Hide and Seek (5 page)

The old woman looked sharply at him, consideringly. He felt an overwhelming relief when she nodded, an answering twinkle in her eye.

“Of course, William, I’d love for you to introduce your young lady to me properly. Just leave a note if I happen to be out when you stop by, okay?”

“No problem. Thanks again.”

William shut the door and dumped the ruined Chinese on the table. Barely even glancing at it, already having dismissed it from his mind, he strode into the living room, needing to hug and touch Josephine like he needed his next breath. He desperately needed to reassure himself his Josephine really was here.

Chapter Three

“What the hell do you mean by calling me your fiancée?”

William leaned over the counter and switched on the kettle. He had a feeling some herbal tea, while not calming Josephine down by any means, might make the situation a little bit easier on them all. As he turned back to face Josephine, he finally saw the friend who had escorted her.

A relatively tall, maybe six-foot to his six-foot-three, young man with bright red hair all mussed, leaned negligently on his windowsill. Dressed casually in blue jeans and a black sweater, he held Josephine’s coat over one arm and looked completely at ease.

Searing jealousy caught William by surprise.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, startling Josephine and himself at the possessive, angry tone of his voice. The young man, obviously unaffected, smiled for the first time, making his already young features look even younger.

“I’m Adam Carrpen. It’s nice to finally meet you, William. As the cliché goes, I’ve heard lots about you.”

William tried to quash the rising green monster inside his body. Turning stiffly to Josephine, he calmly and, he hoped, quietly inquired, “Who the hell is he and why is he here?”

Josephine smiled as she sank down into the soft cushions of his couch. Her gorgeous smile directed at him lightened her face, which eased his jealousy somewhat.

“Adam is a good friend. He works at the boarding house where I’ve been staying. He didn’t want me making the four-hour drive up here alone when there was no guarantee you’d even still be here. So he accompanied me. He knows all about the babies and you, and he’s been a very dear friend these past few months. It’s actually him you have to thank for convincing me to come back here.”

William looked carefully at Josephine. While she didn’t look scared, there was an underlying tension in her, in the way she moved and kept looking out the window, as if seeking escape.

“Yeah, man,” Adam injected, “I’ve already offered to marry Josie a dozen or more times. She keeps on turning me down. Personally I think she just doesn’t want to marry a glorified bellboy, but she does boost my ego constantly by laughing at my jokes, so it’s a rejection I can handle.”

Laughing—William was sure—at him, Adam started fixing the tea when the whistle boiled, allowing William to sit gingerly next to Josephine on the couch.

“How did you know they were twins? And how can you tell they’re yours? I mean, the fact that I’m here is pretty self-explanatory, but still…”

William smiled and wrapped one arm around her. Relishing the sensation of her leaning against his strength, even just for the moment, he closed his eyes and inhaled her flowery scent one more time.

“It’s kind of tricky. Can I get away with just saying I’m special? I want you to eat and get warm, maybe even get a decent night’s sleep, before we go into those sorts of explanations. Plus, I think you might have a few answers for me too, hmm?” When she only nodded and settled herself deeper into his embrace, William pulled her tighter, determined not to let her go again.

Adam crossed back over to the couch and handed Josephine a steaming mug of the chamomile tea he had set out. William nodded his thanks to the man.

“You’ve been watching out for Josephine these past few months?” he asked politely.

Adam shrugged.

“She sorta tends to look after herself, you know? I’ve talked to her a bit after her shifts down at the diner, haven’t I, babe?”

William felt Josephine stir, trying to sit back up properly.

“It’s okay, you just relax there. I’m comfortable.”

William felt relief when she settled back down and started sipping her tea. Her grimace of distaste made him smile. He watched her eyes fight against drooping. His heart warmed as she reminded him of Christiana, who fought sleep just as determinedly, even when she was obviously exhausted from being awake for a short time.

He reasoned she must be exhausted after such a long car trip, as heavily pregnant as she was. He remembered how Sophie in her last month or two became exhausted after a simple shopping trip, and would sleep for hours afterwards. His Josephine was a strong woman to be able to handle all she did. He couldn’t resist stroking her soft hair, soothing her even more. He relished the safety she obviously felt with him.

“Really, William, Adam has been a great friend. He has a wicked sense of humor, and he makes me laugh so loudly sometimes when I really need it. He’s sweet and caring. A girl couldn’t ask for a better friend. Personally, I think he’s one of those Clark Kent types—you know, all sweet and gentle in his normal life, but some sort of superhero after dark. I’m sure there’s more to him than he shows people like me. I bet he’s this daring cat burglar, or a porn star, or a mobster boss on the side. I’m certain there’s this other person lurking deep within him.”

Josephine seemed happy to settle into his arms, lean against his chest. She had taken her shoes off when she entered his apartment, and curled her feet under her body. She reminded him for the moment of a contented cat. But like a cat, he was certain she would feel the need to dart and run again when she felt threatened.

Continuing his soothing petting of her hair, William took the chance to look closer at Adam, to study him. He was blushing bright red from Josephine’s praise and opinions. He stammered denials of having an alternate life, though neither he nor Josephine listened very much to them. Thinking that there did appear to be more to the man than a first glance would tell, William watched Josephine’s cup of tea as her eyes continued to droop. How he had missed her these last few months.

“I think you’re right, darling. I think your Adam definitely has hidden depths. But I do think you had better get ready for bed, you look ready to fall asleep right here, and although I certainly wouldn’t mind, I’d much rather you slept safely in my bed.”

Her eyes widened.

“Your bed? But William—”

“Shh,” he cautioned, gently placing one finger over her soft lips. He felt a searing urge to kiss those lips, to lick them and taste them once more. But with her bone-weary with the need to sleep, and her friend standing not three feet away watching him carefully, he didn’t want to make a spectacle of them both. He knew once he started kissing his Josephine he wouldn’t want to stop.

“Just go on to the bedroom. I’ll feed Adam and get him settled on the couch. It pulls out into a bed. I’ll come in and check on you later, you just get comfortable, okay?”

William fought the urge to laugh as Josephine looked carefully from him to Adam and then back to him again. Finally her sleepiness won out, and she picked up her small bag and went down the hall to the main bedroom. He heard the door shut and the shower turn on. William crossed over to the linen cupboard and pulled down some sheets and blankets.

“You’re more than welcome to spend the night. I’m sorry I was a bit…upset…when I first saw you, but the thought of Josephine with another man is enough to make me lose my cool.”

“No worries, man. Like I said, I’m just a friend. Josie is a cool girl. When she found out her kid was actually twins she nearly dropped her bundle. She came to talk to me about her options, and I finally pressed her on why she’d left you. No offense, but I needed to know if she’d run from you ‘cos she was being hurt, or if she’d just got some damn fool notion in her head. When she only half answered my questions, I needed to see her here and safely settled for myself. But I think you’ll take care of her, right?”

William looked at the younger man.

“Definitely. She ran out on me without my knowledge. If I’d had even an inkling of an idea she was pregnant, I would never have let her simply disappear by herself. I’ve been trying to track her down for months. She’s not an easy woman to find when she’s not interested in being found.”

Adam nodded and crossed the room to pick up his small backpack.

“Look, man, I think there’s something she’s really scared of. I was worried it was you, but it doesn’t appear to be that in any sense. She’s really scared of something or someone. I don’t know and don’t particularly care what it is, but you better take good care of her or I swear I’ll hunt you down and hurt you.”

When William bristled, not liking the challenge, the younger man raised his arms in a soothing, pleading gesture.

“No, no. Don’t take me wrong. I like Josie, but she was never sexually interested in me. I’m her friend and always will be. I trust you to take care of her, but I’m just warning you not to abuse that trust of mine. Right? I’m going to head back; I have an early shift tomorrow. Here’s how you can get in touch with me if you need a second pair of eyes or something, okay? Josie already has my numbers, so don’t worry about that.”

William reached out for the scrap of paper with an address and phone number and cell phone number scrawled on it.

“I have three brothers who can help me if I need it, but I do appreciate your offer and will keep it in mind. You sure you don’t want to spend the night? Josephine will kill me if she thinks I’ve thrown you out.”

Adam tilted his head, agreeing with his thought.

“I’ll just call through the bathroom door that I’m going, so she doesn’t worry.”

Adam headed off toward the bedroom, knocking on the outer door before creaking it open. William rinsed the cup Josephine’s tea had been in and checked his supply of bread and juice, wanting to make sure there was enough for a pregnant, hungry lady and himself the following morning.

He briefly recalled and smiled at how starving his sister-in-law had been throughout her pregnancy. At times, she had even rivaled him and his brothers for the size of her appetite. His elder brother, Artemais, had often laughingly complained she would ruin him by eating so much. He then would ask the stores to make special deliveries, just for them and their appetites.

As Adam came back, whistling cheerily, William thanked the man again for his help and walked him down to the car. Waving him off, he hurried back to the apartment, not wanting Josephine to feel upset at being left alone even for a minute.

Hearing the shower still running as he closed and locked the front door behind him, William smiled as he remembered how Josephine loved to stretch out her shower time. She often simply stood under the hot spray, letting it pound down on her soft body, relaxing her muscles and heating her flesh.

William felt himself harden as images of previous showers shared flitted through his head. Erotic snapshots of himself and Josephine, entwined together as they shared drugging kisses and slow thrusts of lovemaking.

Kicking off his shoes and bending down to pull his socks off, William knew he had to join her in the shower or go completely insane. It had been so many long, lonely months since he had shared anything with Josephine. Even if she wasn’t up to some steamy sex, simply being with her, touching her soft skin would help ease the ache that had settled over his heart from the moment he had woken up without her.

Heading towards his bathroom, he swore to himself that he would give her the choice.

If he tried to influence her in one direction, that wasn’t his fault, was it?

Chapter Four

Josephine inhaled the masculine scent of William’s soap. Funny how she had forgotten some of the smaller things about her man, the scent of his soap, for example. She would never get the scent of his body, of his skin, out of her system, but she had forgotten the slightly different scent of his soap.

Lathering up her arms and chest, she happily hummed under her breath as she surrounded herself with her lover’s scent.

She had also missed unlimited hot water. Every shower she had been in, except William’s, in all the months she had been running, had a short supply of hot water. She had always loved wallowing in her shower.

As indulgences went, she felt hers was harmless. But oh, how she missed truly taking her time in the shower. With her hair tied up in a bun on top of her head, Josephine felt free to take her time, and as much of the hot water as she pleased, as she soaped her body over and over. Even after all these months, she still felt slightly weird feeling her large belly. Already she felt as large as a house, with the massive protrusion of her stomach.

As surprised as she had been to discover she was carrying twins, it made a strange sort of sense. While she had never thought herself fat, she was certainly curvy. With all this extra weight, both in her breasts and in her stomach, she felt bulky and awkward. Running a hand soothingly over her stomach, she admitted to herself that having two little boys would certainly make up for all the uneasiness and annoyance the pregnancy had brought her.

But what to tell William?

Shivering, even under the hot spray of the shower, she started soaping up her legs and stomach yet again. The simple fact she had returned to him proved that she trusted him, even if he was a cop. But she was unsure just how much she could trust him. After all, she had thought she could trust Jonathon and her bosses, yet that obviously wasn’t true. How much did she really know about William, other than he was easily the world’s best lover, and now the father of her twin sons?