AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine! Fine. It looks like you could walk in there intending to buy a shirt, and walk out with a cat mug, a new shower curtain, and a Britney Spears adult coloring book.”
“That is... oddly specific.”
“Well, it’s a good thing, okay? You smell nice and it makes my brain happy. And I hope it makes you happy that you’ve gotten me to admit that.”
“As a matter of fact, itdoesmake me happy.”
“You know,mostpeople try tokeepme from going on tangents,” I say. “Youpractically shove me into them.”
“I like to see where that brain of yours will go. It’s a surprise every time. And I like seeing you in my jumper.”
“Well...” I say, but that’s all I’ve got.
I look up at Jack, but he isn’t giving me that teasing look anymore. He steps closer, and when the toes of his boots brush my socks, my brain is nothing but radio static.
He tugs on a strand of my hair. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“That’s because I work at your pub and live in your flat.”
He’s so close that his laugh warms my cheek. “I don’t think that’s why.”
When Jack leans in, I lean in too, but the wrong way, and we end up knocking noses. I yelp, and then I’m laughing and rubbing at my nose. When I look at Jack, he’s rubbing his nose and laughing too.
“That’s not exactly how I thought that would go,” he says.
“Me either.”
“If I try to kiss you again, do you promise not to attack me?”
“I didn’t attack you!”
He catches my chin in his hand. “Stay very still,” he says.
I stare into his blue eyes, and nothing is funny anymore. If he keeps talking to me like that, I’ll do whatever he wants me to. “Okay.”
“Tá tú go hálainn, ciaróg.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re beautiful.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling myself blush. “Do you know a lot of Irish?”
“Just whatever I learned in school. And a few phrases to help me flirt with girls.”
“Does it work?”
“Sometimes.” He releases my chin. “Níl mé ag iarraidh go dtéann tú.”
“And that?”
He smiles. “Don’t worry about it.”
I’m about to argue with him, but then he leans in again and kisses me. The first brush of his lips against mine is gentle. He pulls away,but not much. He searches my face, and I thinkyes, yes, yes,unable to speak but hopeful he can hear me anyway.
The next kiss is anything but gentle. I try as hard as I can to stay still but can’t help myself. I pull him to me until we’re pressed up against the wall. His mouth is demanding, taking whatever I give him. When his hands find my hair, it isn’t one strand, but as much as he can hold. One of his legs presses between mine, and theyes, yes, yesin my head becomesmore, more, more.My hands are in his hair, and then I’m unbuttoning his coat. He tugs at the sweater I’m wearing—his sweater—but it’s tricky in such a cramped space, and this is one of those hoodies without a zipper, so I help him pull it off before flinging it onto the stairs. He has me against the wall again, kissing me as his hands slip beneath my shirt, and the sound he makes when he touches me, thewayhe touches me, has me actually considering having sex with him in this stairwell.
But between the two of us, Jack has the most control, of course. When he pulls away, the noise in my brain is nothing but a pleasant hum.
