Authors: Rachel Brimble,Geri Krotow,Callie Endicott
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Series, #Harlequin Superromance
Carrie stormed back into the room.
He has to realize that himself. I can’t stay here. I need to be with Belle.
She tossed everything into her suitcase and zipped it shut. With a final glance around the four walls that had been her home for too long, she heaved her case to the floor and rolled it straight out the door. On the way to the elevator, she halted, pulled her cell from her back pocket and dialed her mum’s number.
“It’s me.” Carrie pressed the button for the elevator, the phone balanced between her chin and shoulder.
“Carrie? What’s wrong?”
“I’m coming home. Things have taken a U-turn. Scott’s not ready to be in Belle’s life yet.”
“Oh, darling. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m okay. It’s for the best he showed me who he is now rather than later.”
“Are you crying?”
Carrie huffed out a laugh and shut her eyes. “Of course not. I’m fine. Things haven’t turned out any differently than I expected. He has my number if he wants to call in the New Year...” The elevator pinged and the doors swept open. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I get to the station and find out how soon I can get out of here, okay?”
“Okay. Just be careful and keep calm. You sound upset, and people don’t think straight when they’re upset.”
“I will.”
With her heart aching and her head pounding, Carrie dragged her suitcase into the elevator and smiled at the attendant. “Lobby, please.”
Upon reaching the lobby, she hurried to the reception desk and the young girl there smiled. “Can I help you?”
“I need a cab to the train station. As soon as possible.”
The girl raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you booked in until Christmas Eve, Ms. Jameson? I hope everything has been satisfactory during your stay with us? The Christie prides itself—”
“Everything’s been great. I’ve just changed my mind about staying and want to get home in time for Christmas.” Carrie’s smile was so strained, her cheeks ached.
Just call the damn cab. Please.
The receptionist grimaced. “And you’re hoping to travel home by train?”
Carrie’s smile dissolved as unease rippled through her. “Yes. Is there a problem?”
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Jameson, but I don’t think you’ll be leaving today. We had a call from the train station earlier saying that due to the increase in snowfall, they’ve chosen to close the line in view of public safety. The forecast is for the snow to stop in the early hours, so hopefully the line will be open tomorrow. Can I book you a cab for midday? If the station tells us there is still a problem by mid-morning, I will make sure a message is sent to your room.”
“But I don’t want to be here.” Carrie cursed the crack in her voice and pulled back her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry. If there was—”
“Is there any other way out of the Cove?”
The girl shook her head, sympathy showing in her gaze. “The only other way is by car through two neighboring towns to the next train station. I wish I could suggest some alternative—”
“Carrie.”
Carrie’s heart leaped into her throat and she spun around. Scott stood a few feet away from her, his dark hair wet with snow, his jacket drenched and his expression dangerous, broody and determined.
Her stomach knotted and her body trembled as joy, attraction, irritation and protectiveness for her and Belle’s hearts simultaneously tore through her. He couldn’t be here. She didn’t have the strength to walk away from him when he stood in front of her, looking so full of resolve and purpose. She loved him. It was pointless denying it...but she loved Belle more, and the depth of Scott’s resentment toward his father, and the stringent ties to his family were too much for her to want or have to fight against.
He glanced at her suitcase on the floor beside her. “Don’t go.”
Her weak heart urged her to run forward into his arms, but she stood firm. “I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
Glancing over her shoulder toward the receptionist, Carrie walked forward and gripped his elbow, steering him to the side. She tipped her head back to look into his eyes. “I’m not giving up on you, but you have to deal with your issues with your dad before I can let you be with Belle.”
“I’m ready to do this. Don’t shut me out because of what just happened. I haven’t seen him for ten years.” His dark blue gaze searched hers. “Ten years.”
“And I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, but that doesn’t change what I’m saying.” She pushed the longing to comfort him far away. “I’m leaving. You have too much to sort out.”
“And I can’t do that and be with you and Belle? You really think my family,
any
family, ever stops having problems?” He came closer. “I want to be with you, Carrie. I want to be with our child.”
She shook her head. “You can call me in the New Year and we’ll try again.”
“Carrie, please don’t do this.”
The open and pleading tenderness in his eyes was the furthest thing from the anger he’d shown in the restaurant. Time and again, his strength and virtue struck at her heart and his Steve McQueen eyes brought her totally undone.
She straightened her spine. She had to be stronger than this. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
He stood close enough for her to smell the scent of snow on his skin, close enough for her to hear the soft pant of his breath as though he’d run from the restaurant to the hotel to be with her.
He gripped her hands, his beautiful blue eyes boring into hers. “Yes, I have things to sort out with my family, but I have a daughter and a woman I’ve yet to convince she can trust me, but you can. Don’t leave like this. At least stay for tonight.” He glanced toward the revolving doors at the front of the hotel. “The snow is coming down too hard for you to travel. I’ll speak to my mum and I promise I’ll listen to what she has to say about my dad without judgment.” He smiled wryly. “And I hope she offers the same to me when I tell her about you and Belle.”
Carrie stiffened. “Now isn’t the time to tell her about us. Not with all this going on with her husband.”
“It’s the perfect time. I’m sick to death of feeling angry and bitter, so unsure what the hell to do next.” He ran his gaze over her face. “When I’m with you, everything’s better, easier. The problems are still there, but together, I know we’ll get through all of it. I love you.”
She slumped her shoulders, tears burning her eyes. “I love you, too.” He moved to pull her closer and she pressed her hand to his chest. “But you have friends and family who care about you. You have a business, money and your home. I don’t want you to change your life for me. How can we move forward in a relationship when I’ll worry every day you’re not being who you really are, and that you’re resentful of me taking you away from your commitments?” She shook her head. “I won’t risk that. That’s what was never right between Gerard and me. No matter what he did, he wouldn’t have ever made me truly happy, because it was you I thought about every time I looked at Belle. I refuse to let you live a single day like I did.”
His gaze burned with intensity as he cupped her jaw. “This is me, Carrie. Right now. With you. I would happily be this man, feel this way, for the rest of my life.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
S
COTT
WAITED
FOR
her to reject him and rip his heart from his chest in front of the audience in the lobby.
Her brown eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed and her mouth...was stretching into the most gut-wrenching smile he’d seen yet on her beautiful face. “You’re making this too damn hard.”
His heart stuttered and he released her. “You’ll stay?”
She covered her face with her hands as though she couldn’t bear to look at him. “How can I be with you, make this decision to fight or flee when our daughter is so far away? If Belle was here...our life was in the Cove, then maybe we could work at this, but—”
“We’ll deal with that. What happens with me leaving the Cove can come later. We don’t have to think that far ahead. Not yet.”
She snatched her hands from her face, her smile gone and her gaze hot with passion. “
I
have to think ahead, Scott.
You
have to think ahead. You’re a parent now. Everything’s changed. What you want or what you don’t comes second to Belle. At least until she’s an adult.” She lifted her eyebrow and stared at him. “Then she’ll come second to what you and I want. She’ll have her life and we’ll have ours, and she’ll have to learn to accept our decisions, and we will hers.”
He frowned for a split second before he understood the tone of her voice and the way she looked at him. “In other words, exactly what I told my mum before I left the restaurant. I get it, Carrie. I really do.”
“You’re going to leave your mum to her own decisions? Her own life?”
He inhaled. “Yes. Finally. My sisters, too.”
She smiled. “Then I’ll stay until Christmas Eve. I’ll even meet your family, but I have to see a change in you before I’m convinced what we have is worth fighting for. I have to know for sure Belle isn’t going to be hurt. I’m sorry.”
He smiled and pulled her tightly into his arms. “Don’t be. You make me better, Carrie. We’ll work it out, I promise.”
Her arms came around his waist and she settled her head on his chest. “It was always you, Scott. I think it always will be.”
He eased her back and kissed her.
She’s mine. I’ll never, ever let this woman go as long as I live.
He took. He savored. He loved. He needed to touch her, show her what she did and meant to him. Slowly, he eased her back. “Can I help you back to your room with your suitcase?”
She blinked and looked around her, her pink cheeks instantly darkening to a shade closer to red. He followed her gaze around the lobby. There were curious glances, some more blatant than others, directed at them from every corner.
She laughed. “Yes. Now. Before I die of embarrassment.”
He picked up her suitcase as she drew from his embrace and returned to the reception desk. The girl behind the counter smiled. “Shall we forget the worry about the train, after all?”
Carrie glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll...um...stay for tonight and call down in the morning about that cab.”
The receptionist winked and flashed Scott a smile. “I don’t blame you.”
Scott grinned after Carrie when she marched past him toward the elevator like a woman on a mission. Despite the sneaking feeling it was out of mortification of losing her cool in front of strangers, rather than her need to rip his clothes off, he followed. She was the one. The woman to dispel the resentment and anger toward a man he’d once idolized.
Scott drew his gaze over the back of Carrie’s head, lower over her exquisite body, still tantalizingly concealed in black silk. He inhaled a long breath, imagining the scent of her perfume and the feel of her skin. He loved her and from then on he only had himself to blame for his future choices and decisions.
Tomorrow he would see his father and lay down the rules once and for all.
It’s time I moved on. My time is now. With Carrie and our baby.
Carrie stepped into the elevator and turned to face him. He tipped her a wink and leaned against the back wall. The sexual tension between them increased with every floor they passed. Scott clenched his jaw and hungrily drew his gaze up and down her body. She leaned against the opposite wall; out of his reach and clearly tormenting him, judging by the look in her eye.
His mother had given him a strong, loving upbringing and taught him about real love, no matter how much she was hurting over her husband. Later, he’d make sure she understood everything she’d done for him and how much he loved her.
He’d also make sure his mother understood he wasn’t staying put anymore—the life he wanted might just be away from Templeton and everything he’d ever known and loved. That didn’t mean he was abandoning her or his sisters. They’d stay in Templeton and be happy here—his happiness would only be wherever Carrie and Belle were.
He cast his gaze over Carrie from the top of her head to the sexy heels on her feet once again and his cock twitched with impatience. As soon as they were inside her hotel room, he’d show her just how much he desired every single inch of her. He wouldn’t stop making love to her until she shouted his name. They could have a great future if only they held on...
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The attendant stepped back to let them exit. Once the doors drew closed again, Scott clasped her hand and tugged her to him.
She frowned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great.” He stared at her mouth then lower to the ample cleavage revealed above the neckline of her dress. “I want you. Now.”
Her skin turned pink, but she held his gaze. “Then let’s go.”
Every step to her room stretched his need for her to breaking. The sexual tension had been scorching hot since the first moment he laid eyes on her, but now something more profound, more needful, existed between them. He wanted her for the rest of his life and short of banging on his chest and tossing her over his damn shoulder, there was little else he could do but make sweet love to her.
Her body called to him on a primal level, her heart on an emotional level he equally feared and coveted. He wanted every part of her forever and the knowledge she’d carried and given birth to his child escalated every emotion and primitive instinct within him. The look of fear in her eyes when she spoke in the lobby was clear. She was putting not only her faith, but also Belle’s, in him and he would not let them down.
She stopped outside her door, flicked him a glance from beneath lowered lashes and unlocked it. The door barely closed behind them before Scott dropped her suitcase to the floor and gripped her hand.
He tugged her sharply against his chest and her breath left her lungs on a gasp. He kissed her and she moaned into his mouth, her nails digging into his biceps. She met his intensity, sending his arousal soaring. He fumbled with her coat belt as she fumbled with the button on his trousers. Finesse and care had been left in the lobby. He was sealing the deal, pledging himself to her, and prayed she did the same.
She drew her mouth from his, her brow creasing in concentration as she shimmied his trousers down his thighs, his boxers following. Her mouth reclaimed his and her fingers smoothed over his cock to massage the length of him until he thought he’d come right there and then.
He eased her back, bringing his lips to her neck. “Slow down. You’re killing me.”
The tendons in her neck shifted as she laughed. “You need to get back to your family. We don’t have much time.”
He laughed. “You’re concerned about my family now?”
“Yes, but I’ll still take what I need before you go.”
“Will you, now?”
She grinned. “Oh, yes.”
He pushed her coat to the floor and eased down the thin straps of her dress. Kicking off his shoes, he kissed her shoulders as she unzipped the dress and it pooled at her feet. Lifting her into his arms, Scott carried her to the bed and laid her down. His cock ached at the sight of her dressed in a bra, panties and lace-topped stockings.
“God, you are...” He shook his head as he yanked off his socks and crawled onto the bed. “Everything.”
“My bag. There’s a condom in my purse. Quickly.”
He strode back to the door where their clothes and Carrie’s purse lay jumbled on the floor. He found the condom, ripped it open and sheathed his erection. He came back to her and climbed onto the bed.
Taking his time, he unclasped her bra and eased it from her body, kissing her full breasts, sucking one pebbled nipple into his mouth. He teased it with his tongue, while inching her panties from her hips. She writhed, her impatience clear as she moved his hands away, and eased her panties lower. Her beautiful, chestnut gaze locked on his as she lifted her body and discarded them with a sharp kick of one shapely leg.
He lifted his eyebrows and forced a glare. “The stockings stay on.”
She grinned. “Perv.”
He laughed and locked his lips to hers. His body humming and his heart thumping, moving between her thighs, Scott smoothed one hand down the side of her body, over her hip until he touched her where he wanted to the most. She was hot and wet. He gritted his teeth. How could one woman be so damn sexy?
“Scott, please.”
He met her heavy-lidded stare. Her desire had turned her eyes the darkest brown. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth. Keeping his body close to hers, he positioned himself and firmly massaged her, sliding his fingers in and out of her warmth until her breathing quickened and her cheeks flushed. Moving his body over hers, he locked his eyes with hers and slid inside.
“Mmm.”
Her soft, satisfied moan smoothed his ego and caressed his heart. He would make it his life’s work to hear that sound come from her pretty lips every time he made love to her. He drew in and out, slowly, carefully, bringing her with him to the place they both wanted to be.
Her hands slid over his shoulders and down his back, her nails scratching lightly over his skin until she reached his buttocks. Her light, feminine touch disintegrated when she clutched his ass and pushed him deep.
She stared into his eyes, her gaze blazing with erotic intention. “Take me.”
He clenched his jaw and surrendered. He thrust deep and drew back. Gave again...and again until she met each of his motions. Together they moved. On and on, the sensations burned and rose, their bodies moving in rhythm. Slowly, fantastically, the pace increased and then her moist core tightened around him. She closed her eyes, her mouth dropping open as she trembled with the rush of her climax.
Scott watched her, his body perspiring and his heart soaring. Then, and only then, did he take his own pleasure. He exploded inside the woman he loved more than any other, the strength of his passion and love ripping through him. The force of his orgasm caught like fire in his blood. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as its potency stripped him bare. Slowly, he spiraled back to solid ground and dropped his forehead to hers. Their harried breaths joined and Scott lifted his eyes to hers. Her smile was as bright as a summer sun. She was everything.
Growling, he gathered her close and held the woman he always knew should be his.
* * *
D
ESPITE
THE
HOUR
Scott finally climbed into his own bed. Sleep eluded him for most of the night as thoughts and the ramifications of his father returning to the Cove haunted his dreams. When he woke at nine-thirty, his semi-naked body was bathed in sweat and his bedcovers tangled about his body. Scott lay still and waited for his heart rate to slow and his mind to regain its equilibrium.
Normally, he would’ve bolted from bed, panicked and knocked off-kilter for being late for work. Carrie’s arrival had kicked the garage to the curb and, for the time being, all that mattered was getting his life in order before she left again to spend Christmas with Belle. His gut clenched. He wanted to spend Christmas with them, too.
He belatedly realized his mother had never stopped loving her husband. All the anger, frustration and fear that showed time and again in her eyes was because she was separated from the man she loved. Scott stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t his place to mess with that, but it was his place to protect her if the bastard skipped town again.
The dilemma was what he said and did next. How was he going to deal with his father’s return in a rational and mature way? The more he considered, the more Scott realized the huge shift inside himself. He was calmer and more in control of his feelings than he’d been for as long as he could remember. Being around Carrie and seeing his mum with his dad had clarified things in his heart. It was time to step back and let fate take over.
His longing for Carrie over the last three years was most likely nothing compared to what his mother must have suffered being separated and rejected by his father. He now had a second chance with Carrie and wouldn’t allow anyone to stand in the way of making that possible. So, why did he think he had the right to tell his mum whom she should be with or love? Lord knows, she wouldn’t listen to him any more than he would to her if she tried to forbid him from seeing Carrie.
He closed his eyes. That didn’t mean there was any chance his father would have his feet under the Christmas dinner table—or arrive at his house unannounced without his sisters being prepared for the prodigal’s return. Scott clenched his jaw. He had to take action and vanquish the power his father had by solely communicating with their mum. If he was serious about wanting his family back, he had to face Scott and his daughters, too. They would each have questions they wanted answered.
Scott threw off the bed covers. It was time to get the ball rolling. He walked to his bedroom door and yanked it open. Just as he reached the bathroom, Lucy emerged from her bedroom.
“What time did you come in last night?” She lifted an eyebrow, her bright blue eyes shining with their ever-present happiness.
Anxiety gripped him as the uncertainty of how the next few days and weeks would pan out battled inside him. He pulled her in for a hug. At eighteen, she was the age Scott had been when his father went for a drink at The Coast Inn and never came back. Ten years Scott’s junior, Lucy was the baby of the family and would always be his special girl, as she’d once supposedly been their father’s. Clearly not special enough, considering the bastard left her at barely eight years old.