Grace tried to keep the baby from him. Her heart broke as Cain held his hands out to the bearded man happily. “He wants you,” she mumbled, defeated as Drake took the little tot in his arms.
“So does his mama. She wants me too. She won’t admit it to herself.” Drake smiled down at the tiny boy, and Grace held her breath as Cain grasped Drake’s nose. “Ow!”
“Serves you right. You hit his Grandpa in the nose,” Grace muttered as she tried to scoot around Drake. A squeak tumbled from her lips as Drake’s arm came around her and pulled her into his side. “Let me go!” Drake smelled of all things male and delicious, and she couldn’t stop herself from taking in a slow breath of his essence.
“I can’t,” Drake explained. “You’re where you’re supposed to be.”
Grace pulled away with a huff. “Has anyone told you that you’re incredibly annoying?”
“Yeah, my band mates, every day of life.” Drake chuckled. “I’ve been this lovesick puppy for months and months. Toby is racking up on groupies. I haven’t been interested in any of them. Sure, I’ve kissed a few girls since you. I haven’t made love to anyone.”
“Oh, so that’s what you call what we did?” Grace snapped, leaning against the doorway to her room.
“Yeah, I do. I made love to you. Because I love you. And the next time I make love to you, you’re gonna love me too.” Drake grinned confidently.
Grace pushed away from the doorjamb. “Give me my son.”
“No.” Drake made a funny face at Cain, who bubbled happily. “We’re becoming friends.”
“Give him to me.” Grace held out her hands.
“Okay, just tell me I can stay.” Drake made another obnoxious face, and Cain laughed then.
“No.” Grace refused.
“Then I’m going to keep holding him, and we’ll stand here until you say yes.” Drake grinned as Cain made another pass for his nose. “That’s my nose, young man.”
“This is ridiculous. Stay if you want to. Give me my son, right now. I’m not going to put up with you. I don’t want you, Drake. Deal with that.” Grace swept Cain out of his arms, ignoring the flash of desire at the touch of his skin brushing against her own.
The truth is, you never un-fell for him. You’ve always loved him. He’s going to leave again and go on tour, and what then? It’s not like you can have a healthy relationship when someone is gone all the time. Cain and I can’t go with him. Can I trust that he would be faithful to me on the road? Is he just here for a booty call? I’m so confused. I wish I could have Christina’s infinite, sassy wisdom right now.
“Your mouth says one thing, and your eyes say another.” Drake pulled her to him suddenly, and she lost the will to breathe. “Do you know what your eyes say to me, Grace?”
She shook her head no frantically.
“Your eyes say take me, love me, make me yours. Cherish me, hold me, and give me a safe place to land. That’s what they say,” Drake whispered in her ear, and Grace had to close her eyes and bite her lip against the pure, unadulterated pleasure that swept through her body at that moment.
Cain took that opportunity to puke. Right down the front of Drake’s shirt.
Grace pulled away from him, grasped a baby wipe to mop her son’s mouth, and with a grin, hurried from the room. Serves you right!
She hustled down the stairs and into her father’s office. “We need to talk.”
Damien looked up from a script he was reading. “We do?” He tried very hard to play innocent.
Grace closed the door behind her and propped a hand on her hip. “Don’t play dumb with me, Dad!”
“Oh, you mean about the young man who popped me in the face staying here a few days? I told him I knew someone who could fix his friend’s car. I like the boy. I told him he was welcome to stay.” Damien grinned widely at Grace’s frown.
“This isn’t funny!” Grace snapped.
“Who’s being funny? Not me!” Damien chuckled then.
“Dad! He can’t stay here! I don’t want him here!” Grace huffed in irritation.
“Why? Afraid your heart might open up a little? I think it’s about time, frankly.” Damien turned his attention back to his script. “I have work to do…”
“Oh my God, what is with men today?” she murmured to Cain. “This is just ridiculous.” She threw the door open and found Drake standing outside it, mopping the front of his shirt with a baby wipe.
“Hey, buddy! Thanks for showing me how much you like me.” Drake tickled Cain under the chin, and Grace stared at him stonily.
“Get out of my way.”
“Okay.” Drake grinned, stepping back. “Where are we going?”
“We,” Grace pointed at herself and at Cain, “are going upstairs for a nap. You’re going to run out in front of traffic and hopefully get run over.” She smiled sweetly and left him standing in the hallway.
Chapter Seven
Drake laughed as Grace left him. She was trying so very hard to pretend there was nothing between them. Her eyes told him another story. They went wide and dark, and her breath came fast. When she licked her lips, he had wanted so badly to kiss her and see if she tasted just as sweet as he remembered. For right now he had to wait.
She wasn’t happy that he was in the house, and he couldn’t blame her. It was a lot to deal with. Drake stepped into Damien’s office. “She’s pissed.”
“Mmm, she sure is. Say, you seem to like fast cars. Feel like going for a ride? I have a slick little Lambo I haven’t taken out for a spin in a while. Let her cool her jets, she’s gonna get squirt down for a nap, maybe when we come back she’ll be in a better mood. She doesn’t get a whole lot of sleep. Cain had trouble breathing for a long time, and he just sleeps better upright. She won’t let me bring in a nurse either.” Damien shuffled the papers together on the desk and stood. “That script is terrible.”
“Oh?” Drake asked.
“Yeah. An alien Santa Clause and he probes the ass of human girls. No thanks. I don’t have time to come up with something like that.” Damien rolled his eyes. “I can’t fix something that broken.”
Drake laughed. “Should we be driving?”
“You only had one drink. You’re good to drive. Just don’t shove the Lambo through the gates, yeah? Let’s get them all the way open.” Damien laughed, and Drake joined him. He really liked the older man, and he could see them becoming fast friends. Drake knew there was a line in the friendship. If he hurt Grace, he’d be in big trouble. I’m not going to hurt Grace. I’m going to make her see we’re right for each other. One way or the other.
They left the house and walked across the yard to the garage. A low whistle escaped his lips as he spotted the slick, white Lamborghini. “Wow!”
“Nice, right?” Damien pushed a button on the wall of the garage and the gates of the mansion opened. “Let’s go.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and held up the key to start the car.
Drake took it from him, slid behind the wheel of the car, and started it. The car purred to life, and he ran a reverent hand over the dash. “This is nice.”
Damien buckled himself in and nodded. “It’s more than nice, son. It’s like a good woman. It purrs beautifully and goes fast if you take care of it. If you ram it through gates or treat it shitty, it’s going to hiss and not go any further.”
“Yeah, I understand that.” Drake shifted the car into drive. “I plan on taking care of it.”
“Good.” Damien suddenly let out a rebel whoop. “Drive this thing!”
Drake grinned and pressed on the gas. “You got it.”
* * *
Grace stood from the rocker at the sound of a car peeling out of the drive. She saw her father’s arm out the window of the white Lamborghini and she rolled her eyes as she carefully placed Cain in his crib. So what, are they going to be best friends now? What kind of shit is this? Creeping out of the nursery, she flopped across her bed and groaned at the scent of his cologne, which now permeated her bedding.
Desire throbbed through her as she imagined him in her bed again, and she bit her bottom lip, wincing slightly at the pain. Rolling over and curling around her pillow, she squeezed her thighs together as if to quell the desire aching there. A yawn escaped her mouth, and she snuggled deeper into the covers. I’m so tired. She dozed, one ear attuned to Cain in the nursery. If even one cry escaped his little lips, she’d be up.
The scent of orange and cedar was so strong, she felt as though she was drowning in the essence of Drake. Grace sighed and snuggled into a hard, masculine chest. Her eyes flicked open, and she squeaked in shock to find that Drake Stone lay in her bed, and her head was planted on his very firm, very damp pec. She’d been drooling, she realized with horror.
“Oh my God! Get out of my bed!” she squealed, shimmying away and rolling off the edge of the bed with a thump. “Ow!”
“Are you okay?” Drake looked over the edge of the bed, and Grace gave him a dirty look.
“I was fine. I was sleeping and then I woke up to find a strange man in my bed. I got a little scared.” Grace came to her knees and stood slowly, rubbing her aching posterior. “Oh God, Cain!”
“I haven’t heard anything,” Drake offered. “Except you snoring.”
“I don’t snore!” Grace hissed as she peeked in his nursery.
“You drool too. Your dad says you aren’t sleeping. When we got back from riding around Phoenix, I hated to wake you, you looked so comfortable…so I just joined you,” Drake explained, as though it was completely normal for him to be in her bed.
Grace eased the adjoining door closed. “Have you never heard of personal space?”
“I probably shouldn’t have gotten in bed with you, however, it was innocent. The doors were open, I promised your dad I wouldn’t have sex with you, and you were just resting.” Drake propped himself up on her pillows and tucked his hands behind his head.
“You seriously promised my dad you wouldn’t have sex with me?” Grace snorted. “What am I, fifteen?”
“Oh, so you want to have sex with me?” Drake countered, and Grace pinned him with a stony gaze.
“Not hardly. I don’t have time for sex. I am busy.” Grace swept out of the room and hastened to her office.
She was relieved when Drake didn’t follow her. Sitting down at her laptop, she wished suddenly that she could e-mail or call Christina. It wasn’t like she’d had time to make friends since Cain had come into her life. Not that she begrudged him a bit. It made things hard during times like this. She felt alone, completely and totally, and like everyone was ganging up on her to fall for Drake again. Falling for Drake was something she wasn’t sure she had time for.
Blowing out a breath, she decided to call her grandma, Annie. Picking up her office phone, she dialed and turned away to the window.
“Hello?” Annie answered, her voice soft and kind.
“Grandma?” Grace murmured, tears filling her eyes.
“Is Cain okay? Are you okay?”
Grace blew out a breath. “Cain is great. I am…confused.”
“About what, honey?” Annie asked.
“Remember the morning after I was with that guy? Well, that guy found me out here. He got an e-mail from Christina…and he came. And I don’t know how I feel,” Grace admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Do you love him?” Annie pressed.
Grace rubbed her forehead. “I do.”
“Then what’s with the confusion?” Annie asked.
“He won’t be able to stay. He’s a freaking rock star now. It’s not like he’s just a regular Joe. He’s in a band. He has groupies,” Grace groaned.
Annie sighed in her ear. “Do you love him?”
“I told you I do!” Grace snapped.
“Then you’ll make it work. Where there’s love, there’s always a way,” Annie promised.
“Are you sure?” Grace murmured, concern clouding her voice.
“I’m sure, honey. If you love him, don’t let him walk away without him knowing,” Annie advised.
“Thanks for your advice.” Grace spun at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Drake stood in the doorway holding Cain with a grimace on his face. “Um, I need to let you go…I love you.” She hung up the phone and stood. “I didn’t hear Cain…”
“It’s fine. I grabbed him. Apparently, I don’t know how to change diapers. Is there some kind of science to it?” Drake shuddered.
“Why?” Grace swept the baby in her arms and kissed him.
“I got peed on,” Drake muttered.
Grace choked on her giggle. “Oh my, I’m sorry.”
“In the face,” Drake finished, his expression stoic.
Grace giggled harder. “Oh boy, you didn’t cover his penis?”
“I didn’t know the kid was packing heat!” Drake yelped. “How was I supposed to know to duck and cover?”
Grace covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my, I’m sorry.”
“I’m going to look at it as he likes me.” Drake laughed.
“Or he’s telling you to leave me alone.” Grace offered, kissing the baby again.
“Nope, he’s initiating me into the family,” Drake insisted.
“You’re going to leave sooner than later, so don’t get too attached.” Grace tried to move past him.
“Come with me.” he pleaded, and Grace shook her head firmly.
“The road is no place for a baby.”
“Then wait for me,” Drake begged.
“Prove to me you’re worth waiting for,” she said simply as she swept past him and down the hall.
Dinner was a tense affair, with a slightly inebriated Damien making chicken Alfredo with piles of garlic. Grace ate quickly, bathed Cain, and readied him for bed in silence. The two men stayed downstairs, drinking wine and eating pasta so strong, it would knock a vampire off his feet. Their laughter filtered up to the nursery and with a sigh, she closed the door and rocked the baby to sleep.
Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she wept silently as she held Cain. Why is he here? Why now? Is Grandma right? Should I tell him how I feel? Should I open my heart again? I’m scared. What if he disappears again? This time I have Cain’s heart to think about. Not just mine. Can I let Cain get any closer to him? I mean, I know he’s just a baby. He won’t be forever. He’ll remember Drake eventually. What if Drake decides he can’t handle having us in his fast-paced life? What then?
As Cain’s breathing became slow and steady, she eased him into his crib and tiptoed out of his room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she sighed softly. What if I let him walk away? Will I regret that? She poured her heart out on the pages of her journal.
Dear Diary,
It’s utterly confusing having him in the same house as me. When he drove away I never imagined he’d be back again, much less back and staying here after beating the crap out of Dad. Why would Dad let him stay here? Why does he seem so complacent with everything going on? I mean, I know I’ve been a hermit. I’ve been busy. It’s a real mood killer to be like “Oh, hey, I have to leave at seven to get my preemie son to bed.” What kind of guy is going to be interested in that? None. Not any guy I’ve ever met, anyway.
Drake is infuriating! He thinks he can just barge in here and make me love him all over again. Okay, fine. Let’s be real, I never stopped. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to just fall all over him and pretend the last year didn’t happen. We’re totally different people now. I’m no longer Grace the student and he’s no longer Drake the teacher. I’m Grace the mom, and he’s Drake the freakin’ rock star! This is not even in the same realm of similar lifestyles. I’m raising a sick, preemie kid. He’s off crooning to horny women around the world. I wonder if at every arena they have to put plastic seat covers on the chairs.
How can I expect someone like him to be faithful to someone like me? The truth is, I can’t. I’d be a fool to believe it. Absolutely insane to think he’d pick me, covered in spit up over any of the hundreds of beautiful women he beats off
with a stick on a daily basis. Come on now, not even the cheesiest romance novels make that happen. This is real life. And I know what to expect. And it’s not him riding up in a cherry red car, beating my dad, and sweeping me into his damaged car. It’s just not. Happily ever after doesn’t happen for girls like me. None of the princesses you see in stories are dumpy, brunette girls. They just aren’t.
I’m going to watch and wait for this to play out. I’m going to guard my heart. I have to. I can’t take it being broken again.
Grace
Chapter Eight
Grace woke slowly the next morning, luxuriating in the absolute peace of the gray, silent morning. Then, as though she’d been jolted, she jerked wide awake. Cain! Flipping her legs over the edge of the bed, she ran for the door connecting their rooms. I never heard him cry! Oh my God, is he okay? Panic shot through her as she skidded into the nursery and saw he wasn’t in the crib. Shifting her gaze to the rocker in the corner, she gasped.
Drake sat in the chair, sound asleep, his mouth slightly open. Cain lay on his bare, muscular chest, also asleep. Her heart ached and tears filled her eyes. They look so perfect together...why did he come in here to Cain and let me sleep? Dad did it a few times, but he just thinks he can walk in here and win us over? Damn you, Drake Stone, don’t make me care.
She sniffled and Drake’s eyes opened slowly. “Morning,” he rumbled, his voice groggy with sleep. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Grace murmured back tensely. “Why are you in here?”
“I peeked in on him and on you before I went to bed, and he was in here playing with his feet. I sat down in the rocker, and well, we dozed off. Did you get some sleep?” Drake rubbed at his eyes and yawned. Cain stirred on his chest, and he gently rubbed the baby’s back.
“I slept all night. I haven’t slept in my own bed all night in months,” Grace admitted.
“Why don’t you get some help in here? Damien said he has offered…” Drake started, and Grace held up her hand to stop him.
Raising Cain Page 5