Going Going Gone (5 page)

“I don’t think they saw us,” Eli murmured against the top of her head. Apparently he didn’t share her complete humor over the situation, but there was a hint of a smile in his voice. “Why don’t we get out of the lake before we give someone a real show?”

Chapter 5

The sound of a cartoon theme song roused Nell from the fog of sleep. She shifted her feet until they came up against a solid object. Pushing herself onto her elbows, she blinked away the blurred vision. Autumn, perched on the end of her bed, legs crossed, clutched the bear Nell had given her for her fourth birthday.

“Hey Sweetie,” Nell murmured, her voice rough and drowsy.

Autumn’s brown eyes shone. A smile spread across the child’s face. “Morning, Aunty.” She scooted on her bottom until she could cuddle against Nell.

“What are you watching? Oh, baby, I need to introduce you to Bugs Bunny.”

“What? No way, Smurfs rule.” Gwen marched through the door, much too wide awake for this early in the morning, a hand over her extended belly and a smile on her face.

“No way,” Nell scoffed. Their biggest battle as children had been which cartoon ruled. In all these years, neither backed down nor found common ground.

“And what are you doing in here, Miss Autumn? Your poor aunty needs her beauty sleep. Go on out and watch the TV in the kitchen. Your cereal is ready for you.”

Autumn scrambled off the bed and scampered out the door on quick little feet.

“Beauty sleep? As if,” Nell protested, her words broken by a wide yawn.

“Attractive. So, you going to fill me in? You got in pretty late.”

“We had a very nice dinner and coffee at his place,” Nell replied. Her sister wanted more, expected more, but Nell had no desire to go into any details and reveal that she and Eli had been seconds from having mad, passionate sex while taking a late night skinny dip.

The intrusion of the boaters had definitely put a damper on her libido and brought her back to reality. Not that she had any health concerns when it came to Eli; she was more worried about the other consequences of unprotected sex.

She studied Gwen’s belly and wondered what it would be like to be pregnant. Not necessarily with Eli’s baby, but with a baby in general. Her life wasn’t ready for that, at least not yet.
And if I continue the way I’m going, I’ll never be ready for motherhood.

“That’s it?” Gwen’s protest snapped Nell out of her reverie.

She chuckled and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “You ask that like you’re shocked. No, I didn’t sleep with him, though the thought did enter my mind. But we were very adult and restrained ourselves.”

Barely.
Best to keep the skinny-dipping story to herself.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” Gwen, however, sounded distinctly disappointed.

Nell grinned and kissed her sister on the top of her head. “I’m off to clean up.”

In the shower, Nell shampooed the smell of Long Bow Pond out of her hair. As the suds slid down her body she tried hard to keep her thoughts off Eli, but her mind continued to taunt her with the memory of how his hands had followed the same path as the rich, fragrant bubbles.

Holy hell, this was
so
not the time to be thinking of him making love to her. With a snarl, she turned off the hot water faucet and bit back a squeal as freezing water sluiced over her.

“Babies? Love?” She said against the assault of the chilly liquid. “Friggin-A!”

Eli waited in the cab of his truck for the others to arrive at the old Goodwin house. He’d nearly left to take a drive “around the block,” anything to avoid looking overly eager to see Nell again, when in reality that couldn’t be closer to the truth. It was bad enough to be up for hours after he’d dropped her off at Gwen’s, sitting on the deck in the dark and staring at the pond.

He cursed the late night boaters over and over again, but it was probably fortunate they broke up what was about to happen. Had it gone any further, there was no telling what the outcome would’ve been.

Not that he didn’t intend to see it to that conclusion. How could he not, after tasting her and holding her against him? But he would plan more carefully and have protection nearby.

His mind was wandering too close to dangerous territory when Mark and the women pulled in. How the hell could he get out of the truck, with the results of his fantasizing for all to see? Much better to lure Nell into his vehicle and drive back to the lake so they could continue where they’d left off.

“Come on, Eli, daylight’s a-wasting!” Mark called.

Eli reined in the erotic images his mind had drawn of Nell. “Down boy,” he muttered to himself, opening the car door just as Nell was passing. The door trapped her and although it wasn’t intentional, he decided it was well timed.

“Good morning,” he murmured, dipping his head so his mouth grazed her ear.

“Hi.” Her voice was wispy and pleasing.

He would’ve bet she was blushing. When he pulled back a few inches, sure enough a wash of pink colored her cheeks. Her pale green eyes twinkled. So, she wasn’t as shy as her voice indicated. There was a definite flirty curve to her full lips.

Eli couldn’t resist, bending his head further to claim her mouth in a swift kiss. There was a deliciously sweet taste on her lips and he longed to linger, but Mark was calling them and Nell ducked away in a graceful movement.

He’d have her where he wanted eventually. Until then, he could enjoy the view of her khaki shorts-clad bottom and the curve-hugging black tank top she wore.

In the meantime, it was going to be a long day. The painting was nearly done, but they still had to deal with the shutters. Nell had taken up a paintbrush and was working on the trim. Though his mind should’ve been on what he was doing, he stole long looks at the way her body stretched out when she reached for a spot just above her, how her shorts shifted up, revealing the sexy way her thighs curved into her buttocks.

“Put your eyes back into your head, bud,” Mark joked as he passed by.

“I would if I could. She’s so fine to look at,” Eli replied. “Where have you been hiding her?”

Mark shook his head. “She’s refused to come up here until now. Has a phobia about this town.”

Eli was about to question that when his pager hummed against his hip. “Damn,” he growled at the intrusion. Just when he was so close to getting more information on the woman who’d been taking up far too much of his thoughts.

He switched the pager off and shrugged. “Duty calls. I’ll be back if and when I can.” He threw a glance at Nell, who’d paused and was shooting him a questioning look. Wanting nothing more than to go kiss her goodbye, instead Eli waved and headed to his truck at a jog.

“I don’t care what you have to do! Get him out of there and call me back.” Nell paced the kitchen at an agitated speed, stopping abruptly before spinning on her heel and walking the other way. “No, wait a minute, put him on the phone.”

There was a pause.

Eli hesitated just outside the kitchen door, unsure whether he should enter or not. Through the screen he watched Nell’s jaw clench, the corner of her lip twisted in a sneer. Her fingers beat a quick, impatient tattoo on the counter. Eli stood his ground. Even Mark and Gwen had disappeared, but Eli intended to take in this new side of her. The steel in her voice sent a pleasant rush through his blood. Damn, she was hot when she got riled up.

“Listen you ass, you have three seconds to get out of my office or Adrianna is going to call the cops. You have no right to be there!” She paused, then said, “No way, you’re not getting your hands on any of my work. You had that chance and you blew it.”

Another lengthy pause, probably so the party to whom she was yelling could respond.

“Damn right. We’ll deal with this when I get back to the city, Javier. I’m not the little girl I used to be, so watch out. Give the phone back to Adrianna.”

Eli backed down the steps and out of earshot, suddenly feeling guilty about listening in to her private conversation.
Bet she’s a hellcat in business.
The thought made him grin even as he tried not to be concerned about her ex-husband’s sudden appearance in the picture. It was obvious there was no love lost between the two.

“Not a good time to go in there,” Gwen called, a worried look on her face. She was sitting in an old swing attached to a thick oak branch.

“Guess not. Hope everything’s okay.”

Gwen laughed. “If it’s not, she’ll make it all right soon. She’s a total badass when it comes to business. Most people are scared of her. She’s like a mama grizzly guarding her cub.”

“Remind me not to get on her bad side,” he replied dryly and watched the door. Maybe Nell wasn’t going to come out.

“No problem there. She usually gives fair warning before she explodes.”

“How long have you known her?” Eli wanted more information. Who better to get it from than a friend?

“I’ve, um—years,” Gwen replied and bit her lip. Then her eyes widened and she rubbed her belly. “Oh wow, the kiddo just did a back spring. I think I’m going to head inside. Mark is out in the barn looking for Dad’s old weed whacker.”

Eli stared as Gwen pushed herself off the swing and beat a hasty, wobbly retreat back to the house. Getting information about Nell wasn’t proving an easy task.

“We’ve got to get our stories straight right now because Eli is asking me about you and how we met,” Gwen said as soon as the screen door slammed behind her. She wore an ‘on the warpath’ expression, her eyes wide and lips tight.

“Crap,” Nell muttered. Deep down she knew it was bound to happen, but she’d hoped to provide him all the information he wanted instead of him asking Gwen. Or Mark. “Where is he now?”

“Out in the barn with Mark. Now, where did we meet? College? Is that believable?” Gwen paced the kitchen. It looked like she was talking more to herself than to Nell.

“You don’t think Mark would blow my cover?” That was a worry far more unnerving than Gwen coming up with a few lies. “You clued him in on this, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I told him,” Gwen replied absently. “It would have to be college. I mean, where else would we meet? Okay, maybe you could be from some small town up north.”

Nell tuned her sister out, shoved aside her recent conversation with her assistant, Adrianna and subsequently the words she’d had with Javier. Damn, if Mark didn’t remember and Eli asked him questions, then her whole cover would be blown.

She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. It was Sunday and she’d gotten what she paid for. If he found out her true identity, then what was the big deal?

Nell bolted out the door anyway, jogging across the lawn to the barn where Eli stood with Mark, examining a sorry-looking weed whacker.

“Hey guys,” she greeted breezily, wrapping her hand around Eli’s arm. “Can I borrow him for a moment, Mark? Thanks, sweetie.”

Without waiting for a reply, she pulled Eli away from the barn and around to the opposite side of the house. As soon as they were out of Mark’s sight, Nell stopped, turned to face Eli and slid her arms around his neck.

“I’ve been waiting all day to do this,” she whispered, pressing her fingers into his hair. She eased his head down until her mouth met his. Heat curled from the spot where his lips absorbed hers with a drugging fervor. Nell wanted to wind herself around him, his body, his essence. She couldn’t get close enough.

Thoughts of teaching him a lesson were pushed aside. She willed herself not to remember him as the boy who treated her and her tender feelings with total disregard, but a man who lit a fire in her body that couldn’t be quenched with a simple kiss. Eli’s tongue gained entrance, making sweeping, swirling patterns against her own. Nell moaned into his mouth. She pulled back a fraction, spilling feathery kisses on his lips, his jaw and the crook of his neck.

“Man,” he sighed. “You sure have a way of making work a lot more fun.”

“Mmm. Best thousand I ever spent.” Then she slapped her hand over her mouth with a giggle. “That didn’t come out right,” she said between her fingers.

“Makes me feel like a high priced gigolo.” Instead of looking insulted, Eli gave her a wink and a wicked smile.

“I’m sorry. I . . . wow, usually I have a smoother style.” But too many things flustered her. She had no idea what Mark might have already told him about her, and she’d need to do some lying herself, which made her distinctly uncomfortable. But she didn’t have a choice, and it wasn’t like this would be a long-term relationship.

“Let me make dinner for you tonight and I’ll forgive you.” He planted a soft kiss on her neck, then another on her chin.

The man was the kissing-est guy she’d met. She liked it. “I’m getting the better end of the deal. You make dinner, I’ll bring dessert.”

Eli’s hands smoothed down her sides to her waist. “Sounds like a plan. And then we can discuss things like how long you’re going to be in town. Etcetera.”

Nell didn’t know if she had any answers for him. “We really should get back to work. Mark is glaring at me. I have a feeling he’s not liking me too much. I keep stealing you away.”

Luckily while she’d been distracting Eli, Nell noticed Gwen refreshing Mark’s memory on Nell’s little deception. No wonder he was glaring. He wouldn’t willingly join in on this masquerade. But he loved his wife and his wife loved her sister, so Nell figured he’d go along with it.

Eli returned to putting the newly painted shutters back on the house with Mark. Nell took advantage and headed for the little hidey hole she used to inhabit in the old days, intent on checking it out.

This time she made it and was rather surprised that, besides a bunch of cobwebs with their sinister looking residents, the “playhouse” was just as she remembered. Not that much play happened in there. It was more of a place where she went to reflect, write, draw, and think about the cruelties in the world.

The ancient Oriental rug her mother had given her still covered the rough wood floor. When she sat, a cloud of dust dislodged into the air, causing her to cough. She leaned over and opened the door to let in the breeze. The dust hung in the air for a while but she ignored it, her curiosity too strong to be worried about the air quality.