Danny

6

DANNY AND JORDAN ARRIVED in Dublin by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Danny insisted on driving Jordan’s Volvo, making it from County Cork to Dublin in record time. As they raced over the curving highways, he felt as if they were setting off on a grand adventure, even though it was only a night in the city.

They weren’t boss and employee now. They were a couple having a little holiday together. She was his lover, his girlfriend, his date. And it felt good to be like everyone else in the world. Just two people falling in love.

They did some shopping for linens, then checked into a room at a nice hotel. Though Jordan tried to insist on paying for it, expensing it along with the sheets, Danny refused. He wanted the weekend to be his treat and Jordan reluctantly accepted. In truth, he had all sorts of things he wanted to show her.

They got dressed for the opening, then went out for a stroll before dinner. O’Connell Street was famous for its shops, but Danny had decided to take Jordan on a sculpture tour. They began with the statue of James Joyce and then moved on to Daniel O’Connell. James Larkin was next. The last sculpture was inside an imposing building.

“I used to come here all the time when I was at university,” Danny said, holding the door open for her. “It’s a pretty special place in my family history.”

“What is this, a museum?”

“No,” Danny said. “It’s the post office.”

“You spent time at the post office?”

Danny nodded. “I know. It’s a bit strange, but I’ll explain.” They stood in the center of the lobby, Danny holding tight to her hand. “This is where the rebellion began. This is where my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side made his stand against the British soldiers. The Easter Uprising was kind of like your revolution.” He pointed to the statue. “That’s Cuchulainn.”

“Did he fight in the rebellion?” Jordan asked.

Danny shook his head. “No, he’s one of our mythological heroes. His big victory was the cattle raid of Cooley.”

“He stole cows?”

“No, he protected the bull of Ulster from Queen Maeve’s soldiers.”

“He protected a cow-”

“A bull. The bull.”

“And he gets a statue.”

“I guess he’s a martyr to cattle protection. Queen Maeve set her sorcerers on him and killed him after he saved the bull. The statue is in memory of the fourteen rebels that were executed after the Easter Uprising.”

“That makes much more sense,” Jordan said.

They stared up at the statue for a long time before Jordan slipped her arms around Danny’s waist and gave him a hug. “I like it. I think it’s the nicest one we’ve seen tonight. Except for yours, of course.”

“You are not required to like my work,” Danny said. “The sculptures you’re going to see tonight are pretty abstract.”

“I’m going to love your work,” she said. “I know I will.”

They strolled out onto the street. There was a chill in the air and Danny slipped out of his jacket and draped it around Jordan’s shoulders. “Have I told you how beautiful you look in that dress?” he asked.

“Yes. Lots of times. At least twenty since I put it on at the hotel.”

“Well, then this is twenty-one. You do look incredible. You’re going to be the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”

“And you’re required to say that,” she teased.

“No,” Danny replied, shaking his head. “That’s the thing about you. You don’t have any idea how pretty you are. I think you’ve spent so much time trying to be one of the guys that you don’t have any sense of who you are as a woman.”

“I did feel that way,” Jordan said, stunned that he’d sensed it. “You make me feel…feminine.” She held up the sleeve of his jacket. “Like this. My brothers would never think to offer me a jacket if I was cold. They’d just yell at me for forgetting to bring my own along. And they’d never tell me I was pretty. They’d just make some stupid comment about my pigeon-toes or my knobby knees. Or they’d start in on my chest.”

“They make fun of your chest?”

“It’s often the topic around the Thanksgiving table. They think that teasing me is great family fun. I take a lot of abuse for being the only girl. Especially when my father encourages it.”

Danny frowned. “Next time you have a family dinner, you call me. I’ll come and stand up for you. I’m pretty good with my fists and I’m the master of the verbal put-down. Your brothers wouldn’t pick on you again. Truth told, my two brothers and I could best your four brothers in a good scrap.”

“That’s not the worst of it. My mother tells me if I’d just get married and bring a husband home, my brothers would show me more respect.” Jordan paused. “Not that I’d expect you to marry me. It-it’s just what my mother said.”

“Do you ever think about getting married?”

“Sure. I think every woman does. But it’s not something that I’m focused on. What about you?” It was the truth. Since meeting Danny she had thought about it more than she had before; but it still didn’t mean that she wanted to marry him. That would require a complete shift in her priorities.

“I don’t really think about it either,” Danny said. “But it’s a possibility. My brother Riley met Nan and now they’re going to get married and that was just this last summer.” He shook his head. “It’s a strange thing. A wee bit frightening. That things can change so quickly and there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Marriage just hasn’t fit into my plans.”

“Mine neither,” Danny said. Not that it couldn’t, he thought. But he wasn’t ready to say that out loud.

A long silence grew between them as they walked down the sidewalk to the restaurant. He hadn’t felt so uncomfortable around Jordan since the day they’d met. Everything had come so easily these past weeks. But maybe this was a conversation that was unavoidable. How much longer could they go on ignoring the future? Sooner or later, they’d have to talk about it.

“You should come to New York sometime,” Jordan said. “We have a lot of statues and sculptures there.”

“You’ve got the big one,” he said.

“The big one?”

“The Statue of Liberty. That’s one thing I’d really like to see.”

“Then you’ll have to come,” she said. It was the closest they’d come to talking about a future together. And Danny was pleased. At least there was a possibility they’d see each other again after she left Ireland.

“What else would we see, besides the inside of your flat?” he asked.

“Depends on when you come. If you come in the fall, we’d go to Central Park. At Christmas, we’d look at the windows at Bloomie’s. In the winter, there’s skating at Rockefeller Center. In the spring there’s baseball at Yankee Stadium. And summer is weekends in the Hamptons. And then we’d eat hot dogs and visit museums and go to Chinatown for Szechuan. We’d take a carriage ride at midnight and go to the top of the Empire State Building and have corned beef sandwiches at the Stage Door Deli and see a Broadway show.”

“Jaysus, I can see why you’d want to go home. Ireland must seem like such a bore to you.”

“No,” she said. “I love Ireland. I didn’t at first, but I think I’m going to miss it after I leave. Who knows, I may come back for visit or two.”

Danny chuckled. “I’d like that. Maybe you could find another house to fix up. Kellan’s always doing that. You could do another project with him.”

“Actually, Kellan talked to me about that. He offered me a job.”

Gobsmacked, Danny wasn’t sure what to say. Why hadn’t she told him this? Why hadn’t Kellan mentioned it? Was there a reason they’d keep it a secret from him? “Yeah,” he murmured, maintaining an even tone. “That would be really nice.”

“But, I think if I come back, I’d want to spend my time seeing Ireland first,” she said. “Take some time off. Do a little trip around the country. Like your parents do. What is that called?”

“Caravanning,” Danny replied. “So it’s good we talked about this. I certainly feel better.”

“I do too,” Jordan said.

It wasn’t much, but Danny did feel relieved. They’d defined their relationship a bit. They’d become so close it had been hard to believe that they’d go their separate ways and never see each other again. Now, they wouldn’t.

“And we can always Skype,” Jordan said.

“I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like fun. Can we do it tonight? And does it involve taking off your clothes?”

“Sometimes it does involve the removal of clothing,” Jordan said. “We’ll talk about that later.”

“Are you hungry? We can eat or we can stop by the gallery.” He pointed across the street. “It’s just there. It won’t be busy and they always serve finger food.”

“Let’s go now,” Jordan said. “We can always eat later.”

He took her hand and they crossed the street, then stopped short before opening the door for her. “What’s wrong?” Jordan asked.

“I’m a bit nervous,” he said.

“People will love your work,” Jordan said.

“I’m not worried about people,” Danny said, “I’m worried about you. You’re the only one who matters.”

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. And there it was. No truer words had ever been spoken. If he’d thought he could keep himself from loving Jordan, then he was sadly mistaken. It had already happened. And there was no going back.

BY THE TIME the show officially began, the gallery was packed with guests and press. Jordan had been to a number of openings in Manhattan and this was no different. There was excitement in the air and everyone milled around the pieces, wineglasses dangling from their hands.

Danny stood between his two sculptures, talking to interested guests while Jordan stood nearby, sipping her wine. He seemed like a different person in this environment, so composed and serious, not at all like the funny, teasing man she’d come to know. The suit made him look older, more respectable, and, even though he hadn’t combed his hair, he was still dangerously attractive.

As expected, Jordan fell in love with the sculptures the moment she saw them. He’d told her they were abstract, but there was something about them that brought to mind birds soaring on the air currents over the cliffs near the manor.

The sculptures had been made of copper, the thin sheets bent and crumpled and assembled to create a sense of motion. She could imagine the pieces in a museum or a private home or even the lobby of a public building. Considering the number of people gathered around Danny, Jordan felt confident that the sculptures would be sold before the night was through.

“What do you think?”

Jordan turned to find a woman standing next to her. She was about the same age as Jordan, and dressed entirely in black, her hair cropped short and trendy glasses perched on her nose.

“Sally McClary. I’m the art critic for the Evening Post. You seem to be captivated by his work.”

“Oh, I am,” Jordan said. “I think it’s extraordinary.”

Sally nodded. “Yes, he is, isn’t he.”

“Oh, I thought we were talking about his work.”

“I am,” Sally said. “Not his art work, although that’s quite extraordinary, too.”

Jordan frowned. What was this woman getting at? What other work did- “Oh, you’ve seen his commercial work? He’s an excellent blacksmith.”

“Oh, goodness, no. I’m talking about the man. The gorgeous man beneath those clothes.” She took a slow sip of her wine. “He’s like a fine work of art himself. Strip the clothes off of him and you could stare at him all day long, couldn’t you?” She smiled slyly. “A pity he doesn’t spend more time in Dublin. He has quite a group of fans here.”

Jordan wasn’t sure how to respond. She pasted a smile on her face. “So what do you think of the art?”

“Oh, it’s fabulous, of course. But then, I’ve always been a patron. He needs to work more. There’s not enough of his work out there to make an impact on the market. And he needs to show outside Ireland. London. New York. Even Los Angeles. Oh, they’d love him there, don’t you think?”

Jordan nodded. “Yes, I suppose they would.”

“Well, enjoy the rest of the evening,” Sally said. “And take a look at the Deirdan etchings. He’s the next big thing. Mark my words.”

Jordan watched the woman weave her way through the crowds. She stopped and spoke with Danny, resting her hand on his chest as she leaned in close. He smiled and nodded and Jordan wondered at the easy familiarity. Had they been lovers?

She’d never really considered Danny’s past. For all she knew, his sex life had begun the moment they met. But that was silly. He’d been seducing girls since high school and even at two or three females a year, that was still a considerable number.

As Sally walked away, he glanced over and caught Jordan’s eye. Was that a trace of worry she saw in his face? Jordan watched him over the rim of her wineglass, trying to read his expression. When he excused himself, she gulped down most of her wine, and crossed the room to meet him.

“Are you all right?” he said.

“Sure. Fine,” she said. “I was just talking to an art critic. Sally something.”

“Right,” he said. “Sally McClary. She works for the Evening Post. She’s a fan.”

“I know,” Jordan said. “She told me. She seems to be a very devoted fan.”

Danny tipped his head as he studied her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know. She’s the one who started the conversation with me. I got the impression that you two might have been…”

“Did she say that?”

“Not in so many words. Were you?”

He shifted nervously. “Would you be angry if I told you the truth? Because I’ll lie if it makes you feel better.”

Jordan set her wineglass on the tray of a passing waiter and grabbed another one. “I’m not naive enough to believe you’ve never been with a woman before me. What you do to me in bed I’m sure comes from lots of experience.”

“Not lots,” he said. “Well, maybe lots, but that depends upon what you mean by lots.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Jordan said.

“They don’t make any difference,” he said. “You’re the only woman I want.”

“Now,” Jordan said.

“Now. Always. Any time.” He gave her a seductive smile. “And that sounded really trite, didn’t it?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her along to a quiet corner in the gallery.

“This really isn’t necessary.” Jordan put down her glass and covered her ears. “I don’t need to know. I don’t want to know.”

“You need to know this,” he said. Danny slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. “I’m glad you’re here with me tonight. There isn’t anyone else I’d rather have here. And I like introducing you as my girlfriend, because that’s what you are. And that’s important.”

“Have you had a lot of girlfriends?” Jordan asked.

“No,” he said. “I can count them on one hand. Actually, on three fingers, counting you. And that says something about my feelings for you, Jordan. I think I’m falling for you.”

Jordan slowly lowered her hands and took a quick sip of her wine. This was not what she expected. His revelation changed everything. She felt the undeniable urge to run away and glanced around, looking for an escape route.

“No,” he said. “You don’t have to run. It’s all right. I’m just being honest. No harm in that.”

“But I-”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “I know. And that’s all right.” He looked at his watch. “Why don’t we get out of here? I’ve been the accommodating artist for three hours. I think I’m all right to leave.”

“I could use some air,” she admitted.

Danny said his goodbyes and a few minutes later, they were back on the street, strolling among the crowds of locals and tourists on O’Connell Street. Danny slipped his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the end of the street, to the river. They found a spot near the bridge and Jordan leaned against the railing and stared into the water.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Danny murmured.

“No, I’m glad you did,” she said. “It’s how I feel, too.”

“You do?”

“I do. But I don’t know what it means. I guess it’s not unexpected. We’ve been spending every minute together for over a month. It would be difficult not to develop feelings for each other.”

“Exactly,” he said.

“I just don’t think we should have too many expectations,” she said.

“Expectations.” Danny chuckled softly. “That’s funny. Maybe it’s about time someone expected something from me when it came to romance.”

“Can we just enjoy our weekend here and not worry so much about the future?” Jordan asked.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, we can do that. Come on, let’s go find a pub, have a pint and enjoy ourselves.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, standing beneath a street lamp while the river flowed quietly nearby. For Jordan, it was the most perfect kiss they’d ever shared because it confirmed the words he’d spoken earlier.

He was falling for her. She should have been jumping for joy, shouting to the rooftops that the man she wanted felt the same way about her. But the revelation was bittersweet. It didn’t make things simpler. It only made them more difficult.

DANNY GLANCED AT THE CLOCK on the bedside table. It was nearly eleven and he’d made no attempt to crawl out of bed and get the day started. After the show last night, he and Jordan had hit the town, finding a pub near the hotel and spending the night dancing and laughing and having more fun than he’d ever had with a woman.

He loved introducing her to the wonders of Ireland. Last night it was Irish art and Guinness. Today it would be a decent Irish breakfast and a stroll along the Liffey.

He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes, snuggling into her warm, naked body. From the moment he’d met Jordan, there’d been an undeniable attraction between them, a connection that seemed to be strengthened with each moment they spent in bed. They’d been so wrapped up in each other, he’d forgotten that she wasn’t completely his.

Was this what Riley had gone through with Nan? His brother had fallen in love with an American tourist with a life and a career in the States. But he’d made it work, he’d convinced her to stay. How had he made that happen?

When they’d begun, Danny was happy just being with Jordan. He’d never thought about anything beyond the next time they found themselves in bed. But somewhere along the line, he’d forgotten about immediate gratification and begun thinking about the future.

She was an incredibly seductive woman. And though she claimed that he was the only one who thought so, Danny suspected the American men she’d known had seen the beauty beneath the businesslike facade. She was his inspiration, his muse, his temptress. Danny couldn’t think of anything more he wanted from a woman than what he had with Jordan.

Rolling to his side, Danny wrapped his arm around her waist and gently brushed a strand of hair from her temple. She sighed softly as he pressed his lips to her forehead. And when his mouth found hers, Jordan stirred and opened her eyes.

“What time is it?” she murmured.

“Almost eleven,” he whispered.

Jordan groaned. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“It’s Sunday. Unless you want to go to church, there isn’t much else to do in Dublin. Besides, I kept you up too late last night.”

“I’m going to need a vacation from my vacation,” she said. “I think I’ve had more sex in the past month than I’ve had in my whole entire life. In fact, I’m quite certain of that.”

“Well, now there’s an accomplishment I can boast about.”

“Don’t you dare. Your brothers don’t need to know about our sex life.”

“I’m sure they’ve already speculated. You don’t know what it’s like when they get bored at the Hound.” He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “Speaking of the Hound, Riley and Nan’s engagement party is coming up. Would you like to go?”

“Wow. Two dates. I don’t know,” she teased. “Don’t you think we’re moving a bit fast?”

“Yes,” he said, his voice serious. “But I don’t have a problem with that. Do you?”

She frowned, staring into his eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Are you angry with me?”

“No,” Danny said. “I’m just trying to be honest. I don’t want to think about you leaving, Jordan. I’m not going to think about it. I’m just going to go on as if we’re going to be together as long as we want to be together. Just like any other couple.”

“But we aren’t any other couple,” she said. “I live across the ocean.”

“Not now, you don’t. Right now, you live in Ireland.”

She snuggled closer to his naked body. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

“We have the whole day ahead of us. What would you like to do?”

“I’ll let you be the tour guide,” she said, sliding her hand down his belly. She wrapped her fingers around his shaft, now hard and ready. It always amazed him how quickly that happened with Jordan. All he had to do was think about her and the blood rushed to his crotch.

Danny groaned softly as she began to stroke him, aroused by the prospect of another lazy morning in bed. “I swear to God, you do have fairy blood running through your veins,” he murmured. “There’s pure magic in the way you touch me.”

“Maybe I do,” Jordan replied, her touch now playfully teasing. “Since the fairy circle I have been feeling a bit different.”

“You’re not human,” he said, groaning as his pleasure grew. “I’m beginning to believe that I can’t live without this.” Danny’s breath caught in his throat. “I’ve never been with a woman who makes me feel the way you do.”

“I can make you feel even better,” she said.

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Danny replied.

Jordan slid down along his body, drawing the sheet back, inch by inch. When she reached his waist, she traced a line of kisses across his belly, then moved lower still.

Danny knew what was coming and he wasn’t about to stop her. Instead, he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back, waiting for the warmth of her mouth to surround him. When she finally took him between her lips, he was forced to look away. Watching her made it almost impossible to control his release.

There were many things that Jordan was good at, but she excelled at this particular activity. In fact, there were times when he wondered if it could get any better.

But it wasn’t just about him. It was about the two of them sharing something so intimate that a touch replaced a word, a sigh replaced a glance. When real life was pushed aside, they had this pleasure between them and it was a powerful drug that he found himself craving constantly.

“Do you know what this does to me?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she said. “But isn’t that the intended result?”

“No. I’m not talking about an orgasm,” he said.

She looked up at him, her hair tumbled around her face, her lips damp. “What?”

“I can’t resist you,” he murmured. “I don’t want to anymore. You’ve stolen my ability to think for myself.”

“That’s not true.”

He ran his fingers through her hair. “Ask me anything. I’ll be your knight in shining armor. I’ll slay dragons for you and rescue you from the tower. I’ll lay down my life for you. That’s what I feel when you touch me.”

“Well, the next time I run into a dragon, I’ll give you a call,” she said, smiling. She moved back to her task, her tongue soft and warm against his shaft.

She thought he was joking. And for a moment, Danny almost let it slide. But he wanted her to understand what she meant to him, how deeply he cared about her. “It’s not funny,” he said. “I’m tired of dancing around it, playing like it doesn’t really matter. You do matter to me, Jordan.”

She stared at him. “Don’t do this,” she murmured. “Don’t make it more difficult than it already is.”

“I don’t give a feck if it is difficult. It should be. It should feel like a knife to the heart, like falling off a cliff onto sharp rocks. It should make your soul bleed. I want it to be hard.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet up around her body. “Why? It doesn’t have to be.”

“It’s the only way we’re going to know it was real,” Danny said.

He reached out and grabbed her waist, then pulled her on top of him. She watched him, warily, all of her insecurities reflected in her expression. He shifted and then he was inside her, in the sweet warmth that had become home to him.

As he moved, Danny felt his need rise, a knot tightening deep inside of him until the ache was too much to bear. He reached between them and touched her, so that he could make her come right along with him.

Danny waited until her face grew flushed with desire, until her breath came in quick, desperate gasps. And then, when he felt her swell around him, he came. The intensity of his release was enough to make his body jerk and his muscles tense. He opened his eyes and watched her dissolve into her own orgasm, her fingers digging into his chest as she rocked above him.

And when she grew still, he pulled her down on top of him, holding her close. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s going to be easy,” he whispered. Danny drew a ragged breath. “I’m going to do everything I can to convince you to stay.”

“Please don’t do that,” Jordan said.

“I don’t have any choice.”

She fell back asleep stretched out on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips, her head resting on his shoulder. But Danny couldn’t sleep. His mind was filled with desperate thoughts.

It was clear she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about her. Every time he brought up the future, she deflected the conversation. He only had two choices-convince her of his point of view or prepare to let her go. But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He had a chance to change the course of his life, to make Jordan a part of it. And he’d do anything to make that happen.