Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
His hands slid down my arms, fingers curled around my wrists, and for a moment, he just held them, his breathing uneven. “If we do this…” His voice was hoarse. “We have to be safe.”
“I won’t tell a soul,” I assured him.
Tommy’s lips curved upward in amusement. “I’m not worried about that, darlin’. But I’m talking about not wanting to get you pregnant.”
“Oh,” I muttered. I was young and naive, but I did know how girls got pregnant. I had heard some other girls at school talking about the “pull out” method… it was when a guy was getting ready to…
Tommy’s fingers went to my chin and he forced my chin up. “I brought condoms with me from the States.”
I stared at him blankly for a moment, then understanding dawned. “Yes, I’ve heard about that. It’s illegal to import or sell them in Ireland.”
“Which is why I brought them,” he replied gently. And then waited for me to catch up to what he was trying to say, but I was feeling distinctly lost. His voice softened even more, as if he was letting me down. “I brought them not knowing I’d meet you, Fiona. I brought them thinking I would use them.”
I frowned, wondering why this was so hard to actually get going. I was assured by other girls with more experience that if ye told a guy ye wanted to have sex, they’d jump on it. “I’m not understandin’ what yer trying to tell me.”
Tommy chuckled, leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “And I think that’s making me fall for you even more,” he murmured, then dipped his face down to get closer to mine. “Doesn’t it bother you that I’ve been… well, with other girls? Had every intention of being with some here in Ireland.”
And now I understood and oddly, the man was charmin’ me even more. “I get ye were no saint, Tommy Blackburn. But that was before ye met me.”
His face lit up in delight and he tipped his head back, barking a laugh full of gusto before he pulled me into his arms. “Christ, Fiona… what did I do to deserve you?”
Then, with a groan of surrender, he crushed his lips to mine.
The kiss was slow at first, controlled, like he was holding back. But when I pressed closer, wrapping my arms around his neck, something in him snapped. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me flush against him, and I gasped at the contact.
My fingers tangled in his hair as his mouth moved over mine, tasting, claiming. Heat coiled low in my belly, an unfamiliar ache spreading through me.
What was this feeling? It was both marvelous and almost painful. Like I needed something so very badly and I’d die if I didn’t get it.
I had kissed before, but never like this. Never with this kind of desperation, this raw hunger.
“Fi,” he murmured against my lips. “Tell me to stop.”
I shook my head. “Don’t stop.”
His breath hitched, and before I could second-guess myself, he lifted me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to his bed, lowering me down against the sheets with the utmost care.
His lips moved to my throat, trailing fire along my skin. His hands skimmed my sides, slow and reverent, as if he were memorizing every inch of me.
I shivered, gripping his shoulders. “I don’t know what to do.”
His lips found mine again, silencing my uncertainty with a kiss so tender it made my chest ache. “I’ll take care of you,” he whispered. “We’ll go slow.” Then he smiled again. “But a general rule of thumb is that touching is a very good thing. You can touch me anywhere you want.”
I nodded, trusting him completely.
And as he guided me through every touch, every whispered reassurance, I knew—I wasn’t just giving him a piece of myself tonight.
I was giving him everything.
Tommy slowly removed my clothes and I didn’t feel a single ounce of shame or embarrassment, even though I’d never been naked in front of a man before. He touched me all over, made me cry out and curse with frustration, and he put his mouth between my legs, and I incinerated. That coiling, desperate need for something I knew I needed but didn’t know what that might be suddenly became clear with an explosion of such pleasure, I knew my life was irrevocably changed.
The world outside faded. Time blurred.
It was the most magical thing that had ever happened to me, and watching Tommy fall apart while he stared down at me only cemented my belief that I had made the right decision to come to him. It was my final break with my old life.
I was a new Fiona Conlan.
When it was over, Tommy pulled me into his arms, tucking me against his chest. I listened to the steady rhythm of his heart as my body hummed with something new, something I couldn’t name.