“And you stepped up. Scott Dare, to the rescue.” She waved her hand through the air.
He heard the bitter irony in her tone, but he couldn’t deny it. Apparently he had a pattern, or at least he’d done the same thing twice. Seen a woman in trouble and stepped in to save her.
Instead of addressing Meg’s comment, he merely went on. “We seemed to want the same thing out of life, which, back then, was a good time. And I liked having someone to come home to. We moved in together pretty quickly. I won’t deny that I knew she liked the status of being with a Dare. She wanted the perks that came along with having my brother as president of the Thunder and my father owning a string of luxury hotels. To be honest, it didn’t bother me at the time.” He glanced at Meg.
“That’s almost as sad as me dating men, hoping they’d change, and keeping them around long past their expiration date so I wouldn’t be alone,” she said.
Wow. That hurt, he thought, letting her words bounce around his brain. But… “You have a point there. And if I’d had my brain in the right place, I might have realized it was inevitable that the relationship would go south. Instead, I listened to my—”
Meg laughed before he could finish the sentence. “I get the point.”
“Right. But I really did think I loved her at the time. I knew she wanted to get married, what we had was fine, fun … so I agreed. And it remained fun until about a week after the honeymoon when she started pressuring me to leave the force and take a job with Ian or my father.”
Meg’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “First of all, you would never work for your father. I got that about you pretty quickly. And second, sitting behind a desk with nothing to stimulate you would kill you. You need the excitement of some kind of investigative work. Surveillance, digging into facts, reading motives, going after bad guys, and helping people.” She shot him a look filled with pure disappointment. “I can’t believe you married someone who didn’t understand that about you.”
Scott shook his head, a mixture of emotions filling him as he listened to Meg’s succinct summary. In a couple of weeks, she knew him better than Leah, who he’d been with for a year before they’d married. Meg not only understood who he was, she innately knew what he needed. And holy shit, that blew him away.
“Okay, well, yes, you’re right. I like to chalk it all up to me being young, horny, and stupid.”
“Your words, not mine.” She grinned, and the smile reached inside her, lighting up her eyes with a sparkling twinkle. “I think there’s more though?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, there’s more. Leah and I had agreed neither one of us wanted children.”
Meg’s expression dimmed at that, and Scott felt the loss of that megawatt smile.
Might as well get it over with, he thought. “But then Leah got pregnant, and it was a shock because we’d both been careful.”
“The unexpected does happen,” Meg said dryly.
The sun began to set behind her, the fading rays hitting her hair, burnished auburn and red highlights capturing his attention.
He wished he were free to wrap himself up in her, but this story was having an impact on them both, and he felt her curling into herself. He hated it, but he had to finish and then deal with the fallout.
“It started as shock, but like you, I wrapped my head around the reality pretty quickly, and I started thinking about a life beyond just myself and Leah. And I could see it. The family I never thought I wanted, kids I didn’t think I’d have… I got excited. And invested.”
“You bought this house.” Meg’s gaze fell on the structure behind him.
He nodded. “But Leah wasn’t as fired up as I was. In fact, she was depressed. I wanted to show her how good things could be. So yeah, I bought it as a surprise and started the renovations immediately. Eventually I brought her out here. I figured if she could look at things through my eyes, she’d see what I saw and want the same thing.”
“Except she didn’t?” Meg asked.
Scott shook his head, and Meg wondered what in the world was wrong with the woman Scott had married. Meg’s baby’s father had thrown her against the nearest wall when he’d found out she was pregnant. Scott had bought a fricking McMansion. And his ex-wife still hadn’t been happy.
“What happened?” Meg asked, needing to hear the rest.
“She looked around, asked me why in the hell I’d think she wanted to live anywhere but South Beach, where the parties and the action was. At which point, she informed me she’d already had an abortion and had just been waiting for the right time to tell me.”
Meg sucked in a shallow breath and nearly choked on her own saliva. “Oh my God.”
“Yep. Didn’t even ask me how I felt about it ahead of time. She didn’t give me a choice. Hell, she didn’t give my feelings any thought at all. And I’d already made it perfectly clear that, while I might be surprised, her pregnancy was a gift in disguise. I wanted that baby.”
He pushed himself up and paced in front of Meg’s chair, his agitation clear.
Meg’s stomach suddenly hurt, and she eased back against the soft cushion and wrapped her arms around her knees. “That’s awful.”
He nodded. “It sucked.”
“So you divorced her.”
“Yep. Her behavior and selfish actions mocked my change of heart. I should have gone with my gut instinct after all. My father had taught me a hard-won lesson.”
“What lesson was that?” Meg asked softly, almost afraid to hear.
He let out a harsh sound she couldn’t interpret. “That the whole family thing is for suckers and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales.”
Meg ducked her head, not wanting him to see how much she hurt for him … and for herself. Because like Scott, she’d seen the worst in relationships, but unlike him, she kept wanting to believe in the fairy tale. Even now. And she obviously wouldn’t be finding it with him.
Her eyes filled and she blinked back the tears. Despite having promised herself she wouldn’t hold out any hope for something more with Scott, she knew now that she had. Having him around, so caring and invested in her safety, him looking at her like he wanted to eat her up and come back for seconds… A tiny kernel of hope had taken up residence in her heart. Thank God he’d revealed his past and his feelings about marriage and family now and not down the road when Meg would really have begun to delude herself into seeing what she wanted to see. After all, she was good at that.
“I’m really sorry,” she whispered.
“At least now you know why I reacted the way I did when you told me Mike demanded you terminate the pregnancy.” His tone softened, as it always did when he spoke to her. “I know how much you want this baby.” He stood in front of her chair, so big, handsome, and at the moment, self-contained.
He’d pulled into himself much the way she had. And that was a good thing, she told herself. Perspective was something she desperately needed.
“I do want it.” Meg pressed a hand to her belly. “And I appreciate you telling me everything. I know it wasn’t easy.”
He rolled his shoulders, stretching as he rotated his muscles. She watched the flex and bend, swallowing hard at the perfect specimen of masculinity he presented.
“It’s in the past,” he finally said.
Not so much, she wanted to tell him. But she didn’t. Perspective, she reminded herself. She eased herself to a standing position, rubbing her arms, suddenly a little chilled now that the sun had set … and reality had dawned with it. Facing the truth was a gift she was determined to give herself from now on.
“I’m going to head inside. I’m cold,” she told him.
And where normally he’d wrap his arms around her and chase away the chill, he merely nodded. “I’ll be up soon.”
“I’ll probably be asleep. It’s been a really long day.”
He didn’t answer and she wasn’t surprised. He was lost in thought, probably somewhere in the pain of his past. She wasn’t as keen on thinking
deeply or dwelling on what she couldn’t change. She’d do as she’d told him. She’d turn in and hope she fell asleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and the way things were going, it would bring new challenges. Meg had to be ready to face them.
* * *
Scott headed indoors shortly after Meg went upstairs and popped open a cold beer. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked himself. Why had he let Meg go to bed alone when he knew how upset she had to be after his story? Not the story, asshole, but his gut reaction to what Leah had done.
That family thing is for suckers, and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales. What the fuck had possessed him to dump all that on her and in those words?
He rubbed his burning eyes with the heels of his hands. Meg had asked for honesty, and once he’d gotten rolling on what Leah had done, his lingering anger had burst through. He hadn’t been talking to Meg. Sensitive, caring Meg. He’d been furious and still feeling betrayed by his ex-wife.
Scott put down the full bottle of beer. Drinking wasn’t going to help. Neither was attempting to sort through his feelings for Meg, though he couldn’t contain his thoughts.
He’d been unable to stay away from her, attraction and desire overcoming any rational thought. To be honest, he hadn’t had a single rational moment since laying eyes on Meg in that hospital bed. As a result, he’d talked her into a one-night stand, though admittedly he hadn’t had to try too hard to convince her. She’d been right there with him. Except he’d known going in that one night wouldn’t be enough.
And now he found himself acting like her white knight and protector, and he had no regrets about it. None at all. The desire he’d felt for her from the beginning was still going strong, but now he knew her. Liked her even more.
Meg was everything Leah wasn’t. Warm, caring, nurturing yet strong. Beautiful and real, inside and out. And she was more independent than she wanted to believe herself. He admired everything about her. But as much as he’d told himself he’d known she was pregnant going in, that it didn’t matter, suddenly it did. She was creating a life for herself that he’d never believed he desired. And the one time he’d allowed himself to want it, everything had been ripped away from him in an instant, leaving him raw and back where he’d started. Convinced marriage, babies, and family weren’t for him.
Except with Meg, a part of him was starting to envision just that, and it scared him to death. He couldn’t pull away from her if he wanted to—and he didn’t. Nor could he tell himself he was staying because she needed protection. He was sticking because he needed her. Wanted her. But Meg made it perfectly clear she preferred to be independent and not lean on any man. Which put him back in the same position he’d unwittingly found himself in with his ex. When this mess with her stalker baby daddy was over, Meg might just decide she no longer needed Scott in her life. At all.
Chapter Eight
Meg woke up the next morning to find Scott wrapped around her, his big body curled around her back, one hand cupping her breast. Someone had put last night behind them, and she wished it were as easy for her. Still, nothing had changed between them, at least overtly. She was here until the threat was over, and neither of them had made any promises. If anything, his story and beliefs about the future merely reinforced her need to keep on as she had been. Planning an independent life on her own. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the here and now.
His lips nuzzled at her neck, his breath warm, his touch electric. He pulled her closer and plucked at her nipple with one hand, turning her insides to liquid and making everything inside her melt with need.
She purred at the sensations pulsing straight to her core.
“You were asleep when I came in last night.”
“I told you I probably would be.”
He pinched her nipple tighter, and the current caused a trickle of dampness to settle between her thighs. “I’m making up for it this morning,” he said, the head of his erection nudging at her opening.
“I can tell,” she murmured, the last word falling off as he slid inside her body, which opened and eagerly accepted him. He was hot and hard, filling her up slowly and completely. “Ahh,” she whispered, the sheer thickness of him pulsing inside her.
He rocked his hips back and forth, sheathing himself deeper, only to pull out and glide back in. “God, you feel good, Meg.”
She closed her eyes, unable to fight the truth. “So do you.”
He dipped his finger lower, moving from her breast to her clit, lubricating her with her own juices, his deft touch masterful. He always knew just how to play her to bring her to orgasm, but this wasn’t the fast, furious sexual connection they normally shared.
His cock glided in and out of her almost reverently, his breathing growing ever rougher against her neck. Even the occasional talk was more intense and less dirty than usual, and she fell headlong into a glorious climax that was even more beautiful for the way he coaxed her through. Words like so fucking beautiful, keep coming, baby, and it’s my turn echoing in her ears as his thrusts grew harder, his grip on her tighter as he came hard and fast inside her.
By the time their breathing had returned to normal, a big old lump had risen in her throat, and getting up to go to work hadn’t been easy. Maybe Scott had recognized the intensity because he, too, had rolled away and said they should get ready for work.
For the rest of the week, they fell into a too-comfortable routine. Most times, Scott would leave first, knowing his brother made it a habit of getting into work early. Meg would leave soon after for school. When she left Scott’s house, Rick would be waiting in his car and followed her. She was comforted knowing he was around and could handle Mike if he tried something or got violent. And with her thoughts and life in turmoil, she appreciated this little peace of mind.
Meg would get back to the house first, and because she was a guest, she wanted to help out. She’d had Rick accompany her to the grocery store so she could fill Scott’s cabinets and fridge with food she could cook, and she had dinner waiting when he came home. Although she kept her mental dialogue going strong, reminding herself this situation was temporary, she couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed being with him. It seemed like they fit into each other’s lives well, from what they ate and when, to televisions shows and bedtime.
Unlike Mike and past boyfriends, Scott had no issues with the time she spent in the evenings, preparing her lessons for the kids. He was surprised that kindergarten wasn’t just painting and crayons and seemed interested in what she planned for her class.
She couldn’t deny that they not lived only together easily but that sex got better each time. She didn’t understand it. Her prior relationships had been about making sure he got off or a quickie before bed. Scott’s focus was solely on Meg’s pleasure. If nothing else, he would be a hard act to follow when things ended.
He’d said as much himself, that fateful night on the patio. If he’d been thinking with his brain, he’d have recognized his relationship with his ex wouldn’t last. Instead, he’d thought with his … libido. And Scott had a healthy sex drive, as he’d proven over and over. What if Scott was thinking that way now, with Meg? What would happen when she started to show? She’d be popping soon, if the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book was right. In fact, she could see the swell in her belly, even if he hadn’t said a word. She’d only be getting bigger. No way would she be able to hold his interest sexually then.
Another depressing thought. But reality was her new friend, she reminded herself as she strode into school on Friday morning. After a morning teaching the letter K, Meg took her little charges to the art teacher, where they’d stay for the next forty minutes.
Before heading to the break room for coffee, she stopped at the office to check her mailbox and talk to Allie.
Meg hadn’t had time with her friend since their girls’ night, which felt like a lifetime ago, and she wanted to rectify that. She paused at the wall of small mailboxes and pulled out a few colored papers, notices, and othe
r items before turning to her friend.
“Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” Allie sat behind a metal desk and always greeted everyone with a warm smile.
“How are you feeling?” Allie gestured to Meg’s stomach.
Meg blushed and grinned. “Pretty good, thanks. You?”
Allie shrugged. “Not bad. Listen, I need to talk to you,” she said, lowering her voice.
“And I’d love to grab lunch sometime soon,” Meg said. Allie was aware of the situation with Mike but not that she was living with Scott. They definitely had catching up to do.
“Great! I’ll text you. I’m going to visit my parents this weekend, so maybe the next. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about…”
“What is it?” Meg asked, concerned.
“Parents have been calling about a sedan in the parking lot with a driver sitting behind the wheel. Mr. Hansen went out to speak to the driver.” Allie glanced over her shoulder at the partially open door, as if assuring they wouldn’t be caught talking.
Meg’s stomach cramped. “What happened?”
“The guy showed him an ID card from a protection agency and explained he was on the job for someone inside the school. He didn’t mention names but…” Because Mr. Hansen, as well as Allie, knew Meg no longer wanted Mike allowed into the school…
“He put two and two together and came up with me as the person who needed protection,” Meg said.
Allie inclined her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Meg drew a deep gulp of air. “Does he want to see me?”
“Right away.”
“Okay.” Meg straightened her shoulders, ignored the nerves bouncing in her stomach, and strode around her friend’s desk to the principal’s office, knocking with her knuckles.
“Come in,” he called.
She stepped in to find Mr. Hansen sitting behind his desk. He was a bland man, in personality and appearance. With his thinning black hair and plaid suits that had seen better days, it was obvious to Meg why she hadn’t wanted to date him. There was zero attraction between them. The sun streamed in from behind him, the bright Florida sunshine in stark contrast to Meg’s darkening mood.
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