Page 7 of St. Lucia Escapades
“I’ll text you my address.”
Before Cord could say another word, she dropped the call. He stared at his phone in shock but then her text came through. He wasted no time. He stood from his deck chair and walked inside. Placing his coffee mug on the table, Cord picked up his wallet and condo keys and was out the door. He saw that her condo was only two lots over from his. If that wasn’t fate, then he had no idea what was. In under ten minutes he stood on her stoop and knocked. Moira answered a few moments later.
When she opened the door, Cord just stood there drinking her in. That amazing red hair was twisted up and held in place by one of those clip thingies that women liked. She was wearing a strapless sun dress that clung to her beautiful curves and flowed down her body to stop at her ankles. It looked to be soft and a blue that matched her eyes. God this woman was beautiful. Smiling, she moved aside in silent invitation. He accepted and walked inside. Moira closed the door and Cord made his move. He gave her only a moment to gasp before he hauled her up into his arms and kissed her.
Moira moaned as her arms and legs wrapped around his shoulders and waist. Taking two steps forward, Cord pinned her against the front door. She moaned into the kiss and deepened it. Cord groaned as he felt her body moving against his. Somehow, he pulled his lips from hers and started a slow path of kisses down the column of her neck. His tongue tracing lazy patterns against her skin, making her shiver.
“God, Cord…”
“You taste just as delicious as you did last night Moira.”
“You too.”
With painful restraint, Cord slowly began to lower Moira back to her feet. Sliding her body against his on the way down, leaving her with no doubt that he damned well wanted her. First and foremost, however, he was raised to be a gentleman. Taking a woman, one he barely knew, against the front door of her beach condo was not gentlemanly. Once Moria was back on her feet, he took both her hands in his and kissed the backs.
“I want you Moira, trust me, but…hell my mom raised me to respect women. And screwing your brains out against your front door wouldn’t qualify.” He explained.
Moira
Moira could not help but smile. “It’s nice to know men like you still exist. Well, what do you say, we have some coffee, head out to the deck and talk some more?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Cord nodded.
Moira decided she liked him holding her hand, so when he released them, she reached out and took one of his, and led him through the condo toward the kitchen. They fixed their coffee and walked toward the deck, Moira making sure to keep his hand in hers. He had such strong hands. They were the hands of a man who understood the meaning of work and not some pansy paper pusher.
“Okay, there’s something I want to know.” Moira began
“Okay.” Cord nodded for her to continue.
“Last night when we met, you asked if I was the author. How in the bloody hell did you know I was an author?”
Cord laughed. “You can blame my mom for that. She has every book you’ve written. I’ve read your suspense series but haven’t read any of the others yet.”
Moira leaned back in her chair a little, “Well, that’s a bit surprising. I only say that because you’re not my target reading audience.”
“I figured that much.” He chuckled. “You told me you were writing this morning, what were you writing if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Oh no, I donna mind. I was continuing another romantic suspense project. I’m not sure when I will want to release it, but it’s something I’ve been working on between my last release and the book I sent to my editor right before I came here.”
Just like that, Moira found herself telling Cord a bit about her current project. As she talked, she was internally shocked at how easy it was to talk to him about her writing. Outside of her publishing house and her mom, she tended to find it difficult to talk about her writing process. Yet with Cord, the words just flowed, and he seemed to be genuinely interested in what she did. After she finished, he went on to talk about his seven bars and the work he and his brother Collen did. She listened as he explained how Collen handled the behind the scenes business while Cord was the front man for all seven bars.
“That’s fascinating. And what kind of bars are they? I mean what is your typical clientele?” she inquired.
“We don’t have a specific clientele in mind. All seven of O’Brien’s Tap has a little something for everyone. Our most popular one is the one in Manhattan. It’s also our biggest location. We have tourists, politicians, socialites, and celebrities. I spend maybe about half my time there.” He explained.
“Is it your favorite location?”
“No, my favorite is the bar in the Bronx. I don’t know why, but I love going to that one. Maybe because it’s more down to earth. The people who frequent that one is about ninety percent locals.”
Moira glanced over at her phone, “Wow, it’s already lunch time.”
“No wonder I’m suddenly famished. What do you say we go out to get some food then maybe do a little sight-seeing?” Cord suggested.
“You’re on, but lunch is my treat today and I won’t take no for an answer Mr. O’Brien.” Moira challenged.
“Far be it from me to argue with a fiery red-head.” He teased.
“Oh boyo, you have no idea how fiery I can be.” She winked.
