There was no illusion of a happily-ever-after here. He was a temporary man who would be gone in a week, and at the moment that felt okay. Maybe he was just what she needed to ease back into a life open to romance, a way to close her old life and grasp a new one that might include the possibility of romance.
She’d always done everything safe in her life. She’d married her childhood sweetheart; she’d tried to be the perfect wife and mother. Since Johnny’s disappearance she’d made all her decisions based on hard facts and what was in the best interest of Macy and the business.
But at this moment she felt like doing something risky, something just for herself. She wanted to have sex with Sam Connelly. For one night she didn’t want to feel like an overworked business owner; she didn’t want to feel like a mother; she wanted to feel hot and desirable and all woman, and she knew Sam was just the man to make her feel that way.
When she left the bathroom she half-expected Sam to be gone, but he stood just inside her bedroom like a sentry on duty. She stopped in front of him, her heart beating rapidly.
She knew she should feel self-conscious standing before him in nothing but the cotton shift and panties, but as his eyes narrowed and she sensed a new tension roiling off him, she felt nothing but desire for him.
“I made an exception the other night to kiss you, and now I want to make another exception for you,” she said. She reached up and placed a hand in the center of his chest, his skin radiating warmth through the fabric of his T-shirt.
“What kind of an exception?” His voice sounded deeper than usual.
For a single wild moment she wondered if she’d misread him, if perhaps she’d mistaken the desire she saw shining in his eyes sometimes when he looked at her, if she’d misread the signals she’d thought he was giving off.
She ignored the sudden trembling inside her, a symptom of uncertainty, a fear of rejection. “I never sleep with my guests, but I’d make an exception tonight with you.”
She knew she’d shocked him by the flare of his eyes and the fact that he took a step backward from her. “Daniella, you’ve had a rough day. I don’t want you making a decision now that you’ll regret later.”
“You’re right, I’ve had a rough day, but I’m thinking as clearly as I’ve ever thought in my life. I want you, Sam. I know better than to wish for a lifetime with you. I know you’re only going to be here another week and you have a life of your own. I just want tonight in your arms.”
He took a step closer to her and reached out and touched a strand of her hair and then cupped her cheek. “No expectations? No regrets?”
“None,” she replied.
“In that case, I thought you’d never ask.” As he took her into his arms and kissed her with an intensity that stole her breath away, Daniella recognized that he was probably going to break her heart if the person who was after her didn’t succeed in their sick plan first.
Chapter Seven
Sam didn’t want to think about mistakes. He knew he was probably making one, but he didn’t want to think about anything other than having Daniella naked and panting in his arms.
He needed to believe her words of assurance about knowing the score, because he wanted her more than he’d wanted any woman in a very long time.
When the kiss ended she moved to one side of the bed and pulled back the blue-flowered spread, then slid beneath the sheets. She looked beautiful in the soft glow from the lamp on the nightstand.
A vacation hookup, that was all he was looking for, and she said that she understood that. He wanted desperately to believe her. He walked to the other side of the bed and pulled his wallet from his jeans. He had a couple of condoms inside. For him safe sex had always been the only option.
He placed the wallet on the nightstand and then pulled his shirt over his head, aware of her watching him. He sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes, then took off his socks. Standing once again, his hands went to his button fly as he held her gaze with his. “At any time if you change your mind all you have to do is tell me. Everything stops if you want it to, and no hard feelings.”
She laughed, and he wanted to capture the sound of it to take back to Kansas City with him, a memory he could enjoy when the darkness got too intense. “I’m not going to change my mind, Sam. I want you.”
“And you have no idea how much I want you,” he replied. Her declaration lit a fire in him that had him out of his jeans in seconds. Clad only in his briefs, he joined her in the bed as she reached out and turned off the bedside lamp. The room was plunged into a darkness broken only by the intermittent flashes of lightning outside the window.
He gathered her into his arms and easily found her lips for another kiss that quickly had him at full arousal. It would be easy to take what he needed, fast and furious, but that was not what he wanted.
Aware that it had been a long time since she’d been with anyone, he wanted to give her a night to remember. He wanted to take his time and give her as much pleasure as possible.
Her hands smoothed down his back as the kiss continued, exploring and sensually stroking. Her body was hot beneath the cotton nightgown, and her sweet scent filled his head.
His mouth left her lips and traveled down the length of her neck, nipping and tasting her as her fingers dug slightly into his back.
He slid his hands from around her to caress the front of her, lingering over her breasts where the cool cotton warmed quickly and he could feel her erect nipples through the thin fabric.
She gasped slightly at the intimate touch but encouraged him by softly murmuring his name. Rain continued to pelt the windows along with an occasional burst of lightning and the low rumble of thunder.
Sam took it slow, kissing her deeply, stroking the length of her and fighting his own desire for instant fulfillment. It was she rather than he who grew impatient with the barrier of clothing between them.
She pulled away from him and sat up. In one smooth, graceful movement she swept her nightgown over her head. At that moment a flash of lightning gave him a visual, and his breath caught in his chest at her beauty.
She removed her panties, as well, and as she moved back into his arms, her bare breasts against his chest only managed to further enflame him. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured, as he nuzzled her neck.
“You make me feel beautiful,” she replied breathlessly. “But I’m naked and you aren’t, and I want you naked, Sam.”
God, he loved a woman who knew her mind and wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted. He kicked off his briefs, and this time when they came together it was all hot bare skin and breathless sighs.
He slid down her body to capture a tip of her breast in his mouth. As he teased the turgid nipple with his tongue, she tangled her fingers into his hair and moaned with pleasure.
Caressing slowly down her stomach with his other hand, he felt her tension as he finally found the core of her heat. She gasped again at the intimate touch and arched up to meet him.
Her excitement fed his own, and it was all he could do to control the urge to crawl between her thighs and take her in several deep, long thrusts.
Not yet, he told himself. He didn’t want to give in to his own need yet. Instead he focused on her, on moving his fingers to find the specific spot that would bring her the most pleasure.
It took only moments for her to respond to him. She whispered his name once again, her voice filled with tension as he increased the speed, the pressure, of his touch.
“Oh,” she moaned, as her entire body stiffened. “Oh, yes.” A deep tremor overtook her as she moaned deep and low in her throat. Suddenly she went limp and gasped with a laugh of sheer delight. “That was amazing.”
“We’re not finished yet,” he replied, and took her mouth with his.
As they kissed she reached down and grabbed him, her fingers circling his hardness. Her touch electrified him, and when she moved her fingers up and down, stroking his shaft with sweet intent, he knew he couldn’t stand it a min
ute longer, that he had to have her now.
He rolled away from her and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand. His fingers shook as he pulled out one of the condoms and quickly ripped the package open. It took him only a moment to have the condom in place and then he turned back to her.
She was ready, and she opened her legs to welcome him. He moved over her and slowly entered her. She sighed his name as he closed his eyes against the wild sensation of her tight heat.
Nuzzling her neck, he began to move his hips against hers. Her hands grasped his shoulders as he stroked in and out, lost in the pleasure, lost in her.
As his movements increased in rhythm he found her mouth once again and the kiss was wild, frantic with need and something else—an emotion he didn’t want to analyze.
When his climax came it washed over him like thundering waves, crashing through his entire body.
When it was over he collapsed to the side of her, his breaths beginning to slow with each minute that passed.
“I’ll make an exception for you any day of the week, Mr. Sam,” Daniella said.
He released an uncharacteristic laugh. “That was fairly amazing.”
“You rocked my world. You made my toes curl,” she replied.
“Glad to be of service.” He slid out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom.
“Sam?”
He paused in the doorway and looked back in her direction.
“You are coming back, aren’t you?” There was no levity in her voice.
Normally this was the time to cut and run. No time to cuddle or murmur meaningless sweet talk. No sense hanging around once the deed was done. But once again that alien emotion that he didn’t want to examine rushed through him. “Yeah, I’m coming back,” he finally replied.
When he returned to the room he slid back into the bed and she came immediately into his arms. She laid her head against his chest and released a sigh of obvious contentment.
“Tell me about Kansas City. I’ve never been there before,” she said.
“It’s a nice city. Big enough to have everything anyone would need yet with a small-town feel.”
“Did you grow up there?”
“Born and raised there.” He stroked a hand down her silky back as she snuggled closer against him.
“Do you own a house there?”
“Nah, I rent an apartment. It’s nothing fancy, furnished minimally. I’m not there enough to have it feel like home.” He frowned. He hadn’t thought about it before, but he hadn’t felt like he’d had a home since he’d been a kid, and even then his home had grown increasingly fraught with the whisper of danger.
“You’ve made a nice place here for Macy to grow up,” he said.
“Thanks. It’s a delicate balance, seeing to the needs of all the guests and making sure Macy doesn’t suffer from it. Thankfully she is outgoing and enjoys meeting new people. She has definitely taken a shine to you.” Daniella’s words were coming slower and her voice was filled with drowsiness.
“I haven’t spent much time around kids, but she seems pretty special.”
“Hmm, special,” she murmured in response.
Within minutes he knew that she was sound asleep. Her breathing had the long, steady rhythm of the exhausted. He realized the storm had passed. Rain no longer beat against the windows, and there was an absence of thunder.
The scent of Daniella filled his head, that sweet fragrance of a floral perfume coupled with sleeping woman. She could be the exception to his rule. If he decided he wanted a relationship with a woman, Daniella would be the woman he would choose.
But he wasn’t breaking his rules. Just because he’d slept with her and it had been amazing didn’t mean he was the right man for her. He wasn’t the right man for any woman.
He slid out of bed and padded naked to the window, where he peered out into the night. A sliver of the moon was visible through the thinning clouds, and even through the window he could hear the deep croak of happy bullfrogs from the lake.
Contentment filled him, a strange contentment that he’d never felt before. He thought about the past week that he’d spent here, and he realized he’d found happiness in a jar of fireflies and a little girl’s laughter. He’d found joy in Daniella’s warm smile and the light that shone from her pretty eyes.
If he allowed himself, he could be happy in a place like this, with a woman like her. If he permitted him self, he could see himself opening his heart to accept whatever was offered to him here.
But he wouldn’t allow it. He refused to permit it. The best thing he could do for Macy and Daniella was walk away from them. They deserved the best and that wasn’t him.
He turned away from the window and crept back to the bed, where he got in next to the sleeping Daniella. She turned toward him and placed a hand on his chest, still sleeping peacefully. The gesture spoke of trust, of an easy intimacy that brought a knot to his chest.
Somebody wanted her. Somebody wanted Daniella enough to attempt a kidnapping. And if Sam was right that person had already committed murder.
He was torn between his need to escape Daniella and Macy before they got too deeply into his heart and the desire to protect Daniella against the danger he felt growing closer with each minute that passed.
Hopefully Lexie would call the next day with some background information on some of the players, and hopefully that information would make clear who presented the danger to Daniella.
He released a small sigh. She’d reeled him in. There was no way he could walk away from here in a week if nothing had been resolved.
He had to see this through. This was what he did—catch monsters. And there was a monster out there with his eye on Daniella. Sam would stay until that monster was caught and then, no matter how difficult it was, he’d walk away from here. Because that was what he did best of all: he walked away.
DANIELLA AWOKE SUDDENLY, unsure what had pulled her from her sleep. It took her only a minute to realize it was Sam. He was obviously in the throes of a bad dream.
“No,” he muttered as his legs thrashed wildly beneath the sheets. “No…stop!” His voice grew louder. In the dawn light she saw his features twist in an expression of horror.
“Sam,” she said gently, and laid a hand on his tense shoulder. “Sam, wake up.”
He bolted upright, eyes wide open in alarm. He stared at her as if she were a specter from his nightmare landscape. His chest rose and fell with each quickened breath.
Recognition filled his eyes and he swiped a hand down his face. “What time is it?”
“Almost six. You were having a nightmare.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Tension still rode his shoulders, and his eyes remained slightly haunted.
“You remember what you were dreaming about?” She wanted to stroke her fingers across his forehead, curl up next to him and hold him until the dark haunting left his eyes and the tension eased from his body.
“Yeah, I remember. It wasn’t so much a nightmare as a memory.” Some of the tension left his shoulders as he once again rubbed a hand across his jaw.
“A memory about what?” She placed her hand on his forearm and slid closer to him.
He hesitated a long moment. “About the day my father shot my mother dead and then tried to shoot me.” His words were flat as he held her gaze.
Shock rivuleted through her, a shock she tried not to show. “How old were you when this happened?”
“Fifteen.” He finally broke eye contact with her and stared to the opposite wall of the room. He appeared lost in his thoughts, and she could tell by the look on his face that those thoughts weren’t pleasant.
“Was your father mentally ill?”
A rough bark of laughter erupted from him as he looked at her once again. “No, he was just a brutal bastard.”
She squeezed his arm. “Tell me about that day.” Maybe if he talked about it he wouldn’t have his nightmares, she thought. Maybe it was something he needed to talk about.
“There isn�
�t a lot to tell. I got home from school and found my dad in the kitchen with my mother. He had a shotgun pointed to her head and told me he was going to kill her and then kill me.”
“Had he done something like this before?”
“Nothing that extreme, but he could be a violent man, especially when he drank, and he drank a lot. Usually he just raged, slammed things around and cussed. That day was different. He seemed unnaturally calm and focused. He told me what he was going to do and then he did it. He shot my mother in the head, and as the shotgun turned in my direction I dove into the living room and then ran out the front door.”
His muscles beneath her fingers grew taut once again as he continued. “I heard the blast of the shotgun as I ran, and I finally hid behind a tree in the neighbor’s yard. They’d heard the gunshots, too, and called the police. When the police arrived they discovered that my mom was dead and so was my father. He’d apparently killed himself after I ran away.”
“Oh, Sam,” she said softly, and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned into her as a weary sigh escaped him. She couldn’t imagine what kind of scars had been left inside him by the experience, but she wished she could heal them all by her willpower alone.
He pulled away from her and offered her a tight smile. “It’s over and done and just a little piece of my past that haunts my nights sometimes.”
It was obvious by his tone of voice that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He kissed her on the forehead and then got out of the bed. “I’d better get out of here and back to my own room before somebody sees us together and we start a small-town scandal.”
She smiled. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a scandalous woman.”
“Stick with me, honey, and you’ll find out.” With these words he left her room.
She stretched, reluctant to get out of the bed that smelled of him. As she thought of what they’d shared before they’d gone to sleep a sweet warmth suffused her.
It had been everything his kiss had promised, hot and sexy, and utterly amazing. Her body still retained the imprint of his. Eventually that would fade, but she knew the imprint he was leaving on her heart would take far more time to forget.
Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon Page 9