by Kat Martin
A memory returned of Meri’s soft breasts pressing against him. He tried to imagine the exact shape, the color of her nipples, how they would harden when he cupped them. But he hadn’t gotten that far and the image wouldn’t come.
Better that way, he thought.
Something moved in the shadows. He knew who it was without seeing her, realized she must have been there a while, been watching when he undressed. It made him go hard beneath the water.
“Want to join me?” he asked, certain she would say no. Half of him praying she would, the other half throbbing with the need for her to say yes.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Relief and regret rolled through him. “I’m about to come out. You better turn around.”
“Why should I?” she teased. “I’ve already seen everything.”
He thought of the fierce arousal that rode against his belly. “Not everything,” he said gruffly. “I want you, Meri. That hasn’t changed.”
“Oh! Okay . . . I-I’m turning around.” He heard her feet moving as she turned away from the water. Ian started sloshing toward the shore. He grabbed the towel he’d brought from the house, dried off as best he could, and pulled on his jeans. At the buzz of his zipper sliding up, Meri turned and stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight.
Ian couldn’t breathe. In the soft light of the moon, her long braids were streaked with gold, her face dusted with silver. Her cherry lips looked as smooth as the petals of a rose.
His loins clenched. He started getting hard again. Sweet God, she was beautiful.
“We’d better go in,” she said, but she made no move to leave.
Ian walked toward her. “What were you doing out here, Meri?”
“I saw the pond one day when Lily and I were watching the kittens. I wondered how it would look in the moonlight.”
“It’s just a reservoir, not very deep, but it does look pretty at night.”
“I needed a place to think. I figured maybe . . . out here . . .”
He stood close enough to smell the fresh-scrubbed scent of her, ached with the need to touch her. “I know you’re in some kind of trouble. Tell me why you’re running, Meri. Let me help you.”
Her eyes, a warm golden brown, widened in alarm. “What makes you think I’m . . . I’m in trouble? How do you know I didn’t just want a change of scenery?”
“Where did you live before you came here?”
She glanced away, bit her full bottom lip, made him want to kiss her.
“Tell me, Meri. You can trust me.”
She swallowed. “Riverside. That’s east of LA.”
“I know where it is. Was that where you were raised?”
“Mostly.”
“Were you working there?”
“I was working for a temp agency, doing a little of everything . . . secretarial, bookkeeping, receptionist, stuff like that. It didn’t pay much, but it was work I enjoyed.”
“So why did you quit?”
She shrugged her slender shoulders. For a moment he didn’t think she was going to answer.
“A problem came up with Lily’s father,” she finally said. “He wanted money. I didn’t have it, so I left.”
“Do you owe him money? Because if you do—”
“I don’t owe him anything!”
“He can’t force you to give him money. That’s called extortion, Meri. I saw a lot of that kind of thing when I was with the department. It’s against the law. If you’ll let me help you—”
Her head came up. Wariness crept into her features. “What does that mean . . . ‘when you were with the department’? What department are you talking about?”
“Seattle police. That’s how I got into the security business. I told you that.”
“You didn’t . . . didn’t say you were a cop. You said you owned a security firm. I was thinking more like home alarm systems.”
“We have people who can do that. Mostly we do private investigation, personal protection. Security background checks. Things like that.”
He didn’t miss the tremor that ran through her. “I need to go in. I’ve got to check on Lily.” She started to turn away, but Ian caught her shoulders.
“Let me help you, Meri.”
She pulled away from him. “The house is almost finished. In a day or two I’ll be leaving. Let it go, Ian. Please.” Turning, she walked off into the shadows, heading back to the house.
Ian watched her go. His insides were twisting, churning with the knowledge that he had been right and Meri was in trouble.
He had to do something. He’d waited long enough. He had to find a way to help her.
Whether she wanted him to or not.
* * *
Joey moved off into the shadows, a smug smile on his face. He’d found her late that afternoon. Stupid woman had parked her car right in front of the house. Once he’d figured out exit 287 off Interstate 90 was Argonne Road, he’d had a place to start.
First he’d gone south, but that had turned into shops and businesses and led nowhere. He’d worried maybe she’d just been filling up her gas tank or getting something to eat when he’d phoned, but he’d come too far to give up. He’d taken his time, driven till Kowalski started complaining, and he figured he’d gone far enough.
Then he turned around and headed north, driving back across the freeway to see what was up at that end of the road. The open country made it easy. A few miles north of I-90, in front of an older two-story white house, he had spotted her old brown Chevy.
He’d found a place to park down the road out of sight and just as dusk was falling, he and Ski had walked back to the house to check things out.
He’d seen her and the kid inside, seen the old man with the silver hair. He’d watched the two of them hanging stuff on the walls and setting things back on tables. It was clear the house had recently been painted. Everything was newly cleaned and repaired.
Joey wondered who the people were and how Meri knew them. He didn’t think she had any relatives, but maybe he was wrong. When Meri went in to cook supper, he and Ski had left for a while, driven back down the road to get burgers and fries. He’d needed a little boost, so he’d taken care of that with some of the tweak he had left, felt better now that he had.
They’d gone back to the house after dark.
He’d waited a while, watching the occupants through the windows; then his blood got to pumping when he’d seen Meri walk out of the house and head into the darkness behind the barn. He and Ski had followed. He’d been about to approach her, give her a little of the treatment he’d given her friend in Portland, when he’d seen the man approach.
Joey hadn’t noticed the guy before, but he got a real good look at him tonight. Over six feet tall and buff. A muscle jock if he’d ever seen one. And the look on Meri’s face when she had seen him naked.
Joey leaned over and spit into the dirt. Made him want to barf.
“I think your old lady has the hots for that dude.” Kowalski stood next to him in the darkness, watching first Meri, then the muscle jock, walk back to the house and disappear inside. “I’m surprised they didn’t get it on right there.”
“Shut up.”
“What are we gonna do, Joey? I ain’t got any more money and you don’t either. I bet you don’t even have any more rock to sell.”
“I told you to shut up.”
Kowalski fell silent. He was dumb as a stick, but he could be useful. As they reached the car, moonlight shined on the big Polack’s bald head, glinted on the earrings in his ears. Kowalski looked like a real badass, and he was even tougher than he looked.
At least he could be when he got riled. Joey was smart enough to know exactly how to use Ski’s considerable talents.
“In case you forgot,” Joey said, “that bitch has plenty of dough. You saw what they’ve been doing—fixing up the whole damned house. She’s probably been paying for it with my money.”
“Yeah, you’re right. So what are we gonna do?”<
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“I got an idea. Even if it turns out Meri doesn’t have any money left, I bet the old man or her boyfriend does. Did you see that fancy Jeep parked in the driveway? Those cars don’t come cheap.”
“You’re right, Joey.”
“Yeah. All we gotta do is take our time, figure out a plan, then go for it. Somebody’s got money.” Joey looked back at the house, watched the upstairs light go out.
A slow smile spread across his face. “Somebody’s got money,” he repeated. “And I’m going to have something they want bad enough they’ll be more than happy to give it to me.”
Chapter Eight
Meri spent her last day working in the dining room, cleaning and polishing the furniture and the beautiful silver tea service. Even the glass chandelier over the table sparkled and gleamed.
She had told Daniel and Ian she planned to leave in the morning. Both of them had tried to talk her into staying, but her mind was made up. Every time she looked at Ian, her heart hurt.
Stupidly, she had let herself fall in love with him, and it was a crazy, ridiculous thing to do. Ian had never hinted at any sort of feelings for her, nothing, at least, beyond the physical attraction he felt, and even that he had determinedly avoided.
If she stayed, she was going to get very badly hurt and worse than that, so was Lily. Her little girl was falling in love with Ian and Daniel, too. If Meri didn’t get her daughter away from there soon, leaving the men was going to turn into a terrible trauma for Lily.
Meri sighed. Tonight was their last night in the house, and though her heart felt heavy with the thought of leaving in the morning, she wanted to make this last night special.
With Daniel’s permission, she set the long mahogany table with Emma’s best china and sterling silver, got out the old-fashioned pink-stemmed glasses that went with the set, and put candles back in the silver candelabra she had found in the sideboard.
The room looked beautiful. No one had seen it yet, but she was sure Ian and Daniel would be pleased. She had also cooked a special supper of old-fashioned roast chicken, biscuits, carrots, and potatoes. The food wasn’t fancy, but she had learned that it was a meal Emma had cooked for them, and it was one of their favorites.
She had taken one last risk and asked Daniel if she could invite Heddy Peterson.
“She was very kind to Lily and me,” Meri said. “I’d like to include her, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Daniel’s smile came slow, but it spread across his face. “One more change, Meri, honey? Is that what you’re thinking?”
She blushed, knowing he had read the truth in her face. “I was thinking it might be good to have a friend again.”
Daniel nodded. “You could be right. Invite her if you want. I’m not sure she’ll come, though. I haven’t treated her too well these past few years.”
But Meri was certain Heddy would come, and when she had phoned, the older woman had enthusiastically agreed.
“I’ll bring my famous rum and chocolate chip bread pudding. I got the recipe from Emma years ago. Daniel always loved it.”
“That would be perfect, Heddy.”
As soon as everything was ready, Meri went upstairs to change for supper. She dressed Lily in the one nice outfit she had packed for her, a pretty little sky-blue chemise dress with a ruffle around the hem. She brushed Lily’s dark hair and helped her into her best shoes, a pair made of shiny black patent leather.
“I look so pretty, Mama.” Lily twirled in front of the full-length mirror in the corner, her dark, chin-length hair whirling around her face. “I like wearing pretty dresses.”
Meri felt a twinge. Silently she vowed that in the future, she would spend some of the money she earned to buy her daughter new clothes.
“Why don’t you go downstairs and watch TV with Mr. Brodie?” she asked. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Lily headed for the bedroom door and Meri went to work on herself. Unbraiding her loosely plaited hair, she brushed it till it gleamed, then swept it up in a twist and secured the heavy mass with a clip, letting a few strands escape beside her ears.
Running out of time, she slipped into the only good outfit she had brought for herself. A short black skirt and pink satin blouse. She belted the outfit with a wide silver belt, added a pair of dangly silver earrings, and slipped her feet into a pair of very high black heels.
She checked her image in the mirror, pressed her hands against her stomach to calm her nerves. She was only staying one more night. She wanted to look good for Ian, wanted him to see past the jeans and T-shirts she had been wearing since they’d met, to the woman she was underneath.
With a last glance in the mirror, she summoned her courage and headed downstairs.
* * *
His father sat at the head of the table, with Heddy next to him on one side. Ian sat across from Meri, who sat next to Lily. Since the moment he had walked into the dining room and seen the polished mahogany table set with his mother’s most treasured possessions, caught the glitter of silver and her beautiful antique stemware, the evening had taken on a surreal quality.
Now as he glanced around the room, Ian felt as if he were looking into some preordained future, some skip in time that showed him the family he was meant to have.
Since he’d entered the dining room and seen Meri waiting for him, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. She’d looked beautiful in jeans and a work-stained T-shirt. She was stunning in pink satin and high heels.
As she and Heddy served the meal, he had to force himself to follow the conversation. Every instinct urged him to haul Meri out of her chair, toss her over his shoulder like a caveman, and carry her off to his bed.
He had the weirdest feeling his father was experiencing some of the same primitive urges. Heddy was wearing an ankle-length cream lace dress, the bodice cut low, exposing her ample cleavage. Five years without a woman was a long time for a man as virile as Daniel Brodie. He was practically salivating as he looked at Heddy.
And the looks she was casting his way said if he had the courage, she was his.
“So what do you think, son?” Daniel asked. “Maybe having a couple of horses out in the pasture again might be a good idea. They’d keep the grass from getting too high.”
With his eyes fixed on Meri, Ian had missed some of what his father had just said. Was his dad really thinking of getting horses again? He could hardly believe his ears.
When he didn’t reply, but just kept staring at Meri, she stepped into the breach. “I think it’s a great idea,” she said.
“So do I,” Heddy added, smiling. “There’s an auction the end of next month. I hear they have some very good brood mares coming up for sale. Maybe you could find one you’d like to breed.”
“I wouldn’t mind raising a couple more colts,” Daniel said, taking a sip of wine from one of the old-fashioned pink-stemmed goblets.
“I love colts,” said Lily.
“I think it’s a great idea, Dad,” Ian finally said, forcing himself to concentrate on the conversation. “Who knows, you might even make some money.”
Daniel smiled and nodded, apparently pleased with the notion.
It seemed like a blink before Heddy was serving her famous chocolate chip bread pudding, along with the rich dark coffee Meri had brewed.
Then supper was over and they cleared the dishes together. Meri and Heddy washed while Ian dried, and Daniel put the dishes back in the sideboard, Lily keeping up a running dialog as he worked.
“My, it’s really getting late,” Heddy said with a glance at the antique oak clock. “I walked down instead of driving. I wonder, Daniel, if you would mind walking me back home.”
Their eyes met across the kitchen and the air seemed to sizzle between them. “I could do that,” Daniel said. “Let me get my jacket and your wrap.” His father flicked him a glance. “Don’t wait up. We might watch TV for a while.”
Ian bit back a smile. “Have fun,” he said, wishing he was going to have the same
kind of fun with Meri that his father was going to have with Heddy.
Standing next to her mother, Lily yawned. “I’m sleepy, Mama.”
“Come on, honey. Time for bed.”
“I’ll carry her up,” Ian said. Scooping the little girl into his arms, he carted her up the stairs, with Meri right behind him. She held open the door for him and Ian carried Lily over to the bed and set her on her feet.
He bent and kissed her cheek. “Sleep tight, kiddo.” His gaze went to Meri and the longing inside him stirred. For a heartbeat neither of them moved.
“I . . . umm . . . need to get her undressed and ready for bed,” Meri said, ending the moment with a dose of reality.
Ian just nodded. “Good night,” he said. What he wanted from Meri, he couldn’t have. Not without feeling guilty.
Meri looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead just shook her head. “Good night, Ian.”
He walked out of the room and softly closed the door. Tomorrow Meri was planning to leave. Ian still hadn’t figured a way to stop her.
Heading down the hall, he went into his room and closed the door. It was late and the house was quiet.
It didn’t matter. Ian knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
* * *
Lily slept in the twin bed a few feet away, but Meri was wide awake, her mind whirling with images and memories.
Tonight had gone exactly the way she had planned. The setting, the food, Daniel and Heddy. Even the way Ian had stared at her all evening, as if she were the only one in the room. He’d complimented her on how beautiful she looked while his gorgeous blue eyes told her how much he wanted her.
She hadn’t anticipated how much the desire in his eyes would make her want him, too.
Meri wasn’t a fool. She knew Ian wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship. He had never pretended he was. But she was in love with him and nothing she had experienced had prepared her for the soul-deep yearning she felt for him. Feelings Meri knew deep in her heart she would never know again.