Page 113 of Just Say Yes
‘Even better.’
‘I’m regretting getting you down here.’
She’d laughed, throwing her head back. ‘Liar.’ She’d had a point.
* * *
‘You look pretty done for too.’
‘Yep. Been a long day, but, unlike you, I wasn’t working.’
‘I know. But it can still be tiring. Thanks for helping this morning. I can’t even remember if I said that now or not. If not, sorry.’
Lorcan shook his head and rested one large warm hand over mine. ‘Not a problem. Comes with the territory of best man anyway. I’m just glad it all worked out.’
‘So am I.’
‘So, are your duties as a planner for this wedding officially over?’
‘They are,’ I replied, sighing languidly as I warmed the golden liquid in my glass with the palm of my hand.
‘Good,’ Lorcan said, shifting on the sofa, taking the glass from my hand and placing it on the coffee table in front of us. ‘Then that means I finally get to do this.’ His hands cupped my face as his lips tentatively brushed mine, sending thrills and sparks of electricity racing through my body. He pulled away, his gaze meeting mine, almost as if waiting for permission, which I willingly gave.
This time the kiss began softly but quickly grew into something more raw, more urgent, the pent-up frustration of our time together bursting through as his hands slid back from my face. A low, guttural moan escaped from him as they met the confines of the clips securing my hair. With a couple of swift moves, they were gone and Lorcan was entangling his fingers in my curls, one hand winding a length around his fist and tightening as he pulled me towards him. The sense of pleasure combined with a hint of pain set my senses spinning as we explored each other’s mouths and then further. One hand dropped to my waist, impatiently pulling at the blouse before sliding up my skin to cup my breast, his kisses moving down my neck as now his hands moved to the hem of my skirt and pushed it up. His fingers found the fastenings of my suspenders and Lorcan momentarily pulled away, my skin suddenly chilled from the loss of his lips. The heavy-lidded gaze dropped to my thighs, straddled as I was across him, stockings on show, and the deep appreciative sound growled again in his throat as he slid his hands around my backside and pulled me closer.
* * *
We crept back into the house in the early hours, hoping not to wake Maria, and Lorcan left me at the door to my room. As much as I wanted to be close to him, he’d been right when we’d lain on the sofa earlier. Both of us exhausted and spent, cuddled close together. He’d cupped my face in one large hand and told me we ought to get back so I could rest properly. I’d protested but now, having said goodnight, I knew he was right. I cleaned my teeth, stripped off, climbed into bed and was asleep within seconds of my head touching the soft Irish linen of the pillow.
* * *
‘So it went well, then?’ Maria asked as we sat at the table the next morning, watching as she dished up yet another hearty breakfast. Her family clearly had good metabolisms. I was less hesitant to wolf my own portion down. Yesterday had been exhausting, emotionally and mentally, but thankfully had turned out well – and I hadn’t expected to have to find more energy in the early hours closed away in the snug of the castle with Lorcan. My body definitely needed replenishing – not to mention more of Lorcan O’Malley. He sat beside me, his hand slipping to mine beneath the table as we all shuffled in to make room for each other. The whole family had descended this morning, ready for the gossip, it would seem.
‘She looked so beautiful, though,’ Roísín, Lorcan’s eldest sister, was saying. ‘That dress was just stunning.’
‘I’ll pass on the compliment to the designer. Thanks.’ I smiled, my body and mind properly relaxed for the first time in what felt like years.
‘And Patrick looked like the cat that had got the cream, bless his heart,’ Grace, the next sister down, added.
‘He’s just married a hot heiress. Of course he did!’ Cillian said, laughing as he grabbed a piece of thick, hot buttered toast from the large plate in the centre of the table.
‘That’s not why he married her,’ Lorcan reminded him.
‘Nah, I know. Bonus though.’
Lorcan looked at me, rolled his eyes and grinned before tucking into another thick rasher of bacon.
‘Even you looked relaxed and happy,’ Roísín said, pointing her toast at her brother. ‘About time you let go of that rigid belief about weddings and marriage being a bad idea at last.’
‘Just because I enjoyed seeing my friend happy doesn’t change my opinion on any of it. Look at all the drama it caused yesterday morning. That could all have been avoided if they weren’t actually getting married. That Vance bloke wouldn’t have even been in the picture to start with.’
‘That’s a bad example.’
‘Not at all. It’s a good example. It just goes to show, no matter how much you plan, it can still all go wrong. So why take the risk?’ He took a bite of fried bread to punctuate the sentence.
‘To be happy?’ his sister shot back. ‘To have someone else to enjoy life with?’
‘I enjoy life plenty. And I don’t need a shindig or a piece of paper to tell me I’m allowed to.’
