“Okay!” Aodhan’s loud voice filled the room, and Murray shifted to look behind him where Aodhan stood at the mic. The old man winked at us. “Very entertaining. Next up is … a Mr. Olly Treppedi from Australia. Good luck following that, mate.”
The pub tittered as Murray took my hand and grabbed his guitar with the other. Cheeks flushed and my body tingling with unfulfilled desire, I let him lead me back to our table of friends. But he didn’t sit. Tierney met my gaze, hers wide with delight, and I knew that expression. She was internally squeeing in girlish glee for me. It made me laugh and Murray shot me a tender look that could have melted my underwear right off.
Those feelings were immediately followed by anxiety. What if I couldn’t be what Murray needed in bed?
Before Nick, I’d been sexually confident, usually made the first move. I’d like hard, fast, aggressive sex as much as I liked leisurely sweaty mornings tangled in bed together. But Nick liked to be in charge, so I’d allowed myself to be more submissive, and now my feelings were very complicated about the sexual dynamics between me and a partner.
Murray gestured to Cammie for my phone and she handed it over to me. “We’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“Oh, aye.” Forde winked devilishly at us before he took a swig of water. “Ow!” He glowered across the table at Cammie. “What the fuck? Did you just kick me?”
“Aye, don’t be crude.”
“All right then, Mum.”
“Play nice, children,” Murray said as the sounds of the Australian tourist setting up at the mic crackled around the room. “See you all later.”
“Bye!” I waved at my friends, nerves making my stomach swoop.
“’Night!”
“Be safe!”
“Happy consummating!”
These were the shouts of the locals, not our friends. I blushed as Murray shook his head, laughter in his eyes.
“I’d be leaving with him too if he sang to me like that!”
“Aye, she’s probably already pregnant fe that! I know I am!”
Uproarious laughter filled the pub because the latter was shouted by Forde.
At the door, Murray turned back and pointed in warning at his friend, which only made everyone erupt even more. Pushing out of the pub, the cool night air relieved the heat of my cheeks and I dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Part thrill, anticipation, embarrassment … and building anxiety.
Murray took hold of my hand, grinning that sexy smile that made the butterflies in my belly flutter even more rapidly.
We didn’t speak as we walked hurriedly to the car, but we kept looking at each other, like teenagers first discovering the opposite sex. As soon as we got into the Discovery, Murray finally spoke. “You’re sure you want this with me?”
The blood whooshed in my ears, my hands shaking as I clipped on my seat belt. “I do.”
“Thank fuck for that,” he replied gruffly and started the engine.
He’d just driven out of the parking lot when my thoughts returned to unpleasant quarters.
What if … Murray seemed like a gentle kind of guy … but sometimes those were the secret dominants. What if he needed the kind of physical relationship Ramsay needed from Nee? Nee had divulged to me the secrets of their relationship, including the fact that she enjoyed how dominant Ramsay was in thebedroom. I …just … I wasn’t ready for anything like that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be again.
Five minutes passed and we turned down the winding B-road illuminated only by Murray’s headlights.
“Are you … what’s wrong?” Murray suddenly asked.
I gaped at him. “What?”
“I felt your mood change significantly in the last few minutes.” His hands clenched around the steering wheel.
Awe suffused me, much like it had when he’d sung to me.