Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (10 page)

Ethan? What the hell? He must have taken her
number out of Rachel’s phone when he called her from the bar. Geez,
he has incredible nerve.

From Olivia: yes, I am home safely, please
don’t worry about me. I’m Ok

From Ethan: you’re NOT OK. I noticed you
feel feverish. Go see a Doctor 2moro or I will come and get you and
take you there myself. FORCIBLY if need be.

Is he joking? She’s known this guy for all
of a week. What has she done to make him feel he has any right to
be concerned? She frowns. Who is she kidding? He sensed the
submissive in her the moment she stepped out of the car and now
he’s hunting her like a predator. God help her, she’s not entirely
sure that she wants to get away.

From Olivia: seriously?

From Ethan: seriously! Over my shoulder
kicking and screaming if necessary!

From Olivia: then I suppose it’s a good
thing that you don’t know where I live.

She hits send and then wonders if he does
know where she lives. After all, he has managed to get both her
email and her cell phone number the same day without her
permission.

His reply says it all.

From Ethan: 333 Oak Tree Lane

Well, she can’t say she’s surprised. He
certainly is persistent. That is precisely the problem...
controlling AND persistent is a dangerous combination for her.

From Olivia: Ok stalker boy, put the junior
spy kit away. I have an appointment tomorrow morning.

From Ethan: 

She shakes her head at his bipolar behavior.
One minute he has her submitting in the front hallway of somebody
else’s home. The next minute he’s sending smiley faces. She tosses
her phone onto the arm of the couch as she covers her exhausted
body with the blanket. Despite her efforts to keep him at a
distance, thoughts of Ethan linger in her mind as she tries to
drift off to sleep. Just as they have every night since she met
him.

The next morning, Olivia drags her weary,
aching body off the couch and forces herself to drive into the
city. It’s a long way to drive for an appointment but her doctor is
one of only a few who has clinic hours on a Saturday. As always,
they are way behind schedule and she sits impatiently in the
waiting room feel lethargic and woozy. The skin around her cut is
on fire making her fidget uncomfortably. When her phone beeps,
indicating that there is a new text message, she’s glad for the
distraction. She sighs out loud when she opens it to find it’s from
Ethan.

From Ethan: What time do you see the
doctor?

From Olivia: geez Ireland. Don’t you know
how to take a hint?

From Ethan: do I strike you as the kind of
guy who is easily discouraged? WHAT TIME????

She stares at the screen ready to type him a
nasty reply when she realizes that she’s smiling. As frustrating as
he is, there is just something about having him fuss and worry over
her that makes her feel…normal. As twisted as that seems, she
desperately needs to feel normal, so maybe she won’t give him a
hard time today.

From Olivia: I’m here now. They are so far
behind I’m more likely to die here of old age than an
infection.

From Ethan: I hope that’s not the case... I
am somewhat disappointed since I was looking forward to throwing
you over my shoulder. Then you can’t run away from me.

Olivia reads his reply and gets butterflies.
Damn him. That is one sexy thought. She envisions her body folding
over one of those rock hard shoulders as he holds her tightly with
his beefy biceps to keep her from falling. Thinking about the few
extra pounds that she has gained around her hips over the winter,
she shudders as the thought paints an unpleasant picture in her
mind.

From Olivia: I’m too heavy. You would hurt
your back trying to lift me. Then how would you attract pretty
girls if you can’t play soccer?

She hits sends and for some unknown reason
gets a little nervous. So much for not giving him a hard time
today.

He replies immediately.

From Ethan: YOU are the only pretty girl I’m
interested in.

From Ethan: I don’t like it when you put
yourself down. Don’t do it again

What? She types her reply just as the
receptionist calls her name. If she’s trying to discourage him,
then this was clearly a bad choice.

From Olivia: yes sir, I’m sorry 

Her face flushes red in an unwelcome
response as she hits send, then closes her phone and pushes it into
her pocket. The thought of his large, muscular body standing over
her while she knelt on the floor in front of him last night, makes
her heart flutter and her pulse quicken.

Entering the tiny exam room behind the
nurse, she briefs her on the reason for her visit. As per her
instructions, Olivia strips from the waist down and is covering
herself with a paper blanket when her cell phone beeps from her
pants pocket on the floor. She’s thinking about her last message to
Ethan and wonders about his reply when the doctor comes in and
interrupts her thoughts, making her blush awkwardly.

“So you have a cut that’s not healing?” He’s
all business and gets right to the point.

“Yes, it wasn’t a clean cut. Something dug
into my leg. I’ve been feverish and sick to my stomach as
well.”

“Let’s have a look.” He pulls on a pair of
gloves and snaps them at the wrist as he adjusts the fit. Lifting
the paper blanket he makes a few concerning sounds as he evaluates
the wound.

Olivia is still thinking about Ethan’s broad
shoulders and muscular stomach, the edgy, commanding tone in his
voice. The rock hard erection that he purposely pressed against her
so that she couldn’t ignore it. Doh! Stop thinking about that!

“Miss James?” The doctor repeats
impatiently.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I’ve taken a swab to have the lab evaluate
it. I’ve written you two prescriptions for antibiotics. I’m not
sure which one you’ll need until I get the results back so I want
you to take both until then. I have also prescribed an antibiotic
cream.”

She takes the papers out of his hand and
folds them as she sits up on the table. “What about the fever?”

“The usual, Miss James. Tylenol for the
fever and any generic brand of anti-nausea medication will do.” His
impatient tone indicates that he seems to be in a rush. ”Is there
anything else?

Olivia’s cell phone beeps loudly reminding
her of Ethan’s reply. She thinks about his cologne and how his body
felt against her, hard and warm, the touch of his hands as he
brushed them across her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Completely flushed, she turns her attention back to the doctor.
“Well actually, I think it might be time to start back on birth
control.”

He looks up at her over the top of his
bifocals. “Very well.” He says as he grabs a new pair of gloves.
“Lay back down and wiggle to the end. I’ll check under the hood and
make sure everything’s in order.”

A clear head is required for the video
conference Ethan is about to join and the thoughts he’s having
about Olivia right now are more than distracting. He puts his phone
away after his last reply, needing to get through this call without
an aching hard-on straining against the unforgiving material of his
jeans. He keeps the entire floor of Aurora Technologies in darkness
except for his office. Leaving the blinds open, he lets the
sunshine warm the room with a delicate light. Selecting a play list
of soothing jazz music, he attempts to create a calm atmosphere.
Looking at his watch, he turns on his laptop and prepares for his
video conference. He has driven all the way into the city today to
have some privacy and collect his thoughts. Within minutes, he’s
joined online by his assistant, John McCabe, who is currently at
the head office in Ireland.

“Mr. O’Connell.” He greets him in a much
more formal manner than usual.

“John. How are you?” Ethan finds his voice
comforting and for the first time he feels a little homesick.

“I’m well, Ethan. Thank you for asking.”

John was the head of security with Aurora
Technologies when Ethan was promoted to Senior Vice President of
International sales. Most men would feel contempt over Ethan’s
quick rise up the ladder, especially at such a young age, but it
didn’t seem to bother John. Ethan’s dedication and drive to succeed
put him in the office 24/7 making John his only companion on many
long evenings. Despite Ethan being 10 years his junior, they formed
a friendship and John became one of the few people Ethan could
trust.

John’s insights, both in business and his
personal life continue to be invaluable to him. He often teases
Ethan by saying that he’s is a brilliant young man who lacks
nothing but a little life experience and at times, more
self-control. It was no surprise to anybody that when Ethan became
successful, he hired McCabe away from the company to be his own
personal assistant and bodyguard. It was a wise move on his part
since he was a young mustang full of energy and passion. Still is,
somewhat, although a few years have settled him some. However, he
still has an incredible knack for attracting women with extremely
jealous boyfriends. Admittedly, John’s maturity and military
discipline kept Ethan in line and out of jail on more than one
occasion. If only he had been around that night.

Ethan is starting to feel a little on edge.
“Is everyone there?”

“Yes Sir, the company lawyers are with me
now. We have arranged for the best representation for you.“

“Well that’s brilliant considering that it’s
a load of bullocks. I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” His voice is riddled
with frustration.

“I believe you. But it’s her word against
yours.”

One of the lawyers chimes in. “Mr.
O’Connell, Jessica Keane has some pretty compelling evidence.”

Ethan looks down at his cell phone and reads
an incoming text from John.

From John: Calm your temper Ethan. Don’t
give them any reason to believe you’re capable of the things she’s
accusing you of.

He knows John is right and forces himself to
relax. He twists his neck trying to release some of the tension and
then extends and flexes his fingers which were clenched into
tightly formed fists.

A very professional sounding woman
introduces herself. “Ethan, my name is Shannon Quinn. I’ll be
handling your case.” She moves in front of the camera so that she
can be seen. She’s a stunning blonde in her early to mid 30’s with
bright blue eyes that look kind and gentle. Ethan takes note and
straightens his posture when he see’s her on the video screen. He’s
been told that she’s the best in her field and he’s shocked that
she has developed such a successful career and reputation as a
lawyer at such a young age. Lawyers are all old, wrinkled,
argumentative people right? Not this woman, she’s stunning. The
legal team may refer to her as a “bull dog” in court, but there is
something about Miss Quinn, that is very… personable.

“I’m curious.” She begins. “What reason
would Miss Keane have to say it was you? Why would she lie about
it?”

Leaning back in his chair, he runs both his
hands through his hair, holding his head for a few minutes before
he lowers his arms to his lap and answers.

“Jessica and I were living together until I
found out she was sleeping with another man.”

“So this was something that happened in a
jealous rage?”

“NO!” He catches himself sliding into an
angry tone and clears his throat. “No, I wrote her a note saying
that it was over and that I wanted her to move out.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, then I went out and got drunk.“

“So if it wasn’t you, who did it then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Was she there when you got home from the
bar?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He scratches his
head. “I don’t know for sure. I told you I was hammered.”

“You were that drunk, that you don’t know if
she was even in the house; but absolutely positive that you didn’t
do it?”

“Yes, because I could barely stand. The cab
driver had to pretty much carry me into the house. The last thing I
remember is him dropping me on the sofa.” Ethan’s stress is now
evident in his voice.

Shannon turns to one of the young men
sitting beside her. “See if you can track down the cab driver and
confirm that he saw no one else in the house when he took Ethan
home.” Turning back to the video screen she adjusts the camera.
“Ok, so you don’t remember seeing her after you left her the note.
Let’s assume for the moment that she came home, saw the note and
left. When was the next time you saw or heard from her?”

“A few weeks later.”

“Who made the initial contact?”

Ethan sighs. “She contacted me after I cut
her off financially.”

“I see, so you were still supporting her
until then?” One of Shannon’s assistants is taking notes on his
laptop and the loud tapping of the keys is starting to grind on
Ethan’s nerves. He holds the back of his neck trying to release the
tension.

“Yes, I gave her a few weeks to find a place
to stay and get a job, and then I cancelled the credit card and
closed the line of credit that I opened for her.”

Shannon looks to another one of her
associates and assigns him a task. “I want the transaction records
on the accounts that Mr. O’Connell paid for and the cancellation
information.” She turns her attention back to Ethan.

“What did she say?”

“I didn’t return her call. For two weeks I
didn’t hear a single word from her until I cut her off. Obviously
she missed my money… not me.”

She looks to the man on her right again.
“Get your hands on her phone records. I want to know when that
phone call was made and what date she went to the newspaper.”
Everybody is scrambling, making notes and searching for things in
their briefcases. “I think that’s all for today, Ethan.”