Unsettled (Chosen #1) (6 page)

“Ticklish?”
he asked with amusement as I looked at him.

“I guess so.
I just didn’t know I was ticklish there.” I laughed.

“Hmmmm… Where else are you ticklish?”
he asked playfully.

“
I am NOT telling you that,” I said urgently.

“Well, I gue
ss I’ll just have to find out,” he said, amused.

“Maybe
,” I replied with a teasing voice.

He flicked his cigarette and t
wisted my body to face him. His warm lips kissed my red, cold nose then softly kissed my lips. We stayed like that, breathing each other’s air in. He began to probe my mouth open with his lips until they parted, asking for more. When my tongue dipped onto his, his body shuddered and he immediately cupped my face. It wasn’t messy. It was passionate and familiar from Friday night. It was demanding. We kissed as he held onto me so I didn’t slide off the rock. Eventually, I realized that my hand was on the back of his neck, urging him for more.

I didn’t really know Teagan, but in some way, he made me feel like I was the only girl in the entire world. I lost myself in his attention. I escaped the reality of who I really was and latched onto his lips like they would take me to a different
self.

When I turned back around to face the view, I
rested my hands over his and started to rub the cold from both of us.

In a quiet voice, he whispered into my neck, “Come stay the night
with me again. Not on my couch. I want you in my bed.” Well, that was certainly a bit forward. Talk about blunt conversations.

“You have a twin bed
.” I laughed, trying to hide my sudden unease by how fast he was moving.

“I room with Cian and he had to go to Chicago this morning, so
the room is all mine for the next three days. Stay with me,” he asked again.

“You start your new job tomorrow, right?”
I asked, turning to look at him with a meaningful stare.

“We won’t stay up too late
,” he said softly. “Come on. I’ll make you pork chops and we can listen to music in my room.”

“Sure, whatever
,” I agreed as I jumped off the proverbial ledge. If I had agreed to this summer thing, then I might as well start that night. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do.

“Do you need clothes?”
he asked.

I swayed my head back and forth slowly and said, “I haven’t fully unpacked my car from my road trip so I have some stuff in the trunk
.”

“Trunk?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Gallagher. It’s the place in the back of the car that you store things in,” I stated with mock surprise. I felt like I was talking to a three-year-old.

“Ah. The boot
.” He laughed.

“Boot?
” I exclaimed.

He jumped down
, took my face in his hands, and gave me a quick kiss. After he turned to walk down the path, I kicked him sideways in the butt with my sneaker and said, “Now, that’s a boot.” He smiled at me, more seductively than he had before, and we held hands all the way down to my car.

Eight

Sleepover

Teagan and I didn’t say much as we drove back to his place.
The silence was met with his soft touches and chaste looks. He was warm and drew me in. His beautiful eyes made my stomach do flip flops. While he played with the dials on the radio, I could feel him glancing up at me like he wanted to ask something. I couldn’t get out of my own mind. Why was I willing to spend the night with a guy that just said he couldn’t give me a future? The question just kept running over and over in my mind. I finally looked over at him, asking him with my eyes what he was trying to ask. All doubt of being with him was gone. He wanted to be with me in that moment. That was it. I was a goner.

He
squeezed my hand and asked, “Dinner?”

“Sure, what do you want?” I asked.

“There is an Irish pub around the corner from my place. Do you want to get some food there? There’s a hurling game on TV too,” he said with a grin.

“Okay. Just tell me where
to turn.”

Ten minutes later, we walked into Murphy’s Pub and I saw
Kellan and Freddie sitting at a table with two other girls. Okay, I guess our date was officially over. Teagan led me to their table and everyone exchanged greetings. Teagan greeted the girls with boisterous amusement. Freddie didn’t acknowledge me at all. That silent rejection made my stomach turn over. I guess he didn’t like me after all. After we ordered beers and burgers, the game came on and everyone but me was immersed in the game. Teagan tried to explain it as he was deep in trance with it. I didn’t get it. There was a stick called something sloiter and a method of using your hands to make goals. I was thoroughly confused but no one seemed to notice. I was glad for that. It looked like field hockey and soccer at the same time. I ate my meal, sat back in my chair, and laughed when appropriate. Otherwise, I looked around the bar for something else to do.

I got up off my chair and
quietly told Teagan I was going to check out the bar. He smiled at me and nodded. As I sat up at the bar stool, the bartender looked me over and mentioned something about liking the Counting Crows. I laughed and asked if he said that to all the girls with band names across their chests. He laughed back and started singing in my face to “
A Long December.
”

“Wow, I
’m impressed,” I exclaimed a bit loudly.

He gave me a wicked
, cocky smile and handed me a new beer without me asking for one. Now there was the normal American guy, not leaving in three months. No hurling to obsess over. Free drinks and flirting was right there in front of me and yet, I was drawn to the unknown and unavailable for the long term. I realized in that moment I was not a long term girl nor had I ever been. I agreed to Teagan’s company because of just that reason. There would be no dumping or bad endings. It would be fun with no strings attached.

Just then, two arms wrapped around my back and Teagan
whispered in my ear, “What are you doing?” I swiveled around at him, unlocking his arms and glanced up to the TV. The game was still on. I nodded up to it.

“I
’m watching the hurling.” I smiled. Hmm… Teagan felt so good. Tingles went up my spine and this connection with him was a pleasurable leap from kissing and holding hands. It was possessive. It was thrilling.

“Sure, you are,
” Teagan bantered back to me. He nodded at my beer and took a drink from it, never taking his eyes off me. Looking into his eyes, I felt a surge of lust. I didn’t care to know his favorite color or what he did in his spare time in Ireland or anything else. We didn’t have to talk about Counting Crows or any more music. I wanted to stare into his eyes forever. I knew he felt it, too. He grabbed my hand and we rushed to his house without looking back.

Running into his room, his hands were all over my
ass, my back and my neck. I giggled all the way down to his room and fell on one of the twin beds. He leaned over me and sighed. Ripping off his shirt, he said, “I fucked up.” I gave him a quizzical look and he said, “We should have eaten our dinner in here.” Aggressively, he pushed himself down on me and started kissing me with more intensity than before.

His hands moved up and down my arms and m
ine flew to his muscular shoulders. He groaned in my ear. My panties were instantly drenched at his wonderful sound. Oh, it was such a wonderful sound. I twisted him to his back and straddled him while his eyes never left mine. I ripped off my shirt and my black bra made Teagan step back. He sucked in a breath and said, “Beautiful.” I smirked and laid my body on top of his.

After ten minutes of kissing and
letting him explore underneath my bra, I rolled off him and almost onto the floor. He caught me and started laughing. “Where are you going?” he asked with total amusement.

“Nowhere. I mean, I wanted to ask if I got the bed right. Is this your bed?”

“Umm…actually no.” He smiled. “This is Cian’s. I guess we should move over to my bed, huh?”

“Yes. I don’t really feel comfortable kissing
you in another man’s bed,” I said with a laugh.

“
You are so beautiful. Go get in my bed and get comfortable. I will go get us some beers,” he said nervously, and headed for the kitchen.

I tossed myself face down on Teagan’s bed. His pillow smelled clean
. It smelled like Teagan and I was so excited for his touch again that I started squealing into the pillow. Suddenly, remembering I was only in my bra, I got really self conscious and started for my t-shirt. As Teagan came in, I had just pulled my hair out from underneath the back of my shirt.

“
What are you doing?” Teagan asked, perplexed.

“Nothing. I
mean, I just felt a little cold,” I said, embarrassed.

We both fel
l silent after he gave me a bottled beer and sat down next to me on the edge of the bed. It seemed we were both in sync as we took swills from our beers. After a few minutes, I heard Freddie and Kellan come in the front door and music was turned on. I stood up and looked around the bare bedroom, taking interest in a large walk in closet, which was also extremely bare. From what I knew of Teagan, which was not much deeper than his major in college, he was a very simple guy. How had we spent so many hours kissing rather than talking? His bedroom didn’t even tell me what his favorite book was.

“
So,” I said as I snapped my fingers together. “What do you want to do now?” He gave me a slight smile and put his arm around me, snuggling his mouth into my hair.

“I want you to take off your shir
t again,” he said slowly as he trailed his finger along my collarbone.

I squirm
ed away from him and laughed. “That tickles.”

“Ah, maybe
we should find out all of your tickle spots now that we are alone in a private place,” he suggested with a big grin.

“No, no. I will take o
ff my shirt! No tickling.” I raised my hands up in surrender and he chuckled. He took the beer out of my hand and propped both bottles up against the wall. He turned me around to lay so we faced each other on his bed. We both started touching each other’s faces and his hands followed the curve of my side. When he leaned in to kiss me, I forgot that I knew nothing about Teagan. I succumbed to the desire to be the center of his attention for as long as he wanted me. His kiss was slow and gentle but after several moments, the kiss grew deeper. He lifted the hem of my shirt and gave me a confident look as he stripped it off over my head. He didn’t look at my chest. His eyes remained on mine. He grabbed my waist and murmured, “So soft.” I felt the heat fall from my belly all the way to my toes. He chuckled. He must have felt the same spark.

“You
’re blushing,” he said with a cocked eyebrow.

I buried
my face in his shoulder and meekly said, “I’m sorry.” He began to rub my back and I felt a sense of calm come over me. The past three days were automatically pushed out of my mind as I listened to the slow breath coming from his rising chest. I didn’t think of Darcy and what she was going through. I didn’t feel the broken distance from my brother. All I could think about was Teagan. He nipped at my shoulder while he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. Someone saw me. Someone wanted to hold me. Someone finally wanted to care. We started to pleasure each other through touches, murmurs, and intimate kisses everywhere.

Nine

Run Away

As I wo
ke to the naked body beside me and the annoying alarm clock shrilling through the bare room, I groaned.

“Fuck
,” Teagan said under his breath. I immediately shot off the bed and slammed my hands down on the annoying clock, hoping to silence my swirling brain. How much did I drink last night? After recalling the night before, I shrugged off the feeling of disappointment. Teagan didn’t have a condom so we couldn’t have sex. That was good, I guess. Being safe was a good thing.

We
discovered every inch of each other’s body with our hands and mouths, sans a condom, until we were both too exhausted to continue. The living room party drew us of the bedroom. We joined the small crowd until we both stumbled to the bed, laughing at each other’s missteps. He grabbed me and fully unclothed me. I was so tipsy, I didn’t protest.

“I already don’t want to go to work.”
He cleared his sleepy voice and looked over at me. “I want to sleep in the nude with you all summer long,” he said as he stripped the sheets off of himself.

“That’s good since it
’s ninety fucking degrees in this place with no air conditioning.” I sighed. “Alas, Mr. Gallagher, you need to get going! It’s your first day of work, Mr. Irishmen.”

I
snuggled up against his back as he tried to sit up and started rubbing his hands over his eyes. He looked over his shoulder at me and grinned.

“Go back to sleep
,” he whispered in a gentle Irish morning accent.

“
Hmmm.” I sighed.

He chuckled and I
blocked out the rest of the bustling noise coming from Teagan and the other roommates by shoving the flat pillow over my head. The shower turned on and off but no one spoke. After a while, the front door closed and I drifted back to sleep.

At
eleven, I heard the shrill of the alarm clock again.
What the fuck?
I stood to slam my hand on it again, only to realize it was coming from the kitchen. I scurried down the hall, pulling up my pants and without even thinking, I answered the ringing phone.

“Hello?” I said breathlessly.

“Lizzie! Good morning,” Teagan said. His voice was deep and pleased.

“Hello
, Teagan,” I replied, feeling my stomach turning as I thought about what we did the night before.

“How are you? Are you
getting on okay at my place?” he asked.

“Well, since I just woke up and I
’m feeling kind of shitty from last night, I have yet to make that conclusion,” I whispered, sighing. I sat on one of the bar stools and put my head on the kitchen bar.

“Are you going to make it?” h
e asked with a chuckle.

“Yup
,” I said. “I had a lot of fun last night. With you …and the guys, of course.” His murmured agreement warmed my heart then it shuttered. This is the second time Teagan has called after a night of intimacy. He really does want to be in a pseudo relationship. Wow. I’d never been in this situation before and my heart tugged at my chest, picturing him picking up his desk phone at work to call me. My thoughts were cut off by a small creak of the door down the hall.

“Oh, I didn’t realize
one of the guys was still here,” I said to Teagan.

“Oh, Freddie. He doesn’
t start working until Wednesday.”

M
y heart started to flutter as I looked down at my Counting Crows shirt, reeking of beer, smoke, and sweat. “Okay, well, I’m heading out soon. Talk later?” I asked.

“What?
” he asked surprised. “I mean, please stay. I should get out of here at four then a couple of lads and I are going to go to The Littlest Bar near the Commons. Come down and be with me. Plus, I stopped at the pharmacy this morning,” he said in a suggestive manner.

“Well, I have those interviews and I have to start working on getting my books…” I trailed off,
pausing on the part when he said he went to the pharmacy. My cheeks flamed up and oh God, for the first time, I felt suffocated and totally confused. I could have sex with a man when I was intoxicated but the mention of planning to have sex with Teagan made me a bit uncomfortable. I was speechless.

“Cat got your tongue?”
He laughed. “Take down this number. The office gave me this fancy pager, so use it and let me know when you can come down tonight.” He rattled off the numbers and I repeated them, looking down at the buttons on the phone, tracing over them with my fingers. Sometimes my photographic memory worked, and well, sometimes it didn’t. We’d find out which.

We hung up
, and when I raced back to Teagan’s room to retrieve my things, I ran smack into Freddie. He pulled me up and smiled at me.

“Good
morning,” he said with a sincere smile.

“Morning
,” I mumbled. “I was just leaving. I have to head home.”

“Ah, well I was going to make coffee. Do you want some before you head out?” he asked.

I felt myself suffocating even more. What the hell was going on with me? I liked being in Teagan’s arms, but Freddie was something more. He wanted to have coffee with me now? He didn’t even acknowledge me last night at the bar but he stared at me that night I first entered the house and didn’t want to leave me alone with Teagan. I occasionally caught him watching me, unabashedly, the night before and he smiled directly into my eyes. Before I could smile back, he would snap his stare away.

“Lizzie?” he asked
, concerned. “What are you thinking?”

“
Umm...nothing. Coffee sounds great. Can I take a shower first? I’m disgusting.”

He turned away to get a towel out of the
closet and said under his breath, “Impossible.”

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of Teagan’s room with my hair wet and my bag over my shoulder.
I was ready to leave. I felt like I was doing something wrong by being in Teagan’s house without him.

“Hey
, Freddie, I have to get going so I’m going to pass on the coffee,” I said. I didn’t want to go into any deep conversation with him. When he commented that it would be impossible for me to be disgusting, I knew it would happen. Freddie felt something for me. He was fighting it but it was there. I wouldn’t encourage that. Eventually, he would see that I wanted to be friends and nothing else. Until then, there would be no Lizzie and Freddie in the same room alone. Stamped and approved. Thank you very much. He looked perplexed and nodded his head.

“So…see ya,” I said
, smiling.

“Bye
, Lizzie. Hope we get to see you soon,” he replied.

“Thanks. You too
,” I said meekly.

I couldn’t help the sinking feeling that I was running away from Teagan and Freddie at the same time. Confusing! As I fiddled with the radio and put the car in gear, there was an overwhelming feeling that I wouldn’t see them again in the same way as the first night we spent together. I knew it was impossible to already feel a pull toward them, but I did. I felt so comfortable partying with them and I was able to just be myself. Well, my drinking self. Ugh. I still wasn’t feeling good from all the beers I had the night before.

Clearing my mind, I started to think about my new books at M
ass Bay and the interview I had on Wednesday. I didn’t know what I was more nervous about. I would most likely be in classes with eighteen-year-olds and that made me feel like a total loser.

On the other hand, the interview would go fine, but I didn’t have the business casual attire
. I thought about how inexperienced I was at appearing to have my shit together in the real world. I was sure that my previous experience with administrative work would impress them enough to do the data entry. Honestly, I didn’t really want the job anyway but no one needed to know that. Pushing the thought back into my mind, I remembered Teagan’s lips on my stomach and the inside of my thighs. I sighed. At least, I had experience in the Teagan department. Last night was so fun and yes, The Littlest Bar sounded like a good distraction.