Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (6 page)

There’s a lecture here about how men
shouldn’t reserve their manners just for the pretty girls, but she
lets it go. In the reflection of the glass door she can see him
checking her out as she walks past him through the doorway. His
acknowledgement makes her hopeful that Noah will like what he sees
as well.

There are only a few people in line and
she’s happy that coming inside, although an inconvenience, was a
good choice. Ordering her usual multigrain bagel with cream cheese
she digs through her purse looking for her wallet when she becomes
aware of a man standing at her side and intruding on her
transaction. A strong masculine hand slides a five dollar bill
across the counter in front of her. “Please... allow me.” She
doesn’t have to look up to know that it’s Ethan O’Connell. The
Irish accent and the shiver that runs through her body gives him
away.

Feeling a little irritated that he has
invaded her space she turns him down. “Thank you, but you don’t
need to do that.” She makes a huge mistake turning to look at him.
His piercing, green eyes and warm, friendly smile instantly make
her forget that she’s annoyed. How does he do that?

His eyes wander her body from head to toe,
admiring her figure in that black dress. He nods once and grins,
indicating his obvious approval. Entertaining a little fantasy in
his mind, he has to fight the urge to back her up against the
counter, press his body against her soft, luring curves and taste
those tempting lips. As if she can read his mind, a warm flush
spreads across her skin and she forces herself to tear her eyes
away from his penetrating gaze. Her reaction strengthens the want
already growing deep inside him, causing his muscles to tense and
flex.

“I want to and I’m used to getting the
things I want.” He pushes the money towards the cashier. Olivia
begins to feel uneasy about the lack of space he’s left between
them and tries to back up, but someone standing behind her halts
her escape. Sensing her resistance, he puts his large hand on top
of hers, pressing it against the counter and stopping her. Leaning
in closer he gestures to the cashier to accept the money he has
offered.

Olivia tries to ignore the sudden
electricity that passes between them while he traps her hand under
his, pinning her involuntarily where she stands. Ignoring it,
however, is not an easy task since his chest is now pressed up
against her shoulder and as she breathes in his intoxicating
cologne, she recalls the feeling of being pressed against his hard
muscles.

Reluctantly, she lifts her eyes and meets
his gaze. His green eyes are breathtakingly bright against the
contrast of his royal blue dress shirt, which is unbuttoned
casually at the neck. The sleeves are rolled up away from his
wrists, exposing powerful forearms and large masculine hands that
she’s certain will adequately cover the soft swell of her breasts
and feel like heaven against her skin. What the? Now she’s
definitely heading down a dangerous path.

Ethan’s hair is slicked back to give the
appearance of a shorter style and his thin beard is neatly groomed.
He looks every bit the successful business executive and she
imagines how the girls in his office must swoon over how seriously
hot his ass looks in his dark grey dress pants. She closes her eyes
and groans internally. Holy Moly! This is going from bad to worse!
Why did she just check out his ass?

He tips his head to the side looking at her
in a questioning manner. “You aren’t going to fight me on this are
you?” He teases her with a playful smile that she finds both sexy
and annoying at the same time. FOCUS! She tries again to move but
he presses harder, flattening her hand underneath his, not
intending to release her until she gives in. Looking down at his
hand on top of hers, the gesture brings back memories of a man who
used his strength to intimidate her, and a fearful stillness
settles into her. Yet the warmth of Ethan’s skin and closeness of
his body makes her feel sheltered and secure. Confusing emotions
rush through her mind as she experiences both fear and arousal at
the same time.

“No, I guess I’m not.” She gives in to him,
not wanting to cause a scene and eager to put some distance between
them. She senses his dominance and knows that she would too easily
fall under his command. Her body’s reaction to him is definitely
proof of that. In order to put an end to this ridiculous exchange
she smiles politely at him, accepting his offer and tries to pull
her hand out from underneath his as she feels him start to lighten
his hold.

“Good.” He releases her hand completely but
doesn’t break eye contact. “It’s the least I can do since you’ve
allowed me to start my morning with such a breathtaking vision.
Everything else in my day will be dull in comparison to your lovely
smile.”

Unpleasant and threatening memories are
quickly forgotten as Olivia is drawn unknowingly into his charm.
Who talks like that? Even the cashier blushes as she counts out his
change and passes it to him.

Olivia gives him another smile. It’s hard
not to. “Thank you, Ethan.”

Ethan orders two coffees making her scan the
room behind him, looking for the girl that he left with the other
evening. She notices the long line up that has formed while they
debated over who was paying, but he seems to be alone.

Her eyes dart back to the two police
officers standing in line. She has always had a thing for men in
uniform. Ethan smiles at her, noticing her distraction. Leaning
over he whispers in her ear. “I own a pair of handcuffs, if that’s
your thing.” Olivia gasps internally, her body tensing as she does
everything within her power not to give him the satisfaction of
seeing her squirm. He’s purposely trying to get a reaction from her
now and she’s refuses to play this game with him. He chuckles when
she ignores him.

Their orders are ready at the same time and
they head towards the door. Walking confidently with Ethan at her
side, she meets with the jealous looks of more than a few women
waiting in line. Catching her glancing at the officers once again,
Ethan smirks. Thinking about his handcuffs, she blushes a scarlet
shade of red as the officers smile her way, checking her out as she
passes. Damn! This dress is magic! When she looks over at Ethan to
find that she’s been caught looking, he winks at her. Utter
embarrassment and his enthralling boyish smile are the only things
that keep her from poking him right in the eye. Gahhh! How
annoying!

Using his shoulder, Ethan pushes the door
and stands against it holding it open for her. Parked beside her,
right outside the door is Scott’s car. Sitting behind the wheel he
looks at them together as they exit and hangs his head down in
defeat. “Great… just great.” He knew he should have kept driving
when he recognized her car. He shakes his head as she waves an
exaggerated hello.

“Hi!”

He too, looks at her from head to toe and
raises a brow. “A little over dressed for work today aren’t
you?”

She smiles. “Yes, well… I have a date
tonight after work.”

Oh Hell no! Ethan’s fantasy doesn’t include
sharing her with other men. There may have been a time back in
university when he entertained such things but he would never
consider that with her. He’s not sharing Olivia James with any
other man. Never!

She gives a little twirl showing off her
dress as it dances around her. “You like?”

Ethan takes in every inch of her body and
expresses his pleasure. “I definitely like!” Olivia tries to ignore
him but her eyes glance over at him involuntarily, her body warming
under his appreciative gaze. If she only knew the wicked and nasty
things he wants to do to her. He’s half hard thinking about it and
a ghost of a grin slants across his lips and then disappears.

Scott looks at Ethan feeling a little
nervous. “A date? Who is the lucky guy?” Please, not Ethan. Please,
not Ethan he repeats in his mind.

“Noah Thompson.” She blushes as she says his
name aloud, feeling as if she has somehow revealed her intentions
for the evening.

Scott looks relieved and his shoulders
relax. Starting towards her car, her eyes dart quickly to Ethan one
last time and she can’t help but notice that he looks annoyed.
Passing the coffees through the open car window to Scott he follows
her, quickly making his way to her car and holding her off while he
opens her car door. She likes all the attention she’s getting
today. She’ll have to wear this dress more often. Slipping behind
the wheel as ladylike as she can, she makes sure that her dress is
neatly tucked in underneath her and winces as the edge of the seat
rubs painfully against the sore on her thigh.

After closing the door he leans down to her
eye level and speaks to her through the open window. “I thought
your leg was ok?” His previously playful mood is now solemn and his
smile has faded into a much more serious expression.

“Well it seems that I may have under
estimated the damage. Apparently something sharp on the chair
gouged out the panama canal in my thigh.” She tries to make light
of it but he doesn’t smile.

“Olivia, you shouldn’t mess around with
tissue damage like that. Make an appointment with your doctor and
have it checked out.” His voice takes on an imperious tone that she
finds rude and insulting and yet warmth blooms inside her and
spreads outwards. Sweet Jesus, help me. Despite it, anger brews in
her belly. “I am an adult, if you hadn’t noticed. I’m capable of
determining when I need to see a doctor.” She looks straight at him
contemplating saying something extremely unladylike.

His only response is a long intimidating
stare. His jaw line tenses and it looks like he wants to say
something. His mood sets off warning bells in her head and for the
second time this morning she feels the need to put some space
between them.

“Ethan, I need to get to work.” She finally
manages to speak.

“Is Noah your boyfriend?” He waits for her
reply without breaking his stare, making her feel like she’s under
interrogation.

“WHAT? No!” She looks away from him when she
answers, fighting the anger that’s starting to rise in her. Closing
her eyes she forces herself to turn back and look straight at him.
“And that is really none of your business.” Her tone is curt and
she’s proud of herself for speaking her mind. She learned to keep
her mouth shut and avoid all conflict around her Ex-Boyfriend, Sam.
However, it’s another self-preservation habit that she’s trying to
break.

Ethan struggles with the decision to hold
his tongue. He knows how to handle difficult women and Olivia is no
different. He senses that her confident and stubborn disposition is
just an act to protect her from men like him. Confident and in
control. Something inexplicable happened the first time he saw her,
very intense feelings stirred inside him, like nothing he has ever
felt or experienced before. He’s determined to have her, explore
these feelings and find a way to explain them, so he will concede
to her this time in hopes to gain her trust.

He nods his head in agreement. “You’re
right, it’s none of my business.” Standing upright, he takes a step
back, allowing her to pull out of the parking spot. Watching as she
leaves, he grins as he comments aloud to himself. “But I fully
intend to make it my business, Miss James.”

Finally at a safe distance, Olivia exhales,
trying to expel some of the emotional energy zinging around inside
her like the positive electric charge of a proton. She pulls into
work just a few short blocks away and decides that she’s going to
put Ethan O’Connell out of her mind. Today is all about her and
Noah and she will focus all her energy on that.

Ethan jumps in the passenger side of Scott’s
car. “Let’s go, Scotty. We’re going to be late.”

Scott looks at him and scowls.
“Seriously?”

Ethan tries to convey an austere maturity.
“I’m the boss, Scott. I never joke about things like that.” They
look at each other and burst into laughter. “And on the way, you’ll
enlighten me by sharing everything you know about Olivia
James.”

“Ha! You’re funny.” Scott pulls out onto the
road with no intentions of indulging Ethan’s newest challenge.

“I’m not joking. Do you know this guy that
she’s having dinner with tonight?

“Yes, and you do too. He plays soccer.”
Scott stops himself knowing that he’s probably said too much
already. It’s definitely not a good idea to let Ethan know that
Noah is the guy that pissed him off during their last game. So much
so, that he took a swing at him.

“Hmmm, I don’t recognize the name.”

Desperate to get off the topic, Scott throws
out a random fact. “Did you know that dueling is legal in Paraguay
as long as both parties are registered blood donors?”

Ethan scowls at him. “Good to know, in case
I’m ever challenged to a duel in Paraguay.” Not falling for Scott’s
diversion tactics, he continues. “Now tell me about Olivia or
you’re fired.” Ethan is nothing if not persistent.

It’s going to be a long ride into the city.
Scott thinks hard about his answer. “Well let’s see… she’s 30.
She’s Rachel’s best friend and they work at the same company.“

“What does she like?”

“She likes puppies, pizza and long walks on
the beach.” Scott tries not to laugh knowing Ethan won’t get his
cliché reference to the personal ads.

He narrows his eyes, not letting on that
they have those commercials in Ireland as well. “I see… what
doesn’t she like?”

Scott takes advantage of their friendship to
give his boss a little ego jab. “Apparently… she doesn’t like...
YOU.”

Ethan’s mood is anything but jovial at the
moment. “Why do you think that is?“ He’s curious. He has only just
met her so he certainly hasn’t done anything to offend her.
YET!

Scott sees an opportunity to try and
discourage him and takes it. “She hasn’t dated a man in three
years. I think she might like girls… if you know what I mean.”