Page 54 of Ciaran

“God-fucking-dammit,” Callum rants.

“Oh, what bad luck.” I get to my feet and do a little victory dance. “She shoots. She scores!”

Callum glares at Ciaran. “What the hell did you do to her last night, bro? Coz I don’t recognize this girl from the timid little mouse who turned up almost two months ago.”

Ciaran tosses his credit card at Callum. “Make yourself useful and go get us another round of drinks.”

“And a bottle of witch hazel,” I add. When Callum gives me a confused frown, I add, “You know. For your wounded ego.”

Laurella starts to laugh. “Oh, Millie. You are priceless.”

Callum throws a deep scowl my way. “Next weekend, Frayser. I want a rematch.”

Laurella shoves him in the back. “Drinks. I’m sure Millie has better things to do with her time off than beat you at bowling. It’s a silly game, anyway.”

Horrified, Callum slaps a hand to his chest. “I think you just ruined our relationship.”

The two of them cross over to the bar, still laughing, and I watch them for a moment. When I turn back around, Ciaran is studying me.

“They’re good together,” I tell him, mainly for something to say, because the expression on his face makes me want to do some rather naughty things in public.

“They are.” He carries on with the sexy-as-all-hell eye sweep that’s getting me all hot and bothered. I swear a trickle of sweat just dripped between my boobs, even though the bowling alley has the A/C set to sub-zero.

He holds out his hand. “Come here.”

I frown because I can’t get any closer. “I am here.”

He shakes his head, then pats his thigh. “Come here,” he repeats.

I gape at him. “I can’t sit on your lap in the middle of a bowling alley.” I may have thought about doing dirty things, but that’s different from actually doing them.

Ciaran twists his head left and right. Saturday night must be bowling night for college kids, because the lanes are full of horny teens and twenty-somethings getting it on, not caring who’s watching. His gaze cuts back to mine, driving home the message without him having to say another word.

On unsteady legs, I straddle him, lowering myself into his lap. He settles one hand on my ass, snaking the other up my spine until his palm is plastered to the back of my neck. His thumb skates over the skin right below my ear, and he applies a light pressure to the back of my head until our lips are millimeters apart.

I snatch a breath as his eyes rove over my face. They slip south, pausing on my chest. His tongue sweeps over his bottom lip before he kisses me. He rocks his hips ever so slightly, but it’s enough for his erection to brush exactly where I need it, and I moan into his mouth. It’s as though he’s releasing all of his pent-up energy, frustration, and need formed over a decade, and now he’s allowed to touch me, he can’t stop.

He breaks off our kiss, his lips moving feverishly over my jaw, my neck. When his teeth bite down on my earlobe, I honestly think I’m going to come. It wouldn’t take much. A little more rubbing, a little more friction, and I’d explode.

“Jesus, bro,” Callum says, setting down our drinks. “Making up for lost time? At least take it into the restrooms.”

I scramble to my feet, despite Ciaran doing his best to stop me. “We were just… I mean… it wasn’t…” I stare helplessly at Ciaran. “Help me out here, would you?”

He chuckles and captures my hand, his callused thumb skating back and forth over my knuckles. “What Mia is trying to say is I can’t keep my hands off her.”

Laurella says “Aww,” while Callum sniggers, and I exit stage left.

“Won’t be a sec,” I utter.

I hurry past the lanes and dive into the restrooms. Gripping the counter, I study my reflection in the mirror over the sink. I’d almost…orgasmed. In a public place. And what’s more, I’d loved it.

What’s happening to me?

All those years, I never gave Ciaran a passing thought and, like Callum pointed out, I hadn’t noticed him in high school. Not like that, anyway. He’d been a friend, a great friend, but that was all. Yet he’d been the one I’d needed all along.

I can’t beat myself up too badly. Back then, I was a silly young girl, and I paid a high price for my mistakes. I’ve suffered enough. But the passage of time and my terrible experience with Tanner has given me a unique insight into the male psyche. Being married to him could have turned me off men for life. And if Ciaran was more like Callum, all dick waving and egotistical, I would have run a mile. I’ve been on the receiving end of enough alpha males to last a lifetime. Not that I’m saying Ciaran isn’t all man, because he’s definitely all man, with cream and a cherry on top. But he’s also tender, thoughtful, and so much more. He’s exactly what I need to find out who I am now, not the teenager I was back then.

I finish up, wash my hands and, with my head held high, stride back into the bowling alley. The noise is deafening with bunches of kids enjoying their Saturday night. I manage to sneak over to our lane without being spotted, and I’m about to slip my hands around Ciaran’s broad chest and give his earlobe a good hard suck when the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and my pulse shoots into overdrive.

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