by Lori Foster
“Did he tell you why? Surely not, because I can’t believe any man would condone the use of that language toward a young lady. Austin did what any honorable brother would do when someone is being a jerk to his sister. Talk to Clay again, Quince. And teach him what it means to be a man.”
“Are you issuing orders to me?”
“Just some well-meaning advice. From Clay’s behavior, I’d say you could use it.”
“Just who the hell are you anyway?”
“I already told you.” The chair legs hit the floor with a resounding thud, and the smile left Joe’s face. “I’m Joe Winston.”
“And?” Quincy jeered. “You say that like it should mean something to me.”
“Yeah. It means I’m looking out for Willow and Austin now, and I take my responsibility to heart. That’s something you’re going to want to remember.”
“We have that in common then, because I, too, have my responsibilities. It would behoove you to learn more about the trouble the Calder children have caused. Perhaps then you’ll see that it’d be best for all concerned to move them to another area.”
“Nope.”
The voice lowered to a growl. “I’m thinking of their best interest, I assure you. The children could use a fresh start elsewhere. In Visitation, everyone knows they’re illegitimate as well as orphaned. There’s nothing here for them.”
“I’m here. That’s all the fresh start they need.”
“You’re taking on a task of monumental proportions, given their past behavior. They’re hooligans with no breeding and no respect for—”
“Let me worry about it, Quince, okay?” Joe again hung up the phone. Damn, he felt good.
He turned to Luna, opened his mouth to speak—and she launched herself at him. “Joe.”
“What the—” Her body landed against his with enough impact to make him catch his breath in a gasp of pain. But with Luna touching him everywhere, the pain was quickly relegated to the back of his mind. Joe wrapped his arms around her, cradling her closer and struggling to keep them both in the chair.
“Hey, you okay?” He tried to tip her back to see her face, but she hugged his neck in a strangle hold.
“Thank you.” She landed a tickling kiss on his ear, his chin, his jaw. Every touch of her soft, damp mouth burned him, teased him, until Joe wrapped a hand in her hair and managed to take control. His mouth covered hers, hungry and hot. He sank his tongue in, and she gave a small, sweet moan of acceptance, then went utterly still except for the racing of her heartbeat against his chest.
“That’s it,” Joe whispered, savoring her taste, the softness of her tongue, her sighs. He tightened his arms and her breasts pressed more firmly into his chest. Spreading one hand wide on her behind, Joe scooped her closer still. He could enter her like this, he thought, in a chair, with her legs around him. He groaned low and took her mouth again, rapacious, hungry, all thoughts of giving her time long obliterated.
By small degrees, Luna pulled back to stare at him. Breathing hard, a pulse racing in her throat, she licked her lips and whispered, “Joe?”
“Yeah, babe?”
She touched his jaw with a shattering gentleness. “You are the most remarkable man.”
“Whatever I did,” Joe rumbled low, so hot he saw her only through a haze, “remind me to do it again.” He kissed her throat, her shoulder. She was so soft against him, he just naturally cuddled her behind through the silky harem pants, tracing the deep cleft with his fingertips and driving himself insane. “You have such a fine ass.”
Luna went still, then laughed. She treated him to another suffocating hug and an avuncular pat on the shoulder. She pressed away from him and stood. Her hands curled tight at her sides, but her voice was shallow and soft. “I better get to bed.”
Joe stared. “What?” It sounded as though she planned to leave him in the kitchen. Alone. With a raging boner.
“I have so much to do tomorrow and so much to think about still tonight.” She started to turn away but paused. “Do you think we’ll have more problems with Mr. Owen?”
Joe, too, stood. He watched her, waiting for any sign of indecision. “I’m betting on it.”
Nodding, Luna took a step back, inching toward the doorway. “I’ll, uh, see you in the morning.”
No way. “Luna …”
“No.”
His head threatened to explode. “You say that entirely too damn much.”
“Not easily.” Her gaze dipped over him, once, fast. Her eyes shone bright when she again looked at his face. “You’re very, very hard to resist, Joe Winston. You know that. But it’s our first night here, and the kids might still be awake and …” She gave him a floundering, helpless look. “No.”
Knowing she was right didn’t make it easier to swallow. Taut with need, Joe growled, “Then go now before I try to change your mind. I’ll lock up.”
She hesitated.
“Go.”
Luna turned and fled the kitchen as if she, too, had to fight the urge to give in.
Damn, he hurt. Why in hell did he have to want—need—this one particular, difficult, loony woman? Joe waited until he heard her footsteps overhead before going through the downstairs, room by room, checking to make sure every window was latched and the doors were securely locked. The security inspection helped to take his mind off his burning need, but it didn’t remove it. Nothing would except burying himself inside Luna for a long, hot, leisurely ride.
It was a large house, and by the time Joe finished, the clawing need for sexual satisfaction had diminished enough to allow other, more rational thought.
He realized that the locks were old and flimsy, and even the most inept burglar would have no problem breaking in. The house was isolated, making it prime pickings for the nefarious element of society. Before he left Luna and the kids here alone, he’d make the house more secure.
After shutting off all the interior lights, Joe went into his room and silently closed the door. The tiny, narrow bed didn’t look the least appealing, so he went to the patio doors to stare out. A half moon hung low in the sky, surrounded by a blanket of stars. It was a bright night. A romantic night.
A night that stirred a man’s blood.
He paced away, dropped onto the bed with a groan—and heard an indistinct thump. Stilling, Joe listened and caught a faint creak. He left the bed and went to the door to again look out, but saw nothing. It was an old house, and he was unfamiliar with the sounds it made as it settled for the night. But still … The niggling suspicion gnawed at him until he left his room and made his way to the stairs. Yep, he heard it again. Someone was moving around up there when he thought everyone had gone to bed.
Navigating the stairs in the dark, Joe reached the landing without a single sound. It was quiet now, but a light shone from beneath Willow’s door, so he paused there to listen. He heard Luna’s voice and crept closer. The door was slightly ajar, and Joe could just barely see Luna sitting on the side of Willow’s bed while Willow sat at a desk.
“Can’t sleep?” Luna asked her.
Willow shrugged.
“You can talk to me, you know.”
With only one desk lamp on, shadows dominated the room. But Joe could see Willow’s eyes, huge and sad. “I don’t want to bother you.”
“Oh, honey, you won’t bother me. I promise. I want to help. That’s why I’m here.”
“You’re here because we don’t have anyone else.” Willow sounded guilty. Joe wanted to walk in, to tell her that young girls weren’t supposed to be burdened with so many worries. But he held back, trusting Luna to handle it.
“No.” Luna reached for her hand. “I’m here because we’re family. And I really want you and Austin to confide in me and to like me. I’ve never had a real family before, so this is as important to me as it is to you.”
Joe stiffened. What the hell did that mean? Of course Luna had a family. Everyone had a family.
Willow looked as stunned as Joe felt.
“It’s true.” Luna
smiled. “I was never very close with my folks. They argued a lot whenever they were together, then they were separated off and on before finally divorcing. I stayed with my dad. My mom left to get remarried, and I hardly ever saw her after that. I have two half brothers that I barely know.”
“You don’t visit them?”
“They live pretty far away. I went to see them once, but it was awkward.”
Joe remembered her saying that her family was scattered around the country. He hadn’t realized …
“What about your dad?”
“He worked a lot after Mom left. When I graduated high school he remarried, and so I have a stepsister, too. But she and I don’t have much in common, and again, they live pretty far away.”
Willow pushed her hair behind her ears. “I don’t have a dad at all. That is, I never met him.”
Luna just nodded. “I know.”
“Because I never met him, and don’t even know who he is, I don’t miss him. Not like I miss my mom. But you must miss your dad a lot.”
Shrugging, Luna said, “I never think about it that much. It’s just how it’s been for a long time. But now I have you and Austin, and I want to do this right. I want to stay.”
“Things are pretty much a mess,” Willow warned.
“We’ll work it all out, I promise. In the meantime, you can come to me whenever you have a problem. I can’t promise to have all the answers, but I can promise to always try my best and to listen.”
Willow seemed to think that over, then blurted, “Patricia said she couldn’t afford to stay here anymore. She was going to move us away before that guy proposed to her.”
Luna sighed. “Willow, honey, I’m not Patricia. I’m not going to leave you. I promise.”
“But you’re talking about buying us clothes.”
Joe could hear the hope and the fear in Willow’s voice, and it broke his heart. How long had it been since she’d had anything new?
“That’s right. Don’t you want new clothes?”
“It’s just that there’s not much money left.” Willow fretted with the papers on her desk. “I was looking at things, and I’m not sure …”
“Shhh. Willow, I have money.”
“You can’t use your own!” She sounded appalled at the thought, making Joe grit his teeth. Hell, he had money, too, and he wasn’t using it for anything important.
“Why not?” Luna reasoned. “I’m living here now, saving on rent. What’s mine is yours. Besides, I’m really looking forward to our shopping expedition. It’s been a while since I got to shop with another woman.”
The rigidity left Willow’s shoulders, and she even smiled. But when Luna reached past her to pick up a newspaper clipping on the desk, she stiffened again. “That’s nothing.”
“It’s an article on Clay Owen.” Luna skimmed it before handing it back to Willow. “He won athlete of the year?”
Scrunching up her face into a frown, Willow nodded. “Yeah. He gets good grades, and he’s the quarterback for the football team and a pitcher for the baseball team. Everyone thinks he’s perfect.”
Cautiously, Luna said, “He’s very cute.”
“I guess.”
“Do you like him, Willow?”
Her eyes flared and her voice lowered. “No, I hate him.”
As if she hadn’t answered, Luna said, “Because if you did, I could understand it.”
Willow shook her head hard. “We used to be friends. Even though he’s a little older, we always got along great. I’ve known him since second grade.” Her eyes darkened. “But now he’s always mean to me.”
“Some guys are pretty clueless.” Luna smoothed Willow’s hair behind her ears with a maternal touch. “There’s no good excuse for being mean to someone else, but Julie said he does it because he’s trying to get your attention.”
Willow still sounded mutinous. “He used to like me okay, I guess. But then the rumors about me started, and he got ugly and nasty.”
Very gently, Luna asked, “But you still like him, huh? It’s okay. I understand all about liking the wrong guy. Common sense tells you one thing, but your heart tells you another.”
Joe’s muscles, mind and gut all pulled into a tense knot. Who the hell did Luna like? If she was talking about that damn spook, Jamie Creed, he’d …
Willow tipped her head. “Joe?”
“Yeah.”
What? Joe slumped against the wall, and the furious racing of his heart slowed to a dull thud. Well, hell. Since when did he become the wrong guy?
But he already knew the answer to that question: he’d never been the right guy. Not for a woman like Luna.
“He’s a wonderful man,” she said, and to Joe, it sounded like she meant it. “One of the very best. But Joe doesn’t ever want to settle down.”
Now she was speaking for him when she didn’t know what he wanted. Hell, he didn’t know what he wanted. He used to know—but that was before he met Luna and she started driving him crazy.
“And you do?”
Luna nodded. “I didn’t use to, or maybe I just didn’t know it before now. But I’m jazzed about the idea of staying here with you and Austin forever. And Joe will have to go back home pretty soon, so there’s definitely no point in liking him too much when I know it won’t—can’t—last.”
“So if it wasn’t for us …”
“No.” Her laugh was soft, full of self-derision.
“Even before I heard from you, I was saying no to Joe.”
Joe could damn well testify to that.
Willow sounded startled by that disclosure. “But why?”
Her sigh was long and drawn out and too damn dramatic to do anything other than insult Joe. “Because there are some guys in this world sure to break your heart. Joe is pure heartbreaker. He wallows in his bachelor status, so I can’t see him ever marrying. Did you know he has four male cousins who’ve married? Joe’s close with them, and I guess he’s happy for them, but he sneers at the idea of tying himself to one woman.”
“He’s real popular?”
“With the ladies?” This time Luna’s laugh was definitely mocking. “Oh, yeah. Very. But Joe’s not a guy you can just date for the fun of it, and then become friends. He’s too dynamic for that. It’s better not to get too close to him at all.”
Willow slanted Luna a look that made her appear quite mature. “I think you’re already pretty close to him.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Luna looked both resigned and sad at that disclosure. “But as long as Joe doesn’t know it, I’m okay.”
Joe gave a smug smile. So, she’d hoped to keep that from him? Ha! Now he knew, and he sure as hell wasn’t likely to forget. One way or another he’d sort everything out, and he’d use whatever information he could to his advantage.
“That’s sort of how I feel about Clay. I think about him all the time. When he’s around, I try to just ignore him, even though that’s pretty hard to do. But Austin makes it impossible.” Her hands curled into fists in her lap. “I told Clay if he ever hurt Austin again, I was going to beat the crap out of him.”
Joe grinned. Willow was so small and delicate, he couldn’t imagine her hurting anyone.
“Hopefully, we’ve dissuaded him from pestering you.”
“I doubt it. He’ll be back. I just know it.”
Eyes warm with sympathy, Luna cupped her chin. “And even though you wish it was different, you’re sort of glad?”
Willow groaned. “Yes. I’m glad.”
“It won’t be easy for him to be mean now,” Luna pointed out. “You won’t be walking into town alone. If Clay wants to see you, he’s going to have to come here. And that means he’s going to have to be polite.”
Willow said nothing to that, and finally Luna stood. “Why don’t you get to sleep? Things always seem clearer in the morning.” Luna gave a bright smile. “I thought we’d work on our shopping list more tomorrow. I’d like to figure out everything we’ll need, then we can go into town on Saturday.
We can make a day of it, have some lunch. Maybe even see a movie.”
“A movie, really?”
Even through his distraction with all that Luna had revealed, Joe heard Willow’s excitement. By God, if she liked movies, then he’d add a VCR to the list and rent her one every night of the week. She deserved some fun, and he intended to see that she have it.
Willow pushed out of her seat with new purpose. “The house needs to be cleaned, too. I haven’t had a chance because walking to town for my piano lessons took so long, and Dinah and Patricia didn’t seem to care.”
“But I thought Dinah was a housekeeper?”
“Yeah, right.” Willow snorted. “She cooked occasionally, but mostly she just snooped around.”
Snooped around for what? Joe wondered.
“You didn’t like her?”
Willow shrugged. “I tried to just stay out of her way. She could be really hateful.”
Hearing that, Joe’s heart almost broke. When Luna spoke, he detected a strain in her voice as well.
“I promise never to be hateful, okay? And we’ll clean the house together. Joe and Austin can help.”
“You want Austin to clean?” Willow stepped away to turn down her bedding, but she shook her head as she did so. “Good luck. Austin’s much better at making messes.”
“Just because he’s male doesn’t make him helpless. Besides, I have a feeling Joe will insist on helping, so maybe Austin will want to, too.”
Smiling, Willow plumped her pillow, then hugged it to her chest. “Joe’s different, isn’t he?”
“I sure don’t know any other men like him.”
“My mom used to say to me that you can’t tell about men just by looking at them. She said a guy might look well-mannered and kind and smart, but when you got to know him, he could be an egotistical snake.”
Joe frowned. Had Chloe been speaking from experience ? Had she maybe even been referring to Austin and Willow’s father? It’d make sense, seeing that the man left her alone to raise two kids.
“Do you think Joe is a snake?” Luna asked with surprise.
“No.” Willow’s smile lingered. “I think it’s just the opposite. When I first saw him, he looked sort of … I don’t know. Big and dark and mean, like he could chew nails and enjoy it. I was … worried. Especially with Austin cursing and acting like such a brat. But as soon as I saw how he handled Austin, I knew he was okay.”
