Creases formed between Nolan’s dark eyebrows. “Can we wait for a bit?”
“Of course.” She jumped to her feet. “Coffee?”
“Thanks.” He sounded inexplicably gentle. “Let me help you clear the table.”
They worked together as the coffee brewed. Before she’d snapped the top on the plastic container of leftover pot roast and potatoes, Nolan was already scrubbing the Crock-Pot.
“You’re a guest,” she protested. “You already have to do this at home—”
He smiled. “Nope. That’s what a kid is for.”
“Nolan.”
He laughed at her chiding tone. “I cook, he cleans. He cooks, I clean. I never get any argument.”
“Really?” Hearing her own amazement, Dana laughed, too. “My brother and I squabbled until he went to college about who had what chores. We still do it a little bit when we’re both home.”
A shadow passed over his face. “Marlee and I did some of that. Except...”
“You were always protective of her.”
“Spoiled her, is what you mean.” He avoided her scrutiny by concentrating on rinsing the ceramic Crock-Pot lining. “You’d be right.”
Dana wanted to convince him that he had no reason to feel guilty about his sister, but this wasn’t the right time for that, either—and she wasn’t the right person.
Instead, in unspoken reassurance, she touched his forearm, bared by a rolled-up shirtsleeve, and looked around. “Done! And so is the coffee.”
They took their cups into the living room. He sat at one end of the sofa and patted the middle cushion next to him. With only the tiniest hesitation, she sat beside him and set her coffee cup on the table. Nolan tugged her toward him. Dana relaxed, his arm secure around her, her face tucked in the crook of his neck.
“You smell good,” she murmured.
Amusement rumbled in his chest. “You wouldn’t have thought so if I’d come straight here from work.”
She lifted her head to see his face. “Why not?”
“Worked my ass off today.” He kissed the tip of her nose, then let his lips travel to the ridge of her brows, her temple, her cheek and jaw. Her eyes drifted closed as she just felt. This wasn’t the kind of kiss that should have aroused her, but it did.
“Dana.” His voice came out rough, his breath a sigh against her ear.
“Mmm?”
“Were you planning to ask me to stay tonight?”
She quit breathing. The moment of truth. It’s too soon, she wanted to cry, but was it really? All of those lunches, dinners over the past month, the small touches during the weekend days she spent at Wind & Waves. The way his gaze always found her, lingered. In the midst of all her confusion, she couldn’t doubt that he wanted her. His focus was so intense, even when he was talking to someone else, she knew he was always conscious of where she was, what she was doing.
In the end, it was no decision at all. “I was,” she admitted.
His gaze traveled her face, much as his lips had. “And yet you look terrified.”
She smiled weakly and laid a hand on his hard cheek. “It’s been a long time. I’m entitled to some nerves.”
“Tell me you’ve had someone.”
She shook her head.
His hand on her upper arm flexed even as his eyes closed. “Damn it, Dana.”
She swallowed. “I know this is probably a little off-putting...”
His eyes opened, the flare in the blue depths hot enough to singe her skin. “No. Nothing about you is off-putting. I need to get a grip. That’s all.”
She slid her hand to his neck, kneading the taut muscles. “I was married. I had a kid.” This was important to say. He already saw her as wounded, she knew. Enough was enough. “I’m not made of porcelain.”
Suddenly a wicked smile appeared. “Okay.” He gripped her waist and lifted her onto his lap, swinging her around so that she straddled him. Her squeak of surprise never had a chance to rise from her throat. He kissed her with new tenderness, playing with her mouth, letting her play with his. She explored, slipping her fingers into the ruffled silk of his hair, touching that small scar, testing the powerful muscles that ran from his neck to his shoulders.
Her skin felt tight, her blood thick. He kissed her until she couldn’t have said where they were. When he pulled back to breathe, eyes blazing, she began to undo the buttons on his shirt. However clumsy her fingers, he only watched. When she finally parted his shirt and laid her hands on that broad, muscular chest, his eyes closed again, this time in what looked like pleasure. She swept her hands in circles, found his nipples, curled her fingers in his chest hair. She lingered on his scars but chose not to ask about them.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
Nolan laughed huskily. “Not sure that’s the right word. Now, for you—” he yanked her knit shirt over her head “—it works.” The next second, he cupped her breasts in those huge hands, rubbing gently. Dana felt herself undulating at the pleasure.
He made a guttural sound, found her bra’s hooks and tossed it away. And then he arched her back over his arm and closed his mouth over her right breast, sucking in a rhythm that had her hips rocking.
Dark blood slashed his cheeks when he looked up. “Bedroom.”
It wasn’t a question. He rose, lifting her effortlessly. Dana grabbed on around his neck and tightened her thighs about his hips, moaning as his every stride rubbed her against his erection. She was so ready by the time he stopped next to her bed. When he lowered her to her feet, she reached for the snap on his jeans as he did the same on hers.
They became tangled, laughed, but somehow the rest of their clothes were gone. Nolan yanked aside her covers and laid her back across the bed. Then he did nothing but look at her, his eyes almost black.
And...he was beautiful. Maybe that wasn’t the right word for a man, but she was overwhelmed by so much muscle. Craig had been long and lean, not powerful. Not compelling by his very presence.
Nolan broke, a raw sound escaping his throat as he came down on top of her. Even then, he held his weight on his elbows, protecting her.
His mouth descended on hers with a ferocity she answered. The pleasure of feeling his rougher skin against hers made her moan and arch upward to feel more. Becoming frantic, she wrapped a leg around his muscular thigh and struggled until the tip of his penis pressed her opening. And then she pushed up—
But he broke away. “Condom.”
She whimpered. He was right, but... “Hurry.”
He found the packet he must have brought, tore it open and covered himself in a matter of seconds. But he came down beside her, seemingly determined to torture her. He went for her breasts again while his fingers stroked between her thighs, circling, pressing, tangling in her curls. She fought for control. “Please. I want—”
And finally, finally, there he was, pushing inside her, filling her, until he was buried to the hilt. Hanging over her, his lungs pumping, he went still. “Yes?”
Her “Yes” came out strangled.
He began to move, slow, deep, then faster and harder, while she clutched him and strained to match his rhythm. Her whole body tightened in agonizing bliss...until he thrust even deeper, and she shattered. He followed, his body bucking, his teeth showing, his blue eyes never leaving hers.
And, of course, instead of slumping down on top of her, he rolled to rest his weight on his shoulder. But he took her with him, holding her close.
And she was suddenly afraid she was about to cry.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PACING HIS LIVING ROOM, Nolan still couldn’t believe Dana had broken down the way she had after they made love. Three days later, he remained shaken, thinking about it. She insisted it was just another kind of release, and he believed her, but...her tears had unne
rved him.
Mopping her face, she’d finally told him in a soggy voice, “I just never thought I’d be so happy again.”
“You put your life on hold.”
She’d tried to smile and failed. “I guess I did.”
Alone and brooding, he made another circle of the room, stopping to look out the front window. Dana would come in when she dropped Christian off from her first swim lesson, wouldn’t she?
One of the things that kept Nolan tense was wondering what Christian would do if somebody he knew saw her with him. Whether Christian knew it or not, he was well on the road to accepting Dana. As far as Nolan knew, however, he hadn’t told even Jason about the shock of that blood test. Did he think he’d never have to?
Irritated with himself, Nolan settled on the couch with his laptop. He hadn’t even asked to go with them; this was something for the two of them. Stewing wasn’t getting him anywhere. He should at least try to be productive.
Checking out new products was a never-ending task. Most of his rental customers at Wind & Waves were at an intermediate level, but on the retail side, people didn’t tend to spend the bucks to outfit themselves entirely unless they were dedicated to the sport. If he let his product lines get stale, he’d lose the really serious windsurfers, the ones who competed, who were out on the river in the dead of winter. So he browsed suppliers’ websites, following rumors of a new, higher-strength thermoplastic that intrigued him.
At the sound of a car in the driveway, he held his breath. A minute later, Dana and Christian came in the front door. She’d dried her hair, which lay loose and shiny. Christian’s hair still dripped onto his shirt.
“How’d it go?” Nolan asked, as casually as if he hadn’t spent the evening as antsy as a man whose wife was in labor.
Dana made an awful face.
Christian rolled his eyes. “I think she lied about those lessons.”
“I did too finish the intermediate class!”
“Finished,” Christian scoffed. “But did you pass?”
“Of course I did!”
Christian’s mouth opened but before he could continue the childish exchange, Nolan laughed. “Enough already. How many years ago was it that you took that class?”
“Uh...” Her eyes shied from his. “I might have been twelve or thirteen.”
“Christian’s age.”
Her son gaped.
“Something like that.”
“And how much swimming have you done since?”
“I’ve splashed in a lake or river a few times.”
He shook his head. “So, you’ve forgotten how to swim.”
After a sulky moment, she collapsed onto an easy chair. “I guess so. Or maybe it was the near drowning. Tonight I was about as relaxed as a board.”
“Windsurfing boards have some flex.”
Christian howled with laughter. Dana narrowed her eyes at both of them.
“There must be something that scares you.”
“I told you I don’t love heights,” Nolan reminded her.
“While mentioning that you jumped out of airplanes, anyway. That’s so helpful.”
Christian came to the rescue. “Even if she was scared, she did okay.”
She sighed. “He means I dog-paddled from one side of the pool to the other.”
“Next time, you won’t be so nervous.”
Even Nolan blinked at the encouragement, coming from this kid he thought he knew.
“Did Jason call?” Christian asked, reverting to form.
“Yes, I told him you’d call him back.”
“Where’s the phone—” He spotted it on the side table, grabbed it and thundered upstairs.
Dana laughed. “Thank you for the lesson. Good night.”
Nolan saw her wistful expression as she looked after Christian.
“This all feel unreal?”
Turning her gaze to him, she didn’t even try to hide her vulnerability. “He teased me. He touched me, without being asked.”
She sounded awed, but he read something else.
“But?”
“I need to get past thinking about how much I lost. Feeling angry because I should have watched every swim lesson he took, cuddled him, trimmed his hair, helped him sound out words. What I had tonight is a gift...”
“C’mere.” Nolan set the laptop onto the coffee table and held out an arm.
She all but flung herself across the room, diving into his embrace.
Rubbing his cheek against her head, he said, “You have every right to feel all those things. You did lose. Why wouldn’t you be angry?”
“Because anger might keep me from feeling the joy I should in what I do have.” A voice shouldn’t be able to sound bruised, but hers did.
“Weren’t you joyful this evening?” he asked quietly.
A little silence. She twisted to stare at him. “So much I felt like I’d been pumped full of helium. I was sure I couldn’t sink to the bottom of the pool.”
Nolan smiled and tucked her back in. “How could you help it?”
Neither said anything for a long time.
“You shouldn’t understand,” she said at last.
He’d thought about this. “I’ve had to face the possibility that I’ll lose him.”
“Oh.” Dana pressed her lips to his chest. “That makes sense.”
He laughed. She punched him lightly.
“Focus on the years ahead,” he said. “You can help him when he’s struggling with a class, live with the angst of his first romance, be in the bleachers for his first basketball game.”
“Can I?” Voice suddenly brittle, she straightened, withdrawing from the circle of his arms. Her smile was sad enough to jab a painful spike into his chest. Not hard to guess what she was thinking. The rebuff of her tentative appearance at the open house would continue to haunt all of them.
“Things are changing,” he said as gently as he could.
She nodded and rose to her feet. “Time for me to get home.”
“Dana, I haven’t heard him talk the way he did tonight in a long time. You should be flattered.”
She hid deeper emotions and did smile. “After he told me I lied about ever having taken a swim lesson?”
“Yeah, but he also said you did okay. High praise.”
“Yes.” She shivered. “That’s quite a scar.”
“It is. He’s lucky no tendons or ligaments were severed. Fortunately, it was more of a glancing blow without a lot of heft behind it, since Jason is as scrawny as Christian is. Still, there was so damn much blood...”
She didn’t press for details, seeming to understand how painful the memory was. Instead of commenting, she glanced toward the stairs. “Will you tell him I said goodbye?”
“Sure.” He pushed himself to his feet and walked with her to the door. “Was Christian helpful at all?”
“He was actually really patient.” She stopped on the porch and turned back to him. “He kind of surprised me. I thought he’d be embarrassed to be seen hanging out with someone my age, but he didn’t seem to mind.” She frowned. “Although mostly the people there were adults swimming laps, or mothers and fathers with little kids.” The frown melted into an impish smile. “When I got out of the pool, one man checked me out. He’d be dead if Christian had laser vision.”
“When I admitted we were seeing each other, I told him you’re a beautiful woman. All he could think to say was, ‘But she’s my mother!’”
Dana giggled.
Satisfied that she remembered good things were happening, Nolan tipped her chin up. “Let’s shock the kid if he comes downstairs.”
The way she lifted her face to his, with no hesitation, letting him see her trust, provided more satisfaction.
; He kept the kisses playful—but still went to bed frustrated as hell.
Unless they started having quickies during the lunch hour, he would be spending a lot of time frustrated in the foreseeable future.
* * *
CHRISTIAN AT HER SIDE, Dana searched the crowd at the arrivals gate. No baggage had yet appeared on the airport carousel, so it was reasonable that her parents hadn’t made it here yet.
She hadn’t told her parents Christian had agreed to come with her. He had either volunteered or been pressured by Nolan. Nolan just smiled when she asked. And Christian... Well, if he hadn’t wanted to come, she would have expected him to be sulky. Instead, she would swear that beneath the facade of indifference, curiosity and even excitement brewed.
Dana had been spending more and more time with him and Nolan. When she suggested her parents schedule their visit for the week after school let out in late June, even Christian agreed.
So here they were. And her parents had to be somewhere in the airport, too, since her mother had texted as soon as they landed.
“Dana?”
She whirled at the sound of her father’s voice and threw herself into his arms. “Dad!” Her mother was next, but she remembered Christian and pulled back.
Her father was smiling at his grandson, but a tear tracked down his cheek. “You don’t know what this means,” he said in a choked voice.
Christian ducked his head, then peeked at his grandmother, who was crying openly.
“He looks so much like Peter did at that age.” Her father swallowed.
“Like you, too, Dad,” Dana said. Christian had become so much his own person to her she was shocked to see how much he did take after her father.
“I think I have to hug you,” her mother told the currently shy boy, just before enveloping him in her arms. Thank goodness she had the sense to release him quickly, too.
Dana struggled for her own composure. “Mom and Dad, meet Christian. Christian, your grandparents. Shari and John Hayes.”
Her mother shot her a quick look, probably because Christian had come out so readily, instead of Gabriel. My Gabriel, she thought, but without as much sadness as she’d expected.
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