Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (2 page)

She closes her eyes, embarrassed to tell him
the source of her fury. “That girl has been telling everyone that
YOU are escorting her to the ball.” Looking up, she waits for his
denial and sees regret in his eyes. She feels a sharp jab straight
into her heart. “Owen? Are you taking her to the ball?”

Stepping forward he wipes a small trickle of
blood from her lip with his thumb. “Well, she asked me if I would
escort her.” His voice is quiet, calm. In complete contrast to the
rage that’s boiling inside Elizabeth right now.

Devastated by what she hears, her hands
clench tightly into fists at her side. “And what did you say?”

“I said I’d think about it.” Taking another
step forward, he closes the rest of the distance between them.

Her body tenses and she takes a deep breath.
“You said you’d think about it?” Her voice is heavy with an angry
tone.

“Yes.”

A perfectly executed right cross connects
with his jaw and snaps his head back. Grimacing, he shakes his head
and spits out a small amount of blood. Wiping his mouth on his
sleeve, he tries to figure out just what the ever-loving-hell is
going on. She stares at him, her hands trembling at her side, and
before he can say anything, she takes off running, disappearing
around the building. Cursing, he starts after her, colliding with
his brother as he rounds the corner.

“Hey, what the hell’s going on? She looks
pretty upset.”

“I’ll explain later. I have to catch up to
her. Cover for me at home, will ya?” Taking off in a fast run, Owen
doesn’t wait for an answer.

“Elizabeth! Wait!” He hollers angrily as he
quickly closes the distance between them.

“Go away!” She tries to hold back the tears.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Angry, exhausted and completely
heartbroken she starts to slow down. Needing to take a rest, she
heads towards their favorite tree at the fork in the road. Pulling
off her shoes while she walks, she throws them angrily at the thick
base of the trunk.

Closing the gap in no time, he grabs her arm
as she reaches the shade of the tree. “Christ, would you wait. I
want to talk to you.” Spinning her around, he stands frozen at the
sight of the tears that have begun to slowly trail down her cheeks.
“You’re crying?” Emotion hits him hard in the chest. “Why are you
crying?” Something inside him tightens in knots. Lifting his hand
to her face, he tenderly wipes away the tears and searches for
something in her eyes. Her heart thumps quickly at his gentle
touch, pounding in her chest like a hammer. Looking away, she
denies him the answer to the question that his eyes are asking.
“Liz? Talk to me.” Suddenly his feelings become very clear. Very
real. Very overwhelming. They ache in his chest and make every
muscle tense as his heart beats with an ardor that he’s been trying
to hide for a very long time. He never knew it was love until this
moment.

Pulling her arm out of his grip, she walks
towards the trunk of the tree, tired and angry, and just wanting to
sit down. “Well I’m not crying over you, if that’s what you
think.”

Impulsively, he grabs her and turns her
around. She gasps as he presses his hard muscular body against her.
“Kiss me.” He demands.

She pushes against his chest, stubbornly
trying to pry herself away. “No!”

“Liz. Please, kiss me.” He needs to explore
this feeling.

“NO!”

Frustrated, he lets out a sigh and shakes
his head. “I’m not going to take her to the ball.”

She stills, and looks up at him through
those beautiful hazel eyes. “You’re not?”

He sees hope start to shimmer there. “No,
I’m not.”

She’s suspicious. “Why not?”

He gentles his hold and wraps his arms
around her, slowly pulling her into his body. She stops struggling
and reluctantly lets him reel her in. Biting at her lip, she waits
for his answer. Brushing her hair away from her face, he runs his
fingers down her cheek and locks his gaze to hers. “Because, I’m in
love with YOU. Somehow, I just know that we’re meant to be
together. I’ve felt it since the first day of school. It’s like
you’ve always been the other half of me.”

Swooping down, he lowers his mouth to hers.
Slanting over it, he waits for a refusal that doesn’t come. At the
press of his lips, she opens to him, slowly parting her lips and
letting his tongue slide in. Soft, warm and gentle, his tongue
explores her mouth as their bodies melt into one. Relaxing into his
kiss, she surrenders completely, letting him sink deeper into her
mouth as he swallows the sounds of her moans. Pulling away for a
quick breath, she brushes her trembling fingers across his cheek
and then returns to him, smashing her mouth against him. Her tongue
searches for his, making the bulge in his pants throb and harden as
she tangles them together with an unchained desire.

Something profound happened between them on
this day, something almost ethereal. What started as friendship,
blossomed into love. Best friends become lovers. With that long
awaited first kiss, they awaken entangled souls. Nothing will ever
be the same. Eternity will always be theirs.

A small green finch hovers over the foliage
just outside the window of Olivia James’ office. Its small black
wings flutter sprightly as it surveys the bushes for a steady
branch to land on. Olivia is mesmerized by the movement of the
emerald green leaves dancing rhythmically in the gentle breeze as
the heat of the sun blazes through the window, reaching for her
like the warm hands of a lover trying to seduce her. It seemed as
if spring would never arrive and end her long, restless winter.

The sound of a slamming truck door frightens
the tiny bird into flight. Frowning, Olivia looks over at the
offending vehicle that interrupted what had been, up to then, a
peaceful afternoon. In less than an instant, a flurry of activity
takes place in the garden outside her window. The sound of buzzing
lawnmowers and humming leaf blowers wielded by a well-tanned
grounds maintenance crew offers her a completely different sort of
distraction. Enjoying the new view, Olivia finds herself lost in a
sea of rippling washboard abs.

Her eyes are drawn to a stunningly handsome
blonde who yanks his shirt over his head as he makes his way over
to trim the shaggy boxwood shrub outside her office window. Olivia
can’t take her eyes off him as perspiration starts to glisten on
his skin. Snipping at the unruly branches, he shapes it into a
well-manicured square and then steps back to admire his work.

Olivia’s eyes wander, admiring his broad
shoulders and magnificent chest. Thankful for tinted windows, she
lets her eyes trail shamelessly down to the well-toned six-pack abs
and survey the way that his shorts hang loosely at his hips.

Moving to work on the next garden down, he
leaves Olivia with a much appreciated view of his backside. She
bites at her lip, lost in admiration. Whew! She fans herself with
the purple file folder from her desk. It’s getting very hot in this
office.

A voice at the door startles her. “Keep
staring out the window and you’ll have nothing to do this
afternoon.” Rachel jokes from the office doorway. Olivia smiles,
trying to hide her embarrassment.

“What are you up to?” Rachel asks
suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

“Nothing, I was just reviewing the ‘Johnson’
proposal.” She shows her the purple folder that’s in her hand,
snickering at the irony and praying that she’ll let it go.

“Yeah, right.” She’s already on her way
behind the desk. The crew has made its way further down the
building and Olivia hopes they are out of sight by now. No such
luck. Leaning forward against the window, Rachel strains her neck
to see exactly what Olivia had been enjoying. She smirks. “Yes, I
can see that you were ‘reviewing’ something.”

Olivia blushes. ”What do you want?”

Rachel continues teasing her. “The one on
the left? Unless you’ve already called dibs.”

“Rachel! Stop it!” Olivia scolds.

“Honestly, Olivia? When are you going to
stop punishing yourself and get back out there and find yourself a
man?”

“I’ve answered that question many times.
Never!” The tone of her voice warns Rachel from continuing on this
topic.

“Okay… I get it… but seriously, every woman
has needs. Maybe you should be more open minded to a friend with
benefits…” She pauses dramatically and nods towards the window. “Or
two!”

Olivia starts to protest and looks up to
meet her friend’s incredulous stare. With her eyebrows raised
Rachel gestures towards the blonde wandering back to the truck.
“Really? You’re actually going to try and deny that you were
looking at that and wondering what he would be like between your
legs?”

Her face turns red as she watches him throw
a grass trimmer into the back of the truck and then lift himself to
sit on the open tailgate. Reaching for a bottle of water, he
empties half of it into his mouth and then dumps the rest onto the
top of his head. Her face turns red as she watches him shake the
excess water out of his hair, while the rest trickles down his
chest.

“I hate you.” She jokes.

Rachel laughs. “Girlfriend, we need to get
you back into the world of the living.”

Olivia shakes her head in frustration and
changes the subject. “Ok…seriously, back to work. What did you
want?”

Rachel rolls her eyes at her friend’s
refusal to finish the discussion. “I need a favor. I need you to go
to Scott’s soccer game tonight to cheer him on and then drive him
home.”

“Where are you going to be?” Olivia asks
curiously. “It’s not like you to miss your husband’s games.”

“I have a very early meeting out of town
tomorrow and an opportunity has presented itself to leave tonight
and stay at a lovely little hotel for a couple of days.” She
continues to plead her case in the absence of Olivia’s immediate
acceptance. “A lovely little hotel with a SPA and a Masseuse…
compliments of the company!” Rachel blinks her eyes rapidly and
smiles.

“OK, fine!” Olivia finally agrees, spurring
Rachel into a celebration dance that looks a lot like something
you’d see in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Glancing back out the window
she watches as the sexy blonde pulls his shirt back on over his
rippling muscles. A mischievous smile, one that would make the
Cheshire cat proud, spreads across her face. “Is there anything
else you’d like me to take care of while you’re out of town?”

Rachel gasps! “Olivia James! You had better
keep your horny hands off my man!” Her nostrils flare and her eyes
narrow as she folds her arms in front of her and shifts her weight
to one hip.

Olivia laughs. “Disgusting much? For
heaven’s sakes, Rach. Scott is like a brother to me.” Her words are
sincere and Rachel physically relaxes, the corners of her mouth
slowly curling into a smile.

Rachel and Olivia became best friends when
they met in college. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that they
had both received job offers right after graduation from Dunn and
McLellan, a rapidly growing IT consulting firm. Accepting the
position would mean that Rachel and Scott, her fiancé at the time,
would have to move to Olivia’s home town.

Turning, Rachel starts to walk back to her
own office. “We’re going to finish that other conversation
eventually.” She warns, her voice trailing off. “You need a
man.”

Leaning back in her chair, she glances out
the window just in time to see the truck pull out of the parking
lot on its way to the next property. Her shoulders slump in
disappointment.

Before she knows it the silence is broken by
the sound of office doors being locked and co-workers bidding each
other a good evening. After gathering the papers on her desk and
piling them neatly in the corner she starts down the hallway
towards Rachel’s office. Standing at the open door Olivia can tell
from the conversation that she’s on the phone trying to smooth over
a situation. Rachel looks up and crosses her eyes in frustration
causing Olivia to stifle a giggle. Putting her hand over the
mouthpiece of the phone, she holds it a few inches away from her
face. “Game starts at six. Don’t be late.” She whispers. “And wear
something pretty.”

Olivia nods and waves. “Have fun.”

After dropping her purse just inside the
door of her tiny, little townhouse she heads upstairs to the
bedroom, glancing at her watch. 5:30pm. Not much time at all.
Opening the closet, she stands in front of it, wondering what
Rachel meant by wear something pretty? Why would she need to wear
something pretty to a soccer game? Grabbing her favorite pink
T-Shirt with the black trim and the low v-neck, she pulls it over
her head and smoothes it over her hips, checking to make sure that
her breasts are in just the right place. Tugging on her favorite
black denim shorts she glances at the mirror and wonders if Rachel
would approve.

Her thick, dark, brown hair, hanging a few
inches below her shoulders, is the longest she has ever let it grow
and with the curse of unruly natural curls, everyday is a challenge
to decide on whether she’ll curl it all into a uniform hairstyle or
try to straighten it. It’s everywhere at the moment and glancing at
her watch again, she realizes she has no time to fix it. Twisting
it at the back of her head, she swishes it upwards. Grabbing a
clip, she secures it in place on the top of her head in a rather
impressive looking, messy bun. Quickly, she freshens up her
lipstick and lines her hazel eyes in a thin, midnight black to
match the trim of her top and then hurries down the stairs and
grabs her keys. She’s cutting it kind of close.

Arriving at the field a few minutes late
she’s surprised that the game hasn’t started yet. Putting the car
into park she feels a sudden sense of anxiety crawl through her and
the hair on the back of her neck stands on end. Nervously she scans
the parking lot for any sign of her Ex-Boyfriend, the man that put
her in the hospital with multiple injuries almost three years ago.
The police confirmed that he had left town shortly after, and to
her knowledge, he has never returned, but it’s a habit she can’t
seem to shake. Getting out of the car, she leans against the hood
and breathes in the fresh air, letting it wash away some of the
anxiety.