Page 9 of Heart of the Wren (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #2)

LORCAN

I HAD tossed and turned for most of the night.

I kept thinking of Dara’s lips, of the way his shirt bunched over his belly, of his beefy arse in those faded and scruffy jeans he wore.

I should have kissed him. We had been alone in my bedroom, tipsy and frisky.

I should have kissed him. What if I didn’t get another chance?

My ruminations and regrets continued during my morning bath. Lying there with steam clouding the mirror and clinging to the tiles like dew, I tugged on my stiff mickey. Even after the battering I’d given it in bed late last night, it refused to lie down and give me some peace.

As the water drained, I the bath to remove any evidence of my activities, threw a towel around my waist, and met a shirtless Dara on the landing.

“I thought you were already out.” He held a bar of soap in one hand and a towel in the other.

He wore only a pair of tight stripey boxer shorts which cut into his thighs, and a pair of bally woollen socks with one toe poking out through a hole.

The tattoos on his forearms continued up his biceps and across his broad shoulders, onto his back.

I spotted some familiar shapes, like the triple spiral and a Celtic knot, and some animals too.

A stag with ivy wound around its antlers featured prominently on the expanse of his upper arm.

I tried not to look down too much as we sidled past each other .

He stopped at the door to the bathroom. “Lorcan. I wanted to…” His cheeks were flushed and he gripped the towel tightly. “Last night, when we got home, I thought there was something you were… Something you were trying to say to me? Maybe?”

My mouth dried up in an instant. My ears throbbed from inside and my legs wobbled. “I was… I wanted to…”

A thunderous knocking at the door prompted me to grab a vest from the landing radiator and pull it on while I rushed downstairs. I opened the front door to find Carol Dolan, tears streaming down her face. She held one of her elbows and ducked her chin into her shoulder.

My hands dropped to my side. “Not again.”

She couldn’t speak, only nodded .

I ushered her into the hallway and out of the cold air. “What is it this time?”

She wiped under her eyes. “He found out about me and Eddie.”

I growled through gritted teeth. “Found out what about you and Eddie?”

“We’re… Eddie and me are…” She sobbed and launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

I sighed heavily. “It’s okay; you’re okay. We’ll sort it out.”

Dara tromped down a few steps. “Is everything alright? I heard crying…”

Carol lifted her head from my shoulder. “Lorcan, why is there a half-naked man on your stairs?”

???

After getting dressed, I led her into the living room. “Now, what’s going on with you and Eddie?”

Carol wore a crucifix on a chain around her neck. She slipped it into her mouth and chewed on it. “Daddy caught us kissing.”

“Just kissing?” I asked.

Carol avoided looking at me. “I’ll make some tea.” She bolted from the room like a hare from a trap before I could stop her.

“I’ll wring that boy’s neck if he’s been up to anything else with her,” I said.

“They’re young.” Dara had put on some clothes before coming back downstairs .

Personally, I would have preferred him to remain shirtless.

His nipples were such a light shade of pink they blended almost seamlessly with the rest of his chest. I imagined how soft they were to touch, to kiss, to lick…

I wondered if he enjoyed having them tweaked.

Pat loved having his twisted and nibbled.

It drove him wild and I enjoyed doing it for him.

Though if he’d ever tried to reciprocate, I’d have probably run a mile.

Mine were too sensitive for any rough stuff.

“I’m sure they get up to all sorts of things their parents don’t know about,” Dara said. “Didn’t you at their age?”

I crossed my arms. While I’d have been all too happy to get up to all sort of things, the most I’d done as a horny gay teenager living in secret was to steal the referee’s underwear after a hurling match I’d played in.

I’d sniffed them and tugged myself silly in my bedroom, then felt so guilty I burned them in a bonfire with some rubbish from the farm.

“Who is she?”

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “I forgot you hadn’t met. She’s my friend Bullseye’s youngest daughter. I’m her godfather. Hers and her eldest sister’s, actually.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone being godfather to two children.”

“It’s a small village. Bullseye ran out of options after his fifth child.”

“He has five children?” Dara sounded impressed.

“No,” I said. “He has seven. Can’t keep his skinny mickey in his trousers, that fella.”

“Why do you call him Bullseye? ”

“The night he lost his virginity, he got the girl pregnant.”

Dara snorted a laugh.

“They were both only 14 at the time. Aine, she’s called.

She had twin girls. It was a fierce scandal at the time, so it was.

Her parents were mortified. They almost sent her away to a mother and baby home.

He promised to marry her, though, as soon as they were old enough.

And he did, in fairness, but not before they’d had another daughter together.

“Now, Carol’s always been… a handful. She wants to be a vet so I’ve been showing her what I know about the animals on the farm. She and Bullseye have these blazing rows every now and then. She comes here for a day or two to cool off. You don’t mind, do you?”

“It’s your house,” Dara said. “But with everything going on, do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Oh, uh, I’m asking because she usually sleeps in your room.”

“Ah!” Dara’s eyes lit up. “I’m an eeijt. Of course, of course, no problem. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

I sized it up. Then did the same for Dara. “I can’t imagine you’ll be very comfortable. Plus the dogs sleep in here.”

Carol returned with three cups of tea on a tray.

“I’ll sleep in the van, so.” Dara took one of the cups and a Rich Tea biscuit. “Sure it was the plan in the first place, anyway.”

“Wait,” Carol said. “I’ll not have you sleeping outside on my account.”

“It’s fine.” Dara waved his hand. “You take the room.”

“No, I will, but why don’t you sleep in the other spare room? ”

“No way.” I snapped the words out before I could stop myself. “It’s full to bursting with crap. Mam and Dad’s old bed frame is in there. And some mattresses. And some… some other things.”

Carol held her eyes wide. “Okay, so. Why not your room, then?”

Dara and I exchanged glances.

“There’s plenty of space on the big rug at the end of your bed,” Carol said.

“Oh,” I said.

“Right,” Dara said. “Of course.”