by Jenna Harte
Lexie shrugged. “He has to find a job, I guess.” She handed her mother a glass of tea. “Do you want a cookie?”
“Are they the ones for Oliver?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll pass.”
Lexie smiled, remembering Drake’s similar response.
Her mother turned the glass in the palm of her hand and gave Lexie a pointed look. “So, what about you, Lexie? What are you going to do when this job is done?”
Here we go again. “Let’s go out to the sunroom, and you can tell me how I’m throwing my life away.”
“I don’t want to lecture you.” Her mother sat on the overstuffed couch in the sunroom. Lexie loved and admired her mother, which made it all the more difficult she couldn’t please her. Lexie’s mother was everything Lexie wasn’t: brilliant, beautiful, grounded, and tall. Or taller, at least. The only attribute they shared was their outspokenness, although her mother was always able to deliver her opinions in a way that didn’t annoy or offend, a skill Lexie had never mastered.
“But?” Lexie prodded her mother to finish her thought.
“Well, it just isn’t very smart to leave a good job to take a temporary one, especially in this economy.”
“We’ve been over this before. I was already thinking of leaving the hospital.”
“I don’t understand why. It was a good job.”
“But I didn’t like it.”
“Jobs aren’t to be liked. They’re designed to give you money so you can do things you like outside of work.” That was the practical side of her mother, another skill Lexie hadn’t mastered.
“Daddy likes his job.”
“Daddy tolerates his job because he’s happy everywhere else in his life.”
“I want a job that has meaning.” Lexie didn’t have an “everywhere else” in her life. And, with the way things were going, she didn’t expect to ever have an “everywhere else.”
“Helping sick people doesn’t have meaning?” Her mother’s voice was gentle. “Lexie, your hospital job helped so many people.”
“Not the way I did it.” Lexie liked helping people, but at the hospital, her work felt impersonal. Like an assembly line of administering medicine and taking temperatures. At least with Oliver, she believed she not only helped him medically but emotionally as well.
“So what are you going to do when Mr. Carmichael passes?”
Lexie shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”
Her mother let out a rare exasperated groan. She was the most patient person Lexie had ever met, though she would surely say that she honed her patience skills through parenting Lexie and her brother Mitch. The fact that her mother was showing signs of frustration was an indication Lexie was pushing the limits of her patience.
“Lexie, sugar, you can’t just wait and hope something will turn up. Did you talk to the hospital?”
“I told you I don’t want to go back there. Besides, everything is up in the air. I don’t know how much time Oliver has. I can’t give an employer a start date.”
“You could at least network. Honestly, Lexie, how will you support yourself when this job ends?”
“I promise you, Mom, I won’t move back home no matter what. Oliver is paying me extremely well.” And if it weren’t for her debts, she might be able to live on Oliver’s generous salary for a long time. As it was, her mother was right. She needed to have something lined up for once her work with Oliver was done.
Her mother frowned and waved Lexie’s comment away with her free hand. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I want you to be safe and happy.”
“You have your wish, Mom. I’m very content. I’m enjoying my work now. I stay busy, and I think I can help Oliver and his grandson.”
Lexie’s mom’s head tilted to the side, her eyes shining with intrigue. “Is he married?”
“Oliver?”
“No. His grandson.”
“Mom, I’m not going to marry his grandson.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, but you were thinking it. Since I’m a flake when it comes to work, I need to find a stable man to marry.”
“I’m not like that, Lexie, and you know it!” Her mother was miffed, and Lexie knew she had every right to be. Her mother wasn’t the type to believe a woman needed a man to make her life complete. Still, her mother believed in marriage and seemed eager to be a grandmother. If only Lexie’s brother, Mitch, would give up his hound dog ways, their mother could put the pressure on him.
“I want you to be happy. Not just in your work, but in your personal life. And I haven’t met a boyfriend in a while. You can’t let what happened with Bobby Lee stop you from finding a good man. He didn’t deserve you anyway. Someday, you’ll find someone special. Just like I did.”
“Mom, you may as well face it. I’m not the kind of woman men fall for. At least not in the long run.” Sure, Drake was interested in releasing sexual tension, but that wasn’t love and ever after.
“Now why would you say something like that?”
“My track record. Disastrous relationships and a failed engagement.” It didn’t matter that getting left at the altar was a blessing in disguise; it still bruised her self-esteem.
“Those men just didn’t appreciate you.”
“They didn’t appreciate my big mouth.”
“There is someone out there who’ll appreciate your candor and honesty, Lexie. I promise.”
At least her mother didn’t suggest she try and change. Lexie appreciated that. “Sure. Okay. Someday.”
“That’s right. Now, what’s this grandson like?” Her mother sipped the tea, her eyes glimmering with interest over the rim.
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Mom.”
“What? I’m just curious.”
How could she describe Drake without giving away that she had a crush on him? “He’s big and brooding. It would never work out between us.”
“Can I meet him anyway?”
“Now?”
“Why not. I’m here.” She sat back, as if she would stay for the day. Or until Drake showed up.
“He’s meeting with Oliver.”
A noise in the adjoining room made Lexie stop. She nodded to her mother and they walked back to the beau parlor. Drake stood at the desk with his back to them.
“Oh, is that him?”
He turned to face them.
“Yes, that’s him.” Lexie stood next to her mother, scrutinizing him. How much of her and her mother’s conversation had he heard?
“Great day,” her mother drawled. “He is big, isn’t he?”
Lexie studied her mom, hoping she wasn’t getting any matchmaking ideas. “Mom, this is Drake Carmichael. Drake, this is my mother, Nora McKenna.”
“How do you do?” Drake extended his hand.
“Very well, thank you, Mr. Carmichael. Are you enjoying your visit with your grandfather? It’s so good of you to come at this awful time.” Did Drake catch her mother’s subtle chastising that it had taken so long for him to come? Subtlety was another skill Nora McKenna excelled at that Lexie hadn’t mastered.
“I am. Thank you.”
“Will you be staying long?”
“Mom, look at the time. Daddy’s going to be home for lunch soon.”
Nora sent her daughter a knowing nod. “Well, look at that.” She glanced at her watch. “I don’t know where the time goes. I should be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carmichael.”
“It’s Drake, and the pleasure was mine.”
Lexie kept quiet until the door closed behind her mother. “Were you eavesdropping?”
He turned his back to her, shuffling papers on the desk. “No. But I did hear you in the other room and thought I should let you know I was here.”
“I see.” She didn’t believe him.
Drake glanced at her over his shoulder. “Your father comes home for lunch every day?”
“He comes home for sex. If there’s time, they have lunch.”
He gaped.<
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She rolled her eyes. There was no way Drake was a prude. Lexie imagined he’d had sex with many women, in many different places, in many different positions. “People over fifty do have sex, Drake. It’s a wonder my parents only had two kids the way they’ve always gone at it.”
“I can’t imagine any of my family members ever having sex. At least not with their spouse.”
She raised an eyebrow. “They had to, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“No one in my family can stand being in the same room, much less the same bed.” He said it matter-of-factly, a reminder to her that in his world, love and intimacy didn’t exist.
“It’s great having parents who not only love each other, but are in love with each other. I’ve come to realize what an anomaly that is. True love isn’t as easy as they make it out to be.”
“You’ve got that right.” He almost looked relieved that she didn’t believe in fairy tales.
Well, of course he wouldn’t. How could you believe in love when you never had it? Still, she was curious what he might say about romantic love. “You don’t believe in true love?”
“No.” He scoffed. “At least not for me. Someone like you might have a fighting chance.”
She shook her head. “I’m a dating disaster. In the end, my boyfriend pats me on the head and treats me like a kid sister or cheats.”
“Perhaps it’s your choice in men. Did you climb in their laps too?”
“You seem to have survived.”
She let out a gasp when Drake grabbed and pulled her hard against him. His steel gray eyes stared at her in hunger. “You really don’t know your effect on me, do you?”
Lexie had thought long and hard after her encounter with Drake on the porch and in the kitchen days before. She’d come to two conclusions: One, it wouldn’t be wise to get involved with Drake Carmichael. And two, despite his actions, someone like Drake couldn’t really be attracted to someone like her. He was sophisticated and posh. She was just a small-town, southern girl.
But she couldn’t explain away the things he’d said to her about wanting to relieve the sexual tension. Or how he’d nearly kissed her in the kitchen. And now, here he was holding her again, intensity rolling off him in waves she thought would drown her. His eyes were narrow and intent but also confused, as if he couldn’t figure out why he was feeling the way he was. Well, that made two of them. Lexie had no illusions of forever after with Drake, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to indulge in the excitement being near him evoked.
“Where’s Claire?” his voice rasped.
“I don’t know. Is that a problem?” Lexie’s fingers clung to his shirt to keep her from melting into a gelatinous heap.
“If she walks in, I’m not stopping.” His lips dipped closer to hers. His eyes dilated until she could barely see any of the stormy gray of his irises.
“Do you plan to start anytime soon?” She was about to go up in flames.
His lips crushed down on hers, filling her head with tiny exploding rockets. His tongue traced her lips and then pressed its way into her mouth. She groaned and slipped her tongue to dance with his. His kiss was hard, dark, and brooding just like him. But not cold. No, his tongue was hot as it made one long, slow sweep before he trailed his lips down her jaw to the sweet spot at the base of her neck. It should have tickled, but instead, it felt delicious. His tongue swept over her collarbone, but it could have been right between her thighs, the way heat and dampness pooled in her center.
His hand slid through her hair, cupping and tilting her head. He pulled her closer, his lips capturing hers again. She groaned and poured everything she had back into the kiss. She couldn’t breathe. No matter. She was willing to forgo everything as long as he never stopped kissing her.
Her hands snaked up his chest, his hard muscles quivering. She wanted to rip his shirt open to touch and taste his flesh. Instead, her fingers gripped his shirt as she kissed him, her tongue meeting his sweep for sweep.
His hands slid under her shirt, making her shiver. He brushed his thumb across her taut, sensitive nipple. She gasped and her body went pliant against him, willingly giving him whatever he wanted.
His hard, steel length pressed against her belly, and her hands itched to touch him, to drive him as mad as he was making her. She pushed her hips against him, and he groaned, pressing a hand on her backside, pulling her closer as he ground against her.
More, more! chanted through her mind. He banded his arm around her, lifted and started to carry her. As much as she thought she should stop him, all she could think about was getting naked and letting him do whatever he wanted and hoping she’d get the chance to do what she wanted in return.
He’d only made it a few steps in the parlor when, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. He set her down and stepped back. They stood, breaths ragged, chests heaving. She wanted to launch herself back into his arms, but the look in his eyes told her he was putting the brakes on. Why?
“For something that was pretty good, you don’t seem happy.”
“It was supposed to be a kiss. Just to get it done and out of my system.” He had that baffled look again.
The deliciously sensuous sensations evaporated into disappointment. “I see. So you had low expectations?”
“No. But it was supposed to quench the desire, not fuel it.” He dragged his hands through his dark hair.
“So you liked it too?” It didn’t make sense. If he was enjoying it, why stop?
He gave her an exasperated look. “We weren’t supposed to like it.”
“Then why did we do it?”
He shook his head. “Because the tension is too much. It should have taken care of the curiosity and then we could go on.”
She let out a shuddering breath as disappointment and confusion turned to humiliation. “So you were going to pat me on the head. ‘Good kiss, kid,’ like all the others?”
“That was nothing like the others.”
She wanted to think that was a good thing. But staring up at him, all she could see was anger and irritation. She was equal parts insulted and embarrassed.
“We should just leave it,” he finally said. “I don’t think either of us can afford to indulge…whatever this is.”
“Lust.” That had to be it. She knew he was attracted to her because she felt him hard as a rock pressed against her belly.
He nodded in agreement.
“You’re probably right.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. You only need to look at me to know I do. But—”
She held her hands up in defense, acquiescing to his wishes. “But it wouldn’t be smart. Got it.”
“Dammit, Lexie, this isn’t about your poor sexual ego. This insatiable need for you is distracting. I don’t indulge in whims, especially dangerous ones.”
“Dangerous? It’s just sex, not commitment, Drake.”
“I need to get some work done.” He was dismissing her.
“I should probably check on Oliver anyway.” She left him, chastising herself for letting him touch her. What is his problem? It had been his idea in the first place. So why had he pushed her away? And they say women are hard to understand.
Drake stood in the middle of the parlor and blew out a breath. He hated the hurt and disappointment he’d seen in Lexie’s eyes. For a moment, he considered chasing after her and finishing what he’d started. But what he’d started had quickly turned into more than he’d anticipated.
Although he’d discussed sleeping with her before, he’d really thought one kiss would sate the desire and he’d be able to move on. Instead, the more he kissed her, the more he wanted, needed. She fueled that need by giving in to him. Her skin was the softest he’d ever touched. Her breasts fit perfectly in his palms. And when she went pliant against him, all he could think about was getting naked and pounding away the unbearable need.
She was making him a slave to his need, and it was maddening. He resented her for it. It had taken all the resolve he could muster
to push her away. She’d called it “lust.” But he didn’t believe for a moment lust was all that was between them. It was part of if, but not all. Because lust really only hit between the legs. For Drake, whatever was going on was coursing through his veins.
Chapter Ten
It bruised her ego how easily Drake had been able to stop their interlude, but after two days of them avoiding each other, he’d been right. The fact he had the willpower to push her away proved that while he might be attracted to her, she wasn’t the type of woman he wanted. She was grateful he saved her the embarrassment of her reaction to him by ending his evening visits with her on the porch. She helped out by avoiding him as much as possible as well, which wasn’t easy since they were living under the same roof. She hoped the two days off she was about to take would put even more distance between them and extinguish the fire Drake lit to her libido.
As she had done every week since working for him, Lexie spent extra time with Oliver as she was about to go off-duty. Fortunately, Drake was nowhere to be seen, making her visit with Oliver pleasant, until he asked her the unthinkable.
“You want me to what?”
“Take Drake with you when you go out with your friends tonight.” Oliver had finished lunch, and his energy was fading, which meant naptime, and apparently strange requests.
“Why?”
“Because I want you to.”
“Why?”
“It’ll be good for both of you. I see how you are together.” He waggled his white caterpillar eyebrows.
“We don’t like each other.” That was partly true. Their hormones might want to play, but their personalities didn’t.
Oliver waved away her comment. “You only act like you don’t like each other, but I see all that sexual tension.”
“That’s irritation, not sexual tension.” She refilled his water cup, setting it on the over-table within his reach.
“Ha! I may be old, but I’m not dead yet. I’ve been around long enough to know chemistry between people when I see it. You could run the defibrillator on the energy that arcs between you two.”
Lexie rolled her eyes and tried not to think about how weird it was to have him trying to set her up with Drake. “Oliver, we have nothing in common. He’s big, brooding, and…and…well, I don’t think he knows how to have fun.”
