Alex had become an excellent predator. He could assess his prey without anyone being the wiser. Except for the prey.
With a shiver, Harly glanced down the length of the table and yes, their gazes clashed instantly, his blue eyes catching the light and almost reflecting with a predator’s glint.
Damn her imagination. She smiled a little at him before looking hurriedly away. Did he know? How could he know? No one knows but me. Breathe hitching a little, she felt a flutter of panic. I’m being an idiot. He’s just changed, being in a place like Afghanistan would change a man or woman, seeing what he’s seen and experiencing what he’s experienced. He’s just learned to be wary, that’s all. That has to be it.
Regardless, she wanted to go home, back to her sanctuary, but leaving now was too suspicious, she’d worry Becky and Paul and her friends. No, she had to brazen it out, smile and nod, laugh and chatter, and make her escape when she saw it.
The evening seemed to stretch onwards indefinitely, but finally - sweet mother mercy, finally - people started to say their goodbyes and leave.
While Paul, Becky and Alex were seeing off the guests, she quickly placed the leftovers in containers and covered them with cling wrap before stowing them in the ‘fridge. The paper plates and plastic cups and cutlery were already in the bins and it was easy to simply tie the tops of the bags closed.
By the time she was washing the few dishes, Becky had returned and picked up the tea towel, enthusing as she did so, “What a lovely evening.”
“Absolutely.” Harly silently thanked God it was over and she could soon make her escape.
“Alex is still the same in some ways,” Becky continued. “Laughing and joking, though he’s a little quieter than he used to be.”
“Yep.”
“He studies people a lot.” Becky picked up a bowl from the draining tray. “I noticed that. He thinks before he speaks now, too.”
“I guess he’s learned to be careful.”
“I guess.” Becky sighed. “It’s sad that war continues. Religion, politics and greed, babe, the main causes of war. I hope Alex is careful over there.”
“I think he’s learned to be,” Harly returned dryly.
Becky gave her an affectionate shove.
“Learned to be what?” Paul walked into the kitchen with Alex right behind him.
Alex’s gaze touched briefly on Becky before sliding across to study Harly.
Harly turned back to the sink and pulled the plug, watching the water surge down while more than conscious of him watching her.
“Be useful.” Becky handed the bowl to her husband. “Put this away for me, would you, honey?”
“Honey.” Paul sighed as he weighed the bowl in his hand. “I only get called honey when you want me to do something.”
“It’s your reward.”
“I thought I was rewarded in other ways?”
“That’s how I ended up in this condition.” Becky patted her belly affectionately.
Paul leered. “No need to be careful now, is there?”
“You just put that bowl away.” Turning back to the sink, Becky shook her head, though she was grinning widely. “And be a good boy.”
Alex moved across to lean against the counter, his jean-clad hip right in Harly’s peripheral vision. He moved, his arms crossing, the flannel shirt brushing the tops of his thighs.
Once Alex had been gawky, all arms and legs with lean muscle, but those muscles were a lot bigger now. She swallowed, wringing out the cloth and placing it over the draining board.
“Alex was always the good boy,” Paul protested. “I was the bad boy.”
“The desperate one, you mean.” Becky flicked him on the chest with the tea towel. “Alex always had the girls chasing him. You had to chase the girls.”
“Not my fault they liked gawky, awkward Alex.” Slinging an arm around Becky’s neck, he kissed her cheek. With a wink at Harly, he added, “And the bullies all ran from his famous temper and habit of backing the under dog.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Alex drawled.
Harly turned around and looked at him, seeing the amusement in his face as he watched his friend tease Becky.
“I remember quite a few times I was staggering around, hardly able to see out of my black eyes.” Alex grinned.
“But you refused to go down.” Paul laughed. “Remember that big bastard, Howard?”
“Howie the Unmerciful?” Alex laughed as well, the rich depths of it sliding through Harly like warm satin. “Jesus, how could I forget? Had me flat on my back one time, I couldn’t see a thing, but there I was, flaying about with my fists and yelling threats. I couldn’t even get up!”
“But you weren’t going to give in.” Paul shook his head. “I waded in to rescue you and got a thumping for my efforts.”
“Yeah. Only the arrival of your older brother and his friends stopped it.” Alex’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “But we got Howie back.”
“Jumped him on his way home a couple of days later. Made him scream for his mummy. We were heroes to the town kids forever after.”
“Man, he was a monster of a kid.” Alex angled his head to one side. “Whatever happened to him?”
“Joined the Police Service.”
“You are shitting me.”
“Nope. Went off to university to get a law degree, saw his fiancée killed in a hit and run, and turned over a new leaf. He’s a cop now, top bloke, too.” Paul sobered. “Life has a way of sorting out people.”
“Yeah.” Alex’s gaze cut to Harly. “It sure does.”
Caught up in memories of Alex with the teenage girls vying for his attention, flirting and giggling, taken in by his charm and good humour, his intense gaze made Harly blink.
Paul, catching her startled expression, chuckled. “Memories. Right Harly?”
“Memories,” she agreed, pushing away from where she’d been leaning back against the sink listening to them reminisce. “Anyway, I have to get home.”
“Let’s go.” Alex straightened.
Her heart almost flipped right out of her chest as she stared up at him. “Huh?”
Pulling a set of keys from his pocket, he held it up in the air. “I’m your ride home.”
“Oh.” Alarmed at the thought of being alone with him, she looked at Paul. “Alex only just got here after a long trip. Surely you could-”
“It’s no problem.” He was right beside her, that damnably warm palm at the small of her back as he propelled her forwards. “Let’s go.”
Obviously seeing the reluctance in Harly’s eyes, Becky frowned in concern. “Harly? Are you all right?”
Instantly Alex stopped moving but his hand remained in place, seeming to burn through the thin material of her shirt. He was so close to her, the front of his thigh brushing her bottom, his body heat and male fragrance seeping into her, making her hands tremble a little.
How could she be so affected by him?
More than conscious of Paul watching her closely, his expression suddenly unreadable as he transferred his gaze to Alex partially behind her, Harly took a steadying breath and forced a smile. “I’m fine, honestly. Just worried about Alex putting himself out to take me home.”
“It’s not putting me out,” he replied. “Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”
That had Becky’s eyes brightening, Paul’s eyebrows rising, and Harly’s jaw dropping in surprise.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen you, Harly,” Alex continued in a pleasant tone, smoothly manoeuvring her across the kitchen and through into the hallway. “We’ve a lot to catch up on, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to you much during the evening.”
Somehow that didn’t reassure her, but it seemed to relieve her friends of their concerns, so what could she do but smile and keep walking as though everything was fine? Her guilty feelings were starting to surface, and the old prophetic phrase, be sure your sins will find you out, was tumbling around inside her head. But there was no hint of any
thing in Alex’s voice as he assured Becky he’d travel carefully and that no, he wasn’t tired. He laughed at a joke Paul cracked and then they were outside in the cool night air. Alone.
The house door clicked shut behind Alex as he steered Harly over to his Jeep and she stood silently as he unlocked and opened it, making sure she was settled in the seat before shutting the door with a firm move.
Watching him walk around the front of the Jeep, she bit her lip. This could all be nothing, she was fretting herself into a state over something he couldn’t know. He was simply Alex, a man she hadn’t met for sixteen years, a man changed and hardened by the life he’d chosen, that was all. He was being polite, taking her home and giving his friend a little time alone with his wife. Nothing more. She had to stop reading things into his actions that weren’t possible.
The driver’s door opened, Alex climbed in, fastened his seat belt and started the engine. Putting the Jeep in reverse, he backed out of the drive before putting it into gear and driving down the street. Flicking the heater on low, he settled back and drove with quiet efficiency.
The warmth relaxed her, but it also made her intensely aware of the man beside her. The warm air seemed to intensify his faint aftershave, and that clean male scent that was so uniquely his filtered through her senses.
Making her remember another time, that same unique male scent, those blue eyes filled with concern and warmth when he’d found her crying behind the PCYC. She’d refused to go back inside, refused to tell him why she’d been crying, and he’d taken her home, refusing in turn to allow her to walk by herself. Calling a taxi, he’d sat beside her as the cab wove its way through the streets. The warmth in the taxi, the silence between them, had been so similar. At home it had been empty and dark, her parents still out at the movies and not expected home for several hours.
Ever the gentleman, Alex had unlocked the door and gone in ahead of her, turning on the lights. He’d followed her into the kitchen and plugged in the kettle while she’d gone to the bathroom to wash her face, wiping off the make-up and smeared mascara.
Embarrassed to face him, she’d nevertheless pulled her shoulders back and returned to the kitchen to find him standing by the counter with two mugs of hot Milo. He’d looked at her, handed her a mug, taken the other one and slinging an arm around her shoulders, he’d steered her into the lounge to sit on the sofa.
And he’d waited in silence.
That same silence filled the car, and she now realised that Alex was good at using the silence to make a person finally blurt out things they normally wouldn’t reveal to anyone.
A predator waiting for the prey to reveal itself? Maybe. Or maybe just a bloke smart enough to know that patience revealed a lot of things. Whatever, she wasn’t going to fall for it. Imagination or not, her gut instinct was rearing its head again and it was warning her to keep her mouth shut, to reveal nothing, for silence was also safe.
However, that silence seemed to stretch forever, making her shift uncomfortably in the seat and shuffle her feet.
“All right?” Alex asked quietly.
“What?” She glanced across at him, unable to make out his features properly in the darkness.
“You’re restless.”
“Oh. No, I’m fine.”
“Sure about that?”
“Yes.”
He turned his head briefly and the passing street light picked out the blue glitters of his irises. “Absolutely sure?”
Uh-oh. “Yes. Why?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“A lot of things, but one thing in particular that has bothered me for awhile.”
“Oh?” Linking her fingers together, she raised her eyebrows.
“Yep.”
When he didn’t say anything further, she probed a little. “Care to share?”
“Not right now. I pick my times.”
Shit, that didn’t sound reassuring. “Pick your times?”
He didn’t answer, so she didn’t ask anything more, but her nerves were starting to jangle. Alex was speaking in riddles, revealing little things, but she hadn’t a clue what he was going to go for - something normal, or her jugular. She had to get out of the car and away from him.
“You can drop me off here,” she said casually.
He didn’t move a muscle, his gaze staying on the road. “We’re nowhere near your house.”
“I like to walk.”
“Not at night, and not on your own.”
“I’ve done it before.”
He didn’t hesitate. “No you haven’t.”
A little flicker of anger burned to life. “How do you know?”
“Because you’re not stupid.” This time he did glance at her again, one look from eyes that were narrowed, that much she saw in another passing street light. One brief, hard glance before he returned his gaze to the road again. “In some things, anyway.”
That stung enough to make her retort sharply, “You don’t know me, Alex.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I mean to rectify that tonight.”
That scared her. What, exactly, did he mean? She stared at him, but his profile revealed nothing as yet another street light flashed past.
Part of her wanted to stay silent, to sink back in the seat and pretend she hadn’t heard anything, but the mature side of her made her ask stiffly, “What, precisely, do you mean by that?”
“You’ll find out.” Flicking on the indicator, he steered the Jeep off the road onto the track leading to her house.
She straightened. “You can drop me here.”
“I’ll see you inside.”
She hoped that meant staying in the car but when he pulled up outside her house, he got out as fast as she did and met her at the front of the Jeep, where he held out his hand. He wanted her key.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“The key, Harly.”
Her heart was thumping a mile a minute and her hands shook. “No.”
Keeping his gaze on her, he took a step in front of her and moved forward.
Instinctively she retreated only to find the front of the Jeep nudging the backs of her legs. He’d deftly trapped her, the idea becoming reality when he leaned forward to place one hand on the warm bonnet while the fingers of his other hand slid into the pocket of her pants.
He was so close to her that she fancied the warmth of the car at her back almost matched the heat from his body.
Quickly she grabbed his wrist, stopping his fingers in their quest for her house keys. “Stop.” Breathless, she stared up at him,
His eyelashes, so dark in the glow from the outside light of the house, swept down to hide his eyes as he gazed at her mouth. The seconds stretched between them and she could feel his fingers against her, the thin material of her pants the only thing separating flesh from flesh.
So close, yet so far.
The thought shook her, the sudden, unexpected yearning hidden deep inside making her jerk back.
Closer he moved, closer still until his mouth hovered inches above her own and they were breathing almost in unison, only her breathing was ragged while his was deep and steady.
His lashes lifted, revealing the intensity of his eyes, the blue glitter almost mesmerising. He caught her gaze, holding her attention.
A movement at her hip, fingers moving fast, deftly snagging her keys deep in her pocket, his hand firm against her hip, then he stepped back and held up her house key. “Let’s go.”
Reality hit hard when he turned away. “Alex! No!”
“It’s cold out here, Harly. Now come on.”
She stared at his broad back as he crossed the small distance to the house and stepped up onto the veranda. Unlocking the security screen, he swung it open and unlocked the wooden door, stepping inside to flick the switch on.
Like he’d done sixteen years ago.
Only this time it was different, this time he wasn’t the comforter, this time he was the threat.
&nbs
p; Did it really matter? She blinked, her breathing still coming fast. What could he do, anyway? Besides, he hadn’t said that he knew, he hadn’t actually said it. Maybe this was something else entirely.
But she’d felt the simmering anger in him. If not what she thought, then why was he here? It certainly wasn’t to get to know her better.
“Come in.” His quiet order travelled clearly in the still of the night.
She lifted her chin. “Not until you tell me what you’re doing here.”
“It’s cold, Harly. Come inside.”
“No.”
He stood so still in the back glow of the hall light. “What are you scared of?”
“Nothing. Not you.”
“Strange answer. What makes you say that?”
Annoyance prickled through her. “I’m not going to play word games with you.”
“I never asked you to. I’m seeing you safely inside. You’re the one acting like you think I’m going to hurt you.” His head angled to one side inquiringly. “Is that it, Harly? Do you think I’m going to hurt you?”
“No.” That was truthful.
“Then why are you so afraid?”
“I’m not.” Liar.
Stepping down off the veranda, Alex closed the small distance between them with firm treads.
Swallowing, she watched as he came to a stop directly in front of her. She had to be careful, so careful…
Reaching out, Alex took her hand, his gaze shuttered. “Right now I just want you inside out of the cold. I’m not here to hurt you, Harly.”
The sincerity of his words rang with truth and embarrassment immediately swept through her. Embarrassment and relief. He couldn’t know, and maybe this was just his way now, hard and direct. All he’d said was that he’d meant to rectify not knowing her, that was all. She was reading too much into it, letting her emotions and long ago memories play havoc with her commonsense.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled up at him. “Sorry. I’m sorry, Alex. I just - you just threw me a little with some of your comments.”
“Really?” His thumb rubbed along the back of her hand before he suddenly changed his grip, clasping her hand completely in his and turning on his heel to lead her back to the house. “I wonder why that is?”
The Lawson Boys: Alex Page 4