Finding Ellie (Complete)

Chapter 17

He was pointing to a stone cottage, or what was left of it anyway. The roof on one side had sunken through, and he was hoping the side that hadn’t would be sufficient shelter to protect them from the worsening storm.

“Are you ready?” he asked, parking close.

Ellie nodded and they ran for it, soaked to the bone within seconds as the rain came down in relentless icy sheets. Aidan launched himself at the door a few times before it gave way. Inside, Ellie, dripping wet, very much like the very first day they met, rubbed her arms for warmth. Upon further inspection, the part that had sunken in was on the other side of a wall, completely blocked from them. It had been empty for some time judging by the layer of dust on everything, but its last inhabitant had left, obviously planning to come back. Some basic furnishings were scattered in the small room, there were even a few empty dishes sitting on the small table. There was still wood to burn piled up beside the hearth, to Aidan’s delight. That was a stroke of luck. Aidan rummaged through the emergency kit he had brought with them, dug out the matches and started building the logs to light a fire.

“We’ll wait out the storm here. It’s not much but… what the hell are you doing?” She was taking off her damn clothes. For God’s sake, she was standing there in nothing but her undergarments.

“We can’t stay in wet clothes!” she exclaimed in a no nonsense tone. Ok, she could have maybe said something to him before stripping down to her underwear but the look of complete horror on his face had been worth

it. It was like he had never seen a nearly, naked woman before, and she knew that wasn’t true.

Aidan stood, moved to the door. “You’re right, we’ll catch our deaths.”

“Where are you going?” The man looked positively terrified. If it wasn’t so pathetic, she probably would have laughed.

“I have some blankets in the truck. We might as well make ourselves comfortable; we’ll be here for the night I’m guessing.”

                                                                                            ***

To ensure she had enough supplies for a possible lengthy power outage, Mrs. Callaghan had gone to the market where she had run into Fiona. She had confided to the barmaid that she hadn’t heard from Ellie since that afternoon and she was getting worried about her. Fiona put her mind at ease and had advised her where Ellie and Aidan had gone. She supposed she should have been happy to hear they were together, but the road they were traveling had a tendency to wash away at the first hint of a storm. And this one was no laughing matter. It had everyone in Doolin, and the neighboring counties, hunkering down and preparing for what seemed like the storm of the decade. It was getting worse by the second.

Her own preparations were under way. Candles had been placed in each room, bathtubs were filled with water in the rooms where there were no guests, and the windows had been shuttered. The only thing missing now was Ellie.

Over at the pub, Fiona was debating whether or not to close up and send everyone home before it got too bad. The wind was howling and had blown open the doors twice already. On top of that, she was fielding questions from Brenna about Aidan. If it wasn’t for the fact that the woman could sing, Fiona would have terminated her right then and there. Aidan had given her the task of finding someone else

before giving Brenna her walking papers and Fiona was happy to say she might have found the perfect replacement. She caught the little songbird’s eye and gave her a small devious smile. Oh yes, if all went accordingly, Brenna would be out of her hair for good within a week.

Having studied Restaurant Management in Dublin, Fiona was often asked why she hadn’t opened her own establishment in a bigger city or town. She had intended to start out small and had come back home and taken the position of bartender three years prior but ended up staying. The fact of the matter was she liked it at Dunne’s. The pay wasn’t bad; she loved the people and her small village. Fiona was also often asked why she and Aidan had never hit it off. While she could say she loved him, it wasn’t that kind of love and she knew it was the same for Aidan. They were more like siblings who worked very well together. Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from really milking her and Aidan’s work chemistry while Brenna was around. It was the little things that gave her pleasure.

The doors blew open once again, prompting Fiona to make an executive decision. She took the busboy and cook aside to advise them, and to have them help her close up quickly. After making the announcement to the patrons, Brenna came to find her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The redhead demanded her hands on her hips. “Aidan won’t be happy about this.”

Fiona stood up straight, reaching her full height. She stood nose to nose with Brenna, daring her to say anything else.

“Don’t test me.”

The problem with Fiona, a fuming Brenna thought, is she thinks she’s in charge if Aidan isn’t around. And, unfortunately for Brenna, everyone else followed the barmaid’s lead.

Brenna sat at the bar waiting for everyone to leave. She helped herself to the whiskey, poured three fingers in a glass. Tipping her head back, she downed the drink, feeling the liquor burning down her throat. She knew Aidan had come to the pub earlier that day. For as long as she had known him he had not shown up for work exactly twice. Once for being so sick after catching the dreadful flu that had been making its way around and the other was when his stupid dog had been hit by a car.

A small smile played at her lips remembering that night. After finding out the dog was going to be all right he had bought a round for the pub. They had all stayed after closing and kept celebrating until they had been the only two left. He never drank. She blamed it on his father, the man hadn’t been able to control himself and it was evident Aidan was afraid to go down that route. Brenna hated that she hadn’t been able to get him into her bed, but oh, she had tasted his mouth. She had initiated the kiss of course, caught him off-guard and planted one right on him. For one, magnificent second he had wrapped his strong arms around her before realizing what he was doing and pulled away. She refused to believe he had simply been caught up in the moment. No, he had wanted it as much as she had, that’s what she chose to believe. It was then she overheard Fiona speaking with the cook.

“I just got word from Ryan. He wanted to make sure they got back safe but he said they left a couple of hours ago.”

They. He was with her. He had taken the American to McCarthy’s and now no one knew where they were or what they were doing. Brenna poured more whiskey in her glass, not bothering to count how many fingers this time. She had seen, hadn’t she, how he looked at Ellie. How his eyes softened at the sight of her, or how his whole spirit seemed to lift at the mere mention of her name. The whole thing was getting to be much more work than it was worth.

                                                                                                ***

Night had fallen. The storm was still raging outside but inside, the makeshift shelter with the fire as their only source of heat and light, it was surprisingly cozy and warm. The blankets he had brought in from the truck were spread out on the stone floor close to the hearth. And, as the wind blew, she sat there in one of his damn shirts, bare legs and feet, looking positively ravishing.

“It’s not much but it’ll do.” Aidan bit into the piece of beef jerky he had found in the emergency kit. He passed over a piece to her.

Ellie chuckled softly. She wasn’t a fan of the stuff but she was so hungry she gladly accepted it.

“It’s not so bad.”

“I’m sorry I got you into this.” He hung his head.

“Don’t do that.” Ellie shifted to move closer then pretended to pick at something when Aidan stood.

If she touched him now he was afraid he would take her right then and there. He got to his feet with the pretense of checking on the storm but in reality he just needed to put some distance between them. How was he going to lay there, so close, and not touch her? It was going to take everything he had in him. Standing by one of the boarded windows, he glanced back. The firelight made her skin glow; her hair had dried in soft waves. God it was going to be a long night.

He loved her and she loved him. He knew this to be the truth. She wasn’t the type of woman to be casual and this worried him as he wasn’t the type of man to commit. He knew she would stay if he asked her. He knew she would expect much more from him than he was willing to give, even if she would never voice it out loud.

“We’ll be fine, I’m just sorry we can’t contact anyone to let them know we’re ok.” Ellie tried to keep the conversation light.

She couldn’t let him be aware of what was in her thoughts. He had offered her a long-sleeved, plaid shirt the moment he had come back with the blankets, which she had gratefully slipped into. Now warm, and smelling of Aidan, she sat and watched him as he looked between the cracks of a boarded up window. Being here with her, like this, concerned him. She could see it on his face as plain as day.

Aidan paced back, knelt in front of the fire. He poked at the embers and added a few more logs. When he sat down next to Ellie again, he looked at her, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” he said, again. “But I’m not sorry we’re here together.”

He bowed his head until their lips were barely apart. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. He shouldn’t be encouraging this but be damned he was going to get a part of her. Their lips touched once then he crashed his mouth down over hers. She tasted of rain, nerves and excitement all rolled into one. When she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck, his heart faltered inside his chest. Winding a hand into the back her hair, he lowered her gently to the blanket, his body covering hers.

“I need to see you.” He muttered an oath as he fiddled with the buttons of her shirt - his shirt - then with her bra until finally, finally, she lay there exposed looking like a faerie princess. Hair rendered golden from the light of the fire, cream colored skin and so soft under his caress. The gentle curves of her body and firm breasts screamed for him to touch and explore. She was everything he had both dreamt for and feared to have.

He was intoxicating. Ellie could feel herself coming undone, never wanting it to stop. His hands were everywhere then, his mouth was on her jaw, her neck, her shoulders until he found her breasts. She couldn’t seem to control how heavy she was breathing or the little gasps that

escaped her; her body had never reacted like this with anyone else. She wound her arms around him again, pressing him close, closer until there was no space between them.

“Aidan, please.” She choked out. She couldn’t stand it any longer, she needed him now.

Her eyes popped open as the warmth of his body suddenly vanished from hers. He was sitting back, rubbing a hand over his face when she looked over at him. As quickly as it had started it came to an abrupt crashing halt. “Aidan?”

“It’s getting late.” He turned his head away from her. “We should get some sleep.”

“Can we talk about this?” Ellie gave him an incredulous look, urging him with her voice to look at her goddamn it.

“There’s nothing to talk about. The whole thing was a mistake.” Aidan finally did look at her then, disgusted with himself for the hurt he had just put in her eyes.