Enticing Interlude (Tempest #2) (15 page)

I knocked on his door and waited, my stomach tied up in tangled knots. Distressed that Carter had gotten himself into trouble again, I couldn’t believe that Lace had allowed Justin to get involved.

Carter’s light ringing laughter mingled with a masculine chuckle drifted through the door. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Carter had been sullen and withdrawn all week. I hadn’t heard him laugh since the Saturday we’d spent together with Justin. My anxiety started to unwind a bit.

Justin pulled open the door, a grinning Carter thrown over one shoulder in a fireman hold.

“Hey.” He gave me his usual one word greeting, his green eyes sparkling as he gave me a quick head to toe scan. They looked so cute together I didn’t have the heart to get into it with him about picking Carter up from school.

“Hi,” I said shifting uncertainly on my sneakered feet returning his gaze. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how to act considering the way we ended things the other day. I found myself pleasantly surprised when he continued to smile at me.

With more difficulty than I’d cared to admit, I managed to tear my eyes away from his handsome face and peered up at Carter. He smiled back at me as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey Mom.”

“Why don’t you come in for a minute?” Justin pulled the door open wider and slid Carter off his shoulder, placing his feet on the floor. “Champ, go on and finish that episode of
Batman Beyond
we were watching. I’ll catch up on it later. I need to talk to your mom.”

“Ok.” I watched, mouth slightly parted in wonder, as Carter immediately rushed to do Justin’s bidding. He zipped back into the living room at superhero speed.

I followed Justin inside, my heart pounding nervously as I noticed things I shouldn’t, like how fantastic his low pocketed jeans looked on his ass and how well his light green cotton shirt outlined the width of his shoulders. But inexplicably what I found even more appealing was the trail of chocolate fingerprints scattered all over his sleeves. My unsettled stomach calmed as my lips lifted into an irrepressible smile. Obviously Carter had left his mark on Justin, and it certainly seemed as though Justin was beginning his own on my son.

How was I to going to keep Justin at arm’s length when he did things like this that made him seem so thoughtful, so sweet, and so unpretentious?

Justin continued on through the living room and entered the bedroom.

“No Justin.” I refused to go further and stopped in the doorway. “Let’s go back and talk in the foyer.”

When he turned toward me, his eyes were hard and his expression unrelenting. “Uh-uh. We did things your way once. That didn’t work out so well.” His eyes searched mine. “For either of us, I think if you’re being honest. So now we’re gonna do things my way, and that means we’re gonna talk here in my room with the door shut because what I’ve got to say is private. And I don’t want you to go running away again. So I suggest you come in, unless you’d rather I throw you over my shoulder like I just did with Carter.”

Eyes rounding I stepped inside the room, the cotton of his sleeve brushing against my skin as he passed by me to close the door. The highly appealing woodsy and leathery scent of his cologne chipped away at my carefully laid defenses.

He turned back around and without warning reached out and trailed a fingertip down my arm, the silver beads on his bracelet cold against my bare skin.

Self-preservation finally kicking in, I took a step back.

His gaze hardened again. “What’s it gonna take for me to convince you that I’m not a threat?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know, and I really wasn’t sure if it was possible. Mostly because deep down I didn’t think it was him I was afraid of. It was me. The way I responded to him and how much he made me feel without even seeming to try.

He let out an exasperated breath. “Let’s start with Carter and then move from there.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We had a good chat this afternoon. I found out Carter’s having a little bullying trouble at school. But we have a plan, and we’re going to take care of that together. The bigger issue, the way I see it, is you. Carter worries about you, much more than a boy his age should worry about his mom. He tells me you’ve been crying at night.”

I covered my face with my hands, humiliation making my cheeks flame beneath my fingers.

“Babe.” I felt strong arms wrap around me, warmth seeping inside as his hands settled in the small of my back.

I braced myself, trying to resist melting into him, but then he breathed my name into my hair and I felt him press his lips there. I gave into the urge and relaxed, resting my head on his chest, and threading my arms around his middle.

As I held on tight, I realized several things. His shoulders were wide. His heartbeat was a steady sound in my ear, and his waist was flat and rock hard. It would be so easy for me to let go and let him be my anchor.

Justin Jones, more than anyone else I’d ever known, had this uncanny ability to make me feel safe and secure and protected.

Maybe I had been wrong to shut him out.

He exhaled just then. The breath leaving his body stirred the hair on the top of my head making my scalp tingle. “I’m not letting you push me away anymore.” His voice was resolute and so deep it vibrated inside my ear like the bass line to an enchanting melody.

He eased back and looked at me. To my dismay I found that my hands were actually clinging to the fabric of his shirt. He glanced at them and then lifted his gaze to give me a lazy smile, a new and potent addition to his repertoire. Then his hands came up to gently frame my face. “I can’t change the past but I can make you a promise that between you and me things will be different. And I’m willing to commit to some additional promises that I hope will help make you feel more secure and might help you consider letting down that shield of yours… just a bit.”

“Justin, I…”

He put a finger over my lips and stared deeply into my eyes. “Give me an opening, Bridget. Let me in. Take a chance with me. I promise you won’t regret it. I promise we’ll take it slow. And I promise I will
always
tell you the truth. Even when I think it’s not something you want to hear. Even if I think it might make you mad. I know you need to be able to trust me and I want you to.”

I nodded my acceptance. What else could I do? No one had ever talked to me the way he did. His words, just like the gorgeous emerald eyed man who had spoken them, held the promise of something true and beautiful. Both were impossible to resist.

I went to bed with a grin on my face that remained there until the next morning when I knocked on the door to pick up Carter for school.

“Hey, Romeo,” Lace greeted in a teasing tone as she opened the door. “Come on in. He’s just finishing his cereal.”

I followed her into the dining area, and Carter glanced up at me with a humungous spoonful of chocolate puffs suspended near his mouth.

“Hey, Champ.” I held up my palm for a slap. “You sleep ok?”

He nodded.

“JJ.” Lace tugged on my arm. “Can I have a word, please?’

“Sure.” I glanced at my watch and held up my hand, fingers spread wide to show Carter. “Five minutes, bud. It’s really cool your mom’s letting me take you to school this morning, but with rush hour traffic we’ll need to leave soon.”

“So you’re a couple now?” Lace asked as soon as I stepped inside her room.

“What’d she tell you?”

“Uh-uh.” She shook her head. “I may be new to this girlfriend gig, but I know better than to break the code of confidentiality.” She tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing as she studied me. “With your artistic temperament I had a feeling that when you fell, you’d fall hard. I heard about the promises you made her. That’s pretty heavy stuff. You don’t do anything half-ass, do you?”

I laughed. “Apparently not, but don’t expect me to kiss and tell either,” I threw back some of her trademark sass.

“Fair enough, JJ.” She chuckled, exiting the bedroom and grabbing a backpack off a side chair. “I’m off to do a little homework before going into the studio. Gigi said you can pick her up at seven.” She crossed back to the table and kissed Carter on the top of his head. “Have a great day…Champ.” She smiled at me as she straightened. “I will give you a little something. You might be a pain in my ass sometimes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bridget look happier than she did this morning. You just might be exactly what she needs.”

My grin transformed into an eye crinkling smile as I went and sat in the chair beside Carter. He had a chocolatey milk trail dribbling down his chin. I handed him a napkin. The kid loved his food and ate it with gusto. “You ready?”

He dragged the napkin across his face, and said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, “I guess so.”

“Listen, Champ.” I leaned an elbow on the table. “Don’t worry about it. You play it my way and I guarantee this will all work itself out.”

When we arrived at the school, I purposefully kept the engine running, idling the bike in the front circle as parents, children, and staff piled out of cars and into the building. Responses varied from pretending we didn’t exist to double and even some triple takes. The bike with its chrome and growling attitude, me beside it in my black leather jacket and Carter on the seat in his Green Hornet hoodie, kid sized helmet and school uniform made for an interesting tableau.

A crowd soon gathered and I let Carter do the talking just as we’d rehearsed. The Triumph was a great conversation starter and Carter kept them entertained with his personality and the specs he’d memorized.

Suddenly, his little hands tensed on the handles. Following the direction of his gaze, I saw a skinny sullen faced kid with longish hair who looked to be a year or two older than Carter just about to hit the front steps. “That him?” I asked.

Carter gave a quick nod.

“You can do this, Champ.”

“Pierce,” Carter called and the flat line of the boy’s mouth turned down into a quizzical frown. “Come look at this.”

Tucking his hands into his khakis and scuffing his tennis shoes on the pavement, the boy made his way over to us, squeezing through the crowd. Carter introduced us, and the kid’s eyes rounded. “You’re Avery Jones’ twin, aren’t you?”