Danny smoothed his hand over her hair and drew her closer. “Do you want me to go back and search the house for you? I’ll take the dogs. If there’s anyone in the house, Finny and Mogue will find them.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“You can stay here with me, if you like. We’ll look into this tomorrow.”

She glanced up at him, eyes wide. “I can’t stay here.”

“Why not? Nothing is going to happen.” He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, then drew her along toward the bedroom. “I’ll stay on my side of the bed and you have to promise to stay on your side.”

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Maybe I should take my chances in the house.”

“Your choice,” Danny said with a shrug. “I can send the dogs back with you. They’ll protect you.”

“Maybe that would be best,” she replied.

Danny couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to have Jordan in his bed. From the moment they’d first kissed it had been all he could think about. But it had to be on her terms. Since her father’s call, she’d been a bit more aloof and he knew exactly what she was thinking. Having an affair with him would probably break all kinds of rules that she couldn’t afford to break.

“I’ll walk you back and make sure everything is all right.” He strode into the bedroom, grabbed his jeans and tugged them on. Then he pulled his jacket from the bedpost and when he returned to her, draped it over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go.”

As they walked outside into the chilly night, he whistled softly to the dogs and they fell into step behind them.

“You probably think I’m crazy,” she said.

“No. Does anyone else have a key to the house? Did you ever give one to any of the workmen?”

“No. I’ve always been very careful. And I lock the temporary doors from the inside with a padlock. There’s no way to get in once I’ve locked everything.”

They walked through the dark house. He could feel her tense beside him and he slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. When they reached her bedroom, he walked inside first. “I thought you said you turned on the light.”

“I did,” she said. “At least, I think I did. Maybe this was just all a dream.”

Danny turned on the bedside lamp, then carefully surveyed the room. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss. “Come on, hop in.”

The dogs explored the room as Jordan crawled back into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Danny sat down on the edge of the bed. “The dogs will bark if anyone comes into the house.”

“Stay here a little longer,” Jordan said.

“Sure. Do you have any whiskey? Maybe a drink would calm your nerves.”

“There is a bottle downstairs.”

“I’ll go get it and check all the doors and windows. You stay here with the dogs.”

Jordan turned onto her side and clutched his hand. “I feel so stupid. It was probably just a bad dream. I had that curry for dinner and I always have weird dreams after spicy food.” She looked up at him. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“It’s not a problem,” he said. He dropped a kiss on her lips, not really thinking before he did. She was so close, it just seemed like the most natural thing to kiss her. But as soon as he drew back, Danny realized that one kiss would not be enough. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The house was silent as Danny walked through the lower floor, checking the windows and the doors. He had to believe that Jordan had seen something to send her running to him in the middle of the night. When he checked the library, he noticed one of the windows was open a crack and shut it. But before he turned out the light, he spotted a muddy footprint on the floor near one of the bookshelves.

It was the print of a man’s shoe or boot, a bit larger than his own, with a different pattern on the sole. Bending down, Danny ran his finger over the footprint and found the mud still damp. “What the hell,” he muttered. Someone had been in the house, and not very long ago.

He grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the table in the library, along with two glasses and headed upstairs. For now, he’d keep his discovery a secret. It wouldn’t do to scare Jordan. But he had no intention of leaving her alone in the house now-with or without his dogs.

When he returned to the bedroom, Danny found her sitting up in bed, Finny and Mogue curled up beside her. He chuckled softly as he handed her a glass and poured whiskey into it. “I usually don’t let them sleep on the bed.” He snapped his fingers and the dogs jumped down to the floor. Danny sat down beside her and poured himself a glass.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

Danny shook his head. “No. Everything was locked up tight. But I’m going to stay here tonight with you anyway. Just to be certain.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her up against his body.

She relaxed, resting her whiskey on his stomach as she nestled into the curve of his body. Danny sipped at his drink as he rubbed her shoulder, his palm smoothing over her silken skin. His thoughts focused on that part of her body then drifted back to their swim in the pool.

How much would it take to get them back to that moment, to that instant when their eyes met and the world seemed to stand still? He nuzzled his face in her hair then pressed a kiss to her forehead. He wasn’t going to go there. Not until she was ready.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

The whiskey warmed his belly and relaxed his body. But it only made the thoughts of her more intense. He ran his hand over her arm and she turned in to him, her warmth seeping through the jeans he’d pulled on. It wasn’t enough just to touch her.

Danny leaned over and pressed his mouth to hers, his tongue slowly tracing the crease between her lips. When he drew back, she was watching him. They stared at each other for a long time, neither one of them moving or speaking. Then Jordan pushed up on her elbow, her hand slipping around his neck to draw him near.

A long, soft kiss was his reward for his patience. And when she finally drew back, he knew that they’d started where they’d left off earlier. In fact, to his surprise, she’d decided to jump ahead a few steps.

She worked the buttons open on his jeans, then ran her hand from his belly to his chest and back again. Her touch sent his senses reeling and he wasn’t sure if he could maintain his control at this kind of pace.

When her hand dipped lower, Danny groaned. It had been a while since the last time he’d had a woman. And he’d never had any trouble taking care of a woman’s needs before his own. But this woman could do things to him that had never been done before.

He waited, holding his breath, as her hand slipped beneath the waistband of his jeans. Danny was almost afraid to touch her, afraid that just the simple feel of her flesh beneath his fingers would send him over the edge. She still wore the T-shirt and panties and he was almost grateful that she was covered.

But that gratitude didn’t last long. Suddenly, she got to her knees and pulled the T-shirt over her head, tossing it aside. Danny’s breath caught in his throat. She was, by all standards, the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.

He quickly stripped off his jeans and she rid herself of her panties. When they were both naked, she sat next to him, as if she wasn’t sure how to proceed. “I’ve never been much good at this,” she whispered.

“I find that very hard to believe.”

“If I’m doing something wrong, I want you to tell me. Promise?”

He shook his head. “We’ll show each other,” he said. “Take my hand.” She did as she was told. “Show me where you like to be touched.” Slowly, she placed his hand on her breast.

That was all it took to start them down a path of undeniable pleasure. That simple contact, the soft weight of her flesh in his hand, the stiff peak of her nipple, sent waves of desire racing through his body.

A sigh slipped from her throat and Danny pulled her down next to him and captured her mouth in a kiss filled with overwhelming need.

He pulled her beneath him, drawing her legs up alongside his hips. She was soft and warm, every inch of her naked body like a revelation. Had he ever felt this kind of need before? Had he ever been so determined to possess a woman?

Though he wanted to lose himself inside her, Danny realized that he’d left the condoms back at the caretaker’s cottage. He weighed the risks of leaving her, knowing how easily the connection between them could snap. There were other ways to satisfy them both.

He moved against her, his shaft sliding along the moist slit between her legs. Jordan gasped, arching against him in response, her breath quickening. Danny closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations racing through his body. It was as close to sex as they could get without actually having sex and he thought it would be enough.

But for Jordan, it wasn’t. She shifted beneath him and his next thrust was met with a different kind of resistance. He slipped inside her once, then quickly withdrew.

“I have condoms,” he murmured. “But they’re back in the cottage. I can go get them.”

“I have condoms. And they’re in the bedside table. I bought them after we met,” she admitted.

Danny stretched out on top of her and opened the drawer, then grabbed the box. He quickly sheathed himself and a few seconds later, slipped back between her legs. He kissed her softly, his hands braced on either side of her shoulders, his shaft gently probing at her damp entrance.

It took every ounce of his willpower to wait, to move against her without plunging deep. But with every stroke, she seemed to grow more impatient, her moans tinged with frustration. And when he finally gave in, the sensation of entering her warmth nearly sent him over the edge.

Danny sensed she was close and every now and then, he pulled out and rubbed up against her for a time, before slipping back inside.

Jordan’s breath quickened and he continued to tease her until she was clutching at his shoulders and delirious with need. When the first shudder wracked her body, he knew that he could finally relinquish control.

Jordan arched against him, crying out as her body convulsed in a deep and powerful orgasm. He felt her tighten around him and drove into her one last time, then let himself go, his orgasm exploding deep inside her.

They continued to rock together, slowing the pace as the intensity of their pleasure subsided. It had been so quick, yet so powerful, nothing at all like he’d planned. He’d imagined a long, slow seduction, a gentle teasing before complete surrender.

This had been nothing more than a headlong rush toward mutual orgasms.

Danny pulled her down on top of him then rolled to his side until they faced each other. “Whoever told you that you weren’t good at that ought to have the shite beat out of him on a daily basis.”

“I think he might have been compensating for his own shortcomings,” Jordan said.

“Shortcomings? Really?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Really short shortcomings.”

As he wrapped her in his arms and tucked her body into the curve of his, Danny found a certain satisfaction in the notion that he’d been the best. It was a good place to begin.


THE END OF DANNY’S FIRST WEEK of work was cause for celebration, at least according to him. In Jordan’s mind, they’d been celebrating every night in her bedroom. There hadn’t been any question where he’d sleep at night and each evening, after a late dinner and a sunset hike along the cliffs, they’d climb the stairs and begin a lazy night of lovemaking.

Jordan glanced over at him as he steered the car through the narrow streets of Ballykirk. Though she would have been happy to find their fun between the sheets, Danny had insisted that they go out. His brother Riley was singing at the family pub and everyone would be there.

He pulled the Land Rover into the narrow lane behind the blacksmith shop and stopped it. “Now, don’t worry about meeting the family. You already know Kell, though I think he’s back in Dublin this week. Oh, and Ma and Da are still in Scotland. But you’ll like Riley. And his fiancée, Nan, is American, so you’ll have that in common.”

“I’m not nervous,” she said. “Why would I be nervous?”

He shrugged. “You shouldn’t be. It’s just that the pub can be a wee bit…well, everyone will be happy to meet you, I can promise that.” He jumped out of the car and jogged around to her side, then opened her door. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

She took his hand and got out of the car. “Thank you.”

He let the dogs out of the back, then slipped his arm around her waist. “I know this won’t be anything like the clubs you go to in New York but you’ll have fun, I promise. We’re going to dance and sing and have a few pints. And at the end of the night, I’m going to take you home and make love to you.”