Guardian (14 page)

She tugged her hair tie off and put it on her wrist. Wind tore at her and she tipped her face into the night air, relishing the sensation. She surrendered to the awakening. It was time to reclaim her life, not the same one she had before. But then this year had changed her.

She wouldn’t allow herself to be swept along as she had during her marriage to Lowell. But she couldn’t fight the tide as she had for the last year.

Time to swim. She needed to give up her house, move someplace she could afford, and show her son how to respect the past without clinging to it.

The even tread of footsteps echoed along the planked walkway. Not bothering to confirm with a look, she recognized David’s loping stride. He eased beside her, resting his elbows by hers. David shifted his weight forward to one knee until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Sophie. Her bare feet almost touched his running shoes.

A fish jumped from the water below her, then plopped in again leaving circles widening along the surface. “Don’t bother preaching about safety. I know I shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“We all need space sometimes.” David stared at his hands clasped loosely in front of him. “Besides, I seriously doubt you’re going to get in a car wreck here on the dock,” he joked, even though she knew as well as he must that the threats were larger.

But she appreciated his attempt to ease the strain all the same.

She gestured out over the water, sun sinking fast. “Those kids on Jet Skis over there look ferocious.”

He laughed along with her.

Definitely an intoxicating day.

Was that why he’d come out here? For more? For her?

She glanced back at the house. “Is Brice all right?”

“Just fine.” His arms rested beside hers on the dock railing, as close as he could be without touching her. “He and Haley Rose are playing video games with your grandmother.”

“With my
grandmother
?”

“She’s not too shabby.”

His face was close, near enough that if she arched up on her toes, she could kiss him. She watched his mouth move as he spoke, a hunger stirring in her belly.

“Madison is in her room, doing her Pilates or yoga or meditation. I’m not sure but the music is definitely…unique.”

She wanted to kiss his smile more than she wanted air. She also wanted to tear his clothes from his body and have him here, in the water or even on the dock—if it was a little more private.

What the hell was going on with her?

She wasn’t the rip-a-man’s-clothes-off type. She was more the candlelight-and-flowers sort, sensual romanticism, not gritty passion. Making a change in her address was one thing. Taking on an affair with this man was a different matter altogether…if she dared.

He turned toward her, and her hand settled on his chest, her fingers gripping the warm cotton of his polo shirt. She felt his heart beat faster. Touching him, angling into the kiss was beginning to become such a natural thing…

A squeal sounded behind them. Sophie jumped back. David straightened, his shoulders rolling.

Haley Rose raced down the dock, an oversize shirt from summer camp drooping off one shoulder, her knees still covered with sand. “Dad, we have a question.”

Brice walked after her, slower, his feet dragging. Nanny watched from the balcony until the children stopped beside them, then she tucked inside again.

The children stopped side by side. One so fair, one so dark, both so precious. Haley Rose was a great kid. David had done a good job on his own, and she knew how tough that was.

Curious furrows trenched in Haley Rose’s forehead as she looked from Sophie to David, then back again. She brushed a tangle of plastic bracelets up her arm in a clear imitation of her aunt.

Finally she elbowed Brice in the side. “Ask her.”

Brice stuffed his hands in his pockets and nudged Haley Rose none too gently with his shoulder. “This was your idea.”

“Aw, Brice, come on. Just try.” She hip bumped him.

Sophie leaned back against the railing. “Just try what, Brice?”

“It’s just a kiddie amusement park. No big deal.”

Guilt kicked in. She’d been so immersed in the court case—and David—she’d forgotten about the school fund-raiser with the amusement park offering a percentage kickback to help pay for the new gym.

Haley Rose yanked her father’s hand. “Can he go? Can we go?”

Her syrupy smile could have slathered a stack of pancakes. The little manipulator even turned in her toes, the tips of her shoes touching. “Dad, please talk to Sophie.
You promised
I
could go, and I can’t leave Brice behind, but he says his mom doesn’t have the money…”

Sophie gasped and David cut her short. “Haley Rose…”

Sophie interrupted. “It’s okay. She’s just repeating what she heard.”

Brice pulled himself upright. “Sorry, Mom.”

Sophie brushed Brice’s sandy hair off his forehead. “I just wished you’d talked to me.”

Her son looked so much like Lowell, her heart twisted. But he wasn’t like her carefree husband. Brice was a worrier. All the more reason to get her life in order.

Brice ducked from under her hand and grabbed Haley Rose by the elbow. “Come on. Let’s go back inside. I’m gonna beat your Wii bowling high score.”

Haley Rose exhaled a martyred sigh. “I guess that means we’re all stuck here in the house together for the whole entire evening.”

The whole entire evening. Together. In the house.
David’s gaze slammed into Sophie’s. They stared at each other for a blink.

Sophie chewed her lip. “Do you think going would be, uh…”

Safe.
She left the word unsaid but his eyes clearly registered.

He nodded slowly. “We’ll be in my car, in a very public place.”

Which helped on a number of levels, like giving them a buffer rather than sitting together here all night turned inside out with wanting each other and not knowing what the hell to do about it.

She pulled the hair tie off her wrist and scraped back her hair into a low ponytail. “We could eat supper at the amusement park.”

Footsteps echoed on the dock and Sophie looked over fast. Madison walked toward them, looking sleek as ever in black Lycra pants and a tank. Her hair lifted in the wind, held back only by a headband. How had she slipped up on them? She had such an airy way of moving.

“Are you four ready for supper yet? I have a stack of take-out menus to choose from.”

David’s hand fell on Sophie’s shoulder. “Mad, we’re heading over to the amusement park. Want to come with us?”

She scrunched her nose. “Too much cotton candy and caramel apple temptation. I think I’ll pass.”

Haley Rose linked fingers with her aunt, bracelets and long, dark hair giving Haley Rose a mini-me look up next to Madison. “There’s other stuff to do there besides eat. You’ll have fun.”

Madison smoothed her hand over her niece’s head. “I think I can figure out something to keep myself entertained. Go enjoy your outing with your parents.”

Haley Rose scrunched her nose in Brice’s direction. “I hope nobody thinks you’re my brother.”

He rolled his eyes. “Who cares what people think? It’s not like we’re a family.”

Family?
Sophie looked up fast at David.

Panic tingled in her veins. Only a few hours spent together and things were spiraling out of control. An affair would be easy.

But family? That was a whole other matter.

*    *    *

Madison fed lemon ice cream to her naked lover as they stretched out on a white faux-fur rug in front of the fireplace. She’d cranked the A/C to counteract the fireplace
crackling…romantically? She shied away from the softer image that word created.

Not romantically—sensually. Her encounters with Caleb were about sex. They both agreed on that point from the start. She’d been hurt too many times in the past, expecting more from a man only to have him take everything she offered and give nothing of himself back.

With Caleb, everything was out in the open, the ground rules were clear. This man wasn’t going to have the chance to divorce her for a trophy wife. Caleb definitely wasn’t like her first husband who’d left her unsatisfied, then blamed her for being frigid.

And her abusive boyfriend back when she was in high school? She would kill any man who ever dared to slap her around now.

She dipped another bite of ice cream and offered it to Caleb.

He cleaned the spoon, then kissed her wrist tenderly. “Are you sure we’re alone for the evening? It would be embarrassing as hell to have someone walk in on us.”

“The grandmother went to a friend’s house until ten. The amusement park is open until one a.m. I figure we’re easily safe until nine thirty. Which gives us twenty-five more minutes. Think you’re up to some speed sex?”

He lifted a lock of her hair and stroked the full length. “I would just hate for anyone to walk in and see you, anyone other than me, I mean.” He squeezed her hip gently, his palm calloused and perfectly masculine against her skin. “Because you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever been with, and I’m not liking the idea of sharing.”

“Feeling possessive is against the rules.” She gripped his wrist and pushed his arm away.

“Are you seeing someone else?” he asked casually, too much so for the heat in his green eyes.

“You mean am I sleeping with someone else?”

“Are you?” His voice went hard.

She didn’t know whether to be irritated or flattered. Then she reminded herself of how crummy his life was right now with the trial, the possibility of losing his career, even his freedom.

She set aside the bowl of ice cream and cradled his face. “I’m not seeing or sleeping with anyone else. Believe me, you’re all the boy toy I can keep up with.”

He smiled tightly.

“What? Did that upset you?” She stroked down his deliciously taut six-pack until she cradled the weight of him in her hand. “Isn’t sex all men think about?”

“All I think about is that damn trial—except when I’m with you.” He went harder in her hand.

She stroked him, circling her fist down and up again. “Then let me help you really forget.”

A flash of relief shot through her that she could lose herself in this, in being with Caleb, in exploring all the fantasies and sensuality that had been denied to her in her previous relationships. Here, with Caleb, finally she was in control of her pleasure.

And his.

Angling over him, she took him in her mouth. Groaning, he sagged back onto the rug as she worked him with her tongue and her hand. As hard as he was, he should be finished well before those twenty-five minutes were up. Even now, his whole body went rigid.

Abruptly, he grabbed her by the waist and hefted her away. “Someone’s outside.”

A car engine grew louder, pulling into the driveway. She jumped up quickly and ran to peek through the dining room curtains she’d pulled closed in preparation for naked time with Caleb. Outside in the horseshoe driveway, Nanny sat in the passenger seat of a strange car with a man around her age. They were talking, which bought a few more minutes.

Madison turned on her heels to him again.

“Damn it. Sophie’s grandmother is back.” She grabbed Caleb’s clothes off the floor and sofa and everywhere else they’d fallen as she and Caleb had flung them. She pitched his pants to him, then yanked on her sports bra and leggings. “Get dressed, fast.”

He pulled on his jeans, slowly, watching her with heated eyes. “So your brother finds out I was here. What’s the problem with that? Maybe it’s time.”

Was he crazy? Once they started meeting families, having dinners together at a table full of relatives with curious eyes, poorly veiled expectations, everything would change. She would lose control again, become that weak, needy woman dreaming about damned picket-fence promises—and that was unacceptable.

“When we started this, we agreed to a no-strings affair. You didn’t want complications during the trial, and I’ve had enough failed relationships, thank you very much.” She willed her voice not to shake over how much those past betrayals had hurt. Every man she’d ever loved cheated on her. Her self-esteem could only take so many hits, damn it. “I’m here for you during a tough time in your life. I’m your distraction from a freaking big problem, but that’s it, Caleb.”

He stayed silent so long she feared he would win the point by default once the front door opened. Finally, he
shoved his feet into his deck shoes, no socks. His beautiful green eyes with the crazy-long lashes went chilly. But that was better than fake promises and vows that never lasted.

“Fair enough.” Fastening his fly over his erection, he winced. “Do you see my shirt?”

She scooped up his concert T-shirt from a black marble abstract cat. Pressing the wadded cotton to his chest, she lingered for an instant to savor the rigid muscles. “I do value what we have here. Escapes from reality are special.”

“Right. Whatever.” He shoved his arms through his T-shirt and yanked it over his head in a tight fit.

The band logo stretched across his chest and she didn’t even recognize the name. Her forty-two years suddenly felt ancient. Her hand went to her throat, over the hint of wrinkles starting under her chin.

She followed Caleb to the back entrance off the kitchen so he could slip down the side stairs undetected. At the last second, she twisted her fist in his T-shirt right over an image of a skeletal guitar and yanked him in for a kiss. “I’ll see you soon. Really.”

He left without a word, and
damn it
, she hated the squeeze to her heart. Turning, she padded barefoot back to the dining room and monitored the driveway. Nanny was still in the car, chatting with her friend and only a mere flash off to the side gave any hint of Caleb leaving. The distant rumble of his motorcycle provided the final reassurance he’d made a clean getaway.

She sagged into the armless chair at the table and shifted uncomfortably. How could a padded chair be so hard? She thumbed away a smudge on the glass top on the coffee table and tried not to compare her life to her brother’s.

Tough to do with all his paperwork splayed in front of her. He and Sophie tackled their save-the-world jobs while juggling family demands. She lived off alimony from a man who’d never cared about her in the first place. He hadn’t even bothered to argue about the divorce or spousal support. He’d told her he wouldn’t miss the money any more than he would miss her. After all, he had a twenty-three-year-old, knocked-up showgirl for a wife now.