I shudder when he touches my wrists with the tips of his fingers, then his tongue. The inside of my arms are even more sensitive. It is as though he can anticipate everything I want, even before I know that I want it, and he gives it to me.

Soon, as promised, I am begging for mercy. He teases me with his tongue, licking and biting the fabric of my bra, which he moves over just enough to expose the nipples. Inching his way down my torso he nuzzles and licks my skin, occasionally biting lightly. I writhe around as much as I can, but I feel the scarf tighten around my wrists. I pull harder, the ecstasy mounting.

Just when I think that he will stop downtown to give me the relief I so desperately need, he keeps going and buries his mouth between my legs instead, kissing and licking the inner flesh of my thighs. I wriggle in ecstasy and try desperately to free my hands and grab his head, to pull him deeper inside me.

That is all I want now. To have him inside me. I moan. I beg for him to take me. He comes back up alongside me and I can feel his breath in my ear.

“But we’re just getting started,” he whispers, while his fingers play inside my opening.

“Please, Michaél,” I groan. He inserts one finger. Then another.

“There. Is that what ye want?” he murmurs, flicking and sucking my nipples. He removes my bra and frees my breasts. Touching, playing with featherlight fingers he teases me for what feels like a very long time before he starts to rub and pinch my nipples, all the while the fingers of his other hand work their magic massaging my clit.

I try to hold myself back but I can’t. The rush is taking over my body and I feel as though I might explode in ecstasy. How does he know my body like this? I come for the first time and it is magnificent. I’m reminded of the crest of the wave I rode back in Ireland, but this wave is of mythological proportions. My hips thrash against the bed. “Michaél! Michaél! Michaél!” I yell, forgetting about the world beyond these walls.

“Ye like that, darlin’?” He rips my panties off me completely and climbs on top of me. He kisses me hard on the mouth as he enters me. He lifts his lips and begins to move rhythmically inside me. My orgasm wanes and just as I feel I can breathe again, another begins to build in tandem with his movements.

I turn my head into his arm that I cannot see but can feel alongside my face. I kiss and lick and nip at what skin of his I can with a hunger I have never felt for anyone before.

He puts more of his weight onto my body, and I pull my legs up so that he can go deeper. The sensation is overwhelming and I grind my hips toward him, trying to drive him in deeper. I bite down on his shoulder, ravenously, about to burst with unspent passion. I can feel myself getting close to climax again.

“Oh, Jesus, yes!” he gasps as his body convulses in rhythmic spasms.

I too am riding the wave, and at the same moment I splinter into a thousands glittering stars. We twist and arch into each other and after a few moments of bliss he collapses gently on top of me. He removes my blindfold, kisses me, and smiles.

I smile back. “Soooo happy.”

He laughs. “Definitely worth waiting for.” He reaches up and unties my wrists, which he kisses. “Not too tight?”

“Just right.”

I snuggle into the crook of his arm and enjoy the feeling of floating through space with this beautiful man. At some point we both fall asleep, my bum nestled into his crotch and his arms encircling me. I enjoy a dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

RIDLEE

TODAY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE my day to sleep in, but no; of course that’s not going to happen. Erin’s up at six in the morning, so I should be too, according to her.

“No, I can’t call you back,” she whines. “I need answers now and I’m awake.”

I sit up in bed and scrub my face with my free hand, trying to get the blood pumping enough to wake me up. “Is this advice for the lovelorn or legal advice? Because I’m not sure I’m awake enough for the legal kind.”

“Both. Go make yourself some coffee. This is serious business.”

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand, stretching in an effort to get the cramp out of my middle back. Seven hours of sleep isn’t enough to work out the kinks that come from hunching over a desk for three weeks straight, fourteen hours a day. “When is it not serious business with you, Erin?”

“True. I do live a very important life. Come on, then, chop chop. I don’t have all morning.”

I shuffle into the kitchen, throwing a tiny pot of ground coffee beans into my machine and pressing the button next to the waiting cup. “Okay, I’m awake. Start talking.”

Her voice drops down a few notches, giving me the impression that she’s hiding this conversation from someone.

“Okay, so I took your advice and showed Michaél the town yesterday.”

“Hmmm, is that why I didn’t get any texts for a whole twelve hours?”

“Yes. Probably. And because I’m your only friend.”

I bite my cheek so I won’t laugh at her stupid joke. I have friends, just not the kind of friends I’d text with. That is a privilege reserved just for her. Not that there’s room on my cell phone’s screen or time in my life for anyone else to text me. Erin texts enough for ten people.

“And?” I prompt.

“Well, it was confusing for most of the day. I wasn’t sure how he felt about me, about us, about anything really…”

“You know now, I hope.” I take my first sip of coffee and wait for the caffeine to hit me. Something tells me I’m going to need it soon.

“Oh, yeah. I know now.” She starts to squeal like a little girl. “He loves me, Rid! He really does!”

“Of course he does,” I say, not impressed. “If he has a single brain cell in his head, he’ll hang onto you with kitty claws.”

Her tone goes suspicious. “What’s that mean?”

“It just means, Miss Paranoid, that you’re an amazing person and he’d be lucky to have you.” Another sip of coffee and I’m almost feeling human again.

“He said that last night. That and more.”

“All of it good?”

“Yes. All of it. And we uh … sealed the deal.” She giggles.

I’m talking to a girl who goes to high school now. “You had sex with him?”

“Yep. Totally.”

“You little slut. Good for you.” I take another sip of coffee, almost done now. Why do espressos have to be so tiny? “Okay, so he goes from bad guy stealing your bar one day to lover the next. Are you sure you’re okay with that?” My friend has a very tender heart, and I feel like I need to be the one talking sense right now. I’m afraid she’s too gaga over him to think straight.

“Yes. He’s been driving me mad for weeks and this was the best end to it all.”

“So that’s it, then? This is the end? When does he leave?”

“No, no, it’s not!” She’s back to being excited. “That’s the best news of all! He wants to stay. He knows he’s not getting any of the bar, but he wants to stay and work here with me. Live with me. See where this thing goes.”

I sigh, trying to figure out how to say this to her without sounding like a total killjoy.

“What? I know what that sigh means. Just tell me straight, don’t hold anything back.”

I slug back the rest of my coffee wincing as it burns all the way down. “Okay, fine. Here’s the deal. He can’t officially work there with you, for one. He’s on a special visa that only allows him to be a tourist or conduct business that doesn’t end up in him being paid. Second, he can’t stay any longer than his visa says he can. My guess is he was granted six months, but it could be as little as three. You have to look at what they gave him at the border.”