Chapter Seventeen
B
lake still rested inside her, and Cassie wished she could keep him there forever. Their bond seemed to strengthen in the tender aftermath. A bond she also wanted to keep forever.
Cautiously she kissed the ridge of muscle on his shoulder, rewarded when she elicited yet another shudder. When she moved ever so slightly, tightening her internal grip on him, he groaned.
“You’re going to kill me one way or the other, aren’t you?” He nuzzled the tender curve of her neck, lingering at the delicate shadows of her collarbones.
He started to ease himself away, but she reached for him in the same moment. “Stay.” Her silver eyes gleamed. “Please.”
As if he could deny her anything. As if he wanted to.
Staring into her eyes, he found them unguarded, shining with a promise he could only hope was real. When her eyelids fluttered shut in an unexpectedly shy motion, he kissed each one. When they opened again, he traced the contours of her face, his thumb lingering over the imprint of her lips, then reaching up to follow the line of her high cheekbones and the gentle curve of her neck.
Simply looking at her melted any bit of reserve he had left. She had completely and incredibly snared him. Not through design. No, her arsenal was far stronger than that. Far more lethal. Because she’d killed his doubt, freed his soul, letting him glimpse a glorious future. Dusting off his buried emotions, he felt a resurgence of hope.
Her hands were weaving whisper-soft caresses over his body, searching for sensitive spots and, when finding them, lingering, anointing each area. When she began nibbling a similar path, he felt himself harden. And saw the satisfied look of feminine power cross her face.
“I think you’re trapped,” he warned.
“I hope so,” she managed to answer, swamped by his slow, insidious movements.
He’d expected a protest about propriety, a reminder about the children in the other wing, the need to return to their own rooms. “There’s no reprieve in sight.”
She wound her arms around his neck, pulling his head down so that their lips grazed. “I hope that’s a promise.”
Unexpectedly, he rolled her over, deftly placing her on top. “I never break my promises.”
Throwing her long neck back, she reveled in the new-found sense of control, her face a mask of pure passion.
Moonlight spilled through the parted curtains, bathing her in an otherworldly glow as she sat atop him, her long, glorious hair streaming over her shoulders, tempting him with occasional glimpses of her breasts through the golden tangle. When he thought he couldn’t take more of her sweet torture, she threw her head back triumphantly, swinging her hair to glide over her back, allowing him full access.
Greedily he reached for those dusky peaks, then skimmed his hands over her rib cage to her sloping hips, reveling in each purely feminine curve. As his magnificent goddess sprinkled him with moondust, the stars swayed with the impact, seeming to topple in the midnight sky.
CASSIE TESTED her new capacity for hope and trust and found that they both held. It had been a week of new heights, new hope, new belief. It was as though the past that dogged her had finally let go its death grip. Relaxation penetrated a newer, deeper layer, one that had never before completely lost its wariness.
Cassie allowed herself to look at Kevin and the twins as more than just her charges, allowing them an even larger place in her heart. Although she’d secretly thought of them as her own for some time, now it was as though she’d been given permission to let that attachment show. She was tempted to pinch herself black and blue, yet it was still real, better than any dream.
The phone rang, interrupting her reverie. When she heard Blake’s voice, warmth infused her voice. “It’s the middle of the day. I’m surprised you found time to call.”
“I have to catch a plane tonight—to Paris.”
She fought the disappointment, trying to sound supportive. “Business beckons.”
“Come with me, Cassie.”
Excitement leaped for a brief moment, then faded. “D.J. and the twins have their play—the one they’ve been rehearsing for weeks. And Kevin’s big game is this Thursday.”
A muffled curse crackled through the lines. “Those
would
be this week. I had it all planned out—the Eiffel Tower, of course. The Left Bank, and the...”
“Champs Élysées,” she chimed in with him, wishing the timing wasn’t so bad. “I guess there’ll be other trips.”
“Since I have an office in Paris, you can guarantee it, but I wanted us to get away, just the two of us. You realize that between us we have six full-time interruptions? One of them’s always going to have something going on.”
“We could plan ahead, plan to go when nothing major is scheduled.”
He sighed, and she immediately caught the translation.
And when would that be?
She longed to shed her responsibilities, pack a bag and jump on the plane with him. But she’d been a mother too long for that to happen. “Oh, Blake, I
want
to go.”
“At least I can be sure you’ll keep those home fires burning. You’ve got quite a way with welcome-home greetings.”
She blushed, remembering her abandon, grateful she’d found the courage to shed her reserve.
Blake swiveled around in his desk chair, ignoring the crackle of aged leather as he stared at the open jewelry box in his hand. A round diamond solitaire winked back at him. It was a traditional engagement ring—one he thought suited Cassie, especially since he’d chosen to custom-design her wedding band with six matching stones, one for each child. Blake listened to Cassie as he eyed the ring ruefully. Paris
was
going to be the ideal place to propose. “Can’t talk you into the Champs Élysées?”
“Oh, Blake...”
Hearing the longing in her voice, Blake decided to let up on the pressure. She couldn’t prevent the bad timing. When he returned, he’d bring some frivolous bit of Paris back with him—along with the ring, of course. “I’ll make the trip as short as possible. You won’t even know I’m gone.”
He heard a quick, breathy sigh. “Don’t count on it.”
“And those home fires?”
She laughed—a deep throaty, sexy chuckle that had him rethinking the trip. “Might burn down the whole city.”
“I could cancel the trip....”
She laughed again. “And jeopardize a deal you’ve been working on for months? No. Besides, by the time you get back, those fires will have time to really heat up.”
Blake withheld a groan. He’d never dreamed how much Cassie would come to mean to him in such a short time. If they’d both been single, without entanglements, he’d have considered taking a longer time before making such a big step. But with their six dependents, all of whom needed a stable family situation, they needed to affirm their commitment.
“Cassie?”
“Yes?”
“If I talk to you any longer, I’ll combust before I board the plane.”
“Have a safe trip,” she replied and he could envision her tongue-in-cheek expression.
“Don’t scorch yourself,” he shot back, chuckling as he replaced the receiver. Thank God he could count on Cassie. She was steady as a rock.
CASSIE STRETCHED OUT on the chaise longue beside the pool, relaxing in the growing twilight. Blake had been gone less than twenty-four hours, and already she missed him desperately. She’d just finished twice the distance she usually swam, hoping to tire herself into oblivion, but it wasn’t working. Instead, she was remembering the night before he left, the time they’d spent together in the pool, hours after everyone else was asleep. Hours that defied any other time she’d spent in a pool. And she’d thought diving competition was exciting. How little she’d known.
Hearing footsteps approaching, she turned with a smile, wondering which of the kids was seeking her out. But her smile faded. It couldn’t be... it simply couldn’t...
“Cassie, my girl, in the lap of luxury.” The man whistled, low and long. “And it suits you, but then, I always thought it would.”
Cassie snatched a towel from the nearby table and started to rise.
“No, no. Don’t get up. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
Anything Tommy Brewster did was meant to disturb.
“What are you doing here?”
He placed one hand dramatically over his heart. “You wound me. Is that any way to greet an old friend?” He reached forward to touch her cheek, but she shifted away before he could. Shrugging philosophically, he took some grapes from the bowl at the table. “Nice digs, Cassie.”
“How did you know where to find me?”
Tommy laughed. “That’s a puzzler, isn’t it? You know your mother wouldn’t tell me, and you managed to escape Dullsville without even a hint of where you were going. No one had any idea where you moved. If Madeline and Ray Don hadn’t run into you, you might have stayed a mystery forever.”
The Gardners. Of course.
Tommy smiled again. “And Madeline couldn’t say enough about your new lifestyle.” His eyes lifted to take in the rich surroundings. “Can’t say she exaggerated, either. Looks like your time with me was just training for the big-time.” His gaze settled back on her. “She had a lot to say about your new boyfriend, too.”
Panic clutched at her, and every shred of faith that things would be all right dissolved. “Madeline didn’t know what she was talking about. Bla—Mr. Matthews is my employer. I’m the nanny.”
“Yeah.”
“No, really.” She spoke frantically, hoping to convince him. “He was one of my boarders in Twin Corners.”
“Then he knew all about your
hospitality?
”
Cassie recognized the anger as it fought with the panic she was feeling. “You’ve got it all wrong, but then, you always did.”
“When you were sixteen, you didn’t think so.”
“I was an idiot,” she replied flatly.
He glanced around again. “You’ve definitely moved up in the world, sweetheart.”
Cassie felt a slow burn at his casual assessment. “What do you want, Tommy?”
“You could work on that hospitality. Makes a guy think you’re not glad to see him.”
“Then a
guy
would be right,” she retorted.
“Maybe your new boyfriend will be more friendly.”
“He’s not here,” she blurted out. “And he’ll be out of the country at least another week.”
“Is that so?” His eyes roved over her bare legs, and she jumped up from the chaise, dropping the towel to grab a modest cover-up. “Don’t get all bent out of shape, sweetheart. Maybe we could renew our... friendship.”
“Why don’t you crawl back into the hole you escaped from? Our
friendship
then didn’t extend to what you have in mind, and it certainly won’t now!”
His easy grin dimmed. “And I thought we could handle this business real friendly.”
Long-nailed fingers of panic clawed her again. “What business?”
“The way I see it, you’ve set yourself up real pretty. And it looks like there’s plenty to share with your old partner.”
“I told you, I don’t have any money,” Cassie protested.
“Oh, sweetheart, the way I see it, you’ve got more than enough.”
Cassie fought the desperation bubbling inside her. “I told you. I’m the nanny here. I get a monthly salary, that’s all.”
“And there’s nothing between you and your rich boss?”
Although she tried to hide the truth, some of it must have flashed across her face.
“You never could play poker, Cassie. Just tell the boyfriend you need a...bonus.”
“I can’t.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to, Cassie. With your past, it’d be easy enough for him to believe you’ve just latched on to him for the money.”
“No, Tommy! Please!”
He studied her face. “Then get the money. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you how much.”
New belief turned into hopelessness. Even without hearing the figure, she knew she didn’t have enough money to satisfy Tommy.
Casually he reached into the bowl of fruit, pulling out an exotic ruby creme banana, careless of its value. “Don’t they have apples in California?” Not waiting for a reply, he peeled the banana and took a bite of the rare, exquisite fruit, as though it were a common orange plucked from a nearby tree. “I’ll be in touch, sweetheart.”
With a sickening lurch of her stomach, Cassie knew it was a certainty.
AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT and a morning that had had her practically snapping the children’s heads off, Cassie watched and waited beside a silent telephone.
When it finally rang, she yanked it up. “Yes?”
The line crackled—a bad connection. “That didn’t sound good,” Blake said.
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears not to fall. “I wasn’t expecting you.”