by Lori Foster
Because she knew it had been true for her father, and true for her ex, she asked, “Things changed a lot with a baby in the picture?”
She waited for Jordan’s complaints on the hardships of keeping up with an infant. Once again, he took her by surprise.
“I wouldn’t say they changed, just adjusted a bit. In a good way. Sawyer was always so straight-faced, so serious. And then there he was, cuddling this little squirt and grinning all the time and looking so happy to change a diaper or give a bath.”
Georgia stared at him. When she’d had Lisa, she’d always felt the same way. Everything her baby did she’d thought was magical and amazing. But she’d never considered that a man might have that outlook. “You’re serious?”
Nodding, Jordan said, “I used to think nothing could pull Sawyer from his books, not even a beautiful woman. But if Casey made a noise, he was there, checking on him, smiling at him.”
Jordan grinned with the memories, then shook his head. “Morgan was always the rowdiest. He fought for the fun of fighting. Everyone still jokes about him bordering on the side of savage.”
“I can see that.”
Jordan glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. “He makes a hell of an impression, doesn’t he? He’s kept our town peaceful, usually with little more than a look. But whenever he touched Casey, he was so gentle. It boggled my mind. Now, with his own daughter, Amber, who’s heading on two, he’s the same. I swear he could wrestle buffalo with one arm and hold her close with the other, making sure not a one of her little curls got ruffled. He makes a hell of a sheriff, and an even better dad.”
“You have an impressive family.” Beyond impressive really. Having only met Jordan and Morgan, she should have been prepared for Casey. How could he have been anything less than spectacular, surrounded by such incredible uncles?
Jordan gave one nod. “Yeah, I think they’re pretty great. Gabe, the youngest, started his own business not too long ago and already he’s got more work than he can handle. He can build or repair anything, and after his marriage he decided he needed to get things a little more on track.”
“On track how?”
“Before he met Elizabeth, he just worked when the mood struck him—or if someone needed something. He was always willing to help out. But Gabe preferred to spend his time in other pursuits. I doubt there was ever a day when he was without female company. Women flocked to him. It was almost uncanny. From the time he learned the difference between males and females, every girl in the area was after him, and he took advantage of it. They spoiled him rotten.”
Jordan said that with a fond smile, making Georgia shake her head.
“The worse his reputation got, the more they seemed to come after him. It used to drive my mother nuts until she and Brett retired to Florida.”
His poor wife, Georgia thought. A man like that never settled down, never really gave up his old ways….
Jordan touched her cheek. “Why are you frowning?”
She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized she frowned. “No reason.”
“Come on, Georgia.” He turned down the old road leading to her house. It was bumpy and filled with muddy puddles thanks to the rain. “I could almost see the evil thoughts going through your brain.”
“Not evil. Just…realistic.”
“Like?”
She didn’t appreciate being pushed. She didn’t appreciate having him affect her this way, either. Perhaps it would be best to tell him up front exactly how she felt so he’d leave tonight and not come back. That would be the most intelligent course to take.
So then why did the possibility make her feel so desperate?
Georgia cleared her throat, peeked at her kids to make certain they were still sleeping soundly. “Very well. If you’re sure you want to hear this?”
“I do.”
“I imagine,” she said slowly, measuring her words, “that any man who’s used to running from one woman to the next, to indulging every sexual whim, is not likely to settle down with only one woman, just because he says a few vows. If it’s in his nature to be a…sexual hedonist—”
Jordan laughed. “Gabe is that.”
“—then he’ll always be a hedonist.”
“True. I won’t argue with you there. All of my brothers are very sexual.” He glanced at her and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with that, by the way.”
Georgia didn’t bother to argue with him on it. She did, however, wonder if he included himself in the “very sexual” category.
No! She did not wonder. She didn’t care. Refusing to look at him, she stared out her door window and watched the passing shrubbery on the side of the road. Even in the darkness, everything looked wilted by the rain.
Without her encouragement, Jordan continued. “Gabe is still a man, still very interested in sex, and I can’t see that ever changing. But now he does all his overindulging with his wife.”
Lord, how had she gotten onto this subject? She felt so hot, her window was beginning to steam. “If you say so,” she mumbled, hoping he’d let it go.
But of course he didn’t.
“You don’t believe me?” When she didn’t answer, he whistled. “Must have been a hell of a marriage you had.”
Georgia denied that with a shake of her head. “The marriage was fine. It was the end of the marriage that was hell.”
So softly she could barely hear him, Jordan asked, “Because you still loved him?”
“No.” By the time the divorce was finalized, she knew she’d been living a fairy tale, created and maintained all in the fancy of her mind. She’d seen what she’d wanted to see, not what had really been there. “No, I didn’t still love him. And it didn’t matter that he had never really loved me. But he never loved his kids, either. And that I can’t understand.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?” His voice had that low, hypnotic sound to it again, making her insides tingle, making her breasts feel too full. It pulled at her until she wanted to lean toward him, wanted to press her face into his throat and breathe in his scent, feel the warmth of his hard body. “What difference does it make to you?”
Jordan turned into her driveway and cut the engine. “Maybe I can explain it once we get inside.” His gaze, glittering bright, held her. “Go unlock your front door and I’ll carry the kids in.”
She quickly shook her head, dispelling the trance he’d put her in with that melodic voice. “No. Thank you. You’ve done enough and I insist on repaying you for your—”
“I’m walking you in, Georgia.” His tone was now firm and commanding. His large hand cupped her cheek, tipping up her chin. “We have a few things to say to each other.”
“We have nothing to discuss!”
“Mommy?” Lisa sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around in confusion.
With one last glare at Jordan—where she couldn’t help but notice that he appeared understanding and sympathetic still—Georgia got out of the front seat, then opened her daughter’s car door. “Sweetheart, we’re home.” She unfastened Lisa’s seat belt and smoothed her tangled bangs out of her face. “Wait right here while I go unlock the door, then I’ll get Adam and we’ll all go in, okay?”
She’d forgotten to turn on a porch light before they left, and the path to the front door, broken and overgrown with weeds, would have been impossible if Jordan hadn’t flipped the headlights back on. Her hand shook as she struggled to get the key into the lock and open the front door. But when she turned around, she almost fell over her daughter.
Jordan stood there, Adam snuggled blissfully unaware in his arms while Lisa held on to one of his belt loops. He gave her a gentle smile and said, “Move.”
Like a zombie, Georgia stepped out of the way. What choice did she have? None. As a matter of fact, Jordan, with his quiet, calm ways, had been taking away her choices from the moment she first saw him.
She closed the door and started after him, hearing Lisa dir
ect him to Adam’s room at the top of the stairs. Lisa followed him, then veered off to her own bedroom. Georgia went to her first, helping her to get her nightgown on and tucking her into bed.
“I didn’t brush my teeth.”
Georgia smiled and pressed a kiss to Lisa’s forehead. “You’ll brush them twice tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Mommy.”
Tears blurred her eyes for a moment. She was just so tired. And she had so very much to be thankful for. “Oh baby, I love you, too.” She scooped her daughter up for a giant bear hug. “So, so much.”
“Will you tell Jordan g’night for me?”
“Of course I—”
“I’m right here.” Jordan stepped out of the shadows and sat on the edge of Lisa’s bed, practically forcing Georgia to scamper out of his way. He was an enormously large man and took up entirely too much space. “Thanks for helping me out so much today, Lisa. I appreciate it.”
Her teeth flashed in a quick smile. “It was fun. Except for grandma gettin’ sick.”
Jordan stroked her hair. “You were asleep, but your mother assures me that your grandma will be fine. The doctors are going to take very good care of her, and before long, she’ll be back home.”
Lisa nodded, then looked back at her mother. “Who’s going to baby-sit us when you go to work?”
Georgia had been standing there in something of a stupor, amazed and a little appalled at how at ease Jordan seemed to be with her daughter, and how at ease her daughter was with him. There hadn’t been many men in their lives, certainly not one who would smooth a blanket and stroke back a wayward curl.
Her father had never been close to her, much less his grandchildren. He’d died without ever knowing how truly wonderful Lisa and Adam were. Her ex-husband had walked away from them without a backward glance. But Jordan Sommerville had not only cared for them, he’d done so willingly, and even claimed to have enjoyed himself.
Seeing him now, she could believe him.
The lump in her throat nearly strangled her. She did not want to like him, not at all. But it was getting harder to stick to that resolve.
Forestalling her daughter from saying too much, Georgia said, “It’s all taken care of, sweetie. I’ll tell you about it in the morning. But for now, you need to get to sleep. The sun will be up before you know it.”
Just like that, Lisa rolled to her side, snuggled her head into her pillow, and faded back to sleep.
Jordan smiled as he stood. In a low whisper that made every nerve in her body stand on end, he said, “Children are the most amazing creatures. Awake one minute, zonked out the next.”
Georgia turned off the bedside lamp, throwing the room into concealing darkness. Only the dim light from the hallway intruded. She headed for the door. “My children are very sound sleepers. Once they’re out, not much can wake them.”
She turned to pull the door shut and found herself not two inches from Jordan. He looked down at her, his gaze lazy and relaxed. Her heartbeat jumped into double-time. She stared at his mouth—and he moved out of her way.
Georgia decided not to look at him again, but it turned out not to be a worry. He didn’t follow her to Adam’s room. Instead he headed back downstairs.
She found Adam still in his jeans and T-shirt, but his shoes had been pulled off and the blankets pulled over him. Her heart swelled at the sight of his teddy bear clutched in his arms. How had Jordan known to give it to him? It was a certainty her son hadn’t awakened enough to ask for it. But he might have missed it in the middle of night.
She sighed, kissed him gently—which prompted a snuffled snore—and smiled. She left his room with her thoughts in a jumble, pausing in the hallway for a good three minutes while she tried to figure out how to get rid of Jordan, how to remove him without looking totally ungrateful for all he’d done.
Honesty, she decided, might be her best course. She’d simply tell him outright that she neither wanted nor needed his help—not anymore. She’d thank him for all he’d done that day, regardless of the fact that part of the trouble had been his doing.
Then she’d tell him good-night, and that would be that.
She headed into the kitchen, her back stiff with resolve, and found him making coffee. Before she could speak he turned to her and his expression was so intense, so…sensual, she caught her breath.
“We have to talk,” he said, and just those simple words, muttered low and rough, made her heart pound too sharply, her body too warm. She literally trembled with need, and it made her angry and scared and frustrated. How could he affect her this way? He stepped toward her and touched her cheek. “But first, why don’t you go get showered and get all this makeup off? The coffee—I found decaf so it won’t keep you up—should be done by then.”
With her breath coming fast and low, her stomach in knots, Georgia nodded. He was making her coffee, one of her favorite things on this earth. And it sounded heavenly. He sounded heavenly. Lord, what a combination.
She hadn’t stood a chance.
* * *
JORDAN HAD himself well in check. He would stop reacting like a teenager with raging hormones, where the sight of a girl’s panties could put him into a frenzy of carnal greed. Hell, he could see a woman without her damn panties and still control himself. He would be calm. He would explain to Georgia that he wanted her, that he thought they should take advantage of the incredible chemistry…no, not incredible. Just good old chemistry. Nothing special, but there was no reason why they couldn’t get together and, as mature, reasonable adults, have a brief affair.
It only made sense. There was no reason for them not to indulge their mutual desire. She was a divorced woman working in a bar. It wasn’t like she was a prim and proper virgin.
But even as Jordan listed in his mind all the reasons that they should and could get together to take the edge off the urgent, burning hunger threatening to consume him, he worried that she’d refuse.
Damn, even looking at her sink full of dirty dishes made him want her. The whole house was a wreck, and rather than make him disdainful, it drove home to him how overwhelmed she was. He looked around again and wondered which issue he should resolve first: his lust, or the fact that he was going to give her a helping hand whether she wanted him to or not.
The old house was silent except for the creaking of the pipes as she showered. His hands shook and his vision blurred as he imagined her naked, wet and soapy and slick and…
He groaned aloud. The shower shut off and he pictured her drying her lush breasts, her flat belly, her thighs….
To distract himself, he started on the dishes. She needed a dishwasher, but there was really no place in the ancient kitchen to put one. The cabinets were a tad warped, some of them mismatched, and they’d been painted many times. They weren’t very deep, but there was certainly an abundance of them. Too many, in fact.
The linoleum on the floor, besides being of a singularly ugly design, was cracked and starting to peel. The ceiling, which he guessed to be just beneath the shower judging by the noise, had water stains, indicating that at least a few of those squeaky pipes were leaking.
He was done with the dishes, all of them stacked on a dishtowel to air dry, when the coffee finished dripping. She’d be getting dressed now…Jordan forced himself to keep busy.
Right off the kitchen was a glass-enclosed patio that opened to the backyard. Vents in the floor-to-ceiling windows were opened about an inch, letting in the cool, damp night air. Jordan, who needed a little cooling off, carried his coffee into that room and looked out at the backyard. Beautiful, he thought, even with the rough grounds. There was an enormous oak tree that probably provided an abundance of shade to the room during the hottest part of the day.
A padded glider, two chairs, a few rattan tables that had seen better days, and various toys scattered about filled the room to overflowing.
Light from the kitchen slanted across the floor, mixing with the softer, gentler moonlight. The wind stroked the
trees, making the shadows dance. The house, while in need of repair, was perfect. It would take only a few pets—and a man—to make it a complete home.
Jordan held his coffee cup with a barely restrained grip. What was she doing now? How would she dress? He imagined she’d look vastly different in regular clothes, with her hair freshly shampooed and all her overdone makeup gone.
And then finally he heard her.
“Jordan?”
“Right here.” The words, whispered low, barely made it past the restriction in his throat. He didn’t turn to face her, attempting to get himself back under control first. But damn, it was impossible. It was insane.
He could smell her, he thought with an edge of urgency, sweet and warm and so damn female. Even fresh from her shower, he detected her scent. He felt like a bull in full rut.
He cleared his throat. “There’s a cup of coffee waiting for you on the counter.”
Her footsteps were nearly silent as she padded to the kitchen and back. He knew she was coming out to him.
“Thank you.” She, too, had lowered her voice, and there was an edge of wariness in her tone. He heard her sip, then heard the creak of the glider as she sat down. “I should have known you’d make great coffee.”
It sounded like an accusation. Slowly Jordan turned to face her. Moonlight touched her in selective places—over the crown of her hair, making it glow a soft gold, across her shoulders now covered in a baggy white cotton pullover, and her knees, bare from the sloppy gray sweat-shorts she wore. There were thick white ankle socks on her feet.
Not a seductive outfit, at least not deliberately. But then, nothing that she’d done to him had been deliberate. Most of her face was hidden, but he saw enough.
“My God, you’re beautiful.” Without the makeup, she looked young and innocent and…distressed. Because of him?
Her quiet laugh was incredulous. “Hardly that. Only my mother, who loves me dearly, would ever call me beautiful.”
Jordan heard the words, but he couldn’t quite comprehend them. Not with her sitting there making him shake with the most profound emotions he’d ever experienced.