Authors: Christy Pastore
Suddenly photographers and paparazzi surrounded us, shouting Ronan’s name. With pictures of us standing in the lobby of The York already on TinselAndHollyWood.com, I can’t say I’m surprised they found him. Ronan gently ushered me into the backseat and shut the door. I could still hear the paparazzi shouting at him. Smoothly, Ronan gave a polite nod, signaling to the mass of photographers that they had his attention. It was a rapid fire of comments and questions, one right after the other:
“
RONAN, WHO’S THE GIRL?”
“
RONAN, TELL US ABOUT YOUR LADY FRIEND.”
“
SHE’S A BEAUTY RONAN!”
“
A PRETTY YOUNG THING.”
“
COME ON RONAN, WHO’S YOUR MYSTERY LADY?”
Avoiding the questions entirely, Ronan redirected the conversation seamlessly, saying only good morning and hello to a few of the photographers, calling them by their names and asking about their wives, girlfriends or families. He was quite charming and I could tell he had a good reputation with the media. Ronan stood with the paparazzi for about two minutes, allowing them to take photographs. He even signed autographs for a few fans that happened to walk by before he politely thanked the media and waved goodbye.
He casually slid in the backseat with me and clutched my thigh, running his fingers up the inside and under my skirt. Luckily I was wearing black opaque tights— otherwise, the only thing separating Ronan’s long fingers from my body would be a pair of black lace panties. I playfully shoved his hand away, mouthing to him, “Stop it.”
Dressed in a three piece charcoal grey suit with a white collared shirt, Ronan looked positively gorgeous. It was difficult to be in such close proximity to him— his scent was so male, utterly masculine. He sipped his coffee slowly, blowing the steam away with his firm luscious lips. Again my mind was remembering what it was like kissing him with all that passion and lust. I bit my lower lip just thinking about his tongue swirling with mine and how amazing I felt when he kissed me.
“
They’re right you know?” he said coolly.
“
Oh?” I questioned, cocking my head to one side. “Right about what exactly?”
“
You
are
a beauty. I’m having a hard time sitting near you.” Leaning closer to me he whispered, “I want so badly to taste you, Holliday.”
Oh my. Good to know we’re both feeling the same explosive sexual energy.
Feeling my stomach begin to warm with heat, I pulled down the hem of my oxblood colored skirt from where Ronan had pushed it up. We pulled up to Charlotte’s studio, and Ronan helped with my suitcases. I realized I hadn’t told him where I was going.
How did he know?
“
Holliday, have lunch with me today? Please,” he begged.
“
I can’t today, Ronan. Monday’s are always brutal.”
“
Dinner then? Please, Holliday?”
I loved hearing him beg to spend time with me. I loved it even more when he purred my name. It was like pure vocal sex. I decided to throw him a bone and accepted his dinner invite.
“
Splendid, I will call you later, my beauty,” he said and then kissed me on the cheek.
“
But you don’t have my number.”
“
I have my ways, Holliday,” he said, climbing back into the Mercedes and giving me a wave as they pulled away.
I turned and saw my sister wide-eyed and curious looking down from her third floor office. I entered the building begrudgingly, mentally preparing for the onslaught of questions Charlotte would be asking me. She spent the first twenty minutes grilling me about Ronan and the next twenty advising me on the many reasons I should date him and the few reasons I shouldn’t.
“
Dating a movie star could be very good for you, sis. Just be careful with that one.”
Confused a little by her warning, I rolled my eyes. She was just being overprotective
again
.
“
Charlotte, Ronan Connolly doesn’t date. He doesn’t need too.”
“
Oh my God, did you sleep with him already?”
I shot her an annoyed look, sharply replying, “Yes as a matter of fact, I fucked his brains out in the car on the way here.”
Charlotte picked up on my sarcastic tone. She gave me a suspicious look and then walked back to her office. I pulled up my Tune In app, clicking on the John Phelps Show. Ronan’s sexy Irish accent came pouring through my headphones. Pressing my forehead to my desk I let out a deep sigh. With Ronan Connolly on my mind, how was I going to manage to get any work done today?
After work, I found myself sitting in a corner booth at O’Brien’s Irish Pub. I was out with a movie star, but we were in a local New York hangout, not a five-star restaurant. Ronan Connolly continued to surprise me. Ronan had managed to secure the entire second floor just for us. The décor was traditional of what you’d find in a cozy Irish place. Dark wood floors spanned from wall to wall. Heavy wooden beams crossed the ceiling, and old wooden doors with rounded tops made me feel as if I’d been hurled back in time to the horse and carriage days. Framed Guinness and Jameson whiskey brand posters lined the walls. Irish proverbs and traditional Gaelic sayings on wooden plaques sat on tabletops. The daily beer specials were written in chalk on the board above the bar itself. Beautiful wrought iron sconces and ornate lanterns hung on the walls, keeping the atmosphere warm with low lighting. The sounds of popular Irish bands like U2 and The Corrs took turns with old Gaelic tunes on the sound system.
“
What’s on your mind, my beauty?” Ronan asked softly. Looking up at him I noticed the flicker of the candlelight from our table caught a twinkle in his piercing jade eyes. Apparently he had selected my pet name as being “my beauty.” Sometimes he just called me “beauty.” I didn’t mind. At least it wasn’t sweet cheeks or hen. After nearly knowing this gorgeous man for over forty-eight hours I still loved hearing him call me by my name. I didn’t realize how much his accent turned me on.
“
Nothing much, I was just taking in the décor and the ambiance of this place,” I said, running my finger over the smooth glass that held my whiskey drink.
Ronan moved forward, placing his hand over mine. Just one touch from him was enough to make my entire body shake with riveting jolts of pleasure.
“
Do you like this place, Holliday?”
“
Yes, it’s very charming in a rustic way.”
“
I’m thinking of buying it,” he said very matter of fact.
My eyebrows shot up. Can movie stars just buy bars? I thought only rich entrepreneurs and billionaires did that sort of thing.
“
Why would you buy this place? You don’t even live in Manhattan.”
Ronan slid around the curve of the booth closer to me. Cupping my chin in his hand he said, “I’m considering buying some property in the city because I have a beautiful reason to be here,
regularly
.”
I couldn’t stop staring into his green eyes, the words echoing in my ears. Ronan Connolly was considering a cross-country move for me. He couldn’t be serious. It was completely insane. We barely knew each other. I can’t say it wasn’t flattering to hear, crazy, but flattering nonetheless.
“
Do you like the name? If I buy it maybe I’ll change it to Connolly’s.”
“
Can you just move cross-country? What about Leah and Jade?”
“
Beauty, I can do anything I want. I have full custody of the girls. I’m lenient with their mother regarding visitation. I surely don’t owe my ex-wife any favors,” he replied firmly.
I sensed he did not have a friendly relationship with Emma. The cheating rumor had to be true otherwise he wouldn’t have full custody. I finally mustered the courage to ask him about his divorce.
“
Ronan, can I ask what happened exactly between you and Emma?”
He took a sip of his beer and then leaned back in the booth. I could see the pain as it flashed in his eyes. They became narrow and dark. I felt terrible that I had brought up an obviously painful subject. This gorgeous man was hurting, and I so deeply wanted to remove the pain.
“
I suppose you’ve read the rumors about my marriage?”
I nodded.
“
You know that she cheated on me with Dax Martin?”
“
So, it is true?” I said, clutching his hand in mine.
Ronan nodded and said, “Emma begged me to marry her when we found out she was pregnant. I wasn’t ready for marriage, but she said it would be better for our child to grow up in a loving home with two parents. She didn’t want Leah to be shuffled back and forth between us. Emma convinced me that a stable environment was better for a child, especially since we were both sort of famous and our careers were taking off. She said baby and marriage would make us tabloid superstars. I thought it was total bollocks, but I was dumb enough to go along with it.”
“
Sorry Ronan, no one deserves to be cheated on. You obviously loved Emma because then you had Jade shortly after.”
“
Jade, oh my sweet lovely little girl. She was conceived during a drunken shag. Ever heard of an anger bang?” Ronan sort of chuckled when he said that to me.
I nodded, knowing that I’ve had a few of those in my life. Then came the million dollar question. “Did you ever love Emma?”
“
Not really. She was a fine thing and a lot of fun, but our relationship wasn’t very deep. It was purely physical.”
Great, just what every girl wants to hear about the guy they’re into. As long as the attraction wasn’t still there, I was okay. I have a hard time trusting people, and I’m working on it with Dr. Goodwin. I’m getting better, I think. I
want
to trust Ronan.
“
How did you two meet anyway?”
“
We were set up by our agents after we did a photo shoot together. We were spotted at a coffee place in Beverly Hills one afternoon and pictures leaked online. The reaction to us dating ignited a firestorm. We soon became tabloid darlings. Everywhere we went we were photographed, walking her dog, at the grocery store and leaving restaurants. We had a ton of event obligations between the two of us. She had just landed the Nadia’s Dream campaign and I was the face of London Grey. Being photographed continuously never took the wind out of our relationship. It was good for our personal brands and business to be a couple.”
Sounds to me like there wasn’t an ounce of romance involved in the relationship between the two of them. I could tell that bothered Ronan a bit, speaking so matter of fact about it. His eyes were oddly cold and his voice was unfeeling. Ronan never showed any emotion on his face while talking about her.
“
Thank you for sharing your personal story with me. I feel honored that you wanted to open up… to
me
.” I smiled at Ronan, drinking in his gorgeous dark eyes and then without hesitation— I brushed a kiss over his lips.
His lips parted. His talented tongue filled my mouth, twisting with mine. His hand moved to my thigh and up under my skirt. I was still wearing those tights, but that didn’t seem to be stopping Ronan from eagerly cupping my sex right there in the pub under the soft glow of candlelight. He moved his hand back and forth, his long fingers tracing over the delicate fabric that covered the most sensitive part of my body. If I didn’t know any better I thought he might break through the fabric and finger fuck me right there under the table, and I’d probably let him. My mind was hazy. I couldn’t think about anything other than Ronan’s skillful hands being on my body as his lips moved down my chin to my neck.
“
Finish,” his voice broke. “
Finish
your drink, Holliday,” he commanded before drinking the rest of his beer and slamming the glass to the table. Ronan slid out of the booth, motioning to our server. He handed him a fifty and told him to keep the change. The server smiled and said thank you.
“
Why are we leaving? We haven’t even ordered,” I said, rather confused by his abruptness. Ronan had a rage in his eyes. Hovering over me, he leaned down, placing one hand on the table and the other on the top of the booth, again caging me like an animal. My pulse quickened. He looked me in the eyes, saying, “I’m taking you to bed. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t take it anymore. I’m going to make you come until you can’t breathe. I need to taste you in my mouth,” he growled.