Debra Webb - In His Touch Box Set (Here To Stay, Up Close, Tempting Trace, Basic Instincts) (16 page)

An attractive, middle-aged waitress sidled up to Silas’s place at the table. “Could I get anything else for you, darling?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.” Silas smiled up at the woman, who practically melted right before his eyes.

“Hey, they’re playing our song,” Nathan said. He took Paige’s hand and pulled her up.

“What song?” she asked, dumbfounded. She tried to decipher the melody and the odd look on Nathan’s face. “I didn’t know we had a song.”

Nathan leaned toward Paige to whisper in her ear, “We do now.” He smiled a wicked, heart-stopping smile and led her out onto the dance floor. “Besides, this could be our song.”

She concentrated on identifying the song as Nathan folded her in his arms and pulled her close.

“Like I told you before, even if I’d known I’d lose you, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”

She nodded, the words of the song sinking in.

“I wouldn’t have missed this dance for anything.” His lips touched hers, lightly, lovingly. “I know you’ll be leaving—”

“Nathan—”

He touched a finger to her lips and shook his head. “Don’t say anything, Paige. For just a little while let’s pretend that everything’s right between us.”

He pulled her close and held her tightly. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that he was right. This moment was all they had. Her heart lurched. Time was running out for her. The lyrics of love floating from the jukebox taunted her. She closed her eyes and clung to him for what might be the last time. He was hers right now.

“I like your dress,” Nathan whispered against her hair.

“Thank you,” she whispered back. She smiled to herself. She had rushed into town after calling Nathan to this informal celebration and searched every shop on Main Street for this flimsy little sundress. If tonight was going to be her last night with Nathan, she wanted to make it special.

She absorbed the heat coming from his body. Felt the power of his strong arms. Inhaled the essence that was his alone. She lost herself in his instinctive rhythm to the music.
I love you, Nathan Blackrope
, she said silently.
I always will
.

~*~

Paige watched Calvin disappear into Robert’s house. She looked up at Nathan, who stood watching her without speaking. He had come around to the passenger side of his truck to assist her in getting out, but that’s as far as they had gotten. The truck’s interior light cast a dim glow, then faded to darkness. They both stood in the near darkness, not saying anything. She could sense that Nathan understood their time together was almost over.

“I had a great time,” he said finally. “Thanks for inviting me.” His black eyes pierced the darkness, sending a spear of heat through her.

“Calvin and I couldn’t have done it without you, Nathan.” She smiled and placed a tentative hand against his tense jaw. Oh, how she wished she could change the events that were about to take place.

He crushed her to him and kissed her with an urgency that made her chest ache with guilt and pain. Paige plunged her hands into his beautiful hair, felt its silkiness. She wanted so for this to last forever. To tell him that she loved him. But that would only make matters worse when she told him about Jesse. She could never let him know how desperately she needed him. She knew she had to let him go—let him find someone else. Her heart grieved at the thought. Nathan deserved someone who wouldn’t hurt him the way she was about to.

He kissed her harder, and Paige felt the desperation in his rigid body. Tasted the despair on his lips. She ached for him, for what she knew he wanted. Tears stung behind her lids. If she could only undo the past, she could make him happy—she knew she could. But she couldn’t change what had happened. Instead she held this moment in the palm of her hand, her dark secret poised to crush them both.

Nathan slid his hands under her dress and squeezed her bottom. He lifted her and placed her on the edge of the truck seat. “I need you, Paige,” he groaned into her mouth, then leaned her back onto the seat, imprisoning her with his strong body.

Desire gripped her with such urgency that Paige dared not speak for fear of what she might say. She ripped his shirt open, buttons clicked against the dash and to the floor. Her fingers splayed over his chest. She would never forget how his skin felt beneath her touch. Smooth, hot, stretched taut over rugged muscle. This had to be the last time. After tonight Nathan’s feelings toward her would be irrevocably changed. He would never again be hers.

Desperate kisses. Hands everywhere at once. Ragged breaths and ripping cloth sounded in the silence. And then he was inside her, filling her. Nathan groaned and took her mouth with his. His kiss was long and deep, heart wrenching.

His hands tormented her breast, massaging and stroking as her thrust rhythmically inside her. “I need you so much,” he murmured against her lips.

She ran her hands over his back and down to his waist urging him on. “I need you, Nathan,” she confessed, ready to burst into tears of pain... of joy... of need... of desperation.

She felt a distant tingling. Sensations flooded her mind and body. She matched his movements, thrust for thrust. He gasped for breath when the tremors started to shake her. His own movements became more urgent as her tightening began. Harder he plunged into her.

Climax crashed through her at his final, urgent thrusts. Tension still vibrated inside him when his body at last rested against hers, the same tension that threatened to suffocate her with its intensity.

“Please don’t leave me, Paige,” he whispered in the darkness, his voice raw with emotion. “I can’t lose you again.”

Paige held him tightly to her. How could she ever have let this happen? She knew when she came that she couldn’t allow herself to get involved with him. And look what she had done.

Nathan drew back to look into her eyes. “I love you, Paige. I never stopped.”

Chapter Ten

Nathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Paige slid her arms around him from behind.

“I’m so glad you stayed the night,” she said and planted a kiss on his shoulder. She reached for the brush she had dropped on the bed and tugged it through his hair. “I love your hair. Remember when we were kids and I used to braid it for you?”

“How could I forget?” He smiled in spite of the tremendous ache in his chest. “Every time I sat still for more than five minutes you were twiddling with my hair.”

“You loved it and you know it.”

“I guess I did,” Nathan admitted as she continued to smooth the long strands. Though they had made love again during the night, still he wanted her now. He shifted, the jeans he had pulled on becoming uncomfortably snug.

“I think we should call Bubba’s and see if he would consider sending over a hot breakfast,” Paige suggested playfully. “I’m starving. And after we eat, we need to talk.”

“Let’s talk now,” he said. His smile relaxed into a frown when he considered that during their lovemaking he’d told Paige how much he loved her and that he wanted her to stay; each time she had remained silent. Nathan knew she loved him. He could feel it. He could see it in her eyes.

“You mean you aren’t hungry?” Paige asked, surprised.

“Tell me about the surgery.”

She blinked, uncertainty shoved aside the surprise in her eyes. “That’s one of the things I’d planned to talk to you about. I just keep putting it off.”

“So tell me.”

“Cancer. I have... had cancer.”

He hadn’t been prepared for that. The words slammed into him with such force that Nathan couldn’t speak for a long moment. “Cancer?” he repeated tightly.

She nodded.

“But you’re okay now?” He heard the desperation in his own voice. He couldn’t lose her now. He’d only just found her again.

“Yes, but,”—she lowered her gaze—”I can’t have children now.” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “They had to”—her gaze returned to his—”you know what they had to do.”

He clutched her shoulders, fear gripping him. “You’re sure you’re okay now? It won’t come back?”

“There’s no reason to believe it will.” She took his hands in hers. “Nathan, facing this disease made me realize the mistakes I’ve made. It made me see things more clearly. I know I should have told you everything a long time ago, but I thought—”

“Told me what?” he interrupted, fear and concern clouding his ability to understand.

“When I found out, you had already married someone else. I didn’t want to—”

He shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

She took a deep breath. “Nathan—” A ring from the telephone cut her off.

“Let it ring.”

“It might be important.” Paige released his hands and answered the annoying instrument. She listened quietly for a few moments.

Nathan could hear the caller speaking louder than necessary. He hoped nothing had backfired for Calvin.

“Beatrice, I don’t understand. Slow down.” Paige stood, clearly distressed.

Nathan got up and stood beside her, watching her closely. Who the hell was Beatrice? What could she want?

“Jesse?” Paige paled as she uttered the name. “Yes, I’m on my way. No!” She threaded her fingers nervously through her hair. “I’ll be there in two hours. Just make sure Jesse’s okay.”

Jesse
. A knot twisted in Nathan’s gut and a sense of foreboding settled over him. Who was Jesse? Paige had not mentioned that name before. Nathan had a bad feeling about this Jesse.

She pressed the disconnect button and placed the receiver back on its base. “I have to go back to Memphis,” she told him quickly without looking at him.

“What’s going on?” Nathan moved up behind her. Fear gripped his heart. She was leaving and someone named Jesse had something to do with it.

She blinked and shook her head. “I don’t have time to explain. I’ll call you later.” She rushed to the dresser and jerked out something to wear.

“Paige, tell me what’s going on,” he demanded more firmly than he had intended, hands planted on his hips. She wasn’t going anywhere until she told him the deal.

“Nathan, I don’t have time.” She tugged on her jeans and slipped on a T-shirt.

“I’ll go with you then,” he offered.

“No,” she shot back, shaking her head adamantly. “No. I’ll call you later.”

He knew true fear when he saw it. Paige was scared. He watched as she pulled on her shoes and tied them with trembling fingers. Something was very wrong. “What does this Jesse character have to do with whatever’s going on?”

Paige leveled her gaze on his. “Nathan, I promise I’ll explain everything later, but right now I have to go. Tell Calvin I’ll come back for him later this evening.”

Nathan backed off when he saw the tears brimming. He wouldn’t make things worse. Whatever she had to deal with, he had no intention of adding to her anxiety.

“Bye,” she said hastily before dashing out the door.

Nathan dropped back on the foot of the bed. Helpless. He felt helpless to control any of this. He raked his hands through his hair, pushed up from the bed and strode to the window. He watched, his hopes sinking, as Paige sped away in a cloud of dust and spraying gravel. She had said she would call. He squeezed his eyes shut and considered his options once more. Stay here and wait for her to call or come back. But he had done that before and look where it had gotten him.

No
.

Nathan wasn’t going to let history to repeat itself. He would go to Memphis and find out just exactly what the deal was himself. Calvin was supposed to go home, Nathan could drop him off and save Paige the trouble.

Yeah, he thought with a smile. And that would be his excuse for following Paige to Memphis. He would be doing her a favor.

~*~

Paige parked in the long, half-moon drive that curved across the lawn of the Weston estate. She sighed, trying to dispel some of the growing anxiety. Mercy, she dreaded this encounter. Her father had returned home earlier than anticipated and the man had flown into a rage upon hearing of Paige’s whereabouts. It wasn’t like Beatrice could have lied. Why else would her father’s housekeeper have Jesse? How could anyone have known that he would have returned home unexpectedly?

Paige got out of her car and walked up the sidewalk, past the elegant landscape and the bubbling fountain. She climbed the steps and crossed the immaculately kept veranda. Paige pressed the doorbell and held her breath.
Please, God,
she prayed,
don’t let my father say anything that will hurt Jesse
.

Raymond opened the door. He smiled with sincere affection. “Miss Weston, so nice to see you.” He stepped back, swinging the door wide open.

“Thank you, Raymond.” She produced a smile as best she could and stepped into the richly decorated foyer. Raymond had been the butler for the Westons for as long as she could remember. “It’s nice to see you, too.”

“Your father is waiting for you in his study.”

“Thank you,” she replied, not feeling thankful at all.

Paige walked down the marble-floored entry hall until she reached the door to her father’s study. She moistened her lips and firmed her resolve. She could handle this situation. She had to handle this situation. Paige turned the knob and pushed the door open. Her eyes came immediately to rest on Jesse, sitting quietly on the sofa beside Beatrice. Paige had waited silently on that same couch many times as a child. Waited for her father to give her one lecture or the other regarding propriety. A term she had learned was synonymous with Elliott’s Rules.

“Mommy,” Jesse cried, jumping down to run into her embrace.

Paige almost winced. Her father had never allowed running in his house. Jesse’s arms flew around her as she crouched down to meet him. She hugged him tightly and inhaled his little-boy scent. How she had missed him. “Hi, sweetie.”

“Beatrice, would you take Paige’s son into the kitchen for refreshments,” Elliott Weston directed. Elliott never asked people to do things, he directed.

Her son
. Anger shot through Paige at her father’s avoidance of Jesse’s name. The calm, holier-than-thou sound of Elliott Weston’s voice made her bristle. She and Beatrice exchanged worried looks. She pulled free of Jesse’s loving arms and allowed Beatrice to lead him from the room. He didn’t need to hear or see any of this. The door closed with an audible click behind them and Paige finally allowed her gaze to meet her father’s.