CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Maeve
Maeve hadn’t expected to ever hear Ronan’s voice again. It was still hard to believe how easy it had been for him to turn his back on her. She had chosen not to tell him the truth up front, but he hadn’t even given her a chance to explain. The way they had parted hurt. It hurt more than she had been willing to admit and hearing his voice had brought all the pain she’d stuffed down right to the top again.
“I need to see you, Maeve,” he was saying. She was frozen. No words would come. “Maeve?”
“I’m here,” she managed, finally.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes. How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t easy. Fergus helped me.”
“Fergus?” she said, drawing a blank and then snapping back, “Oh, your brother.”
“Yes. He has people.”
“So, you had someone stalk me?”
“Something like that. Listen, let’s not get bogged down by details. I’m coming to get you.”
“Coming to get me?” she said, her hesitation now fading. Who did he think he was?
“Yes. I came to my senses,” he said.
“Don’t you think I should have some say in whether I see you or leave with you or anything else?” she snapped.
“I just meant I want to come pick you up so we can go somewhere and talk, Maeve.”
“Oh,” she replied, letting her voice trail off before beginning again. “I’m going to try to start over here.”
“You mean without me.”
“I’ve been without you for some time now. I don’t think you’re a part of the equation anymore.”
“What if I want to be?”
She wanted desperately to tell him to go fuck himself, but she found that she couldn’t. She was angry, but there was a part of her that wanted to hear him out and another that knew this had been her fault to begin with.
“I guess we could talk about it.”
“I’ll be there in an hour,” he replied.
“An hour? Where are you?”
“On the road to you,” he replied.
“You know how to get here?”
“I do.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in an hour, I guess,” she said, feeling like she was outside her own body.
An hour later, she was standing in front of Ronan, feeling like an awkward school girl with no idea what to say. She waited for him to say something first.
“I missed you,” he said, and everything that had happened between them seemed to disappear into the nothingness.
“I missed you too,” she replied.
He closed the distance between them, a slow smile spreading across his face like he was the Cheshire cat. He pulled her to him, his mouth meeting hers in a fevered kiss. When they finally pulled apart, she realized that she was shaking, her body reacting to the intensity of the kiss. She wanted him in the worst way.
His blue eyes were sparkling in the sunlight, his chiseled jawline drawing her in like a giant neon sign pointing to a sale. It only made her want him that much more, right there, right then.
“So, you got a room here or shall I just take you out behind the barn?” he joked.
“I might have a room, but I need a shower,” she said with a slow smile.
He picked her up and carted her toward the house, letting her point the way toward the private entrance to the room above Becky’s garage that belonged to her.
They quickly stripped one another down to nothing, both eager to get down to business. They jumped into the shower and let the hot water flow over them as they went back to kissing, his mouth hungry on hers, his rough hands caressing her slippery flesh.
With a handful of shower gel squeezed into her hand, she began to wash him, enjoying the way her fingers felt caressing the hard angles of his body. He was still so beautiful to her, perhaps even more beautiful now that there were no more secrets and she didn’t feel like a scared little girl playing with fire.
For a moment, an old pain surfaced, but she pushed it back down, refusing to let it take hold. His mouth found purchase on one of her nipples as she moved up to wash his hair, and she drew in her breath as he pulled and suckled at it with his tongue and teeth. He backed away, twirling her around so that he was beneath the main flow of water, rinsing his hair of the suds as she moved in closer, grabbing his cock in her soapy hands and stroking him. A low groan escaped his throat as he hardened, growing thicker and longer with each stroke.
Grabbing her by the waist, he switched them around again, putting her under the water and then turning her around so she was facing away from him. One hand kneaded her right breast while the other slipped down between her legs to let his fingers stroke her clit. His mouth was hot on her neck, kissing and biting as she moaned loudly with pleasure. Maeve could feel herself getting wet, the water slipping between her thighs to wash away the sticky evidence.