Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (33 page)

He
slid onto the bench and dragged his coffee to his mouth.

“I’m
sorry if we hurt your feelings last night, Kelly, love. We were shocked.”

He
shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“No,
it’s not, but I understand your pride won’t let you dwell on it. Tell me about
this lass who’s captured my rogue’s heart.”

A
warm, cozy sensation filled him at the mention of Ashlynn, putting a smile on
his face. “You know her from church.”

His
mother lifted a copper brow.

“Her
name’s Ashlynn Fisher.”

“The
farmer’s daughter?”

“Aye.”

Maureen
looked around the empty kitchen and leaned close to whisper. “Do you know she’s
a virgin?”

He
laughed. “I know, Mum.” Apparently everyone knew.

“Is
that why you’ve agreed to take her as your bride?”

“No,”
he said resolutely. “She’s… I can’t explain it. When she isn’t there, I miss
her. When I should be thinking of other things, my mind’s on her.”

“She’s
a plain girl, Kelly.”

“I
think she’s beautiful. She doesn’t need any makeup or fancy clothes.”

His
mum sat back and grinned.

“What?”

“You’re
in love. I’m happy for you. Will you bring her by so I can meet her?”

“Just
you and Dad?” When her lips pressed tight, he said, “Ma!”

“Well,
we have a big family, love. They’ll all want to meet her.”

“They
all know her.”

“There’s
a difference between knowing someone and welcoming them into the McCullough clan.”

“Exactly.”

“Please.”

“Will
you behave?”

She
sighed, but nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Just
us then. I don’t want to scare her off. Leave the aunts out of it.” When his
mother didn’t agree, he snapped, “Ma!”

“How
am I to tell my sister’s my scoundrel's getting married and then tell them they
can’t come?”

“They
can come to the wedding, but they can sit out the interrogation.”

She
tsked. “We don’t interrogate. That’s tacky.”

He
snorted. “That’s not what Sammy and Mallory say.”

She
gasped. “Sammy loves me. So does Finnegan’s Mallory.”

“That
doesn’t mean you didn’t interrogate them.”

“Well,
you’re my boys. Someone has to scare the shit out of these women, let them know
we mean business when one of ours brings us a new lamb.”

He
stood and dumped the rest of his coffee. “Yeah, a
sacrificial
lamb.”

“That’s
not nice, Kelly.”

“
You
be nice,” he said, leaving the kitchen.

“I’m
always nice, you little shit!”

* * * *

Later
that day, Kelly decided to visit his future wife’s market. He had all
intentions of surprising her in the back until he heard a familiar set of lungs
call his name.

“Kelly?”

“Shit,”
he hissed. Turning with a forced smile, he faced his sister-in-law, Mallory,
pushing a stroller, full of his nephews, Lachlan and Declan. “Hey, Philly.”

She
kissed his cheek and handed the kids some funky granola looking nugget thing.
“What are you doing here?”

He
gripped the back of his neck and some sort of awkward sound left his mouth as
he waited for words to arrive. Mallory frowned.

“Are
you all right?”

He
sighed and dropped his arm. “I’m visiting Ashlynn.”

Mallory’s
face lit up. “You know Ashlynn?”

“You
could say that.”

“I
didn’t know you guys were friends. Oh, there she is now. Ashlynn!”

Kelly
turned as Ashlynn stilled from stacking a shelf of plums. She smiled when she
saw him and came over to say hi. She looked amazing, tight tank top, loose
fitting cargos, yellow work boots.
I wanna
sexxxx
you up.
Alll
nighhht
…

“Hi,
Mallory. Hello, Kelly.”

He
wasn’t sure if he should just put it out there or play it cool. She was too
pretty to resist. He leaned in and kissed her briefly. “Hey, beautiful.”

Mallory
stilled, mid-sentence, and made a face like a fish, her eyes wide. “
Ummmm
…”

Kelly
wrapped an arm around Ashlynn’s shoulders and pulled her to his side. “Philly,
meet your new sister, my future bride.”

Mallory
didn’t move. She just stared.

“Say
something.”

“You’re
kidding, right?”

Grin
falling into a frown, his eyes narrowed. Enough with the freaking shock! “No.
I’m not. Ashlynn and I are getting married.”

Mallory
looked to Ashlynn and his fiancée nodded. “It’s true.”

Mallory’s
fingers went to her mouth. “Does the family know?”

“My
parents know and Bray, Sheilagh, and Luke know. I’m hoping to keep the aunts
out of it until the wedding.”

Mallory
snorted. “Good luck with that! There’s no way they’ll wait for the wedding.
You’re going down, Kelly.”

Ashlynn
turned to him. “What’s she talking about, Kelly?”

He
sighed and laughed nervously. Turning to Ashlynn, he said, “Welcome to the
funny farm. By the way, my mum asked if you could come to dinner Wednesday.”

“Don’t
go!” Mallory hissed, gripping Ashlynn’s arm. “They’ll all be there.
All of
them.
They’re like locusts.”

“Thanks
a lot, Philly.”

“You
know they are, Kelly.” She looked back at Ashlynn. “They’ll interrogate you.”

“I
don’t want to be interrogated,” Ashlynn said, gazing up at him with stark
horror.

“They
aren’t
that
bad and I told my mum only the immediate family.”

“It’s
a trick!” Mallory practically shouted. “Trust me! I had to get an orderly to
remove thirty McCulloughs from the delivery room when I had the twins. They
flock in and say whatever crosses their mind and the next thing you know you’re
being force fed a plate of potatoes and made to guzzle terrible whiskey.”

“But
I don’t drink,” Ashlynn said innocently.

“You
will when they’re done with you,” Mallory mumbled.

“Maybe
we shouldn’t go,” Ashlynn whispered.

Kelly
was thinking the same thing. “Why don’t we invite my parents to your place?”

Mallory
nodded emphatically. “Yes, keep it on the home court.”

Kelly
gave his sister-in-law a warning glance. “Okay, Philly. Why don’t you go take a
lap and calm down? I’m going to go talk to my fiancée in the back. Nice seeing
you. And remember, mum’s the word.”

“Yeah,
crazy mum.”

He
took Ashlynn’s elbow and guided her to the back.

“Kelly,
if Mallory’s telling the truth—”

As
soon as he had her in the back he silenced her with a kiss that had her melting
against the door. His body leaned into hers and his skin vibrated with the familiar
rush he always got when he was permitted to touch her. “Shh…we’ll deal with it
later. Kiss me.”

She
sighed and gave in, her lashes fluttering closed, blocking out the worry in her
eyes as her body softened beneath his touch. His mouth teased over hers until
she hummed with satisfaction. His palm coasted over the soft skin of her arm
and he grazed the front of her shirt, giving her nipple a little tug through
the thin material of her clothes.

“Oh!”

“Mmmm.
Have I mentioned how good you look in a tank top?” His thumb traced over the
pebbled ridge of her breast as his mouth dragged over her thrumming pulse. Once
he had her distracted and mildly calm, he eased back and smiled at her. “I
missed you.”

“I
missed you too. What are you doing here?” She pressed back into the door to
look up at him, but he continued to crowd her. He couldn’t tear his gaze away.
Never before had he acted so possessive in regards to one woman.

Tracing
his thumb over the swell of her lower lip, he said, “I came to visit you. I
needed apples.”

She
chuckled. “Yeah, you needed apples. I remember the last time you needed
apples…”

Pressing
his hips into hers, he waggled his brows. “How’d you like
them
apples?”

She
moaned then said, “You’re just after my cobbler.”

Throwing
his head back he groaned. “Oh, I can’t wait to taste your cobbler, all warm and
sweet with the perfect amount of sticky. I could eat it for days.”

Color
rose on her cheeks and he smirked at her obvious shock and frustration. She may
be taken off guard by his words, but there was definitely curiosity in the
depths of her chocolate eyes. He thrust his hips slowly forward, showing her
what she did to him. “I want you, Ashlynn.”

Dark
swirls of color danced in her eyes as her cheeks darkened. Breathlessly, she
whispered, “I want you too. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

“Why
do we have to wait again?”

“Because
you promised me a party and that’s what I deserve.”

“Mmm,
I’m fightin’ the urge to make you the happiest woman on earth right now.”

“In
my stock room?” She pushed him away, pretending indifference, but he saw the
way she needed air, the way he affected her.
 
He let her go and she busied herself
with a stack of boxes on the counter. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.” Oh
yeah. Her voice was breaking over each forced word.

The
need to tease had him slowly stalking her in the small room. “Oh, she wants the
romance?” He caught her wrist and spun her into his arms. Dipping her back
until her spine bowed over his arm and her head nearly touched the floor, he
whispered, his mouth a breath from hers, “In the words of Rhett Butler,
‘No,
I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That’s what’s
wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.’”

She
frowned. “Who’s Rhett Butler?”

He
stuttered. “Seriously?”

She
shrugged.

“Oh,
my sweet Ashlynn, how unaware you are.” He pressed a chaste kiss on her lips
and lifted her back to her feet without releasing her. “You make me want to
race to the finish, but constantly remind me to savor all the new experiences
along the way.” His fingers traced the delicate line of her jaw. “You don’t
need to know who Rhett is. All you need to know is who Kelly is and I plan to
show you all of him.”

He
wasn’t sure what happened, but there was a sudden change in her expression. Her
eyes turned smoky and she grabbed his face, pulling his lips down to hers as
she kissed him. It was the first time she’d ever really stolen a kiss from him.
She was getting better, more confident, and he really liked the aggressive way
she took exactly what she wanted.

“I
don’t need romance. Just you,” she whispered.

He
reached for her bum and pulled her close. “Sweet Jesus, woman, you’re going to
have me makin’ a fool of myself if you keep kissing me like that.”

She
stiffened and stepped back. “Sorry.”

Catching
her wrist, he halted her retreat. “Hey. Never apologize for kissing me. Your
lips are welcome on my body whenever they want—wherever they want.”

Her
smile was a slow trembling curve that told him he’d pleased her. When she
stepped away again he let her.

“I
talked to my dad. He thinks a nice house wedding would be appropriate.”

“Whatever
you want, love.”

She
glanced over her shoulder and she took apart boxes. “I like the sound of that.
Is that husband talk?”

“Whatever
you want, love.”

She
snickered. “My mother’s dress is in the attic somewhere. I’d like to find it
and see what kind of shape it’s in.”

He
wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her neck. “I think that would
be really nice, Ash. My grandmother did the alterations on Sammy’s dress, but
she’s not doing so well anymore. I could ask Italian Mary though, if you need
help fixing it up.”

“Who’s
Italian Mary?”

“My
Aunt’s mother-in-law. She’s like a surrogate grandmother. Flirts terribly with
me, but it’s harmless, so don’t feel threatened.”

She
scrunched up her face. “How
old
is this woman?”

He
shrugged. “Eighty? Ninety? They all want a piece of me. Sometimes I feel like a
slab of meat.”

“I’m
sure it’s been really hard for you.”

“It
has,” he sighed. “You’ll see. Soon you’ll be addicted too. I’ll have to come in
to your store at random hours of the day just to satisfy your rabid lust.”

She
laughed. “I doubt it.”

He
grabbed her from behind and pulled her back to his front. Pressing his lips to
the spot below her ear, he whispered, “Is that a challenge?”