Annabelle opened her big blue eyes. "Hi there."
He smiled. "Hi yourself."
"I see you've got yourself some company." She reached out and scratched Q-Tip under his chin.
He laughed. "He seems to like me. Go figure."
She eased herself to a sitting position. "Yeah go figure," she said, her solemn gaze meeting his.
"What's with the afternoon nap?"
She shook her head. "It just seemed the lesser of two evils." Her gaze darted toward the far wall, away from his.
"The other one being?"
"Thinking," she said simply.
He sensed it was anything but simple. He'd coined home expecting to share the police theory about his ex-wife with Annabelle, but instead he realized she had something deeper on her mind. "Thinking about! What?" he asked, digging for answers.
When she remained silent, he tried another tact. "Why'd you come in here to rest?
The dog wriggled out of his arms, jumped to the mattress and snuggled in beside Annabelle.
She absently stroked his head as she said, "I feel better in here."
"Because you don't feel alone." He understood that in here she sensed his presence and it gave her comfort.
"That's part of it," she admitted.
The irony here was great. "You're a successful businesswoman, someone your family turns to when they're in need, yet you feel isolated." He reached out and stroked her cheek.
She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She wiped her damp eyes with the back of her hands.
"Here use this." He handed her the corner of his comforter to use and she dabbed at the moisture.
"Thanks," she said, chuckling. "I just wish the simplest things wouldn't evoke deja vu."
"What happened?" he asked, his concern for he all encompassing. More important than figuring out if Laura could really be responsible for the problems around the lodge.
Vaughn wasn't used to caring so deeply for another person, especially a person he had to let go. And still he couldn't turn Annabelle away. He listened as she detailed a conversation she'd overhead between Lola and her uncle, one that had left her sobbing like a child and retreating to bed for comfort. To his bed.
In response, he gave her the one thing she needed more than mere words. He lay down beside her and held her in his arms, until her breathing became deep and even and she'd fallen back to sleep, knocked out from emotional overload.
Vaughn let out a long sigh. It was a good thing she hadn't been looking for any words of wisdom. He'd have had none to give. While he wished he could tell her that the unconditional love she sought existed on some level, he couldn't. Nobody could give her that kind of security or guarantee. Hell, he hadn't found it in his life, either, so who was he to give advice?
But he understood now that the animals did give her what the people in her life hadn't been able to do. And he hoped like hell he wouldn't be the next person to disappoint her.
HAVING SLEPT THROUGH dinner, Annabelle awoke to the delicious aroma of pizza. She was certain she was dreaming, conjuring up what her growling stomach desperately desired. But when she rolled over and opened her eyes, Vaughn stood by the bed with a pizza box in his hand.
"Dinner?" she said, her mouth watering at the thought.
"Not home cooked, but yeah." His cheeks flushed, obviously embarrassed by his good deed.
It wasn't his first nice act tonight, either. He'd catered to her insecurities and understood her feelings, all the while not flinching at finding her in his bed.
His thoughtfulness showed yet another dimension to his strong yet sensitive character. 'Thank you, Vaughn. You probably don't know this but I love pizza." She rubbed her belly and curled her legs beneath her.
He grinned. "Most single people do."
She shot him a wry glance. "Let me get dressed and we'll go to the kitchen."
He shook his head. "I'd rather eat here."
"Avoiding the company?" she asked.
He didn't reply, but instead sat on the bed and placed the box on the comforter.
"You really can't mean to eat in your bed."
"Hey, I don't mind if you don't."
"I'm easy" She opened the box and handed him a slice.
While they chowed down on the most delicious pizza she'd tasted, she turned the conversation to him. "What did the police have to say?" She asked about the lodge. "Any leads yet?"
He reached for a tissue on the counter and wiped his mouth. "None that are plausible."
She took a final bite of her second slice and left the crust in the box. "Who'd they suggest?"
"Laura." He said the name with no emotion, and having finished his pizza, he shut the box and rose to place the garbage on the dresser.
"You're kidding?"
He nodded with a brief jerk of his head. "She's done some slimy things and she can play head games with the best of them," he acknowledged. "But I don't see her as being capable of physical destruction."
"How about hiring someone to do the job?"
"No. Plus she asked for money. Unless she's having me fund my own destruction, it doesn't make sense. I just don't buy Detective Ross's two-pronged attack theory."
Annabelle bit down on her lower lip. He was so adamant, she wanted to believe his instincts. Still, at least one of them couldn't afford to be in denial. "I think I'll reserve judgment since I don't know the woman at all."
"That's what the police said. They're going to keep digging."
"Good. But it sounds like you've decided to give her the money?"
He shrugged. "On the off chance the cops are right, why make her more desperate, angry or jealous by saying no?'
She mulled that one over. "So what was the story with you two?" she asked, curious despite herself.
He rejoined her on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, hands clasped behind his head. "It's boring and I really wouldn't want to put you back to sleep."
She rolled her head to the side and felt a silly smile tilt her lips. "Your past could never bore me and considering how much of mine I've dumped on you in the past few days, I think it's only fair I listen to yours."
"You mean you think it's only fair I share?"
She grinned. "Yes, Vaughn. I'm asking you to do the one thing men dread. Open up and spill your guts."
He glanced at the ceiling and exhaled, obviously resigned to talking. "Okay look, Laura and I hooked up because I thought she was real. Except looking back, my reasons for thinking she was a decent human being were about the dumbest I can imagine."
"We all want to see the best in people. What were your reasons?"
"I figured because she was a school teacher, she'd have a better understanding of all I'd been through- dealing with the dyslexia, struggling academically, turning to sports because it was the one thing I excelled at."
"You excel at many things," she assured him.
He shot her a heated look, then they both laughed.
"But seriously your thinking seems sound. What went wrong?"
"It didn't take long before my lifestyle became more attractive to her than me."
Annabelle reached out with one foot and entwined her leg with his. "Now that I find hard to believe."
"How else would you explain the fact that while I was lying in the hospital doped up on painkillers, thanks to a shattered knee and a concussion, my loving wife brokered a deal with Yank's competition?"
Annabelle cringed, but still tried to understand what was going on in their lives at the time. "Maybe she thought Spencer Atkins was in your best interest."
Vaughn frowned. "She thought Spencer had better contacts in television, and since she realized my career was over long before I accepted it, she decided to plot my future-hence, ensure her status as the wife of someone important in the industry. God forbid the invitations to the important functions should stop coming in and she'd have to spend a night home with her idiot husband," he muttered, his bitterness so obvious it hurt Annabelle's heart.
She could not comprehend how a woman could claim to love and understand a man, then hurt him with such calculated words, not to mention blindside him at the lowest point in his life. "It's obvious Laura was looking out for number one, but why do you have to be so hard on yourself?" she asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
She climbed onto Vaughn until she straddled his hips. She wanted to get in his face and force him to discuss his greatest weakness. "I want to know why you call yourself stupid and belittle yourself over something which you had no control," she stated.
"Because I'm quoting Laura's words, sweetheart," Vaughn informed her. "And there's no sugarcoating her version of me. When we agreed on a divorce settlement, she said she'd turn the restaurants into an even bigger success than I ever could since she could read the fine print."
"Bitch," Annabelle said, defending Vaughn. She leaned down and planted a kiss on his mouth. "Laura's the one who sounds like an idiot," she murmured, nibbling on his lips.
"Mmm. I've come to realize that." He wrapped his hands around her neck and held her head in place while he deepened the kiss.
His tongue lazily traced circles on her lips until she parted and let him inside, the kiss quickly turning hot and heated. She loved the feel of him beneath her, his body hard and aching as he took control of both the kiss and of her. Her body melted, molding to his, but she knew they weren't finished talking yet. Until they'd wiped Laura's painful words from his mind, he'd always block a part of himself from her in order to prevent himself from being hurt again.
"Why do the police think she's a possible suspect?" Annabelle asked, pushing herself upward so she could talk and think rationally, something she couldn't do when Vaughn was kissing her senseless.
He exhaled hard and forced his eyelids open. "It seems her businesses are failing."
Annabelle clapped her hands together with glee. "Oh, that's rich! I love it," she said, laughing.
"Pardon me?"
"Don't you see?"
Vaughn scowled. He didn't see anything except a woman he desired more with each passing breath sitting on his straining groin and making him talk about his ex-wife. The one thing guaranteed to kill any erection. "Don't I see what?"
"The woman who accused you of being stupid and unable to read the fine print ran the business into the ground. Success or failure has nothing to do with reading ability, Vaughn. And you of all people should understand that. But in case you don't, Laura's just given you proof."
He shook his head, amazed at her insight. "Good point," he said, then gave her a suggestive smile.
"Now I think we can let the police follow up, don't you?"
She nodded. "Which leaves us free to do…other things " A hopeful note rang in her voice.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Other things that don't involve talking,"
"I like the sound of that."
Within seconds he had her flipped to her back, their positions switched. He glanced down. The jersey had hiked up her thighs revealing a hint of lace and expanse of skin that had him drooling.
Suddenly a saucy glint sparkled in her eyes and she stretched her arms above her head, deliberately, slowly, arching her back and pulling the hem of the jersey upward, inch by tantalizing inch.
"You're a tease," he said, his voice gruff with desire.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
Unable to resist her blatant dare, he slid downward, placing his hands on her thighs. Never breaking eye contact, he eased her legs apart and watched her tremble.
He took immense satisfaction from knowing he had this effect on her and it made him want more. He wanted to make her climax and watch her as she came. He had a hunch the vision, would be enough to make him follow suit.
He bent over and, hands still holding her thighs open wide, he licked his way up first one inner thigh, then the next. Her muscles shook and her hands clenched the sheets at her side.
It wasn't enough. He eased her panties down her thighs, revealing a blond triangle of hair and dewy moisture. Moisture he'd caused. He inhaled her essence and inched closer.
"Vaughn-" She turned her head from side to side, yet she remained open for him, waiting for whatever he'd do next.
"Relax, baby." He exhaled, blowing on the swollen folds of her sex.
Her hips jerked off the bed and she let out a low moan. "You really don't play fair."
He chuckled, though the noise sounded strained with desire. "Since you're not really the opposing team, let's see what I can do to change that."
"Hurry," she said, drawing out the single word.
So he dipped his head and began to torture her with long, slow laps of his tongue. First up, then down, then up again, until he latched on to the full nub and teased gently with his teeth. Her body began to shake and tremble, the muscles in her thighs contracting around him.
"More, Vaughn." She thrust her hips upward, a silent plea backing up her spoken desire.
A desire he wanted to fulfill, but his own body was near to bursting. He held his breath, then tried counting backwards from one hundred to distract himself and his body begging for relief. It didn't work, the need to thrust his hips forward and bury himself deep inside her was overwhelming.
But so was the urge to watch her come, to know he could control her response as she enjoyed his ministrations. Lord knew it'd been forever since he'd cared about a woman's pleasure. Oh, he'd always wanted to make a woman come but that was ego. This was about Annabelle and how deeply and easily she responded to him. This was about making Annabelle all his.
He thrust his tongue deep inside her hot, wet body and when she moaned in sheer pleasure, he caressed her outer folds with his fingertip, then inserted his finger deep inside.
Her inner muscles clenched around him and his body couldn't take it anymore. And obviously neither could she. "I don't want to come unless you're inside me," Annabelle pleaded, her voice cracking, her body racked with tremors that felt good but didn't quite take her up and over.
To hell with wanting to watch. He needed to be an active participant. Vaughn had never shed his jeans and boxers so quickly. Shaking with desire, he came over her and looking into her eyes, he thrust deeply inside. In, out, and all the while she milked him, drawing out of him every last drop of passion, and emotion as well.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ANNABELLE TOOK BORIS for a walk around the lodge grounds, admiring the landscaping along with the expanse of land Vaughn owned. She paused by the tree where she'd had a picnic with Nick and settled in, releasing the leash and letting the dog run free and get enough exercise so, with any luck, he'd pass out later on.
Two days had passed since Lola's ultimatum to Yank and her subsequent departure. Her uncle had remained, sulking and finding excuses to call the office and Lola, though Annabelle knew Lola wasn't giving in on her ultimatum. But with her sisters both away on business, Annabelle had nobody to talk to back at the office to find out what was really going on. All of which left her to focus on her current job and her life here in Greenlawn.
Since Mara had followed up the promotional mailing with an e-mail offer, calls were coming in accepting the free night and confirming holiday reservations. True there'd been a fair share of cancellations from people not willing to risk not having a place to go for vacation, but according to Mara, most of the calls praised Vaughn and the summer program. They were all too willing to take a chance on Vaughn's lodge, and of course the free night incentive helped.
In addition, the electrical damage was nearly fixed, thanks to the crews working double shifts. All in all, things were looking up and Annabelle had just one more suggestion for Vaughn before she returned to New York. In fact, she could probably return home soon, but a desire to make the most of her time here stopped her from suggesting an early departure.
Closing her eyes, she too easily recalled the last few nights with Vaughn. He had obviously decided his hands-off policy wasn't working for either one of them, and the nights they'd shared ha
d been spectacular. The stuff of fantasies, Annabelle thought.
Waking up safe and secure in his arms after a dreamless sleep was nothing short of pure bliss. Careful, she warned herself. Short-term was still the rule of the day. Falling for the lush, green landscape of the lodge or the big empty house that begged for a woman's touch wasn't part of the deal.
Time to focus on business. She whistled and Boris came running. She scooped him into her arms and headed back to the main building. She was about to walk into the office when she heard the laughing and hushed voices of Nick and Mara, and from the sound of things they weren't working.
Not wanting to interrupt, she turned away and bumped directly into Vaughn's solid chest.
"Whoa." He grabbed her forearms and steadied her, while Boris scrambled to escape confinement in her arms in exchange for licking Vaughn's face.
"Guess you'd better take him," Annabelle said, laughing.
She handed him the pooch and he grabbed him awkwardly, clutching Boris around his middle so his legs dangled and his head bobbed as he tried to get closer to Vaughn.
Annabelle shook her head. "I don't know which one of you is more pathetic. Here. You hold him like this." She adjusted Vaughn's large hands so he held Boris' bottom in one palm and supported him with the other.
"I've got his butt in my hand," he grumbled.
The dog squirmed up and licked his face in reply. Next thing Annabelle knew, Vaughn let Boris snuggle into his chest as he cradled him in his arms.
She grinned. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now, I wanted to talk to you."
He stepped around her. "Then let's go inside."
"No!" She cleared her throat. "I don't want to interrupt Nick and Mara," she explained. "I think they're…busy."
"Aaah." He nodded in understanding. "Then let's take a walk and talk?"
"I just came from doing that, but you can never get too much fresh air in the summertime." She tipped her head toward the exit. "Let's go."
They took a different route, this time toward the parking lot. Since Boris refused to go down, Vaughn was forced to hold him while they walked. Annabelle couldn't help but notice his discomfort with the dog, though he had come a long way since he'd yelled at her in front of her apartment building about bringing the animals.
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