Spitfire (Puffin Cove) (15 page)

"
Too late. Idea's in me head now. Stuck. I told ye, I've plenty of pasture that's just going fallow with only me cows to gnaw on the grass. And Stanley's been unemployed ever since I got him. He's due to start earnin' his keep. But ye'd have to be the one to shear 'em and vet 'em. I'll not be pullin' no lambs, Spitfire."

"
Lambs! Oh, can you see the spring lambs frolicking in the meadow? Wouldn't that be so sweet?"

"
Laura. Don't go gettin' all dewy eyed over it. Animals are work, not pets. Some get sick. Some die. It's not all warm fuzzies. And do ye have any idea what sheep shite smells like?" he shuddered.

"
Are you trying to talk me into it or out of it?" she laughed.

"
Neither. Both. If ye're determined t' do it, it'll be on me farm."

"
Holy Dinah! This is crazy. I move that we table this discussion until I actually have a place to live. I probably should stick to one monumental venture at a time."

"
A wise move. I second. All in favour?"

They both raised their hands and said
"Aye," twinkling blue eyes laughing into sparkling green.

"
If we sit here much longer we're going to have too many businesses, Spitfire. Let's get to Twillingate."

They headed back to the car and he opened her door, but stopped her before she got in
. "Think we should seal our deals with a kiss, Laura. The one in Jill's drive was far too long ago."

"
Kane, you are a man after me own heart."

He took her face in his
hands and she rested hers lightly on his hips. Lips brushed, whisper soft, plucking, a hint of the tip of a tongue, warm breath, hot eyes. And she bloomed under the kiss of the man she had come so quickly and so deeply and so terrifyingly to love.

Their tongues mated in a dance as old and rich as time, their slow, languid movements decrying the rapid beating of their hearts
.

Tonight
, his eyes promised hers.

Oh, thank you God
, hers answered.

They crossed Tickle Bridge from the south to the north island of Twillingate, making Crow Head as the sun was just starting to set. Kane pulled the car into the driveway of a squat stone cottage, the crushed rock crunching under the tires. Laura slanted him a questioning glance.

"
Belongs to an artist friend o' mine. Won't be back from Spain 'til next week, so it's all ours."

"
It's lovely, Kane. I wonder if we can see the sunset somewhere around here."

She smiled brightly, unconscious
ly wringing her hands. She was suddenly so nervous. All the way here they were so easy together, but now with the promise of closed doors, she was turning decidedly bashful.

He turned questioning eyes to her, but then his look softened,
and he smiled that soft, heart stopping smile. It was as though he understood her timidity, and set out to put her at ease. God, he was sweet. But maybe he wasn't as affected by her as she was by him. Didn't feel the same longing to be held and loved. Didn't feel the same deep stirrings in his...Gah! She had to stop the damned analyzing! She mentally slapped herself upside the head before she ruined her happy glow.

"Long Point's not far
. Come on, let's work up an appetite."

They walked the mile to the point, then up the hill to the red-roofed building and lighthouse beyond
. It was a beautifully rugged area to look out over the ocean. They hiked the rest of the way to the northernmost point, watching as the meagre sun was setting. Not a spectacular day to see it, but she had always thought that any sunset was a gift, and she wanted to share it with Kane.

Her eyes on the far horizon, she didn
't notice the stretch of white looming to the right.

"
Laura." She gave him her eyes, he turned their bodies and nodded ahead.

Her gaze slanted, and she caught her breath
. "Holy shit," she whispered. "I had no idea."

An iceberg the size of ten football fields stretched across the vista of the ocean, a
slow moving island of purest white floating there like a giant aircraft carrier waiting for its fighter jet. It was half a mile out from shore, so she couldn't see the nuances of the surfaces. Oh, how she wished she could. It was incredible. Powerful. Overwhelming. To imagine that that chunk of glacier broke away from Greenland probably longer than two years before, made of frozen water that was ten thousand years old.

"
Oh, Kane." She was immobile for long moments, absorbing the shock, the awe. Gone was the desire to watch the sun go down, so fascinated was she with the enormous wonder of nature.

The sun had almost set and the wind was picking
up, cooling the air quickly, and Laura shivered. He moved behind her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms, reaching around to enfold her in his, and she felt the warmth of his body seep into her.

How long had it been since she was held like this
? Warmed like this? It had been...never. Never in her adult life had she felt this special, this cherished. Her head dropped back onto his shoulder, her eyes never leaving the iceberg. She was afraid if she blinked it would disappear. Afraid if she closed her eyes for even a moment it would all be a dream, and Kane wouldn't be there holding her, quickening her heart, making her wish that they were in that cottage after all.

After a time, she turned in his arms
. "Thank you," she whispered.

"
Anytime, Spitfire." His beautiful, deep voice washed over her, through her, and her heart quivered.

She
leaned up and kissed him softly then, a kiss of thanks. And promise. "I think I've worked up that appetite," she grinned.

"
I think I can help ye with that." He lowered his head, and nipped lightly on her lower lip, causing her core to clench in delicious anticipation.

They held hands on their languid walk back to the cottage, both realizing that it was the first time they had, both savouring the simple, intimate act, the first of first times
.

Kane unlocked the cottage
and ushered her into the inviting warmth. He helped her off with her coat and hung it on a peg, hung up his own, and kicked off his boots.

She watched him walk to the fireplace, admiring his wide shoulders and trim
hips, and his palm-twitchingly sexy ass as it moved in soft, faded denim. She was surprised and giddily pleased to see her socks on his feet. He set a flame to the kindling laid in the fireplace and moved to the kitchen.

Laura
shook herself from her unabashed study of his body and toed off her own boots. On a side table an earthenware pitcher stood, redolent with the scent of colourful wildflowers. She went to admire them, and saw a card propped against it.

Laura
and Kane,

Welcome to Minke Cottage

Mi
Casa es Su Casa

Enjoy!

Edouard

She fingered the delicate flowers.
"Kane, look. From your friend. How lovely."

"
Aye. Lovely." But he wasn't looking at the flowers. She was arrested by the hot, smouldering look in his eyes, immobilized like a deer in the path of oncoming headlights. She saw his hand flex, his knuckles whiten on the handle of the fridge, he broke the connection of their eyes, and she let out a breath that she didn't realize that she was holding.

He opened the fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of white wine
. Another of red sat on the counter with two long-stemmed glasses.

"
Would ye care fer wine, Laura?" At her nod and smile he said, "Red or white?" She chose white and he uncorked it, pouring the two glasses and bringing one to her on the loveseat in front of the fire.

"
To icebergs and lovely things," he toasted. They ting'd their glasses together and sipped, their eyes smiling and searching.

"
There's a cold lunch in the fridge if ye'd care to nibble."

"
Really? Oh, how thoughtful. I'll get it." She laid out the assortment of cheeses and grapes. "Someone was thinking ahead," she teased as she placed the tray on the ottoman.

"
Hmm. Ayup, suppose."

"
Thank you again, Kane. This has been wonderful already, and we still have two more days." She dipped her head, trying to catch his eyes. When she did, they were glittery, almost...was he pissed at her?

"
Listen, Spitfire. I'd appreciate it if ye'd stop thankin' me. Ye're makin' me feel like a heel leavin' ye to think that I'm doin' this fer you. It's me own selfish needs I'm after meetin', t' steal ye away and keep ye to meself for a few days. The icebergs were just a convenient excuse."

His discomfort tickled her
. She bit her lip, but a giggle escaped anyway. Then another. "Oh...well...in that case..." The sour left his eyes, and the twinkle was back, and that sexy dimple in his right cheek deepened as she threw her leg over his and straddled him on the love seat. "...I guess I should quit thanking you." She threaded her fingers into his hair and nipped at his lips with her teeth. For every nip she took, she soothed with the velvet of her tongue.

"Jaysus
, woman. Trust me. Ye'll be thankin' me," he muttered.

His hands roamed up and down her back, and he sat
up to pull her closer and press his hard chest against her soft one, skimming his thumbs along the sides of her breasts. Then he sank back, pulling her hips down onto him, closer, tighter to his rock hard body.

She roll
ed her hips and pressed in to him, carrying them both on wave after wave of dark, heady desire. He growled into her ear, his breathing ragged and deep. "Ah, Laura. I'm takin' ye t' bed."

She
moaned, and pulled her head back to give him her glowing eyes. Then confusion and a little hurt filled her when his shoulders slumped and his grip on her hips slackened and he said, "Wait. Laura. I need to talk t' ye first. To tell ye…"

"
Ohhkay."

Oh, no
. Oh, please, don't make what is feeling so right go wrong.

She slid from
his lap, feeling a little slutty and a lot embarrassed. His eyes, those beautiful eyes that moments ago were hot and sexy and arousing as hell were now tormented, stormy. And bile rolled greasily in her gut.

He faced the fire, she faced him.

"Darlin', it's okay. It's nothing bad. I mean…it was, but it's okay now…shite…ye just need to know about me. About me life in Ireland."

"
Kane, look at me." She reached out and laid her hand on his cheek, turning his head so she could see him. "We're getting to know each other. Just tell me. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it."

"
Laura. Ah, shite." He dragged his hand through his hair. "Ye deserve…I…" He ran that hand softly up her cheek into her hair, then dropped it. "Laura, I was married. I had a daughter. They died."

"
Oh, shit," she breathed, her fingers pressed to her lips, her other hand reaching to cover his. She waited, and watched as his face flattened, his eyes dulling in remembered grief.

A
fter a few moments, he told her.

"
Fiona and I fell in love when I was in university. She was a dancer. We married before I finished school, and Claire was born a year later. It was a good life. We loved each other, and we were crazy about Claire. Everyone was. Shannon reminds me so much of her. We lived in Dublin then. Fiona continued t' dance, and me birds were startin' to make it in the galleries. Claire was startin' t' dance, too. Takin' after her mother. Fiona and Claire were headin' home after her lesson, and they were walkin' to the car. Claire's tutu flew out of her hand in a gust of wind, near as we can figure. Witnesses said that Fiona ran after her as she darted into the street. They were both hit by the lorry. They never knew what hit them, and I thanked God fer at least that. That they didn't suffer. The constable came t' the class I was teachin'. I don't remember much after that. The funeral was a blur. Me family kept me alive for the first few months, and I tried t' get back t' normal after that. But there was no normal fer me anymore. Just over a year after they were killed I emigrated to Canada."

He turned to look at her then, the sorrow in his eyes mirrored in hers
.

"
I just needed ye t' know before we…progressed. I wanted t' tell you so many times, but it never seemed t' be the right one. And now's probably the dead worst."

"God
. I'm so sorry, Kane. Life can be so cruel." She rubbed small circles on his hand and laid her head on his shoulder, trying to absorb some of his pain, grappling with the shock.

He'
d been married.

He'
d been a father.

"
Aye, Laura. That it can." They sat silently for a while, staring into the fire, both lost in their own thoughts.