The Parent Pact (Book Three of The Return to Redemption Series)

by Laurie Kellogg

Heat flooded her cheeks. “I didn’t want to take any from Noah, but he forced one on me.”

  “I bought the candy for both of you.”

  “You’re changing the subject. After the sermon you gave my son about kissing girls—”

  “Except you’re not a little girl,” he murmured, pressing his fingers to her lips. “You’re all woman. So be honest and admit you wanted to kiss me as much as I was dying to kiss you.” He fit his mouth to hers again and smothered her objection as her body involuntarily lurched against his, causing her back to arch.

  If she had a smidgeon of sense, she would push him away. Now.

  Instead, she melted in his arms and moaned softly as he slanted his mouth over hers and slid his hands up to cup her breasts, grazing her distended nipples with his thumbs. A ribbon of heat unfurled in her belly and spread lower, making her ache for him to touch her there, too.

  “Did you ask my mommy if you could do that?” Noah’s small, accusing voice drifted from the hallway. Tyler recoiled like a twelve-gauge shotgun.

  She heaved a shaky breath of relief. Thankfully, she had her back to her son, and he couldn’t see how busy Tyler’s hands had been. Trembling, she spun around and rasped in a shaky voice, “W-what’re you doing up, Pumpkin?”

  “I’m thirsty,” Noah whined.

  “Then get a drink in the bathroom and hop back in bed.”

  The child’s suspicious gaze darted between them. “Did you want him to kiss you, Mommy?”

  She stole a peek at Tyler’s smug face and captured her lip between her teeth. How could she respond to that question when there was no clear-cut answer to it? Logic said kissing Tyler was a disaster waiting to happen. Yet her body insisted on betraying her. She couldn’t in good conscience claim he’d kissed her against her will.

  “Tell your son the truth, Annie.” Tyler flashed a triumphant grin at her. “Tell him you asked me to kiss you.” His emphasis on the word asked insinuated he really meant begged.

  Noah continued to stare at her, the question still in his gaze. She hated giving Tyler the satisfaction of hearing her admit she wanted him, but Noah wasn’t old enough to understand implied permission. “Y-yes, sweetie.” She glared at Tyler. “I gave Mr. Fitzpatrick permission to kiss me. Now go climb back in bed.”

  Satisfied that Mandy’s father was practicing what he’d preached, Noah scampered back down the hall.

  Tyler glanced at his watch and groaned. “Damn. I told Dani I’d be home to tuck Mandy in.”

  Annie sent up a silent prayer of gratitude for the reprieve. “So should I get Mandy from school tomorrow and stay with her until you get home?”

  “Yes, thanks. But if you’re going to do that, I insist you and Noah have dinner with us. I’ll get some corn and tomatoes from the farm stand on the way home, and we’ll barbecue. The weather report says it’s supposed to be sweltering, so bring your swimsuits.”

  “Why? So you can pick up where you left off tonight?”

  “Maybe. But exactly what did I say to make you think I’m planning to seduce you?”

  “Nothing....verbally.” She threw his words back at him as he headed for the door.

  “Touché. But don’t deny you’d like me to.”

  That might be true, but if she surrendered to the aching void inside her, her heart would get broken. He undoubtedly just wanted a playmate. “Tyler, I really don’t think it’s a good idea for us to stay for dinner.”

  “Look, I’d simply like to show my gratitude for your help.” He raised his right hand as if he were taking an oath. “I swear I won’t touch you tomorrow night unless you ask me to—verbally this time.” He winked. Before she could protest, he left, quietly closing the door.

  She had zero resistance to him. If Noah hadn’t interrupted, there was no telling how far she might have allowed Tyler to take things. She longed to let him show her what she’d been missing, but she wasn’t interested in casual sex, and she wasn’t the kind of woman a man like him would ever get seriously involved with.

  Somehow she had to find a way to discourage him, because she doubted one night in Tyler Fitzpatrick’s arms would ever be enough.

  ~*~

  The awe on Noah’s face after Annie let Mandy and him into the Fitzpatrick house the next afternoon made her heart ache.

  She gave both of them a couple of cookies and a glass of milk, leaving them to watch a DVD while she finished cleaning the second floor. All she had left was the master suite, which she’d been putting off, dreading being in Tyler’s room.

  When she stripped his bed, she couldn’t resist torturing herself by burying her face in the sheets and inhaling his masculine scent. As she vacuumed the two walk-in closets a few minutes later, she found the larger one completely empty. The fact Tyler had already tackled the emotional job of cleaning out his late wife’s clothes testified to the marital problems he mentioned.

  She squashed the momentary pleasure the discovery gave her. His eagerness to move on was no reason for her to hope his intentions toward her were different than any other horny guy trying get into her pants. Besides, Tyler’s sister may very well have done it before she left.

  When Annie finished cleaning the bedroom, she ran downstairs to check on the kids and found them playing with Mandy’s extensive collection of Legos while they watched Shrek on the immense television. Annie trotted back upstairs and the fragrance of Tyler’s cologne assailed her as she strode into the marble-tiled bathroom.

  Considering how long he’d said it’d had been since his housekeeper had cleaned, the room’s neatness surprised her. Any guy who remembered to rinse his toothpaste and shaving cream from the sink was a true treasure.

  As she shined the brushed nickel fixtures, her gaze insisted on straying to the giant whirlpool tub. It would be heavenly to lie back in hot bubbling water up to her neck and soak for a week.

  Shaking off her daydream, she found a fresh set of king-size sheets in the bathroom’s linen closet. She strode back into the bedroom and plowed right into Tyler’s bare back, nearly knocking him over as he stepped out of his trousers.

  “I’m so sorry.” She gasped and smoothed her hair, hoping she didn’t look as scuzzy as she felt. “I didn’t realize you’d come home.”

  “I’m the one who should apologize.” He folded his suit pants and clipped them to a hanger. “I should’ve let you know I was here.”

  Her gaze focused on the golden hair dusting his sculpted chest and insisted on following the thin line that tapered down his flat, knotted abdomen and disappeared beneath the waistband of his silk paisley boxers. Jerking her face away, her cheeks ignited into two fiery spots. “Um—uh, I’ll come back to make the bed after you’re through in here.”

  “Relax. What’re you getting so flustered about? You’re acting as if you’ve never seen a man in his underwear.”

  If she told him she hadn’t, he’d probably bust a gut laughing. It was one more reason she couldn’t get physically involved with Tyler. The moment he dropped his underwear, her nervousness would betray that her woman-of-the-world act was all just a front, and a cloister of nuns had nearly as much experience with men as she had. She was a fake, pure and simple.

  He pulled a pair of navy and white bathing trunks from the dresser. “I’ll change in the bathroom while you finish here.”

  Less than thirty seconds later, he returned in his swimsuit and wandered to the opposite side of the king-size bed to help smooth out the zillion thread-count sheet. She forced her gaze to focus on the covers, and as she reached for the bedspread, Tyler stopped her. “You can skip that. I’ll only take it off again in a few hours.”

  The inappropriate image that popped into her head proved she would be crazy to consider staying for dinner.

  “Why don’t you slip into your swimsuit while I fire up the grill?”

  “Seriously, I think Noah and I should go home.”

  “You can’t. I bought a lot more corn than Mandy and I can eat. Besides, before I came upstairs, I told the kids to c
hange into their bathing suits. Noah’s excited about going swimming.”

  Great. Now he was using her child as leverage. She’d never hear the end of it if she took Noah home.

  She heaved a resigned sigh and changed her clothes in the first-floor powder room. She should’ve bought a new swimsuit years ago, but since she hadn’t been able to afford to take Noah to the beach, she hadn’t seen much point in replacing the old yellow bikini she’d worn as a skinny teenager. The shabby condition of the chlorine-bleached suit, however, wasn’t as disturbing as the weight she’d gained since she’d had her son.

  She studied her reflection in the mirror where her fuller breasts overflowed the miniscule bikini designed for a less mature figure. The thin washed-out tricot made her nipples look as if she were smuggling a couple of jellybeans under her top. All she needed was a feather boa and a pair of four-inch stilettos, and she could pass for an exotic dancer.

  She yanked her baggy white T-shirt over the obscene suit. When she joined Tyler on the terrace, she watched the kids splashing around the pool’s shallow end, each wearing a set of inflatable yellow armbands.

  Tyler had finished setting the round glass table outside and had a large kettle of water boiling on the grill’s side burner. His gaze flicked to her baggy T-shirt, and he smiled. “Chicken?”

  “That’d be great. Noah and I aren’t fussy.”

  “I wasn’t referring to dinner.” He chuckled. “How’d you like to finish husking the corn while I get the salad?”

  “Sure.” She picked up one of the four ears that still needed stripping.

  A few minutes later, he returned carrying a tray bearing a large green salad and an assortment of condiments in one hand while balancing a platter holding three thick steaks and several bamboo skewers loaded with shrimp the size of miniature lobster tails in the other.

  Her mouth flooded in anticipation. The last time she’d eaten shrimp had been two years ago, before her mother died. She wasn’t even sure she remembered what they tasted like.

  “How do you like your steak?” He dropped the six ears of corn into the pot and covered it. “Still mooing or cremated?”

  “Somewhere in between.” She hadn’t had much steak either, except on the rare occasion she splurged and bought a cheap cut on its last day of sale. If she wasn’t mistaken, the meat on Tyler’s platter was fillet mignon. “If fixing surf and turf is your way of thanking me for picking up your daughter, I’d love to see what you’d serve if I did something that was any trouble.”

  ~*~

  Tyler laid the seasoned fillets on the grill, thrilled the meal would be a treat for her. He loved seeing her smile. “I promised not to touch you, Annie. I never said I wouldn’t try to win you over with food.”

  “Is there anything else I can do to help?” The wisps of hair surrounding her face curled from the humidity.

  If she really wanted to help, she could accept the job taking care of Mandy and his home. But that discussion had to wait until later. “You must be hot after cleaning. Take a dip with the kids while I finish grilling these.”

  She glanced down at her chest. “No, I think I’ll pass. The food will be ready soon, anyway. I’ll get the kids dried off.”

  When they sat down to eat a few minutes later, Annie poked through her salad of mixed greens he’d tossed with Italian dressing. “Is this avocado in here?”

  “Yes. It was almost black, so I cut it up. I figured it was about time you tasted one.”

  “Thank you.” She speared a piece and nibbled it. “Mmmm. It tastes sort of buttery.”

  “So you like it?”

  “A lot. Unfortunately.” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s easier not to know what I’ve been missing.”

  While they ate, he told her more about what he did for Ben. She listened attentively, but her blank expression and polite nodding told him most of what he explained went over her head. Evidently, she was too embarrassed to ask questions. When her forehead wrinkled at his mention of Ben’s recent tender offer for TDI Electronics shares, Tyler shifted the conversation and asked the kids about school.

  Throughout the meal, his daughter emulated every move Annie made—like a mime imitating her double in an imaginary mirror.

  Annie groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh, my goodness, these shrimp are incredible. What’d you do to them?”

  “I just marinated them in a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and crushed garlic.” He slid two more jumbo shrimp onto her plate and then watched in awe while she dipped a piece in the drawn butter he’d melted and savored the bite.

  That settled it. He definitely had a few screws loose. Why else would he promise not to touch a woman and then feed her a second helping of something that made her look so sensual?

  That afternoon, he’d told Ben about his intense attraction to Annie and how much his lifestyle seemed to intimidate her. His friend’s advice had seemed a little callous but actually made perfect sense. Ben suggested if Tyler couldn’t stop thinking about her and believed they were ultimately incompatible, he should just sleep with her and get her out of his system.

  He watched while she polished off a second ear of corn and couldn’t help smiling. Erica had constantly starved herself to remain model thin and obsessed so much about her weight she’d never let herself enjoy a meal, even on special occasions. It was refreshing to watch a woman eat who didn’t count every calorie.

  The moment Annie pushed her plate away, he blurted, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take a dip.” He jumped up, hopped off the terrace, and did a running dive into the deep end. Please, let the water be cold.

  When he resurfaced at the opposite end, Annie stood at the pool’s edge, watching him. He slicked his hair back and smiled up at her. “Come on in. The water’s great.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to wait a half hour after you eat?”

  “If you get a cramp, I won’t let you drown.”

  “I’m not concerned about me.” She raised her finely arched eyebrows. “I’m worried you’re planning on needing a little mouth to mouth resuscitation.”

  “There’s always the possibility of that perk.” He grinned and waved her in. “You look hot. Jump in.”

  She gnawed on her lip for a moment and dipped her toes in the water, casting a yearning look at the pool. “I didn’t bring another T-shirt to go home in.”

  “Don’t you have a bathing suit under that one?”

  “Yes, but my suit is really old and doesn’t fit very—”

  “So what? No one will see you once you’re in the water.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll just watch.”

  “That’s silly. Keep your shirt on and come in. You can raid my dresser later for something dry to wear home.

  After several moments, the desire to swim evidently overruled her shyness. She slowly descended the stairs, and when she reached the bottom step, she plunged into the water. As she stood right back up, his breath caught in his throat.

  Okay, so maybe she had good cause to be modest. He could see her skimpy bathing suit right through the soaked fabric of her T-shirt. The three triangular scraps held together by strings didn’t cover much more than a stripper’s pasties and G-string.

  In all the gentlemen’s clubs his business meetings had occasionally required him to visit, he’d never seen a woman with a sexier body. Annie might not be overly voluptuous, but her gentle curves had settled in all the right places and were perfectly toned and proportioned.

  He closed his eyes and groaned inwardly, wishing she’d submerge herself and end his misery. Fortunately, Mandy doggy paddled over to him and distracted him by climbing onto his back. “Daddy, gimme a ride!”

  As he traversed the pool with his daughter clinging to his neck like a spider monkey, blatant envy crept over Noah’s face. A huge lump clogged Tyler’s throat like a peach pit stuck in a drain.

  Did Annie have any concept of how much her child ached for a father? Tyler couldn’t shake the feeling that fate had
brought Noah into his life to ease the pain of losing the unborn son he’d already begun to love. Maybe if he made Annie see how much help they could be to each other, she’d reconsider working for him.

  He gently pushed Mandy off his back. “Why don’t you swim with Annie for a little while, Kitten, and give Noah a turn for a ride?”

  The little boy’s face shone like a beacon.

  While the sun set, Mandy mimicked every stroke Annie made through the water. After taking Noah on several trips around the pool, Tyler let the kids take turns jumping off his shoulders until it grew dark, and his daughter’s teeth chattered.

  He lifted her from the water to the flagstone deck. “I think it’s time for you and Noah to dry off and go inside. You can finish watching Shrek after you change. It’s almost time for bed, so you might as well put your PJs on.”

  Annie leaned against the pool’s side at the shallow end and sighed after the kids ran into the house. “We should go clean up from dinner.”

  As she turned toward him, he braced one hand next to her on the pool’s edge and stared into her eyes. “The mess isn’t going anywhere.”

  She looked away. “Tyler, you promised you wouldn’t—”

  “What? Touch you?” He smiled. “I haven’t. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

  Her breaths accelerated to little gasps that suggested she was as turned on as he was.

  He dropped his gaze to her heaving chest and smiled. Evidently those huge brown eyes of hers weren’t the only big things on her. Despite being a small-breasted woman, her swollen nipples were large enough—even through the T-shirt—to make a man’s mouth water. And that poor excuse for a bathing suit could get a rise out of a dead monk.

  After touching her breasts the night before, he ached to taste them. The longing in her eyes said she just might let him, but her nervous fidgeting also made her seem afraid that, if she surrendered the slightest bit, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

  Was it possible the uncontrolled passion that had left her pregnant with her son had also made her fear her sexual desire?

  She moistened her lips as if she were about to speak, but she remained silent except for the sound of a hard swallow. Myriad emotions from anxiety to arousal flitted across her face before she finally said, “I’d better go get dressed.”