by Kari Lemor
Her wiggling hips did that too. How the hell did she get him this excited in such a short period of time?
“If you keep doing that, princess, I’ll have to flip you over and go for round three.”
Her sassy smile twitched. “I think it might be round four.”
Shit, she was right. He’d have no energy left if they kept going. It was only…he glanced at the clock…damn, it was after nine. It was a work morning and he’d been hanging out in bed.
“Good thing my boss is an understanding guy,” he said, sitting up, licking a path across her shoulder.
Heather chuckled. “My boss is a real bitch, but I think she has a thing for you. Could you get me out of trouble for not being there on time?”
“Sure, I can start right now.” Running his hands up her back, he pulled her closer, kissing her soundly. The ringing of the doorbell broke through the passionate haze, and he groaned.
“Don’t answer it,” she begged, her own hands running over his shoulders then down his back.
That sounded perfect, but after what happened last night with her house, it could be something important.
Scooting out of bed, he lowered her down to the mattress and kissed her lips. “Stay here. I’ll deal with whoever it is.” Pulling his discarded sleep pants on, he hoped round four wouldn’t be too far away.
The bell buzzed again as he walked toward it, a T-shirt in his hands. He’d grabbed it to put it on then realized the front of his pants tented out dramatically. Best use it to hide his condition.
He opened the door to Heather’s parents and sister standing there, concern etched all over their faces. Had Heather called them?
“Mr. and Mrs. Silva, Charlotte, come in.” Now he was glad he had the T-shirt, though the sight of her parents here did plenty to deflate him.
“We’re assuming Heather is here,” Mr. Silva said, his tone filled with both strength and fear.
They all moved into the living room and Heather’s mom held her hand to the pearls around her neck. “She never called to say they were releasing her from the hospital.”
“We called this morning and they said she’d been discharged,” Domenic stated. “With you. Is she here?”
“I’m here, Dad,” Heather said, as she walked past the dining set to them. She wore one of his button-down shirts that hung almost to her knees. Nothing else.
“Darling,” Mrs. Silva cooed, rushing over to Heather and wrapping her in a hug. “We were worried. Why didn’t you call us to come get you?”
“I’m sorry, Mom, Dad.” She hugged her father then Charlotte. “Things were crazy and I was more than a little overwhelmed. I let Scott take care of me and handle everything.”
“How are you feeling now?” Charlotte asked.
“And why didn’t you come home?” Her mother’s posture was stiff, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Tugging on a button of his shirt, she said, “I’m better. Scott offered to let me stay here since I obviously couldn’t go back to my house.”
Tears filled her eyes and he wanted to rush over, hold her. Her sister filled in for him.
“I brought you stuff to wear,” Charlotte said, holding up a bag she’d brought in with her. It had the Silvaggio’s name on it. “Figured you wouldn’t have much with you.”
“We would have been here sooner except Charlotte insisted on stopping at the downtown store to get you these.” A frown appeared as he glanced at his youngest daughter.
Scott searched Heather’s face to see if she was embarrassed to be found in his apartment, wearing his shirt. It didn’t appear that way.
“Thank you, Char,” Heather said, taking the bag from her sister. “I think I’ll get dressed if everyone doesn’t mind.”
“I’ll come with you,” Charlotte answered, her impish grin directed at her parents.
Great, that left him alone with Heather’s parents. From the curious look on Charlotte’s face it might be a while before Heather satisfied her sister’s questions.
“Can I offer you some coffee, Mr. and Mrs. Silva?”
Heather’s dad sighed and nodded. “I’d love some. And please, it’s Domenic and Nicoletta.”
Moving his hands to indicate they should sit on the couch, Scott shuffled toward the kitchen. The T-shirt was still in his hands so he pulled it over his head and began to make coffee. Looked like round four was being postponed due to interference. Damn.
* * * *
“Thanks for bringing me something to wear,” Heather said as they entered Scott’s bedroom. “I was wearing a tank and shorts. They’re covered in burn holes.”
Charlotte glanced around. “A girl’s got to have something better to wear than—” She pointed to Scott’s shirt that Heather had grabbed when she’d heard her dad’s voice. “Although you are totally rocking the boyfriend look.” Plopping on the bed, Heather reached in the bag taking out a sundress, shorts, a few tops, and half a dozen pair of lacy underwear. A pair of strappy flat sandals rested at the bottom of the bag.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for so I got a few things.”
After pulling the tags off, she slid the panties up her legs then took off Scott’s shirt. Charlotte’s gasp had her looking over her shoulder to where her sister gaped at her back. The burns. She’d forgotten they were there. Well, she hadn’t actually forgotten, but many other things took precedence over a little sting.
“Scott pulled us out in time, but we got hit with the blast. They’re minor, though, so don’t worry.”
Her sister’s expression was still one of concern as Heather slipped into the sundress. It was light and airy and didn’t cling too much to her damaged skin. Although it certainly was short. Charlotte always did like to show a little leg. Hers were spectacular.
“No bra, huh?” She peeked in the bag again.
“Sorry.” Charlotte grinned and looked down at her own small chest. “I never think along those lines.”
The sisters weren’t that dissimilar in height, but even though Heather was thin, she had some meat on her bones. Charlotte was wisplike and ethereal, almost fragile. A heart condition had kept her from being too physically active. Their parents had basically spoiled her growing up. Even more than Scott thought she was spoiled.
“So, how was it?”
Turning, she tilted her head at Charlotte’s question. “How was what? Getting my house blown up?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “No, sex with the stud out there.”
Heat rushed to her face and she turned away to buckle one of the sandals. “Who says we had sex?”
“There’s only one bedroom.”
“What if Scott was a gentleman and slept on the couch?”
Laughing, Charlotte said, “Please, this room reeks of sex. Don’t try and deny it.”
“How do you know what sex smells like?” She and Charlotte were close but Heather liked to keep her sex life private. Especially since Charlotte was four years younger than her.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Heather.”
“You’re only twenty-three.”
Lifting her nose in the air Charlotte sniffed, ignoring Heather’s words. “And it’s strong. You guys must have done it at least twice, right?”
More heat rose to her face.
“Three times?” Charlotte’s voice rose in excitement.
“We were going for four when you got here. Although the first time was in the kitchen.”
Charlotte pretended to swoon then fanned her face. “With the color of your face, I’m assuming it was good.”
“That’s none of your business, little sister. Now we should probably go and rescue Scott from Mom and Dad.”
A thoughtful look crossed her sister’s face. “Dad will be cross-examining him on his intentions toward you. Mom will be having an apoplectic fit because Scott
doesn’t have the right breeding and manners.”
“Too bad for both of them. It’s our lives and we can decide what we want from it.”
Charlotte stopped her before she opened the bedroom door. “And what do you want?”
With Scott, she didn’t know. That would have to play out in real time. “I want my house back.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetness,” Charlotte said, as she wrapped her arms around Heather’s waist. “I was trying to keep your mind off that.”
“I know.” She nodded.
Their parents were sitting at the dining table with coffee cups and cinnamon rolls in front of them when they came out of the bedroom. Heather poured a cup, grabbed a piece of pastry, and sat with them. Charlotte nosed around the kitchen.
“Where’s Scott?”
Her mother pointed to the bathroom. “He’s taking a shower.”
The water wasn’t running so he must be done. Which meant he’d be coming out any second with a towel wrapped around his gorgeous body. Good thing Charlotte was in the kitchen. Heather had seen how her younger sister ogled him when they first got here and he was bare chested.
The bathroom door opened and Scott came out, fully dressed, a pair of light brown Carhartts paired with a black T-shirt.
“Where—?” she began, tilting her head in question.
“I had clean clothes in the dryer.”
His hair had been hastily rubbed with a towel and the waves stood out in a few spots. She wanted to run her fingers through it, push it back into place. Having her parents here prohibited that, for now. Perhaps at some point in the future.
“Have they figured out what caused your house to explode?” her dad asked, setting his coffee cup down on the table.
“Scott and I smelled gas right before it happened. There must have been a leak.” How much did she want to tell her parents about what had been happening? They knew there’d been a few paperwork snafus, but she hadn’t confided the rest because she didn’t want to worry them.
“Whenever you’re ready, we can bring you home.” Her mother took a dainty sip from her coffee. The large ceramic mug looked out of place in Nicoletta Silva’s hand. She was used to fine china or porcelain.
“I need to check in at the office then do some errands.” She’d lost everything in that explosion. Where did she even start?
“I can drive you around,” Charlotte offered. “You can even stay with me at my apartment if you want.”
“It might be better to stay at home. I have lots of people who can help you get things settled.”
“I appreciate that, Dad, Charlotte. But I need to do this myself. I’m not sure staying with either of you is the best thing for me.”
“You’re not thinking of staying in a hotel, dear, are you?” her mother said with disapproval in her eyes. “How would that look if you didn’t stay with your family?”
Sneaking a peek at Scott, who kept his face neutral, she took a deep breath. “I think I’ll stay with Scott.”
All eyes swung to him. His calm demeanor was only disturbed by a tiny twitch of his lips as he said, “You’re more than welcome here, Heather.”
“I’m not sure you’re thinking this through well enough,” her father said, disapproval now apparent in his expression. “No offense to Scott, but he’s had a nasty brush with the law recently.”
“If you’re talking about the assault charges, they’ve been dropped. The woman admitted she lied to the police.”
Scott’s posture was so stiff he could pass for a mannequin. Why wasn’t he defending himself?
“Even so, dear, it simply wouldn’t be right.”
“That I’m staying with a guy? Please, Mom, this isn’t the Victorian era. And I honestly feel safer here with Scott. I wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“Why would we get hurt?” her father thundered, his eyes blazing. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”
Sitting up straight, Scott cleared his throat. “We’ve had some mishaps on this new construction venture. At first we thought they were all coincidence, but between the bogus charges against me and Heather’s house, it might be more than that.”
“You’re saying someone might be trying to kill you? Both of you? Are the police aware of this?”
“The prosecutor who was trying my case is aware someone had it out for me, trying to put me in jail. She wanted us to let her know if anything else questionable happened. I consider this questionable. I was planning to speak with her and the police today. And my cousin, Jack, still has friends in the FBI. He’ll be contacting them.”
“Hearing this new information, I definitely think you need to stay with us, Heather.”
“I don’t want to, Dad. I don’t want any of you getting hurt because of me.”
“Then give up this project. It’s not worth getting killed over.”
“I agree, but it’s too late now,” she told her father. “We’ll be looking further into what the building was used for and who might want us out. I’m not losing the money I put into the project because I’m scared.”
“No money is worth your life.”
“Now that I’m involved it may not matter if I stop the project.”
“Then I’ll get a security guard to be with you.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Scott started, “I can keep her safe. I’ve got military training and I know what to look for.”
“How safe did you keep her when her house blew up?”
“Dad.” She reached over, squeezing her father’s hand. “If it wasn’t for Scott, I’d be dead right now. He stopped by to check on me. He was the one who smelled the gas and got us out of there. I was ready to wait and call the gas company but he wouldn’t even let me get my phone before he grabbed me and ran.”
“Which is why you didn’t answer when we called,” her mother said.
Her father took a deep breath in then exhaled slowly. “I didn’t realize. Thank you, Scott, for saving Heather’s life. I still don’t like the idea of her not being with us but I guess I have to respect her wishes.”
Wow, she hadn’t expected that from her dad. Was he finally seeing her as more than his little helpless girl?
Looking at Scott, he said, “I’m trusting you to keep her safe. And if you need any of my resources, do not hesitate to ask. Whether it’s money, people I know, or simply vehicles or tools, they’re yours if you need them.”
“Thank you, sir,” Scott said. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe. And find out who’s behind this. She’s come to mean a lot to me.”
Scott had come to mean a lot to her too. But what exactly was she to him? A friend, business partner, lover, more? She wished she knew, not only for him but for herself.
Chapter 17
“Is there anything else you need while we’re out?”
Scott looked at the pile of bags sitting in the cab of his truck. They’d been running from place to place trying to get whatever Heather needed to survive for the next week or so. He still couldn’t believe she had chosen to stay with him over her parents. Well, he could see why she didn’t want to stay with them: she was twenty-seven and had lived on her own for a while. But her sister had also offered.
“I need to stop at the pharmacy and pick up my prescription. The doctor’s office said they’d call it in so I could get a refill.”
She got in beside him then shut the door. It only took a few minutes to get there and he went inside with her.
“I’m capable of picking up a small bag of pills by myself, Scott.”
“I know you are.” He guided her inside and to the counter. “Humor me. I told your father I’d keep you safe.”
As she waited for the pharmacy tech, he slipped into one of the waiting area chairs then leaned his head back. There hadn’t been much sleep for either of them last night. Part
ly because of the sex, but also because they were so hyped up over the explosion it had been difficult to relax enough to fall asleep. Her behavior toward him today had been warm and friendly. Not that they hadn’t had that before, but he wondered if it was simply because she was grateful. It’s not what he wanted from her. He wanted it real.
The tech asked Heather a few questions about any allergies and his mind wandered. The pills she was getting were her birth control pills. He’d heard her talking to the doctor’s office earlier, letting them know what had happened and why she needed more. Her face had flushed when she’d told them it wasn’t only for the irregular cycle.
Peeking at her in her cute dress, he pictured what she’d be like if she were pregnant. Round and filled with his child. Shit. The feelings knocked him over like an armored tank. Is this why Jack always had a grin on his face when he looked at Callie? The thought of Heather having his child filled him with emotions he didn’t know he had.
Shut it down, soldier. It was too early in their relationship to be considering a baby. But after the past week, with their date, the unbelievable sex, and Heather wanting to stay with him, it certainly wasn’t out of the question. Plus they’d known each other for almost three years. They weren’t strangers.
Holding a small paper bag, Heather approached and he snapped back to the present.
“I’m ready.”
She slid her hand through his arm as they walked back to his truck. “Thanks for running around with me doing errands today. I can’t believe my car was totaled with the explosion damage. The insurance company said I could get a rental, so I’ll probably do that later today.”
Glancing at his watch, he noted the time. “It’s already after four. We can do that tomorrow. Why don’t we stop at the grocery store and I’ll cook you up a great meal tonight? What would you like?”
After tossing her bag in the truck she leaned in close and whispered, “You. That’s all I need.”
