The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

this time, almost torturously, so that her body was a raw, aching mass of nerves.
    Her skin was damp and slick. The heat of her all but stopped his heart with need. She moved against him, under him, with a smooth and sinuous female rhythm that made him ache for joining. In the lamplight his eyes were narrowed, focused on her face as he strained against his own need and kept her shuddering on the edge.
    Quaking, she sobbed out his name.
    He drove himself into her, more violently than he meant to. But she arched up to meet him, accept him, matching the desperate pace that slapped flesh against flesh and had heart thundering against heart. Glorying in it, he lifted her hips, going deeper, pushing them both toward delirium.
    “No one but you, Brenna.” The throbbing in his blood was a drumbeat, primitive, constant. “Say it back to me. Say it back.”
    “No one but you.” As she said it, her world exploded. Swamped with love, he emptied himself into her.
     
     
     

 
FIFTEEN
     
     
     
    I T WAS HER habit to wake early and get on with the business of the day. On the rare occasions when Brenna slept late, it was usually because she’d had more than her fair share to drink the evening past.
    So as she’d had nothing but fizzy water the night before, it was a surprise to see the sun was well up when she opened her eyes. The second surprise came on the heels of the first when she noted the only thing keeping her from rolling off the bed was the arm that Shawn had banded around her.
    He’d sprawled himself in the middle of the mattress, shoving her to the outer edge. But, she thought, at least he was considerate enough to see that she stayed there and didn’t fall on her face.
    She tried to shift around, gave him a shove so that she could get free and climb out. But he tightened his grip and pulled her back until she was curved against him in the cozy spoon position.
    “You might be the lazy sort who lies in bed half the morning, but I’m not.” She started to wiggle free, and wiggling, discovered the interesting fact that not all of him was asleep. “Wake up ready, do you?” She said it with a chuckle and pushed at his arms. “Well, I don’t. I want a shower and some coffee.”
    His answer was a grunt, but his hand snuck up to cover her breast.
    “And just keep your hands to yourself. I don’t want any of this fooling around until I’ve had my coffee.”
    He simply parted her legs and proved her a liar. “Well.” His voice was thick with sleep, but the arm that slid under her was strong enough to hold her in place. “You can just lie there, then, while I use you.”
    Later, when she staggered into the shower, she thought it wouldn’t be such a sacrifice to be used in such a way of a morning every now and again.
    She turned the water on, keeping it on the cool side, as her skin was still hot and flushed. After stepping into the old claw-foot tub, she tugged the curtain around, then ducked her head under the stingy spray to wet her hair.
    It wasn’t an easy business with so little water and so much hair, but she had nearly accomplished it when the curtain jingled back. She opened one eye and fixed it on Shawn.
    “I don’t suppose you can give me much trouble in here so soon after that.”
    “Care to wager on it?” he asked as he stepped in with her.
    She’d have lost.
    Her legs weren’t quite steady when she snapped down a towel. “Keep your distance now,” she warned, wrapping it around her while her hair dripped everywhere.“I’ve no more time for you. I’ve got to get home.”
    “I suppose you don’t have time for any griddle cakes, then.”
    She shoved wet hair out of her eyes. “You’d be making griddle cakes?”
    “I had a mind to, but if you’re in such a rush, I’ll just scramble an egg for myself.”
    He was already dried off and was brushing his teeth, an easy act of intimacy that barely registered. “I suppose I’m not in such a terrible rush. Have you a spare toothbrush around here?”
    “I don’t, but I think under the circumstances you can use mine.”
    She kept one at Darcy’s, along with a few other essentials, but she’d been too distracted to remember to gather them up the night before. “Would you mind if I left a few things here, for convenience sake?”
    He leaned over the sink to rinse so she didn’t see the gleam of triumph in his eyes. Another step, he thought. “There’s room.” He handed her the toothbrush. “Use whatever you need for now.