Read The Pleasures of Autumn for Free Online Page B

eyes remained closed.
    Niall put his hand on her shoulder to wake her. ‘Sinead, it’s okay.’
    She flinched. ‘No, no, no, no. I won’t.’ Her voice had gone up an octave, more like a child than the assured woman she seemed to be.
    He shook her again and she batted his hand away. She was deep in the grip of whatever nightmare she was enduring. ‘RoRo!’ Tears leaked from under the closed eyelids.
    Ah, damn it. Niall could never bear to see a woman crying. Not like this. He climbed into her bed and pulled her firmly against him. ‘Shush, shush, it’s all right now,’ he said, much the way he had to his sister Alison when she was a kid.
    Sinead struggled feebly against him for a few minutes, then settled with a sigh, and relaxed into deep sleep.
    He would stay here for a few minutes, Niall assured himself. He wasn’t enjoying holding her like this. He didn’t miss a woman in his bed. This wasn’t even his bed. But it was more comfortable than the lumpy child-sized mattress in the spare room. He stretched out his long legs. A few more minutes of comfort, to make sure she was sleeping soundly, and then he’d return to his own room.
    Just a few more minutes …



3
     
    Her head was pounding and her mouth tasted like something had died in there. Sinead tried to groan, but her throat was parched and it came out as a cough. She pressed a hand against her thumping forehead. How much whiskey had she had to drink last night? A heavy arm snaked across her waist and she was dragged against a large warm body. Niall palmed her breast with a possessive grip. He snuffled against the back of her neck before his steady breathing told her that he was still sleeping.
    Oh god, I didn’t. Please don’t let me have fallen into bed with him.
    Sinead risked a peek beneath the duvet. In the early morning light, she could see she was still wearing her panties, so they hadn’t had sex, but the strap of her camisole had fallen from her shoulder and Niall was taking full advantage of her exposed flesh. The desire to wriggle free wrestled with the unfamiliar pleasure of sharing her bed with a man. Hedonism won. Niall was still asleep and it wouldn’t do any harm to enjoy this for a few minutes more. She closed her eyes, savouring the pleasure.
    The chest that pressed against her back was almost completely smooth. The muscular thighs that spooned hers were strong. On the small table beside the bed was a clasp for his hair. The sight of it made her want to turn in his arms. Before Niall, she had dismissed longhair on men as an aberration, something for rebellious teenagers or ageing rock stars. He had definitely changed her mind.
    Niall reminded her of a pirate from an erotic romance novel. She would love to see him standing on the deck of a frigate, wearing a pair of indecently tight pants, a white linen shirt and his hair loose about his shoulders. He could carry her off to his cabin, tie her to his bed and …
    Something hard stirring against her thighs startled her. The hand on her breast was no longer still. Niall rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger as he slowly plumped her breast. God, that felt good. Sinead wriggled her hips experimentally against him and was rewarded with a lazy thrust.
    Her aching nipple protested when it was abandoned and Niall’s fingers trailed slowly down her abdomen, learning each curve of her ribs and the soft rounding of her belly until he reached the lacy edge of her panties. She held her breath as he paused there as if waiting for permission to continue. A small whimper of excitement escaped her throat and her hips moved in invitation.
    His hand slid beneath the scrap of silk and he hissed when he realized that she was completely smooth. In Lottie’s line of work she couldn’t be bothered with the endless maintenance. She was as bare as an egg, thanks to a series of laser treatments. His searching fingers slid between her folds and brushed her clit.
    ‘Oh god,’ Sinead moaned.
    He