Harlequin Superromance November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Christmas at the CoveNavy ChristmasUntil She Met Daniel

by Rachel Brimble

  He gunned the engine and fought his frustration as the wipers lifted the snow from the windshield and the heater blasted the condensation inside. When his vision was the best he could make it, Scott slowly crawled from the parking lot. Once on the main road, he headed for The Christie Hotel, praying that’s where Carrie had gone and she would still be by the time he negotiated the panicked British public as they drove home through heavy snowfall.

  * * *

  CARRIE FELL THROUGH the doorway of her hotel room, her tears blinding her and her heart breaking. What she’d witnessed in Scott at the restaurant couldn’t be ignored. His anger and unresolved issues with his father still ate him from the inside out. How could he possibly embrace everything Belle had to offer if his heart and mind were still wholly committed to protecting his mother and sisters to the extent that he tried to control them and their decisions?

  He’d chosen to stay where he was and not move forward.

  She refused to spend her life feeling as though she had pulled Scott away from his family. His reaction at the restaurant proved he was far from ready to leave them to live their own lives and move forward with her and Belle. Tears burned. Belle deserved a father who gave all of himself to her, not one who could only spare what remained after his family’s needs had been taken care of...especially when that family consisted of adults.

  Grabbing her suitcase from the wardrobe, Carrie whipped clothes from hangers and drawers, tossing them haphazardly into the case. Frustration and disappointment swept through her as she made for the bathroom and snatched hair bands, makeup and jewelry.

  She had to get out of Templeton. Go home and be with Belle. She had no intention of stopping Scott from seeing Belle in the future, but he had a long way to go before she allowed that to happen. Her child’s happiness was the important thing, and he had to prove he’d be a light in Belle’s life before any kind of meeting took place.

  Heartbreak threatened and Carrie swiped angrily at her face. Scott was protective, strong and committed. He fought for his family, no matter what. His loss of control at the restaurant was something she thought she’d never witness in him. It could only be a sign of how much he hurt from his father’s betrayal, and how roughly the role of protector was thrust on him from such a young age, preventing him from being able to see past it into making a life of his own, but she could not weaken as far as protecting Belle was concerned.

  He could have offered his amazing virtues to his child but had chosen to turn the other way. Carrie couldn’t ignore, or forgive, that. The risk to Belle was too great.

  Scott’s love—his passion—clearly held two sides. The ugly side was his protection sometimes went too far. He might think he was helping when really he could be hindering his relationship with his mum beyond what he could see or understand. Carrie gripped the bottles in her hands and took a long, steadying breath. God damn it, Scott needed to step back and let his mother make the decision about his father. The only decision Scott could make was what relationship he would have with his dad from here on in.

  Carrie stormed back into the room. He has to realize that himself. I can’t stay here. I need to be with Belle.

  She tossed everything into her suitcase and zipped it shut. With a final glance around the four walls that had been her home for too long, she heaved her case to the floor and rolled it straight out the door. On the way to the elevator, she halted, pulled her cell from her back pocket and dialed her mum’s number.

  “It’s me.” Carrie pressed the button for the elevator, the phone balanced between her chin and shoulder.

  “Carrie? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m coming home. Things have taken a U-turn. Scott’s not ready to be in Belle’s life yet.”

  “Oh, darling. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m okay. It’s for the best he showed me who he is now rather than later.”

  “Are you crying?”

  Carrie huffed out a laugh and shut her eyes. “Of course not. I’m fine. Things haven’t turned out any differently than I expected. He has my number if he wants to call in the New Year...” The elevator pinged and the doors swept open. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I get to the station and find out how soon I can get out of here, okay?”

  “Okay. Just be careful and keep calm. You sound upset, and people don’t think straight when they’re upset.”

  “I will.”

  With her heart aching and her head pounding, Carrie dragged her suitcase into the elevator and smiled at the attendant. “Lobby, please.”

  Upon reaching the lobby, she hurried to the reception desk and the young girl there smiled. “Can I help you?”

  “I need a cab to the train station. As soon as possible.”

  The girl raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you booked in until Christmas Eve, Ms. Jameson? I hope everything has been satisfactory during your stay with us? The Christie prides itself—”

  “Everything’s been great. I’ve just changed my mind about staying and want to get home in time for Christmas.” Carrie’s smile was so strained, her cheeks ached. Just call the damn cab. Please.

  The receptionist grimaced. “And you’re hoping to travel home by train?”

  Carrie’s smile dissolved as unease rippled through her. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Jameson, but I don’t think you’ll be leaving today. We had a call from the train station earlier saying that due to the increase in snowfall, they’ve chosen to close the line in view of public safety. The forecast is for the snow to stop in the early hours, so hopefully the line will be open tomorrow. Can I book you a cab for midday? If the station tells us there is still a problem by mid-morning, I will make sure a message is sent to your room.”

  “But I don’t want to be here.” Carrie cursed the crack in her voice and pulled back her shoulders.

  “I’m so sorry. If there was—”

  “Is there any other way out of the Cove?”

  The girl shook her head, sympathy showing in her gaze. “The only other way is by car through two neighboring towns to the next train station. I wish I could suggest some alternative—”

  “Carrie.”

  Carrie’s heart leaped into her throat and she spun around. Scott stood a few feet away from her, his dark hair wet with snow, his jacket drenched and his expression dangerous, broody and determined.

  Her stomach knotted and her body trembled as joy, attraction, irritation and protectiveness for her and Belle’s hearts simultaneously tore through her. He couldn’t be here. She didn’t have the strength to walk away from him when he stood in front of her, looking so full of resolve and purpose. She loved him. It was pointless denying it...but she loved Belle more, and the depth of Scott’s resentment toward his father, and the stringent ties to his family were too much for her to want or have to fight against.

  He glanced at her suitcase on the floor beside her. “Don’t go.”

  Her weak heart urged her to run forward into his arms, but she stood firm. “I have to.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  Glancing over her shoulder toward the receptionist, Carrie walked forward and gripped his elbow, steering him to the side. She tipped her head back to look into his eyes. “I’m not giving up on you, but you have to deal with your issues with your dad before I can let you be with Belle.”

  “I’m ready to do this. Don’t shut me out because of what just happened. I haven’t seen him for ten years.” His dark blue gaze searched hers. “Ten years.”

  “And I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, but that doesn’t change what I’m saying.” She pushed the longing to comfort him far away. “I’m leaving. You have too much to sort out.”

  “And I can’t do that and be with you and Belle? You really think my family, any family, ever stops having problems?” He came closer. “I want to be w
ith you, Carrie. I want to be with our child.”

  She shook her head. “You can call me in the New Year and we’ll try again.”

  “Carrie, please don’t do this.”

  The open and pleading tenderness in his eyes was the furthest thing from the anger he’d shown in the restaurant. Time and again, his strength and virtue struck at her heart and his Steve McQueen eyes brought her totally undone.

  She straightened her spine. She had to be stronger than this. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

  He stood close enough for her to smell the scent of snow on his skin, close enough for her to hear the soft pant of his breath as though he’d run from the restaurant to the hotel to be with her.

  He gripped her hands, his beautiful blue eyes boring into hers. “Yes, I have things to sort out with my family, but I have a daughter and a woman I’ve yet to convince she can trust me, but you can. Don’t leave like this. At least stay for tonight.” He glanced toward the revolving doors at the front of the hotel. “The snow is coming down too hard for you to travel. I’ll speak to my mum and I promise I’ll listen to what she has to say about my dad without judgment.” He smiled wryly. “And I hope she offers the same to me when I tell her about you and Belle.”

  Carrie stiffened. “Now isn’t the time to tell her about us. Not with all this going on with her husband.”

  “It’s the perfect time. I’m sick to death of feeling angry and bitter, so unsure what the hell to do next.” He ran his gaze over her face. “When I’m with you, everything’s better, easier. The problems are still there, but together, I know we’ll get through all of it. I love you.”

  She slumped her shoulders, tears burning her eyes. “I love you, too.” He moved to pull her closer and she pressed her hand to his chest. “But you have friends and family who care about you. You have a business, money and your home. I don’t want you to change your life for me. How can we move forward in a relationship when I’ll worry every day you’re not being who you really are, and that you’re resentful of me taking you away from your commitments?” She shook her head. “I won’t risk that. That’s what was never right between Gerard and me. No matter what he did, he wouldn’t have ever made me truly happy, because it was you I thought about every time I looked at Belle. I refuse to let you live a single day like I did.”

  His gaze burned with intensity as he cupped her jaw. “This is me, Carrie. Right now. With you. I would happily be this man, feel this way, for the rest of my life.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SCOTT WAITED FOR her to reject him and rip his heart from his chest in front of the audience in the lobby.

  Her brown eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed and her mouth...was stretching into the most gut-wrenching smile he’d seen yet on her beautiful face. “You’re making this too damn hard.”

  His heart stuttered and he released her. “You’ll stay?”

  She covered her face with her hands as though she couldn’t bear to look at him. “How can I be with you, make this decision to fight or flee when our daughter is so far away? If Belle was here...our life was in the Cove, then maybe we could work at this, but—”

  “We’ll deal with that. What happens with me leaving the Cove can come later. We don’t have to think that far ahead. Not yet.”

  She snatched her hands from her face, her smile gone and her gaze hot with passion. “I have to think ahead, Scott. You have to think ahead. You’re a parent now. Everything’s changed. What you want or what you don’t comes second to Belle. At least until she’s an adult.” She lifted her eyebrow and stared at him. “Then she’ll come second to what you and I want. She’ll have her life and we’ll have ours, and she’ll have to learn to accept our decisions, and we will hers.”

  He frowned for a split second before he understood the tone of her voice and the way she looked at him. “In other words, exactly what I told my mum before I left the restaurant. I get it, Carrie. I really do.”

  “You’re going to leave your mum to her own decisions? Her own life?”

  He inhaled. “Yes. Finally. My sisters, too.”

  She smiled. “Then I’ll stay until Christmas Eve. I’ll even meet your family, but I have to see a change in you before I’m convinced what we have is worth fighting for. I have to know for sure Belle isn’t going to be hurt. I’m sorry.”

  He smiled and pulled her tightly into his arms. “Don’t be. You make me better, Carrie. We’ll work it out, I promise.”

  Her arms came around his waist and she settled her head on his chest. “It was always you, Scott. I think it always will be.”

  He eased her back and kissed her. She’s mine. I’ll never, ever let this woman go as long as I live.

  He took. He savored. He loved. He needed to touch her, show her what she did and meant to him. Slowly, he eased her back. “Can I help you back to your room with your suitcase?”

  She blinked and looked around her, her pink cheeks instantly darkening to a shade closer to red. He followed her gaze around the lobby. There were curious glances, some more blatant than others, directed at them from every corner.

  She laughed. “Yes. Now. Before I die of embarrassment.”

  He picked up her suitcase as she drew from his embrace and returned to the reception desk. The girl behind the counter smiled. “Shall we forget the worry about the train, after all?”

  Carrie glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll...um...stay for tonight and call down in the morning about that cab.”

  The receptionist winked and flashed Scott a smile. “I don’t blame you.”

  Scott grinned after Carrie when she marched past him toward the elevator like a woman on a mission. Despite the sneaking feeling it was out of mortification of losing her cool in front of strangers, rather than her need to rip his clothes off, he followed. She was the one. The woman to dispel the resentment and anger toward a man he’d once idolized.

  Scott drew his gaze over the back of Carrie’s head, lower over her exquisite body, still tantalizingly concealed in black silk. He inhaled a long breath, imagining the scent of her perfume and the feel of her skin. He loved her and from then on he only had himself to blame for his future choices and decisions.

  Tomorrow he would see his father and lay down the rules once and for all. It’s time I moved on. My time is now. With Carrie and our baby.

  Carrie stepped into the elevator and turned to face him. He tipped her a wink and leaned against the back wall. The sexual tension between them increased with every floor they passed. Scott clenched his jaw and hungrily drew his gaze up and down her body. She leaned against the opposite wall; out of his reach and clearly tormenting him, judging by the look in her eye.

  His mother had given him a strong, loving upbringing and taught him about real love, no matter how much she was hurting over her husband. Later, he’d make sure she understood everything she’d done for him and how much he loved her.

  He’d also make sure his mother understood he wasn’t staying put anymore—the life he wanted might just be away from Templeton and everything he’d ever known and loved. That didn’t mean he was abandoning her or his sisters. They’d stay in Templeton and be happy here—his happiness would only be wherever Carrie and Belle were.

  He cast his gaze over Carrie from the top of her head to the sexy heels on her feet once again and his cock twitched with impatience. As soon as they were inside her hotel room, he’d show her just how much he desired every single inch of her. He wouldn’t stop making love to her until she shouted his name. They could have a great future if only they held on...

  The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The attendant stepped back to let them exit. Once the doors drew closed again, Scott clasped her hand and tugged her to him.

  She frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m great.” He stared at her mouth then lower to the ample cleavage rev
ealed above the neckline of her dress. “I want you. Now.”

  Her skin turned pink, but she held his gaze. “Then let’s go.”

  Every step to her room stretched his need for her to breaking. The sexual tension had been scorching hot since the first moment he laid eyes on her, but now something more profound, more needful, existed between them. He wanted her for the rest of his life and short of banging on his chest and tossing her over his damn shoulder, there was little else he could do but make sweet love to her.

  Her body called to him on a primal level, her heart on an emotional level he equally feared and coveted. He wanted every part of her forever and the knowledge she’d carried and given birth to his child escalated every emotion and primitive instinct within him. The look of fear in her eyes when she spoke in the lobby was clear. She was putting not only her faith, but also Belle’s, in him and he would not let them down.

  She stopped outside her door, flicked him a glance from beneath lowered lashes and unlocked it. The door barely closed behind them before Scott dropped her suitcase to the floor and gripped her hand.

  He tugged her sharply against his chest and her breath left her lungs on a gasp. He kissed her and she moaned into his mouth, her nails digging into his biceps. She met his intensity, sending his arousal soaring. He fumbled with her coat belt as she fumbled with the button on his trousers. Finesse and care had been left in the lobby. He was sealing the deal, pledging himself to her, and prayed she did the same.

  She drew her mouth from his, her brow creasing in concentration as she shimmied his trousers down his thighs, his boxers following. Her mouth reclaimed his and her fingers smoothed over his cock to massage the length of him until he thought he’d come right there and then.

  He eased her back, bringing his lips to her neck. “Slow down. You’re killing me.”

  The tendons in her neck shifted as she laughed. “You need to get back to your family. We don’t have much time.”

  He laughed. “You’re concerned about my family now?”

  “Yes, but I’ll still take what I need before you go.”