Текст книги "Tasting Fear"

Автор книги: Shannon McKenna

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 33 страниц)

Liam looked up from the chopping block. He’d been trying to unload excess adrenaline and misery by chopping wood. So far with limited success. “Look who the cat dragged in,” he commented sourly.

Eoin flushed. “I was playing tunes with the lads at this pub in Sheepshead Bay, and I lost track of the time. I had to hitchhike back.”

Liam grunted. “Hear you’ve got a new job.”

“Uh, yes. I’m going on tour with this band, Mandrake. Next week.”

“Congratulations,” he said.

“Don’t think I don’t appreciate—after all you’ve done for me—”

Liam held up his hand, and Eoin choked off whatever he was about to say. “It’s okay, Eoin,” he said wearily. “You should be making music. You’re doing the right thing.”

Hope dawned on Eoin’s pallid face. “You’re not mad?”

“Do you want to work for Matigan until you leave, or don’t you?” Liam demanded. “If you’re too busy, I need to let him know right now.”

Eoin straightened his thin shoulders. “I’d be glad to work,” he said with dignity. “I start rehearsing Sunday. I can work until then.”

“Go get some rest,” Liam said. “You look like hammered shit.”

Eoin hesitated. “So. Ah. Liam. Is, ah, something happening? With you and Mrs. D’Onofrio’s daughter, I mean?”

Liam shot him a look that made Eoin spin on his heels and bolt.

Inviting her to the seisiun had been his first mistake. Taking her home was the second, though he’d paid for that by getting pounded by masked assholes. But the crowning stupidity had been fucking her. Now he knew what it felt like. And he could think of nothing else.

He was begging for the trouble he’d spent the first eleven years of his life watching. Bitterness that ate away love until it was gone. Was he programmed to repeat this bullshit? Was he fucking doomed?

Memories rolled into his mind, sickening and vivid. The vacation to Niagara Falls his mother had planned, a last-ditch effort to unite them as a family. The bags were packed, train tickets in his mother’s clutch purse. She’d been waiting, dressed in her eggshell blue pantsuit. But when his father walked in the door, Liam took one look and knew that it wasn’t going to happen. Dad had done it again. You could count on him to let you down the way you could count on the sun to rise.

“It’s about time you got here,” his mother said, reaching for her coat. “We’ll have to hurry to catch the train.”

“Something’s come up, Fiona,” his father said flatly.

His mother laid her coat down, her face carefully expressionless. “What do you mean, something’s come up?”

“There’s a problem with a shipment, and I have to go look into it.”

“Why can’t you send Martin, or Brady?”

“You want something done right, you got to do it yourself.”

“That doesn’t apply to your family, however,” she said frigidly.

His father’s mouth became a hard line. “I make sacrifices to keep you in style, Fiona, and all I ever get from you is whining and nagging.”

“Did I ever ask you to make these sacrifices? No, Frank. All I want is to see you more than once a month.” His mother’s voice shook. “All I’m asking is that you keep your word and go with us to Niagara.”

His father’s fists clenched. “God, Fiona, why can’t I make you understand? It’s my responsibility—”

“Go, then. Just go. Your bag is right by the door.” She walked stiffly out of the room. Her back was very straight, but her face was crumpled.

His father looked at Liam, immobile on the couch. “Sorry, son. When you’ve got a family of your own to support, you’ll understand.”

“Go to hell,” Liam said.

Frank Knightly’s face darkened. “Don’t speak to me that way. I’m your father. Show me some respect.”

“You’re not my father anymore,” Liam said in a cold, very clear voice. “You’re a terrible father. You’re fired.”

His father stared at him, grabbed the suitcase, and walked out. That was the last Liam had seen of him. Twenty-six years. A lifetime.

Liam shook himself back to the present, and savagely attacked the kindling pile again. Fuck this. Fuck it all. No way. Not him.

He looked around some time later at the sound of a car. Nancy’s Volkswagen Jetta came buzzing down the driveway. He clutched the ax handle as she got out of the car. Wishing he’d bathed.

She was elegant in faded low-slung jeans that clung enticingly to her hips and a charcoal high-necked ribbed sweater that showed off a discreet strip of flat belly. Her hair was wound into a loose braid, backlit by the sun like a halo of fire. She looked gorgeous. And nervous.

“Hello.” She gave him a tentative smile.

Liam crossed his arms over his chest. Her smile faltered.

She opened the back door of her car and pulled out a cat carrier. A plaintive meow issued from the white plastic box. Her cat? He peered into her car windows. The backseat was piled high with stuff.

Suitcases. Computer equipment. What the fuck? Was she actually planning to…Oh, sweet Jesus. She was. His heart started to gallop.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

She’d known this was going to be hard. Nancy stuck out her chin. “I was under the impression that you’d invited me.”

“Yes, and you blew me off.”

His icy tone chilled her. “I did some thinking this morning,” she said. “I realized when I got to the studio that I’d made a mistake.”

“What changed your mind? Another ambush?”

Nancy threw up her hands. “For God’s sake, I’m sorry! I made a mistake! Can’t a person be allowed to make a mistake sometimes?”

He shrugged. “People make them whether they’re allowed to or not.”

“Cut out the snide remarks, Liam. I’m trying to be serious.”

He was grimly silent. “Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of, Nancy,” he said finally. “I think that for us, getting serious would be a bad idea.”

Nancy fought for control of her face. Be a big girl. Be a sport. God knew, she had the practice. She knew the next part of the script by heart. Okay, forget it, then. Forget I ever said anything. Have a nice life.

The words wouldn’t come out. She was going to get a freaking backbone, and try a little bit harder, damn it. She cleared her throat.

“So, Liam. Are you done punishing me yet? Because this part is really boring and irritating, and I’d like to move on to the good stuff.”

The darkness in his eyes changed, like clouds shifting in a turbulent sky. “I’m not punishing you,” he said. “Just being clear.” He waited a moment, trying hard not to say it, but in the end, he couldn’t help himself. “And what exactly do you mean by the good stuff?”

She looked over his big, gorgeous body, the opened shirt sweat stained, showing his ripped, cut pecs. “If you have to ask…”

Liam started to speak, bit back the words, and closed his eyes. “I’m not a person who takes this kind of thing lightly.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m not, either.”

Liam’s hands clenched. “We’re going to hit a wall, you know.”

She ached to touch his face. “You’re so sure?”

“I feel strongly for you,” he said. “But I see that wall in the distance, just waiting for us.”

Nancy swiped tears from her face with the back of her hands. “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “But you know what? I don’t care.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “No?”

“No. Let’s just go for it. Full speed. We’ll hit that wall together.”

“If this is because of those guys who attacked you—”

“I’m glad you mentioned that,” she broke in. “This was a point that I wanted to make. I appreciate your offer to protect me, but that has nothing to do with the fact that I think you’re really special, and I want to spend some time with you.” There it was, bald as an egg.

She waited for the verdict.

And waited, and waited. It was agonizing, to go this far out on the limb, and just stay there, fighting for balance. One last, desperate sally before retreating in despair. She sucked in a deep breath.

“And there is, ah, one more little thing,” she said.

He looked like he was bracing himself. “Yes?”

She cleared her throat again. “I’d, ah, like to give you a blow job.”

His face went blank. Probably wondering if he’d heard correctly.

“I hope you’re not too shocked,” she added. “But the last two days have sort of burned away all my maidenly shyness. I can’t promise any world-class fellatio technique, but I still think that performing oral sex upon you right now would be the absolute highlight of my day.”

Liam blinked, coughed. “Ah…” He turned, and swung his ax in a big arc. It landed in the block with a sharp thunk that made her jump. He grabbed her cat carrier and headed toward the house.

“Follow me,” he said.

Chapter

8

Nancy trailed after Liam, up the steps of the wide wraparound porch. She was so dizzy with the success of her last-ditch ploy, she barely even registered the details of his home. Just an impression of airy rooms, big windows, sparse and graceful furnishings. He knelt down and flipped the lever that opened Moxie’s carrier. The cat stalked out, sniffed his hand, and padded away to investigate, tail high.

Nancy wanted to break the tension, but the purposeful way that Liam strode through the dining room with his back to her discouraged speech. She scurried after his long strides. He’d started up the stairs without turning to see if she was being pulled along in his wake.

It looked like she would be making good on her rash offer. Her toes were curled with lust at the thought, but she hadn’t pictured going down on him when the weather conditions were this, well…stormy.

He stopped outside a door. “I’m sweaty. I need to take a shower.”

“No,” she said. “You don’t.”

He gave her a doubtful look. She waved him in the door. God forbid she lose her nerve, or lose her moment, or miss her window of opportunity. Besides. He looked great, just like that. Gleaming with sweat, hair damp and spiky. Salty and virile and vigorous.

He opened the door and beckoned her in.

The room was stark in its simplicity. An antique brass bed sported a beautiful green Irish Chain quilt. An earth-toned Navaho rug lay on the gleaming wooden floor. Musical instruments from around the world decorated the white walls. There was a straight-backed chair, a narrow, upright antique chest of drawers. A turn-of-the-century steamer trunk. Old-fashioned, sparse, simple and neat.

Sunshine blazed through the open window, lighting up a bright rectangle on the rug. Liam slowly, deliberately went and stood in the middle of that patch of sunlight. An aggressive, wide-legged stance.

So, then. No banter, no chitchat, no lead-in. He was still pissed, but he wanted his blow job anyway. Well, fine. That felt weird, but she was getting comfortable with weirdness in these strange days.

Now all she had to do was act like a femme fatale. It couldn’t be that hard. She’d seen it done in films. But her breath was coming fast, her palms were damp, her knees were jittery. Her thighs kept squeezing around a melting pulse of aching heat at the idea of taking him into her mouth.

A slow, deliberate striptease would be the thing, but she was dressed wrong. She needed more pieces, more complicated lingerie, snaps and straps and ribbons and laces. As it was, she could only let her purse drop to the floor and peel off her sweater with slow, sexy deliberation. She walked toward him until the patch of sunlight illuminated her body below the neck. The chilly breeze from outside tightened her nipples to puckered little brown nubs.

She twitched her braid over her shoulder, pulled out the elastic, and unraveled the braid. Her hair stuck to her damp hands and flew up all around her face, electric and wild, floating around her like Medusa’s locks.

The jeans came next, the appallingly plain white cotton panties, and there she was. Stark naked but for her dangling garnet earrings and Lucia’s sapphire pendant. He stared, eyes burning. Not a word.

“Do you, ah, want to sit down?” she asked, timidly.

He shook his head.

Nancy drew in a deep breath and reached for his belt. It took forever to get the thing undone, but he did not help. His hands were clenched into big fists held rigidly at his sides. The emotion in his face vibrated around him. She felt its pressure against her skin.

She went on to his jeans, shoved them down with his briefs just far enough to free his cock. It sprang up into her hands, hot and huge and hard, the thick knob at the end dripping with pre-come. So. No lack of enthusiasm on his part. One less thing to worry about.

She moistened her hands by swirling them around the slick fluid that gleamed on his big cockhead and gripped him, moving up in a long, tight slide. He arched, jerked. His short, shocked groan sounded as if it had been captured in his throat and wrestled into submission.

She sank down to her knees on the rug without even thinking about it. Partly it was her rubbery legs giving way, partly it was raw hunger to taste him, to make him shudder and gasp.

His cock bobbed in her face. She was kneeling right in that patch of brilliant morning sunshine, and its brightness blinded her. The sun was hot, but cool air moved from the open window. The combination was a subtle caress, a million little thrills, like fluttering strokes with feathers or silk. She stroked, gripped him. Lashed him with voluptuous strokes of her tongue. His hands slid into her hair, gripping it hard. His body shook, rigid. She was so excited, she felt faint.

She went at him with everything she had; licking and lapping, stroking and swirling with her hands. Flicking at the sensitive slit at the end of his glans and savoring the slick, salty fluid that dripped from it.

Then she pulled him into her mouth.

It took a little while to get comfortable with his size, but she was extremely motivated, her entire body buzzing. Somehow she figured out how to relax, take him deeper. The sensual choreography all came together in her mind, and it was like something she’d always known. Always loved. She sucked him deep, pulling on every outstroke, torturing him with a swirling twist of her tongue.

His hands tightened their grip in her hair, and he pushed her face away from him. She wiped her mouth, and looked up into the stark, tense mask of his face. “What?” she asked.

“I need to fuck you,” he said.

She blinked. More welcome words were never spoken. She felt lit up like a Christmas tree, about to spit sparks, catch fire. She stroked his balls with her fingertips, just to enjoy the abrupt shiver of pleasure that racked his big body. “Do you have a condom?” she asked.

“Bedside table drawer, by the wall,” he said.

He made no move to get one, just hoisted her to her feet. And waited. She tried not to stumble. She should be doing a hip-swaying sashay, but it was all she could do to stay on her feet. She started to circle the bed, but stopped short, gazing at that expanse of quilt. A real femme fatale would not waste an obvious chance to strike a hot pose.

Her stomach quivered, but she clambered up onto the bed on her hands and knees and crawled across. Arching her back. Going for sexy, sinuous. She fumbled in the bedside table drawer for the condoms.

The effect on him was instantaneous. The bed squeaked and sagged, and there he was, arched over her, his hot body covering her back, his cock swinging and bobbing against her inner thigh. She almost lost her balance. He reached out over her shoulder, snagged the long string of silver foil packets out of the drawer.

She tried to wiggle, shift, turn herself, but he held her in place while he ripped a packet open and applied the condom. Her breath came fast and nervous through her open mouth. Uh-oh. She’d miscalculated.

Oh, please. She’d presented her backside to him. The guy could hardly be blamed for taking her up on the invitation. But this sexual position made her feel particularly vulnerable and small. Plus, it hurt. Deep inside. Just another of the long list of things that shut her down.

No. She was not going to spoil this. Not for him, and not for her. She was not chickening out. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything. And she would…get…through…it.

She braced herself for it, but there was no painful, invasive shove. Just his enormous warmth poised, motionless over her, warming her, waiting. His hot, soft lips endlessly caressed her nape, her spine. He slid his hands between her legs, circling her clit with clever fingers, with slow, lazy strokes. Petting until she squirmed against his hand, breathless and desperate.

When he finally nudged inside, she lunged back to take in more. He gripped her hips with a low, admonishing murmur, kissed her shoulder blades, licked her spine. Her inner flesh clenched around his thick shaft. He shoved deeper. She’d never felt so full. Every part of her that he touched responded, glowing. She squeezed harder, squirming, clawing her way closer…. He shoved as deep as he could go….

And she disintegrated into countless blissful, shimmering motes of light, with hot, bright jolts of pleasure pulsing through them, on and on.

His breath panted, hot and rhythmic against her back. He set his teeth against her shoulder, licked her sweat. “Ah, God. That felt so good,” he muttered hoarsely. “Do that again. Please. Do it forever.”

“Anytime you like,” she told him, with a shaky laugh. “I can’t seem to stop. Not when you touch me. It’s crazy.”

He made a strangled sound deep in his throat, gripped her hips, and began to move. It took on a wild, frenetic momentum. She clutched the bars of the brass bed to brace herself, her face shoved in the pillow to stifle the cries that jerked out at each slick, driving stroke and swivel of his thick shaft. He felt wonderful, stirring her into a creamy froth. And it didn’t hurt. Her body had resculpted itself to cherish every thick, throbbing inch of him, and melt with delight while doing it.

She came, again and again, until she was wilted, boneless into the bed, flat on her face, panting. Too spent even to beg for mercy.

He let go and let his own climax wrench through him.

They lay together for a few minutes, floating in a timeless dream measured only by a burst of birdsong and the flickering shadows of clouds passing over the sun. He was squishing her, but the pressure felt good. So what if her lungs could only expand to 10 percent of their capacity? Who needed air, after sex like that?

But after a moment, he stirred and rolled onto his side, still keeping her clamped against him. His penis still inside her.

Her cell phone rang. His body went tense. Nancy leaned down, fished the cell out of her purse, and checked the display. Peter. Hah. As if. She dropped it back into her purse, letting it ring on unanswered.

She turned her head, enjoyed his startled expression.

Liam smiled, a slow, wondering smile. “That must’ve cost you.”

“I would turn the thing off completely if it weren’t for my sisters,” she said. “I don’t want to be out of touch with them.”

“You can give them my landline number,” he suggested.

“Thanks,” she said demurely. “That’s very generous of you, Liam.”

He snorted at her sarcasm and nuzzled his nose into the nape of her neck. “God, you smell good,” he said. “Like something good to eat.”

“Vanilla sandalwood essential oil mix,” she explained.

“It drives me crazy,” he said.

She arched herself like a cat, glorying in his response to her. “So, Liam. Are you done being mad at me?”

She peeked back over her shoulder after a long silence. He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “I was pretty upset. I think we’re going to have to have a whole lot more sex before I work it all out.”

“Okay,” she said cheerfully.

His chest jerked with laughter, and he extricated himself, pulling off the condom and heading toward the door. “Have to get rid of this.”

She feasted her eyes on his gorgeous naked body when he came back into the room. The pattern of dark chest hair arrowing down to his groin, the powerful muscles of his legs and thighs, his heavy arousal, rising proudly out of a thatch of thick black hair. Mmm. Already. Wow.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I could fix you something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” she said. “Not for food, anyway.”

He came closer until he was standing right by the bed, his cock rigid and high. He lifted the quilt, tossed it away, and stared down at her naked body. “Ah, God,” he said softly.

She caressed his cock, the pulsing, swollen red heat of it. He grasped her hand, bent to kiss her knuckles, then turned it over to kiss her wrist, her palm, each finger. He pressed the back of her hand against his cheek with reverent tenderness.

She reached out for him, drawing him down. He plucked another condom from the string, readied himself in a few deft moves, and mounted her, thrusting inside in a seamless slide that made tears start in her eyes. His arms circled her, and they clung, rocking for what could have been hours. She lost all sense of time. The sunlit room was a magical space, dust motes doing a lazy dance of joy above them. The breeze rustled the trees, making wind chimes tinkle and clank. His face filled her whole world. His weight, deliciously sensual between her legs, pressing her down into the bed, in a slow, maddening, pumping pulse and swirl. She could look into his astonishing eyes forever.

They moved together faster, kissing with an ardent hunger that made her heart swell. Every place his body touched her was like a kiss, specific, hot, deliberate, and she lifted herself against him, reaching for perfection. Without warning, it burst upon her. He cried out at the same moment, and they were flung together into that long fall, fused.

They came back to reality slowly. He untangled himself, stroking her back. “Was, uh, everything all right?” he asked hesitantly.

She laughed. “It was great, and you know it.”

He rolled onto his back with an ironic grunt. “I have my moments of doubt,” he said. “I was just afraid maybe we’re overdoing it.”

“You don’t say.” She laid her head on his solid chest, practically purring as his arms closed possessively around her. “You’re amazing,” she said lazily. “I’ve never been able to…well, you’re amazing.”

He lifted his head, eyes curious. “Never been able to what?”

She tried to gloss over her thoughtless gaffe with a laugh. “I just don’t usually have this wonderful a time in bed, that’s all. I tend to shut down if things get too intense. But with you, it doesn’t happen.”

He ran his fingers through her hair. “Why does it happen?”

“Who cares, since it doesn’t happen with you?” she said brightly. “I’d much rather not dwell on my stupid, tedious—”

“Why does that happen to you, Nancy?” he demanded, relentless.

She sighed. It would seem that Liam would not be guided around this particular crack in the pavement. “Well, I’ve got a theory.”

“Let’s hear it.”

She gathered her composure, hoping without much hope that talking about her hang-ups would not invoke them back into being. “I told you about being in foster care, remember? It was the last home I was in before Lucia. I was thirteen. A nice family in Larchmont. I felt lucky. It was better than a lot of places I’d been. Until their son came back from his freshman year at college. Big guy. Body odor problem.”

Liam’s face contracted. “Oh, Christ.”

“Oh, don’t get scared. It’s not that bad,” she assured him. “He never actually…well, luckily, there were almost always lots of people around, and I shared a room with other girls. But he would take every chance he got to pin me against walls and in dark corners and rub his erection against me. That was usually all he had time for. Thank God.”

Liam’s hands were clenched. “What a piece of shit.”

“He was working up to it, though,” she went on. “It was only a matter of time. And he was his mother’s firstborn darling. She was never going to believe me over him. Which was sad. I really liked her.”

She stared up at the ceiling, twiddling with a piece of the quilt, lost in unpleasant memories. Liam nuzzled her with his lips. “And? So?”

“I told my social worker,” she concluded, with a sigh. “She confronted the mother. The mother took his part. Called me a nasty lying slut. I got a new placement. With Lucia.” She rubbed his hair, comfortingly. “So you see? My luck turned. But I carry some of that old stuff around with me, I guess. I never go for guys who are significantly bigger than me, for instance. I hate being pushed around, or squished. Makes me freeze right up.” She hoisted herself up onto her elbow to stare down at his muscular body, and petted his massive chest. “You’re a big exception,” she added, in a wondering voice. “Very big.”

His penis was long and hard and red, standing up against his belly. He shot her an uncomfortable look. “Sorry. I know it’s inappropriate, after what you just told me. Being close to you just does it to me. I can’t help it. Or hide it, either. Since I’m bare naked.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “I know you’re one of the good guys.”

He gathered her into his arms. She melted into the hug. Her arms trembled with the strain of holding him so tightly, but she wanted it to last forever. When they finally relaxed, he brushed the hair off her face and cupped her cheek. “I want to find that guy and kill him,” he said.

She was taken aback. “Ah, I don’t recommend that, Liam,” she said, a little nervously. “I have enough problems as it is.”

He traced her eyebrow with his finger. “It feels strange to say it,” he said. “I am not a violent person. I’ve never gone looking for a fight in my life. But I will kill anyone who touches you.”

Nancy opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Um…I’m not quite sure what to do with that.”

His shoulder jerked in a careless shrug. “You don’t have to do anything with it,” he said. “It just is.”

He pulled away and got up, groping for his jeans. Their idyll was over. He was serious again, all business. She admired his ass as he pulled up his jeans. Then he opened his closet, rummaged up high under a pile of thick wool blankets, and pulled down a heavy-looking black fiberglass case. He brought it over and laid it down on the bed.

“What’s that?” she asked.

He unsnapped the case. “My stepfather’s old service revolver.”

She flinched. “What are you going to do with that thing?”

He lifted a sardonic eyebrow. “Keep it close.”

“You really think that’s necessary? Do you know how to use it?”

He pulled out a box of bullets, flipped open the cylinder, and loaded the gun. “Yes, and yes. I could have used this in your stairwell last night. And of course I know how to use it. Jesus, what a question.” He tucked it into the back of his jeans and shrugged on his shirt.

She shivered at the thought of the deadly thing, cold against the warm skin of his back. “Do you have a license to carry concealed?”

He looked directly into her eyes. “I’ll arrange to get one. I’ve never needed one before, so I never bothered.”

“But until you get one, maybe you’d just better—”

“Think it through, Nancy,” he said. “If the cops catch me carrying concealed, they’ll give me a hard time. If the bad guys catch me without it, they’ll kill me, and take you. What scenario scares you more?”

Her stomach cramped, into a cold, hard knot, and she doubled up tight around it, hugging her knees to her chest and hiding her face.

After a moment, Liam sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. “It’s just a precaution,” he said gently. “I’m sorry it upsets you. But I’ll feel better if I’m packing.”

She leaned into the hug. She could never get enough of them. She’d been starving for this embrace all her life and never even knew it.

And he seemed just as ravenous. They clung, nuzzling. Offering comfort with their bodies, their warmth, the strength of their limbs entwined. The patch of sun on the floor had moved across the room to the wall by the time he lifted his head and smiled at her.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“That’s the second time you’ve asked me that,” she observed. “I’m beginning to think it’s a loaded question. Are you?”

“Starving. I haven’t eaten since before the seisìun last night.”

She hadn’t eaten since the morning before that, but she thought it impolitic to say so. “You poor thing. Why didn’t you say something?”

He shrugged. “It didn’t seem important. Until now, that is.”

“Well, let’s go feed you, then! Have you got food?”

“I fixed the neighbor lady’s porch steps a month ago, and she gave me a lifetime supply of frozen pot roast stew. Get dressed.”

“Aw. Why? It feels good to be naked. Are you expecting company?”

“Eoin’s around here somewhere. I’m sure he has the good sense to keep his distance, but there are no curtains on the kitchen window.”

Liam finally compromised and enveloped her in his big green terry cloth bathrobe. They went down to feast in Liam’s big kitchen on rich, savory stew, raisin toast, crisp apples, and wedges of white cheddar. Nancy ate with uncharacteristic appetite. Having a man stare at her like that made her giddy. She practiced her femme fatale act, licking fruit juice off her fingers, and was immensely gratified when he dragged her back up to the bedroom. They came together roughly, a wild collision.

The day went by, a blur of caresses, embraces. The revolver sat on the bedside table. A small, ugly sentinel, grimly reminding her of the fear and sorrow lurking outside this little magic circle.

The sun was low and the light a deep, rosy gold when she opened her eyes and found him twirling a lock of her hair and staring into her face with something like awe. “I feel honored,” he said softly.

She gazed at him, muddled and disoriented. “You do? By what?”

“That Lucia thought I was good enough for you.”

Nancy’s eyes widened. “Oh, please,” she snapped, and then suffered a rush of guilt. “Never mind,” she muttered. “I loved her tremendously, but I’m furious with her for setting me up like that.”

He propped his head up on one hand. “Why? What’s so mortifying about her trying to fix you up? She wanted you to be happy.”

She shifted uncomfortably. “I know, but Lucia didn’t understand one of the basic laws of the animal kingdom. Men only want what they can’t have. They chase things that run. So babbling on about my availability is the kiss of death.”

Liam gently turned her face to meet his eyes. “I’m not an animal.”

“I never said you were, Liam! You’re taking this too personally!”

He shrugged. “Don’t know any other way to take things.”

She rolled back onto her side with a sigh. “I bet you wondered why a reasonably attractive woman would be so desperate that her mother has to find her a date.”