by Christina OW
When Loraine had met this woman, she seemed conservative, even though she could talk a person’s ear off. Hearing her talk about Reno like that was beyond surprising, so surprising that Loraine forgot to correct her on their marriage status. “What…does that have to do with…”
“Dan and I have been married for five years with three kids. He may not be a stud muffin but he knows what he’s doing with his tools.” She waggled her eyebrows making Loraine laugh at the innuendo. “And I love him to death. It’s clear that you love that hunky beast by the way you look at him and you two seem the type to go at it like rabbits.”
Loraine fought not to cringe. The conservative ones are always the kinky ones behind closed doors. Loraine was already afraid of what was going to come out of her mouth next.
“So you should be carrying forty pounds around your waist, or are you on some kind of family plan?”
“I…we’re not—are you always this blunt with people you don’t know?” And nosey!
She shrugged again laughing. “I better leave before hot stuff gets here. Dan may come to introduce himself to your husband and make sure I’m not drooling over him, much. He’s very territorial and your husband is very tempting. Every woman here has their eyes on him, look, they are practically panting.” She waved as she walked away and that’s when Loraine looked around.
Leah was right. Too many women were staring at Reno like bitches in heat. He was probably even more attractive with a kid riding on his shoulders. They were probably thinking he was such a sensitive guy and they would be right. She didn’t like it, and she was suddenly feeling territorial.
When Reno stopped in front of her, she rose to her tip toes and planted a big one on him. He reciprocated wrapping his arms around her then chuckled as he pulled away.
“I would say you were happy to see me and that you forgive me but that performance was for someone else’s benefit. A few scantily clad someone else’s vying for my attention by displaying their goods more openly than they usually do.”
Loraine blushed, wishing she wasn’t so impulsive.
He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Now you know how I feel when you walk around in your bikini.”
His hand slowly traveled down her cheek, to the nape of her neck making her swallow hard as he tucked his fingers under her bikini strap, caressing her soft skin above her breast, teasing her until he finally caressed the top of her mound.
“But just like you, I pay them no attention because I have eyes for no one else,” he whispered huskily, making her entire body shudder with want.
“Stop,” she croaked, fighting the urge to moan and close her eyes.
“Why?” he rasped, “I thought you wanted all the women to see whom I belong to?”
She forced her leg to move back, breaking the contact. She immediately felt bereft but she wasn’t going to play his games. “Tyler is too young to learn the art of seduction.”
He chuckled. “Lori, Tyler isn’t anywhere near here. I put him down when you pounced on me.”
“What?” She looked up at his empty shoulders then down at the ground, but he wasn’t there either.
“Don’t panic. He’s playing in the water with some other kids.”
She turned to where he pointed and began to breathe when she spotted them. Dan was watching them. “Those are Dan and Leah’s kids…”
But she didn’t get to finish what she was saying because he cut her off saying, “That’s great, just not what I want to talk about.”
Her brow rose defiantly. “You don’t want to know who your kid is playing with?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “They may turn out to be the Adam’s family set to make Tyler their next meal, but that doesn’t really matter at the moment.” She finished with a sarcastic tone.
He rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Don’t be melodramatic Loraine. You wouldn’t have let him near them if you felt the slightest bit uneasy about them.”
He was right about that but she wasn’t going to give in very easily. “Oh sure, why would you give a damn, you, his father, lets me, a complete stranger, do the worrying for you.”
He grumbled under his breath then suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her to where Dan and now Leah stood watching the three kids throw wet sand at each other. He held out his hand to Dan who grabbed it in a handshake.
“I’m Reno Albury, owner of La Paraiso and Tyler’s dad.”
Loraine gasped looking at Reno. He’d said it. She was sure she hadn’t imagined it. He said he was Tyler’s dad and he didn’t stumble over the words as if they choked him to say them. It was loud and clear with no reservations. Almost a month of waiting and there it was. ‘Tyler’s dad’.
Did this mean she had her Reno back?
Did this mean she kept her promise to Tyler, that he had a father who would love and protect him forever?
Tyler’s dad, the words echoed in her heart. Yes, it did. Reno was back and she’d kept her promise, that his father was going to love and care for him forever.
She squealed with joy, jumping on him, her arms going around his neck.
Reno laughed, lifting her in front of him and her legs wrapped around his waist. She didn’t care that they had an audience; she showered his face with kisses making Reno laugh harder.
“Sorry, she gets excited over the smallest things. We should have dinner when we get back from our trip in three days or so. It was nice meeting you, Dan and Leah.”
Dan chuckled behind her. “Nice to meet you too. We don’t mind watching Tyler while you handle your business.”
Loraine’s kisses drew to a halt at Dan’s suggestive tone and Leah’s snickers. What was wrong with this couple? Was sex the only thing they thought about? It would explain the three kids in five years. But this was the second time they’d had this offer—Allan had been the first on his own wedding night.
Reno quickly walked away as she said, “Why does everyone assume we want to have sex and quickly offer to watch our kid?”
Once they were a safe distance away but with Tyler in eye view, Reno slowly lowered her to the ground, her body sliding down his on her descent in a very sexual way. She looked up and met his gaze. The brown in them darkened with desire as he stared down at her. The potency made her heart jerk in her ribcage.
“Maybe it’s because of the way I look at you or,” he pulled her against him tighter and he gasped when she felt his arousal press into her belly, “or it could be that,” he added with a sly smile.
She pressed her hand to his chest to push him away and gain some distance before her mind turned to mush but the feel of his hard chest made her shiver with longing. It had been too long since she’d felt the flesh under that white shirt against her own. Skin to skin as he moved above her…
Whoa back up hormones! First things first—Tyler.
She cleared her throat hoping she didn’t sound as aroused as she felt. “There is a lot we have to discuss before you get that ever again.”
He nodded with a shaky sigh. “Fair enough. It’s the reason why I want us to go away for a while. Not far just a few miles away on my yacht.”
She worried her lower lip. “And Tyler?”
His lips spread in a lopsided grin. “He’s coming too. It is a family retreat after all, so what do you say?”
“Family?” she stuttered, tearing a little. She had hoped for this and after Reno went off the rocker about not wanting a kid, that dream had been dying a slow painful death.
Reno caressed her cheek, his eyes sincere as he spoke. “You have been the only true parent he has had in his short life, a better one than Georgia and I have been. It’s clear he loves you,” he chuckled, darting a look over her head. “He keeps looking this way every few minutes just to make sure you are still here.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead before he spoke solemnly. “You loved my son when I was being an ass and I can’t thank you enough for that. He isn’t the scared little boy I first met. I thought he was going to be apprehensive when I came
here. I was prepared to do anything necessary to win his love, even bribe him, but he ran for me like I was a returning war hero welcoming me home. You did that for me, didn’t you?”
Loraine shrugged shyly. “Riana did the same with Aurora for Allan. That little girl danced around Allan singing ‘my daddy’ as if that wasn’t the first time they were meeting.”
Reno nodded. “Riana told her about Allan every day at sunset. Thank you for doing that for me, though it makes me feel even more like an ass and…Loraine, you were right. I fell in love with my son the instant I caught him in my arms.”
Loraine’s smile grew to a grin at his admission. She didn’t care that she had tears running from her eyes like an open water tap. “I felt the same way the moment I held him. He’s hard not to love.”
“I’m glad you said that, because it makes my gift to you even more momentous. So are we going on that trip, mom?”
Loraine closed her eyes and took the sound of that word in. She was never going to get tired of hearing it. It made her feel worthy with a purpose in life, taking care of her family. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes and the love that shone in them made her warm inside. Her life was finally falling into place and she had no intention of letting it slip through her fingers.
Pierre.
For the first time she didn’t freeze up at the thought of his name. She needed to take care of that nightmare before he got anywhere near her family. She was strong enough now, probably the strongest she’s ever been in her entire life.
“Yes, Dad. We are going on our first family trip.”
* * * *
Reno felt himself relax. He’d been nervous about how he would be received so when she kissed him, it surprised him. What surprised him more was her new look. Her hair color was different and so were her eyes. She’d taken her contacts out.
Reno combed his fingers through her chestnut shoulder length curls. “First you want to tell me about the new look?”
She worried her lower lip, turning to look at Tyler and avoiding his gaze. That’s when he remembered their heart to heart conversation in Nassau. She’d told him she’d changed her look after that night she was attacked. Pierre had blamed his crazy obsession for her on her chestnut curls which she’d grown out to the middle of her back at that time, and her violet eye color that he described as being so unique they could only belong to an angel. He remembered laughing at how lame a pick up line it was when Loraine said he pointed out the unique grey color of his own eyes and that meant they were meant to be together. The guy was really crazy.
“So this is the real Loraine Larson,” he whispered rubbing his thumbs on her cheek bones as he stared into her eyes, as they sparkled in a deep violet showing everything the contacts hid from him.
“You like it?” she asked hesitantly.
Reno lowered his head as he tilted hers up. He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly. Then he pulled away and looked into her sparkling violet eyes. The guy might have been a psycho but he had a good point. Loraine had the most alluring eyes he’d ever seen.
“I love it, more so because this is the real you.”
Her hands at his sides tightened, pinching his flesh. “It still scares me a little—being so exposed. I’ve worn a hat and sun glasses all week. But Tyler decided to use my hat as a sand sieve and who knows where my sun glasses are,” she finished, her smile so wide he wondered if her lips hurt.
“You love it, being a mom, don’t you?”
She nodded happily. “I never understood Riana’s obsession with Aurora until now. It makes me wonder why my own mother wasn’t as obsessed with me.”
“Because she’s your real mom?”
She nodded.
“I’m sure she loves you Lori…”
“She’s just not obsessed.” She shook of the melancholy of the topic and said, “So when are we leaving?”
“As soon as we can get everything ready. I hope Tyler isn’t afraid of sailing.”
“Up until a month ago, Tyler didn’t know what happened outside his bedroom.”
“What?”
She patted his chest. “I’ll explain later.”
* * * *
Reno took four long strides to and fro as he paced the foredeck of his yacht like an enraged bull charging a matador. He knew Georgia was a selfish bitch but this…this made him want to blow his stack. His son had been a prisoner for the three years of his life, locked up in the attic like an unwanted nuisance. Like something to be ashamed of. The only difference between a real cell and his room was the little window he would spy through and the rays of sun sipped through. To imagine how that had taunted him, jeering at him for his imprisonment made Reno wanted to rip something apart.
“Why not just lock him up in the basement? It would have been kinder than teasing him with freedom they had no intention of giving him with a fucking window!”
“Reno, keep your voice down. Tyler is asleep.”
He turned to Loraine where she sat at the bow the sunset at her back, her hair fighting her efforts as it escaped from the back of her ear and whipped over her face.
“Keep my voice down?” he echoed, unable to believe she wasn’t going ballistic over what she’d just told him. “What’s with you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve known about this longer than you have and I’ve made my peace with it after cursing Georgia with every insult I know and dreamed up numerous ways of torturing her.” She stood up and made her way to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Reno tried to pull away but she held on to him. He didn’t want to be held; he wanted to hit something.
“Reno, the bottom line is he’s here with us, far away from those two monsters and safe with us. I’ve been showing him that it’s okay to be a normal little boy and that we love him. If he needs us, all he has to do is call. I think that’s more productive than stomping around like big foot punching your fist in your palm like you’re getting ready for a cage fight,” she finished with a chuckle.
Reno turned away from her, his funny bone not feeling the tickle. He didn’t want to let go of his anger, because if he did the guilt will consume him whole. God, he was no better than Georgia. She might have caged him to keep him out of her and her husband’s lives, but there was no difference from what he did. Running away, avoiding Tyler at every turn and going as far as moving out of his own home to avoid him seemed far worse to him.
Reno pressed the heels of his palms in his eyes. “I’m such a bastard.”
“Hey, don’t say that.” Loraine tugged at his hands until he lowered them. But he kept his gaze averted, too ashamed to look into her eyes. He didn’t want forgiveness; he didn’t deserve it. “Reno, you were scared and Tyler was a curve ball you weren’t prepared for. It’s very understandable. What matters is that you didn’t take long, well a month is a long time to warm up to your own kid—”
He pulled away with a groan, giving her his back. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it’s having the opposite effect, Lori.”
She came round and stood before him, cupping his face in her hands. “I wasn’t done talking. Yes, it was long, but considering Georgia had over three years, you have little to be ashamed about. You are here and you are making up for it.” She smiled up at him and he sighed at the comfort it gave him. “He wasn’t even scared when he came onboard. I was expecting the water works when we set sail but that didn’t happen either.”
Reno smiled with little humor. “You sound disappointed.”
She shook her head. “No. I sound proud, and I feel it too. The first time I took him outside the house and sat in the sand, I had to have Ruiz and Melody as backup. He wouldn’t leave otherwise. The same with when we went into the water, he cried so hard, I wanted to cry.”
Reno pressed his lips on her forehead, falling in love with her a little bit more. “It’s hard to believe that after I saw him in the water today. I was scared he would be carried away by the waves.”
“You’re welcome,” she annou
nced with a raised brow.
Reno chuckled at the hidden meaning. “Thank you Lori for taking care of my son.”
“I’m just glad you’re here to give him this experience. I wanted to take him out sailing myself, but after he screamed for you his first time in the water, I thought it best to wait.”
Reno felt his throat tighten around the lump in it. “What do you mean?”
“He cried for his daddy Reno, because he was scared and he knew you would protect him from the big unknown. Why do you think he quickly moved to your arms when we boarded, or when we set sail?”
Oh God, I’m such a bastard. “I thought he wanted to be with me because he missed me,” he whispered shamefully.
She stroked his cheek. “Yeah he missed you. He asked for you every day. Today was like Christmas to him. I’ve never seen him so happy. He makes such a cute little captain.”
Reno nodded, distracted. “I thought the uniform would look good on him. Way better than the silly sailor suits that have become a uniform for those rats they call dogs.”
Loraine chuckled. “You mean purse dogs? Yeah, if I’m going to have a pet, I’d rather he wasn’t big enough to be eaten in one bite by other dogs. Reno I didn’t tell you about Tyler crying for you so that you can feel like an ass.” She smiled. “Well maybe a little but I don’t want you judging yourself harshly. You’re here and living up to every one of his expectations. That’s all that matters.”
Reno understood what she was saying but he just couldn’t let go. The one emotion he has never been able to deal well with is guilt. It ate him up after the car accident his mother died in which he caused, to the point he was relieved when they deported him. Anything to run as far away as possible from Riana’s tears. He’d let her down in more ways than one and he just couldn’t face her. He’d only been able to put his instinct to run from her aside when she came to him, her heart shattered. It was his chance to redeem himself and he had, easing his conscious.
Reno cupped Loraine’s head, leaned his forehead against hers. “Lori, I’m so sorry.”