“He tends to kick off the blankets.”
“I think it’s a kid thing. Mason does the same thing.”
Marina opened the bedroom door quietly and as usual, Mason’s blankets were in a pile on the floor. James smiled and shook his head. Every single night. He picked up the blankets and tucked them around Mason. The youngster didn’t stir. He was one of those kids that slept through anything, which was why it was a struggle to get him up in the mornings if he wasn’t ready to get up. James turned to see Marina kissing Danny’s forehead as she pulled the blanket up over him, and it looked as if Danny was a deep sleeper as well.
“I love you, Danny,” Marina whispered before she backed away from the bed. James was standing in the doorway waiting for her. “I know it’s weird to tell him I love him while he’s sleeping but I believe he can hear it even in his dreams.”
“I’ve no doubt.” James smiled when she stifled another yawn. “I think I better show you to your room before you fall asleep standing up.”
“I guess the rush is wearing off.” Marina walked behind him down the hall and he could feel her eyes on him.
“This room is small but it serves the purpose.” James switched on the light. “There’s a bathroom right there.” James pointed to the closed door on the other side of the room.
“Right now I think I could sleep on a clothes’ line.” She stretched her arms over her head and he had to hold back the groan at the sight of her bare stomach. He turned away before he really embarrassed himself, because at the sight, his dick twitched. Seeing Marina’s curves in clothes was bad enough, but getting a glimpse of her milky white skin was not good for his hormones. Aaron was right. It had been a long while since he’d been with anyone, and that didn’t help his urges.
“Goodnight and sleep well. If you need anything, I’m just down the hall,” James rambled as he made a quick exit. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice the growing issue in his pants. Fucking ridiculous.
James rushed into his bedroom, closed the door and leaned his forehead against it. There was no way in hell he was going to get a good night’s sleep. No woman ever affected him so easily besides Sarah, and it was as if his own body was betraying his late wife.
When he’d met Sarah Mason, he’d fallen so hard he thought he’d never recover from it. Sarah’s grey eyes always sparkled with mischief, and she constantly kept James on his toes. She brought him out of his conservative shell because before Sarah, he was always the level-headed one. The one who thought everything out before he acted on anything. That’s why when he proposed to Sarah, she hadn’t seen it coming. Her eyes had filled with tears when she screamed ‘yes.’ The day she’d told him she was pregnant, he was scared to death because they’d agreed to put off having kids for a few years. Sarah being a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of person, just told him that the baby was a wonderful surprise.
They were so happy when Mason was born and then they were given a cruel dose of reality when three months later, Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was like someone had thrown a bucket of ice over him because his blood had run cold. From that moment it was a nightmare to watch the woman he loved slowly fade away. She’d been so brave, even up until the end.
The first year after Sarah passed was incredibly hard. Trying to raise a little boy by himself with his hours at the station was rough. His parents and brothers helped as well as his neighbor, Mrs. Ray, but every night he still went to bed alone thinking of Sarah. Now he was in his bed thinking of another woman and it made him feel guilty. In his head he knew he needed to move on, but it wasn’t easy.
“Sarah, I still miss you,” James whispered as he lay back on his bed. “I know you want me to live my life and I’m trying, baby, but it’s not easy.”
The attraction to Marina was there and nothing could be done about that. She was beautiful with her wavy, honey-blonde hair that hung in soft waves most of the time unless she had it pulled back. Her green eyes were always so expressive and he could tell her every emotion just from gazing into them. Marina was curvier than her sister, probably because she’d had a child, but to him, it made her even sexier. Thinking about her body was a mistake because his cock twitched at the thought and the ache returned. If he didn’t stop thinking about her he was going to go out of his mind and he definitely wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Shower time.
After a relatively cold shower, James felt a little better. As he pulled on a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, his gaze landed on the picture of Sarah on their wedding day perched on his dresser. He thought he’d put the picture away. He didn’t remember putting it back on his dresser, but it reminded him he was still wearing his ring. He glanced at his hand where it encircled his finger.
“Is this a sign you want me to take this off, or am I losing my mind?” He knew the answer and slowly slid the ring from his finger. It felt strange with it gone, but if he was going to keep his promise to Sarah, he had to say goodbye. It was time.
James placed the picture in the top drawer of his dresser and lay the ring on top of it. “Goodbye, my love. You’ll always have a piece of my heart, but I’m going to keep my promise.” James closed the drawer and flopped down on his bed. He glanced at his hand and the faint tan line from his ring, still a reminder of his late wife. His hand felt naked without it, but he had to get adjusted.
Everyone told him to get on with his life and it used to piss him off. Mostly because he couldn’t see it happening. Then he met Marina and of course there was Aunt Cora. She made a point of telling him every time she saw him that his future was with Marina.
Even if he was ready to pursue something, it didn’t mean she was. She had a rough marriage, and it was hard for people who were in abusive relationships to trust again. He could show her that not all men were like Marc. He put his hand behind his head and closed his eyes.
“Time will tell.” Maybe Marina would give him some sign that she was ready to move on from her past and find a new future—hopefully with him.
Chapter 7
Marina stared at the closed door. It was beyond her how James could be so sweet to someone who was not exactly family. She shouldn’t be surprised since the entire family had stepped up to help her when she first moved to Hopedale. Sometimes it was overwhelming with so many of them, but she also felt secure with them around.
She’d grown to care about the family over the last four years. James’ parents were a lot like her own parents and would drop by from time to time to check on her and Danny. Danny loved them and would get just as excited to see them as when her own parents would come visit. James’ cousins Isabelle, Jess and Kristy would drop by as well. Isabelle lived in Hopedale but the other girls lived in St. John’s. They were all single and would try to talk her into going clubbing in town, but she’d always decline. Mostly because she hated the small strip of clubs in St. John’s known as George Street. She hated the crowded clubs or how guys would cop a feel and then pretend it was an accident.
She did join them a couple of times at Jack’s Place for a girls’ night with her sister and Sandy, but she always felt guilty when she left Danny with a sitter to go out. Of course the conversations during those times would always lead to James and how she needed to make a move on him. She’d never been the aggressive type when it came to men, and she wasn’t about to start with a man like James.
She really couldn’t think about him anymore. She was emotionally exhausted and every muscle in her body was so tense she didn’t know if she’d be able to relax. She grabbed her bag from the bed and slipped into the bathroom. When she flicked on the light, a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste were sitting next to the sink. She’d forgotten she didn’t have any of her toiletries. Luckily she kept her hairbrush in her purse so she didn’t look as if she’d stuck her finger into a socket once she got up, but he’d saved her from having the breath from hell in the morning.
After brushing her teeth and shoving her hair up into a messy ponytail, Marina crawled onto the b
ed and pulled the covers over her. It had been such a long day, and with everything spinning around in her mind, she didn’t know if sleep was going to be her friend tonight. She turned onto her side and curled her hands under her cheek.
As always, her brain was going a mile a minute as she ran through the events of the day. Someone broke into her home and touched her things, but not just touched them—destroyed them. She didn’t have a lot, but her television and computer could be sold if someone needed money. Why break in and beat up things? It didn’t make any sense. As if someone had poured ice water down her back, she shivered. If her car hadn’t refused to start, she would have ended up going home to face everything alone.
Her mother believed things happened for a reason. Maybe the reason her car had died was the universe trying to keep her from dealing with the whole situation by herself or was trying to tell her something else. Maybe it was giving her a chance to get to know James in a way she’d been avoiding.
She’d been telling everyone she’d moved on from Marc and she wasn’t going to let him run the rest of her life. The truth was, he was still running parts of her life. The part that opened her heart to another man and not just James, even though he was the only one she wanted, but any man. She’d turned down invites to dinner from a couple of guys from work and even a guy she’d met in Ottawa when she lived there. The thought of opening her heart to anyone again made her anxious, but for some reason she didn’t feel that type of emotion with James. Probably because he hadn’t asked her out or maybe it was because she was ready to move on.
She had to stop thinking about the man. She turned over and gazed out through the small bedroom window. It looked like it was going to rain, but that wasn’t uncommon for October. At least it wasn’t snowing yet and with that thought, James popped into her head again.
He’d kept her driveway cleared the winter before without her even asking. She thought Stephanie or John had put him up to it, but they’d denied it. Then she’d seen him a couple of days later clearing all the driveways on the street. Not that it was a lot because Hart Street only had four homes. He seemed to take it on himself to make sure nobody got stuck in their driveway during the winter.
He was such a considerate person, and she felt such a connection to him. In the beginning she’d thought it was because he was John’s brother, but since she didn’t feel the same draw to any of the other O’Connor brothers, she knew that wasn’t it. Something about James was drawing her to him, and it was confusing.
Marc had been her last relationship. In the beginning it was wonderful, but the end was hell. Nobody knew everything Marc put her through. Not even her family.
She told Stephanie about the day she kicked him out of the house. The day Marina found the drugs, but Stephanie didn’t know he’d almost killed her that night. To this day, she didn’t know what stopped him. He pinned her against the wall with his hands around her throat and she remembered not being able to get any air as everything around her went fuzzy. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but the next thing she knew he was on the other side of the room with her crumpled on the floor. It had been almost a week before she called her family because the bruises on her neck would have had them asking too many questions.
Part of her knew James was different from Marc, and it was hard to keep that part of herself from falling for the guy. Then there was the part of her that remembered how great Marc was in the beginning, and how he’d turned into a monster almost overnight. It made it hard to trust that what she saw with James was real.
The thing that terrified her the most was what James could do to her body with a single smile, or the scent of pine that always seemed to surround him. It was the same as an aphrodisiac to her, but someone’s scent had never affected her before. When he’d wrapped his arms around her earlier, she’d almost bolted but something came over her. Almost as if his touch had some magical way of calming her frayed nerves. She felt safe. Nobody, besides her father, ever made her feel safe since all the crap with Marc but he did.
“I really need to get a grip,” she whispered as she grabbed her cell phone. It was after midnight and she was exhausted, but sleep just wouldn’t come. Why hadn’t she taken a book from her house? Oh yeah. Probably because she wouldn’t be able to find a book in the mess the intruder left behind. She’d seen a bookcase in James’ living room,—maybe she could find something to read and help her relax.
It was dark downstairs with the exception of the light from the front lawn shining through the living room window. She found a lamp and switched it on because it was still too dark for her to see. The shelf didn’t contain a huge variety of books; at least not the kind she would read. Most of them were on criminal codes, true crime, world wars, and police procedures. She raised her gaze to the top shelf and saw a small collection of old classic books. Most of them she hadn’t read since she was a teenager. She ran her fingers across the binding of each one and stopped. Jane Eyre was her favorite of all time, and she’d fallen in love with it in high school. Jane had gone through such a difficult time, but in the end she found happiness. It was every woman’s wish to find a happily ever after. She pulled it down off the shelf and settled herself on the sofa.
It was well worn, and she carefully opened the cover. The name inside made her eyes fill with tears. Sarah Mason. James’ late wife obviously had read it numerous times and for some reason, a warm feeling flowed through her body. Almost as if someone was holding her hand and telling her she didn’t have to be scared anymore. Something told her she would have liked Sarah, but she had no idea why since she didn’t really know much about the woman except she’d died way too young.
She was floating, but secure and safe with warmth surrounding her. She was going higher and higher then, the floating stopped and she was eased into a cool fluffy cloud, but even though the warmth was gone, she knew she was in a place where she was protected. Her eyes fluttered open and a white knight stood over her, keeping her safe from all the evil in the world.
“Shhh... Go back to sleep, Marina.” His soothing voice willed her to close her eyes again, and she sighed as she settled comfortably into the cloud.
Marina opened her eyes and sat straight up in the bed. How the hell was she in bed? The last thing she remembered was reading on the couch and then the wonderful dream of being wrapped in warm comfort as she floated. Floated?
“For the love of God, Marina. You’re really losing your mind. That’s the only explanation.” She flopped back on the pillow. “And now you’re talking to yourself.” Marina grabbed her phone and cursed as the time glowed on the screen.
“Five a.m.? Are you kidding me?” Her internal clock never failed. Even if she went to bed late, her eyes opened at five. Now the desperation for coffee was kicking in, and she wasn’t sure how James would feel about her rummaging around in his kitchen. She tried to distract herself by scrolling through social media, but it was no use.
After a few minutes, her craving took the lead and she crawled out of bed. After she pulled on a pair of jeans and tank top, she fixed her hair back into a neat ponytail. On her way out of the room she grabbed an outfit for Danny. Standing at the top of the stairs, she noticed James’ bedroom door was still closed and the house was completely quiet. That meant the boys were still sleeping as well. She really needed some dark, liquid energy to get started. She tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen.
It was odd poking around someone else’s kitchen, but surprisingly it was well organized. She found the coffee in a container right next to the coffee pot, the same as she kept it at home. Things for her in the morning needed to be as easy to find as possible because even though her internal clock woke her in the morning, she wasn’t a morning person without her coffee. She couldn’t even form a coherent thought until her first couple of sips.
She leaned against the counter and sipped the steaming coffee with her eyes closed. It was heaven. James was so kind to let her stay with him, she needed to find a way to repay him. Sh
e knew as a single parent, nobody ever cooked breakfast for her and she was pretty sure James hadn’t had someone cook him breakfast in a long time. She searched around the cupboards and managed to find the ingredients for pancakes. This would be her way of saying thanks for being a friend. It didn’t seem much, but it was the only thing she could think of.
She poured a second cup of coffee for herself and realized it was still relatively early, so she’d grab a quick shower to kill some time before the boys woke. Danny never slept past six, so she had about thirty minutes before chaos ensued. She was pretty sure even if Mason didn’t normally wake up at six that Danny would ensure that his friend would be waking up.
She was digging through her overnight bag when she noticed the plastic bag stuffed inside it. When she opened it she found her body wash, shampoo and all the rest of her shower things along with Danny’s bubble bath. James must have grabbed it while she was getting the rest of the things together. How he managed to do it without her noticing she didn’t know but she was more than thankful.
She stood in the shower and let the hot water flow over her for a few minutes. Her body was so tense from a combination of everything. Lack of sleep, worry about what had happened with her house and James. He made her body tense in a whole different way and since her vibrating helper was somewhere in the mess at her house and she didn’t have time to relieve it manually.
“Oh, shit.” She remembered James saying that he and his brothers would clean her house for her so she could move back in. She’d have to insist she be there because the last thing she needed was for one of them to find that little helper of hers. Especially A.J. because knowing him, he’d never let her live it down. He was a sweetheart like the rest of his brothers but he was the biggest flirt she’d ever met.
Reluctantly, she turned off the shower and quickly dressed in some fresh clothes because she was right on the money. As she got to the top of the stairs, the two boys came charging out of Mason’s bedroom. She put her finger to her lips to quiet them down so they wouldn’t wake James. That was if they hadn’t already woken him.
Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) Page 7