The Mighty Quinns: Kieran (11 page)

Sooner or later, she’d have to make some decisions about her future. When she was with Kieran, that always seemed so far off. But now, here with her family, her responsibilities seemed to come rushing back, full force.

6

K
IERAN
SAT
ON
the front steps of the stable house, a long, low building that housed four identical rooms. Each had a small galley kitchen, a sitting area with a fireplace and a comfortable bed, one that seemed very empty without Maddie.

He stared up at the main house, wondering which room was hers. The lights had been turned off long ago, the only illumination coming from the porch. He closed his eyes and laid back on the cool wood of the porch floor.

Though it was nice to see Maddie with her grandparents, he much preferred their time on the road. He’d had her completely to himself and it was a luxury that he missed already. She’d barely left his side for four straight days and now they were separated by a hundred yards at the most. It might as well have been a hundred miles.

He glanced at his watch. It was already past midnight. She’d probably been so exhausted she’d fallen asleep. Maybe it was time for him to give up and turn in himself. Kieran pushed to his feet and pulled the screen door open.

A ceiling fan whirred above his head, keeping the room cooler than the outside temperature, which had to be close to eighty. He wore only his boxers, but it wasn’t enough. His skin was covered by a light sheen of perspiration.

He flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan blades as they created a blur of movement. Though it had taken him a bit longer to reach his destination, Kieran knew he’d have to start making some plans of his own.

He couldn’t continue sponging off of Maddie and he wasn’t about to take advantage of her grandparents either. Tomorrow morning, he’d have to find work. He’d drive into Bitney and see what his original destination had to offer.

Kieran drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Hell, he’d rather jump back in the car and head off on another road trip with Maddie. They’d had so much fun together, living without a care in the world.

But now, he felt a distance between them. They were back in the real world, where running away became an irresponsible act and sleeping with a lover was beyond the bounds of propriety.

He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly. But the heat was making it almost impossible to relax. Still, he must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, Maddie was crawling into bed beside him.

Her hand skimmed down his chest before her fingers wrapped around his shaft. At first, Kieran though he might be dreaming. But the sensations were too intense, too real to be happening only in his mind.

Kieran rolled onto his side and looked at her in the dim light from the beside lamp. “Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi,” she replied.

He kissed her softly. In a single moment, the world was right again. They were together, lying next to each other, able to touch and talk at will.

She wore a thin cotton nightgown, barely a barrier to his touch. Kieran ran his hand along her arm, her skin like silk beneath his touch. Over the past few days, he’d come to know her body so well, but his response to her presence always surprised him. Every moment together was a chance to discover something new and amazing.

His hand drifted lower, to her hip and then her thigh. The breeze from the fan fluttered at her nightgown and Kieran caught the fabric in his fingers and slowly drew it up along her leg, revealing the perfect curve of her backside. Each new spot of naked skin was a revelation, a place to explore and appreciate.

The heat had slowed everything, including his seduction, to an indolent pace. But Maddie didn’t seem to mind. When he found the spot between her legs, she sighed softly and parted her thighs, arching into his touch as if it were an instinctual reaction.

She was already damp with desire and he fought the urge to pull her beneath him and drive deep and hard. The need to completely possess her had become necessary for his survival and the experience of losing himself inside her fed that obsession.

Maddie grazed the front of his boxers with her fingertips. He was already hard, his erection straining against the cotton. As she slipped her hand beneath the waistband and wrapped her fingers around him again, Kieran held his breath, fighting the surge of desire that nearly overwhelmed him.

Would it ever be possible to walk away from this? In his wildest imagination, he couldn’t fathom a single reason for letting her go. They belonged together. This passion and the pleasure that soon would follow, was what life was supposed to be about.

“Make love to me,” Maddie whispered as she stroked him.

He reached for the box of condoms that he’d left on the bedside table, but she stopped him, grabbing the box from his hand and tossing it across the room. “I just want you,” she said.

Kieran wasn’t sure how to respond. The thought of moving inside her without a barrier between them sent another flood of heat through his bloodstream. “Are you all right? I mean, are you—”

“I have that covered.”

With a soft groan, he pulled her beneath him, dragging her nightgown up around her waist. He found her lips again, desperate to taste her. No matter how close they were, it never seemed to be enough.

Over the past few days, they’d been physically inseparable, but there had still been an emotional distance that they both kept. But now, he felt that distance slowly dissolving. Was this what it was like to fall in love?

She was like no other woman he’d ever known. In the past, women had been a pleasurable diversion, a necessary component to deep sexual satisfaction. A warm body, a sweet mouth.

But Maddie was so much more. She was a companion, a friend. A lovely presence in his life that he didn’t want to lose. Kieran pressed his lips to her neck, then moved down her body, first to her breast and then to the soft flesh of her belly.

There was nothing about her that he didn’t find addictively beautiful. How had he lived so long without ever knowing her? If he’d seen her CDs in a store or happened upon a photo of her in a magazine, would he have felt an instant connection? Were they always meant to be together like this? Or would they have spent the rest of their lives searching for each other?

Maddie ran her fingers through his hair and gently guided him back to her mouth. When he’d settled himself between her legs, she caught the waistband of his boxers in her thumbs and tugged them down around his hips. Kieran knew that he was already dancing close to the edge. Every nerve in his body was alive with anticipation. The tip of his shaft teased at her damp entrance and he held his breath, trying to maintain his control. He rocked his hips, his erection sliding against the moist slit between her legs, the contact sending his senses into overdrive.

He could feel her arching beneath him, her breath coming in quick gasps and he picked up his pace, the rhythm driving her closer to her release. She grew tense against him and Kieran knew she was close.

And when she finally cried out, he sank into her, burying himself in her enveloping warmth. Her spasms surrounded him and a moment later, after just a few strokes, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

The exquisite sensation of surrender was something that he’d come to crave, but it was only with Maddie that it all made sense. This was what sex was supposed to be, an intimate joining of souls and hearts, not just physical satisfaction. All those other women, those other times, meant nothing to him.

They lay beside each other for a long time, waiting for their bodies to recover. Kieran toyed with a strand of her hair, twisting it around his finger. He opened his mouth to speak, then drew a sharp breath, wondering how to broach the subject.

“Don’t worry,” she said, as if she could read his mind. “We didn’t need a condom.”

“Since when?”

Maddie drew back and looked into his gaze, smiling. “Since before I met you. This isn’t my first rodeo, you know.” She shrugged. “My mother was a teenage mom. The first time I looked at a boy, she dragged me to the doctor. I knew all about the birds and the bees early on and let me tell you, my friends at school wanted to hear all about it. Though I didn’t use that vast knowledge myself until I was almost twenty.”

“And how did that go?”

“It was surprisingly quick and uninspired. He played in my backup band on my summer tour. He was a drummer and I thought he was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. It lasted a week and a half. When my mother found out, she fired him. He’s a studio musician now in Nashville. We run into each other every now and then. He’s still pretty cute.”

“Cuter than me?”

“No. But he was a gentleman. Even though he got fired, he never said anything to the press, never sold his story. I was lucky he was my first.”

“Have other guys sold their stories?”

“Not completely. But they have kissed and told. Promise me you won’t do that?”

Kieran gasped, stunned that she’d even think him capable of doing that. “No. Maddie, I’d never— How could you even think I’d consider—” He paused. “I promise. What’s happened between us, stays between us.”

She nodded. “All right, then.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Sometimes you say the silliest things.”

Surely, she had to know that she could trust him, completely and without reservation. If he needed to prove anything to her, it was that. Because without trust, there was no chance that this would last.

* * *

“F
IRST
OF
ALL
this is nothing like learning to ride a horse,” Kieran said. “After this morning’s lesson, I can personally attest to that.”

“I’m still nervous.” Maddie stared at her hands gripping the steering wheel of the Cadillac.

“How do you think I felt on top of that horse?” Kieran asked. “At least with a car, you’re in control. That horse had a mind of it’s own.”

“You just weren’t decisive enough with your commands,” Maddie said. “Your horse sensed that you were unsure, so he took advantage. They’re very clever animals.”

“Well, your car won’t be doing that because it doesn’t have a brain of its own. It does, however, have this nice comfortable leather seat so your butt won’t hurt after a nice long ride.”

She turned to him. “Your butt hurts?”

“Yeah. I’m a little sore.”

“But you did well,” Maddie said. “You got the hang of it right away. You just have to be more confident. We’ll go riding again tomorrow morning.”

“I’m not sure my backside can handle that.”

“Oh, don’t be such a big baby. I’ll massage it for you later tonight. And you’ll see, the more you do it, the better you’ll get. Kind of like sex.” She playfully bumped his shoulder. “I’m a good teacher, aren’t I?”

“You are,” Kieran said. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “It really was fun, even if it was nothing like I’d imagined it would be.”

“Why not?”

“I used to dream about riding when I was a kid. I used to watch horses in the movies and it looked so easy and natural. I didn’t expect to feel so...vulnerable.”

“So it didn’t live up to your childhood dreams?”

He shook his head. “No. But then, I’m not sure anything ever does. You dreamed about being a famous country singer and that didn’t live up to your dreams either, did it?” He paused. “Maybe, as we get older, our dreams change.”

“What is your dream now?”

He chuckled softly. “To get you driving,” he teased. “I want to see you behind the wheel of this putrid pink Cadillac, your hair blowing in the breeze, the radio playing and the scenery flying by. That’s a picture I’d like to have in my mind.”

Maddie fought back a lump of emotion in her throat. So his dream was to see her happy? Was that really the first thing that came to mind? She hadn’t missed the fact that he wanted an image, a memory, to hold on to. And the only reason for that was if he was planning to leave.

“I know you’ve been worried about getting a job,” she murmured. “I spoke to my grandfather and he said he’d be happy to offer you a spot here on the farm. Two of the boys that usually help out are on the high school football team and they can only put in hours on the weekends. He said he’d pay you a wage or give you room and board, it’s up to you.”

“That would be nice, but I—”

“We’re only a few miles from Bitney,” she said. “It’s silly for you to go looking for work there when you can work here. And if you’re here, we can still see each other a lot.”

Kieran thought about her suggestion for a long moment, then nodded. “I’ll talk to your grandfather tonight.”

“Good. Now are we ready to drive?”

“Put your right foot on the brake. Then pull the shift lever forward and then down until the pointer is on the
D.
”

“Check,” she said, doing exactly as she was told.

“Now just slide your foot off the brake and gently rest it on the gas pedal. Don’t push down.”

The car began to slowly creep forward. Maddie tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Now what?”

“We’re just going to let it go for a bit,” he said. “Just get used to moving and steering.”

Maddie could have crawled faster than the car was moving. But she felt completely in control and that was good. And Kieran seemed relaxed beside her, his arm stretched out on the backseat.

They went once around the circular drive in front of the house before Kieran spoke again. “Now, slowly press down on the brake with your right foot and we come to a stop.”

They circled the drive again and again, each time going a little faster until the car glided around at a smooth speed. Maddie felt comfortable moving between the brake and the gas pedal. “Now what?” she called.

“We’re ready to go,” he said. “Next time, just head down the driveway.”

A few seconds later, Maddie was steering down the drive, the breeze blowing her hair around her face, a feeling of exhilaration filling her with excitement. When they reached the end of the drive, Maddie glanced over at Kieran.

“Now where?”

He shrugged. “You’re driving. It’s your decision.”

They headed out on the curving country road, cruising along at a top speed of thirty miles per hour. When a pickup truck roared up behind her, Maddie maintained her cool and waited for him to pass, not willing to let the other driver’s impatience rattle her.