The Mighty Quinns: Dex

She’d seen photos, but they just hadn’t done him justice, as he’d usually been wearing sunglasses and a cap pulled low over his eyes—the silent partner in the pair. He’d always managed to make himself seem very mysterious...and a little dangerous, too. But now, without cap or sunglasses, she realized he had striking features, high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose, a strong chin and lips that were...very kissable. She swallowed hard. He was, most definitely, the kind of man who made a girl’s knees weak and her heart pound.

Marlie searched for a flaw in his face and had almost given up when she noticed the dark smudges beneath his eyes. He looked as if he’d been out late the night before. Marlie wondered if lack of sleep might make him more irritable and less likely to listen to her proposal. She decided to proceed carefully.

“My sister mentioned you’d be calling,” he said, stepping aside. “Come on in, then. I’m Dex. Dex Kennedy.”

Oh, that accent. If his looks hadn’t unnerved her, then his voice would finish the job. Deep and rich, each word lilted with the sound of Ireland. She thought she’d grown used to it over the past few weeks, but obviously she hadn’t.

“And you might be?” he asked. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten if my sister told me your name.”

“Marlie. Marlie Jenner,” she said.

Well, this was off to a good start, she thought. He hadn’t slammed the door in her face. Maybe Claire had decided to pave the way for her.

“Come on,” he said.

Marlie realized she’d been frozen on the front step. She picked up her foot to move, concentrating on projecting a confident air. “Thank you,” she said.

“It’s a bit chilly in here,” he said. “We’ve been keeping the temperature down to save on heating costs. Let me show you the kitchen. It’s this way. Tea?”

Marlie followed him, not sure what there was to see in the kitchen or why it seemed so important to him to show her. Though her job really didn’t include fixing tea, she was willing to make quite a few concessions to get Dex to agree to her project. Besides, making tea might give her a little more time to collect her composure.

“I could make you some tea,” she offered.

“Only if you’d like some,” he said.

“Actually, I prefer coffee.”

“Would you like coffee?”

“No,” Marlie said.

An uncomfortable silence grew between them. Maybe she was a little starstruck. After all, this was Dex Kennedy, award-winning filmmaker. And he was hot.

“What do you think?” Dex finally said.

“About?”

“I know, it’s not a very posh setup. But everything works, it’s just a little old. You have your cooker and your oven. There’s no microwave and not many modern conveniences. I guess some people might find it charming.”

“Yes. It is that.”

“I suppose you’ll want to see the bedrooms?” Once again, his gaze met hers, but this time it lingered just a little longer than necessary. Was he feeling the same strange attraction as she was? Or was this all in her overactive imagination?

“They’re this way,” he finally said, leading her back out into the living room. She walked behind him, taking the chance to admire the muscular shoulders beneath the faded cotton shirt. Her attention dropped lower and focused on his backside...just as he suddenly stopped and turned around.

His brow rose and she thought she saw a tiny twitch of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Go right in,” he murmured. “Do you want to test out the mattress?”

Marlie’s heart slammed in her chest. Was this some kind of game he was playing, trying to shake her confidence? Or was it a test to see just how far she’d go to get what she wanted? Though it wouldn’t be difficult to fall into bed with this man.

“Mr. Kennedy, I think—”

“It’s not a big bed,” he said, pointing to it inside the bedroom door. “But I think there would be plenty of room for...whatever.” He nodded. “Go on, then.”

With a trembling hand, she opened the bedroom door and walked inside. What the hell was going on? “Mr. Kennedy, I’m not sure that—”

“You don’t have to call me Mr. Kennedy,” he said, his voice soft as he stood behind her. “Dex will do.”

Marlie pressed her hand to her chest, her heart pounding beneath her fingers. This was crazy! She didn’t even know this man, and yet, if he’d just give her a tiny little push, she’d fall onto the bed, ready to let him...ravish her.

“Ah...”

“Dex,” he said, as if she needed a reminder.

In truth, for a moment there, she had forgotten his name—and the reason she’d come. “Dex,” she repeated. Slowly, she turned, determined to face her fears.

“Oh, and Claire says the rent is very reasonable,” he said. “For a place like this.”

“Rent?”

“You didn’t think you’d be paying rent?”

“Did your sister tell you I was coming?”

“Yes. She said you’d be needing a place to stay next term. While you’re here teaching.”

Ah, obviously, he thought she was someone else. But maybe she could use that to her advantage. Considering the rather uncanny skill he had of avoiding her until now, she wasn’t about to give him a chance to toss her out on her ear. If they could just get to know each other, maybe he’d be more inclined to accept her proposal.

“What is the rent?” she asked.

“Didn’t Claire tell you?”

Marlie shook her head. “I think she wanted to make sure I liked what I saw first.” She glanced up and met his eyes.

“And do you?” he asked, his gaze fixed on hers.

His attention drifted to her lips and Marlie held her breath, wondering if he was contemplating something more than just conversation. A man didn’t just stare at a woman’s mouth for no reason. Unless, of course, she had something in her teeth. Oh, God.

“I do,” Marlie said. “Where’s the bathroom?”

He pointed to a door near the entrance to the kitchen and she hurried over and stepped inside. Staring into the mirror, she smiled, examining her teeth. No, nothing. Marlie groaned inwardly. That meant he was staring at her mouth because he—

“Is there anything else I can show you?” he asked, appearing in the doorway.

She quickly spun around, leaning back against the sink. All right, he was toying with her. Maybe it was time to put a stop to this and tell him why she was really here. Marlie drew a steadying breath.

“Would you like to get something to drink?” he asked. “Or maybe something to eat? Dinner, perhaps?”

“I—I had a late—a late lunch,” she stammered, unable to fashion a quick answer. Was he asking her out? Or was he just hungry? “But I could eat,” she added quickly.

“Good. There’s a pub just down the road. The food is good.” He smiled. “Great. Let’s go, then.”

He buttoned up his shirt and grabbed his jacket, then held the door open for her. When she got outside, Marlie offered to drive, but Dex insisted they take his SUV, a dusty BMW. He opened the door for her and helped her inside. Marlie watched him through the front window as he strode around to the driver’s side. It still felt odd sitting on the wrong side of the car, driving on the wrong side of the road. But everything about this day seemed a little upside-down and backward.

For now, she’d just roll with it. What harm could it do? She needed him. And when the time was right to tell him exactly who she was, she’d tell him.

“Ready?” he asked as he slid in behind the wheel.

Marlie nodded. “I think so.”

* * *

THE PUB WAS quiet when they walked in. Dex held the door open and Marlie stepped in front of him. He clenched and unclenched his fingers, fighting the urge to place his hand in the small of her back.

For the first time in a very long while, he wasn’t dwelling on the past. No, he was firmly in the present, his mind racing and his body reacting. She was so pretty, though not really the kind of girl he was usually attracted to. He normally went for the more exotic beauties, French and Italian women, certainly not some American girl-next-door type. But then, he wasn’t the same guy anymore. Maybe his preferences had changed.

They found a table near the bar, and Dex held out her chair as she sat down. He took a place across the table, offering himself a better vantage point to study her. The barkeep appeared a few moments later with menus. He ordered a Guinness and Marlie did the same.

“When in Ireland,” she said before taking a sip.

He stared at her mouth as she licked the foam off her lips. There’d been quite a few moments in the past hour when he’d lost himself just looking at her. She was like a breath of fresh air, blowing all the cobwebs out of his head and making his body feel alive again. But was he really interested in seducing this woman? She was a teacher. And Claire’s coworker. But, hell, if she was willing, then who was he to refuse pursuing the matter? There was an obvious attraction between them, and he was used to acting quickly when it came to sex. He was never in one place more than a night or two, which didn’t leave a lot of time for foreplay.

“My sister says you’re going to teach at her school next term. What do you teach?”

“Uh...that’s boring. Tell me about yourself,” she countered. “You’re a filmmaker.”

He frowned. “How did you know that?”

“I’ve seen your films,” she said.

Dex sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. Though he knew he had fans, he rarely met them, except when he was accepting some kind of award.

“I was sorry to hear about your partner,” Marlie added. “That must have been such a dark time for you.”

Until that moment, he’d put the nightmare out of his head. But now he realized that would never be completely possible. “It was,” he said. “But I’m trying to focus on other things now.”

“That’s a good philosophy,” she said with an encouraging smile. “What’s your next project?”

If only she knew, he thought to himself. Screw filmmaking; his mind was occupied with plans for a full-on seduction. “I’m considering my options,” he said.

“I have an option for you,” Marlie said.

Unless it had to do with tearing her clothes off and having at it right here in the pub, Dex really wasn’t interested. But he had the luxury to take things slow. “I don’t want to talk about work,” he countered. “Let’s talk about what you’re doing tomorrow. The term doesn’t start until after the New Year. Are you going back to the States for Christmas? What about your family? Don’t they celebrate together?”

“They do. But I’m usually working and can’t get away and I—”

“You work over Christmas in the States?” he asked. “You don’t have a school holiday?”

She looked at him, her eyes wide, then cleared her throat. “I’m not a teacher,” she said. “And I’m not interested in renting your cottage, although is a very nice place.”

Dex stared at her for a long moment, taking in the look of confusion—no, desperation—on her pretty face. “I don’t get it,” he said.

“My name is Marlena Jenner and I’m working on a documentary film about Aileen Quinn. I’ve been trying to track you down through your agent, and when he wasn’t getting any response, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Your sister, Claire, said—”

“Marlena. Right. You’re the not the teacher.” Dex quickly stood. She’d been playing him. He bit back a curse. He’d told both his agent and his sister that he wasn’t even going to think about work for at least another year. He needed a damn break, and he didn’t appreciate that his sister had sent this woman to try to change his mind.

“You know, I’m really not interested,” he said.

“But you haven’t heard about the project yet,” Marlie said, following him to the door. “I’m sure once you—”

He spun around to face her, his anger bubbling over. “Listen to me,” he said. “I’m not interested.” He shook his head, then walked back to the bar and tossed enough money on the polished surface to cover their drinks.

What the hell was happening to him? He could usually read people better than this. He should have seen that she had some ulterior motive. But the moment he set eyes on her, all he could think about was getting her into bed. Not that that feeling wasn’t still with him. But no-strings sex didn’t work unless they were both interested in the same outcome—pure lust and mutual sexual satisfaction. She was just playing along until she could pitch him her idea.

He strode outside, Marlie hard on his heels. “Wait,” she said. “Just give me a chance to explain.”

He yanked the passenger door open. “Get in. I’ll take you back.”

“No,” Marlie said.

Dex gasped. Was she really going to draw a line? He couldn’t exactly leave her standing in the middle of the road. It was at least a fifteen-minute walk in the cold, windy night to get back to her car. And he wasn’t the type of guy who’d leave a woman stranded.

Dex slammed the door. “All right. If you want to pitch your project, go ahead. Right now.”

Jaysus, she was beautiful. Her color was high and her green eyes bright. And her hair whipped around her face in windblown strands. He wanted to reach out and grab her, twist his fingers through the thick mass of waves and pull her into a very long kiss.

She shifted nervously, then stared down at her toes. “I left my laptop in my car. The pitch is better with visuals. I have a whole presentation made up.”

With a low chuckle, he pulled the door open again. “Let’s go, then.”

Reluctantly, she got inside. When he joined her, she turned in her seat and faced him. “I didn’t mean to mislead you. I just thought if you got to know me, you might trust me a little more.”

“Oh, sure. Lying is always the best way to get a bloke to trust you.”

“Can we just start over?” Marlie asked. She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Marlena Jenner. I’m a producer at Back Bay Productions in Boston. I’d like to talk to you about making a documentary about the Irish author Aileen Quinn.” When he didn’t reciprocate, she wiggled her fingers. “Come on. It goes both ways.”

Dex laughed and took her hand. “Really? And what did I do to mislead you?” She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, yanking her fingers away. Dex gave her a dubious look. “What?”

“You wanted to kiss me,” she said, tipping her chin up defiantly.

“I did not.” God, was he that transparent? Usually he was much more discreet about his desires. “Where did you get that idea?”

“I can just tell,” she said.

“Oh, really. How? From your vast knowledge about men? Irish men, in particular?”

She sat back in the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t know anything about me,” she said.

“And you know next to nothing about me,” he countered.

“I know what you want.”

“Prove it.”

What happened next happened so quickly that Dex wasn’t able to stop it. In one quick movement, she leaned over, grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him. At first, he wasn’t sure what to do, but then he took advantage of the invitation and slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer.

Her lips parted slightly and he slipped his tongue into the sweet warmth of her mouth. When a tiny sigh slipped from her throat, Dex took it as another invitation and dragged her body on top of his until he could run his hands over her backside. His pulse pounded, the warmth of desire pumping through his body.

The kiss ended as quickly as it began when Marlie drew back and looked at him with a wide-eyed gaze. “I—I think I’ve made my point.” She scrambled over to her side of the SUV and quickly fastened her seat belt. “We can go now,” she murmured.

“Bloody hell, you must really want me to do this project.”

“I do,” she said. “It’s imperative.”

“Imperative?”

“Yes, no one else could do it like you could.” She drew a sharp breath. “I mean the documentary,” she quickly added. “Not the kiss.” Marlie cleared her throat. “But the kiss was good, too.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you meant.” He started the truck, his heart slamming in his chest. He’d never reacted so strongly to a simple kiss.

“Just so you know, that’s not usually part of my pitch. Nothing is going quite the way I intended.”

“Will there be more kissing involved, or is it all business from here on out?”

“Would kissing you make you more inclined to take the job?” she asked.

“Probably not,” he replied.

“Then I suppose that’s the last time I’m going to kiss you.”

“Good,” he said, throwing the truck into gear and pulling out onto the road.

Though Marlie Jenner would provide the perfect distraction from all the pain he’d experienced in the past eight months, he wasn’t about to use her just to satisfy his own lust. He wasn’t ready to work again, and nothing she offered him, even a few enjoyable kisses, was going to change his mind. Once he got her back to the cottage, he’d send her on her way.

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