‘This is you,’ he said, pointing to a door at the end of a corridor so narrow I had to flatten myself against the wall as Lorcan stepped forward. He was already having to stoop. These places certainly weren’t built for men of his size. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, signalling for me to go in first before following me in.

‘It’s beautiful,’ I said, looking around, unable to stop the smile I turned to Lorcan with. The room was in a cosy cottage style, with an overstuffed armchair in one corner, an inviting-looking bed dressed with a handmade quilt, all lit with a soft glow from the single bedside lamp the owners had left on. It felt welcoming, homely and perfect.

Lorcan merely nodded and I reined in my own smile. ‘Well, thank you for bringing the case up. You should go back to your friends now.’

He took a step towards me, his eyes locked onto mine, dark in the intimately lit room. His hand reached out and gently took my arm, sliding down until his hand circled my wrist. I wanted to pull away, tell him his Irish charm might work on everyone else in the village, from the reactions I’d seen so far, but I was immune to it. But I couldn’t. Images of him being so attentive on the plane, holding my hair, rubbing my back, telling me I was safe, swam around my traitorous mind. His hand momentarily tightened around my wrist and my heart sped up, before he continued, taking my hand tenderly in his. He bent, close to my ear, his warm breath sending sparks of fire throughout my body.

‘This is yours,’ he whispered as I felt cold, hard metal in my hand. The key.

Lorcan stood back straight, only able to do so in the middle of the room where the pitch was highest. He gave a wicked smile as if he could read my thoughts and I could have kicked myself. But only after I’d kicked him first. At least once.

‘Thank you,’ I said, pretending he’d had no effect whatsoever and, by the look on his face, utterly failing. ‘If you don’t mind leaving now, I’d like to get some rest. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight, Maddie.’

I was already turning away and attending to my luggage when the door closed and I sank down onto the bed, giving my heart rate time to return to normal once again. Lorcan O’Malley was good-looking – that was, unfortunately, undisputable. But I needed this job – with no complications. Especially not in the form of dark, dangerously sexy Irishmen.

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