Page 14 of Stolen Mafia Vows
“Yes.”
There isn’t a single part of me that wants to scream the opposite, and I’m not going to fight it.
We lead the horses outside and Eoghan helps me into the saddle. Bodhi is a white mare with a champagne-colored mane and tail, and huge brown, almond-shaped eyes. She is patient with me while Eoghan gets me settled, and I think about Diamond waiting in our stables on Staten Island.
But then Eoghan smiles at me, and I park my guilt for now, telling myself that it’s time for new experiences. I’ll make it up to her the next time I’m in New York.
“Where are we going?”
“To my favorite place in the world.”
We cross the extensive land surrounding the property in silence, barely reaching a canter, which means that I can enjoy the views across the sea without worrying about clinging onto the reins for dear life. The sun is still high in the sky creating a mercurial path across the sea towards the horizon, and I imagine us riding across the water’s surface and away to the kind of fictional lands you read about in fantasy novels.
When the land starts to slope towards the coastline, we dismount, secure the horses in the shade of a couple of oak trees, and follow a winding path down to the golden sandy beach on foot. Eoghan holds my hand, and it feels like the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.
When we reach the beach, I discover a picnic set out on a fringed blanket on the sand beneath the shade of somedrooping willows. There’s a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket semi-covered by a pristine white cloth. Baskets of food. Gold velvet cushions, clean towels, and even a tube of sunblock. We’re the only people here, and another shiver of excitement runs down my spine.
“Is the beach always this empty?”
It’s hard to imagine that anyone who lived nearby wouldn’t want to spend every spare moment here with the foamy waves lapping the shore and the noisy gulls circling overhead.
“It’s our private beach.” Eoghan folds me into his arms, the movement so fluid, I wouldn’t be able to resist even if I was aware of it. “No one will disturb us.”
He kisses me again, and this time, it’s gentle, his tongue exploring my mouth.
My hands instinctively reach up and grip his hair, holding onto him like I’m drowning. I’ve never seen this side of me before, but I kinda like it. It gives me a sense of power that I’ve never felt before.
Eoghan pulls away first. He guides me down onto the blanket and pops the champagne expertly, filling two crystal flutes with sparkling bubbles. He clinks his glass against mine, his eyes silver in the sunlight.
“To the most beautiful girl in the world.”
The flush in my cheeks is only outshone by the heavy beating of my heart.
“Do I know her?”
Eoghan almost chokes on his first mouthful of champagne. When he looks at me again, I notice the steely shards spearing the silver of his irises. “You might think you know her, but Ibelieve she’s been holding back.” His face is so close to mine I can feel his warm breath on my cheek.
“She has a habit of doing that.” My voice doesn’t even sound like mine as my lips brush his.
“We’ll have to see what we can do about that.”
I don’t know when or how he removes the glass from my hand. But his arm is behind my back, and he lowers me onto the blanket, his body stretched alongside me, propped up one elbow so that he can look at me while he unfastens the buttons of my shirt.
“What you did the other night…” His eyes explore my breasts inside my pink lace bra while his fingers trace a line down between my ribs. “It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I don’t know what I’m supposed to say, so I stay quiet.
His knuckles brush my abdomen as he unzips my jeans. He tugs them open and traces the top of my pink lace panties with his index finger. Then he dips his head and kisses the exposed flesh. His lips feel like flames on my skin, and I entwine my fingers in his red hair.
He smiles. “I’ve thought about nothing else since I met you, Emily.”
“Me too.”
“It’s like you’ve put a spell on me.”
“Because you’re mine.” My mouth completes the line from the song before my brain even engages. “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”
“Don’t ever apologize to me, Emily.Mo chroi. I am yours, youmust know that. I’ve been yours since I first saw you sitting across the airport.”
