First and Only: Callaghan Brothers, Book 2 (2 page)

She was just about to suggest another location when their eyes met.  The words she was about to utter froze upon her lips.  Stunned shock raced through her as every bodily system went into sudden and total lockdown. 

This man didn’t just look like Ian Callaghan.  He
was
Ian Callaghan, the man she had secretly loved and lusted over for the better part of her adult life.  Even after ten years, she would recognize those perfect, crystal blue eyes and devastating, mischievous smile anywhere.

He offered her an apologetic smile.  “Please,” he said, his voice rumbling through her chest and settling somewhere between her thighs.  “Have pity on me.”

Somehow her heart resumed beating, and her mind began functioning again, though it was admittedly running at minimum capacity while the rest of her tried to process the man before her.  Speech and coherent thought were not attainable quite yet, so minimal movements were about all she could manage. 

Lexi’s eyes flicked toward the seat he had previously occupied.  The blonde cougar was gone.  In answer to her unspoken question, he glanced toward the bathroom.  Ah, thought Lexi with equal parts horror and amusement.  He saw his chance at escape and was going for it.

Without a word Lexi lifted her pack and prepared to scoot over, but Ian apparently had other ideas. 

“I’ll take the window, if you don’t mind,” he said quietly.  She cast a doubtful look at his long, muscular legs.  The well-worn denim clung to them, leaving little to the imagination and doing absolutely nothing but encouraging the ridiculous fantasies spawning uncontrollably in her mind.  Fantasies that were all too familiar.

He grinned what had to be the sexiest half smile she had ever seen.  Honestly, she thought, regaining a little more of her ability to think, that thing should be illegal for the all the effect it was having on her, and, she’d bet, every other post-pubescent female he had ever used it on. 

“Don’t worry,” he whispered in a tone way too seductive for the back half of a bus.  “I have a talent for fitting into tight spaces quite well.”  He added a wink for emphasis, and Lexi felt a rush of warm, wet heat between her legs.  Yep, definitely illegal.

Without waiting for her to answer - which was good because she would have sounded like a babbling idiot had she even tried to speak - he placed both his bag and hers in the overhead compartment – dear Lord, every muscle in his chest and arms rippled right before her very eyes - and slid in beside her.  She tried not to think of the lush package sliding by in front of her face – her eyes, her mouth, her tongue – and failed miserably.  This man was her every sexual fantasy come to life, up close and personal. 

Lexi tried to swallow, but ended up closing her eyes in humiliation when her throat refused to cooperate and she gulped audibly.  She could have sworn she heard a small chuckle, but it was hard to hear much of anything over the blood violently pulsing in and around her ears.

His long legs brushed against hers as he somehow folded himself into the seat beside her and made it look graceful.  Who knew the light touch of worn, faded denim could be so unbelievably erotic?

He had only just gotten himself settled when the blonde emerged from the tiny bathroom space and proceeded up the aisle, freshly perfumed and sending Lexi into an immediate sneezing fit.  The woman turned back to shoot her an irritated glance and noticed Ian now sitting next to her.  Her glance quickly turned to a scowl.

Lexi chanced a peek over at Ian, who was now slouched down slightly in his new seat, arms crossed over his sizable chest, and ball cap pulled down over his eyes.  Turning back to the woman, she offered a little smile and shrugged apologetically, but all she received was a whole lot of nasty through narrowed eyes, tightened lips, and a look that gave Lexi goosebumps.

“Is she gone?” he murmured so that only Lexi could hear.

“Yes,” she whispered back out of the side of her mouth.  “But I think she wants to kill me.”

“I’ll protect you,” he chuckled in a low, soft rumble that reminded Lexi of a tiger’s purr and set scores of butterflies alight in her core.  He shifted a little so his broad shoulders touched hers, inclining his head toward her.  He inhaled deeply, a smile curving those sinfully wicked lips.  “Ahhh.  Infinitely better.  Thanks.”

A few minutes later, the steady rise and fall of his arms across his chest suggested that he had fallen asleep.  Lexi finally started breathing normally again.  For as long as she could remember, Ian Callaghan had had that effect on her.  Apparently ten years and twelve hundred miles had done little to dampen it. 

She took the rare opportunity to study him discreetly.  If she did it right, she figured, she could use what she saw as fuel for several weeks’ worth of late-night fantasies at least.  Because that’s all they would ever be:  fantasies.   

He was harder looking than she remembered.  Darker.  Leaner.  More muscled.  More of a man, less of the boy he had once been, though there was still a roguish playfulness about him that she was sure had convinced a lot of girls to play naughty over the years.  Lexi had always been one of the good girls, but the funny thing was, something about being so close to him made her want to be naughty, too.

She was able to discern the bottom of a tattoo extending just beyond his short sleeve.  Of course.  The Callaghan crest.  She remembered Kieran going on and on about it, how he couldn’t wait until he was eighteen so he could get one, too.  Each of the Callaghan brothers sported the ink, customized with a design that symbolized their particular skill.  Kieran wanted a dragon, something to indicate his passion with martial arts.  She wondered what Ian’s was.  He’d always been super good with electronics, if she remembered correctly.

He smelled better than she remembered, too, and that was a bad thing, because even back then there was something about him – whether it was the soap he used, or the deodorant, or just his God-given natural scent – that seemed to throw females into instant heat.  Dear God, he smelled so good she wanted to bury her head in his neck and lick him right then and there to see if he tasted just as fine.  She sighed, a sound of secret suffering with which she was intimately familiar. 

Ian neither recognized nor remembered her; that much was obvious.  She wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or insulted.  Flattered, because she had really blossomed since the last time they had seen each other.  Insulted, because, well, she would know him anywhere. 

But then, she already knew Ian had never been interested in her.  Even if she hadn’t been a couple of years younger than him, she had never really been his type.  On the plain side of being considered pretty, she was quiet and shy.  The type of girl no one noticed unless she did something to put herself on the radar.  And despite her instant and undeniable attraction to Ian Callaghan, she hadn’t been willing to do what so many of the other girls were for a stolen night with the bad boy of the bunch.  No, Lexi had always wanted to save herself for the right man. 

She almost snorted.  As if there was such a thing.

Oh, well.  The past was the past, and none of it really mattered.  Soon enough they would go their separate ways and she would probably never see him again anyway.  It was for the best.

* * *

I
an wasn’t really asleep, but he found feigning slumber a great way to learn a lot about people who thought he was.  They tended to let their guards down.  Just like the tasty little thing next to him.  The one whose light, delicate scent filled his lungs and invaded his body.  The one who was surreptitiously studying him now under the protection of her hood and from behind those shades.

Within seconds of his innocuous deceit, she started breathing normally again.  This told him several things.  First, she tended to be rather shy and reserved.  This held intense promise.  Females that were shy and reserved on the outside often hid a deep passion within, and he was a great fan of passion.

Second, she was not the kind of woman who slept around, also a definite plus.  Her reaction to him was not one of a woman experienced in dealing with highly sexual men such as himself, but more like the gentle girl next door.  He had always leaned more toward the darker, the forbidden, so it was a bit of a surprise to find himself so intrigued by this woman, who exuded innocence.

That led right into his third impression, and that was that she was of limited sexual experience, if not a virgin.  The way she tensed every time he “accidentally” brushed against her was proof in and of itself.  That shouldn’t have aroused him as much as it did.  Usually he avoided such virtuosity like the plague, preferring those with a little more experience to play with, but there was something unusual about this one.  Something that he felt instantly drawn to.

She was studying him, he could tell.  He could sense it.  He actually felt her gaze rake over his arms and chest; knew when it settled in his lap, and she was treated to a glimpse of the physical effect her nearness was having on him.  Of course, the slight catch in her breath was a pretty good indication, too.  He felt sure that had he opened his eyes right then he would have seen that lovely flush across her face again.  It had been a long time since he’d been that close to such innocence.

Despite her obvious wariness, he found her very easy to be around.  How long had it been since he had been around someone who didn’t want something from him?  Not to mention, she smelled like sunshine.  Such a nice change after the potent perfume he’d had to deal with for the first part of the trip.

It was adorable when he’d caught her staring at him, and strangely arousing.  Ian wasn’t a fool.  He knew women shot him appreciative glances all the time.  But this one – he had a feeling she didn’t look at many men like she had been looking at him, and she certainly wasn’t used to being caught at it.  She had let her guard down, something else she probably didn’t do very often.  He shouldn’t have gotten so much pleasure from her reaction, he knew, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed it. 

And it had made him harder than hell.

Those final two hours of the trip had to be the most pleasant he had ever spent on a bus, he decided.  Moving away from the blonde had been a brilliant move.  She continued to cast suggestive glances back toward him, but he found it increasingly easy to ignore them.  His new seat mate had drifted off herself some time ago.  His right arm had become her pillow, not that he minded in the least.  Her cheek was soft and warm against his skin.  Her breath was moist and smelled like peppermint.  And she had the most arousing breathy little sighs that sent bolts of heat straight down between his legs.  Unbidden images of her making those little noises while curled up next to him naked in his bed didn’t help.  He gave himself a mental shake.

As if sensing his discomfort, she sighed softly, one arm curling tighter around his bicep.  That made him smile.  He spent his life fighting against the bad guys, but somehow her simple trust – even if it was given subconsciously – made him feel like more of a hero than his last mission.

Ian glanced down at her hands where she subconsciously held on to him.  Small, with slim, pretty fingers.  Nails, real ones, painted a pretty pearly white, filed to just beyond her fingertips in a graceful curve.  No bands or gems on the left hand, always a good sign.  On the right, however, a spiral of gold adorned her thumb.  Looking closer, he saw that it was a delicate dragon, curling around her, its talons and tail gripping her protectively.  It was quite beautiful, actually, and reminded him of a tattoo his younger brother, Kieran, had gotten several years earlier.

Ian felt a pang of sorrow when the bus pulled into the station. They would soon part ways.  Maybe it was because he was coming home from a particularly nasty mission.  Maybe it was because he was feeling especially restless these days, now that his brother Jake had found his
croie
, his soul mate.   He didn’t know what the reason was, didn’t really care.  What did matter to him, and what had him confused as hell, was that for the past two hours he hadn’t felt any of that, only peace.  Maybe he could get her number before he left, try to hook up in a couple of days when he had some free time.

He wasn’t sure what came over him, but he impulsively placed a kiss upon the top of her head before the vehicle came to a complete stop.  The light fragrance of citrus and vanilla clung to the thin cotton hood, making him dream of pushing it back and burying his face in her hair, but there was no time. 

Pulling back just as quickly, he feigned sleep again so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed when she woke up and realized she had wrapped herself around his arm.  Sure enough, she awoke within seconds and jerked away.  Ian felt the sudden chill that accompanied the lack of her body against his.

Ian stretched, seeing it as the perfect excuse to deliberately brush against her again.  He was delighted when she didn’t try to avoid the contact.  Even more delighted when he realized she was getting off at this stop as well.

She stood and reached for the overhead compartment, stretching on her tiptoes and extending her reach.  Ian grinned.  Since he had only seen her sitting down, he hadn’t realized she was quite so petite.  It gave him an excellent chance to play the chivalrous male. 

“Here,” he said, rising in a fluid movement.  “Let me.”

In the limited space of the bus, he was aware of her lips just a hair’s breadth away from his chest.  The top of her head barely reached his chin.  He shook off the unexpectedly powerful urge to lower his arms and wrap them around her, tucking her close against him. 

“Uh-oh,” he said, so quietly that only she could hear him. 

His little seat mate turned her attention away from his chest (had she just discreetly inhaled?) and looked toward the older blonde waiting to catch him on the way out.  He heard her take a deep breath, then straighten her shoulders and look up into his face. 

“I would love to have dinner with you,” she said rather loudly, surprising him.

Ian froze for a second until he realized what she was doing.  Then he leaned down and whispered, “I think I love you.”