In mock horror, I clasped a hand to my chest. “I’m hurt by whatever you’re accusing me of. What are you accusing me of?”
“A lover’s tiff?” He poured steaming coffee into the heated glasses. “Whatever’s going on between you, you’d better not hurt her.” Next, he spooned in sugar, and from beneath the butcher’s block, produced a half-empty bottle of aged Irish whiskey. “I don’t know her all that well, but I know she’s a great girl who works hard. It’d break her heart if anything went wrong this week.”
“I promise I won’t break her heart.” I wasn’t yet convinced that she had a heart to break. My mouth watered at the anticipation of tasting the drink Brendan was preparing. The older man splashed more than one shot of whiskey into each glass before topping both off with a collar of thick cream. He pushed the glass toward me.
“Tessa and I are madly in love,” I said, picking up the glass. “It’s fated. Painted in the stars. Written on the cards. A whirlwind romance. We’re soul mates.” I took a sip of the silky drink, savoring the bite of the alcohol before swallowing. “By God, Brendan, that’s perfect.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Brendan sipped from his glass. “I’m going to say this, and I’m going to say no more. Watch your step where Tessa’s concerned. There’s many a secret place in this castle to hide a body.”
“Hello?” Tessa called from the staircase concealed by the stone-roughened walls.
“Down here.” Brendan gave me a quick nod that said I’d been warned.
Tessa appeared with Max tucked under her arm. She’d changed into a loose sweater and a pair of tight jeans which she’d tucked into her boots. And she’d gathered her hair in a messy bun at the top of her head.
Pins and needles pricked my fingertips. The heat spiraling its way through my body had everything to do with her and not the hot glass in my hand.
I took another sip of coffee and watched her rush across the kitchen toward the fire. If I took a small sideways step, my hand would brush against hers, and more than anything, I wanted to touch her, but before I got the chance to, Max yipped and barked, glancing around warily.
She visibly shivered. “It’s minus a billion outside. The wind’s whipping the snow into a blizzard. I should try to litter train you.” She swept her fingers over Max’s back, and I half wished I was the one on the receiving end of her touch.
“And who’s this ugly little critter?” Brendan wandered over to the fireplace and tickled the dog behind the ears.
“Max.” She placed the still shaking dog at her feet. “He belongs to a friend. If I hadn’t taken him in, he’d have ended up on the streets or in the pound. I’ll keep him under control. He won’t get in anyone’s way, and he’s house trained.”
Her cheeks and nose glowed with cold, and drops of melting snow clung to her weather-frizzed hair. My arm moved of its own accord to pull her into my heat, but to stop myself, I tightened my fist and shoved the traitorous hand deep into my trouser pocket.
Max cowered behind Tessa with his spindly tail tucked firmly between his legs.
“I’ve seen bigger rats in the cellar.” Brendan hunkered down. Max poked his head between Tessa’s ankles and sniffed Brendan’s outstretched fingers. “You’ll be no trouble. Will you, wee man? Come here.” Max, deciding he could trust Brendan, followed him toward the butcher’s block. “Do you want a treat?” He dropped a few cubes of cooked beef into a bowl and set it on the ground for Max, who wolfed it down.
“I would kill for one of those coffees.” Tessa scanned the kitchen and jigged from foot to foot as if trying to thaw her feet. “Where’s Barb? I can’t find her, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“You mean the Rottweiler in red lipstick.” Brendan chuckled and set about making Tessa’s Irish coffee. “Hopefully sleeping. She was three sheets to the wind.”
“Is she any nicer now she’s drunk?” Tessa inquired.
“She’s insisting she’s not drunk,” Brendan said. “Thought she could drink two bottles of twenty-year-old red and not have it hit her. You should have seen her knock it back. Like water to her.” He passed Tessa her coffee, which she accepted with thanks.
“She’s old school,” I said, joining in the conversation. “Probably thinks she can drink a potcheen-soaked Irishman under the table.”
Tessa ignored me and sipped her coffee. A small whimper of appreciation slipped from between her lips and sent a shock up my spine.
“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. I could drink these all night.” She took another sip, and when she lowered the glass, a small line of cream coated her upper lip. With a flick of her tongue, she licked the cream away.
My dick twitched at the sight.
Most women I’d dated in the past would’ve used a move like that to tease and torture me, but not Tessa. She had no clue about the effect she had on me. That even the most innocent of her gestures had the potential to knock me off my feet.
“I hope you don’t mind us staying here for a few days,” she said. “Barb thinks it’ll be easier if I’m nearby. I guess it makes sense with the weather and all. I’ll sleep in one of the old rooms out back with Max.”
“You will, my arse.” Brendan, who was back behind the butcher’s block, gestured toward her with the sharp tip of his chopping knife. “You’ll sleep in the castle in one of the rooms with heat, or I should say one of the rooms that’ll have heat by tomorrow.” He
