Living Dangerously

by Dee J. Adams

  She smiled and stretched beneath him, loved feeling his weight on top of her, his body still semi-hard inside of her. But even as the thought entered her mind, he pulled out gently and she sighed at the loss of his heat, his substance filling her.

  “It’s a good afternoon, now. That’s for sure.” She purposely kept it upbeat. Held onto her smile for all she was worth, which by Hollywood standards was a good amount. She would not be a clingy wimp.

  Screw it. If she didn’t say something, she was going to burst. She took a breath, opened her mouth. “I—”

  The phone rang.

  Gah. She couldn’t catch a break.

  She glanced at the clock as he reached for the receiver on the nightstand table. Almost two p.m. Who would be calling? His uncle, probably. The poor guy had probably been on pins and needles waiting for Troy, his son, to read the diary. The weight of that knowledge seemed far more important than her issue of telling Troy how she felt about him.

  “Mills,” Troy said, answering the phone. He sat up and adjusted the sheet around his waist.

  Julie took the time to admire his six-pack abs and the muscles that defined his chest and accentuated his narrow waist. Despite the crazy mondo orgasm she’d just had, she felt her insides go all melty just looking at the man. She’d done things with him—and let him do things to her—that she hadn’t with anyone else. She trusted him on a level she almost didn’t understand. It went deep down where she felt it in her heart.

  “No, it’s okay,” Troy said on the phone. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the comforting thump of his heartbeat. Yeah, she could get used to this very easily. “You didn’t,” he said into the receiver. “We weren’t busy.” He squeezed her shoulder and she smiled. They’d been busy all right. Troy most especially had been busy. “A half hour?” he said, glancing at the clock. “Sure. That’s fine. We’ll be here.” He paused. “I understand. Yeah. Me too.” Troy hung up and turned on his side to face her.

  “Uncle Zach’s coming over, eh?” she asked, despite knowing the answer.

  Troy nodded. “Sorry.” He wrinkled his forehead in that way that made him look so adorable. “I couldn’t really tell him no.”

  She stroked his cheek. “I don’t expect you to. I’m sure he’s dying to talk to you. How long has he had this information and how long has he been wishing to see you? Years,” she said answering her own question. “It’s only natural that he wants a private conversation.”

  He took her hand and kissed her palm. “You’re a very understanding...”

  She waited for the word. Girlfriend? Chick? Actor? What the hell did he want to say?

  “...person,” he finally said.

  He’d opened the door wide to have the conversation she wanted to have, but it didn’t seem fair to heap relationship matter at his feet when he had a different relationship to work on in about twenty-seven minutes.

  “I should get in the shower,” she said. But she didn’t budge because she loved looking into his dark intense eyes.

  “We could conserve water, but we have to be careful with your stitches,” he murmured, his eyes growing darker.

  “That’s very eco-friendly of you, Mr. Mills.” She threw the sheets off, lunged for the bathroom and ignored the pressure in her thigh. “Last one in the shower is a rotten egg!”

  * * *

  Troy finished shaving as Julie ran a hand through her wet hair. She looked like a model for a soap commercial. Fresh, clean and absolutely flawless. Except for the scars from two bullets and the shrapnel wound on her leg, barely covered at the moment by a thick beige towel. He hated those reminders. He glanced at a similar scar on his own arm and fought an involuntary shudder. That had been one hell of day.

  Julie wrapped her arms around him from behind and the fresh clean scent of her shampoo went straight to his head. He’d never been so...so...domesticated in his life. Had never shared a bathroom with a woman, ever. The tips of her fingers slid beneath the waistband of his unbuttoned jeans and Troy held his breath. She glanced in the mirror and caught his eye. One eyebrow waggled suggestively and Troy laughed. It didn’t matter that they’d made love before they got in the shower, or that they’d made love again in the shower, she still wanted him. Damn if he didn’t feel the same way about her. Apparently her leg wasn’t bothering her as much as it had a couple of days ago.

  But the clock ticked on.

  “You know my uncle is going to be here in—”

  “About twelve minutes.” She took her hands out of his jeans and reached for a comb on the counter. “Bummer. Maybe after he leaves we can pick up where we left off.”

  “You wouldn’t be getting any complaints from me.”

  This time she waggled both eyebrows. “I better not. I’d hate to have to do something against your will.”

  “You know, that sounds kind of kinky. I like it.”

  She faced him, her smile soft and as beautiful as the woman herself. “Well, I like...” She paused, her eyes serious despite her grin. “I like you,” she said quietly. Then she turned toward the mirror and combed out her hair.

  Yeah, okay. He was in serious trouble here because he more than just liked this woman. He had serious feelings growing for her, which in the long run would probably only destroy him. She was a movie star for God’s sake. Known worldwide. It wasn’t so much that he felt unworthy of her; he just had a hard time picturing them together in the real world.

  Troy went back to shaving and covertly watched as Julie got ready. It helped take his mind off the coming conversation with his uncle. He’d been doing his damnedest to avoid thinking about his father and uncle and how the roles had been reversed. Part of him understood why his mother had done what she’d done. She’d wanted a name for her baby, wanted a roof over her head. Hell, she’d all but sacrificed herself for him, but her sacrifice had also been him.

  He’d loved his mother. He couldn’t be angry with her for making a choice she clearly hadn’t wanted to make, in hopes of a better life. She’d just made a mistake. But maybe she felt as if she’d done the only thing possible.

  “Thinking about your uncle?” Julie asked. She’d lost the towel and had slipped into some chic, loose-fitting sweats. Even dressed down, she looked like a Victoria’s Secret model.

  “Thinking about a lot of things.” He rinsed the razor and stuck it in his toilet kit.

  She stroked her thumb across his cheek, her eyes clear blue and intense. “Clean shaven. Very sexy. I like it.” The emotion in her eyes spoke more than her simple words. A blush crept up her cheeks and she faced the mirror. “Now go away before you distract me more. I need to put on some makeup.”

  Troy dropped a quick kiss on her lips and left the bathroom so she could finish getting ready.

  He checked his watch. Eight minutes. Eight minutes until he’d see his uncle. Father. Zach. Troy sat on the sofa, ran his hand through his hair. He’d managed to dodge thinking about it because he’d lost himself in Julie, but now, with only a few minutes until Zach arrived, he had to face it. His stomach actually felt a little queasy.

  On one level it made perfect sense. He’d always gotten along with Zach so much better than his father. He sure as hell looked more like Zach than he did his father, Jim. Who was really his Uncle Jim.

  God, so many things made sense now. His fath—Jim—must have known. Why else would he have treated Troy and his mother so cruelly for so long? What other reason could there have been for him to move them so far away after his mom died? Unless her accident really hadn’t been an accident...

  He couldn’t do anything about it this exact moment. Right now, he had to get used to the idea that the next time he saw Zach, he was really seeing the man as his father for the first time.

  Troy wiped his palms against his jeans. Why the hell was he so nervous?

  The bathroom door opened and Julie came out looking like a million bucks. In about five minutes, she’d managed to make herself
perfect. It wasn’t that she had a ton of makeup on or expensive clothes. Her damp hair dried in soft waves around her face. Her porcelain skin made her a work of art all by itself, but with a little bit of makeup, she was beyond breathtaking. He marveled again at how easily she could switch from comedienne to beauty queen.

  She took one look at him and somehow she knew. “It’s going to be fine.” She pulled him off the sofa and ran her hand through his hair, smoothing down a spot he must’ve wrecked in his nervousness. “He loves you. And you love him. You’re both still the same people. Now you have another connection, that’s all.”

  Her simply stated words cut right to the heart of it. She was so damn good at seeing the meat and bones, and she absolutely had burrowed under his skin.

  Yeah. Okay. That about sealed it. He loved her.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Troy would’ve kissed her right then. Would’ve said screw the clock, his uncle—father—could wait, and he would’ve lifted her onto the table, spread her legs and taken her hard and fast, but a car pulled up outside. He rested his forehead against hers. “For the record, I’m really glad you’re here. With me. Right now.”

  Her soft, supportive smile beamed up at him, her blue eyes gazing at him, brimming with emotion. He’d seen that look before on the movie screen...and in the bathroom a few minutes ago. Jesus, if he didn’t know better...

  Right on time, his uncle rapped on the door.

  “You want me to get that?” Julie asked.

  Troy pulled away and shook his head as he moved for the door. “Nope. I got it.” She was right. They were—basically—the same people they were before. They just had a new connection. Maybe this meant he didn’t have to stay away. Maybe it meant visits back here...to this place that had been built for him. He opened the door, and Zach stood there, his eyes narrowed, his lips in a half quirk and every cell of his body looking uncomfortable. Troy wasn’t sure how to greet him and clearly his uncle felt the same. He opened the door wider and gestured him inside. “C’mon in.”

  Zach nodded and stepped in, but only a couple of feet. He stopped suddenly, turned to Troy and hugged him tight.

  Unused to the closeness, Troy awkwardly hugged him back.

  With a last tight squeeze, Zach pulled away, stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and headed to the sofa. “Hi,” he said to Julie.

  She smiled and waved. “Hello. Can I get you something to drink? Or eat?”

  Troy loved how Julie tried to make the situation more bearable for all of them.

  Shaking his head, Zach waved off her offer. “I’m good, thanks.” His gaze landed on Troy, and Troy knew there was no more running to be done.

  “Have a seat.” He gestured to the sofa but Zach gave him a wry grin.

  “I’m good.” He ran his hands through his hair. “God, Troy, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day. I can’t believe...” He looked at Troy the way a father might look at his son, with pride, with love. With all the things Troy had never known from a father. “How come you never came back until now? What kept you away?”

  A fair question. One Troy had asked himself only a few times over the years. In his periphery, he watched Julie slowly back to the edge of the room. Her way of giving them privacy, but Troy wanted her to know the things that mattered to him. Because he wanted those things from her when the time came. He caught her eye and motioned her back with a quick gesture of his head to the spot next to him. She stopped moving, but didn’t come closer.

  What had kept him away? The question still hung in the air. “I honestly didn’t know if anyone wanted to see me again. After high school, I took classes at a junior college and worked to cover the tuition and board. I was pretty busy.”

  “Did you get your degree?” The unmistakable hope in Zach’s eyes sent a shot of pride down Troy’s spine. Neither his dad nor uncle had gone to college. They’d worked in the town’s automotive shop since high school. From the looks of the cabin, his uncle had moved up in the ranks.

  Troy shot a glance to Julie. “I got a degree in Criminal Justice.”

  Zach’s eyes widened and he smiled. “No shit. Are you a cop? Uh, a police officer?” he amended quickly.

  Troy would’ve smiled, but they were getting too close to home with this line of questioning. Yes, he wanted Julie to know who he was, but he had to tell her about his real occupation when they were alone. This didn’t seem like the time to tell them he’d worked part—time for a private investigation firm while in college. But getting those required hours had helped him acquire his own license that much faster.

  “He’s a bodyguard,” Julie said. Maybe she thought his silence was because he was embarrassed to be a bodyguard. Either way, Troy didn’t correct her. He had been playing a bodyguard to Ari even if it had been as a cover. But he saw a new look in Julie’s eyes very similar to the one on Zach’s face. Her soft smile only brought home that he needed to tell her the truth sooner rather than later.

  Zach nodded. It’s possible his smile dimmed just the slightest and Julie, being as much of an observer as he, noticed.

  “He saved my life. A couple of times,” she said. She definitely wanted Zach to be proud of him. Maybe she thought it mattered to Troy or maybe she was doing it for Zach. Either way, without saying a word, he’d now become a liar to his father.

  Zach’s gaze shot to Julie then back to Troy, the concern in his eyes evident. “That sounds serious.”

  “He nearly died saving me the first time.”

  Troy resisted the urge to grin because now the drama was coming out of the actress. She clearly felt the need to drive home the point that his chosen profession was worthwhile.

  “When was this?” Zach asked, his eyes narrowed.

  “A few months ago,” Julie said. “He got shot.”

  “She got shot twice,” Troy said, making sure Zach knew the real story. But he never took his eyes off Julie and she had her gaze locked onto his.

  “But he was working for someone else and saved me.”

  He’d do again in a heartbeat. “The best decision of my life.” The words were too intimate, said with too much emotion, but Troy couldn’t seem to keep the feeling out of his tone. He saw the shift in Julie’s eyes. Saw that she understood what he was saying without the actual words. It was another solid reminder that he needed to come clean with her, so he tore his gaze away from her amazing blue eyes and brought it back to Zach. “I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

  “Or wrong place at the wrong time, depending on how you look at it,” Julie said.

  “I’m just glad you’re both okay.” Zach glanced between them. “Is that how you two met?”

  Julie’s hint of a smile turned his hard heart to mush.

  “It is,” he said. But he couldn’t talk about his relationship with her just now. “To get back to your other question. With Mom gone, I didn’t see much reason to come back. Plus there existed the possibility that my dad—Jim—moved back and I wanted to stay clear of him. I honestly didn’t think anyone missed me.”

  Zach’s hurt gaze stabbed a knife in his chest. “I missed you, son. I missed you.” Zach moved away from the fireplace and sat on the end of the sofa. Troy took the spot on the other side. “You know, Celia and I tried for years and couldn’t have kids. And here I was so jealous of Jim because I thought he got your mother pregnant before they were even married.

  “It was just the one night. One night when I was so hurt and broken and she was there trying to pick up the pieces.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I never knew her feelings for me were so strong. I only knew she helped me through a very dark time. I loved your Aunt Celia from day one. When she broke things off with me, I thought that was it. I didn’t see how I could live without her.” He chuckled but there wasn’t any humor in it. “We had ten amazing years together, but it was your mother who got the prize. She got you.”

  Troy had never imagined hearing this information. He swallowed the lump in his thr
oat.

  “I missed all those years with you,” Zach said. He exhaled a short burst of air. “You know, the thing of it is, had I known, I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done. I loved Celia. Your mother was sweet and I had a special place for her...” Zach trailed off and shook his head. “She got a raw deal,” he finally said. “So did you.” He looked up. “You were always special to me, Troy. You were the son I wanted so badly. The son I never had. When Jim took you away, I think he knew he was taking the last thing that meant anything to me.”

  “How long do you think he knew about it?” Troy asked.

  “Hard to say. Celia died and I think he worried that your mother was going to take the chance and tell me about you.”

  “Worried enough to push her down a flight of steps?” Troy wondered aloud.

  Zach’s face drained of color. “What?” The surprise in his tone matched the look on his face. “Did you see that?” he finally asked.

  “No. I heard her fall and came in after she...” He closed his eyes and saw her sprawled out on the floor, her head at an odd angle. He swallowed back the emotion that threatened to destroy him every time he thought about that night. Shaking his head, he felt the sting in his eyes just as he had when he’d looked up to see his father at the top of the stairs. Though there might have been surprise in the man’s eyes, Troy saw evil.

  “Were they arguing?” Zach asked.

  Troy nodded. They’d always argued. More like Jim argued and his mother took it until she had to say something. That’s when he hit her. He provoked her into an argument just so he could blame the violence on her.

  “That’s why you quit talking, isn’t it? Jim threatened you.” Zach didn’t make it a question. Maybe he knew his brother after all.

  “Not in so many words. It was the look on his face, the threat in his eyes. He made himself real clear without saying a damn thing.” Troy barely glanced at Zach and felt sick for being so weak so many years ago. He remembered the fear so clearly. Remembered thinking he could be next to accidentally fall down some steps or the person he told would have some mishap kill them.