Damn him!
She raised a knee and let it fall to his thigh to do a little more enticing of her own. That did it—he took his fingers out of the cup of her bra, pulled it below her breast and replaced the cup with the most wonderful palm to nestle into.
And regardless of how cool he’d been playing it, that first contact of his full hand to her breast evoked a guttural groan from his throat as his mouth and tongue turned that kiss into something too erotic to bear.
All while his big hand showed her some other tricks he knew and left her nearly quivering in all the best ways.
She suddenly became aware that her leg had somehow wrapped around him and brought him tight up against her, where she could feel the substantial proof that he was as worked up as she was.
And, oh, did her hand itch to reach down and learn all there was to know about that part of him, too!
But then she realized that she had to call her brain back from the brink and put it in charge again before this went completely out of control.
She had kids only a few rooms away that she was responsible for. Kids who could wake up and come looking for her at any moment.
She couldn’t risk them finding her like that. Finding her and Liam like that. Let alone doing more than that—which was where this was headed. Where everything in her was crying out for it to head.
And when he reached to unhook her bra she knew it had to stop.
So as much as she didn’t want to, she ended that all-consuming kiss and whispered a raspy, “No, we can’t. The kids...”
Liam’s hand halted its journey and he plunked his forehead to hers, sighing a heavy sigh of resignation. “Like I said, I want you, Dani...”
He laid his hand on her side again but for a time he stayed where he was, as if it was no easy task to bring himself back from the same brink she’d been on.
Then he let her go and fell back to lie on the floor the way he had been when she’d joined him, his eyes pinched shut in misery.
It gave Dani the opportunity to sit up, fix her bra and retie her top. She stood, taking one long look at that incredible male body she’d just been up against and wanted so badly still.
Liam did a sit-up and got to his feet, too, sighing resignedly as he faced her, rested his forearms on her shoulders and again put his head to hers.
“The kids have a sleepover tomorrow night,” he said quietly.
“The Tyler twins’ birthday,” Dani confirmed.
“That starts at four in the afternoon,” he said, repeating what she’d told him on the way home from dinner with Bryan and Adam. “And I’ll be gone all day before that. But I was going to see if you’d let me take you to dinner after my day with my family and the kids are gone—a grown-ups only dinner, just you and me...”
“You were?” But was he still?
“Will you go?” he asked more clearly.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“But I’m gonna be straight with you...lay my cards on the table...” He paused. “If, after dinner, I’m in this house with you and there aren’t any kids...”
He took yet another deep breath and exhaled before he confessed, “The only chance I have of keeping myself in check is if I take you to a nice dinner, bring you home, kiss you at the front door and go to my brother’s.” Another pause. “So I’m leaving it completely up to you. And I want you to think about it in the cold light of day,” he commanded, putting so much weight on that that it made her laugh.
“I mean it,” he insisted. “I don’t know where anything is going from here. You don’t either. And I don’t want you to be sorry—”
“I’ll think about it,” she told him.
He took his forehead from hers, tipped her face up with a gentle nudge of one knuckle under her chin and then kissed her like there was no tomorrow, nearly making her knees buckle right out from under her.
Before he stopped and stepped away.
“I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said wryly, that mouth she was still starving for crooked up at only one corner.
Once more she wasn’t sure what he meant—if he intended to get ready somewhere other than here and then arrive to take her to dinner as if it was an ordinary date, or if he would only descend from the guest suite and pretend to pick her up.
But either way she got the idea and said, “I’ll be ready.”
With that settled and her instructions to consider whether or not to let him stay tomorrow night, Dani left him in that starlit living room, stealing one last glance at him before she went.
But even without his instructions, she knew there wasn’t much that was going to be on her mind other than whether or not to finish what they started tonight.
And right then, with every inch of her body shrieking to be back in his arms, she wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to make a rational decision.
Cold light of day or not.
Because it still wasn’t her brain in charge.
Chapter Eight
“Okay, here’s my new unworn sport coat, your new shirt and slacks ironed by Maicy and the spare key that you may or may not be using tonight...” Conor announced when he came into the guest room of the house he shared with his fiancée. Liam had just showered and was in nothing but a towel.
It was late Sunday afternoon. Liam, Conor and Kinsey had spent the day with Declan at the rehab center until Declan had claimed fatigue and ended family day.
Leaving the center, Liam had enlisted his sister and brother to go shopping with him to help him pick out something to wear to dinner tonight with Dani. During the shopping trip Conor had offered to loan Liam his newest purchase of civilian clothes—a sport coat—so they’d focused on buying pants, a shirt, tie, shoes and socks to wear with it.
Then Liam and Conor had dropped off Kinsey and gone to Conor’s place, where Liam was prepping for his night out.
“Thanks,” he said as Conor hung everything on a hook on the back of the door.
Liam went into the adjoining bathroom to shave and Conor trailed along, going as far as the bathroom door, where he leaned a shoulder against the frame.
“I thought you and Declan and I would talk more about whether or not to go along with the DNA tests for the Camdens before any one of us gave Kinsey an answer,” Conor said. “You kind of blew that today.”
Liam had told their sister that he would give her a copy of his DNA test when it came through this week. “Yeah, but I know what a big thing I’m asking of her—and of you—when it comes to the twins, and it didn’t seem fair to ask it and then turn down what she wanted from me. I made it clear that just because I’m handing over the DNA test, though, it doesn’t mean I’ll have anything to do with the Camdens.”
“Yeah, but you and Declan are identical twins, so your DNA will prove whether or not Declan is half Camden, too—which takes away the choice for him—”
“He didn’t care. I talked to him about it over breakfast yesterday morning. I was almost hoping it would get a rise out of him but not even that did.”
“And that leaves me as the holdout,” Conor said.
“I thought you’d basically decided to do it anyway. To give in since Kinsey had been giving you the hard press. You said you were tired of fighting it.”
“Yeah, but still, you kind of forced my hand.”
“I didn’t mean to, that whole Camden thing just seems minor to me right now, when there’s so many bigger things to deal with. I agree with you—I don’t think anything is gonna come of it. I think Kinsey is barking up the wrong tree to think that they’ll want anything to do with her even if she proves Mitchum Camden was our father. But you said yourself there’s no stopping her. So I just figured I was getting on board with you—why fight it anymore? Besides, we all know we had the same father. We’ll know anyway when Kinsey finds out for herself. Why not just give this one to her and forget ab
out it?”
Liam saw his older brother’s reflection in the mirror as he lathered his face. He could tell Conor wasn’t mad about his agreement to let their sister send his DNA to the Camdens. Conor was just letting him know he didn’t appreciate that Liam had agreed before the three brothers had reached a formal consensus.
And Liam didn’t see any point in dwelling on it, so as he picked up his razor he changed the subject. “So you’ll talk to Maicy tonight about the twins?” Liam had talked to Conor and Kinsey about some possibilities over the rehab lunch.
“I told you I would.”
“Tonight, though? You won’t wait?”
“Tonight. I won’t wait. But I’ll just be telling her the basics. You don’t expect any kind of decision, right? I mean, we can’t really make one when you don’t know if you’re asking us to be short-term or long-term guardians if the kids are yours—which are two pretty different requests. And if they aren’t yours...that’s a whole different ball game altogether, especially not knowing if you’ll be around. Because if you won’t, then it’s just us becoming foster parents.”
Hearing it laid out like that, Liam realized that his brother had a point, that this morning with Conor and Kinsey he’d tossed a lot of possibilities out at them. It was just that something had been eating at him about including his brother and sister in a future with the kids and he hadn’t figured out what it was.
“Yeah, sure, you’re right,” he said. “I got wrapped up in Evie and Grady’s situation and didn’t think my part all the way through. I can’t ask you guys to make a decision when I haven’t. When everything is still up in the air until I know if I’m their father or not.”
“And maybe because you are wrapped up with these kids, you might not want to only facilitate and leave them in other people’s hands—whether they are yours or not,” his brother suggested.
Liam raised his chin in acknowledgment. “This whole thing—”
“I know—it landed in your lap and you want to rescue them no matter what. That’s what you’re trained for. And I’m not saying no to anything because I can see this has hit home for you. These kids have come to mean something to you. But you have to get what you want—and what you’re going to do—straight in your own head before we can know what role we’ll play.”
“Sure,” Liam agreed.
“So work it out and in the meantime I’ll ease Maicy into the possibilities, so she can be thinking about things, too. But that’s as far as it can go for now.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Liam agreed again.
It was Conor who changed the subject then. “And tonight? The twins are at a sleepover and you aren’t sure if you’ll be having one of your own with the nanny?”
Conor’s tone and expression had lightened and it allowed Liam to once again put off thoughts of his own future and just concentrate on what he’d been looking forward to all day: tonight.
“That’s about it,” Liam confirmed. He wouldn’t have told his brother as much, but since he might need to bunk at Conor’s, he’d had to reveal more than he’d wanted to.
“So, it hasn’t been all about the kids this last week,” Conor said.
“It’s been mostly about the kids,” Liam hedged as he went back to shaving.
“But tonight you’re having a little R and R with the nanny.”
“Tonight I wanted to take Dani to a nice dinner to show her how much I appreciate all she’s done for Grady and Evie and for me, teaching me what to do with them.”
“Uh-huh,” Conor said knowingly. “And you’re hoping to show her appreciation all night?”
“I gave her the option of not being alone with me in the house with the kids gone so it didn’t look bad.”
Conor laughed before he said, “It’s good that you’re looking out for these kids whether or not they’re yours. But when it comes to the nanny? What you appreciate about her doesn’t have jack to do with the kids or what she’s taught you. It’s you who wants to teach her a few things,” he said, his tone heavy with insinuation.
Liam said only, “It’s up to her whether I stay there tonight or not.”
Conor laughed more. “But you’re so damn hot for her that if she sends you back here I’m gonna have to hose you down.”
Yeah, that is actually true...
But Liam wasn’t going to admit it. “It’s a crazy situation,” he maintained.
“You said yourself that she’s pretty and nice, that you have a good time with her. Hell, you can barely say a sentence without ‘Dani this’ and ‘Dani that.’ The two of you have been in close quarters, stuff is getting stirred up, you came straight out of a mission so who knows how long it’s been since you’ve been with a woman—I don’t see anything crazy about that all leading to what you’re hoping it leads to tonight.”
“The amount of time I’ve been without a woman or that we’ve been in close quarters has nothing to do with anything.”
Maybe the close quarters had a little something to do with it; they’d spent a lot of time together in a situation that bred intimacy.
“And she’s more than just pretty and nice,” he felt compelled to add for some reason. “She’s also just great—easygoing and sweet and kind and smart and insightful and patient with those kids. She brings out the fun in everything—including in me. Being with her is the best R and R I’ve ever had even without getting her in bed because when she and I are alone together, everything else just fades...”
“Wow,” his older brother said, making Liam realize he really had gotten carried away with the accolades. And maybe revealed more than he’d intended.
So much more that it had sobered his brother. “The stuff with the kids...you don’t just want to impress the nanny, right? ’Cause I was just giving you a hard time about her, but the nanny is a bigger deal to you than I thought...”
“Dani and the kids are two separate things.”
“But you do want to impress her.”
“I’m not trying to win her over by taking care of these kids, no. I’d still feel the way I feel about that—about them—whether Dani was watching or not.”
“But there’s more happening with Dani than you’ve let on,” Conor concluded as if solving a mystery. “Are you sure the game hasn’t changed for you all the way around?”
Liam frowned at his brother in the mirror.
Conor responded to that scowl by saying, “All of a sudden you could be a father and even if you aren’t, you’re feeling responsible for two kids. There’s a girl you’re more than just hot for. These kinds of things can get you completely off course, you know? Maybe you have more to rethink about the future than just the twins.”
“The kids are enough,” Liam said to squash his brother’s implication that there was something serious going on with Dani.
“And that leaves the nanny as what? Just a little perk?” Conor goaded.
Liam couldn’t let that pass because it sounded disparaging of Dani. “She’s not a perk.”
Conor smiled smugly, as if Liam had just proven his point. He pushed away from the door frame to head out of the bedroom, saying over his shoulder, “Game changers, Liam. Game changers.”
But Liam was just glad his brother was leaving so that he could get ready for tonight in peace.
* * *
Dani, Evie and Grady spent Sunday buying birthday presents for the Tyler twins, then wrapping them and packing for the party. The party that there were endless questions about since it was their first sleepover.
Dani answered all the questions and offered even more information so they were clear that they would be spending the entire night sleeping in their new sleeping bags at the Tylers’ house with their friends.
The four-year-olds were excited about it but leery, too, and needed reassurance that if they didn’t want to stay when it got dark, Dani would come and get them. Which D
ani promised them she would.
All the while hoping that didn’t happen.
Not that she was absolutely certain she was going to spend the night with Liam, but she didn’t really want that option taken away. Just in case.
The Tyler house was near the entry to the gated community, the first house inside the gate, and was even larger than the Freelander home. Huge, in fact. When Dani brought the kids in they discovered that the enormous recreation room had been transformed for the party. There was a small bouncy house and a ball pit and activity stations along with a tent that looked like a circus tent set up for sleeping under a canopy of twinkling stars.
Between the atmosphere and the fact that everyone else there was a familiar face from preschool, Evie and Grady jumped right into the festivities and barely said goodbye to Dani, giving her hope that they would make it through the night.
After dropping off the twins, Dani rushed to the apartment she shared with Bryan to get clothes for her dinner with Liam.
Bryan was out so she was able to waste no time gathering everything she needed before hurrying back to the Freelander place to get ready, the whole while in heady anticipation of a genuine date with the man who was a constant, vivid presence in her mind even when he was nowhere around.
She brought her phone with her into the bathroom as she showered and washed her hair, just in case there was a call about the twins. She also kept it close enough so she could hear it while she blow-dried her hair to only slightly damp. Then she put a few rollers in it to dry the rest of the way.
The dress she’d chosen was a sleeveless party dress in a bronze hue that Bryan said brought out the toffee tones of her eyes.
It was light and airy, made with strips of delicate chiffon in wispy ruffles layered together. For the bodice the layers were laid over each other diagonally to form a deep V neck in front. A banded waistband accentuated her midriff, and the circle skirt went just to her knees, formed by vertical layers of the scant ruffles.
With her hair completely dry by then she took out the rollers and brushed it upside down, then flipped it to fall in full, come-hither waves around her shoulders.
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