The tattoo. How could she have forgotten about it? Maybe because this was the first time anyone other than the artist had seen it. And she hadn’t realized that letting someone see the tattoo would feel like exposing herself.
She started to pull away. “You don’t like it?”
He tugged her closer. “I do... I do...it’s just...it’s a surprise. I wouldn’t have imagined.”
His tone had held a note of wonder, along with...amusement? Was he laughing at her?
“Maybe it’s like you said. A surprise.” She lifted one shoulder. “I got it after Elliott was born.”
“What is that symbol?” He pulled her lace panties off and continued to explore.
“It’s Japanese for ‘dream.’” A delicous shiver raced through her at the touch from his callused fingers.
Something flickered in his deep blue eyes. “Thank you.”
“For getting a tattoo?” How was she supposed to follow this conversation when he was doing all these distracting things to her?
“For allowing me to be the first to see it.”
“My pleasure,” she said, but it came out more like a groan.
“No, but let’s hope this is,” he growled and lowered his head.
He teased her with his tongue until she was crazed with need. When he finally stroked the spot that had been begging for attention, she buried her hands in his hair. She bit off the cry when the wave of pleasure hit her.
“That was...” she trailed off, savoring the moment. For once, she was more than any of the labels others had foisted on her—foster child, accountant, single mother.
He looked up and grinned smugly. “I’m glad.”
She frowned. “But you still have your pants on. Aren’t you...?”
“Oh, I most certainly am,” he said and shucked his pants off along with a pair of gray boxer briefs. “And you are, too.”
“Again?” She shook her head. “No, I’ve never...”
“Then I need to rectify that.” He dipped his head and captured her mouth.
He kissed, stroked and explored her body, making her feel not just feminine but desired and special. When he had worked her into another frenzy, he ripped open the foil packet. Nudging her entrance, he moved slowly as her body adjusted to him. Another gesture that made her feel treasured. He set a rhythm that had her climbing toward another release. Was that even possible? He put his hand between their bodies and found that sensitive bud. Not just possible...inevitable.
“Yes, please.” She writhed and twisted on the mattress, the sheets clutched in her fists.
One last powerful thrust and they simultaneously fell over the edge.
They lay entwined as their breathing slowed, his fingers making lazy trails across her bare skin.
“You’re very talented,” she whispered.
His expelled breath blew wisps of hair across her forehead. “And you’re a dreamer disguised as an accountant.”
“Number crunchers can have dreams, too.”
“Tell me your dreams, Mary,” he coaxed and tightened his arm around her.
“Why?” She brushed her hand across his chest, enjoying the way the crisp hair felt against her palm. “Are you going to wave my magic wand and make them come true?”
His blue eyes darkened and her pulse picked up at his sudden intensity. “I would if I could.”
She walked her fingers up and down his chest. “You do have a wand...not sure how magical it is...”
“Challenge accepted.” His voice rumbled in his chest. “I will have to demonstrate again how magical my wand is.”
Again? She giggled, feeling carefree and just a bit reckless.
A frantic cry came from the other room.
“I give him kudos for impeccable timing.” Brody sighed and kissed her forehead. “Do you want me to get him?”
She shook her head and reluctantly swung her legs off the bed. “No, but thanks.”
With a furtive glance at him sprawled on the bed, she picked up her clothes and quickly dressed. She was going to need time to look at their situation logically and seeing Brody with Elliott would cloud the issue. Sex, even mind-blowing sex, wouldn’t magically change Brody’s opinion of long-term relationships any more than her dollar-store wand would. But time might help, just as time would heal the crow’s wing.
* * *
Brody had escaped the house and sat in his office in the barn. He balled his hand into a fist when he caught sight of his reflection in the blank computer screen. What had he done? Relaxing his hand, he tunneled his fingers in his hair and tried to think logically. They were both adults who’d acted on a mutual desire.
Yeah, was that how your father justified himself?
He jumped out of the chair, and it rolled away. With a muttered curse, he moved it out of the way as he paced. He wasn’t his father, with a wife and son who might get hurt by his actions. And Mary wasn’t an employee. She was educated and not dependent on him for an income. As a matter of fact, she had a job with potential and—
He snapped his fingers as an idea formed in his head, and he rummaged through his desk drawers until he found a tape measure. Grabbing a pencil and notepad off the desk, he left the barn and went to the bunkhouse.
* * *
A week later, Brody hurried through his morning routine in the barn. He and Mary had settled into a comfortable pattern of spending time together during the day and making love at night. Simply thinking about Mary had his body reacting.
After finishing up in the barn, he let himself into the kitchen. Mary looked up from the baby cereal she was mixing. As usual her smile stopped him in his tracks.
Elliott also looked up and squealed. Brody chuckled, getting a charge out of the baby’s reaction. A month ago it would have sent him running for the hills, but the baby’s happiness and delight at everything was hard to resist. Elliott had inherited Mary’s enthusiasm, drawing people to him.
“Hey there, big guy, your mom tells me you have a tooth.” Brody hunkered down in front of the high chair. “Wanna show it to Uncle Brody?”
Elliott shook his head. Something he’d started doing, no matter what anyone asked him.
Brody reached under the food tray and tickled his foot, sending him into spasms of irresistible baby giggles. “Aha, I see it.”
Mary laughed and brought the cereal bowl to the table. “You were up early.”
“I had some things to do.” He tried to sound casual, but his heartbeat had kicked up, so he went to the sink and washed his hands.
She began feeding Elliott. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” He took his time drying his hands.
“There’s something else going on. You get a little sparkle in your eyes when you’re pleased about something.”
He did? So much for keeping his “spy skills” after leaving Delta Force. Or was she that attuned to him? And if so, how did he feel about that? The idea that she might be able to read him was unsettling.
“Well?” She glanced up. “Are you going to tell me or keep it a secret?”
“I may have something I want to show you.” He hung the towel back on the rack.
“What is it?” She paused with the spoon partway to Elliott’s mouth, and the baby scowled at Brody, as if knowing he was the cause of his mother’s inattention.
Brody hitched his chin toward Elliott. “Your son is waiting for that spoonful.”
“And you’re avoiding answering my question,” she said but spooned the cereal into Elliott’s open mouth.
Brody pulled out a chair with his foot and sat. “I’ll show you after he’s finished with breakfast. He needs his strength to push those teeth out, huh, big guy?”
Elliott shook his head, and they both laughed.
Mary scraped the bowl and spooned up the last of the cereal. “Let me wash his fa
ce and give him a bottle. Where is this thing you need to show me?”
“Outside.”
She wiped Elliott’s face and hands before handing him a bottle. “The sun is shining, so it can’t be another space station.”
“There is no other space station,” he teased.
She clicked her tongue. “You know what I mean.”
He stood and tapped his fingers on her shoulder. “Hurry.”
She slid out the tray and pulled Elliott out of the seat.
“Here, give him to me.” Brody reached out and took Elliott, settling him on his hip. Then he reached for Mary’s hand with his free one and led her outside.
“Where are we going?”
“I want to show you what I’ve been doing in the old bunkhouse.”
“You said you were just cleaning it out and using that as an excuse to give Kevin and Danny some odd jobs,” she said as they walked the short distance to the building.
“True. But that’s not all.” He stopped by the door and dropped her hand while he fished a key out of his pocket.
“A key?” She seemed startled. “But you don’t even lock your house. Why are you locking this place?”
“I didn’t want you to stumble in here and spoil the surprise.” He opened the door with a flourish then stepped aside so she could go in first.
Mary blinked as she glanced around. She frowned as she took in the home office he had made.
“I know it’s a ways out of town, but you’ll be able to meet with clients if you want.” He pointed to a desk and computer station he’d set up. “And there’s a bathroom down the hall. I cleaned it up some but thought you might like to decorate it.”
She turned to him, her eyes wide. “You did all this for me? I don’t know what to say... Tha-thank you.”
What the...? Sure, she was saying all the right things, but she wasn’t excited...not the kind of joy she’d displayed when he agreed to take the calf or when he helped her with the crow. He’d known her long enough to know when something pleased her.
His chest squeezed, threatening to cut off his air supply. She wasn’t bouncing.
He glanced again at her feet planted firmly on floor. Why did he bother trying to please other people? He hadn’t ever been able to do anything to please his parents, so what made him think he could please Mary?
“And that’s not all.” Maybe this would be what she wanted. He tugged her hand and pulled her toward the farthest end of the building, where there was a kitchen. He hadn’t planned on this part, at least not yet, but maybe this would please her. “This part could be turned into living space. It’ll be a while before it’s finished, but I thought you might like your privacy.”
“Privacy?”
He nodded and glanced around. “I can turn this into an apartment for you and Elliott...if...if that’s what you wanted.”
“Oh.” She licked her lips.
Maybe she wasn’t seeing the potential. “I know it doesn’t look like much now, but it’s still a work in progress.”
“It’s...it’s...” Mary bit her bottom lip. “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble. I... I could’ve found some place in town.”
“I know it’s not as convenient as an office in town, but rent might eat up your profits.”
“I see,” she said.
He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat and couldn’t. What had made him think she’d be happy staying on the farm? Staying with him?
* * *
After putting Elliott down for his morning nap, Mary wandered through the empty farmhouse, her footsteps seeming to echo on the hardwood floors. As much as she loved the place, it felt barren without Brody. He’d ridden off on Patton several hours ago. Exercise or avoidance?
You knew this was fleeting. It’s your own fault for falling in love with the farm. And with its owner.
She couldn’t deny it any longer. She’d fallen in love with Brody, a man who said he didn’t do long term, a man who didn’t do complicated. Elliott’s biological father was Brody’s estranged half brother, a fact that could never, ever change, no matter how much she or he might wish.
Had Brody decided to put her in the bunkhouse before or after they’d made love? She’d thought the desire had been mutual, but maybe she’d been fooling herself. Like you did with Roger? No, she argued with herself, this was different. She understood now—after it was too late—that she hadn’t taken the time to get to know the real Roger.
Brody proved in so many ways he was capable of deep compassion, and yet he locked himself and his heart away here on the farm. He cared for the animals, expecting nothing in return. He’d come to the hospital and opened his home to her and Elliott. And he’d bonded with Elliott. Brody wasn’t dispassionate. She’d bet he cared too much and that frightened him.
Could she show him, prove to him that loving someone was worth the risk?
* * *
“Brody?”
Brody grunted as he draped the saddle onto the sawhorse and turned to face Mary. She lingered inside the door to the barn, uncertainty apparent in the way she stood, the way she worried her lower lip. He’d ridden Patton, trying to let his anger and frustration run its course. “Yes?”
“Could we talk for a minute?” She rubbed the fingers of one hand over the back of the other.
“Right now? I’ve got a lot of things to take care of.” Like putting off hearing how she wasn’t happy here, how she wanted to leave.
She swallowed, her neck muscles working. “Elliott’s down for his nap, so it’s a good time for me.”
Might as well get this over with. Putting off the inevitable never accomplished anything. He strolled into his office and pointed to the chair next to his desk. “Sure. I suppose my stuff can wait.”
God, he sounded like a petulant child.
Mary followed him into the office but didn’t sit. She paced back and forth instead. “If you needed us to leave, all you had to do was ask. I am through staying places I’m not wanted.”
“I—wait, what? Leave?” Where was this coming from? He wanted the opposite. That’s what this whole futile exercise had been about—getting her to stay on the farm. “I didn’t do it because I want you to leave.”
She stopped pacing and faced him. “Then why? Why do you want to put us out in the bunkhouse?”
He ran a hand across his mouth and sighed. How was he supposed to explain it without sounding like an arrogant ass? “I...oh, hell, I may as well come out and just say it. I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“Obligated?”
“I...” He tunneled his fingers through his hair. “Obligated because I was letting you live here.”
“But aren’t I paying my share? I’ve helped out with groceries and working with the animals. Did you want me to chip in more money? I can... I’ve gotten a lot of work from Randall. More than I expected.”
“You’re paying more than your share.” Talk about making a mess.
She frowned and shook her head as if trying to make sense of what he was saying. “Then what?”
“I didn’t want you to think I was expecting sex in return for...for anything.” I want you to come to me free of obligation.
She blew out her breath. “You must have a low opinion of me if you think I’d sell myself for a couple of lobster rolls at the café. I am worth a heck of a lot more than that.”
“No, Mary, wait!” He reached for her before she could get away. With his hands resting on her shoulders, he turned her to face him. “This is coming out all wrong. This was all me. I wanted to be sure you felt on equal footing with me. I didn’t want you to regret it later or for you to think I assumed anything because I had all the power.”
“What makes you think you have all the power?” She looked at him as if he’d sprouted horns. “I can leave anytime I want. I have enough money to support m
yself, and I have new friends here who are willing to help. Meg told me the cottage next to theirs is available if I needed a place. Her brother is going to be renting it while he’s helping Riley with the addition to their home, but he isn’t going to be able to come yet.”
His heart pounded in his chest. Had she been looking for a place to rent? “Were you thinking about leaving?”
“Only because I thought you wanted us to leave.”
“I don’t want you to leave. I’ve enjoyed having you here and getting to know Elliott.” There. He said it. Yeah, but you left out the part about falling head over heels. He was still shying away from giving his feelings a name.
“Okay...” Mary said. “That’s what you don’t want...what is it that you do want?”
“What about some simple fun?”
Something flickered across her face and disappeared before she tilted her head back and eyed him. “Fun? What does that mean?”
Pulling her closer, he lowered his head and kissed her. Her mouth was soft, pliable under his, and he nibbled at her fuller bottom lip. Finally lifting his head, he said, “Does that answer your question?”
At first she looked a little shell-shocked, but a smile soon spread across her face, lighting her eyes. “Elliott usually sleeps for at least an hour or two during his afternoon nap.”
Her breathless tone wreaked havoc with his senses, swamping him with need. Without another word, he scooped her up and carried her into the house, not stopping until he reached the top of the stairs. He hesitated for a moment. Glancing down at her, he grinned. “There’s a new box of condoms in my room.”
Chapter Ten
“So I’ve been doing it wrong all this time?” Mary asked from the doorway of her office. The two weeks since he’d shown her his surprise had flown by and today Brody was using a laser level to mark a spot on the wall behind her desk. Her plan had been to pick a spot, hammer in a nail and hang the framed photograph of a sunset on Loon Lake. She’d fallen in love with the rich colors, and once the local photographer had explained the process of creating high-dynamic-range digital photographs to her, she knew she had to have the picture.
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