First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

He had to look, but it had to be done smoothly. Ian shifted slightly, glancing back down the aisle. Ah, yes, it was the hoodie. The small figure started as he caught her, her full lips parting slightly in what he imagined was a little gasp at being busted.

He started to smile, but she was already looking away. It was hard to tell with the way the hood was shadowing her face, but he could have sworn he’d caught a flush of bright pink flaring across her cheeks. Even more surprising? He found it oddly arousing.

The woman beside him droned on and on. About what, he had no idea; he’d stopped listening a while ago. She was attractive enough, but a bit mature for his personal tastes. He just couldn’t summon the interest.

Now the one in the hoodie, she was a different story. Eyes hidden beneath the brim of his cap, Ian glanced back discreetly several times in the hopes of getting a better look, but her head remained steadfastly downcast, intent on – he smiled with genuine amusement – an upside-down paperback.

Ian occupied himself over the next hour by imagining what she looked like. Was her hair light or dark? Those eyes that had landed on him with such a penetrating gaze – were they warm and soft, like chocolate or caramel? Or perhaps they were clear and faceted, like emeralds or sapphires? And her lips. Were they the dark, dusky rose they appeared to be, or was that just an effect of the shadows?

He was roused from his musings when he felt a hand lightly caressing his thigh. The woman next to him was saying something about excusing herself to use the facilities. The wink she included implied a not-so-subtle invitation to join her. It was an interesting proposition, but not one he was inclined to accept. However, her absence did give him another idea. One infinitely more appealing.





Chapter Two




“May I?”

Lexi started at the deep male voice near her ear. The gorgeous man from a few seats ahead was indicating the window seat next to her with a graceful wave of his large hand. She scanned the half-empty bus. Surely there were lots of other seats available. Watching from afar was one thing, but sitting next to him? Talking to him? That was something else entirely.

She was just about to suggest another location when their eyes met. The words she was about to utter froze upon her lips. Stunned shock raced through her as every bodily system went into sudden and total lockdown.

This man didn’t just look like Ian Callaghan. He was Ian Callaghan, the man she had secretly loved and lusted over for the better part of her adult life. Even after ten years, she would recognize those perfect, crystal blue eyes and devastating, mischievous smile anywhere.

He offered her an apologetic smile. “Please,” he said, his voice rumbling through her chest and settling somewhere between her thighs. “Have pity on me.”

Somehow her heart resumed beating, and her mind began functioning again, though it was admittedly running at minimum capacity while the rest of her tried to process the man before her. Speech and coherent thought were not attainable quite yet, so minimal movements were about all she could manage.

Lexi’s eyes flicked toward the seat he had previously occupied. The blonde cougar was gone. In answer to her unspoken question, he glanced toward the bathroom. Ah, thought Lexi with equal parts horror and amusement. He saw his chance at escape and was going for it.

Without a word Lexi lifted her pack and prepared to scoot over, but Ian apparently had other ideas.

“I’ll take the window, if you don’t mind,” he said quietly. She cast a doubtful look at his long, muscular legs. The well-worn denim clung to them, leaving little to the imagination and doing absolutely nothing but encouraging the ridiculous fantasies spawning uncontrollably in her mind. Fantasies that were all too familiar.

He grinned what had to be the sexiest half smile she had ever seen. Honestly, she thought, regaining a little more of her ability to think, that thing should be illegal for the all the effect it was having on her, and, she’d bet, every other post-pubescent female he had ever used it on.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered in a tone way too seductive for the back half of a bus. “I have a talent for fitting into tight spaces quite well.” He added a wink for emphasis, and Lexi felt a rush of warm, wet heat between her legs. Yep, definitely illegal.

Without waiting for her to answer - which was good because she would have sounded like a babbling idiot had she even tried to speak - he placed both his bag and hers in the overhead compartment – dear Lord, every muscle in his chest and arms rippled right before her very eyes - and slid in beside her. She tried not to think of the lush package sliding by in front of her face – her eyes, her mouth, her tongue – and failed miserably. This man was her every sexual fantasy come to life, up close and personal.