Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (26 page)

It takes Olivia a minute to snap out of her
fog. “I’m sorry.” She lies. “I had car trouble.”

Rachel notices her friend distress. “Is
everything ok?”

Olivia tries to snap herself out of it.
“Yes. Yes, everything is ok. Sorry I’m just a little distracted
this morning.”

Rachel stands stern with her arms crossed in
front of her. “Olivia, are you sure Ethan didn’t do anything stupid
last night?”

Olivia is shocked. “NO! Everything is fine.
We’re going to be fine.”

“WE? As in, YOU and ETHAN? Together?”

Olivia gets flustered. Did she just admit,
out loud, that she’s considering having sex with him? “Yes. Maybe.
I don’t know.” She puts her hands over her face. “God! He gets me
so worked up, I can’t think straight.”

Rachel’s expression softens and she tries to
hide a smile. “Well, well… It looks like someone has a crush on our
sexy little Irish boy.” She teases.

Olivia closes her eyes tight and groans.
“Really? What is this? High school? Go away!”

Rachel laughs. “Ok, I’ll leave you alone to
get your work done and figure out what you’re going to wear
tonight. I hear you’re going to look at apartments together.”
Snickering, she takes a step back and reaches for the door
handle.

Olivia’s eyes shoot wide open and she grabs
her phone and scrolls through his messages. “Oh my God! I
forgot!”

Rachel closes the door on her way out. “Have
fun!” She stops and sticks her head back in. “And I want all the
details.” As the door closes with a snap, the phone rings. Olivia
jumps and reaches for it, noticing the display reads Aurora Tech. A
young man’s voice greets her. “Good morning, Miss James. Please
hold a moment for Mr. O’Connell.” Before she can say anything, he’s
gone and there is a brief moment of music while she’s on hold.

When Ethan picks up the line there is
concern in his voice and it makes her heart start to flutter.
“Olivia, is everything alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I…”

He interrupts in a curt tone. “You haven’t
answered my messages.”

“I’m sorry, I…”

Impatiently, he cuts her off again. “I’ve
been worried sick.”

“I couldn’t call because…”

“Why didn’t you return my calls I didn’t
sleep at all last night.” Catching the tone in his own voice, he
leans back in his chair and tries to get control of his
anxiety.

Gaaaah! That’s the last straw! He’s not the
only one that didn’t get any sleep and she’s way too tired to deal
with this shit. “Stop interrupting me!” She growls at him angrily.
“Then maybe I can tell you! Geez! Why are you harassing me anyways?
Don’t you have to get ready for a lunch with important clients?”
She gasps! Oh no! She’s not supposed to know that. There is dead
silence on the phone and she closes her eyes waiting for that Irish
temper to erupt.

Ethan is no longer sitting back in his chair
calmly. His entire body leans forward, sitting on the edge of his
seat, fingers digging into the arms with white-knuckle force. He
refrains from shouting angrily, although that would be his usual
reaction. He’s been thinking about what she said last night and
worrying that her inability to handle violence is the reason she’s
been avoiding him. John’s advice this morning was to prove to her
that he can control his temper. He forces himself, with tremendous
effort, to push his angry tension aside and answers her in a tone
that is calm and steady. “How did you know about that?”

She cringes knowing that this is not going
to go over well. “I met John McCabe this morning.”

Ethan’s face turns red and the nerve on his
temple starts to spasm. Keeping calm is extremely difficult and
he’s unable to hold back his sarcasm. “I see. Did you two meet over
breakfast to discuss my schedule for the day?”

“No! I couldn’t find my phone. When I drove
past the bar, I noticed the Challenger there and I wondered if it
had fallen out of my pocket last night. I stopped to check. That’s
all!”

“And that’s when you and Mr. McCabe decided
to discuss my schedule?” There is still a bite to his tone that
he’s unable to hide as he taps his pen against his desk
repeatedly.

“No Ethan! It wasn’t like that. Stop being
an ass!” Did she just say that out loud? Immediately, she slaps her
hand over her own mouth.

The tapping stops abruptly and she thinks
she hears him growl something under his breath. Finding it hard to
swallow she decides she might as well finish her thought. She tries
not to be intimidated but her voice is small and timid. “He only
told me that to explain why you and he had switched cars. Please
don’t be upset with him. It’s my fault.”

There is a long torturous silence before he
speaks. “Did you find your phone?”

She’s confused. Where is the temper everyone
is warning her about? What’s going on? “Yes. John checked for me
and it somehow ended up under the front seat. I’m so sorry, that’s
the reason I couldn’t answer your messages. You had my phone.”

“I was worried.” Terrified actually, that he
had lost her before he even had a chance to have her.

There is a strange vulnerability in his
voice and it makes her stomach flutter. “About what?”

“At first I was worried that you’d gone out
and that death trap you call a car had broken down again leaving
you stranded somewhere alone and unsafe.” He’s not sure why he
makes his next confession. “Then I worried that you were upset with
me. I thought maybe you weren’t talking to me because you were
angry with me about the fight at the game.”

The torment in his voice makes her heart
start to throb. “Ethan. No.”

“Not hearing from you for either of those
reasons would not be acceptable to me, Olivia. Especially the
second one.” He doesn’t sound at all like the bossy, in control
Ethan O’Connell that she knows and has been repeatedly warned
about.

“Stop.” She says softly, not allowing him to
drag her into one of those emotional girlie reactions that she
hates so much. “It was only because of the phone. I just got here
and was in the middle of sending you a message when you
called.”

Ethan flexes his fingers and relaxes;
leaning back in his chair again, he’s feeling much more at ease
now. “I’m glad everything is ok. Do you still want to go with me
tonight to look at an apartment?”

“Yes, of course I’ll still go. You’re going
to pick me up at the house at 8pm right?” She lifts her voice a bit
trying to lighten the mood.

“Is that ok? If it’s not I can reschedule
the appointment at a more convenient time for you.”

“No, that works out fine for me, I’ll see
you then.” Scratching her head, she wonders why it feels like she
has just climbed down the rabbit hole?

“I’ll see you then.”

There is still something tense in his tone
and she desperately wants to change it. “Ethan!” She hopes to catch
him before he hangs up. She’s not sure exactly what it is that she
wants to say and she searches her brain for a reason to draw out a
finished conversation.

“Yes?”

She panics. “Have a nice day. I hope things
go well with your important clients.” She’s as bright and cheery as
she can be hoping to end the conversation with a little levity.
“I’ll be thinking about you.” She slaps her hand to her forehead
and shakes her head at her ridiculous comment.

A happier tone returns to his voice. “I like
the idea of that. You... thinking of me. I can’t wait to see you
tonight.” Ethan hangs up and digs his cell phone out of his jacket
pocket to send John a message.

From Ethan: Something you’d like to tell me
about a visitor you had this morning, McCabe?

Dressed in the prettiest flowered cotton
dress, she chooses comfortable flat shoes this time, wanting to
avoid the challenge of high heels tonight. She’s decided, with much
deliberation today, that she will take John McCabe’s advice and
tell Ethan, open and honestly, what her needs are. The thought
scares her a little. She’s still unsure how she can meet her
physical needs without developing any emotional attachments to him.
She’s not ready to involve her heart any time soon, in fact, she’s
not entirely sure if she can ever trust someone with her heart ever
again. She’ll have to give it some thought. The one thing she does
know for sure is that the thought of him touching her, sets her
whole body on fire. She needs him to look after those needs and
soon.

At 7:30pm, Ethan knocks on the front door.
She glows when she sees him, the butterflies whirling around in her
stomach when he smiles. “Hey, you’re early.”

“Yes, well… I have an extreme intolerance to
tardiness.” He says with a serious expression before smiling.

“Good to know. Luckily, I’m ready to go.”
Heading into the living room, she grabs her purse and her sweater.
When she gets to the front entranceway, he moves to stand in the
doorway with his hands on each side of the frame, stopping her from
exiting. Looking up at him, she gives him the most beautiful smile
that sends his heartbeat into a hurried rhythm.

“You look beautiful tonight.” He says
seductively, staring at her full sensual lips and thinking about
them on his body. Oh, the places they would go, and the things that
they would do. His dick twitches, and he takes a deep slow breath
in. Jesus, there is no controlling it. The minute she’s anywhere
near him, the damn thing has a mind of its own.

“Thank you, Ethan.” She can’t resist giving
him a hard time. “I was hoping to run into my favorite guy this
evening.”

Ethan recognizes the playful tone in her
voice and he’s intrigued. “And who might that be?” Standing aside,
he lets her exit, and then pulls the door closed behind her.

“Oh, I think you might know him. He’s the
most handsome and charming man I’ve ever met. And my knees get weak
when I hear his sexy Irish accent.” She bites her lip.

“Is that right?” Smiling, he places his hand
on her back and steadies her down the front porch steps, then
escorts her the rest of the way to the car.

“Yes, his name is John McCabe. Do you know
him?” Ethan stiffens beside her for a moment. Peaking up at him
from the corner of her eye, she sees that he’s smiling. Thank God!
He opens the door and as she turns to get in, he holds on to her
arm forcing her to look up at him.

“Yes, I do know him. Luckily for him, he’s
way too old for you or he might find himself in the unemployment
line as of tomorrow.” Making sure that she’s tucked in safely, he
closes the door. When he gets in behind the wheel, he glances over
at her, taking a moment to appreciate her beauty. When she smiles
at him, his heart beats loudly in his chest, pumping blood straight
down into his dick. Holy shit this woman is potent! How much longer
will he be able to keep his hands off her?

It’s been a tense couple of days since his
loss of temper at the game and their awkward conversation this
morning, but there is a sparkle in his eyes that makes Olivia feel
like things are back to normal. She knows that she’s making the
right decision tonight.

Ethan pulls up to the front of a rather old,
brick apartment building. “Wait.” He says as he jumps out to get
her door. Her phone beeps several times on the walk to the front
door where he punches in a security code to gain access. “Your
friends are very demanding.” He muses.

“Oh, wait a minute, MY friends? Who is
living with them?” She snorts. He shakes his head from side to side
comically mimicking her words stopping only when she looks at him.
As if it was possible that she didn’t know what he was doing.

She raises her eyebrows at him. “Seriously?
She tries not to chuckle. “How immature!” He grins from ear to ear
as she stops in front of the elevator and pushes the button. “Well
that’s why we’re here to look at this apartment, so I can move out
of mom and dad’s house and have sexy dance parties.” He grabs her
hips and twirls her around, almost dropping her in a failed attempt
to dip her in a graceful manner. When the elevator door opens, she
squeals as he quickly stands her upright.

Ethan pushes his way in, as people push
their way out. Olivia moves to the side to get out of the way.
Sticking her head inside, she whispers. “Hello? Is the coast
clear?” In an over exaggerated sigh of relief she quickly steps in,
speeding up her entrance as the door starts to close. He stares at
her smile in adoration. Oh how he loves playful Olivia. He can’t
get enough of her. He pushes the button for the 15th floor and for
some strange reason the elevator starts to descend causing Olivia
to look at him in confusion. “Oh oh, we’re taking a trip to the
dark underworld first.” She whispers.

As the elevator stops abruptly, she tips
forward and reaches for him to steady herself. Sliding her hand
slowly from his shoulder down to his chest, she lingers against
him, remembering the first day they met. His mouth is dangerously
close and she thinks about how soft and sweet his lips look. She’s
so close to leaning forward and presses her lips across his but
she’s distracted by the small purple bruise on his eye and healing
cut on his brow. Pouting, she rubs her thumb across it, making his
chest rise and fall in reaction to her touch. Standing on her tippy
toes, she gives it a gentle kiss.

The sexual tension between them is
unbearable and he reaches for her, swooping down for her lips as
the elevator stops abruptly. The doors open, revealing another mob
about to encroach on their privacy. She turns to face the crowd as
they push in around her, edging her breathing into short erratic
pants that she tries desperately to control. Feeling space starting
to disappear, she gives in to her irrational fear and continues to
retreat into the corner and towards Ethan. When his back is against
the wall, and they can move no further, he puts his hands firmly on
her hips and guides her back against his rock hard chest. “I’ve got
you.” He whispers in her ear as his arms wrap around her in a
protective embrace. He can feel the tension in her body and the
tremor in her hands as she grasps his forearms and squeezes them
tightly.