Seducing the Innkeeper (At First Sight Book 3)

by Janet Lane-Walters

  He nodded. “That’s good. They’re nosy and always acting like they know secrets.”

  And they did. About Mark. And their thefts. Now about Davy. Though she hadn’t denied his claim the pair could use their knowledge to hurt her and Davy.

  Christa tasted the Yankee pot roast and sighed with satisfaction. The dish was perfect. She only wished her appetite was equal to the meal.

  While she ate her thoughts turned to her problems. How was she going to tell Davy why his father had been shut out of her life? He would want to know. How could she tell him she’d fallen in love with Mark and had feared his reaction to the news? She had imagined Mark denying he was the father or offering money if she would go away.

  Davy wouldn’t understand. Especially when Mark was here and determined to claim his son. She’d made the same decision about him just as she had with her half-sisters. Admitting her mistake was difficult.

  As they began dessert Davy returned to his chatty self. She laughed at his stories. He scooped the last bite of apple dumpling with cinnamon ice cream. “Can I leave the tip?”

  “Don’t you always.” She handed him several bills. After he tucked them under his plate they rose. “Don’t give Mrs. Lowry a hard time. Homework. A half-hour of TV, then bath and bed.”

  He nodded. “Can I stay up late tomorrow?”

  “What day is it?”

  “TGIF.” He gave her a high five and darted past guests arriving for dinner. Moments later Christa caught him in the foyer. She ruffled his hair. He and the older woman who doubled as desk clerk and sitter waved and left.

  The door closed. Stella left her station. She leaned against the counter. “We looked him up on the internet.”

  “Who?”

  “Mark Blakefield.”

  “Why? He’s none of your business.”

  Stella laughed. “Since he’s Davy’s daddy we thought you should know about him.”

  Peggy sauntered over. “His family owns a group of magazines.”

  “I know that.”

  Peggy smiled. “He’s not married or engaged. He likes hot women. He’s rich and available. You can hit him for a bundle. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be tied down by a kid.”

  Christa glared. “What he has or wants has nothing to do with you.”

  Peggy glanced at the cash register. “You are so dumb. I would hit him for child support in a heartbeat.”

  “Ten years will add up to a large sum,” Stella said.

  Christa stepped away from the counter. “To work.” Once they returned to their stations she entered the office but left the door open.

  After booting the computer she opened the booking calendar. The inn was solid for December and January. Even the cottages were full. She found a list of confirmed reservations she had neglected earlier and entered them. After checking emails she listened to phone messages. While she and Davy were in town she’d missed a call from a realtor interested in listing the property. She made a note to call the woman in the morning.

  For a brief time she considered asking Mark for child support. The money could be used to rid herself of Stella and Peggy. She shook her head. Wouldn’t work. They would always want more. Davy was her joy and responsibility. He had been from the moment she’d held him in her arms.

  She rose and walked to the door. Seven o’clock. Her heart stuttered. Mark stood at the entrance to the dining room. Stella put her hand on his arm and leaned toward him. Christa resisted the urge to storm from the office and claim him.

  She clenched her hands. Her half-sisters weren’t his type. Neither was she. Hadn’t Stella said he liked hot women?

  Christa returned to the desk and made a list for her weekend relief. She checked receipts from breakfast and lunch against credit card slips and cash. This done she locked them in the safe.

  At ten she removed the cash and receipts from the dining room register. Peggy glared. Christa ignored muttered comments. After locking the money in the safe she locked the office door.

  Christa stepped onto the porch. A hand grasped her arm. She gasped.

  “Don’t panic.”

  “Mark.”

  “We have a problem to solve. I’ve seen him. He is my son.” As he spoke he drew her down the steps. “I want to know what happened ten years ago to make you run away. I want to know why you never told me you were pregnant.”

  She met his gaze. In the light from the inn and the parking lot his green eyes mesmerized her. She looked away to break the spell. “We’ll talk. Tomorrow. It’s been a long day.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “I would have married you.”

  Those words brought tears to her eyes. Memories flooded her thoughts and senses. Her body responded to his scent and his touch. He ran his tongue over her lips and urged her to open to heir probing. She wanted to laugh, to cry and to run. Except she felt as right in his arms as she had years before.

  Heat stormed her body and brought a pulse low in her belly. She slid her arms around his neck. Her mouth opened and his tongue slid inside to explore in an advance and retreat movement. This stimulated the need she felt. She wanted to feel his skin on hers and have him deep inside. She pressed closer.

  One of his hands cupped her rear to press her against his erection. The desire she should resist grew urgent. She couldn’t fall into his bed again, not until she knew his plans for Davy. She jerked her head back and pressed her hands against his shoulders.

  “Let me go.”

  He freed her. “Tomorrow. We’ll do more than talk.”

  She shook her head. “Mark.”

  He laughed. “What time.”

  “Ten AM. There’s time between check in and check out.”

  He cupped her face with his hands. “Don’t be late or I will come looking for you.”

  This time his lips didn’t linger. The kiss was gentle and ripe with promise. Hope surged. When he released her she forced herself to step away. She turned and ran down the path to the house.

  “Night.”

  His call had added a charge to the feeling the kisses had stirred. Memories roared in her thoughts. She was in trouble. All she had felt for him had been rekindled. How could she protect Davy and herself? Ten years ago she had believed the passion had been an infatuation. She had lied.

  * * *

  Though Mark wanted to go after her he knew such a move would spook her. Even after all these years she had the power to stir the embers of desire into a raging fire. The impact of her scent, her taste, the sounds she had made raised an urge to carry her away and never let her go. Now he knew what his father had said was true. “Blakefields fall hard and fast. Once they do no matter what happens they won’t forget.”

  Tomorrow he and Christa would talk. He needed to know about the past ten years, his son and the possibility for the future. He sucked in a deep breath and swore her scent lingered. He wanted to feast on her body, to savor her response and join his passion to hers.

  One thing puzzled him. The name change. When she’d learned she was pregnant had she married this Sommers and passed off his son as another man’s child?

  He strode past the house. For a second or two he considered going onto the porch and pounding on the door. He wanted answers now. Instead he continued to the cottage. How could he create a scene and risk waking his son?

  As he stepped inside the cottage he halted. What drove him? Love or anger? Mark walked to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Though he could have gone to the bar at the inn he had no desire to interact with Christa’s half-sisters. A meeting with them would stir his disgust. Who knew what story they would invent?

  He opened the beer and booted the laptop. Several emails from the office waited. He typed responses and read the feature for the December issue. After okaying the piece he logged off.

  He finished the beer and tried to forget the impact of seeing and kissing Christa. He ached. He felt as hard as a slab of cement. He stripped to his briefs and began a series of exercises and pushed himself to exhaustion. As he
sprawled on the bed he tried not to think of the morning and the acts he wanted to perform with Christa. He groaned and knew he faced a long night.

  Chapter Three

  As the alarm rang Christa groaned and turned the annoying sound off. She eased out of bed. Her sleep had been broken by dueling dreams. First there had been highly erotic memories of Mark and making love followed by visions of Mark and Davy. The pair had run. No matter how hard she had tried she couldn’t catch them. Several times screams had roused her. Had they been silent cries or had her son heard?

  She hurried to the bathroom. How was she going to explain to Mark her reasons for leaving college and why she hadn’t told him about Davy? Would he understand those hectic days? Would he believe she had made him Davy’s guardian in the event of her death? There’d been no other choice. She couldn’t let her half-sisters have custody of her son and the inn.

  Christa stepped into the shower, washed and turned the temperature down. She needed a quick wakeup. As the icy spray hit she gasped. Now she was definitely awake.

  What did Davy think about the recent event? He’d never asked as if he missed having a father. He’d never asked about one and he’d never warmed to either of the men she had dated. Neither had she.

  After dressing she applied make-up to hide the deep shadows beneath her eyes. She knocked on Davy’s door. “Up. Breakfast in ten minutes. Then off to school.”

  He bounced out of bed. “It’s TGIF day. Do you think we can buy my bike tomorrow?”

  Christa smiled at her son’s question. “How much have you saved?”

  “A lot.”

  “If you don’t have enough we can price them and she how much more you need to save.”

  He made a face. “You could give me an advance on my allowance or just give me the money like you do when the half aunts whine. I’d even pay you back.”

  Christa groaned. “I’ll think about your proposal.” She wished her father and step-mother had made their girls earn the things they wanted instead of giving them everything they asked for. When she’d become their guardian she’d been too young and too swamped by new responsibilities to fight each time they threw a tantrum if she refused to buy what they wanted.

  Davy grabbed his clothes. “Do they ever pay you back?”

  “Not your business.”

  He darted past her. “I bet they don’t and that’s not fair.”

  “That will change.”

  “Good.”

  Christa shook her head. This time she wouldn’t back away from the confrontation with the pair. She only wished Mark hadn’t arrived primed for a fight.

  "Breakfast in seven minutes. Pancakes and syrup from our trees.” She hurried to the kitchen. After she talked to Mark she would tell her half-sisters what they could expect. She mixed the batter and turned on the griddle. Life was about to change and she couldn’t cave when faced with whining and bullying.

  Once Davy was on the school bus Christa entered her office. She stared at the computer screen. How could she concentrate on business when the dreaded meeting with Mark loomed. She went to the door and noted the full tables in the dining room. He wasn’t there. She returned to her desk and checked messages. Too early to call the realtor. She checked the menus for next week’s meals and placed orders for needed supplies. Thoughts of Mark intruded to disrupt her concentration.

  At quarter to ten she dropped a pen on the desk and left the office. She waved to the young woman at the reception area. “I’ll be away for about an hour.” Surely that would be enough time to settle matters with Mark.

  Christa paused on the inn’s porch and drew a deep of the crisp autumn air. Slowly she walked along the path to the cottage where Mark waited. She planned her strategy. He would not obtain custody of her son.

  * * *

  Mark paced about the cottage. If he sat he feared he would fall asleep. Despite all the exercise he’d performed last night, he’d remained awake most of the night. He stared at the mantle clock. Christa was due in five minutes. He finished a mug of instant coffee to wash down cookies he’d brought from home. Though he could have gone to the inn for breakfast he knew one glimpse of Christa and he would demand an instant meeting.

  He groaned. The need to have her naked in his arms warred with the desire for an answer. She’d kept his son from him. That had to end. He wanted and needed to spend time with the boy.

  Did Christa understand how important family was? His father and his sibs would welcome the boy into their homes and hearts. Could she understand how much the knowledge he had a son had changed him?

  The clock chimed. Ten o’clock. Where was she? Had she taken his son and run? He would follow and find them. He opened the door. Christa stood with her hand raised to knock. She gasped.

  “You came.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because of the past. You said you would just run to your dorm and change clothes. We were going to dinner. You said you would wait there for me. When I arrived you were gone. I asked about you and no one knew who you were.” He hadn’t realized until now how deep the knife of disappointment had thrust.

  “I should have left a message but I had to go. My answering machine was filled with news about the accident. My father and step-mother were dead and my sisters in foster care. Since no one could reach me they were placed in a dreadful home.”

  He stepped aside so she could enter. “I wish I had known. I would have gone with you.”

  She shook her head. “That would have escalated my problems. They were scared and angry.”

  That didn’t explain why he’d found no trace of her. “You should have called. You have no idea of the crazy scenarios I imagined.”

  She slumped on the couch. He sat beside her. As he listened to her explanation his awareness of her grew. Her scent eddied around him. Desire climbed to become a consuming need. He pulled her into his arms. “Lord knows why but I need you. Come with me.”

  She tried to pull away. “Where?”

  “To the bedroom.”

  “That won’t solve anything.”

  “Would ease the edginess I feel.”

  “You’re angry.”

  He nodded. “I am but that doesn’t lessen how much I want you. Last night you were as eager as I was.”

  She lowered her gaze. “Maybe I was remembering what you said when you said you wanted to talk. That’s why I’m here. Once you understand you have no claim to Davy you can return to your life and your hot women.”

  He laughed. “Been keeping tabs.”

  She edged away. “Stella and Peggy told me all about your many conquests.”

  “And you believed them."

  She released a long sigh. “Yes.”

  He rose and crossed to the fireplace hoping a bit of distance would ease his hunger for her. “I’ve dated women hot or otherwise. As for my claim, he is my son.”

  “Just forget about us and go away.”

  “Not going to happen.” He stepped toward the couch. “Davy is my son. He has a right to know my family and spend time with them.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. Though he hadn’t meant to cause tears she needed to understand how important acknowledging the boy as his son was. “When did you marry?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then explain how Christa Parsons became Christa Sommers. That name change was the reason I couldn’t find you.”

  She rose. “Where did you come up with that name? I’ve always been Christa Sommers.”

  Mark frowned. How had he mistaken her name? “That’s the name I used. I don’t know why.”

  “You looked for the wrong person.”

  “Maybe the wrong name but the right person. Why didn’t you return to school?”

  “I had to stay here. The inn is mine but my father managed it until I came of age. He left piles of debt. My sisters needed a guardian."

  “Weren’t there relatives to take the girls?”

  “None of either side who were more th
an distant or unsuitable. For three months I struggled to clear the mess.”

  Mark moved to her. “Life must have been hard.” When his mother died his father had been there plus there had been aunts and uncles who had helped. "Why didn’t you call when you knew about the pregnancy?”

  “I did. Some secretary said you were in Europe for an indefinite stay. She wouldn’t take a message. After Davy’s birth I tried again. Maybe the same secretary answered and refused to take a message. I hung up.”

  “I see.” He heard hurt and anger in her voice. “I guess you never tried again.”

  Her hands fisted. “And have you deny he was yours. Or have you offering money for me to go away.”

  He stared. “Why would you think I’d do either of those?”

  “You were a rich boy.”

  Mark turned away. She acted like she wanted to quarrel. Time to change the subject. “What’s my son’s name?”

  “David Marcus Sommers.”

  Mark swallowed. His son had part of his name. “Thank you.” His anger oozed away. He prayed hers had ebbed too. “Tell me about our son.”

  She shook her head. “Just go home.”

  “Look at me.” He touched her cheek with a finger. “I’m not leaving and I won’t take Davy from you. Except for a weekend or even a week or two during the summer. I want to spend time with him and let him meet my family. Can’t you understand how important this is to me?”

  “How could I understand? You’ve met my family.”

  “Not all families are like yours. You’ll enjoy my sibs, my dad and step-mother. All I want is to know my son.”

  She met his gaze. “I’ll tell him about what you want. If he wants to see you, I’ll let you know.” She rose.

  “Not so fast. What have you told him about his father? About me?”

  “Very little. He never asked questions before. I told him you’re a guest and might be related to his dad. I need to know what my half-sisters have told him. When he comes home from school he and I will talk. The decision to see you or not will be his.”