She's Got Dibs

by AJ Nuest

  “Never.”

  And based on the vibrant shine in his gaze, he wasn’t merely talking about the bracelet. She bit her lip, and then tossed a hand in the air. “Okay, fine.”

  He swept her into his arms. “Good.”

  ****

  Critically eying her reflection in the mirror, Tessa adjusted the straps of her blue string bikini. She tugged on the cups, hoping to stretch them just a bit wider. The fabric barely covered the essentials. She turned to the side. Oh, seriously? If Gerald caught a glimpse of her, they’d have to call an ambulance. She shook her head, flung a towel over her shoulder and exited the bathroom.

  Dibs sat propped against the headboard of the bed, Hawaiian print swimming trunks tied at his waist, the morning newspaper shielding his face. He flipped the corner down, and then crumpled the paper to his legs. The weight of his gaze tracked her progress around the end of the bed. “Come here.”

  “No.” She scowled at him. “I’m going swimming.”

  He tossed the paper aside and beckoned her to the bed with both hands. “Come here first.”

  “No way.” She frowned over her shoulder and exited the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Her quiet laughter echoed down the hall as she sprinted for the stairs, the shock on Dibs’s face too priceless for words. She scanned the welcoming room in case of any unforeseen visitors, and then flew down the short corridor to the pool. With a toss of the towel onto one of the padded chaise lounges, she waded into the warm water.

  The plastic partition neared and she ducked underneath. The skin on her cheeks and shoulders tightened in the crisp mountain air. Thick columns of white mist wafted skyward before a vista of dense evergreens and rocky outcroppings, jutting like angry black scars through the virgin snow. Her hand met the wall. She grasped the edge and faced the partition, silently waiting within a wall of sizzling steam.

  A loud splash ruffled the water and she clamped a hand over her mouth, legs as still as possible, and then jumped when Dibs’s hands clasped her sides.

  He kissed her stomach and surfaced in front of her. “I can’t believe you’re so mean.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing lightly when he twirled her around. “Oh, you poor thing.” She combed her fingers through his damp hair. “I feel horrible for you.”

  His lips met her shoulder, his chuckle muffled and heated against her skin, rough cheeks a testament to all things masculine when they grazed her throat. He spun again and trapped her between his body and the side of the pool, captured her lips and darted his tongue inside. She met each of his eager strokes, dueling and tasting until he moaned and nudged her knees apart to settle between her thighs.

  Warm water churned between her legs. The cool air wafted across her wet shoulders. Dibs’s arms tensed, his muscles rigid under her palms. He grabbed the edge of the pool and thrust against her once, twice. She gasped when the delicious length of his straining erection prodded her sensitive bundle of nerves, wrapped her legs around his waist and wriggled harder against him.

  A gentle breeze whispered in her ears. The pool lapped at her shoulders. She fought the water to increase the friction, held tight to Dibs’s sides, and slithered down the steel length of him. A tremulous ache built inside her, spasmed, and coated her inner folds. He wound the lower string of her bikini top around one finger. A tug and the material withdrew up her breasts. His hands moved in, the pads of his thumbs swept her nipples. A slight splash broke the silence as he disappeared beneath the water. His lips brushed and suckled a tight peak, fingers plucking and tugging the other. A sharp intake of air filled his lungs when he surfaced and crushed his lips to hers, grinding his hips against her.

  He swept his fingers along the nape of her neck, yanked the top string. The fabric of her suit gave and sagged between them. She snuck a hand inside his waistband and stroked him from base to tip, again and again, urging him on. A deep shudder wrenched her body when he moaned into her mouth. Arousal sparked through her chest to her fingertips, tightened the insides of her thighs.

  She wanted him, there in the pool, while the warm water caressed, heightening her anticipation to a thrilling need.

  “Hello, David.”

  Tessa gasped and pulled back.

  Dibs snapped his head around, closed his eyes, and lifted his face to the sky. “What are you doing here, Mother?”

  Mother? Did he just say mother? Oh, God, no. Please, no. Alarm bells clanged wildly in Tessa’s head. Panic hammered in her chest as she repeatedly squeezed his shoulder until he met her gaze.

  “Don’t move,” she mouthed, dropping her focus to the top of her suit, pinned at a precarious angle between them.

  He cinched her tighter in one arm and nodded.

  “You said you were coming to Bernhamwood.” Mrs. Brenner snapped. “You never mentioned a guest.”

  Tessa briefly closed her eyes. If someone could please kill her…just kill her right now…

  Through the rising mist stood a statuesque woman in a dark dress and knee-length fur coat. A large waft of steam obscured her face, but the thick strand of pearls around her neck glowed in the mellow light, and dark blue pumps adorned her feet.

  “Well, you should have told me you were coming,” Dibs protested. “We weren’t expecting you.”

  “That’s fairly obvious, David.” One side of her coat flicked open and she placed a gloved hand on her hip.

  A moment of awkward silence stretched while Tessa desperately considered what to do. Retie her suit? No, that was a horrible idea. She’d end up thrashing around like a netted fish. And the less attention she brought to herself, the better. She clung to Dibs’s shoulders and prayed the mountains would lean in and swallow her whole.

  “Well…are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Heavy contempt laced Mrs. Brenner’s request.

  “I didn’t think the timing—”

  “I’m Vanessa Brenner. And you are?”

  Quick, give her an alias! Oh, hell…“Tessa Adams.” She placed her elbow on Dibs’s shoulder and braced her forehead with her fingertips. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Your father and I are staying for dinner.” Fur flew through the air when Mrs. Brenner pivoted and marched back toward the pool room. “We’ll be dining at seven.”

  She grabbed the door handle and paused, glaring at them over her shoulder. “And we will be dressing for dinner.” The door bumped closed behind her, emphasizing the heavy dismay thumping into Tessa’s stomach.

  “I’m so sorry.” Dibs whirled back to her, his words rushed.

  “Oh my God.” She pushed away from him, one arm clamped over her breasts. Someone up there seriously had it in for her. She had just met Vanessa Brenner—for all intents and purposes—naked. Naked!

  “I’m so, so sorry. Honestly, I never expected them to show up here.” A quick squeeze to her sides, and he swam for the ladder. “Just…I’ll get you a towel.” He jerked up onto the cement and hurried for the door in one motion.

  “Oh my God.” Tessa flopped one-armed for the side of the pool and fumbled up the rungs. This had to be some sort of horrible nightmare. No way had she just met Dibs’s mother with her boobs hanging out like a set of high-beam headlights!

  Dibs reappeared a moment later, shook open a towel, and wrapped it around her body. Without a backward glance, she strode for the pool room and flew inside.

  “You don’t need to worry about this, Rex.” He followed closely at her heels. “She probably didn’t even see anything.”

  She froze, the handle to the hall clutched in her fist. “‘And we’ll be dressing for dinner!’ That’s what she said.”

  He cleared his throat and lowered his chin, the corners of his lips twitching.

  “If you contain one ounce of self-preservation, you will wipe that smirk off your face. Right now!” Glowering at him, she flung open the door and stepped into the hall. She stalked through the welcoming room, all her concentration focused on reaching the stairs.

  “It
’s really not that big a deal.” He coughed over a chuckle, climbing the steps behind her. “And if you think about it, the situation does contain a small element of humor.”

  She topped the second floor, gritting her teeth, hurried toward their bedroom, and stormed through the door. Inside the bathroom, she stripped off the remains of her suit and slapped both pieces into the sink.

  “Not a big deal,” she muttered. “This is about as big as the deal gets. I can’t even believe it actually happened.”

  Arms crossed, Dibs leaned against the bathroom doorway, apparently completely at ease with how his mother had just caught them…fornicating in the pool. “Rex, you really shouldn’t worry about it. I’m a grown man. I can do what I want.”

  “I just met your mother for the first time and we were going at it like two horny teenagers at the drive-in!” She stepped into her jeans, yanked them over her hips. “Maybe I should be happy.” She tossed her sweater over her head and jammed her arms through the sleeves. “Can you imagine if she had walked out a minute or two later?”

  He pinched his bottom lip and turned away.

  “This is not the slightest bit funny.” She balled up the towel and heaved it at him. “I’m mortified! How am I ever going to look that woman in the face?”

  She pushed past him to the bedroom and plopped onto the bed, picked up her boot, and shook it at him. “Oh my God, Dibs!” She crammed her foot into the boot and deftly zipped the side. “Oh my sweet God!”

  A frown creased his brow. “Are you going somewhere?”

  She tugged on her other boot, shoved past him a second time, and snatched her brush off the counter. “I’m going back into town to buy an outfit for dinner. The only clothes I packed are jeans and lingerie.”

  His eyebrows rose in the mirror. “What kind of lingerie?” he asked quietly.

  She slammed the brush to the counter. “Are you kidding me?”

  He smirked, spun around, and stripped off his suit.

  A little face powder, a dusting of blush over her cheeks, and she threw her cosmetics back into the bag. Now to find the keys to the Hummer. She tossed Dibs’s robe and pajama pants across the bed in her frantic search, slid her purse and his wallet aside to scan the top of the dresser.

  “Hey.”

  Over her shoulder, he stood fully dressed in the center of the room.

  “I don’t want you to worry about this.” He came forward, turned her away from the dresser, and wrapped her in his arms. “I couldn’t care in the slightest what my mother or anyone else thinks about us.”

  The strength of his convictions shone in his eyes, but she slumped, shook her head. “I care.” She lowered her cheek to his chest. “Making a good impression on your family is really important to me, Dibs…and now, I don’t know. I feel like such a fool.”

  He tilted her chin up with one finger, a hint of resolve tightening the sharp edge of his jaw. “The only foolish one here is my mother. She should’ve never come outside when she saw us. She only did it to make you upset, which is exactly what she wanted.” He returned her cheek to his chest, his palm cradling her head. “So this is what we’re going to do. I’ll drive us into town, and together we’re going to pick out something that will completely impress my parents, okay?”

  She jerked back from him and searched his face, filled with understanding, compassion, and above all, his deep love. She blinked back a set of tears. “Thank you.”

  ****

  Hot, pulsating water thundered against Tessa’s shoulders as she swayed from side to side, but the jets of the showerhead didn’t come close to relieving the nervous tension in the back of her neck.

  When she and Dibs had returned from their shopping excursion, the unsettling change in atmosphere was like a cold slap to the face. A uniformed staff bustled about, the hushed panic in their movements reminiscent of a roomful of scolded children.

  Dibs had mumbled a frustrated curse, and she walked silently by his side, up the stairs to the master suite.

  The minute they entered, she hit the shower. Some time alone was what she needed to help gather her composure, find a calm center. The dread of seeing Vanessa Brenner again, sitting through a meal with her after the way they had met, sat like a coiled snake in the pit of her stomach. So much for hitting reset on that first impression.

  She turned off the water, huddled into Dibs’s bathrobe, and returned to the bedroom.

  Joining him on the bed, she cuddled against his body when he lifted an arm around her shoulders. “I hate to admit it, but I’m a little nervous.”

  He lowered the newspaper, cupped her cheeks in his hands. “What you need to remember is no one is perfect. And it doesn’t matter who they are or how much money they make, because we all do stupid things sometimes and we all make mistakes. My parents are no different.”

  She smiled into his eyes. “Have I ever mentioned you’re a damn genius?”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry, Rex. You’re going to be great.”

  Hair and make-up perfected, she secured the side zipper of her taupe silk tank dress and centered the empire waist under her breasts. The light trail of iridescent beads embroidered along the scoop neckline shimmered in the bathroom light, accented by the beads adorning the edges and cuffs of the pretty shrug jacket. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stepped into a pair of open-toed taupe pumps.

  When she assessed her image in the mirror, the ensemble contrasted nicely with her chocolate-brown hair, but apprehension still glittered in her eyes, transforming them into two dark emeralds.

  A long velvet box perched near the edge of the counter and she flipped open the lid. Inside lay the diamond bracelet, a fiery prism glowing against a sea of black. She lifted the bracelet to her wrist, and then hesitated. Maybe wearing it wasn’t the best idea.

  Dibs appeared behind her in the mirror, straightening the lapels of his charcoal gray suit jacket. He snaked his arms around her waist, swept her hair aside with his chin, and nibbled her throat. “You look very beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She breathed deep, holding her stomach as she exhaled. “Okay, now I’m a lot nervous.” She returned the bracelet to the box and snapped it shut.

  He frowned in the mirror. “What are you doing?” He lifted the box from the counter and checked the contents. “Why aren’t you wearing the bracelet?”

  “Because.” She headed into the bedroom and dumped her jewelry bag on the bed to sort through the jumbled mess for her crystal stud earrings.

  His wide shoulders filled the bathroom doorway, that same frown still wrinkling his brow. “Is there a problem?”

  “With what?”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  She tipped her head aside to insert the second earring. “What do you think your parents will say when they see that bracelet on my wrist?”

  His frown morphed into a scowl. “Who cares?”

  “I’m sure your mother already assumes I’m a cheap floozy.” She faced the dresser mirror and smoothed her hands down her skirt. “I think I’ll save myself the trouble of adding gold-digger to the list.”

  Dibs’s shoulders fell in the mirror’s reflection. He came forward, snagged her hand, and brought her to the end of the bed. “Sit.”

  One glance at the finely honed steel in his gaze and she dropped like a dead weight to the edge of the mattress.

  He knelt before her on one knee, leaned in and stared directly into her eyes. “Don’t ever…ever…assume my feelings for you have any bearing whatsoever on what my parents think.”

  He bounced the bracelet in his palm, closed his fingers around the diamonds in a tight fist. “There is only one reason I bought you this bracelet. And it wasn’t to make my parents view you in a certain light, or so you would worry about what they might think.”

  He lifted the ends and fastened the clasp around her wrist. “I bought this for you, my darling, sweet Tessa, because it just so happens I am deeply and totally in love with you, and I want you to remember that every time you
see it.”

  She snapped her gaze to his, finding the exact thing she had seen all along. Dibs did love her. Even though she’d done nothing to deserve his love. Despite her mistakes, regardless of her faults, no matter what her past held or the fear in her heart.

  And as she searched the face of the man before her, the man who helped her without hesitation, who waited for her and took care of her, the one person who befriended her when she needed him most, her heart swelled, and a wave of love so profound coursed her body, she shuddered and fell into his arms.

  She kissed his cheeks and lips, his chin, throat, and back to his lips through a flood of warm tears. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she whispered.

  He chuckled into her hair. “You’re shaking.”

  “I can’t help it. You take my breath away.”

  “So you’ll wear the bracelet?”

  She closed her eyes. “I’m never taking it off. Not ever, ever.”

  ****

  He loves me…He loves me! Tessa clutched the diamonds against her wrist for the fifth time, stopping beside Dibs outside the dining room entrance.

  He pried her fingers loose and held both her hands in his. “You okay?”

  She smiled. “I am now.”

  Leaning across her to pull the door open, he stole a kiss, and then guided her through the threshold.

  Her heart tripped a beat. Mr. Brenner stood at the opposite end of the table, a dark blue suit enhancing the distinguished line of his shoulders, crisp white shirt cinched with a maroon tie. He poured a drink from the large wooden bar stationed along the far wall, and lifted his glass when the door closed behind them. “David, my boy, it’s good to see you. And it’s Miss Adams, if I remember correctly.”

  She extended her hand as they approached. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Brenner. And please, call me Tessa.”

  “A bit more surprising than nice, I’d gather.”

  Embarrassment ballooned through her stomach. Based on his reply, Mrs. Brenner had already informed him about their earlier encounter at the pool.

  He clasped Dibs’s shoulder. “Still a scotch man?”