Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (52 page)

Ethan puts his palm to his forehead and
holds it a moment before raking it backwards through his hair.
“Fuck!” He heads to the door. “Olivia! Wait!”

John steps in front of him, halting his
exit. “Ethan, you shouldn’t go after her when you’re this worked
up. I’ll go.”

Ethan shakes his head. “No, I’ll get her.
You go and check my car for her phone.”

Against his better judgment, John nods and
backs off. “Ok, are you good?”

Ethan hands John the key fob and tries to
push past him through the doorway. Putting his hands on his chest,
John stops him to verify his mind set. “ARE. YOU. GOOD?”

“Yes!” Ethan’s tone is clipped and
impatient.

“Good. I’m not sure how much of that
conversation she heard, but she’s obviously very upset.”

Ethan glares at him and then shoulders past
him into the hall. “Well, then get the hell out of my way so I can
catch up to her.”

Down the hallway Scott has just dropped his
briefcase on the desk and is about to sit down when he sees Olivia
whiz past his office door. He squints and rubs his eyes, wondering
if he’s hallucinating. When he gets up to investigate and steps out
into the hallway he collides with Ethan, who is almost running
trying to catch up to her.

“Whoa!” Scott says as they bounce off each
other. “Was that Olivia? She looked upset.”

“Yes.”

“What the hell is going on?”

Ethan pushes him to the side so he can
continue. “I’ll fill you in later.”

He almost catches up with her at the
elevator. “Olivia, please wait.” He says in a commanding tone,
watching the doors open as he approaches.

Quickly getting inside, she frantically
pushes the button to close the door. He reaches her just as the
heavy metal doors start to close. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” He lunges the
last few inches and grabs the edge of the door, forcing it to
re-open.

Swallowing hard, she looks up into his
stormy eyes. Despite John’s efforts to calm him down he’s still
agitated and watching her trying to close the elevator door only
makes it worse. With the air thick with angry tension, he gives her
an icy stare as he steps in towards her, forcing her to step back
slowly and allowing him to enter. Turning to stand beside her as
the door begins to close and she can see the rise and fall of his
chest as he struggles to catch his breath. The last thing she sees
as the doors start to close is Hannah on her feet watching in shock
with her mouth wide open and holding the phone receiver several
inches from her ear. Olivia glares at her, her expression clearly
sending Hannah a very unladylike message.

The elevator starts to descend and Ethan
stands still beside her, taking his time to catch his breath and
calm himself. The silence between them causes agonizing tension.
Somewhere around the 15th floor he finally breaks the silence,
barely turning to look at her. “How much did you hear?”

Fidgeting uncomfortably, she fixes her gaze
at the wall on the opposite side of the elevator. “From the part
where you’re going to be a daddy.”

Ethan squirms uncomfortably at the words.
“And your first reaction was to run… without giving me a chance to
explain?” He struggles to keep his voice calm.

“No further explanation is required. It’s
pretty clear.” Stepping forward, she pounds the button for the
underground parking level.

Ethan shakes his head and presses the button
for the ground floor.

“And I certainly wasn’t going to stick
around and listen to you continue to bully and berate the woman
who’s having your child!” She bites out at him, fuming at his
behavior.

Clenching his jaw harshly, the nerve at his
temple starts to jump. “The woman who…” The door to the ground
floor opens. “You’ve got the wrong idea, Olivia.” He tries to steer
her out of the elevator but she puts on the brakes.

“Let go of me.” She growls as she pulls her
arm away from him. “My car is in the underground parking. I’m
leaving.”

Ethan takes a deep breath in, his nostrils
flaring as he props his foot against the elevator door to stop it
from closing and turns to her with a terrifying expression. She
holds her breath as he grabs her by her elbow and yanks her roughly
out of the elevator. “No you’re not! You’re going to wait here for
John and give me a chance to explain.” Stumbling, she tries to keep
up with his long angry steps as he drags her through the lobby.

“Ethan, please… slow down. People are
starting to stare.” Fear starting to grow in the pit of her
stomach, she grimaces at the pain in her arm from his insanely
angry grip.

It takes a moment for her words to reach him
through the hazy cloud of anger. When he looks down at her he’s
startled by the expression on her face. Glancing around at the
people watching him nervously, he slows his steps and relaxes his
grip on her arm. “Jesus… Olivia, I’m sorry.” He gently slides his
hand from her elbow to her hand and grasps it, trying to intertwine
their fingers. She protests, keeping her fingers stiff and straight
in his hand refusing to give in to him as he leads her towards the
small coffee shop in the corner of the lobby. He looks down at
their hands, hers hard and inflexible in his. With a worried
expression, he turns his gaze to meet the coolness in her eyes.

Finding a table at the back of the room, he
steers her towards it and pulls out one of the chairs for her.
“We’ll wait here for John to come with your cell.” Pulling his
phone out of his pocket, he texts him to let him know where they
are. When he looks up, she’s standing, still appalled and shocked
at the abhorrent way he spoke to the woman in his office. She feels
a great deal of sympathy for that poor woman knowing she’s going to
have a long difficult road ahead of her raising his child.

“Sit down. I’m going to get us a coffee,
then you’re going to hear me out.” When she doesn’t comply, he
commands it of her. “SIT DOWN!” Glaring at him, she sits angrily
against her will. Ethan starts towards the cashier and then stops
to look at her. “And don’t even think about leaving.” He says
watching her reaction.

Olivia looks away, her anger getting the
best of her as she struggles to understand how the same sweet man
she spent time with last night can become the insensitive,
fire-breathing dragon she just witnessed upstairs.

Standing only a few feet away, Ethan finally
understands the gravity of what has just happened and how it has
affected her. Gone is his earlier placidity, as that old familiar
feeling of angst washes over him. Afraid that he’s going to lose
her, anxiety pumps through his blood as he walks back to where
she’s sitting and crouches at her side.

“Olivia. Promise me you won’t leave.” He
takes her hands in his and squeezes them, his tone softer, almost
pleading.

She still refuses to make eye contact with
him and it only adds to his anguish. Reaching up with his hand, he
gently caresses the back of his fingers across her cheek. “I’m so
sorry. I know I’m an ass.” Sliding his fingers under her chin, he
gently turns her to face him. When she finally looks him in the eye
he leans forward pressing his lips against hers trying to atone for
his behavior.

Olivia stiffens, not sure how she feels
about his kiss at the moment. The sickening memory of his reaction
plays over in her mind. What if that had been her? Will he treat
her the same way if she tells him something he doesn’t want to
hear? She doesn’t return his kiss; her lips remain still and
unwilling.

Ethan pulls away frowning and smoothes her
hair behind her ears. “You’re upset. You have every right to be. I
don’t deserve your kisses today.”

Leaning his forehead against hers, he says a
silent prayer. When he pulls away, the sadness in his eyes jabs at
her like a sharp knife to her heart.

“Please promise me that you won’t leave.
Just let me explain.” He begs.

She replies with a quiet nod. As much as she
would like to walk away right now and never see him again, she
can’t. She knew from the very first day she saw him, that the
moment he kissed her there would be no turning back. It’s the
reason why he has tried so hard to win her over; he somehow sensed
it as well.

“I’ll be right back.” Standing, he kisses
her on the top of head before making his way to the counter. While
he’s waiting for his order his phone rings and he holds it up to
his ear for a brief conversation. She stares at him. So his phone
is working. Leaning backwards against the counter he watches for
any sign that she might change her mind and bolt for the door,
while his mind desperately tries to figure out where to begin when
he explain things to her.

Returning to the table, he places two
coffees in front of her and pulls the adjacent chair around the
table to sit beside her. He watches her face as she stares down at
the cup in front of her, fiddling with the lid and allowing it to
distract her.

“Olivia, I’m sorry you found out like this.
I would have told you. I just didn’t want to lay all my
ex-girlfriend baggage on you right away.”

She laughs once. Baggage? He knows nothing
about baggage.

He exhales harshly, preparing to begin.
Reaching over the table, he takes her hand, holding it firmly when
she tries to pull it away. “Olivia, that woman in my office is my
lawyer.”

She looks at him surprised. “You knocked up
your lawyer?”

He looks at her and makes a face as if she
had just said the most ridiculous thing. “No. She’s not the one
who’s pregnant. It’s a long story but I’ll try to explain briefly.
I had been living with a woman in Ireland for several months, when
I suspected she was sleeping with someone else. When I confronted
her she admitted it.”

Olivia turns to face him now, listening
intently.

“I asked her to leave, which she did, but
when I cut her off financially things got ugly.”

Ethan looks so uncomfortable talking about
it that Olivia starts to feel sympathetic.

“She left me messages for weeks after I
closed all her accounts, begging me to take her back. When I didn’t
return any of her calls she decided to go public, going to the
media with some pretty outrageous accusations.”

“Oh, Ethan. I’m so sorry.” Her anger is
slowly being replaced by understanding and compassion. She just
doesn’t have it in her to pretend that she doesn’t care. She’ll
just have to push her feelings behind that brick wall for now.

Shaking his head, he looks into her eyes,
squeezing her hand and rubbing his thumb in circles in her palm.
“Most of my friends still won’t talk to me, my family supported me
but I could see in their eyes that they didn’t truly believe me
when I said I didn’t do the things she accused me of.” He picks up
his coffee with his free hand and swirls it around in the cup
thinking about the past several months. His attention is drawn away
from her for a few moments.

“Ethan?”

Lifting his head, he meets her softened
gaze, and frowns. “The media frenzy was brutal. The company finally
sent me here to avoid any further negative publicity and hired Miss
Quinn just in case I found myself in the position where I would
need legal counsel. Turns out they were right to do so. Just after
I left for Canada, Jess went to the police and filed a
complaint.”

Olivia has completely pushed her anger to
the back of her mind now. Her only thoughts at the moment are of
consoling him. And really, it’s much less painful facing his demons
than her own. She wonders… What exactly is he being accused of?

“Both John and Miss Quinn believe that every
time she contacts me it’s because she wants money. When I refuse to
respond she does something drastic to try and force me into calling
her to sort it out. John thinks it’s a form of blackmail. She’ll
just keep on trying to ruin me until I take her back or pay her
money to stop.”

“So, she’s the one who’s pregnant?”

Ethan nods. “So she says.” His voice gets
desperate. “You’ve got to believe me, Olivia… if she’s pregnant,
it’s not mine.”

He really is clueless. Olivia takes a deep
breath and leans forward raking one hand through his hair and
holding his cheek with the other. This… temper tantrums and
pregnancies. This is easy. This is nothing compared to the secret
she keeps guarded. She can deal with this. Bringing her lips to his
in a tender, re-assuring kiss, she feels his tense body. Relaxing
into her touch he accepts her kiss, his lips soft and gentle.

When she pulls away, she smiles slightly,
using the pad of her thumb to wipe her lipstick from his mouth,
then leans back to make a sad face at him.

“Oh no, please… anything but the sad face.”
Ethan pulls his brows together.

“You think I’m upset because you knocked up
your ex-girlfriend?”

“Allegedly.” He adds.

“Whatever, Ethan. You think I’m upset
because you allegedly knocked up your ex-girlfriend?”

“It’s not the reason?” He asks
surprised.

“Geez Ireland, for someone so brilliant, you
are incredibly dense sometimes. Unplanned pregnancies happen. It’s
not the end of the world, although it may feel like that to you
right now. Besides I would have no right to be upset about
something that happened before we met.” She stops, needing
clarification. “Is your relationship with this woman finished? Or
do you still have feelings for her?”

Ethan shakes his head. “The only feelings I
have for her is hatred. I have no desire to ever see that woman
ever again.”

Olivia believes him and feels relief. “I
think you know why I’m upset.”

He looks at her confused for a moment and
then nods as the realization hits him. “My temper?”

“Yes, your temper! What the hell was
that?”

Ethan looks ashamed. “Liv, I’ve been trying
really hard to keep it under control. When I heard that she’s
pregnant and claiming it’s mine... well I know it’s just another
way she’s schemed up to get money and… well… I lost it. I know I
fucked up.” He reaches for her, touching her hands, caressing her
cheek, rubbing her knee, as if he needs the warm tactile feel of
her skin to calm himself. “I have never felt as afraid as when I
looked up and saw you there, knowing that you had overheard. I was
terrified that you would leave me... and then you ran.” He pauses,
bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. “I wouldn’t blame you
if you didn’t forgive me.” With eyes that are dark and hooded,
hiding his shame, he lowers his head, bowing to her in a humbled
gesture and ripping her heart right out of her chest.