His lips touched hers, lightly at first but with increasing urgency when she responded to him. He backed her up until she bumped against the desk. He was considering sweeping the desk clear and making love to her right there when the office door opened.
“Oh! Sorry,” Charlotte said, and the door closed.
“My sister,” Carolyn whispered against his lips.
“I know. I don’t like her timing.” He wanted to be alone with Carolyn, but this wasn’t the place.
Carolyn laughed. “I think it’s just as well. You should go.” She gave him a playful shove back and smoothed her hair.
“Tonight?” Inside or outside her house, he’d be near her. He was hoping for in.
“Come over to see Austin,” she paused, “and you can stay.” He shot her a grin. “In the guest room,” she clarified.
9
Dale Huntly prowled past the front window, checking through the dusty blinds of the house he’d lived in for the past twenty years. The street outside was empty, deserted at this hour, but he never trusted appearances. He watched for any movement. The only motion came from tree branches scraping against the abandoned house across the street. Its front gate dangled open, and the sidewalk and street were cracked with age and neglect.
Dale hated this house, this neighborhood that he’d been stuck in ever since Faith Evert ruined his mother’s life. It was her fault he was there. Her fault they’d been reduced to crippling poverty. Her fault his sister and mother were dead and he was alone in the world. He stalked over to the last snapshot taken of his family. Gloria, already sick with the cancer that took her, was thin and pale. His mother, worn by age and worry, hadn’t even managed a smile. They’d been victims of the Everts, who were going to pay, every one of them.
The daughter with the perfect blond hair and little boy would be first. Carolyn Evert. God, he even hated her name. His mother had told him about the spoiled girl, always getting what she wanted. He’d take her down—her and her store with the stupid name. All That Sparkles. By the time he was done, nothing would sparkle about the jewelry store. He had plans to reduce it and the Everts to ruin and ashes.
And he was close to succeeding. But Carolyn was cleverer than he’d expected. She’d foiled the robbery, thanks to the dumbass druggie Dale had hired. The guy had come cheap. A few pills and the promise of more had been enough to convince him to commit armed robbery. It was just as well he was dead. The guy might have become a liability later.
The robbery had caused trouble for the store. That was good, very good, but they’d reopened too quickly. He was going to have to escalate his game to take them out. Computer sabotage was a pivotal part of his plan—and, conveniently, his area of expertise.
He sat at a card table where his computer was, focusing on the large monitor. He’d remoted in to his work, a job he’d pursued after learning that his employer was Carolyn’s tech company. Oh, the havoc he could cause.
Take that, bitch.
He’d seen her recent request for a security sweep come through. It would unearth some information but nothing that could tie the fraudulent emails back to him. Not easily, anyway.
The computer forensics sweep might, though. Dale cracked open a beer and flexed his fingers. He’d had to keep his cool in the office when that email came through. His anger had spiked when he and the other techs had gotten a notice to cooperate fully with the “expert” by handing over passwords and access codes. Dale had played along, since he’d had to make it look good, all the while plotting how to cast blame on others.
Because he knew with every click of the analyst’s mouse, his danger increased. Carolyn was getting closer to him, closer to figuring out that these setbacks weren’t accidental.
He grinned. Bring it on. He had more plans up his sleeve, starting tonight.
He opened her account, and code filled his screen, each bit making sense to him. How could he best screw with her? He tapped a couple of keys, wiping out some stored inventory files from the server. Annoying, but he could do better.
Let’s jack up payroll next. With a few swipes of his fingers, he implanted a worm that would interrupt the direct deposits. Those poor employees wouldn’t get paid next week. Too bad.
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning the dingy room. He wanted something bigger. Something that would make the business collapse and bring the Evert family to their knees.
Ideas cascaded through his mind until one took shape. Ah, yes. That. He laughed.
10
“Dada?” Austin looked up at Carolyn with his bright blue eyes. The boy had been playing on the floor, stacking colorful cups on top of each other and knocking them over gleefully.
“He’ll be home soon,” she answered and watched the smile grow on her son’s face, which was exactly how she felt inside. Having a father was good for Austin. She couldn’t deny that, and the twinges of jealousy she’d felt at having to share her son were long forgotten. They seemed petty now. Zach could make the boy laugh with his silly antics, but he cared for him, too. It had been instant love between father and son.
For nearly a week, Zach had slept in her guest room. They’d shared breakfast and bedtime duty like any parents would. Neither she nor Zach had had the traditional family with a caring mom and dad in the household. She’d had her mom; never once had she doubted her mother’s love for her. But she still carried around a hole in her heart where her father’s affection should have been. For Zach it was worse: no one had cared for him or his brothers until the Admiral took them in as young teens. Carolyn and Zach’s experiences left them figuring out this co-parenting thing together, but she could feel a tight little family forming…and she liked it.
She liked the sexy, appealing man in her house, too. She’d dated no one since she broke off the engagement. She’d told herself she was too busy, with a young child and a business to run, but maybe that wasn’t the whole truth. Zach still had a claim on her, preventing her from getting over him. She could admit that, finally, which is why it had hurt so much all those months when she’d thought he was ignoring her messages and abandoning her. If she had listened to her heart, she would have known he was the last man to abandon a child or shirk his responsibilities.
She scooped Austin off the floor. “Let’s make Daddy some cookies.”
“Cookum,” her son shouted and clapped his hands.
In the kitchen, she gave him a bowl and spatula so he could pretend to mix dough as she measured ingredients for ginger cookies, a favorite of Zach’s. It was good to have history with a man. She knew what he liked and disliked. Ginger cookies were special to him, something he had shared with the Admiral.
After she flipped on the mixer, she added a little flour to Austin’s bowl. She’d end up having to sweep the floor, but she didn’t care when he was so happy to be “helping.”
“Dada?” he asked again, making her glance at the clock. Almost six.
“Soon,” she promised, giving him a kiss.
She formed the dough into balls and placed them on a cookie sheet. With the first batch in the oven and Austin still content, she took a minute to check her email messages. She was waiting to hear back from the computer forensics expert. Steve had uncovered a few things but was still at it. She wanted him to find something definite—and soon. So much was at stake for her.
Her determination to protect her business gave her a bit of insight into Zach’s undying commitment to being a SEAL. She was trying to guard her family and employees against attack and would do darn near anything to accomplish her goal. Was that how Zach felt about his military career? His duty there was so much greater. He’d wanted to defend his country, every citizen, feeling it was his responsibility.
And she’d tried to take that away with her ultimatum. She’d been selfish, she recognized with shame, since she hadn’t wanted to share him. Her own insecurities had driven her words to him. She’d been frightened of being abandoned again by a man, so she’d made Zach make a choice when he only wanted to
do what was just in his eyes. It was time for her to think differently, to look forward to what could be with him and not give in to her fears.
She glanced at Austin when she heard the garage door open, happy that the toddler hadn’t noticed since Zach wouldn’t come in right away. He’d do a sweep of the property first, as he did several times a day, because he was hardwired to protect. And to love. She’d seen that so much since his return, even if he didn’t say the words.
The second batch of cookies was in the oven before Zach quietly opened the kitchen door and stepped inside.
“Hi,” she said, going to him, knowing that he would kiss her as he’d done other evenings. It was the domestic life she’d wanted with him and thought she would never get.
“Smells good in here.” His arm was around her waist, holding her to him.
“I made cookies. Austin helped.” They turned in time to see their son toss a handful of flour in the air and laugh as the powder filtered down onto his dark hair.
“Uh-oh,” the boy squealed, delighted with the mess he’d made.
“Uh-oh is right,” she said with a smile.
“I’ll clean it up,” Zach volunteered as he headed for Austin and gathered the boy in his arms, dusting him off.
“No, take him and play,” she insisted. “He’s been asking for you for an hour. I’ll sweep it up and make dinner.”
While she cooked, she could hear them playing in the living room. Zach was a natural father. He’d looked to her for direction at first, but he seemed to instinctively know what Austin wanted and needed. She was lucky, lucky to have both of them. She was on the verge of telling Zach that, but she was still afraid of the words. Maybe she could show it instead.
“Let’s watch a movie tonight,” Carolyn suggested when they finished eating dinner. “It looks like rain outside, and I could do with a good laugh.”
“What’d you have in mind?” Zach asked.
“Classic slapstick, I think.” She knew it was Zach’s favorite. He and the Admiral had been fans of the old-style comedy movies and watched them together. From what he’d told her, those were some of the happiest memories of his youth.
“Always my first choice in film.” He grinned at her as he took Austin out of his high chair, making her heart flutter. She felt as she had when they were first in love, but there was something more between them. Maybe it was the knowledge of each other. Maybe it was because they shared a child now.
“I know.” She smiled at him as she rose and stacked their dishes. “You pick. The DVDs are in the cabinet under the television.”
“You watch slapstick still?” he asked, looking happily surprised.
“You got me hooked,” she said with a shrug, “and Austin likes them.”
In the kitchen, she loaded the dishwasher and put together a tray of cookies and milk for a movie-time snack. Her boys were already on the couch with the television on and a DVD loaded when she carried the tray into the living room. She placed it on the coffee table and caught Zach’s eye. He dropped his gaze to the cookies, then looked back at her. His face softened as she’d rarely seen it do, and he gave her a tender look, but he said nothing.
When they were engaged, she might have been upset by his silence, but she understood him better now. He was used to concealing his emotions, keeping them inside, and didn’t always know how to express his feelings. She knew he appreciated the movie and the cookies because they reminded him of good times with the Admiral, and it seemed right that he would share them with his son. She could almost read his thoughts, and that made her feel warm and bubbly inside.
Once during the movie, Austin jumped off the couch to imitate the antics of the actors, making Zach laugh. Grabbing his daddy’s hand, Austin pulled him up so they could pretend to fall down together. Carolyn stayed where she was, watching her guys. Her guys. She liked the sound of that in her head.
By the end of the movie, Austin was nodding off Zach’s arms. He no longer asked to put their son to bed. It was a task he’d taken over, freeing her to clean up the house or check her email. That night, she wanted to bring down some old business files she’d stored in the attic while the store was being refurbished. She was slowly working her way through the papers, determining which documents to shred and which should be scanned for preservation.
She climbed to the attic, entering it through a door in the upstairs hall. As she picked up a box, she looked around the space. Dormer windows faced each direction, and the wide-planked wood floor was sturdy. With a little paint and some furniture, it would make a great playroom for kids. She noticed with a little hiccup in her heart that she’d thought kids. Plural. One wasn’t enough, but more children depended on what happened between her and Zach.
With a hopeful sigh, she headed down. She was outside Austin’s room when she tripped over the edge of a rug. Surprised and struggling to keep her footing, she let go of the box. It crashed to the floor, its contents spilling out.
Instantly, Zach was in the doorway of Austin’s room with the sleeping boy on his shoulder. His mouth opened to speak, but she gestured for him to be silent so he wouldn’t wake the baby. She couldn’t help smiling at the sight of this hunky, handsome man holding his sweet baby boy. Something inside her shifted, and she felt a giant swell of love for both of them. Any lingering worry about Zach and their past evaporated. Her fingers trembled as she picked up the scattered papers while Zach returned to the nursery.
She was blindly tossing papers into the box when one caught her attention. “Dissolution of Business” was printed boldly across the top, causing her to look more closely. The business had been a jewelry store, and her mother’s name was listed as one of the partners. She didn’t recognize the other partner’s name—not surprising, since she saw the date was over twenty years ago. She would have been just a little girl at the time. Funny that she’d never heard her mother mention this store.
Carolyn placed the paper in the box, planning to ask her mother about it, and carried the box downstairs before returning to the nursery to kiss Austin good night. Zach had just placed him in the crib, where he was stretched out, looking happy and peaceful. She touched the child’s cheek and kissed his forehead before leaving the room. Zach adjusted the lights and followed her into the hall, closing the nursery door behind him.
She smiled at him, letting the emotions she’d felt that night show on her face. She couldn’t hide how she felt. Zach didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms. He kissed her lips, her throat, the little spot near her ear, all the places he knew she liked. But kisses were no longer enough. She put a little space between them and pulled his T-shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor.
She ran her hands over his chest, which was even more muscled than it had been. God, his body was amazing. She hadn’t let herself remember that in the two years they’d been separated. She traced her finger over a new scar on his left pec, but she didn’t ask how he got it. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the two of them together at that moment.
“Carolyn?” His voice was soft, questioning.
“My room.” She took a step back, pulling him with her into the bedroom.
“I’ve missed this,” he murmured against her ear as his hands slid under her tank top to unclasp her bra. Shirt and bra went over her head, flying off to a corner of the room. He cupped her breasts, running his thumb over the nipples as he kissed her lips. She moaned at his touch. It felt both familiar and enticing.
“I want you naked,” she whispered against his lips.
He laughed softly. “You always did make your desires clear.”
“Are you calling me bossy?” She trailed her fingers down the taut muscles of his stomach to the button on his jeans. She flicked it open, smiling when he sucked in a breath.
“Not a bit, sweetheart.” The word rolled smoothly from his tongue. He’d always called her that, starting almost from their first date. She’d missed the endearment, the intimacy, but she wouldn’t have to any longer. He was hers ag
ain—at least in this way. She lowered his zipper, brushing her hand against his hard length before grasping it between her fingers. His breathing changed, and his eyes half closed as she stroked up and down.
“So good,” he said, but took her wrist, pulling her hand away from his dick. “Enough for now.”
“That’s no fun.” She gave him a mock pout.
“I think we’ll have plenty of fun.” He pushed the elastic waistband of her shorts down, taking her panties with them, before shedding the rest of his clothes. They stood naked, inches apart, not touching for a moment. “You’re so beautiful.” His tone was almost reverent, making her believe his compliment.
“Make love to me,” she invited. They fell onto the bed together, his hard body covering her. She coasted her hands down his back to his butt, feeling the corded muscles as he trailed kisses from her lips to her breasts in a slow seduction. She didn’t want slow, not this time. “I meant now, Zach.” She lifted her hips, rolling them to cup his length.
“Soon.” He blew warm breath over her nipples as his fingers slipped between her thighs to touch her. Oh, God, she did love that. She nearly melted with pleasure and desire, but she knew it could be even better with him.
“Now.” Wrapping her legs around him, she opened for him. He took her mouth in a searing kiss and thrust into her. They moved together, finding a rhythm that had them both panting until an orgasm cascaded through her. With one final thrust, he came inside her, gasping out her name.
11
Carolyn rolled over, touching the bed next to her. It was cool and empty. She sat up, listening, and heard Zach’s soft footsteps in the hall. He appeared in the doorway, dressed in tactical pants and a black T-shirt, a grin on his face. She smiled. She had a smokin’ hot man who had made her night very memorable.
The SEAL’s Surprise Son: The Admiral’s SEALs Book One Page 7
