The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

understood that if either let go they’d rush blindly to the next step.
    Her heart leaped against his, a quick kick of excitement that sent his own racing.
    It thrilled and it stunned her that it should be as wild, as near to feral as it had before. A storm brewed inside her, wanted to whip high and free. And God, she wanted to ride it, even at the risk of finding herself battered and wrecked at the end.
    Here, now, what did it matter where they were, or who they were or why it seemed so desperately right?
    When his lips left hers to trail to her temple, into her hair, to rest quietly there, the sweetness of the gesture after the passion left her shaken and weak. And allowed caution to return.
    “If such activities under rainbows bring luck,” Darcy began, “the pair of us are set for life.”
    He couldn’t laugh, nor come up with a joke in return. Something was churning inside him, something complicated, folding itself cannily in with simple desire. “How many times have you felt like that?”
    Before she could answer he released her hands, put his own on her shoulders to draw her away enough for their eyes to meet. “Give me a straight answer. How many times have you felt the way you felt just now?”
    She could have lied. She knew herself skilled at the careless and casual lie. But only when it didn’t matter. His eyes were intense, direct, and, she thought, just a little angry. She found she couldn’t blame him for it. “I can’t say I ever have, excepting last night.”
    “Neither have I. Neither have I,” he repeated, and let her go so he could pace. “That’s something to think about.”
    “Trevor, I think we both know that the hotter the flame, the quicker it flashes, and the sooner it goes cold.”
    “Maybe.” He thought of Gwen, the words she’d spoken to him. “We’d both know that going in.”
    “We would.” Just as they both accepted they weren’t capable of falling in love. He was right, she thought. They were a sad pair. “We’d know,” she agreed. “Just as we both know we’ll sleep together before we’re done, but there are matters that tangle it up. Business matters.”
    “Business isn’t involved in this.”
    “No, and it shouldn’t be. But since we have a business relationship—mutual professional interests that involve my family, there are things to be discussed and agreed upon before we roll ourselves into bed. I want you, and having you is my intention, but I have terms.”
    “What do you want, a goddamn contract?”
    “Nothing so formal—and don’t take that tone with me. You’re just annoyed that the blood’s still in your lap and you didn’t think of it first.”
    He opened his mouth, then closed it again and turned away. She had a point, damn it. “So we work out what we want and expect out of our personal relationship and agree to keep it separate, entirely, from the business one.”
    “We do, yes. And, as you said, that’s something to think about. You might think that I sleep with anyone I find appealing or even handy.” She kept her voice cool as he turned back. “But the fact is, I don’t. I’m careful and selective, and I have to have some affection for a man, some understanding of him, before I take him to bed.”
    “Darcy, I understood that after an hour in your company. I’m also selective.” He walked back to her. “I like you, and I’m beginning to understand you. And when the time comes, we’ll take each other to bed.”
    She relaxed into a smile. “I think we’ve just had a serious conversation. We’ll have to be careful not to get in the habit of it and frighten ourselves. Now, I’m sorry to say, you have to take me back.”
    She held out a hand.
    “Next time we’ll drive along the coast.”
    “Next time, you’ll be taking me out to a candlelight dinner, buying me champagne, and kissing my hand in that way you have.” She glanced up, caught another glimpse of the fading rainbows as they crossed the wet grass. “But we can drive along the coast road to get there.”
    “Sounds like a deal. Get a night off.”
    “I’ll start working on that.”

 
     
     
     
SEVEN
     
     
    W ARM, DRY WEATHER returned to paint both sky and sea the vivid blue of coming summer. Clouds that hovered were white and harmless, and the flowers of Ardmore drank in the sun as they had the rain. The round tower cast its long and slender shadow over the graves it guarded. And high on the cliffs the wind blew gentle ripples over the water in