Total shock smacked her dead center.
My
man? Exactly what did that uncensored thought tell her?
“My pretty one.” Tim sidled up to her and took her hand. “Allow me to give you that tour now.”
“Uh, no, thank you.” As soon as she opened her mouth and tried to talk, she knew she’d consumed her wine too quickly. “I need to find Blake. We, uh—”
“I believe he’s busy at the moment.” Tim glanced at Blake and the blonde. “It’s rude of him to leave you alone like this. Allow me to keep you company.”
He placed his hand at the small of her back and tried to steer her toward the stairs.
She pulled away, her manner more determined than polite this time. “No, thank you. I prefer to stay here.”
“Oh, come on.” Tim became more insistent. “There’s no time like the present to take the grand tour.”
“The lady said no.” Blake clamped his hand on Tim’s shoulder. His firm voice left no confusion about his intention.
A startled Tim took a step back.
“Sorry, Blake. You seemed busy.” He glanced toward the blonde. “You deserted this delicious looking morsel so I thought I’d keep her company for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Blake’s stern expression said it all. He stood protectively in front of Vicki as Tim made a hasty retreat. Turning toward her, Blake’s voice and manner softened. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I might have had one too many glasses of wine. I ought to go home. You can, uh…” Vicki couldn’t help herself as she turned to look at the blonde, then back at Blake. “You can stay with your friends if you want.”
Even in her slightly impaired condition, she didn’t want to exhibit any signs of jealousy. She had no right to dictate what he could and couldn’t do regardless of her desires or her feelings for him. Jealousy was totally unacceptable. To admit jealousy was to admit her true feelings. It also used too much negative energy.
“Let’s take a walk on the beach.” He took her half-finished glass of wine from her hand and set it on the bar. “The fresh air will do you good.”
“You don’t need to take care of me. It’s all right if you want to stay. I can make it home okay. After all, it’s just next door.”
“I don’t want to stay here.” Blake took her hand. “I’ve already had more than my fill of this party. I’d much rather take a walk with you, then go home.”
“But won’t Tim be unhappy if you leave so soon?”
“Tim can go fuck himself. I saw the way he was hitting on you, trying to get you upstairs to his playroom. As soon as I got Susie’s silicone boobs pried off my chest, I came over here to pry Tim off of you.”
“Oh, I thought she was your friend. I remember her being one of your volleyball partners. So, I just assumed…”
“Well…” He flashed her a comforting smile. “You assumed wrong. She’s one of Tim’s playmates, not mine.”
“I feel so foolish.” She took a calming breath.
“Don’t.” He squeezed her hand and brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “Come on, let’s go.”
Blake kept hold of her hand and headed directly to the door leading to the deck. He shot one last warning glance at Tim before stepping outside.
He put his arm around Vicki and steered her out onto the sand. They walked along the edge of the water, with Blake encouraging her to take deep breaths of the clean ocean air to help clear her head and stave off the effects of her last drink. They continued to walk for about half an hour before returning home. Once inside, he offered to make coffee.
“No, I’m fine now. That fresh air did the trick.”
He kneeled next to where she sat on the sofa. “I owe you an apology.”
“Why?” She seemed genuinely surprised. “An apology for what?”
“I never should have left your side. It started with a conversation with a man I’ve known for several years. I thought it would be a few minutes, and by that time Tim had pulled you onto the dance floor. I thought I’d be free by the time the song ended, but the night turned into a game of tug-of-war. Every time I tried to get away, someone else dragged me into conversation. Tim’s a top notch attorney, but otherwise he’s a real bastard. And Susie…I couldn’t get her off me. She had those huge silicone melons shoved into my chest. I was about to tell her to fuck off.”
“Maybe I’m the one who owes
you
an apology for being responsible for you leaving the party early, or at least earlier than you wanted.”
“Don’t even give that a thought. You have nothing to apologize for.” He rose to his feet and held out his hand to assist her up from the sofa. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”
They climbed the stairs to the second floor. Blake wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to take advantage of her if she’d had too much to drink. Not that he would really be taking advantage. After all, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other from day one. They had fucked in every room of the house at all times of the day and night. Whenever and wherever the desire hit them. Every time he saw her, he wanted her more than the last time, and her actions said she carried the same desires. But still, he didn’t want her simply accommodating what she thought he wanted when she’d rather go to sleep.
He walked to her door. As much as he wanted to share his bed with her, he knew that if they did, then sleep would not be on the agenda. She looked tired. Beautiful, but tired. After helping her undress, he tucked her into her own bed and kissed her lovingly on the forehead. She had already fallen asleep.
“Good night, sweetheart,” he whispered, not sure he should allow the words to escape into the open. “I’ll see you in the morning. Have pleasant dreams.”
Blake turned out the light, quietly left her room, and returned to his bedroom. He quickly undressed and climbed into bed. He wanted to rip Tim’s head off when he saw the way the guy came on to Vicki and had attempted to herd her toward the stairs. Even though Blake knew he had no right to dictate who she should or shouldn’t associate with, no way would he have allowed her to go upstairs with Tim.
His thoughts turned to the future. And the future he saw included Vicki. He found himself thinking about things that as recently as a week ago were totally out of the question. The word
love
frightened him. He had loved his son very much, and that loss nearly destroyed him. Taking a chance again truly frightened him. He couldn’t bear the thought of giving his love and having something go wrong, of losing the person to whom he had given his heart. The thoughts and uncertainty swirled around inside his mind until he finally fell into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter Eight
As usual, Blake woke first thing in the morning. He made coffee, fed the cat, and cleaned the litter box. He wanted to give Vicki as much time to sleep as she wanted and needed. He brought in the Sunday newspaper and read it in the kitchen as he drank his coffee. The weather continued to be iffy, with sun one minute, clouds the next, and then periods of light rain. The forecast called for clearing that evening, followed by a warm, sunny week. He embraced the prospect of good beach weather and the chance to be outdoors.
After reading the newspaper, he refilled his coffee mug and carried it out onto the deck. He wanted to make his mind blank. To not concern himself with conflicting emotions. To not deal with what he’d come to recognize as a growing love for Vicki. Would his life ever become simple and uncomplicated? He couldn’t continue the way he’d been for the last two years, simply existing on a day-to-day basis and refusing to think about tomorrow. The future had seemed so bleak, without meaning or purpose.
But now… Suddenly, the world seemed to have opened up for him. He had someone to care about, someone to cherish. And yes, someone to love. He couldn’t deny it any longer. During the past week, against his most fervent intentions and in a shockingly short amount of time, he had ended up falling in love with Victoria Templeton—a woman with whom he seemingly had nothing in common other than hot and very satisfying sex.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of apprehension. What if something happened? What if it didn’t work out? What if Vicki didn’t love him the way he loved her? The possibility of taking a chance and having it backfire truly scared the hell out of him.
“I see you fed Ty-Ling.”
He turned at the sound of her voice. She looked well rested. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile enchanted him. He couldn’t stop the grin from turning up the corners of his mouth. “And the cat box, don’t forget to mention I cleaned the furry little beast’s bathroom. I want credit for all my good deeds.”
“Duly noted.”
She sat in one of the deck chairs, and he took the chair next to her. He studied her for a moment. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Mostly, I’m feeling foolish.” A hint of pink danced across her cheeks. “I think I owe you an apology. And, if I recall correctly, I wasn’t very polite to Tim, either.”
“You don’t owe me an apology, and you most certainly don’t owe Tim anything.” A bit of a scowl crossed his face. “He behaved like the rutting pig he is, and you politely rebuffed him like the lady you are. You have no reason to be concerned about anything.”
She turned to face him, uncertainty clouding her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Just as I’m also sure I haven’t said a proper good morning to you.” He leaned his face close to hers and captured her mouth with a kiss more tender and caring than sensual. A kiss that grew in emotional depth with each passing second. The only physical contact between them continued to be just their lips. Neither reached out to hold the other, yet the very air sizzled with heated energy.
“Hope I’m not intruding.” Tim’s voice brought Vicki and Blake to attention.
Blake scrutinized his neighbor with a practiced eye. The obvious signs that Tim spent the night in his playroom couldn’t be hidden, nor could his blood shot eyes and morning growth of beard. No question that he hadn’t been to bed yet. Or more accurately, hadn’t been to sleep yet.
“Isn’t this a little early for you, Tim? What do you want?”
“Uh, well…I have the impression I might have upset you a little bit last night.” His gaze shifted from Blake to Vicki. A touch of doubt darted through his eyes, accompanied by a bit of embarrassment. He returned his attention to Blake. “If I said or did anything you might have misinterpreted…well, I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I was merely trying to be a gracious host.”
“No harm done.” Blake’s flat tone said far more than his spoken words.
A blatantly ill-at-ease Tim awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I’d better get back home. I think there are still a couple of party goers sleeping it off upstairs. I have to get them out the door so I can catch a few hours sleep. I need to go into the office tomorrow. I’ll see you later.”
Vicki and Blake watched as Tim made his way next door. As soon as he entered his house, Blake turned toward her.
“Now, where were we?” He gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “Oh, yes. Now I remember.”
“Hi, Blake.”
He looked in the direction of the shout and saw Susie waving from Tim’s deck. She was dressed only in the thong bottom of her swimsuit with her bare boobs bouncing in the morning sunlight. Her blonde hair was in wild disarray, attesting to a night of wanton sex. Before he could say anything, she jiggled her way across the sand to his deck. When she drew close, he could see red bite marks around her nipples and several hickeys not quite covered by the front of her thong.
“You look like you had a busy night.” He arched a brow. “Don’t you think you should find the top to your swimsuit before you go prancing down the beach? You don’t want to get arrested for indecent exposure again, do you?”
“I don’t know where it is. I think someone must have stolen it.”
“Tim will help you find it. If not, get one of his T-shirts to put on.”
“I thought maybe you’d have something I could wear.” Susie eyed him coyly, ran the tip of her tongue across her upper lip, and thrust out her silicon chest.
“Sorry. You’d better hurry next door before Tim falls asleep.”
No mistaking the disappointment on her face and the practiced pout as she stuck out her lower lip. When she turned to walk back to Tim’s house, the sight that greeted Vicki and Blake nearly had them falling off their chairs as they tried to hold back their laughter. Someone had taken an ink marker to Susie’s ass cheeks and had written
I love to fuck
in large red letters.
Blake brushed a tender kiss across Vicki’s lips. “One thing’s for sure, they can’t get her for false advertising.”
“Maybe we should go inside before more of Tim’s party stragglers find their way over here. Besides, I need to refill my coffee cup.”
“Excellent suggestion.”
Blake followed Vicki into the kitchen. He refilled her cup, then gestured toward the newspaper.
“I’ve already read the morning paper, but I left it for you. I checked the movie listings to see what’s playing at the village theater. Would you like to take in a matinee this afternoon? There’s a mystery showing that’s gotten good reviews.”
“That sounds like fun. A late afternoon showing, then some dinner?”
“And in the meantime…” He stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed the side of her neck. “I didn’t have an opportunity to give you a proper good night before you fell asleep. So, maybe before the movie…”
“I knew there was something missing when I woke up this morning. My first clue—being in
my
bed. And my second clue—being there alone.”
Vicki leaned against his chest. Even though they’d made love yesterday afternoon, they had not made love last night or that morning, either. It had been all her fault, and she fully intended to make it up to him.
A sensual warmth spread across her skin when his hands slipped under her T-shirt to cup her breasts. They certainly weren’t as big as those jugs of Susie’s, but from all indications, Blake liked what she had to offer. And she liked it when he touched her. She liked everything about him. This kite flying beach bum with the sexy sun bleached streaks in his dark blond hair and no job was the same man who made her heart sing. The man with whom she might be falling in love.