Leather and Sand (Riding the Line Series) (14 page)

“Gotcha!”

She danced away, obviously expecting him to chase her. Dax had no experience with kids. He wasn’t sure what to do so he stood there awkwardly and then finally looked to Rhee, feeling helpless. She had masked her emotions pretty well at that point, and now wore a tentative smile.
Oh, that mouth!

As his eyes traveled over her, it became even harder to control his physical reaction. The stowaway’s damp dress clung to her like a second skin. The color complimented her unique coloring and her hair danced against the green; a perfect backdrop for the soft, reddish gold waves that trailed down her back. A drop of water rolled lazily down Rhee’s neck, and he followed its progress into her cleavage. Dax could clearly see the outline of her nipples. Which were hard. An immediate reaction from inside his trunks caused a momentary distraction from the current situation.

Down, boy!

Rhee’s landlady chose that moment to appear in the yard with a pitcher full of something that looked a lot like pina coladas. She smiled at Dax. He noticed Rhee’s look of confusion as she regarded the other woman’s obvious hospitality. He had to wonder if perhaps Manali wasn’t always so welcoming when men were around. Dax liked the protective, motherly vibe that the older woman exuded.

“Happy hour.” Manali proclaimed, setting some snacks down on a wooden picnic table on the patio. “Welcome back,
haole
. Surfed the point, did you?”

She was giving him a way in. For a moment, Dax wasn’t sure if he should take it. Then he saw the meat and rice. His stomach reacted loudly, and the child,
his child,
giggled like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Dax turned to stare at her again, as if she were a mirage that was going to disappear if he blinked. Her hair was lighter than his, but it was still blond. She was…cute. More than cute. A strange feeling quickened in his gut and Dax shifted awkwardly, unsure of what action to take.

“Grumbly tummy!” The little girl poked a chubby finger towards him, and then looked at Rhee, who seemed to be stifling a smirk.

Rhee smiled tentatively as she looked from Dax to Manali, breaking the uncomfortable tension that sat heavily in the air. “I can’t believe you surfed that wave. You must be starved.” She held out a plate to him, but still, he hesitated.

“Are you sure?” He looked meaningfully at the giggling blond-haired monkey who peered back at him with endless mirth in her deep blue eyes. Rhee paused just long enough to cause concern, but then finally, she nodded.

It had been a long time since Dax Jamison had taken orders from anyone, but when the child—
his daughter
—pointed to the bench seat and ordered, “You sit neck to See-wena,” he obeyed automatically.

Rhee picked up on his inability to decipher the kid-speak. “Her name is Sirena,” she said softly. “It means mermaid.”

He didn’t even know his daughter’s name. Hearing it sent a punch straight to his guts as loss and grief mingled with the feeling that he was being allowed a rare privilege—-the honor of knowing Sirena, even if it was only for a little while. Dax swallowed the lump that had mysteriously appeared in his throat.

“Beautiful name,” he said honestly. “It suits her.” A mermaid was an elusive creature and once you found one, you never wanted to leave her. Dax shook the bizarre thoughts from his head.
But…I can’t stay.

“Thank you.” Rhee mumbled her response and then busied herself cutting up the child’s food, avoiding his gaze.

Man, this was beyond awkward. He could hear the tremor in Rhee’s voice. The little girl wiggled onto the bench next to him as Manali doled out portions of food. Startled, Dax felt tiny fingers on his arm, poking one of his tattoos.

“Pretty,” Sirena commented seriously as she inspected his ink.

A shiver went down Dax’s spine.
She’s mine.
My daughter.
My own flesh and blood.
He stared at Sirena as goose bumps prickled down his spine.
What am I doing?
How do I fit here?

Abruptly, it was painfully obvious that he didn’t fit.
I can’t be a father!

Dax stood up suddenly. “I—need to go.”

Rhee looked away quickly, but not before he noticed the hurt and…was that disappointment in her eyes?

Manali stood up, her presence oddly commanding. “Tonight, after Sirena is in bed, you two will talk,” she said firmly.

“I—I have to go to work tomorrow,” Rhee said lamely.

“No, you don’t.” His voice came out harsher than he had intended.

“You can’t tell me what to do—” she huffed.

“This is coming from Turtle. And me. You don’t work there any more,
Rina
.”

Rhee tensed, presumably at his slightly sarcastic use of her fake name. Her eyes flickered from Dax to Manali, who busied herself at the table. At first, the stowaway looked like she was going to give him a piece of her mind, but apparently Rhee knew better than to argue. Still, she made a final comment.

“My stuff is still there. In his studio.”

“Turtle said his boys would take care of it.”

For a brief moment, Rhiannon’s shoulders sagged. He wondered what she was thinking. Maybe that…well, that she was out of a job. He watched as she glanced from Sirena to Manali and knew that he had supposed correctly. The new, unyielding strength Rhiannon wore like a coat of armor wavered. The anxiety flickering on her face did him in. Dax couldn’t help himself. He had been fighting to avoid touching the stowaway since the second he had walked into the yard. He gave up his internal struggle and walked to her side.

God, she was still so tiny and perfect. Dax had forgotten just how small the girl was. The top of her head came up to his shoulder. He bent, allowing her hair to tickle his face. The smell of jasmine and vanilla met his nostrils and he inhaled her scent deeply. Dax wanted nothing more than to sweep her into his arms and kiss the worry right out of her. But, that would be inappropriate for so many reasons. Dax smiled, remembering how hard the stowaway had slapped him the first time he had kissed her. He settled for running a long finger down the side of her face, brushing away a tendril of her hair, to tip her chin up to meet his gaze.

“Everything is going to be okay, Rhiannon. Trust me.”

“Okay.” she whispered, but she sounded unconvinced.

“I really do have some business to take care of. I’ll clean up and head back over here around seven.”

“I’ll be putting Sirena to bed at seven.”

“Oh.” He glanced at her daughter—
their
daughter—and then back at Rhiannon. “Eight, then.”

***

What was happening here? There was a strange roaring in her ears and Rhee was starting to feel a little faint. Dax Jamison was picking her up at eight so they could discuss their child and…their future? Together? Her breath was coming fast and uneven. Rhee realized that he was still standing there, waiting for her reply. He was so close that she could feel the heat coming from his body, could smell the tang of salt that clung to his skin. Oh, dear God. How long had she been standing there, mute?

She looked up into his face to find Dax smiling at her. It was that same lopsided grin that had been her undoing the first time she fell for him.
It should be illegal to be that hot.
Dax was cocky, boyish, and charming all at the same time, while possessing a hard edge of dominance, violence, and danger. Before Rhee could react, he was leaning towards her. Liquid desire pooled in her belly as Rhee’s mouth fell partway open in anticipation of his kiss even as her brain screamed at her to pull away. His eyes were fixated on her mouth as Rhee’s eyelids fluttered closed. Everything except the heat emanating from his body faded away.

But he didn’t kiss her. Rhee felt the maddening sensation of his rough thumb as he traced her lower lip, ever so slowly. Her eyes flew open. Dax was wearing a knowing smirk—one that made her want to punch him.

“Until later.”

Dax’s voice had deepened; his tone promising that “later” would be a major exercise in self-control. Rhee would
not
allow herself to sleep with him.
Never again!
She eyed him, her cheeks heating as thoughts of
not
sleeping with the man gave rise to thoughts of doing just that.

To Rhee’s surprise, Dax crouched low, to Sirena’s eye level. “See you later, mermaid.”

He ruffled her hair and Sirena smiled at him happily, then went back to her snack.

“I’ll walk you out,
keiki
.”

Keiki?!
It seemed that both Sirena and Manali had accepted the man. Why couldn’t she?

Chapter Thirteen

Wince paced nervously.
Where the hell was Dax?!

“I can’t believe he left me here to deal with this shit by myself!” he muttered to himself. Following his unexpected departure, Dax was gone all day. The sun was starting to go down. If he didn’t show soon, Wince would be forced to call Hawk to ask for instructions. Dax wouldn’t like that—not one damn bit. And neither would Hawk.

Just as Wince picked up his phone to make the dreaded call, his elusive vice president slammed into the suite, the door thudding into the wall as he flew inside.

“What the fuck, bro?” Wince screeched, his voice going up an octave or two higher than it should ever go, given his gender.

Dax paused, giving Wince time to look him over. He was shirtless and bootless, which was odd to begin with. He was also wearing surf trunks. With his blond hair and newly tanned skin, Dax looked like a seasoned tourist, back from catching a few waves on vacation.

“You—you went surfing?” Wince was incredulous.

Dax shrugged. “Yeah.”

Wince adjusted his expression, realizing that his mouth was hanging open.
Dax went surfing.
For some reason, that seemed so out of character. But then again, when it came down to it, there was a lot Wince didn’t know about Dax. Other than club business, and that shit that went down with Rhiannon, Dax was pretty guarded. Well, every man had his demons, and even though he was pretty tight with Dax, he wasn’t the type to sit around spilling his guts. Whatever. Wince wanted some back up with the arms deal, and he was irritated that Dax was out enjoying the sand and bikinis while he slaved away in the hotel room.

“Our samples are coming in tonight, private carrier.”

“Great. Pick ‘em up and call that dipshit, Vidal. The sooner we secure this, the better.”

“Why’s that?” The sharp edge to Wince’s voice didn’t go undetected.

Dax pinned him with an intense stare. “Because he’s the last fucking thing on my mind right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dax hesitated and for a moment, Wince thought the man of few words was about to bare his soul. Wince had his share of abuse and pain. He had participated in mandatory group therapy during his jail sentence as a young adult. A certain kind of catharsis could be achieved by opening up. It was clear to him that Dax had been through some major shit—shit that needed to be aired out so it would stop stinking up Dax’s life. For some reason, the man’s troubles seemed to be affecting Wince. The man was the closest thing he had ever had to family. So, he waited, arms akimbo, for Dax to talk.

***

Dax regarded Wince. The kid looked nervous but there was only one way to get ahead in this business and that was to jump in with both feet. There was no training program once a guy earned his cut. Dax was confident that Wince would handle things. He liked the kid more than he would ever admit. He didn’t always agree with Wince, but Dax found that he carried a grudging respect for him. The guy was smart. Plus, Wince was one of the few men that challenged Dax, stood up to him.
And he always protected Rhee.

Ah, Rhee. She had grown up. She was a mother now—the mother of
his
child. That simple yet complicated fact made her all the more appealing for reasons Dax didn’t fully comprehend. She seemed stronger now. Older. Wiser, perhaps. Knowing that he had been her first, and that she had carried the fruit of his loins inside her body made Dax burn with an irrational desire to possess the girl. Dax knew he affected Rhiannon as well. She had shivered, her lips parting provocatively just before he left her standing there in her yard, her frustration and desire nearly tangible. Her response pleased him.
At least I still have a little control!

The whole way back to the hotel the night before, Dax had been a mess of emotion and he fucking hated it. It had been years since he had been unable to control himself. The ability to check out was so automated that he had no idea what to do when it didn’t just happen by itself. Now, he was determined to make Rhee experience a small fraction of the regret and angst he had endured. It was childish and it was wrong, but he wanted to make her sorry—for a lot of things. Sorry for leaving. Sorry for lying. Sorry for everything.

And there was only one way he knew how to do that.

“I’ve got some unfinished business here,” he told Wince.

Wince nodded. “With her.”

“Yep.”

“You gonna get on her case about leaving?”

“Most definitely.”

“Dax…” Wince trailed off, but his tone held the undercurrent of warning.

“Yeah?” he bristled.

“Don’t…well, just…go easy on her. She was just a kid. Young. Been through a lot.”

Always protecting the stowaway.
He shot Wince a look before turning on his heel and heading for the shower. The kid threw his hands up in the air, as if he was exasperated. Dax wondered again if Wince still had feelings for her. The jealousy that shot through every pore in Dax’s body at the thought indicated that Wince wasn’t the only one who still harbored feelings for the stowaway. And it pissed him right off.
I don’t want to want her.
As he stood under the warm spray, tension wound through his body.
She left me.
She lied to me.
Guilty by omission.
And it was a major omission. He was madder than hell about it. Dax flexed, trying to dispel some of the discomfort his thoughts and feelings generated.