What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 8)

by Sabrina York

  She looked near tears as she scrambled from the chair. She knelt to retrieve the bottle from where it had fallen before she ran from the room. Dom wanted to call her back, but the sounds of Jessica’s cries emanated from upstairs. He walked back to his chair and dropped into it with a sound of disgust. He had seen fear in her eyes as she fled, and he hoped he hadn’t frightened her away. His concern wasn’t only for his niece. He didn’t want to think about how life would be without her.

  Caris’s heart raced, and her knees trembled when she rushed back to the nursery. She closed the door more forcefully than she had intended and leaned against it for a moment, trying to regain control. Jessica’s protesting squawk drew her away from the door’s support. She lifted her from the crib and turned to the rocker.

  What had she been thinking, letting him kiss her? It was complete insanity, as she had told herself time after time. Any sort of emotional entanglement with Dom would only lead to heartache and the loss of her child.

  Her reaction had frightened her. She acknowledged that not without squirming. When his hands were on her, she hadn’t thought about anything but being with him. Not even the memories of her last encounter with Brendan had intruded on her passionate haze. For just a moment, only she and Dom existed. That scared the hell out of her. After living with Brendan for four months, she had sworn never to get involved with another man again. To be attracted to his brother was the height of folly. She couldn’t allow herself to give in to these emotions.

  Dom finally tracked down Brendan at the construction site. He had to yell to be heard over the heavy equipment and horrible connection to Portugal. “Where are you?”

  “At work,” Brendan yelled back.

  “No, I mean where are you living now? I tried to send you papers, but they were returned.” Dom lifted a pen when Brendan shouted out his new address and copied it carefully. “I’ll send these out again.”

  Brendan sounded disinterested. “Yeah, I’ll get to them.”

  “I’d appreciate you making the custody papers a priority.”

  Brendan said something that the line’s static stole.

  “What? Can you repeat that?”

  “I have to go, Dom. I’ll sign them when they come.”

  “Hey, hold on.”

  Brendan sounded irritated. “What?”

  “Don’t you want to know how she is?”

  He paused for a long moment and said, “Sure.” It sounded as if he wanted to placate his brother rather really know about his daughter.

  “She’s gotten so big. We found a nanny she finally approves of—”

  “Look, that’s great, but I really have to go.” A crash sounded in the background. “Shit.” He paused to yell something to someone on the site. “I’ll catch you later.”

  Dom was left with the sound of the dial tone in his ear. When he hung up the phone, he saw Caris walking down the hall, carrying Jessica. “Caris, can you come in here?”

  She froze before turning with the air of a martyr. She looked hesitant when she stepped inside. She closed the door without having been asked to.

  “I’m sorry,” Dom said. “I shouldn’t have rushed you.”

  She shook her head. “You shouldn’t have kissed me at all.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t imagine your reaction.”

  She hesitated, seeming to be at war with herself. “I won’t deny I liked it, but it can’t happen again.”

  “Why not?” Even as he asked, Dom mentally listed a hundred reasons why a relationship with her wouldn’t work. Most reasons came full-circle back to the baby she held in her arms.

  Caris inclined her head in Jessica’s direction. “When our relationship ends, what happens to her?”

  “Who said it will end?”

  She gave him a long look. “I have to feed her lunch.”

  He walked closer, putting a hand on her arm. “Tell me why it has to end.”

  Her eyes slid away from his. “It wouldn’t work. We’re too different.”

  “That’s no excuse.”

  “Sexual attraction never lasts.”

  Dom pushed long strands of hair out of her eyes. “I feel a lot more for you than just an attraction.”

  She snorted. “You don’t know me, Dom. You only think you do.” She looked upset by her outburst. “Just let me do my job as Jess’s mother—substitute mother.” Tears fell from her eyes, and she whirled away from him. “Don’t touch me again. I can’t…” She trailed off and rushed from the study, all the while carefully supporting Jessica.

  Dom sighed and sat down on the couch nearby. For the second time in one day, he was left feeling helpless and without a clue. At least this time she hadn’t appeared afraid of him.

  “You seem rattled, Caris.”

  She looked up from the stacking toy she and Jessica had been playing with to meet Elena’s eyes. Caris strove for a bland smile. “Really? I’m fine.”

  Elena lifted a brow. “Dom hasn’t been himself the last couple of days either.”

  “Probably because of his breakup.”

  His mother shook her head. “No, it isn’t that. I know that bothers him, but he’s more worried about what Lisa will dredge up. I don’t think he was too surprised by the breakup, so he wasn’t hurt.”

  “Dredge up?”

  Elena pursed her mouth. “I’ve said too much. It’s just, that woman infuriates me.”

  “What did she do?”

  She sighed and laid aside her knitting. In the hour she’d been at it, she had managed just two rows with her withered hands. “Well, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you.”

  Caris refused to acknowledge the catty little part of her that hoped Lisa had done something so wicked that Dom could never forgive her. “I won’t say a word.”

  “She announced they were engaged, and then…”

  Her eyes widened as Elena listed the salient points. When she finished, Caris’s mouth was open. “She planned to use him for a contract and send the baby away?”

  Elena nodded. “I never liked her. I’m glad Dom finally came to his senses.”

  “Er, yes.”

  A silence lapsed between them. Then, Elena said, “He does need to marry and settle down though. Jessica needs stability.”

  Caris flinched at the words. “She has me.”

  “Of course, dear, but in the eyes of the world you aren’t everything you should be.”

  Caris’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”

  “Wouldn’t you rather be her mother than her nanny?”

  “I am her—” It took a moment for the implication to set in. When it did, Caris jumped to her feet and started pacing. “That’s insane. We aren’t—”

  “I’m not blind. I can see what’s happening between you.”

  “Nothing,” she insisted.

  Elena shrugged. “Suit yourself, but marriage is a way to cement your claim on the little one.”

  “I’m never getting married.”

  A sad expression settled on the older woman’s face. “Not all men are like Brendan—or his father, for that matter. Dom is a good man.”

  Caris turned so Elena couldn’t see her expression. She didn’t want it to betray her. “I’m sure he is, but he isn’t the man for me.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt you, Caris.”

  The simple words robbed her of her breath. She reeled dizzily and collapsed onto the chaise lounge. Was it so obvious? Did she carry the internal scars around as prominently as the ones that marred the corner of her eye, her scalp, and the back of her shoulder? She looked up and met Elena’s concerned eyes. “I couldn’t go through that again. Please don’t play matchmaker. I’m begging you.”

  “I would never presume to force either of you into anything.” She sighed. “I just think an alliance of sorts would be beneficial. You both get what you want.”

  “What alliance? Who’re you talking about, Mom?”

  Caris and Elena both jumped when Dom entered the sitting room. He looked rumpled and
tired, as if his day at work had involved much more than sitting behind a desk and dealing with various construction and management decisions.

  Elena’s serene smile faltered a bit at the edges. “Nothing to concern yourself about.”

  He studied them both with narrowed eyes, seeming to focus on the guilty blush staining Caris’s cheeks. An awkward silence fell, until Jessica slipped the ring on the stick and chortled.

  Pleasure lit Caris’s eyes as she saw her daughter’s achievement. She bent forward and scooped her into her arms. “That’s my big girl,” she cooed, as Dom approached.

  He sat beside them on the lounge and tickled Jessica under the chin, for which he received a happy squeal. “Was that the first time she stacked the ring by herself?”

  “Yes.” Caris ignored the twinge of jealously when her baby reached for Dom, disconcerted to realize she still hadn’t gotten completely comfortable sharing her daughter’s affection. She relinquished Jessica to him without so much as a flicker of her lash to indicate the pain she felt. Jessica had accepted Dom into her life, and there was no way to undo that. Not that she wanted to. Her daughter needed a stable male influence. They both did—no, she refused to think that way. She didn’t need a man.

  She looked up and locked eyes with Elena again, whose eyes plainly relayed her thoughts. She tore her gaze away and focused on the baby. His mother’s idea was insane.

  Before bed, as Dom walked by the nursery on the way to his room, he noticed his mom leaning over Jessica’s crib. He entered the room, automatically scanning for Caris. “Where’s Caris?” He tried to sound casual, but thought he had failed miserably.

  Elena looked up from shaking the rattle. “She’s taking a bath, so I volunteered to settle the baby for night.”

  He grinned at the sparkle in his niece’s eyes. “Great job settling her, Mom.”

  “She looked bored.”

  He leaned against the rail beside his mother and tickled Jessica on the tummy, earning a squeal. “I understand. She’s irresistible.”

  “She’s growing so fast.” Elena sighed wistfully. “Look how big she’s gotten in just a few weeks. Someday soon, she’ll be big enough to ask questions.”

  He frowned. “What kind of questions?”

  “About her father and mother and why they aren’t in her life.”

  Dom shook his head. “I’ll ensure she doesn’t.”

  She arched a brow. “How?”

  “By making sure she’s so loved she won’t wonder about them.”

  Elena shook her head. “She’ll miss having a mother.”

  “I can’t do anything about that.”

  “She needs a mother, Dom.”

  He scowled. “Are you suggesting I marry Lisa?”

  Elena’s laugh was hard and chilly. “Of course not. Better to let the child be reared by jackals. I’m simply saying she needs a mother’s influence.”

  “She has Caris,” he pointed out.

  A mysterious smile crept across his mother’s face. “Yes, she does, doesn’t she?”

  He nodded, hoping that was the end of the discussion. “Jessica adores her.”

  “Hmm.” Elena stood up, stretched, and grasped the cane propped against the crib. “I believe I hear Caris’s bathroom door opening. I’ll go on to bed.” The thumping of the cane accompanied her walk to the door. She turned just once before leaving the room. “What happens to the baby if Caris leaves?”

  He turned to respond, but she had gone. Dom was left with the uncomfortable question preying on his mind as Caris entered the nursery in the toweling robe that displayed so much of her shapely legs. He swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded to her as he rushed from the nursery.

  Once in his own room, he found he couldn’t escape the thoughts his mother had planted in his head. What would happen if Caris decided to leave them? He remembered the desperate search for a nanny before her arrival, and resolved she would have no reason to leave. He just had to find a way to make her stay. He didn’t want Jessica upset, and he didn’t want to cope with the hassle of seeking a new candidate. He had no other reasons for wanting her to stay, he assured himself.

  Late that night, Caris lay tossing and turning. Her mind continued to dwell on what Elena had suggested, searching for a way that it could work. The reality was, even if she was willing to risk another relationship, she couldn’t dupe Dom into marrying her. She would have to tell him the whole truth, and he would surely send her away. If trained child worker and legal professionals hadn’t believed her side of the story, why would he? It was obvious he didn’t think much of Brendan, but that was no guarantee he would believe anything she said. His love for Jessica would make him resistant to hearing the truth, for fearing of losing her. It was too risky.

  Besides, she didn’t think she could marry anyone. Relationships made one vulnerable, and her heart didn’t need to be battered again. Even if she got past her emotional block of commitment, she would have to endure a physical relationship with him. She didn’t think she could, not after the last time Brendan showed her his love.

  She slid from the bed, eager to escape the memories trying to well up in her mind. She wouldn’t get back to sleep if she thought of that, and it was only four A.M. She slipped her feet into slippers and shrugged the robe over the T-shirt she wore to leave the nursery, careful not to wake the baby.

  Caris padded downstairs to the kitchen. She flipped on the light and went to the fridge. She poured milk into a pan and set it on the stove to heat. She was searching for a can of cocoa when she felt Dom come to stand behind her. She froze as his breath whispered against her neck. She closed her eyes as sensations coursed through her body.

  He spoke near her ear. “What are you looking for?”

  She cleared her throat. “Uh, cocoa.” She couldn’t seem to move away from him. She was pressed against the counter, and she could feel the heat of his body so close to her back that he couldn’t be more than an inch or two away from touching her. She flinched when his arm brushed against her shoulder, until she realized he was reaching past her for a can of Nestlé Quik. His chest brushed against her back as he set the can on the counter. “Uh, thanks,” she whispered.

  His hands settled on her shoulders. “You’re welcome.” This time, his lips brushed her earlobe.

  She whimpered when Dom pulled her against him, but didn’t draw away. It felt too good being cradled in his arms. When he brushed his lips against the bend at her neck and shoulder, she tilted her head to allow him freer access. She could feel her nipples tightening as he stroked his hands up and down her arms, while continuing to kiss her neck.

  At first, his lips were light brushes against her heated skin, but then his teeth raked the sensitive area. She couldn’t bite back a moan as he traced an intricate pattern across the back of her neck with his tongue. She was vaguely aware of the sound of the milk beginning to boil, but couldn’t tear herself away from his embrace. Each touch sent feelings rushing through her, and she discovered she craved them. Dom could easily become an addiction if she let him.

  He moved to her other ear, tenderly whispering, “Caris.” He bit the lobe, sending a shiver racing down her spine. Caris clenched her hands into fists, desperate to deny his affect on her senses, but her body betrayed her. Liquid heat pooled in her stomach and spread lower.

  He pulled her as close as he could and wrapped his arms around her stomach. She laid her head against his chest, turning her head so her ear pressed against his chest. She listened to his racing heart and knew she wasn’t the only one so strongly affected. The thought brought a smile to her face.

  Dom’s hand moved to the loosely knotted sash and undid it with a quick flick of his wrist. When he pressed his warm palm to her stomach, she swore she could feel the creases in his hand through the oft-washed T-shirt. She made no protest as he turned her in his arms and pressed her against the counter. She arched her neck when he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips connected, and she felt like someone had detonated fireworks in
her stomach. Her knees shook as he pressed his lips to hers, opening and closing them gently before drawing away slightly.

  She opened her eyes and saw him looking down at her. She couldn’t read his expression well from her vantage point, but Caris clearly felt his excitement and longing. He seemed to be holding himself in check, but just barely. She could feel the hardness of his arousal pressing into her stomach. The way he moved his hands across her back in soft circles made her loins clench. She ached for him. Her eyes widened at the realization.

  He lowered his head again and slipped his tongue into her mouth, dueling with hers as she fought for access to his mouth. Their passionate battle left her breathless and weak. She leaned her weight against him, pressing her breasts against his chest. She could feel the silk of his pajama top pressing through the thin cotton T-shirt, rubbing against her nipples, and hardening them almost to the point of pain.

  Dom seemed to realize what she wanted, because he moved a hand from her back to one aching breast. He cupped the weight in his hand and gently massaged the turgid peak poking through the nearly transparent light-green cotton. He moaned when she arched her hips.

  Gasping, he tore his mouth from hers, and their eyes locked. She could see his blue eyes burned almost black. A flush stained his cheeks, and a faint sheen of perspiration clung to his skin. His hands trembled as he lowered them to his sides. She bit back words that would have begged him to continue.

  Without a word, he stepped away and turned off the burner heating the milk. Then he lifted the scorched pot and carried it to the sink.

  Caris gave into impulse and followed him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his back. She could still hear his heart beat rapidly against her ear. He stood rigid in her embrace. When he spoke, she could feel the vibrations through his back.

  “Come outside with me.”

  Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected an invitation outside. Maybe his bedroom, but outside, in the middle of winter? “Why?”