Kate Hoffmann - Kellan

“Wait,” she murmured. “We need to talk.”

“I don’t care what you have to tell me,” Kellan said. “I don’t need to know. It doesn’t change this.”

Gelsey held tight as his mouth came down on hers in a desperate kiss. All the doubts and insecurities she’d felt over the past few days dissolved and she surrendered to the pleasure that raced through her body at his touch.

She reached for the buttons of his shirt, needing to touch warm skin and hard muscle. Her lips trailed her fingers as she tugged the shirt from the waist of his jeans. Frustrated by her pace, Kellan shrugged out of his jacket, then tore the shirt off his body and tossed it aside.

A long breath slipped out of her body as she ran her hands over his naked chest. It had been only a few days, but it was as if she were parched with thirst for the sight of him, the scent of him, the taste of his tongue in her mouth.

He slipped his hands beneath the hem of her skirt, sliding it up along her thighs as he stepped between her legs. Her fingers trembled as she worked on the button fly on his jeans.

“God, I missed you,” he murmured as Gelsey skimmed his jeans down over his hips.

Grabbing her legs, he pulled her against his body and a heartbeat later, he was inside her. Gelsey moaned softly as he began to move, her body falling into a familiar rhythm. How had she ever done without this? Every nerve in her body cried out for his touch, and the ache deep inside her was suddenly soothed with each stroke.

This man was all she ever needed and everything she’d ever wanted. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe that the feelings between them could last. This desire could…but desire was a very different thing than love.

A SMALL CROWD WAS GATHERED on the main street of Ballykirk as Kellan drove into town. “What the hell is going on here?”

Danny peered through the windscreen. “I don’t know. Isn’t that Maeve’s shop?”

Kellan had left Gelsey asleep in the cottage that morning while he and Danny drove to Bantry to pick up supplies for the pub. They’d had a late night, having waited until nearly midnight before leaving the flat above the pub and sneaking back up the hill to the cottage.

Rosie Perry, the owner of the only bed-and-breakfast in Ballykirk, had passed along a message that the photographer had taken a room and was planning to stay for at least another day or two. She’d promised to call Kellan with any news of his movements.

Kellan reached into his pocket for his mobile, then cursed beneath his breath as he noticed the battery levels were dead. “Can you see what’s going on?”

“There’s the photographer,” Danny said. “And it looks like Gelsey is there along with Dealy, Markus and Johnnie. Maeve’s there, too.”

Kellan pulled the car up to the curb and hopped out, closing the distance between him and the crowd in a few long steps. Strangely, Gelsey didn’t seem to be in any distress. She was smiling for the crowd as she spoke.

“Maybe you can get a photo of Maeve and I under the sign.” She pointed above her head and the photographer reluctantly focused on the pair of them and clicked his shutter.

“What about you and Antonio?” he said.

“Oh, that’s old news. Now, let me tell you about our new product line. It’s all natural, made from a special kind of kelp harvested off the coast of the Aran Islands. Here, get a photo of this jar. Isn’t it beautiful? Mrs. Logan has tried the facial scrub.” She drew Ardelle Logan out of the crowd. “Tell this nice gentleman what you thought.”

Ardelle Logan held the jar up for the photographer, smiling as she spoke. “It made my skin so wonderfully soft. It doesn’t smell very pretty, but it works.”

“Perhaps we can get a photo with our tourism committee too,” Gelsey suggested.

“Do you have any plans to return to Europe, Gigi? Maybe to see Antonio? Is it true that he came here looking to take you back?”

“Oh, no. I’m happy right here. Helping Maeve turn this shop into everything that it can be. Would you like to come inside? I’d love to show you around. Wait, maybe we should get a few more photos outside.”

“And what about the charges that are still pending against you? There’s been talk that after the criminal trial, the guy is going to sue you.”

The crowd around her went silent and Kellan glanced over at Danny. “Charges?”

“I-I’m sure that I’ll be cleared of any wrongdoing,” Gelsey said.

“And what if you’re not?” the photographer asked.

Kellan pushed through the crowd to Gelsey’s side. “Listen, I think you got what you came here for. It’s time to leave, mate.”

“Who are you? Are you and Gigi together? Does Antonio know about this, Gigi?”

Kellan grabbed his arm and pulled him along through the crowd. “She doesn’t want you here. Leave her alone.”

The photographer wrenched out of his grasp and began to snap pictures of Kellan. But within seconds, most of the men in the crowd surrounded them both, moving in on the photographer.

He held up his camera. “All right, all right. I get the message.” He hoisted it over his shoulder, then nervously walked through the crowd. “She’s turned into a crashing bore anyway. She was much more fun when she was drunk.” He turned back and looked at Kellan. “You’re not Quinn, are you?”

Kellan shook his head. “Rooney is the name. I run the petrol station near the docks. You’re welcome to come down and take a few snaps of my place.” He slipped his arm around Danny. “This is my brother. He helps out.”

“Do you know Kellan Quinn?”

“Oh, he doesn’t live here. He lives in Dublin,” Dealy said.

“That’s what I’ve been told,” the photographer replied.

“I’m sure he’s in the book,” Markus added. “K-E-double L-A-N. Ring him and he’ll probably let you take his picture, too.”

“Either you’re all crazy or you’re acting like you are,” the photographer said. Kellan watched as he strode down the street to his car, got inside and headed out of town.

The crowd slowly dispersed, chatting amongst themselves about the possibility of being on the cover of Hello! or the Tattler. They didn’t seem to care about the bomb the photographer had just dropped. What kind of trouble was she in? And why would it require a trial?

Before long, Gelsey was the only one standing in front of the shop. “I’m going to take the car down to the pub,” Danny said.

“Great. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” Kellan stepped up to Gelsey, then looked over his shoulder to make sure there weren’t any other photographers lurking about. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “He’ll be back. Don’t think he believed that story you told him. They’re much smarter than that. He’ll pay someone for more information and he’ll catch a photo of us together and he’ll have his picture and story to sell.”

“What story? We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“Gigi Woodson hiding out in Irish village with new boy toy. Do you really want to be known around the world as my boy toy?”

Kellan chuckled softly, then leaned close to drop a kiss on her lips. “I don’t know. Do I?”

“Definitely not,” she replied.

“So, now that you’re the biggest celebrity in town, I suppose you’re not going to want to go out to lunch with me, are you?”

Gelsey shook her head. “Maybe we should-”

“Why not?”

“I just think we ought to-”

“But I’m really hungry.”

Gelsey reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out an envelope, waving it in front of her face. “All right. My paycheck. Maeve gave it to me this morning. I’m pretty sure it should buy us lunch.”

“Where are you going to take me?” he asked.

“There’s only one place in town that serves lunch. It’s called the Speckled Hound. You ever been there?”

“I don’t believe I have,” Kellan said, playing along. “Lead on.”

She slipped her hand into his and they walked down the street. “How was your trip to Dublin?” she asked.

“Good,” he said. “Everything went well. It’s another job, this time just outside Waterford.”

“What about the job in France?”

“We’re still considering that,” Kellan said. “It’s a big commitment and I’m not sure Jordan wants to spend that much time away from Danny.”

“Right,” she murmured. “I guess she wouldn’t.”

“And what about you?” Kellan asked, turning to face Gelsey and pulling her to a stop. “I understand you have a little problem with the law in Italy?”

Gelsey stopped short. “Now you want to talk about that?”

“Do you?”

“Do you want the long story or the short?”

“Short,” he said.

“I accidentally hit a photographer and broke his nose. He’s filed assault charges. Antonio is my only witness. The hearing for the case is scheduled for January. If I don’t win, I might have to go to jail-for a little while.” She drew a deep breath and let it out. “There. That wasn’t so bad.”

“Is this why you’ve been so reluctant to talk about the future?”

Gelsey shrugged. “In part. There are some other things that we probably should talk about. Stupid things that I’ve done. I just didn’t want you to think less of me. And sooner or later, someone is going to tell you these things or you’re going to read about them and maybe you won’t like me as much anymore.”

“Well, I don’t think that will happen. But it might help if we didn’t have to sleep in separate beds. Hell, in separate houses. Why are we doing that?”

“I guess I’m wondering that, too,” Gelsey said. “But it’s different now. Before, I was staying with you because I was running away from my old life. Now I have a new life and I have to figure out how I want that life to be.”

“What do you need to figure out, Gels? It’s not that difficult.”

“All right. Where do we live? You have a place in Dublin, we can’t live there. The cottage belongs to your parents, we can’t stay there forever. I have a house, we could live there, but I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that.”