Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (46 page)

As she tucks her thumbs into the waistband
and prepares to yank them down Ethan has a full out anxiety attack.
“Jesus Christ, woman!” Grabbing her around the top of her thighs,
he lifts her. She screams and then laughs as she folds over his
shoulder and he quickly moves her away from any possible stream of
traffic and into the darkness behind the garage. When he sets her
down, she’s still laughing.

He hands her the track pants. “Here, get
changed. I’ll watch to make sure nobody is coming.” Turning his
back, he keeps an eye out. “Are you determined to drive me crazy?”
He asks arms crossed in frustration. “It’s almost like you’ve made
it your personal mission.”

Olivia strips down, steps out of her shorts,
and then launches them at him. They whiz past the side of his head
and land in front of him. He shakes his head. “Obviously the answer
is yes.”

She laughs as she pulls her long pants up
and over her hips.

“Is this what I have to look forward to
every time you drink?”

“Maybe.” She sneaks up behind him and wraps
her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. “What makes you
think that it has anything to do with me drinking?” Standing on her
tiptoes, she leans against him and presses a kiss on the back of
his neck.

“Then God help me because I am in serious
trouble.”

She lets go of him as he turns to face her
and then immediately sinks into his chest, her soft body and
warmth, soothing the tension from his body. A mischievous smile
spreads across her face. “Do you still want to drive me home?”

Olivia cuts branches from the lilac bushes
that outline the garden path. They are in full bloom and fragrant,
planted in an alternating pattern of purples and white. Lifting
them to her nose, she inhales deeply, and considers it one of
Mother Nature’s biggest crimes that they bloom for such a short
period of time.

The garden gets the perfect balance of
sunlight and shade making it a sanctuary to many feathered friends.
She has done her best to make them feel comfortable there with
feeders and a birdbath that was a loving gift from Ethan. Of
course, her friend, the little green bird sits on the perch of a
birdhouse that hangs from the branch of a willow tree and it sings
her the most beautiful song.

Entering through the wooden garden gate,
Ethan smiles at the sight of her. His cotton shirt unbuttoned all
the way and his skin glistening from the heat of the midday sun.
Approaching her from behind, he wraps his arms around her and
nibbles on her neck while she arranges her cuttings in a heavy
crystal vase to take into the house. Smiling she leans back against
his chest, breathing in the delicious combination of lilacs and
him.

Lifting her left hand out in front of them,
he admires how the diamond in her wedding ring sparkles in the
sunlight. With his heart bursting at the thought that she belongs
to him for all eternity, he brings her ring to his lips and kisses
it. Spinning her around gently, he brushes the loose strands of
hair away from her face so he can see into her beautiful hazel
eyes. His hands tenderly hold the sides of her cheeks as he leans
in closer, brushing his nose against hers before softly pressing
his lips against her mouth.

When he pulls away, she wraps her arm around
his neck and presses her palm against the back of his head, pulling
him forward and forcing his mouth against hers. Her fingers splay
through his hair and hold him so he can’t escape. Moaning, he
deepens the kiss, his tongue parting her lips and licking at her,
devouring her mouth. She returns his kiss with equal desire, not
able to get enough of him.

Leaning down, he scoops his arm behind the
back of her knees and lifts her into his arms, still kissing her
possessively. Carrying her into the house and directly into the
bedroom, he sets her down and she quickly tugs his shirt off his
shoulders and lets it drop to the floor. Her hands explore broad
shoulders and his muscular chest as they spend several minutes
kissing and undressing each other, neither of them in a hurry,
taking time to play and enjoy the seduction. When she’s completely
naked and standing in front of him, he reaches behind her and pulls
out the pins that hold her hair on top of her head. Her soft, dark
brown hair falls to her shoulders and he runs his fingers through
the tendrils, pulling them forward and twisting them around his
finger playfully. Laying her back on the bed, he crawls over her,
parting her legs with his knee and settling against her. He makes
love to her all afternoon, slowly and gently, fulfilling her every
need and extinguishing her every desire.

When her body is exhausted and boneless,
unable to take any more, he holds her, smoothing her hair and
gazing into her eyes. His kisses never decrease in passion, always
cherishing her as if it’s the first time. As he sweeps his thumb
along her lips, he whispers to her with unquestionable sincerity.
“I love you.” With gentle languid movements, he trails sweet kisses
down her neck and between her breasts continuing downwards. As his
mouth kisses across her belly, swollen with child, he presses his
lips against it and whispers. “And I love you too.”

Olivia wakes from her dream still feeling
his love so deeply that her heart aches. Her face and pillow damp
from tears, she brushes her hand across her belly, feeling
momentarily disappointed. Mourning her return to reality, her
breath skips as she tries to inhale, holding back the sobs deep in
her throat. Drying the moisture from her cheeks with the edge of
the blanket, she sniffles. In the waking hours she can stay off
these feelings, but at night, in her dreams she’s defenseless.
She’s aware that there is an alarming correlation between the
amount of time she spends with Ethan and the frequency and
intensity of these dreams. But she’s not sure what that means.

Dragging herself off the couch and into the
kitchen, she pours herself a cold glass of water from the jug in
the fridge, and then leans against the counter to drink it. She
thinks about Ethan’s love; how thoroughly and unselfishly he tended
to her needs last night… more than once, and the hurt look on his
face when she asked him to leave. She imagines that she could have
slapped him in the face and it wouldn’t have hurt him as much.
Feeling extremely inadequate in her current relationship abilities
she closes her eyes tightly, trying to squeeze away the tears.
Pulling herself together she forces herself to eat half an apple
and heads upstairs to shower and dress before picking up her car
keys and driving into town.

One of her favorite things about this small
country community is their main street shops and vendors. On the
weekends they close off two of the side streets so that the local
farmers can set up tables to sell fresh produce and home made
goods. Parking at the end of town, she walks along the busy
sidewalk, stopping to window shop along the way. She pauses for a
long time admiring the paintings and stained glass in the window of
the Art Gallery when something next door catches her eye. On the
sidewalk table just out front of the Nature store is a hand made
wooden bird house. There are several different ones sitting along
side it, some painted to look like hotels and others like two
storey homes. The one that she’s drawn to bares a remarkable
resemblance to the home in her dreams, right down to the number of
windows and the color of the door. It’s not even a home by many
standards but more of a cottage.

She picks it up several times and then walks
around with it while checking out the inside of the store before
changing her mind and returning it to the table. She’s several
shops down the road before she turns around and goes back to buy
it. Stopping to sit on a bench for a rest, she stares at it,
turning it to look at all sides. It’s uncanny really, the only
thing missing is the stone pathway through a garden of lilacs… and
Ethan. Taking out her phone, she checks for messages, but there are
none. She’s not surprised, as a matter of fact, she wouldn’t be
surprised if she never hears from him again.

When she gets home, she gets a stepladder
out of the shed and unfolds it under the tree, wiggling it and
making sure it’s on solid ground. Holding the bird house by the
heavy jute string that’s tied to it for hanging, she climbs to the
top step, and searches for a branch that’s sturdy enough to hold
it. Finding the perfect limb, she leans to reach the small branch,
trying to slip the string over it, but it’s just barely out of her
reach. Any normal person would step down off the ladder and move it
closer but not Olivia, she’s a rebel. She strains herself,
stretching until she’s on one foot and leaning as far as she can.
The ladder teeters dangerously and then two legs lift off the
ground. Olivia’s eyes grow wide and she stops moving, aware of
what’s happening. Dropping the birdhouse to the ground, she tries
to grab a branch to steady herself.

Unsuccessful in her efforts the ladder
slowly continues to tip and she’s on her way to the ground. Closing
her eyes, she prepares for impact. He reaches her just in time, one
hand firmly on the ladder pushing it back onto four legs, the other
wrapped around her, catching her as she slides from her perch. The
smell of cologne is absent but she can tell by the familiarity of
every hard chiseled muscle, as she slides down his body, that it’s
Ethan.

With both feet firmly planted on the ground,
she opens her eyes and locks them with his. Images of her dream
whirl around in her head making her feel like she’s all raw emotion
as he holds her safely in his arms. He’s here! Relief washes over
her, putting her earlier fear to rest. But why isn’t he saying
anything? She moves her arms to his chest and leans back so she can
see him. Unable to read the expression on his face she worries that
he’s still angry about last night. She tries to project a calm,
somewhat cool demeanor. “Good timing.”

He exhales harshly. It’s almost a grunt
actually. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to hang my birdhouse.” Feeling as if
she’s a complete idiot, her bottom lip starts to pout as she points
to where she tossed it onto the ground.

A smile starts to curl at the edge of his
mouth as he rubs his thumb across her brooding bottom lip, taking
note that it’s no longer swollen. A fact he’s glad about, since he
has big plans for her lips later. “And are you trying to kill
yourself at the same time?”

“NO!” She steps back away from him and
scowls as she crosses her arms in front of her. “Well, not on
purpose anyways.” She starts to smile as she makes her
admission.

Walking over to where she abandoned the
birdhouse on the ground, he picks it up. “Why didn’t you just call
me and ask for help?” Pulling the ladder over a few feet, he climbs
it with the birdhouse in hand.

“I wasn’t entirely sure you would want to
see me today.” She frowns.

He stops at the top of the ladder and looks
down at her, surprised by her answer.

“Why?”

“You looked so upset with me when you left
last night.” Her heart stings when she thinks about it.

Ethan nods. “I was more than a little upset,
Olivia. I didn’t want to leave.” With little effort, he slides the
string over a sturdy branch and checks to make sure it’s secure.
“But I’m not going to stay if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

Confirming what she already knows makes her
feel even worse. “When I didn’t hear from you this morning I just
figured you’ve given up on me.” Moisture gathers in the corner of
her eyes. He gets half way down the ladder and stops. Is she
crying?

He jumps down, ignoring the bottom two rungs
and moves to her side with an urgent need to comfort her.

“NEVER!” Taking her hand, he lifts it to his
mouth, pressing his lips against it. “NEVER, will I give up on you.
There is no doubt in my mind that we are meant to be together.
Until I have convinced you of that, I will fight hard enough for
both of us.” He pulls her into his arms and against his chest,
pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I was at the gym this
morning, I thought I’d give you a chance to rest and catch up on
some sleep.”

A single tear perches at the corner of her
eye threatening to fall and she wipes at it hoping he doesn’t
notice. She doesn’t want him to see her cry, ever, but sooner or
later it will be inevitable. Her raging hormones make her extremely
emotional and he has this amazing way of drawing it to the
surface.

Still in his arms, she looks up through damp
eyelashes at the birdhouse.

“Ethan?”

“Yes?” He breathes against her hair.

She can’t believe she’s going to ask this
question but she’s curious. “Does that house look familiar to
you?”

“What house?” He releases her and looks
curiously around at the adjoined townhomes before looking back at
her for clarity.

“The birdhouse, but not the birdhouse per
say.” She struggles to find the right words. “The house that the
birdhouse is designed to look like.” She wrinkles her nose. “Does
that make sense?”

He squints at her and turns to look at it
again. Well I’ll be damned. It’s a long time before he speaks; too
long, and it makes her feel uneasy.

“No, I can’t say it does.” There’s an odd
sound in his voice, a solemn tone that makes her suspect that he’s
lying. And he is. He’s seen that house many times in his
dreams.

Taking her hand, he leads her to the porch.
“Does it look familiar to you?” Turning to sit on the step, he
reaches for her other hand, positioning her directly in front of
him.

She shrugs. “Kind of, but I’m not sure
why.”

He decides to lead her thoughts a little,
without actually disclosing anything. “There were older country
homes in Ireland that looked similar to that, but most of them are
in ruins or have been torn down and rebuilt.”