A Mighty Quinn Seduction (The Mighty Quinns) by Kate Hoffmann Read Free Book Online Page B

think we need something where you’ll do the talking and I’ll do the listening. Maybe you could sing me a song, or tell me a story.”
    Ian chuckled. “Claire, if I sing you a song, I’m certain that there will be puking involved.”
    She patted the spot beside her. “Just lie here with me and keep talking.”
    “If I lie down with you, I’m going to want to do more than just talk,” he said. “It’s very difficult to think about anything else when I touch you.”
    “I like that you can’t resist me,” Claire said. “But now would not be a good time, trust me.”
    Ian stretched out on the bunk, his hand resting gently on her hip. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I could recite a poem for you. Would that help?”
    She nodded, swallowing hard. “What poem?”
    “I have a whole list. Every year, when I got off school for the Christmas holiday, I’d have to memorize some epic poem. And then, on New Year’s Eve, my parents would sit on the sofa and listen as I recited it before they left for the evening. I’ll do ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’ That seems appropriate since we’re on a ship.”
    “You have that memorized?”
    “Yes. That was New Year’s Eve in 2001.” Ian began to recite the poem and Claire closed her eyes, letting the sound of his voice fill her head. It was so easy to imagine a life with Ian. And yet, there was something holding her back, some fear she hadn’t yet faced.
    They were so different, from such different backgrounds. Was that it? Was she afraid he’d be another Simon, the kind of man who might enjoy her company while he was in Ireland and then go right back to his real life in England? Simon had been a boy and Ian was grown man. She could trust him—at least that’s what she’d been telling herself.
    But how much did she really know about him? In the past, she’d never wanted to know the men in her life. It was easier to keep them at a distance if she didn’t care. But she’d grown very fond of Ian, and not just because they had a good time in bed. He was kind and caring. He understood her.
    But how long would it be before she began to doubt herself, before she tried to destroy what they shared? Did she really deserve a guy as wonderful as Ian? Or would all her insecurities ruin it for the both of them?
    If they were ever going to last, she’d have to start believing that she could make him happy. And that nothing would alter his feelings for her. She wanted to believe in love. But it took more faith than she thought she could muster.
    Claire nuzzled her face into his chest, feeling the vibrations of his voice against her forehead. But when he stopped speaking, she looked up at him. He struggled for a moment, then remembered the next stanza and continued on.
    The sound of his words lulled her into a sleepy state of relaxation and before long, she forgot about the rolling and pitching of the ferry and instead, got caught up in the poem. And when he finished the Coleridge, he moved on to Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey.” He followed that up with a few Shakespeare sonnets before launching into “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
    And when she heard the horn from the car ferry, Claire knew they were about to dock. Ian kissed her softly on the top of the head. “I’m going to go get the car. I’ll park it onshore and come back to get you.”
    “Umm,” she said.
    Claire watched as he slipped out of the cabin, then smiled to herself. She was falling in love with Ian. But strangely, the idea didn’t frighten her at all. Instead, it gave her a wonderful sense of peace. But how much longer could that last?
    * * *
    I AN STARED INTO the mirror above the mantle and adjusted his tie, exhaustion testing his patience. They’d spent most of the night and the next morning traveling and upon arriving at his flat in London just before noon, they’d tumbled into bed and had spent the rest of the day entertaining themselves with sex and conversation.
    He was already