He carried her around the bar, to a table in the middle of the room. She’d had this fantasy once—they’d shared this fantasy—before they’d become lovers. Before they’d even kissed. He laid her on the table, spread her thighs, freed his erection and followed her down and down.
And into her.
This connection they had not lost. It was heaven on earth, real and unreal. It was truth and magic. He lost himself in her, body and soul. He claimed her, used her, gave to her. For a few precious minutes the world went away, and it took all their troubles with it. Nothing mattered but this. Nothing mattered but her.
She wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever known. Echo Raintree was a gift. A gift he couldn’t keep, but one he would always remember and hold close to his heart. Ah, he’d realized she was trouble the moment she’d walked in the door...
His trouble. His woman. His heart.
She shattered beneath him, crying out softly as her inner muscles clenched and unclenched around him. Her response sent him over the edge. He was no longer capable of thought, no longer capable of anything but this.
Warm and satisfied and exhausted to the bone, he held her. He’d never expected to feel this way about any woman, had never expected to love this way. She could be home, his home, in a way he had never known. Peace, in a way he had never expected. Here in Cloughban, on her blessed Sanctuary land, in the desert or the mountains or in any city in the world...
Reality returned too quickly. He could not afford to lose himself in her, could not afford to make her everything.
Echo reached up, touched his hair and whispered, “I love you, Ryder.” She closed her eyes and sighed. Judging by the expression on her face, she thought all was well. She thought...
Hell, he had no idea what she was thinking.
He withdrew, stood, straightened his pants. She was the vulnerable one at this moment. Naked, sated, still lying on the table flushed with pleasure and what she thought was love.
There was only one thing he could say in response to her heartfelt I love you.
“You’re fired.”
* * *
Cassidy woke in her own bed, in her own home, with a smile on her face. She should go to school today. She really wanted to see all her friends again! There was no more reason to hide out. Not from Echo! A quick glance at the clock told her it was too late to get to school anywhere near on time. After yesterday, it was likely no one would be there, anyway.
Tomorrow would be soon enough.
She smelled Granny’s porridge, and bacon and eggs, and suddenly she was starving.
Cassidy jumped from the bed and ran into the kitchen on bare feet. Granny was awake and had been for a while, by the look of it. She was dressed and her hair was gathered in a neat bun.
“Is Mr. McManus joining us for breakfast?” Cassidy asked. There was a lot of food on the table.
“No, dear. Perhaps we’ll see him later today. I suspect he’s sleeping late, as you did.”
“Lots of people are sleeping late today!” In her nightgown, her own hair curling wildly in all directions, Cassidy ate twice as much as she usually ate for breakfast. She ate it twice as fast, too. Either the healing or the scare had worked up quite an appetite!
A small, sudden knowing robbed some of her happiness. Her da wasn’t sleeping. He hadn’t slept much at all last night...
“I need to see Da.” Suddenly she knew he needed her. Not just as a ghostlike vision popping in to say hello, but in the flesh. He needed a hug.
Granny shook a finger. “I’ve warned you about those visits...”
Cassidy stood and ran toward her room. “I need to really see him. I can find my way to town,” she added in a louder voice as she began to gather her clothes. “You don’t need to come along if you don’t want to.”
By the time Cassidy was dressed, Granny was ready to go. She wore a rather stern expression, along with her favorite walking shoes.
“Child, what are we going to do about that father of yours?” Granny asked as they walked out the front door. That door still smelled of smoke and it hung a little crooked. It could be fixed, though. Everything that had been damaged yesterday could be fixed. Everything.
Cassidy skipped ahead. “I haven’t decided yet,” she called. She only knew her da still needed help.
* * *
Echo had never been able to see her own future, and had never really cared to. If what was coming was good, it was much more fun to be surprised. If it was bad and could not be changed, why would she want to know?