by Stacy Eaton
“Breathtaking,” I murmured as I came up behind her and put my arms around her waist. I ran the tip of my nose over the shell of her ear, and she shivered.
“Yes, breathtaking,” she replied as she tilted her head slightly. I nibbled on her earlobe and then her neck. Her hands covered mine over her waist, and I waited to see if she would remove them, but she pressed them harder against her.
“Finley, you drive me wild.” I ground my instant erection against her backside. “I don’t know how you do it, but you do.” Her eyes blinked open and fluttered as she tensed briefly. “That’s a compliment, Finley,” I whispered against her ear.
She relaxed. “Okay—”
I nibbled on her neck, pushing her shirt collar back so I could reach her collarbone. “Damn, woman, do you know how much I want to take you right here, against the glass?”
She moaned softly as her head fell back against my shoulder.
“That’s it, baby, just let go.” One of my hands drifted toward her breast, her hand still covering mine as it moved. I knew if she tensed again or tried to stop me, I’d back off in a heartbeat.
I slipped one of my thighs between hers, forcing her to widen her stance as I took hold of her chin with my other hand and brought her mouth around to the side so that I could kiss her. The movement took her off balance and she lurched forward, her palms flat against the glass, and I closed the distance, her body now wedged between me and the cool material.
“Tell me to stop, Finley, tell me to stop, and I will.”
“No, don’t stop, Roan. Jesus, don’t stop.” She pushed her hips back against mine, and I nearly lost my mind. My hands were all over her body, and I pulled her hips back from the glass and cupped her sex through her pants. That wasn’t enough, I needed more. I quickly unbuttoned them and began to slip my hand inside. I paused as I reached the trim of her panties. “Don’t stop.” Her hand was on mine, urging me forward.
We both groaned as my fingers slipped over her silken flesh, and it didn’t take long to make her quiver in my arms. I was about to yank down her pants and take her here at the window when sanity slammed back into me. I did not want the first time I made love to her to be with me taking her from behind, standing up while dressed. Oh, no, our first time was going to be slow, gentle, and intense. I was going to enjoy every inch of her body before I finally took my final pleasure.
As I withdrew my hand, I zipped her pants, and her eyes blinked open as she tried to turn in my arms. “What are you doing?”
“We can finish later.”
“But you didn’t—” She glanced at my groin as I stepped back.
“No, but that’s okay. Like I said, we can take back up later.” She looked shell-shocked, and I pulled her into my arms. “You seem surprised that I would say that.”
“I am. I’ve never been with a man who didn’t expect a release first or who even cared about mine.”
I kissed her, “And that is the difference between a man and a boy. A man wants to please his woman, a boy needs to please himself.”
“His woman?” she repeated. “When did I become your woman?”
I opened my mouth to tell her the moment I had first seen her, but I didn’t get the chance because Simon rubbed against her leg, and she let out a squeal and practically jumped into my arms.
“Simon,” I admonished the cat, “you scared her.”
Finley’s hands were on her chest, “You have a cat. You didn’t tell me you had a cat.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think about it. You aren’t allergic, are you?”
She shook her head and bent down to pick up the fluffy Persian. “Hi, Simon, I’m Finley.” The cat immediately curled against her chest and began to purr.
“Alright,” I crossed my arms and mock-glared at the cat, “she doesn’t like anyone but Wade and me. How did you do that?”
She winked. “Didn’t I tell you that I’m a cat whisperer?”
“I take it with the way you are putting your face into her fur that you are not allergic to cats.”
“Nope, not dogs either. Do you have one of those around here?”
“No, dogs. Just Simon. I got him for Wade after Sherry died.”
“Aw, that was sweet. I bet it helped him. I know after my parents passed away, I wanted a pet, but I couldn’t have one where I lived.”
“I’m sorry about your parents.” She nodded and turned away, still cuddling Simon to her chest. Lucky cat.
“Thanks,” she said and then changed the subject. “Your house is amazing, Roan.”
“Thank you, I kind of like it myself.” I tossed her a wink as she glanced over her shoulder. “After Sherry died, I never wanted to leave. It was hard walking out the door and facing the world, especially when I had such a beautiful view right here.”
“I bet it was. I think I’m going to have a hard time leaving myself.” She laughed, and luckily, she didn’t glance my way because if she had, she would have seen me opening my mouth to speak.
At the last moment, I closed it, chomped on my cheek and held back the words: Then don’t leave.
Chapter 15
Finley
I cuddled Simon wishing it was Roan in my arms as I took in his living room area. The area was woodsy and warm with heavy beams on the ceiling and an open floor plan. I could even see the second story where a walkway ran from one side of the room to the other upstairs.
This house was incredible and reminded me of places where I’d worked as a server during catering gigs. It also reminded me a lot of Robin’s house, and I wondered if they had the same builder. I could only dream of living in a house like this—no, not dream—fantasize.
My eyes went back to the window where I could see a fuzzy spot on the glass. Had that been my hand or my cheek that had left the mark while he’d taken me to a place I could have only dreamed of being? It was the single most erotic moment of my life, and I would never forget it, or Roan.
I turned to watch him as he dug through the fridge, his dark hair wavy and in need of a trim as it touched his collar. My gaze drifted down his wide shoulders to his trim waist, and I startled. “You have a gun?”
He shifted so he could see me. “Yes, I always carry one. I have a license to carry.”
I wasn’t sure if that didn’t just make the moment at the window more erotic or a little bit sinister. We’d both been fully clothed, and he’d had a gun in the waistband of his pants while his hand had been inside mine. I shivered involuntarily and still wasn’t sure what the answer was.
“Does that bother you?”
I quickly shook my head as I walked to a farther point in the room. “No, I just didn’t realize that you had one.”
He changed the subject, “Well, I can heat up lasagna or chili that I have in the freezer. I usually make big batches and freeze some for these occasions.”
“Either is fine.”
“Which do you prefer?”
“Do you have veggies for a salad?”
He shook his head, “Not fresh ones. I have a feeling the lettuce will be sorry-looking.”
“Then let’s have chili. I like to eat salad with my lasagna.”
He tossed me a lopsided grin. “Sherry did, too.”
Well, wasn’t that just wonderful. I walked around the room and took in the décor. His wife was probably the one who decorated all of this. I wasn’t sure if I liked being compared to his dead wife. Was it good that he found me like her, or bad? Was he trying to find an identical replacement? If so, he was far off his mark with me.
I stopped at the fireplace mantel and stared at a picture of Roan and a woman with dark hair. She looked average, not model beautiful, and appeared to have a few extra pounds on her. I frowned. Wouldn’t someone as gorgeous as Roan want someone just as glamorous as he was on his arm? Her hair was light brown, her face round. There was nothing remarkable, except the smile on her face at having Roan’s arms around her. I guess anyone would look beautiful in his arms.
“That was our last vacatio
n before she was diagnosed,” he spoke gently from beside me.
I studied his profile. I could see the love pouring out of his eyes as his focus remained on the photograph.
“You loved her a lot.”
“She was my world,” he sighed and winked at me, “but life had other things in mind for my world.”
“I know this might sound rude, even judgmental, but she doesn’t look like your type.”
He laughed. “My type?”
“Yeah, modelish.”
“Sherry was the most beautiful woman I knew. When she looked at me or Wade, it would fill my heart with so much love that I thought it would burst. I don’t need a drop-dead gorgeous woman who is shallow and doesn’t think about anything other than what she can eat, and if her clothes make her look a certain way. I want a woman who cares about life, about people, about making others happy, and who loves me for who I am, not what I was or what’s in my bank account.”
“That’s a tall order. Most people I know are always looking out for themselves and would do anything to land a guy like you.”
“What about you? Do you feel that way?”
I laughed a little hysterically, “Me? Yeah, I don’t even attempt to dream those kinds of things.”
“Why would you say it was a dream?”
“Because—I don’t know. I just can’t imagine living a life like this with a man like you.”
It was his turn to laugh, “‘A life like this and a man like me.’ Finley you need to think better of yourself and not put me up on a ladder rung above you. We’re the same.”
“Yeah, okay.” I set the cat down as I had no intention of even pretending this kind of life could be mine. “So where will I be staying? I could really use a few moments to clean up and change clothes.”
“Sure, I’ll show you to your room and then get dinner warmed up.”
We returned to my pile of things near the door and then I followed him down a small hallway on the opposite side of the house. We climbed a staircase that dumped out on a landing above the family room. I took a moment to look at the large glass window. “Don’t you ever get freaked out that someone is watching you?”
“No, the windows have a coating on them so that you can’t really see in at night unless I flip a switch.”
“You can flip a switch and people can see inside?” I asked doubtfully.
“Yep, it’s pretty cool. It helps keep the heat regulated, too.”
“Amazing.” The glass alone most be worth more than a yearly salary for me.
“This is one of our guest rooms. Wade’s room is at the end of the hall, but he probably won’t be by. You have your own bathroom, and if there is anything you need, just let me know.”
I gawked at the bedroom. It was at least three times the size of the bedroom in the rented house. In fact, the bedroom was probably almost as big as my whole place. The king-sized bed barely took up any room, and I stared in awe at it all. I’d never slept in a bed that big before in my life, and it looked so luxurious that I was ready to climb under the covers right this minute and lose myself to slumber.
“Wow,” I breathed.
He didn’t say anything, just set my bag on the bed and turned to leave. “I’ll be downstairs. I have a few phone calls to make, too, so take your time.”
“Thank you, Roan.”
He gave me a tender smile and closed the door behind him. I ran my hand over the soft cover of the bed and couldn’t resist climbing up on it and lying down for just a few minutes.
This bed was heaven, but it would be even better if Roan was in it with me. For a few minutes, I lay there and fantasized about making love to him in this bed. My phone broke me out of the best fantasy I’d ever had as it began to ring, and I dug into my purse to retrieve it.
“Hey, Robin.”
“Sorry about falling asleep on you earlier. Sometimes the pain medicine really wipes me out.”
“That’s okay. Did you need something?”
“No, I was calling to check on you. Roan just called Chris and said something about your staying at his place for a few days because someone named Howard Wallace broke into your house. Who is that?”
I frowned. “How did he know his name?” I sifted back through my memories and wondered if I had mentioned it. I pursed my lips as I suddenly remembered that he’d called him Wallace at the café this afternoon, and that was before I’d even spoken to him. How did he know his name?
“Um, you must have told him.”
“No, I specifically remember not telling him, and I called him Howie when he showed up at the café this afternoon.”
“He showed up at the café?” Robin quickly asked.
For the next few minutes, I explained to Robin what had happened and why I was here, but my story did not answer the question of how Roan knew what his name was.
“I’m so sorry, Finley. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was running from my past, and I’m not very proud of it, Robin. I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”
“Are you kidding? I would never think badly of you. You’re not the only one who was ever fooled by a man. Trust me, I get it.”
I sighed as I remembered Robin telling me about how she’d walked into her apartment the night she’d quit her job and found her fiancé in bed with her best friend. “Yeah, I guess you do.”
“Well, I’m glad that you’re staying at Roan’s. He’ll keep you safe.”
“But how did he know about Howie? Did you ever mention it? I know I never did.” I could practically hear wheels spinning on the other side, “Come on, Robin, what did you say to him?”
“I swear I never said anything to him. Roan must have found out his name when he did your background check.”
“Background check?” I squeaked. “You never told me you were running a background on me, Robin.”
“I didn’t run it. Chris was trying to be protective of me and was worried about how quickly I hired you. He’s the one that asked Roan to do the background check. I swear, I knew nothing about it. In fact, I didn’t even know it had been done until the day I broke my ankle and Roan was having dinner with us.”
I was quiet as I tried to control my anger. If Robin had told me she was going to do a background, I would have been fine with it, but to not have been told? Now that pissed me off.
“Finley, I’m sorry. Are you mad at me?”
“No, Robin, I’m not mad at you. Look, I need to go. I’ll talk with you later.”
I hung up before I even heard her response and tossed my phone to the bed as I hopped off and strode toward the door.
As I approached the landing, Roan’s voice drifted up to me. “You think Detective Hawkswell will be able to help us?”
I rushed down the stairs and had just entered the family room when he said, “Thanks, Thad. I owe you one.”
He was saying goodbye when I practically skidded to a halt in front of him and pulled the phone from his ear as he stared at me curiously.
“You did a background check on me and didn’t tell me?”
He set his phone on the counter, his focus on it and not me. “Yes, Chris asked me to do one when Robin hired you out of the blue.”
“So that’s how you knew Howie’s name? Because Robin just said you knew his name, but I never told you what his name was.”
“Yes, that’s how I knew his name.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Didn’t you think it might be a good idea to tell me that you dug into my life without me knowing it?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it.”
“Yeah, well, what else did you find out?”
“I didn’t find out anything bad, Finley. Your background was clean. The two guys that you lived with took more time to investigate than you did.”
“Two? You mean you looked up Mike, too?”
“Yes.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling very uncomfortable about him having looked into my love life.
“What else did you find out, Roan?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I found out your credit was good, and you live within your means. I know your parents passed away when you were in your early twenties, and that you’re adopted—”
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘What’?”
“I’m not adopted. Where the hell did you get that?”
Roan looked confused, “Finley, you didn’t know you were adopted?”
“I wasn’t adopted.” The world around me began to spin slowly and my mouth went dry.
“Finley, you most definitely were adopted. It was a closed adoption, but I found the records easily enough to show you were indeed adopted by Paul and Rosemary Parker.”
I could only blink at him for a few moments. How could I have been adopted? How could my parents never tell me that I wasn’t theirs? Was that why I had always felt as if I didn’t belong in my life? Because it wasn’t the life I was supposed to lead?
Somehow, I found my voice as my life around me began to quake from the news. “Show me what you found.”
Chapter 16
Roan
My first call was to Chris to let him know what had happened at Finley’s house and to find out if Robin might be able to get someone to cover for Finley tomorrow. I didn’t know Finley all that well, but I was pretty sure that, if left to her own devices, she would say she had to go to work and would put off contacting the police.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should have called the police as soon as I’d found her door broken. In the moment, however, I had just wanted to get her out of the house and to safety.
I dialed Thad Wagner’s number and then put the container of chili in the microwave.
“Hey, man, how are you?” Thad answered on the second ring.
“I’m doing pretty well, my friend. How are you?”
“Busy, but I’m doing great. Casey just found out yesterday that she is pregnant.”
“Are you serious? That’s terrific. Congratulations, Thad. Man, I remember the day I found out Sherry was pregnant with Wade, I wasn’t sure if I was more scared or excited.”