Maybe, With Conditions

by Mariella Starr

  Nicole ignored him, shifted in the narrow seat, and turned her back to him. She had let Dalton and Mrs. O'Cleary handle all the details of the trip and move. Her only concerns had been for her child and her work. She had spent her days at the hospital with Matty until his release, and her nights in front of her easel.

  She had contacted her current clients to explain the situation. Most of them had been reasonable and agreed she could send their portraits when they were finished. One of her wealthy, spoiled socialite clients had demanded her portrait be finished before Nicole’s departure. The privileged woman wanted her portrait completed before her birthday party. It mattered not a twit to her that Nicole’s child’s health was at risk. Even though she was not under a contractual obligation to fulfill the request, Nicole had agreed. Against both Dalton and Mrs. O'Cleary's advice, she worked nightly, sometimes into the early morning hours. She completed the painting and walked away with a sizeable check, but she was exhausted.

  She had done the packing of clothing for herself and Matty. She had also made sure every bit of her painting equipment and supplies were stored properly for transport across the country. Dalton had contracted a firm to express ship her painting equipment ahead of the household items. Mrs. O'Cleary would oversee the movers to ensure the proper handling of everything else.

  When the plane landed in Las Vegas, Dalton bypassed getting his truck out of long-term parking and hired a taxi to take them from the airport to the Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay Resort where they were shown into a luxurious suite.

  "You look like a walking zombie," Dalton remarked. "Go to bed and get some rest."

  "I have to give Matty a bath first."

  Dalton led the boy into a bedroom. "I'll take care of him. For once, Nic, don't argue."

  Nicole woke up in a strange bed in a strange room. She dragged herself into the shower and enjoyed the luxury of massaging jets before putting on a robe provided by the hotel. She opened the door to an adjoining room, the smallest one in the three-bedroom suite, where they had decided to put Matty when they had toured the hotel suite the night before.

  She found Dalton sprawled across the single bed sound asleep while Matty played on the floor with one of his handheld video games.

  "Good morning," she whispered while kissing his forehead and testing to see if his fever had returned.

  Matty looked up, grinned, and followed her back into her bedroom.

  "Did you sleep well," Nicole asked.

  Matty nodded. "Dalton snores and makes funny noises in his sleep!"

  Nicole laughed. "Does he? You'll have to tell him. If he's asleep, he probably doesn't know."

  "Is Dalton my daddy?" Matty asked.

  Nicole froze for a second. "Why do you ask?"

  "Dee Dee was talking on the phone to Uncle Phillip. She said it was a good thing for me to spend time with my Da. Da is Irish for daddy."

  Nicole smiled. "Yes, it is, and yes, Dalton is your daddy. I want you to remember he has been nice to you and you like him."

  Matty scrunched up his face. "He told me on the airplane if I didn't behave he would make me stand in the corner. I don't want a mean daddy."

  "You did behave, so he didn't have to find a corner," Nicole said countering his five-year-old logic.

  "I don't want a mean daddy," Matty pouted. "I want a daddy who gives me ice cream and buys me video games."

  "Sometimes to get the daddy who provides you with the good stuff like ice cream and video games, you also get a daddy who doesn't want you misbehaving," Nicole explained gently. "Does it upset you to know Dalton is your father?"

  "No, I want to have a daddy. Billy Cramer has a daddy and he said they go out to eat pizza and play games. I don't like standing in the corner and I don't want to be punished," Matty said stubbornly.

  "If you are a good boy, you won't have to stand in the corner or be punished."

  "You promise?"

  "I promise," Dalton said coming up behind them. He squatted down to the boy's level. "My job as your daddy is to take care of you, play with you, and teach you right from wrong. If you don't misbehave, you won't be punished. At your age, sometimes it is hard to behave. I will try to understand and take it into consideration."

  "What's conzersation?" Matty questioned his mother.

  Nicole smiled. "It means when you misbehave you won't always have to stand in the corner. Sometimes you might miss out on a treat."

  Matty thought about it. "Okay, I guess you can be my daddy," he said to Dalton.

  Dalton went to his knees and hugged the boy. He had tears in his eyes. "I'll try to be a good daddy."

  Matty nodded. "You have to take care of Mommy, too!" he advised Dalton. "Daddies are supposed to take care of Mommies."

  "It's on my list," Dalton promised.

  "Good, because my mommy doesn't have a daddy either," Matty said. "Can I turn on the big TV in there?" He pointed to the sitting room.

  "Yes, if you put it on the cartoon network," Nicole answered.

  "Thanks," Dalton said pulling Nicole down to sit on the bed while he sat beside her. "I knew we had to explain it to him, but I was clueless as to how to approach it."

  "Children are trusting at his age and accept change easily."

  "How about you," Dalton asked. "How are you taking the changes?"

  "I'm here under duress because I care about Matty's health. There are conditions to our being here, and you'd better not try to screw me over."

  Dalton shook his head and sighed. She didn't give an inch. "I'll call room service for breakfast."

  "Fine. Where's my suitcase?"

  "You won't need it. Now, don't get all ticked off. I want you to spend the day resting and I thought the lack of clothes might ensure it."

  "You can't hold me, hostage!"

  "I'm not!" Dalton closed his eyes. "Well, maybe I am, but you will be a pampered hostage. Admit it, Nic, you're wiped out." He rubbed his thumbs under her eyes. "You have dark circles. The last several weeks have been hard for you. We aren't leaving Las Vegas today, so I thought you should take advantage of it and rest."

  "Why aren't we leaving today?" Nicole asked.

  "Because I have to get my truck out of long-term parking and rent a horse trailer. I need to pick up several horses on the way to the ranch. They have hoof problems and need treatment. I also have to buy a safety seat for Matty for the trip and visit a business partner before I leave town. We could all use some downtime and another good night's sleep, including you, grumpy puss."

  She gave a slight nod of her head. "Sorry, I'm a bit off today."

  "Only proving you should rest," Dalton said firmly.

  After a huge breakfast, Dalton read the newspaper before dressing himself and sending a barefoot Matty to find his socks and sneakers. "We'll be back in four or five hours," Dalton said bending down to help the boy tie his sneakers.

  "Why are you taking Matty?" Nicole demanded.

  With no immediate success getting the boy's shoes tied, Dalton sat on the carpet, put the boy on his lap, and proceeded to talk him through the steps while he did the tying. He looked up at her question. "You can't rest and keep an eye on our little buckaroo. The two things cancel out each other."

  "You can't take a child to a business meeting," Nicole protested. "He'd disrupt it."

  "The meeting is with my business partner, Michael Benning," Dalton said. "He's an expert on kids, or he should be, he has nine from two different marriages. I think he can handle a five-year-old."

  "What about your spiel about all of us resting today?"

  "Matty and I haven't been burning the candle at both ends for weeks," Dalton said trying to hang onto his patience. "We'll get plenty of rest this evening and tonight."

  "Right," Nicole agreed under her breath as she watched her little boy walk out holding hands with his daddy. She looked around at the spacious luxury, feeling a sense of loss.

  She tried to rest, but what she really did was flip-flop on the bed telling herself she should go t
o sleep. Flip-flop… she should go back to sleep. Only, it wasn't happening. Perhaps she had too much on her mind. Had she made the right decision? What if Matty had an asthma attack while he was with Dalton? Would he know how to handle it? She called Dalton's cell number and he assured her Matty was okay, and yes, he had remembered the inhaler. He scolded her for not relaxing.

  She left the bedroom and went into the sitting room. Turning on the television, she was nearly bored to tears in all of thirty minutes after thumbing through the entire cable station listings several times. Where had Dalton hidden her suitcase? She searched everywhere and concluded he must have taken it out of the room. Her boredom peaked when she tried to read the newspaper. She never read newspapers because they depressed her. Which was why she never read them.

  Then, Nicole made a discovery. Going through the complimentary hotel packet, she discovered that anything she wanted could be delivered to her with a simple phone call. After perusing the catalog for its offerings, she decided on a little bit of payback for Dalton being so heavy-handed. She ordered four thrillers by her favorite authors and pizza to be delivered to the suite, as well as a bathing suit from the hotel boutique, all at exorbitant prices.

  Dalton returned to the suite with a very tired little boy. He had forgotten about the three-hour time difference between the east and west coasts. It was well past time for Matty's nap and the kid was used to being on a schedule. He had behaved well considering the number of errands they had to accomplish.

  He kissed Matty on the top of his head, pointed, and nudged him toward his bedroom. The boy stumbled off rubbing his eyes. Mission accomplished.

  Dalton went looking for Nicole. She wasn't in any of the bedrooms. She definitely was not in his, although he could always hope. He checked the bathroom, and then went through to the sitting room puzzled until he spotted a tiny spec of red on the patio lounge chair. He went to the sliding door and took a good leisurely look. Nicole was stretched out on the lounge chair wearing the tiniest excuse for a bikini he had ever seen. Three scraps of cloth not much bigger than postage stamps covered her private parts. She rolled over as he watched and he sucked in his breath. One thin string crossed her back while two tiny strings met at her hipbones before disappearing into her buttocks and exposing her entire bottom. He went as hard as a rock.

  Opening the patio door, he went to her and sat on the edge of the chair. He leaned down to kiss the nape of her neck. "Resting?"

  "Deliciously," Nicole said turning her head to glance over her shoulder. "All I've done today is read in the shade and sunbathe in fifteen-minute increments so I won't burn. I'm in one of the increments now."

  "I like full body tans," Dalton said, running his fingers down her back and across her naked bottom.

  Nicole shivered and tried to rise, but he pulled her directly into his arms and drew her into a kiss. She was suddenly tired of fighting and of being alone, especially since she knew intimately what Dalton had to offer. He wanted her and she had avoided contact with men for a long time. She opened to him, her mouth his for the taking. His hands roamed freely over her nearly naked body. He pulled the string at her back, tossed the little red flags away, and took her breast in his mouth. His fingers went to her hips. He pulled those strings and with a slight tug the crotch piece was tossed aside. His hands were everywhere, over her, on her, in her, and it still it was not enough.

  "Inside," Nicole gasped.

  "Yeah," Dalton agreed carrying her to his room and his bed. He pulled and tugged at his clothing and then with one knee on the bed, stopped and went to get off.

  "What?" Nicole demanded.

  "Lubricant. You know how big I am and I don't want to hurt you," Dalton breathed.

  Nicole dragged him down on her. "I know and I can take you. I'm ready! Dalton, take me!"

  He needed no further encouragement. Dalton slid his hand between her legs inserting his fingers into her and smiled. "Oh, yeah, you're ready." He lifted her legs gently one each over his shoulders, spreading her open for him. He poised above her with the tip of his cock against her and watched her eyes as he plunged in with one long hard thrust. Nicole's eyes flew open and she gasped at the pleasure. Then, she seemed to soften, to open up, and to writhe with pleasure as he started to pump.

  He took her hard and fast with a mindless urgency. This was all need—this was not making love. There was no finesse to what they were doing. This was mating at the most primitive level. They took each other in pure animal lust and the coupling would not take long. It had been too long for him, an eternity for her. Her orgasm came first and he was relieved when it rippled through her because he knew he could not hold himself together any longer. He needed this, had to have her, and claim her as his. He plunged again and again, thrusting into her until he exploded so powerfully it took three eruptions to empty himself. He collapsed, a sense of pure male satisfaction and masculine ego making him smile at his conquest and her surrender.

  Nicole moaned in pure satisfaction. Dalton rolled them on their sides not yet wanting to separate.

  "Did I hurt you?" he panted

  Nicole rolled her eyes. "It's not the first time I've had sex with you, although I'm already having second thoughts. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

  "It was a great idea and it's too late to close the barn door. Next time will be even better."

  Nicole shook her head at his folksy analogy and rolled over, but she made no attempt to get out of bed. This was the man she had never stopped loving even when she told herself she hated him. She was older, stronger, and hopefully smarter. She could handle him this time around; at least, she thought she could.

  Their next session came less than an hour later. Dalton's approach was pure seduction and finesse. His skills had improved. Nicole realized she was already in over her head and her libido was out of control.

  Chapter Four

  With his usual thoroughness, Dalton had prepared his truck for the long drive to his ranch with a five-year-old in mind. He had the second seat in the truck equipped with a safety seat on the passenger side and had a small DVD player mounted from the ceiling so Matty could watch movies.

  Nicole thought Dalton's truck was possibly the biggest vehicle she'd ever been inside, and they were hauling a large empty horse trailer behind them. They were leaving Las Vegas, but although it was still early April, the temperatures were already in the high 90s at 9:00 a.m. Until the air-conditioning cooled the truck cab, the temperature was stifling. She felt as if the heat had sucked all the moisture out of her body in the short walk to the parking lot. Dalton handed her a bottle of water from a cooler behind the front seat.

  "The heat affects everyone for the first couple of days. Drink lots of water and make sure Matty does, too. Your body will acclimate. You will always need to drink a lot of fluids out here in the desert, but after a few days you won't feel so bone dry all the time," Dalton explained.

  Driving along Interstate 95 N, Nicole was amazed at the high-speed limit. However, they were not pushing the speed limit because crosswinds were battering the empty horse trailer causing it to sway back and forth within the lane. Dalton told her once the weight of the horses was in the trailer, the motion would stop. An hour outside of Las Vegas, he took an exit and followed a well-known route to a ranch where he was expected. They were back on the highway as soon as the horses were loaded. Crosswinds were still buffeting them, so Dalton drove at a steady pace and let traffic pass their vehicle.

  It was mid-day when Dalton pulled off the interstate into a small town suggesting they stretch their legs and get lunch. They ate in a small café and meandered around an old attached trading post.

  This was a new experience for Nicole. She had admired Native American art and crafts for years. She had only seen it in the National Museum of the American Indian at the National Mall. Dalton's flat 'No' along with their lack of space in the truck cab, prevented her from buying any of the hand-woven rugs, blankets, and baskets in every shape and color. Her only souvenir was
a pair of turquoise earrings he gave her when they returned to the car. He warned her about buying supposedly genuine Native American jewelry and arts, as it was a crapshoot in many tourist traps. Where he lived, they were not far from the Walker River Indian Reservation. The Walker River Paiute Tribe was part of the Northern Paiute Tribes. He promised to take her to a museum where everything was authentic.

  Pulling the trailer at a lower speed was taking a toll on their anticipated schedule. It would take a lot longer to reach the ranch then they had planned. Dalton also had to stop often at gas or rest stations because Matty was being a typical child. He never needed to go when they were near a rest center. Yet, once they were on the road again, he would complain he needed to go, now. Nevada was not the east coast where rest stations or conveniences were only an exit away. Nicole realized towns were not really towns, either, at least not as she recognized them. A town in the southwest could consist of a posted sign and a post office. There were long stretches of highway between services.

  Matty was tired and cranky, very cranky. Nicole tried all her usual tricks to keep him occupied, but they weren't working. He needed a nap but was at the age when he would sometimes get whiny and fight taking one. While she tried to console him, he spilled an entire bottle of orange juice over himself and her. Their next destination was a truck stop where Nicole and Matty got in line for the showers to clean themselves and change clothes. Then, they were on the road again, still with a petulant child.

  After nearly eight hours in a vehicle with a cranky child, both parents were thoroughly exasperated. Their son was not traveling well. He began to whine and cry, again and was inconsolable. Dalton said they were on the last stretch of their journey, the last fifty miles, but it could not end quickly enough for either adult.

  Suddenly, in a fit of temper, Matty threw one of his toys over the front seat. Dalton was turning the steering wheel into a curve in the road. The toy, a wand-like saber, wedged itself in the spokes of the steering wheel. As Dalton fought to remove it, the trailer wheels ran off the edge of the paved road and onto the soft sandy shoulder. The horse trailer fishtailed and suddenly became a beast out of control, wobbling and swerving as it took over the direction of both vehicles. By the time Dalton got the vehicles under control, both the truck and the trailer were off the hard road surface and embedded in the sandy shoulder. The heavy horse trailer was leaning dangerously to the side. Seconds later, it slid further down the sandy embankment, dragging the truck with it. Abruptly both vehicles jolted to a stop because the weight of the trailer had sunk into the dry, shifting sand. Both truck and trailer leaned toward the passenger side at a 45-degree angle.