Page 50 of Puck of the Irish

“Too soon, Hads. Too fucking soon,” Bobby says shaking his head. He’d been so upset that he hadn’t been here for all of the crazy and to help out afterwards. He’d felt like he let us all down or something even though we assured him a thousand times that he was where he was supposed to be: visiting his familyfor Christmas. Which is literally the point Hattie is making right now.

“So ignoring that totally fucked up comment,” I say, giving her a pointed look that only makes her smile bigger, showing off her damn dimples that I’m only a little bit jealous of, “I’ll make sure he knows there’s no pressure but will go with the flow on whatever he decides to do. But, uh, any suggestions on what to get a guy for Valentine’s Day?”

“You in lingerie,” Hattie and Bobby both say at the same time. They look at each other and crack up and I take a long drink, though my wheels are turning. AJisparticularly fond of lingerie…

Twenty-One

RIZZO

“Areyou sure you want to go out?” Nat asks for the third time. We’ve been kind of laying low with our relationship as far as being in the public eye, so we haven’t had many nights out on the town, just the two of us. I’m not some mega celebrity or anything, but I am pretty recognizable around Seattle and there are plenty of paparazzi and news outlets that like to lurk around and catch the local athletes and musicians whenever they can. I don’t particularly care if the whole fucking planet knows that I’m seeing Nat, but she didn’t choose a life in any kind of spotlight. It’s not fair of me to shove her into one until she’s ready.

“I swear to God if you ask me again, I’m going to introduce you to one of my favorite words, Natalie.”

“And what would that be?” she asks, half challenge, half intrigue.

I turn and hold her gaze when we stop at a red light. I slowly inch my hand upward from where it rests on her leg just above the top of her thigh-high boot. The combination of the tall boots and short skirt made my pulse and cock both jump when she’dopened the door. We almost hadn’t left the house at all and spent the entire night in bed instead, but knowing what I had planned for the evening I’d forced myself to behave. Mostly.

She moans quietly when my fingers brush the silk of her panties, stroking gently.

“Edging,” I whisper, that simple word holding the promise of so much. She gasps, her pupils dilating.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” she asks as I continue moving my fingers. I chuckle low.

“Oh sweetheart, you have no idea…” I start to pull my hand away and she arches her hips forward, silently begging for more. My lips curl. Oh this is going to be fun.

“Are you sure you don’t just want to go home right now…” She bites her lip, her voice full of a nervous hope. I settle my hand on her knee and squeeze gently.

“Patience, baby.Patience.” She squirms a little and I laugh, my nerves forgotten for a moment. But all too soon, my heart is galloping like a fucking Clydesdale inside my chest again.It’ll be fine. I’d admittedly been a little worried about the whole Valentine’s Day thing. I mean, it’s not like I have any experience being a boyfriend on this particular holiday or anything and I wasn’t sure if Nat had big expectations, but, as usual, Shep helped me figure my shit out.

“I don’t know what the fuck to do here, Shep,” I’d said, running my hands through my hair in frustration while we sat on two benches in the gym. “Do I go super huge? Or intimate? Do I just do something stupid like a stuffed animal and some candy? Or maybe jewelry?”

“I think you need to chill before you hyperventilate.” He’d grinned and I’d scowled.

“What’s so fucking funny?”

“It’s just nice seeing Mr. Cool and Collected, Always Knows What Women Want freaking out about Valentine’s Day.”

“Fuck off, asshole.” He chuckled and I’d thrown a towel at his face. “Help, damn it.”

“Ok, ok, here’s what you need to do: stop focusing on the holiday and the pressures of it, and just think about what you would want to do for Nat on a random Tuesday in the middle of September to show her you love her. Big. Small. Whatever. Just do that and stop worrying about all the extra shit just because of the day.”

He’d made it seem so fucking simple, and the plan started to form almost immediately. Now I pull into a parking spot around the corner from the bar and cut the engine, quickly hopping out and coming around to her door to open it for her.

“Well, aren’t you the gentleman?” she says with a smile as she takes my hand and I help her up. I don’t even try to hide my attempt to catch a glimpse up her skirt and she swats at my chest playfully as she stands and tugs her skirt down. Her hair is pulled half up, the rest down in loose, sexy waves that cascade down her back like a waterfall of gold. I reach out and push a few strands away from her temple, grazing my knuckles softly down her cheek before stepping back onto the sidewalk.

“Gentleman in the streets. Freak in the sheets,” I confirm with a grin.

“Oh don’t I know it,” she says quietly. She glances at my hand but quickly pulls her gaze back up to look around. I shake my head in exasperation and grab her hand, interlacing our fingers and bringing the back of her hand to my lips. “You sure?” she asks again and I give her a look that promises she’ll regret that. She bites her lip, not seeming too upset about it whatsoever.

We head down the sidewalk and a light snow begins to fall. Nat leans her head back and smiles, and all I can do is stare. I know it sounds cliché as hell, but she literally steals the breath from my lungs.

We round the corner and I usher her to the front of Delaney’s. She seems to relax when she sees where we’re going and confirms that I hadn’t been lying about our casual night out. Then recognition flashes in her eyes and she gives me a sly smile.

“I remember this place.”

“Oh really? Hmm, hot date with an even hotter guy, perhaps?”

I reach the door first and meet her gaze before I pull it open. She smirks and hikes a shoulder.

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