A Mighty Quinn Seduction (The Mighty Quinns) Read Online Free PDF Page B

grass growing inside the walls of the priory. She plopped down then patted the ground beside her. Ian handed her the sack and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
    “Do you ever wonder what Ireland would look like today if Queen Mary had given Henry the Eighth a son? Your entire history would have been rewritten. England could still be Roman Catholic, Cromwell wouldn’t have wrecked the priories and abbeys and this place might still be standing.”
    “He might still have fallen in love with Anne Boleyn,” Claire said.
    “But he wouldn’t have married her. He wouldn’t have needed a male heir. And all that turmoil suffered over the years might never have happened.”
    She opened one of the beers and handed it to him. “But then, I guess something else would have come along to bollocks things up.”
    “Passion is a powerful force,” he murmured. “Wars have been fought over the love of a woman.”
    “Men can be so foolish,” Claire said.
    “I don’t know,” Ian replied. “I guess I never understood it until now.”
    “Now if women had been running things back then—”
    “Men would spend their time eating picnic lunches in ruined priories and shagging in the out of doors?”
    “A much better use of one’s time than waging wars and pillaging the countryside, don’t you think?”
    She took a sip of her beer and tiny burp slipped from her lips and Claire smiled. “Sorry.”
    “No,” he said. “Don’t ever apologize for being you. I like you exactly as you are.”
    “Cursing and belching and saying inappropriate things to you?”
    Ian nodded. “I’ve never met anyone quite like you. You’re very...unconventional.”
    “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not,” Claire said.
    “Oh, it’s most definitely a compliment,” Ian said.
    “Yeah?” She gave him a devilish smile, then set her beer down and crawled across the blanket to kneel in front of him. “And what would someone so unconventional do next?”
    “I’m sure she’d kiss me again,” he said, his gaze falling to her lips.
    “And then?”
    “And then she might strip off some of her clothes,” he continued.
    “And then?”
    “And then I’m sure she’d remove some of my clothes, too.” He nuzzled her neck. “But then, I suppose we’re dealing entirely in hypotheticals, because you and I have an agreement.”
    Claire cursed softly, then crawled off his lap. “You’re a very cruel man, Ian Stephens, and I can’t think why I even fancy you.”
    “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out in a few days,” he teased.
    * * *
    I AN GLANCED AT his watch. He’d been counting down the hours until this moment. Last Thursday evening, he and Claire had met at the pub and at midnight tonight their agreement would expire. Now that the clock was ticking down, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
    They hadn’t seen each other yesterday, but he’d rung and they’d made a date for dinner the next evening. Claire had requested that he pick her up at her flat at six, but now that the time was at hand, Ian was beginning to wonder if they ought to wait just a bit longer. Expectations were high and he was beginning to feel the stress of the moment. And it had only been a week.
    Though they hadn’t known each other long, he found it so easy to talk to Claire, to tell her whatever might be on his mind. He ought to just explain how he was feeling now. After all, he wanted their first time to be memorable. “Relax,” Ian murmured to himself as he got out of his car.
    He jogged up to the door and rang the bell, then waited. A few seconds later, the door swung open and Claire grabbed his hand, yanking him inside.
    “Come on,” she said. “Hurry, hurry. I have something to show you.”
    Ian wasn’t sure what to expect, but when he stepped into her apartment, it didn’t look any different than it had the day before—except for more papers and books scattered across the table. “I rang you earlier. Why