The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes Read online

  ‘I decided not to hide in the attic,’ she said, and hated the fact that her voice sounded uncertain.

  For the first time since she’d known him, Danny James was struck dumb. He just stared, hands out, breathing hard, face frozen in a stunned kind of yearning.

  ‘What?’ she asked, his amazement bolstering her. ‘You don’t think the virgin-on-the-way-to-a-sacrifice look is good for me?’

  ‘I think it’s about to make my eyes melt.’ He unfroze, walking up to her and lifting a trembling hand to her hair. ‘My sweet God, Dee. You’re an earth goddess.’

  She smiled. ‘That’s actually what I was hoping for. Something in the Persephone line. Innocent but brazen.’

  ‘I couldn’t have said it better,’ He kept fingering her curls. ‘Great dress, by the way. Do you wear it for any other guys?’

  ‘I wear it to paint.’

  He nodded, still looking stunned. ‘I bet you do. It goes great with your butterfly.’

  Dee felt the fizz of his arousal along every nerve ending. ‘An added bonus, just for you.’

  He nodded. Swallowed. ‘Um, would you like a drink? I sure think I’m gonna need one.’

  Dee wanted to laugh. She’d never felt so strong before, for once in her relationship life not the supplicant. He needed a drink. And not because he was disgusted. Okay, that might come later, but for now she was damn well going to enjoy the feverish light in his eyes.

  ‘I’m not used to drinking,’ she said. ‘It makes me a little nuts.’

  Danny held out a hand, as if calling her to dance. ‘Oh, but this night demands a little nuts, don’t you think? And I promise. You’re going to like this.’

  ‘As much as the pop beads?’

  Good heavens. His eyes simply went black. ‘Oh, no. But it’s a close second to the feather boa.’

  Dee grinned and laid her hand in his. As tenderly as if he were escorting her to a cotillion, he guided her over to where the blankets were spread and helped her down to sit with her back against the Great Big Rock. She faced the edge of the cliff, which gave her a lovely view of the sleeping fields and the deepening twilight sky overhead. Peacock and carmine and a slash of gold where the lowered sun licked the top of low clouds.

  And there, the evening star. Let us be safe. And let me not disappoint this good man.

  Sliding out of his jacket, Danny laid it on the slab of granite and took the glasses in hand. With those in one hand and the bottle in the other, he slid down to nestle right next to Dee on the thick plaid blanket. ‘Now, this is some of the finest whiskey the Irish make. And the Irish make great whiskey.’ He poured two fingers each and handed Dee her glass.

  ‘Have you been to Ireland?’ she asked, measuring the light that glinted off the amber liquid.

  ‘Often.’ He carefully set the bottle over his head on the rock. ‘You think the fields are green here in the spring. In Ireland they’re so intense they make your eyes ache.’

  ‘And Paris. You said you’ve been to Paris. Have you walked Montmartre?’

  Danny laced the fingers of his free hand with hers. ‘It’s a flea market of a place with narrow, steep streets and quaint cafes and one of the most beautiful churches on earth. Would you let me take you there?’

  Dee held on tightly to him, both with her hand and her eyes. ‘I can’t think of anything I’d love more.’

  ‘But we’ll see?’

  She opened her mouth. Shut it. Shook her head. ‘This isn’t a test, Danny,’ she said. ‘It’s not pass fail. I want to make love to you because I love you. But it could well prove that we’re not able to go any farther.’

  ‘You mean me.’

  ‘I know who I am. You don’t.’

  ‘I told you. I know enough. Did I tell you I love you?’

  Her smile was wistful. ‘You did.’

  ‘And you’ll let me show you?’

  ‘As long as I get to show you back.’

  He leaned down, so that he blocked the last light of afternoon and the breeze, so that he brought the stillness of night with him, and he kissed her. Hot and wet and openmouthed, but with unspeakable gentleness. Heat swept through Dee. Longing such as she’d never known. Terror.

  She denied the terror its root, and leaned into the kiss with every ounce of passion she’d stored up for twenty-six years.

  This time it was Danny who pulled back, panting. ‘You haven’t had your drink yet.’

  Dee ran her tongue over her lips to capture the rest of his taste. ‘You want to take the time?’

  He scowled at her, flicking the end of her nose with his finger. ‘This is a seduction,’ he informed her archly. ‘Not a blitzkrieg. Proprieties will be observed at all times.’

  ‘Oh, good God,’ she said with a scowl. ‘Another movie quote. Are you sure you shouldn’t be dating Mare?’

  He laughed. ‘Another reason to love you. You recognize The Quiet Man. A classic in film.’

  ‘You aren’t a John Wayne fan, are you?’

  ‘John Wayne is God. It’s tattooed on my left buttock. Wanna see?’

  ‘It is not. I already have.’

  He looked astonished. ‘You’ve been peeking?’

  Dee lifted her glass and grinned at him over its rim. ‘Twee. Twee.’

  Danny spun around on her. ‘Good God. It wasn’t stuffed.’

  ‘Not the owl. And yes,’ she said. ‘She did like you. Especially that star birthmark on the inside of your right thigh.’

  ‘Wanna see it again?’

  She grinned, giddy. ‘Birthmarks make me hot.’

  He drew a finger down the hollow of her throat. ‘That can be arranged.’

  Dee took another sip of the whiskey. Danny was right. It was smoky and smooth and the perfect accompaniment for a tryst in the middle of a stone circle. It settled into her stomach and sent tendrils of warmth spreading through her. Good. A few more of these and she might relax enough to avoid disaster.

  Danny finished his drink in a gulp and set both glasses aside. Dee damn near gulped herself.

  ‘There is one thing you should probably know,’ she said. ‘You shift. I heard.’

  He reached both hands out to her. Dee shied back. ‘Uh, no. This is something else. A direct result, if you will, of the shifting.’

  Danny lowered his arms. ‘I’m doing the best I can here, Dee. But my patience is not what it usually is tonight.’

  ‘The libido spell,’ she said with a nod. ‘I know. It’s affecting me, too. Do you know you smell like the sea and the air right before a storm?’

  ‘I hope you like those things.’

  ‘Hugely. I’m a virgin.’

  She’d done it again. What had happened to her tact? She squeezed her eyes closed in humiliation, knowing damn well Danny would be appalled.

  ‘It hasn’t just been a long time,’ she babbled. ‘It’s been never. Not because I didn’t try. I did. But… so far there isn’t a guy who’s lasted past the point where I shift. At least one wasn’t heard to speak again for four solid months.’

  ‘Never?’ he asked, his voice oddly small. ‘Not even in college?’

  ‘By then I’d given up. Besides, I was too busy. Mare was going through puberty, and it was spectacular’ She shrugged and rested her head against his chest. ‘I hope you’re not allergic to dust bunnies. I really want to do this.’

  She surprised a laugh out of him, which got her eyes open fast. ‘I’m sure it amuses you. It’s not quite so fun from here.’

  He wouldn’t let her pull away this time. Reaching out, he slid his hands into her hair and pulled her toward him. ‘I promise,’ he said, his face no more than inches from hers so she couldn’t miss his sincerity, ‘you will not leave this mountain a virgin. I think you can trust me to make it past the dust bunnies and lost socks. And I further promise you’re going to enjoy it.’

  Dee couldn’t help smiling. ‘Did I tell you I love you?’

  Danny smiled back, and it was incandescent. ‘You did.’

  And then he kissed her.