Deceived Read online

  “Nothing,” I said nonchalantly, enjoying the way the sweater clung to her breasts. “You look pretty, Flanagan.”

  Pax scowled in my direction, but he kept his mouth shut.

  “Thank you.” Her intoxicating smile mesmerized me, and I wanted nothing more than to cross the room and kiss her, to feel the connection with her that I’d felt the night that we first kissed. When she touched me, she pulled me away from the world, and nothing mattered except her and my primal need to claim her for myself, to be her protector, her provider, her lover.

  Flanagan and I had such an easy camaraderie at Whiskey Nights, and now that we were in Ireland, it was no different. She was easy to talk to and genuinely interested in what I had to say. I couldn’t remember ever being around someone of the opposite sex that I meshed with so well. And she was beautiful to boot.

  “You want to go to the cliffs with us, Paxton?” She turned that mesmerizing smile on him, and a sliver of jealousy shimmied down my spine. I reminded myself that she had professed that she wasn’t interested in him.

  I glared at Pax, my facial expressions sending him a clear signal that I didn’t want him there.

  “It’d be a shame to come all the way to Ireland and not see the famous Cliffs of Moher,” he replied, and I immediately tensed.

  He cut his eyes at me, the slightest smirk playing on his lips.

  And while I wasn’t happy about it, there wasn’t much I could do.

  An hour later, we arrived at one of the top tourist destinations in Ireland. An early morning fog permeated the air, blocking the view of the ocean below, but we caught glimpses of the craggy cliffs, a tiny taste of the spectacular beauty that lay below us.

  I exhaled, my breath shooting forward like swirling steam. Even though we couldn’t see it, we stood in awe, the sound of the waves filling the air as they crashed into the rocky coastline several hundred feet below us.

  As the morning sun reached higher into the sky, the fog began to dissipate, slowly revealing the beauty of the cliffs like a playful lover exposing her delicious curves in a way that would deliberately heighten the anticipation.

  The cliffs towered above the massive ocean, two forces of nature colliding into a spectacular show, each displaying its magnificence to the delight of the spectators.

  Birds soared through the air, landing on perches amid the rocky cliffs.

  “Isn’t this amazing?” Flanagan asked as she concentrated on the scenery below.

  “Words can’t adequately describe it,” Pax said as he shot photo after photo.

  And it was true. It was magnificent. But even though the scenery was breathtaking, it was watching Flanagan’s reaction that gave me goosebumps.

  As she witnessed the raw power of the ocean and admired the exquisite natural beauty of the cliffs, I watched a myriad of emotions in her facial expressions as she stood on the edge of the universe, the wind whipping her long red-blonde locks away from her face.

  I pulled out my phone to take photos, too, but it was her beauty that I wanted to capture.

  She turned in my direction, gracing me with a dazzling smile. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

  I wanted to tell her that as magical as the cliffs were, they couldn’t compare to her beauty. Instead, I returned her smile. “It’s definitely worth the trip,” I responded, never taking my eyes from her.

  “Take our photo, Pax.” I handed him my phone and tucked Flanagan into my side, the magnificent ocean to our backs. He snapped a couple of shots.

  “Here,” Flanagan said, holding her hand out for my phone, “let me take a photo of the Mayfield brothers.” She forced us to pose for several photographs before finally returning my phone.

  Relieved when Pax was distracted by a couple of female tourists who were clearly from the United States based on their Georgia Bulldogs jackets, Flanagan and I walked along the edge of the cliffs. When we reached the end of the tourist attraction, the path continued onto private land. Along the worn path, there was nothing between us and the edge of the cliffs, no fencing, no walls. We stood as close to the edge as we dared, soaking in the spectacular view.

  “I wish my parents could be here to see this,” she said, excitement in her voice. Turning her attention to me, she asked, “If you could wish for someone to be here with you, who would it be?”

  “She’s already here.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. Maybe Pax was right, and I was leading her on when other issues already demanded my attention. But it had been the truth, and I had wanted her to know.

  Her face lit up, and she grabbed my hand, pulling me to a large rock formation along the path. “Let’s just sit here and watch for a while.”

  Behind us, a brilliant green meadow dotted with cows sloped down the hillside, a rock slab wall separating the path from the livestock. We scanned the terrain, the patches of land separated by fences, the grazing animals, the houses in the distance. Then, we sat down, turning our attention back toward the ocean.

  She threaded her slender fingers through her hair, pulling the airborne tresses away from her face. “I feel like I’m in a dream. I can’t believe I’m actually sitting at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher.”

  Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your trip.”

  “If you could go anywhere you wanted to go, where would it be?”

  I’d never really thought about it. “Probably an African safari.”

  “I should’ve known you’d say something like that.”

  I lifted my hands, my palms facing upward. “You know me. I like being out in the wild.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever understand the appeal of hanging out in a tree stand for hours.”

  “It’s the thrill of the hunt, baby.”

  She grunted, and I laughed.

  “What about Paxton? Where do you think he would want to go?”

  It bothered me more than I cared to admit that she was asking about Pax’s interests. “If I had to guess, I would say that Pax would probably be more interested in seeing Greece or Italy.”

  “I’d love to see both of those places!” She repositioned herself on the rock. “What about Evan?”

  I tilted my head toward the sky as I contemplated what would appeal to my younger brother. “Evan would probably want to take a ski trip to Canada or Switzerland or some other country with tall slopes and lots of snow. Actually, all three of us would like something like that.”

  A smile played on her lips. “So the Mayfield brothers like snow?”

  I nodded. “Mostly they like going really fast down snow-covered mountains.”

  “So they’re all speed demons?”

  “I guess you could say that. Although, sometimes we’re just plain demons.”

  She laughed. “I don’t believe that.”

  “Ask my mother.”

  “Why? Does she have a lot of stories to tell about y’all?”

  “Probably more than she cares to recount.”

  Flanagan’s cheeks were red from the cold wind. “I guess that’s part of the difference between having boys and girls.”

  “It’s probably a good thing we didn’t have a sister. I’m not sure she would’ve survived.”

  “Surely y’all can’t be that mean.”

  “Evan’s not, but me and Pax?” I shook my head. “Ask him about the time he pushed me off the front porch and I broke my arm.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “He didn’t.”

  I nodded. “Oh, he definitely did. And he found it pretty funny, too.”

  “Did he get in trouble?”

  “Uh, no, Pax never got in trouble. He’s my dad’s favorite, and sweet little Evan is my mother’s. Then there’s me.”

  “Surely they don’t really show any difference between y’all.”

  Smoothing back wisps of hair that the wind had blown in her face, she watched me intensely as if she were really waiting to know the truth. I didn’t know why I
had brought it up. It wasn’t something I would normally discuss, and I decided against telling her just how true it was.

  “Spoken like an only child,” I teased. “I’m sure there’s great satisfaction in knowing that you’re both of your parents’ favorite.”

  She rubbed her hands together to generate warmth. “But if you look at it like that, then I’m also both of my parents’ least favorite. See? We have something else in common.”

  I shot her a look of disbelief. “I don’t think that counts.”

  Ignoring me, she continued, “What’s your greatest fear?”

  Quickly dismissing the first thing that popped into my mind, I tried to think of a more amusing answer as I waited for a couple to walk past us along the worn trail. “Dropping dead while being butt naked and being found by my mother.”

  Her mouth gaped, and once again, I found myself thinking about our first kiss.

  “Cade!” she screeched. “Your mind is twisted!”

  “Hey, you have to admit that it would be creepy as hell. Of course, if I was dead, I guess I wouldn’t really notice.”

  “I imagine your mother would be way too distraught over your being dead to worry about the fact that you’re naked.”

  “Maybe.” I turned to her. “So what about you? What’s your greatest fear?”

  “Nothing as weird as yours.”

  I scanned the ocean. “Well, I have to admit that’s a bit of a relief.”

  “I’m terrified of being alone.”

  “You mean you don’t like to be home alone?”

  “I mean I’m afraid that I won’t find someone that I’m compatible with, someone that I want to spend my life with and who wants to spend his life with me, that I’ll die an old maid surrounded by three yappy little lap dogs.”

  I looked at her in disbelief. “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about? At your age?”

  “Does it sound stupid?”

  “That’s not what I meant, Flanagan.”

  She waved her hand in front of her as if to sweep her words away. “It’s silly, I know, but it really is my greatest fear.”

  I reached for her hand. “It’s not silly. I’m sure we all have insecurities that aren’t necessarily rational. Believe me when I say that the only way you’ll spend the rest of your life alone is if you think there aren’t any worthy men in the world.”

  Her eyes lifted to mine, lingering longer than normal, and her perusal wasn’t lost on me. “I don’t think that, Cade.”

  “Then don’t trade your martini glass in for a couple of Chihuahuas yet. You’re young. Just concentrate on having fun. Everything else will fall into place.”

  “You know what? You’re right. I am going to concentrate on having fun.”

  Standing, she grabbed my hand and pulled me farther down the path until we stood at a secluded spot on the edge of the cliffs.

  “If I told you that I’d been dreaming of doing something with you on the edge of these cliffs, would you humor me and make my dream come true?”

  “As long as it doesn’t involve jumping.”

  She reached out and cupped her palm around my nape, pulling me to her for a kiss. Her tongue delved into my mouth, the urgency of her movements revealing her need. My palms cupped her cold cheeks, but even though the temperatures were frigid, neither of us noticed. What could be hotter than a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go for it?

  Damn, now that our relationship had changed, I didn’t know how I would stop myself. Every kiss we shared made me want her that much more.

  She weaved her hands into my open jacket, encircling her arms around me as the cool ocean air followed her movement. I deepened the kiss in response, reveling in the way she tasted, the way she kissed me with fervor. When she dipped her hand into the back of my jeans and squeezed my bare ass, my eyes flew open in surprise. “Damn, Flanagan,” I whispered against her lips. “I didn’t know you were such a tigress.”

  “Only with you, Cade Mayfield,” she said, hooking her hand around my nape and pulling my mouth back to hers.

  I wasn’t sure which I enjoyed more, her actions or her words. Her actions had my hard-on straining against my jeans, but her words melted my heart, made me feel like she had raised me to a level above the other men that she knew, made me feel like maybe she thought the two of us could be compatible, that if we were together, she wouldn’t be lonely. And it was a damn good thought.

  But it also terrified me.

  She pulled away, her laughter floating through the air along with the sound of the roaring waves. “Here we are standing on the edge of the universe, and all I can think about is you. You’re so distracting.”

  “I’m distracting?” I asked in surprise. “Weren’t you the girl who was caressing my ass just a minute ago?”

  She giggled. “That’s exactly what I mean.” She waved her hands, palm-side up, in the air as if they were imaginary scales. “The Cliffs of Moher. Cade’s ass.” She continued to weigh. “Cliffs of Moher. Cade’s ass.” She dropped her hands to her sides and pursed her lips as if she were thinking. “Hmm. Cade’s ass at the Cliffs of Moher….”

  “So that was your dream? To feel my ass while standing at the Cliffs of Moher?”

  “Actually, I just wanted to kiss you on the Cliffs of Moher. Could there be a more magical place to kiss someone than this?” she asked, scanning the coastline before she turned back to me. “Feeling your ass was a bonus.”

  “Now it’s my turn.”

  “To kiss me or to feel my ass?”

  “We can start with a kiss. Since you find me to be a distraction, is it safe to kiss you now?”

  “No,” she said softly, the wind blowing a strand of hair across her face.

  I reached up and tucked the errant strand behind her ear. “No?”

  She shook her head. “But I want you to do it, anyway.”

  I leaned in close, hovering just above her lips. “You sure you want me to kiss you?”

  As her lips parted, she nodded.

  I dipped my head down lower, teasing her neck with my lips. “You sure you’re sure?” I gently sucked on her flesh, and her chest heaved with her need as a soft exhalation escaped her lips.

  “Cade, you’re killing me.”

  When I hesitated, she pulled my face to hers, her lips finding mine as she kissed me unabashedly.

  I found it extremely arousing that this sweet, beautiful woman wanted me, that I could make her shiver at the anticipation of a simple kiss. By fighting our attraction, by delaying our interaction, we had inadvertently cranked up the electricity. It was difficult enough to stop after the first kiss, but now that we had touched again, the result was explosive.

  Consequences nagged at me like an evil stepmother, but I pushed them away until there was nothing left but Flanagan, me, and the Cliffs of Moher.

  Chapter 9

  Blarney Stone

  Seren

  Visiting the Cliffs of Moher couldn’t have been more perfect. The time I had spent alone with Cade there had brought us closer. After our first kiss, he still seemed distant, as if maybe he was unsure of our relationship. But now, we were starting to feel like a real couple. When we had kissed, I could feel his desire. I could see it in the way he watched me with hooded eyes. Something had definitely changed, and I liked it.

  Paxton had made other plans today, and as Cade and I approached Blarney Castle, I squealed with delight.

  He squeezed my hand. “You know the prince doesn’t live here anymore, right?”

  “That’s why I brought my own,” I responded, smiling at him.

  “Bloody hell, Flanagan. If you think I’m a prince, then Ireland has seriously messed with your mind.”

  “Let me have my fun,” I pleaded. “I mean look at this place.” I waved my hand in front of me, motioning to the vast grounds that were nestled in the midst of a wooded area. A wide paved path meandered through the manicured lawn, leading to Blarney Castle and its grounds. “Can you imagine what i
t was like to live here?”

  “I think this may be a little too primitive even for me.”

  I looked at him, feigning shock. “What? Just think, you could go out and hunt food for the dinner table.”

  “That would be right up my alley,” he agreed.

  As we approached the partially ruined castle, the walls towered above us. Upon entering, we stood just inside the door, the overcast skies visible since most of the floors and roof within had long since deteriorated.

  We scurried up a narrow stone staircase that led to what was left of the floors above. “Damn, it’s tight in here,” Cade grumbled from behind me.

  As we began exploring the first level, I pointed at a grate in the floor. “Look! A murder hole.”

  “A murder hole?”

  “You know, where they would pour hot oil on invaders or pelt them with stones,” I explained. “Whatever it took to murder them before they burst through the castle entrance.”

  Cade looked through the grate at the tourists who were entering the castle on the level below. “That’s one way to get rid of unwanted visitors, I guess.”

  “Pretty brutal, isn’t it?” I asked, wondering how many men had died directly below me.

  “The invaders did have an alternative,” Cade reasoned. “They could’ve stayed the hell out.”

  Cade laced his fingers with mine and led me to the battlements that were still intact at the top of the castle. “You are going to kiss the Blarney Stone, aren’t you?”

  “Absolutely. You?”

  He held my gaze a moment. “I’d rather kiss you, but hey, we got to do it while we’re here, right?”

  “Right.”

  To actually kiss the Blarney Stone, visitors had to lie on their backs and hang their upper bodies upside down while kissing the Stone, which was set in the outer wall below the battlements. The gift of eloquence was the reward for completing the task.

  Cade went first. As he bent backwards to grab the bars behind him, his jacket hung open and his shirt rode up, exposing the rigid V-shaped muscles that disappeared into his low rise jeans. My mouth went dry, and I had the urge to run my fingertips along the ridges, to feel the edge of his muscles.