off the first and terrible fight she’d just had with his brother. But, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help wondering where this left them.
12
Conor
Conor had waited an extra fifteen minutes at the pub to see if she was going to show, before he finally had to take off or risk being late for the match.
Now he stood on the sidelines of the field surrounded by his teammates. He scanned the crowd, searching for her. After their argument, she hadn’t returned to the pub and he’d been too nervous to go to her.
Guilt and fear ate at his mind and gut like maggots. What if he never saw her again? Bloody hell, this was torture.
He pulled his mobile from the pocket of his jumper and texted her. When he finished and sent the message, he glanced up again and peered at the spectators, still no sign of her.
Eoin nudged him. “Any sign of her?”
Conor shook his head. Eoin hadn’t met her yet. He’d been planning to introduce them today.
“Can you believe they made bloody Kiernan, captain?” Eoin whispered loudly.
Cash was at his other side. “Look who’s here?” He waved to someone in the bleachers.
When Conor looked up and in the direction of where Cash had waved, he saw Siobhan and Jordan taking their seats. His heart gave a happy leap inside his chest.
Jordan held his gaze, but her expression was blank. She offered him no indication that she was still angry with him or had forgiven him.
“That’s the American girl, then?” Eoin was in his ear.
“She’s quite the looker. You must be riding that every chance you get.” He whistled.
Conor turned and glared at Eoin. He could be a shite when it came to women. It was no wonder his friend was alone.
“Say something like that again about her and I will put you flat on your arse.” He growled.
Holding up his hands in surrender, Eoin backed away. “Sorry.”
“Fuck. What’s he got his knickers in a twist about?” He mumbled to Cash, who ignored him.
Conor turned his attention back to the stands and found her once more. She was no longer looking at him. Siobhan had her embroiled in a conversation. He watched her laugh at something she found amusing.
At least she was here. After the game, he would find her so they could talk. When Kiernan, clapped his hands together and called for their attention, Conor gave him his undivided attention. He liked to win and right now he needed to put his thoughts of Jordan on hold so he could focus on the game. He and his brother had the locks position on the team, the second row forwards.
Shortly after they took their places on the field, the referee blew his whistle for the game to begin. Immediately, they formed a scrum. Conor, Cash and the other forwards on his team pushed hard against the other side. Their team had been awarded possession, so the player in the scrum-half position quickly figured out the best side to deliver the ball into the centre of the scrum so their hooker could grab it.
It felt good to be out on the field, putting his body and mind through the rigorous activity that was required as a lock. Everything went well in the first half of the game and by the time the first forty minutes was up, they were leading in points.
Halfway through the second half of the game, Conor ended up in the sin bin. Earlier he received a yellow card, which was warranted, but the call that resulted in being sent to cool off for ten minutes pissed him off. Clearly, the ref hadn’t seen the other forward’s behavior that should have had him sitting in the sin bin. His actions had only been a reaction to that arsehole.
Some wanker from the other team had tap-tackled his brother, causing him to lose the ball, which resulted in the current ruck. Conor anxiously waited for the five seconds to tick by, while the players kicked and attempted to drive the other team out. After the five seconds, the referee blew his whistle and awarded their team the scrum.
Conor pumped his fist in the air.
When he was released to return to the last ten minutes of the game, he played his heart out, and their team won the game.
All of them jumped on each other yelling in celebration of their victory.
“Pints at the pub!” He shouted over everyone.
His teammates cheered. On the sidelines he gathered his things. Now that the game was over and he was coming down off the high of their win, he remembered he needed to find Jordan.
His head whipped around, and he looked over and around people trying to see if he spotted her. Was she looking for him? Looking to congratulate him? He pulled his mobile from the pocket of his jumper to see if she’d ever responded to his text message. Noth
ing.
The crowd had started to thin out. Conor looked up again and scanned the area she’d been sitting in, but no one was there. His heart sank. Would she turn up at the pub?
“Let’s go.” Cash chided him.
Conor picked up his gym bag and followed his brother to the car. Occasionally, he glanced around to see if she was still there, but it was useless. She was gone.
The pub was crawling with people. It looked like everyone had taken him up on his offer and was now crowded around the bar vying for the bartender’s attention. Thankfully, years ago, he’d had the good sense to start employing more bartenders during rugby season, especially game days so he wouldn’t have to worry about serving after his body was sore and he was wrecked.
As a team member he shared a pint with everyone, before he disappeared into the storeroom to sit in his office.
Leaning back in the rickety chair, he wondered if that was to be the last time he saw Jordan. He’d blown it. Why had he acted like an arsehole to her? Fuck. He dropped his head into his hands.
The storeroom door opened. Conor groaned. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was Cash or anyone else trying to get him to join the party. He wasn’t feeling all that celebratory.
“Bog off.” He yelled at whoever had disturbed his solace.
“You want me to go away?”
His head shot up when he heard her sweet, feminine voice and not the rowdy, masculine one he’d been expecting.
“Jordan… You’re here.” He stood, but he didn’t approach her.
He couldn’t take his eyes from her. She was wearing one of the sexiest outfits he’d seen her wear. It was some type of short, plaid t-shirt dress, black thigh high boots and a leather jacket.
For a while she just stared at him. “I wasn’t sure I was going to come.”
Conor wasted no time in apologizing. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have gotten cross with you. I was a complete arse.”
“Yeah, you were.” She agreed with him, while tossing her purse onto his desk. Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned against the door jamb.
She wasn’t through. Immediately, she rushed to keep speaking. “And what was that crap you said about ‘You only know how to pour pints?’ It was like you were insinuating that I had a problem with you tending bar or owning a pub? What was that about? Because I’ve never said anything to you that would make you think I feel that way?”
“I’m sorry. That had nothing to do with you.”
“Well it sure didn’t feel that way.” The hurtful look she sported made him angry with himself that he would ever make her feel that way.
“You were mean and rude.”
“I know… I could say it won’t happen again, but I don’t want to be a liar. I can’t promise… I can only promise that if we have another argument, which I hope we won’t, but if we do… I promise to do my best and not be mean or rude. Can you please forgive me, Jordan?”
“I appreciate your honesty… I accept your apology, but… but, where does that leave us. Does that mean you’ll consider what I asked you about?”
“If I say I will think about it, can we drop it?”
Jordan opened her mouth, ready to protest.
“At least for now?” He searched her eyes, willing her to agree with him, just for now. He didn’t want to have their last two weeks focused on talks of a future he wasn’t sure was in the cards for them. He just wanted to savor the time they had right now.
She sighed. “Okay… I’ll drop it for now.”
Conor’s smile spread across his face. “May I hold you now?”
“Yes.”
Stepping forward, he wrapped her in his arms and bent to kiss her.
“I didn’t say you could kiss me yet.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
He started laughing and peppering her face and neck with kisses.
“No, no…” Jordan was cackling and trying to break out of his embrace while he assaulted her neck with his tongue. It wasn’t long before she gave in and wrapped her arms around him.
Conor was starved for her. His body craved her, but he knew he was a filthy mess from the rugby game earlier. He was about to pull away, when she pulled him even closer and kissed his collarbone, swiping her tongue along his skin and giving him a gentle kiss.
“Are you sure? I’m sweaty, dirty and covered in grass.” He chuckled.
Jordan leaned up and ran her tongue across his bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth and releasing it with a pop. “I kinda like it.”
The huskiness in her voice sent a shiver down his spine, and his dick hardened instantly.
“You almost didn’t get your gift.”
“You got me a gift?” He looked puzzled but pleased.
Jordan licked her lip. “Before we had our fight, I’d promised myself that if your team won, I was going to give you a present.” Her hands were already in the waistband of his shorts and boxer briefs, pushing them down his thighs. She looked at his face once more, and then she was on her knees, yanking his shorts and underwear the rest of the way down his legs.
Cool air kissed his balls and the only thing he wanted to feel was her tongue and mouth on every part of him. His dick stood at attention. A pearly drop of pre-cum glistened on the tip, in anticipation of feeling her mouth on him. His hand was itching to be in her hair, pushing her mouth onto his dick. He fought the urge and waited.
She tilted her head back and gazed up at him, while her small right hand wrapped around him. Watching her stroke his dick was a huge turn-on. Jordan leaned forward and licked the head, tasting him. Once more she looked up at him and licked the head again. When her tongue rubbed along the ridges on the underside of his dick, he sunk his fingers into her curls, and he sighed. She sucked him into her mouth. For a second, he wondered if she had a gag reflex. The way she swallowed so much of his hard, rigid length, astounded him.
Conor looked down, wanting to watch her suck his dick, but her curls had fallen in the way, masking her actions. He pulled her hair back away from her face so he could watch his dick disappear down her throat.
Fuck. Her mouth felt good. She was making little noises in the back of her throat that were causing an amazing sensation. His head fell back on his shoulders and he shut his eyes, enjoying the blowjob she’d gifted him with.
When his balls tightened a few minutes later, he knew he would cum soon. He wanted to watch her swallow, but his need to be inside of her was too great.
Gently, he tugged on her hair and pulled her off of his dick.
She released him. “Did I do something wrong?”
Conor reached down and pulled her up to a standing position, and then lifted her in his arms. Instinctually, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I just need to be inside you.” Pressing her close, his hands palmed her ass while he held her in his arms.
Jordan twined her arms about his neck.
When they kissed, he could taste himself on her lips. He cradled her a while longer, enjoying the way she moaned into his mouth.
Walking over to the desk, he used one hand to push papers aside before he sat her down. Sweetly she clung to him, nipping at his lips. When she did that he couldn’t think clearly, and even though his dick was ready to drive straight home, he knew he needed a condom.
Bollocks.
He’d left his gym bag behind the pub. His wallet was in there.
She stopped kissing him, seeming to sense something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?”
Conor leaned his forehead against hers. “I don’t have a condom.”
Jordan unlatched herself from around him and reached for her purse that she’d flung onto his desk earlier. She pulled out a condom with a smirk. “I always come prepared.”
He kissed her deeply, while pushing her leather jacket off her shoulders. As she kissed him, she fumbled to pull her arms out of the sleeves. Once her arms were freed, he pulled away, but kept his hands on the tops of her thighs, massaging
her soft skin. With lust burning in his eyes, he watched her hands, tear the wrapper open and roll the condom over his dick. Her fingers felt so good manipulating the condom onto his hard, throbbing member.
A gasp fell from his lips when she grabbed his balls and massaged them. Pulling her roughly to the edge of the desk, he lifted her dress over her head and flung it to the ground. It took no time at all to unhook her bra and pull it from her body. He discarded it with her dress. She sat before him naked except her boots and knickers. It was a lovely sight. Her nipples pebbled and he reached for her breasts, kneading the round globes and tweaking her nipples.
“Conor.” She sighed.
At the sound of his name, said in such sweet ecstasy, he gripped her hip with one hand and used his other hand to pull her knickers out of the way. He plunged inside of her and groaned at how good it felt to be inside of her. She was already so wet. He slid in with ease.
Jordan moaned and clung to him tighter, each time he thrust into her, hitting the right spot.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Her cries spurred him on, and he leaned down and kissed her while he plowed into her body. Using his hand, he massaged her clit. The little bundle of nerves throbbed beneath his fingers. She was getting close.
“Come all over my dick.” He whispered the words into her skin, while trailing kisses along her shoulder and nuzzling her neck.
Jordan’s body obeyed. Her back arched and she came hard, bucking against him while in the throes of her climax. Her pussy clenched around him so tightly, she quickly pulled the orgasm from his body and he plummeted off the edge following her.
The tremor that resulted from his orgasm caused his dick to quiver and pulsate inside of her. Her body still trembled when she reached up and cupped his face. He went willingly as she pulled him closer. Her eyelashes made dark crescents on her cheeks when she shut her eyes and swept her tongue inside his mouth. The tenderness she poured into the kiss made him hold her tighter.
Once he finally pulled out, he peeled off the condom and tossed it into the trash. He picked up her bra and dress from the floor, but paused before he handed them to her. The woman was a vision of tousled hair, flushed and glowing skin and those black thigh high boots.
