to his face. “I love the way this feels, but you gotta move.”
Grinning, she lifted herself and plunged again, soon finding a rhythm as his hands rediscovered her breasts, tweaking her nipples. Once again, it didn’t take long before she felt a tightening deep inside. At the same time, his breathing began to hitch.
“Are you close?” he asked.
She nodded, uncertain her breath would support any words as she focused on his cock dragging in and out of her. Quickly, she began to shudder, crying out his name as her fingernails dug into his shoulders, leaving little tiny crescents in the skin.
Lifting on shaky legs, she gave over control, and he continued to pump his hips upward, grunting as he poured his release deep inside. Her arms gave out, and she landed on his chest, eliciting a grunt from him, but she was too exhausted to offer an apology. His arms banded around her back, and they lay, chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat. His spent cock slowly slipped from her body, but she was barely aware of anything as her pounding heart slowly returned to a normal pace and her erratic breathing evened out.
Finally, she lifted her head and peered down, smiling. “This gives new meaning to the word partner.”
Her body shook as he barked out a laugh and she decided that laying on top of him when he laughed deep from his chest was the greatest feeling ever.
As his mirth slowed, he lifted his hands, cupping her cheeks and holding her gaze. “You’ve got that right, partner. It’s definitely a new meaning, one I don’t intend to let go of.”
Torin was at his usual place behind the bar but his mind wasn’t on filling drinks. He kept looking toward the door, scowling in disappointment every time someone walked in that wasn’t who he was looking for. Maeve walked over and elbowed him in the ribs. He grunted and rubbed his side. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“Your face is going to run off the customers. Could you have a less scary expression?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I always look this way.”
She laughed and nodded. “You’re right about that. Sometimes I wonder how we have any customers at all!”
The door opened again, and Maeve’s eyes shot behind him, her smile widening even further. “Now, there’s someone I’ll bet you’re excited to see.”
He jerked around and looked over his shoulder, seeing Erin step inside the pub. Her gaze immediately found his, and her smile brightened. He could’ve sworn someone turned the lights up inside the pub. She made her way through the crowd and over to the end of the bar, sliding onto the barstool.
“I’m glad no one had this seat,” she said. “I always hate being where lots of people can press around me as they’re ordering drinks. When I’m next to the wall in the corner, it feels safer.”
“No one is sitting there because I’ve told everyone to leave who looked like they were going to plop their ass down in that chair.”
She blinked, her chin lifting slightly as her head moved to the side. “Why would you do that?”
He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the bar. Her blue eyes held his as she stared up at him, and he grinned as she leaned forward, too. “I never told you this, but I noticed you sitting there the first night you came into the pub after you got out of the military. You came in with Rory, but he walked toward the back, leaving you there alone.”
She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and nodded slowly. “I remember that. I really didn’t want to be here, but everyone in the family kept telling me that I needed to get out and socialize.”
“I respect your brother, but I’ve got to tell you, that night I almost went after him. There was no way he should have dragged you here and then left you sitting by yourself.”
Her face relaxed as she smiled. “It was fine. The last thing he needed was to sit around with unsociable, boring me.”
“Babe, I took one look at you and could see there was something going on. Your eyes were so fuckin’ haunted that I couldn’t believe Rory didn’t stay plastered to your side.”
Her hands moved over the shiny, wooden bar and latched onto his. “I was pretty good at chasing everybody away, Torin. But I can’t believe you saw me and noticed.”
Leaning closer, his face moved toward hers.