by Linda Kage
Boston stuck his foot in the jam just in time. "Ellie. We need to talk."
"I don't want to talk to you," she said and was totally horrified when a sob seeped out.
"You can't run from this," he murmured, his voice a little too coaxing for comfort. "We need to figure out what we're going to do."
At the moment, she hated him for acting so rationally. She still wanted to rail, and scream, and cry. How dare he make her feel even more unhinged with his calm, collected demeanor?
" We're not going to do anything," she growled, putting more weight into trying to shut the door. But the man must have an iron foot. He'd didn't budge.
"I can't just turn around and leave, El."
"Yes, you can. You've done it before."
He sighed. "Will you at least let me come in to apologize?"
She cracked off a harsh laugh. "You don't want to apologize."
"Yes, I do. My mother was right. I didn't think today.
I...hell. I guess I assumed you already knew I was taking her to Chuck E. Cheese's. Please believe me when I say I never meant to scare you...or your neighbor."
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"Apology accepted," she said quickly. "So, now you can go."
"Ellie, I'm not going to leave. Not this time."
"Then what do you want?" she said with a shaky voice.
"For starters, I'd like you to stop crying."
"I'm not crying," she muttered and wiped at her wet cheeks.
She could actually hear his amused smile. "There's more than an apology I need to give you," he murmured. "I had my sister Helena work up a custody agreement today. She's a lawyer too."
For a moment, Ellie stopped breathing. Custody agreement?
"I...here," he said, sounding suddenly uneasy. There was a sound of crinkling paper, and then a legal sheet was thrust through the three-inch crack in the door. "We wouldn't have had the problem we did tonight if we'd come up with some kind of agreement. So, look it over and tell me what you think."
Ellie spent a minute just staring at his hand, the same long, talented fingers that used to touch the most intimate parts of her body but were now handing her a legal battle.
Slowly she reached out and slipped the sheet from his grasp.
Her chest physically hurt as she dropped her gaze to the document. After glancing over it, which was fairly easy for her since she worked in a law office and understood such forms, she lifted her eyes.
"Every weekend?" she uttered. "You want her every weekend?"
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Why didn't he just demand one of her lungs? Actually, those might not be such a difficult organ to give up. At the moment, the damn things seemed to be malfunctioning; she found it nearly impossible to breathe.
Blue eyes peeked through the open slit. "I thought that was more than fair. You'd still get her a majority of the time."
"But every weekend?" Ellie repeated in horror.
"What?" Boston demanded. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's just that weekends are the only chance I really get to spend time with her," Ellie argued even though she knew that was a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Showing any kind of weakness to Boston was bad.
"Well, that's a whole hell of a lot more than I've ever gotten to spend with her, now isn't it?"
"But...she only met you yesterday," Ellie reasoned. "She doesn't know you well enough to—"
"And just whose fault is that?" he shot back. "If you hadn't lied to me, I wouldn't be some stranger who—"
"Oh, you wanted to go, Boston. Otherwise, you would've stuck around long enough to know there was a baby. You—"
"I left because you ordered me to go!" he roared. "Do you think I wanted—"
"I know exactly what you wanted," she cried out loudly in order to be heard over his yelling. "And it had nothing to do with me. Now get out and leave us alone."
Before she realized what was happening, Cassidy came charging into the living room. Ellie jerked in surprise. "Cass—"
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Wet hair swinging behind her and her long nightshirt hanging down past her knees, Cassidy bulldozed her way toward Ellie.
"Leave him alone!" she screamed, flying forward. She pushed Ellie in the stomach with all the strength she had, making Ellie lose her grip on the door, and causing Boston to spill inside.
Surprised, Ellie leapt back and blinked rapidly. If Cassidy had pulled out a gun and shot her, she couldn't have felt more hurt and betrayed. Horrified because tears immediately filled her throat, she could only stand there and gape as her child laid into her.
"This is all your fault," Cassie snarled, her eyes full of lethal accusation, making Ellie feel exposed and ripped open as her daughter pushed on her stomach again. "If you'd just told him about me all along..."
Cassidy would've gone on and on, but surprisingly Boston was the one to stop her.
"Hey, hey," he said softly and crouched next to the nine-year-old, taking her face in his hands. "Let's not get mad, okay? Why don't I tuck you in? I want to tuck you into bed again. Okay?"
Cassidy blinked at him. The tension in her face slowly eased, and she finally nodded. "Okay."
Boston gave a slow smile. "Good," he answered and straightened, reaching for her hand. He cast an unreadable look Ellie's way before walking their daughter down the hall.
Unable to stay in the living room where his cologne still lingered, Ellie paced to the kitchen and wilted into a chair.
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She shook so hard, her fingers jerked uncontrollably as she covered her mouth.
Cassidy was the only person she had left. That little girl was her life, her only family, her very soul. Ellie would be nothing if Cassie left her. And to have Cassie so mad at her...someone might as well stab her in the stomach and drag the knife across her abdomen.
It felt like she'd just sat in the chair when Boston strode back down the hall. Ellie popped to her feet. He paused when he saw her.
"Thanks a lot," she growled.
He frowned, clearly confused. "What?" he asked. His expression added, What'd I do?
"That's the second time today you've played the good guy, and I had to star as the wicked witch."
His body went taut as he tightly answered, "Hey, it's not my fault you fill the role so—" But he broke off before he could finish the insult.
Blowing out a breath, he ran a hand through his hair and glanced down the hall, quietly saying, "Look. I'm going to leave that form here." He nodded toward the custody arrangement. "And let you think about what would work best for you."
"I don't have to think about it," Ellie hissed just as quietly.
"You can't have her every weekend." God, she didn't want him to have Cassie at all.
He sighed, long and low. "Then what do you suggest?"
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Never was the immediate response Ellie wanted to give.
She didn't want to part with her daughter, even for one day each decade.
But she licked her lips and diplomatically answered, "I could settle for one weekend a month."
"One weekend a month?" he sputtered. Then he instantly calmed and glanced down the hall as if to make sure Cassie hadn't heard him. Turning back, he whispered harshly, "Fine then. One weekend a month. And for the first nine years I've lost with her, you owe me two hundred and thirty-six days.
I'll just take those now on the other weekends I'm not scheduled to have her."
"Well, then you owe me sixty thousand dollars for ten years of child support," Ellie shot back.
That caused him to pause. Tilting his head thoughtfully, he murmured, "Hmm. I calculated a hundred and twenty grand.
But..." He shrugged. "Do you want that in
one lump sum or monthly payments?"
She glared at him for calling her bluff. "I don't want your money. I want my daughter every weekend."
"You're already getting her during the week. Two out of seven days sounds pretty freaking practical to me. You still have the majority."
"Look, Law Boy, I can't be away from my daughter that often. It's just not possible."
"Well, then thank God this isn't about you. And don't call me Law Boy anymore. You only did it because you thought it annoyed me, but all it ever did was turn me on."
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Ellie gasped and took a surprised step back. Unconsciously her gaze went to his crotch. She was utterly bowled over to find his pants stretched tight over a huge bulge.
Boston gritted his teeth, turning so she couldn't see the proof of his attraction. "But guess what," he growled. "That part of my anatomy doesn't make the ultimate decisions in my life anymore. I don't care what my dick wants. I don't even care if you're willing... I'm not interested. I'm still pissed at you. And I want Cassie every weekend. Personally, I think that's being more than fair. It's not like I'm asking for full or even evenly split custody."
"Well, it's impossible," Ellie answered. "And I'm not just thinking about myself. Cassidy's life is here. Her friends are here. She has activities and ball games on weekends."
"And I have a car. I know how to drive. If she has somewhere to be, I can take her just as easily as you could."
"Oh, come on. You're not going to want come all the way back to Lawrence for a—"
"Right about now, I'd go to Italy to get her a pizza," he boomed, advancing until he'd neatly trapped her in a corner.
Ellie gritted her teeth and only had to glance at his face to see just how true his words were. He would do anything for Cassie, which made her jealous. There'd never been a point he would've done anything for her.
Instantly upset because he'd never loved her how she'd always wanted him to and even more pissed because he'd caused her to experience such a petty feeling as jealousy, she had this irrational urge to slap at him until he bled.
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Unaware of just how close he came to bodily harm, Boston blew out a breath and spiked his hands through his hair.
"Don't fight me on this, Ellie," he said, restraining his temper and once again talking in a hushed voice. "You don't want to take it to court."
Her face drained of color. "Once a month," she repeated firmly.
He was silent, studying the way her hands shook. She couldn't hide her bubbling, erratic emotions at all, and she hated that.
"Every week or we take it to a judge," he reiterated.
Trapped between him and the counter and needing more space, Ellie jerked by, turning her back to him as she moved.
But the space was so narrow, she grazed him, making him suck in a breath.
He leapt backward as if she'd just struck him with lightning. She frowned and was about to ask him what his problem was when she remembered the bulge. Lips parting, she lifted her face.
Boston ground his teeth and spun away from her. Shoving his hands through his hair yet again, he groaned to himself, "I need to get out of here."
Though she fully agreed, Ellie couldn't help but feel a spurt of satisfaction at the overwhelming effect she obviously had on him. It was nice to know she had a little power there, when she didn't anywhere else. It was even nicer to know she wasn't the only one here affected by the other's presence.
"Will you please just sign the agreement so I can leave already?" he asked from between gritted teeth.
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Ellie glanced at the legal form she'd tossed onto the counter. Every weekend really wasn't the worst thing he could've demanded. But, still. Every weekend? The very thought of being away from Cassie that much made her skin clammy and moist.
"No," she said, unable to meet his eyes.
Though she didn't dare look his way, she could feel him glare. He was so quiet she could only guess what kind of dirty gesture he was making. But in a surprisingly calm voice, he said, "If I asked for more, and we took this to court, I'd get it.
This isn't an unreasonable offer, Ellie. It's not like I'm trying to take your daughter away from you for nine years or anything."
She lifted her face. He stared at her intently for a moment before he said, "This isn't over." Then he turned and started from the kitchen only to jerk to a stop at the doorway.
As he slowly came back around, the strangest sensation dropped heavily into the base of her stomach. The way he looked at her, thoughtfully yet a bit savagely, like a lion right before pouncing on its prey, made her skitter a step back, her butt ramming into a knob on one of her kitchen drawers.
"What?" she said.
He gave a single, brief shake of his head. "I just realized I was running away because I was afraid of my attraction to you."
She swallowed, only to realize her throat had gone dry.
As he advanced a slow, meaningful step forward, she reached back to clutch the corner of the countertop for support. "So?" Her voice was unsteady and her eyes huge.
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"So...we're going to see a lot of each other in the years to come. Whatever decision we accept on child support, Cassie is still going to tie us together for the rest of our lives. I refuse to let you intimidate me every time I'm around just because we have a sexual past."
Her eyebrows rose. " I'm intimidating you? Oh, please."
Even his slow smile was predatory. "It wasn't always bad between us," he said, creeping close enough Ellie had to lift her face to meet his gaze.
Her breathing escalated and her nostrils expanded as she dragged in his all-too familiar scent. God, why did he have to smell so delicious?
"And every time you take your shirt off around me," he continued, "or press your ass against my erection, I'm bound to remember just how satisfying those not-so-bad times used to be."
Scowling, Ellie opened her mouth to argue each of his points. It hadn't been her intention to turn him on or drudge up any bittersweet memories either time, and the bastard knew it.
But Boston merely lifted his hand and set his index finger on her lips, hushing her. "I don't care if they were accidental incidences or not. They're still playing havoc on my concentration. And my judgment's going to be skewed until I get past this. But...if I could convince myself you're not as good as I remember, I'm sure I'll be fine, and we'd finally be able to discuss whatever we need to discuss in a more professional, unaffected manner."
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"Just what are you suggesting, Boston?" Ellie said, gaping.
"That we have sex one last time to get it out of our systems?"
His smile bloomed into a half chuckle. "That would be nice, sure. But I doubt we'd have to go as far as that."
"Then?"
Grin falling, he turned all business in the blink of an eye.
"A kiss. All it'll take is one kiss. Then I'll know it's only in my head."
"Oh." Ellie's shoulders loosened and she tilted up her chin.
"Well, in that case...go ahead." She was amazed she could act so casual about it when the idea of him pressing his mouth to hers made her heart thump hard against her ribcage.
Boston looked similarly amazed. Instead of dipping his head and pressing his mouth to hers, he lifted his eyebrows.
"Well, aren't you a little too willing to comply." Leaning even closer, he whispered, his breath caressing her lips with each word he uttered. "Let me guess. You're having the same disturbing memories."
"No," she rushed out her answer. She wanted to shove against his chest to give herself some room. But she refused to let him know how much his proximity affected her, though, damn it, the gli
nt in his eyes made it clear he already suspected.
"I'm just worried Cassie will notice and get scared if you keep going around...half cocked like you are."
He grinned. "Half cocked? Cute pun." Reaching out, he wrapped a piece of her hair around his finger, growing 129
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fascinated with the ringlets her locks made as he slid his finger free.
To keep herself from smacking at his hand and giving away even more of her apprehensions...and desires, she snapped, "Can you just get it over with already?"
His surprised blue eyes met hers. "No." His grin smoldered, hot and languid. "I have to do this right or it won't work."
She sighed and closed her eyes. "Whatever." Tilting her chin up again, she prayed he wouldn't notice the way her pulse ticked heavily against her throat. "Take all the time in the world then. I don't care."
"You have to kiss me back too," he argued. "Or—"
"I said fine," she grit out.
After a moment, nothing happened. Then he spoke. "Open your eyes."
Though she didn't want to, she found herself following his order as her lashes flickered apart. "Why?"
"I want you to know who you're kissing."
Like she could forget. Ellie watched him warily as he licked his lips and shifted close enough to crowd her against the kitchen cabinets...cool wooden doors at her back; hard, hot Boston at her front.
"Ready?" he whispered.
"Yes." Damn it, would he just do something before she imploded?
Suddenly, there he was. He slanted his mouth down—no hesitation, no pausing to think it through, just steady determination—and their mouths connected. She let out a sob 130
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of release, closed her eyes, and bowed her back until her breasts pressed against his chest.
He groaned deep in his throat and cradled her face with both hands, pressing his thumbs against the apex of her jaw as if to force her mouth open in case she tried to reject the push of his tongue. But rejection was the last thing on her mind. She sucked the wet warmth between her teeth and drew from his taste, holding him tight, probably yanking out half his hair she gripped him so hard.
