Heart's Blood Read online

  Siobhan nodded vigorously and turned back to her son. “And I missed you, too,” she said in that same too-loud voice.

  Lassi frowned at Bres. “What just happened?”

  “She’s completely deaf. The banshee took her hearing away. But she left peace so profound Siobhan is overflowing with gratitude,” he said.

  “We’re so proud of her,” Cillian added. “She faced her fears and forgave. Mostly, she forgave herself. It’s truly a miracle what has happened tonight.”

  Lassi kept her stare on the happy scene of Siobhan holding her child and Bres embracing them both. Her heart throbbed with a dull, pounding ache of longing. I want what they have. She lifted her sorrowful gaze to meet Cillian’s.

  His eyes shone with love, surprising her. He held out his hand, and she took it. Then, he tugged and inclined his head toward the doorway.

  She nodded, rose to her feet, and followed him.

  He guided her from the room while Siobhan and Bres shared tender reunions with their son. He squeezed her hand as he led her into the small patient waiting area. Once they stood in the empty room, he pivoted to face her, and, wordlessly, pulled her close.

  She melted into the embrace, all her bluff and bluster evaporating. She breathed in Cillian’s manly scent. He smelled like heaven on earth. Their bodies fit together like a harmony of songs. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him until this moment.

  “I’ve been a fool,” he said into her hair.

  “Me, too,” she whispered.

  He eased her back and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Oh, sweet Lasairfhíona. I hope you can forgive me.”

  He took her hand and led her toward the beige plastic covered chairs.

  They each took a seat.

  She devoured him with her eyes, her heart filling at the sight of his rugged handsomeness. His dark wavy hair looked windblown. Two days’ worth of stubble covered his jaw. His eyes were lined with evidence of missed sleep. But the look in his fierce gaze spoke of love, making him beautiful.

  “I’ve always lived in the present, yet clung to the past because that was my purpose,” he said. His gaze bore into Lassi’s soul. “But, things change, and I forgot to keep up with them.” He swallowed. “I realize now, I need to live in the present and cling to the future—to our future—to you and our child.” He licked his lips, as if nervous about her response.

  A million comebacks rolled into her mouth, ready to launch. She bit them back, choosing, for once, to let Cillian finish his thoughts.

  “Lassi, love…” He swallowed again, before sliding from his chair and kneeling on the ground before her. Once settled, he clasped her hands.

  Her heart did all sorts of flutter-skips as she gazed at him.

  “I want to be a good father to our child and…” He cleared his throat. “More than anything, I want to be your partner, lover, and friend in all things. I’m going to ask for a curate to come to live at the rectory so you and I can move in together. I’ve finally let it into my thick head that the Leviathan transformation has protected my identity all these years. It warps people’s minds into seeing me the way they need to see me—why would it fail me now? I want to build a future together, Lasairfhíona Finn, the love of my long life.”

  “Oh, Cillian.” She knew she’d burst into tears at any moment.

  “Wait, love. I need to ask you something.” His grip tightened, and he held her hands reverently between his own as if she were made of delicate spun glass. “Marry me.” His gaze shone somber and sincere as he waited for her answer.

  Sitting in the glaring fluorescent light of the waiting area, surrounded by light-green painted walls and tacky art, the moment couldn’t have been more beautiful.

  When she didn’t speak, his hopeful expression began to falter.

  “I guess I blew it, didn’t I?” he said, the light fading from his eyes.

  She shook her head. “No, Cillian, you didn’t blow anything. Not the way I’m going to blow you in a few minutes, that is.”

  A grin spread across her face.

  Sparks of lust danced in his gaze. His tongue slid across his lips, taunting her.

  Her insides quivered. If they weren’t in a fecking hospital, she’d bang him right here and now.

  “Of course I’ll marry you, Cillian Ward. But not yet.”

  He cocked his head to the side, a quizzical expression drawing his eyebrows together.

  “Sit.” Sliding her hands from his grip, she patted the chair next to her. My knees would be screaming if I knelt so long on that hard, unforgiving tile.

  He straightened and sat next to her.

  “I’ve been a bit thick in the head myself. I was so afraid you didn’t want me, I chose not to give you any room to figure things out on your own.” Lassi bit her lip. Her stomach trembled, and not simply with two floating twin squid. Admitting mistakes took more than a wee bit of courage. She inhaled a deep breath and continued. “I understand a few things, now—including how important your work is both to you and to those who believe in you. We have plenty of time to figure it all out. The most important thing is to get this life safely into the world and to be together.”

  “Oh, Lassi. I’m the luckiest man on the planet.” He beamed.

  She rose to her feet, extending her hand. “Come, lover. Somewhere in this conversation, I recall mentioning a blow job. And I’ve got just the spot.”

  He bolted to his feet and followed her.

  “One of the nurses told me there’s a closet that’s seldom used for supplies but often used for…” She turned her head and waggled her eyebrows at him.

  A low deep laugh left his throat.

  She turned the corner, heading to the elevator bay.

  A red glowing Up arrow flashed above the doors. A whooshing sound came from the elevator shaft, indicating someone might step from those doors any second. Next to the lift stood another door.

  “In here,” she whispered, not that anyone could hear them. She yanked open the closet door and dragged Cillian inside. She closed the door right as the elevator dinged.

  The closet held shelves with rows and rows of cleaning supplies, bandages, bedpans, alcohol swabs, and catheter tubes.

  Feeling the urge to role-play, she found an open box of size small purple gloves. She retrieved a pair and stretched them over her hands.

  “Ready to play doctor and nurse?” She grinned. Then, she found some of the lubricating jelly used to make speculums slide in easier. She rubbed some on her gloves.

  “Oh, I can think of numerous places that need thorough exploration.” Feral light shone in Cillian’s eyes as his hands slid up her shirt.

  She tugged at his zipper, shoving her gloved hand inside his trousers, seeking his hot, hard cock.

  “I need to perform an examination,” she said. When her fingers wrapped around Cillian’s cock, her knees practically gave way.

  How long has it been? Too long.

  She stroked him, her lubricated palms sliding slickly up and down his length.

  “Woman, you’re going to make me lose it in a heartbeat,” Cillian growled. He leaned his head down and nipped at the base of her neck.

  Voices sounded outside the door.

  Lassi stiffened, clutching his throbbing heat.

  Cillian’s head fell back against the edge of a metal shelf.

  “Good God, Lassi. I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

  “Did you get those medical supplies I asked you for?” a male voice said.

  “Oh, gosh,” a female said. “I forgot. There might be some in this closet.”

  “Fucking hell,” Lassi hissed.

  Cillian’s fingers massaged her nipples through her bra as the couple outside the closet debated nitrile gloves and syringe sizes.

  “I doubt if my size glove is in there. I’ve got pretty big hands,” the male said. He let out a low laugh.

  “You’ve got pretty big other things, too,” the woman cooed.

  Lassi grinned at Cillian.


  “They’ve got more than a professional relationship, don’t you think?” she whispered.

  “Don’t care about them. I need to touch you.” Cillian slid his hands around behind her to unhook Lassi’s bra. Once done, his fingers sought her skin. He let out a quiet groan.

  Lassi’s insides steamed and shivered with desire.

  “We could slip inside this closet for a quick romp,” the woman cooed.

  The doorknob clattered.

  “Shit,” Lassi hissed. Don’t come in here, don’t come in here, don’t come in here.

  “There’s nothing I’d like more, but I’ve got to check on a patient,” the man said.

  “Okay, if you say so,” the woman said in a teasing, lilting voice.

  “Wait,” the man said.

  A dull thump thwacked the door like someone fell against it.

  “Mmm,” the woman moaned.

  Cillian unfastened the button at Lassi’s waistband. Then, he unzipped her pants and slid his hand beneath her panties.

  “Christ Almighty, you’re wet,” he whispered, his voice husky.

  She arched her hips into his deft fingers, wanting to cry out from the pleasure coursing through her.

  “What if they open the door?” she said in a low voice between pants.

  He brought his mouth close to hers. “We tell them this room is occupied,” he whispered, his breath warm against her lips. “And they can find another.” While fingering her, he kissed her, long and deep.

  Her core sizzled.

  Kissy-kissy lip smacks and moans came from outside the door.

  “Dr. O’Brian. Paging Dr. O’Brian,” sounded over the hospital com-system.

  “Damn,” the man, presumably Dr. O’Brian, said. “This will have to wait.”

  “I’ll be the one waiting,” the woman cooed.

  Their footsteps clattered away from the elevator bay.

  “That was close,” Lassi sighed.

  Cillian shoved her pants down, then his.

  “Oh, Good Christ,” Lassi moaned. “Get that bad boy inside me, now.” She kicked her shoes off and stepped free of one pants leg.

  Cillian lifted her. Holding her backside firmly with one hand, he grasped his cock with the other and slid it between her folds, impaling her.

  They both groaned.

  Gripping her butt, he slammed her against the shelf, knocking a few boxes of bandages free. The shelves clanged against the wall in a rhythmical thump, thump, thump.

  She clung to him, her sticky gloved hands around his neck, her legs gripping the backs of his thighs.

  He rocked his hips into her core, groaning as he dived into his passion.

  They’d both kept it bottled up, for too long.

  The bedpans clanged and clattered.

  A box of sterile syringes fell to the floor.

  Lassi’s orgasm came hard and furious. She held back the yells that threatened to burst free.

  Cillian soon followed. His eyes practically rolled back in his head as he gave a few hard thrusts of pleasured release.

  Out in the elevator bay, a ding heralded the arrival of the lift. Footsteps and voices sounded.

  Cillian placed his hand over Lassi’s mouth.

  She bit his finger, as her core throbbed over his cock.

  He winced but stayed quiet.

  When the clatter of shoes and boots disappeared, he removed his hand.

  Lowering his head, he whispered in her ear, “We should get cleaned up. Our moment of grace won’t last forever.”

  “Right,” she breathed. She slid from Cillian’s hips and began righting her pants. That done, she slipped her feet into her shoes.

  Cillian tugged his pants up.

  “Wait.” She searched the shelves for some gauze. After tearing open the paper packet, she helped herself to some hydrogen peroxide, saturated the gauze, and began wiping off Cillian’s half-hard cock, still slick with her juices. She gave it a loving kiss, then tucked it inside his trousers. “I love you so much, Cillian Ward,” she said, rising to stand.

  He leaned forward, cupped her face in his palms, and said, “And I love you, Lasairfhíona Finn. I’ve never been happier in my life than when I’m with you.”

  Then, he kissed her, lovingly.

  She’d never felt more loved in her life. When they drew back from the kiss, she said, “I’ve got more clean-up to do.” She opened another gauze packet, poured out more hydrogen peroxide, and cleaned the back of his neck. She rolled the gloves off over the gauze and made a tidy package. “We’re going to have to find a way to replace these supplies.”

  “We will.” Cillian stooped to retrieve the boxes of bandages.

  Once they’d tidied the supplies, a strong, persistent thought buzzed around her brain like a bumblebee. Tell him. She bit the thought back. It can wait. I’ll tell him later.

  “What’s going on in the head of yours?” Cillian asked, a sweet smile on his face.

  “Um, you know this baby thing?” she said.

  He placed his palm over her belly. “This wonderful, joyous life inside of you that we created with our love?”

  His eyes shone.

  “Yes, that’s the one.” She bit her lip. “More like the two. We’re having twins.”

  Cillian began to blink and sway.

  “Twins?” he stammered, his eyes two iridescent opals in a sea of possibility.

  She grabbed his belt loops to steady him.

  “Oh, Lassi,” he said. He seized her face, and kissed her, hard.

  They fell against one of the shelves, knocking bedpans to the floor with a clanging din.

  And this, Lassi thought, reeling from the kiss, is the best response, ever.

  Chapter 26

  6 months later - Lassi

  It had to be the most gorgeous, mind-bending day Ireland had ever seen, as Lassi prepared a pot of decaf coffee in the kitchen. The coffee maker burbled and sputtered while hot water dripped through the grounds into the glass carafe. Sunlight streamed through the window over the sink, creating patterns of light on the tile floor. It hadn’t rained in weeks. And the green hills and blue sky were as brilliant as brilliant gets.

  Upon arising, she’d dressed in her tent-like purple paisley top and her biggest stretch pants. She only had a couple of garments big enough to fit over her huge belly. Her long hair held fast in a ponytail clasp. Eight months into her pregnancy, she couldn’t be bothered with much else.

  Her phone rested on the counter, set to speaker. Cillian had only left the house an hour ago, but she missed him already, so she’d called him.

  She stooped to get a clean mug from the dishwasher. In the process, she bumped the side of her breast against the counter.

  “My boobs are the size of watermelons,” she lamented.

  “The better to get my hands on them and play and suck to my heart’s content and your eternal pleasure,” Cillian said.

  “Yeah,” she scoffed. “Me and my huge body. I’m as big as a house.”

  “That’s why we’re getting a newer, larger house,” Cillian said with a chuckle.

  “Wrong thing to say,” she shot back, sensing a hissy-fit attack about to launch from her mouth. She paused, inhaling the fragrant aroma of coffee.

  “You’re not as big as a house, love. More like a garden shed,” he soothed.

  “Nice try. You might want to watch what you say. Don’t forget, now that I’m on maternity leave I’ll be around more.” She lifted the carafe and poured coffee into her mug. Her mouth salivated at the thought of putting the cup to lips.

  “I look forward to it,” Cillian said, his voice laced with loving concern and simmering, sexy possibilities. He rarely got ruffled by her mood swings.

  Her heart swelled with love as she scooped sugar into her cup. Ever since that night in the supply closet, they’d been full-on in love, two individuals committed to creating a life together. She stepped toward the refrigerator and retrieved the cream. After pouring a dollop into her java and stirring the
mixture into a heavenly brew, she picked up the phone and the coffee and waddled toward the front room.

  Crusty, never too far from her side lately, trotted after her.

  “When will you be back?” she said, making her way to the sofa.

  “I told you, I’ll be home after church service,” he said. “I think Father Kennedy will do fine with his first sermon. We’re going to rehearse one more time, and then, I’ll set him loose on the villagers of Ballynagaul.”

  “Sounds good,” she said. “I miss you already.”

  “Me, too,” he said.

  They both sounded as if they had a case of “teenage crush.” Lassi had never acted so goofy with a man, ever.

  “I gotta go. Love you to the stars,” Cillian said.

  “Love you to the moon,” she replied, clutching the cup of coffee. She disconnected the phone and set it on the end table.

  Crusty leaped next to her and curled at her side.

  She reached out to touch him with her free hand, pleased that he didn’t hiss and snarl at her. Instead, he started purring. She smiled, contentedly, her gaze landing on the mug in her other hand. And here comes my morning bliss-moment…coffee. Just as she lifted the cup to her lips, a knock sounded on the door.

  “Shite,” she muttered, hurriedly taking a small sip. “Ever since I moved to Ballyna-no-tea-or-coffee-in-the-morning, I rarely enjoy a cuppa anything before being interrupted.” She set the mug down, rose and waddled to the door.

  Siobhan stood at the door appearing truly transformed. Recently wed to Bres, she looked radiant in her tan slacks and golden-brown jumper. Her reddish-blonde had been piled in a high, artfully messy bun. Her blue eyes no longer looked like haunted pits. She’d toned herself through gym workouts and eating well.

  “Lassi,” she said in her slightly loud voice. She beamed at Lassi.

  Lassi threw open her arms and embraced Siobhan. She stepped back, signing, Come in, come in. She ushered Siobhan into the front room where they sat on opposite ends of the sofa, with Crusty in the middle. Would you like some coffee? Tea?

  Crusty opened his eyes to slits, eying them both. Then, he got up, took a couple of steps, and flopped against Lassi’s hip. Satisfied, he resumed his snooze and purr.