Conall (4 page)

“What are you talking about?” she snapped back at him. Looking down at herself, where his eyes continued to linger, her hardened nipples were visible through her thin T-shirt. Face flaming with embarrassment, her temper flared hot at the audacity of this man. Rude and uncouth. That’s what he was. For someone who seemed to be the epitome of a polished businessman, he still had the brain of a teenage boy. Adjusting her arms to provide more coverage for her chest, she spoke again. This time, the annoyance she felt came through loud and clear.

“You come to my home unannounced and uninvited. Invade my space without so much as an ‘excuse me.’ Now you’re making rude-ass comments. You know what? Get the fuck out.” The sound of her voice continued to increase as she spoke. Normally, she would never be so belligerent to a guest in her home, especially someone like Conall O’Shea. But he rubbed her the wrong way.

It wasn’t just the feelings of attraction, but that pretty-ass face was just too damn much. How could one man be so attractive, successful, and ruthless, all wrapped up in one package? It just wasn’t fair. And now he was standing in her living room as if he had every right to be there. This shit was just too much, she thought as she felt a headache starting to build. He needed to leave. It wasn’t smart having him here, alone with her. Especially when she felt such strong attraction.

“No. I’m not going to ‘get the fuck out’ as you say. I came to speak with you. Just as you came to speak to me earlier.” And with that proclamation, he began taking off his long cashmere coat. Throwing it over the back of one of her living room chairs, he walked around to the couch and sat down. His gaze bored into her, as if daring her to try and force him out. Motioning with one hand, he indicated for her to sit down. To act the host to an uninvited guest.

“Fucking douchebag,” she mumbled under her breath in typical Pawtucket girl fashion.

“What was that?” he asked, but she was sure he had heard her, so she wasn’t going to repeat herself.

“I said, would you like a drink?” Fake smile plastered on her face, her eyes shot fire at him.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” he responded with laughter in his voice. “No, thank you. I won’t be long. I have an event tonight and have to leave soon.”

“Good,” she said a little too loud if the raising of his eyebrow were any indication.

“Did you say something, Tatiana? I seem to have trouble hearing you tonight,” he challenged her, a smirk lifting his mouth on one side.

“I said, I hope you have a great time tonight at your event,” she replied in a sugary-sweet voice. Walking over to him, she sat down on one of the other chairs, the one not covered with his coat. Grabbing a knitted shawl that she kept in the house for those times she became cold, she covered her chest from his gaze. Taking a breath, she posed her question again. Maybe this time she would get an answer. “Why are you here at my home, Mr. O’Shea?”

“I’m here for you,” his voice rang out and the room went silent. “And you should probably call me Conall, don't you think? Go ahead. Try it out.” Her stomach clenched at the sensuous tone in his voice.

“No, I don’t think I should.” Now she was just being ornery, but she didn’t really care.

Brushing a speck of lint from his pants, he smiled as he shrugged his shoulders and continued with their conversation. “I figured you would say that. You’re a fighter. I like that about you.” Going silent, he waited a second for her to interrupt. When she didn’t, he continued, “After our meeting earlier today, something drew me here. To you. I want to know why I can’t get you out of mind.”

“Why?” Seemingly unable to form more than a one-word response, she sat frozen in place. Chest rising and falling shakily as she took in his words. Did he really just say he was drawn to her? He must have picked up on her response to him and how her eyes couldn’t stop roaming over his face and body.

Her body continued to betray her and confirmed her own internal struggle between her desire and need for him. A man she had just met. A virtual stranger. A very dangerous stranger at that. What did she really know about him other than the things she had read in the papers and the rumors on the street? Those two things combined should be enough to have her running for the hills screaming like a banshee. But sitting across from him, watching him relax in her home, that need to run had morphed into something very different. No, running was the furthest thing from her mind. She wanted to know what it felt like to sink into his arms, to have his hands roam up and down her naked skin. How would his lips feel on hers?

Damn, something was clearly wrong with her if she was sitting here daydreaming about having Conall O’Shea naked in her bed.

“You intrigue me, Tatiana,” he interjected into the silence.

“How?” And there she went again. College-educated, graduated at the top of her class and could do nothing but sit here and provide one-word responses. Clearly, her brain had left the building.

Pausing for a few minutes before he answered, his gaze never left her face. “Today. You sought me out when most would run in the opposite direction,” he said as he leaned back. The movement causing his tailored black suit jacket to open slightly, showing the crisp blue shirt he wore underneath. The material stretched across his abdomen and not an ounce of fat could be seen.

Licking her lips, she tore her gaze away from his body and captured his gaze again. Responding to his statement, she finally entered the conversation. “I needed answers. I felt you were the one who could give them to me.” Chin lifting higher, her stubbornness was on full display.

Had it been risky to go to him? Hell yes, it was. But her brother was hers to protect. Even if she had to protect him from himself. Stupid? Maybe. Tony was a grown man and he still ran to his big sister whenever he got in over his head. But that was the role she played. What the hell else was she supposed to do?

Another tension-filled silence entered the conversation as she watched him watch her. Bare toes curled into the carpet as she willed him to say something. Say anything.

“You’re very beautiful. Go out with me tonight,” he said. “I have a charity event that I really don’t want to go to. But if you were there with me, it would make my night so much better.”

Well, that sure as hell hadn’t been what she was expecting. His words surprised her. Where the hell did that even come from? Sure there was some level of attraction there, but no, this wasn’t something she was going to do. Allowing herself to get any closer to this man was not good. Everything about him screamed that he was bad for her. In more ways than one.

“No.” Explaining all the reasons why she denied him seemed unnecessary. He was a smart man. She was sure he could figure it out.

“Tomorrow night?” he pressed.

“No.” Sighing, she decided to take the bull by the horns. “I’m not going out with you on any night. So…so…you can just forget it. I won’t be your walk on the wild side. I’ve seen the women you date and I won’t be a diversion for you. You can just get over yourself, Mr. ‘
I’m God’s Gift to Woman
’ O’Shea.”

Laughter exploded from him. Okay, that was odd. Why the hell was he laughing? Each moment in his presence presented her with a new mystery.

“Yes, Tatiana. I think you will go out with me. Even with all of your denials, you want to and I know you’ll enjoy it. Hell, I’m looking forward to understanding what goes on in that mind of yours. This is going to be fun.” Laughter dying down, he caught her gaze. “Plus, let’s not play this game shall we? Doesn’t matter who I dated in the past. I’m here, in front of you tonight, telling you that I want to spend time with you. Why deny yourself? Why deny that you want to know what it’s like to date someone like me? You may think I’m bad for you, but you want to know just how bad. Don’t you? It’s okay to admit it.” His strong voice carried throughout the room.

Now she was just pissed. “How dare you presume to know what I want.”

“Big words for such a tiny woman,” he responded.

“No. Going out with you is not going to happen. You’ve given me no reason to think otherwise. You’re rude and overbearing. Plus, you show up to my home—”

“Are we not past that already,” he interrupted with a roll of his eyes.

Lifting her hand in a universal sign of ‘stop’, she effectively put a halt to any more interruptions, her hazel eyes squinted in anger at his condescending behavior. “You barge in and make yourself at home—”

“Nope. You invited me in, if you recall,” he said with a smile.

“Stop interrupting me, Conall,” she yelled out in exasperation. Not realizing she called him by his first name, she paused to see if he would cooperate. She waited until he nodded at her to continue speaking, although the smirk never left his face. “You insult me, and then you simply assume that I’m going to go out with you. You know what they say about people who assume, right?” Crossing her legs, she leaned back, “I don’t even like you, so you can leave now. Forget I ever came to see you about my brother. I made a mistake and I’ll make sure not to repeat it.”

The look on Conall’s face was too wicked to even describe. His eyes were half-mast and the intensity with which he looked at her made her squirm.

“Damn. You have no idea how fucking sexy that was. Oh yes, this is going to be fun. I can promise you that.” Uncrossing his legs and leaning forward, Conall’s hands fell to his thighs, making a loud sound in the room.

It immediately brought to mind the visual of a hand smacking the soft flesh of a woman’s ass. Her gasp filled the room as a mental picture of Conall driving his thick cock inside of her while smacking her ass popped into her mind. His voice broke into her X-rated thoughts.

“Fine, I’ll give you time. But only because I enjoy a good chase. So today is Tuesday, that means you have three days to get used to the idea that we’ll be going out. I have some other business things to deal with over the next few days, but I’ll clear my schedule for Friday evening.” Mouth agape as she stared at him, she shook her head as he continued, “I will wine and dine you and soon enough you’ll be putty in my hands. I’ll try to take it easy on you though. I know my animal magnetism can be overwhelming at times.” He winked at her as he pumped his own ego.

“Oh, brother,” she couldn’t help but say out loud. “Are you really this conceited?”

“No conceit here. Just confidence. I’m simply stating the facts, sweetheart. I’ll pick you up on Friday at seven.” In one swift motion, he moved to stand and she jumped up as well. Bringing her body within inches of his.

“Are you forcing me to go out with you? Because I distinctly remember that I already said no.” Practically vibrating with anger, not just at him, but at herself for reacting to him the way she had. Focused on calming her breathing, she tried to silently count to ten. If she didn’t get a hold of herself, she would hyperventilate.

Conall took a step in her direction, bringing his body to within an inch of hers. Tilting her head back, she couldn’t help but appreciate the man in front of her. His face held the barest hint of late-day beard stubble, which was sexy as hell on any man. But on Conall, it was panty-soaking sexy. Perfectly formed lips were curled up at the edges. The green of his eyes reminded her of the rolling meadows of fresh, summer grass and were framed by long, thick, eyelashes that most women would kill for.
Oh yes,
he’s too fine for his own good
she thought to herself.

“I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you really didn’t want to go, I would know it. I would feel it. Your eyes…your body…the way you’re leaning toward me now, well, that tells me differently. What we’re doing right now, well, baby, this is just foreplay.” One of his hands reached up to grip her neck and the strength in that one motion made her sway. He just stared at her as she looked at his mouth, almost willing him to do something. “Can you feel that?”

“Feel what?” she asked in a breathless tone.

“How much I want you. It doesn’t make sense. I just met you today and I don’t want to fucking leave. My only thought is to strip every bit of clothing from your body and explore it, find out what makes you moan, what makes you scream.” Tilting her head to and fro, he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her neck, just below her ear.

“Conall,” she whimpered.

“Yes, Tatiana?”

She’d lost the ability to speak. Her response to him made no sense. The reasonable thing to do was run in the other direction and never look back. Somehow, she couldn’t look away from him. She wanted his lips on her skin. Her body ached to feel him press against her. Wide eyes gazed up at him and she hoped he understood the pleading look she gave him. There was no way she could say the words. How could she? That would be admitting defeat if she was willing to spread her legs for a man she’d just met. And while she may have wanted him with every fiber in her being, something held her back. Could she do it? Was she willing to just let go with this man whom she’d just met?

Tatiana watched as he stared at her, looking into her eyes as if waiting for her to speak. When she didn’t, he leaned his head down closer to her, his lips just a breath away from hers. With bated breath, she waited. And prayed that he would kiss her and take the choice out of her hands. For a split second, she thought he was going to move in and press his lips to hers. Her traitorous body began to respond accordingly, her head lifted as if to meet him halfway, her lips parting in anticipation, as if welcoming the touch of his lips on hers.

Snaking his other arm around her waist, he pulled her flush against him, her unbound breasts pressed flat against his chest. “Tell me you don’t want to go out with me. Tell me you don’t feel the heat flowing between us at this moment. If I wanted to fuck you right now, your legs would widen in supplication and you would let me do whatever the fuck I wanted to you. Wouldn’t you?” he demanded.

Nothing. Her brain couldn’t summon one word. All she could see was a visual picture of his words and she went weak in the knees.

“Can you feel how much my cock is straining to get inside you right now? You want me, Tatiana, just as much as I want you. And I will have you,” he declared.