Out of Sight

by Michelle Celmer

  Tom looked relieved to be given a free pass out of this mess. “Sure, Abi.”

  “Aren’t you the hypocrite,” Cindy said in that tone kids used when they were trying to raise themselves to an adult level. If she thought she could intimidate Abi, she’d been mistaken. Abi didn’t flinch.

  Damn. Every time Will was sure he had her pegged, she would reveal some new facet to her personality.

  She grabbed the blanket from him, stuffed it into her backpack and said, “Let’s go.”

  Cindy threw her shoulders back and lifted her chin in one last fruitless effort to shift the balance of power. “I don’t want to go back, and you can’t make me.”

  Abi gave her a look that would have put Will’s father in his place and said calmly, “Watch me.”

  Chapter 12

  “Five more minutes until bedtime,” Abi warned Adam, who was playing with his toy trucks in a dirt patch beside the cabin. She and Will sat side by side on the swing on her front porch, nursing bottled beer, quietly enjoying the evening.

  When they’d returned from town that afternoon, Will had intended to invite himself over for dinner, but Abi had saved him the trouble and extended an invitation—right in front of Cindy, proving yet again she was not a woman to be messed with.

  Rather than hang around and witness the fireworks that were sure to ignite when Abi handed Cindy over to her father—not that he wouldn’t like to see the kid get what was coming to her—he’d gone to his cabin and called Robbins to see if there was anything new from the wiretaps. There wasn’t, and Will said nothing about the individual who’d been following them.

  Now that he was back there with Abi, he was wondering if they might, as Cindy had so succinctly put it, get to play touchy-feely again.

  This wasn’t like him at all. He had a job to do here, but somehow that kept getting pushed aside. In the past he’d always been one hundred percent focused. Especially times like now, when he was so close to solving a case. But for the first time in four years his quest for justice had been overshadowed by a much more basic need, something Will had never felt before.

  Emotional connection. The need to be Abi’s friend as well as her lover.

  His wives had been physically beautiful, but in the end, pathetically lacking in most other departments. Abi was the whole package—beautiful and desirable on the inside and out. And the more he got to know her, the more time he wanted to spend with her, the further ahead he began to look in terms of what kind of future they might have together—and what his life would be like if, after the remaining two weeks were up, they parted.

  Two weeks. Damn, he could barely believe it had only been fourteen days since he’d first lain eyes on her in the office. Of course, he had a reputation for rushing into relationships. He’d married his first wife after three months, his second after five. It was probably the newness of it, that euphoria of feeling needed.

  Being with Abi had felt like that, too, almost from the moment he’d met her. And maybe at first it had been that desire to be needed that had drawn him to her, but since then, especially today, she’d made it pretty clear she didn’t need him for anything.

  Maybe what he found most fascinating was that she always had him wondering what new thing he would learn about her.

  “I’m sorry I ruined our afternoon,” Abi said.

  Will swirled the beer in the bottom of the bottle. “You didn’t ruin anything. In fact, it was highly entertaining watching you lay into Cindy. The kid needed to be put in her place.”

  “I know she’s troubled and confused, but she made me so angry. I probably shouldn’t have been so hard on her.”

  “No, you were perfect. I guarantee she’ll think twice before messing with you again.”

  “She might say things about us being together at the park, and I wouldn’t put it past her to embellish.”

  “So what do you want to do?”

  “There’s not much we can do.”

  “We could stop seeing each other.” Just saying the words left a painful hole in his gut, and he wished he could take them back. What if she agreed? He didn’t want to stop seeing her.

  “That would be the responsible thing to do,” she agreed and he felt it like a sucker punch. He never should have opened his big mouth.

  “The thing is,” she continued, “I’m really tired of always doing the responsible thing. I’m sick of planning my every move, of worrying about what’s going to happen and how I’ll deal with it. So let’s not do the responsible thing, okay? Just this once.”

  That didn’t mean they shouldn’t be smart. “How irresponsible are we talking here?”

  “I’m not saying we shouldn’t still be discreet.”

  “So no skinny-dipping in the lake?”

  She gave him an exasperated look. “It’s so nice to know you’re taking me seriously.”

  He grinned and took a swig of his beer.

  Boy, he really liked her.

  “I can’t stop people from thinking what they want to think,” she said.

  “Does this mean that when no one else is around we get to stop pretending we’re only friends?”

  “If we’re going to be honest with each other and with ourselves, it seems like that’s the only thing we can do.”

  “I’m all for honesty.” Though too much of it could be a bad thing at this point. “What about Adam? How do you want to handle that?”

  She took a deep pull on her beer, draining the bottle. “With caution and discretion until we know for sure where this is going. As you’ve probably noticed, he’s grown very attached to you. I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  “I don’t, either.”

  “Speaking of Adam…” She glanced at her watch and called, “Time to go inside, kiddo.”

  “Aw, man,” Adam whined. “Do I gotta?”

  “You have to,” she corrected. “It’s past nine. You’ll have to skip your bath and hop right into bed.”

  He walked to the porch, shoulders slumped, tennis shoes dragging, and then he saw Will sitting there and brightened instantly. “Can Will tuck me in?”

  She looked over at Will and he nodded. “Yes, Will can tuck you in.”

  Adam darted up the steps and grabbed Will’s hand, pulling him up out of his seat. “Come on!”

  “One book,” she called after them, but there was a catch in her voice. Will looked back at her as Adam dragged him into the cabin and through the fading light of dusk he could swear he saw tears shimmering in her eyes.

  Will finished the book Adam had picked out from the loaded shelves on his bedroom wall and set it on the table beside his bed. It was about a family spending a day at the park.

  “I don’t have a daddy,” Adam said. He sat beside Will in his pajamas, his head resting on Will’s arm. “I just have a mommy.”

  “Your mom told me.”

  “Can I call you Daddy, Will?”

  Wow, that was unexpected. “Why would you want to call me Daddy, sport?”

  “I want a baby brother, but mommy says you can’t have a baby without a daddy. If I call you Daddy, then maybe she’ll have a baby.”

  Will suppressed a grin. Not bad reasoning for a three-year-old. He could swear sometimes he felt as if he was falling as hard for Adam as he was for his mother. “I’m not sure if calling me Daddy would be such a good idea. It might upset your mom.”

  His bottom lip curled into a pout and his shoulders drooped. “Okay.”

  “Besides, it takes a little more than that to have a baby. For starters, the mommy and daddy should be married.” At least, that’s the way he thought it should be done.

  “Can’t you and mommy get married?”

  “To get married, you have to love each other.”

  He looked confused. “You don’t love my mommy?”

  Oh, man, stick the knife in and twist it a few times, kid. “I like your mommy a lot, but I just met her. It takes time to learn to love somebody.”

  “You never learned how?”

/>   He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. Sure, he’d felt love, but not the kind a man should feel when he makes the decision to commit to someone for the rest of his life. So he answered honestly. “No, I think I’m still learning.”

  Adam looked up at Will with pleading eyes. “One more story?”

  Amazing how quickly the kid could change gears. “Not tonight. Your mom said just one.”

  He got up and Adam snuggled down under the light covers.

  “Could you read to me again tomorrow?”

  “Maybe.” If he was here, he wouldn’t mind reading to him, but that was Abi’s call. He didn’t want to make a promise he couldn’t keep.

  He tucked the blanket around Adam and switched off the lamp, hesitated a second, then pressed a kiss to his forehead. “See you tomorrow, sport.”

  His eyes were drifting closed and his voice sounded sleepy. “Night, Will.”

  Will stepped out of the room, heart in his throat, and shut the door quietly behind him. He didn’t know exactly why he’d kissed Adam good-night. It had just felt like the right thing to do. Maybe it was wrong. He just didn’t know anymore.

  Everything felt all confused and jumbled up. He didn’t know what he wanted.

  He walked into the family room to look for Abi. The room was lit by a single dim lamp beside the couch where she lay sleeping.

  She looked like an angel lying there, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had any idea what the hell he thought he was doing. If just by being here he was putting her and her son in danger. He hoped that by now whoever was following them had figured out Abi wasn’t the one they were looking for. They must have or they would have made a move by now. He wished he could tell her the truth, who he really was, and trust her not to tip Maureen off. But even he knew that was too much to ask.

  As deeply as he cared for Abi, he had an obligation to Ryan’s family. They needed closure, and so did he. He had to see this through.

  He walked over to the couch and as he sat on the edge of the cushion, she roused, looking up at him through sleepy eyes.

  “Adam?” she asked.

  “He’s asleep.”

  “Oh, good.” She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “I guess I dozed off.”

  “You’re tired,” he said, brushing a lock of hair back from her face. “I should go.”

  “I don’t want you to go. Not yet.” She slipped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “This is me not pretending we’re just friends.”

  He had the feeling he was really going to like this honesty business. He lowered his head to brush his lips over her forehead. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I’d like to take you into my bedroom, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure if I am, either. Not that I don’t want to, believe me. I just think, all things considered, it would be better if we took this slow.” He wasn’t sure where this was going and he didn’t want to get in too far over his head before he told Abi the truth.

  Abi wound her fingers into the hair at his nape. “We could kiss for a while.”

  “If Adam woke up, he would see us and there would be questions.” He thought about telling her the entire “Daddy” business, then decided against it.

  “He wouldn’t see us if we turn the light out.”

  “And if he wakes up and finds us in the dark?”

  She reached over her head and switched off the lamp, plunging them into darkness. “We’ll tell him we’re playing hide-and-seek. He’ll buy that.”

  Before he could object, Abi pulled his head down and kissed him—hot, sweet and demanding, as if she knew exactly what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to take it. It was the exact opposite of what he’d expected, and desire slammed him hard and fast.

  “Lie down with me,” she murmured and scooted to give him room.

  He stretched out beside her, looked down at her through the dark. “Are you sure about this?”

  “I’m not sure about anything anymore. But it’s what I want.”

  Will kissed her in that slow, hypnotizing, mind-numbing way he was so good at, and Abi felt herself melting again. And though she knew it was probably wrong, she didn’t care. All she cared about, all she knew, was the need to be close to him. The rest they would figure out later.

  He caressed her face, touched her hair, her shoulder, the dip just below her collarbone—places she’d never considered particularly arousing. But with Will doing the touching, a warm, restless ache began to build between her thighs. In the past she’d been more or less numb when it came to the region below her waist. Of course she’d felt things, but they hadn’t been particularly exciting or even pleasurable. Sex was just something she did to keep a man happy, to bend him to her will. She hadn’t known it was supposed to feel like this.

  He cupped her breast and she groaned softly.

  “Is this okay?” he whispered against her lips.

  “Yes.” It was so much better than okay.

  He caressed her through her shirt, one breast, then the other. Men had always been particularly drawn to them, but she couldn’t remember one ever touching her so tenderly.

  The ache burned hotter, spread to her stomach and breasts. Then his hand slipped under her shirt, touched bare skin, and she gasped in a breath.

  Will froze. “Not good?”

  “No,” she said, “it’s very good. Don’t stop.”

  His hand slid upward, over her stomach, up each of her ribs, until he was touching her through the lace of her bra. All the while he sipped at her lips, kissed her chin and her throat, nibbled her ear. Drove her crazy.

  This gentle, lazy exploration was so different from the way she’d been touched before. Most men expected satisfaction and they would take whatever they wanted to get it. They’d never cared much if it was enjoyable for her. Or maybe she just hadn’t let them try.

  Satisfying her was all Will seemed to care about. Not that he objected when she slipped her hands under his shirt and ran a palm up his lean, muscled torso. He made a noise, somewhere between a moan and a sigh, and kissed her more deeply. She’d imagined touching him this way so many times. Fantasy paled in comparison to the real thing.

  Will eased her shirt up, the cup of her bra down, and cool air tickled her. Then he was touching her—his warm palm against her oversensitized bare skin. If she wasn’t trying so hard to be quiet, she would have moaned.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said, watching her body react as he touched her, his voice rough with desire.

  Lots of men had told her that, but they had only been words. She didn’t think a single one of them had looked at her, seen her the way Will did. She wasn’t very big on top, and nowhere close to her pre-pregnancy firmness, but he didn’t seem to mind. His body, on the other hand, showed few signs of age. Everywhere her hands wandered she encountered only lean, well-toned muscle, firm skin. Even the hair on his chest felt silky-fine.

  “My body was better before I had Adam,” she said.

  “No. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

  He lowered his head, touched her with his tongue. The sensation was so shockingly intense, a deep shudder quaked through her and she dug her nails into his skin. He teased lightly—one side, then the other. The ache between her legs, the wet heat, became unbearable. She needed him to touch her, needed release from this torture. But somehow she didn’t think he would make the first move.

  Oh, what the heck.

  At the risk of being too much like the old Abi, she grabbed his wrist and guided Will’s hand down over the front of her shorts.

  Chapter 13

  Will’s head snapped up in surprise. Playful petting he’d anticipated, but nothing this intimate. At least, not yet. Not that he didn’t want to. There was nothing more exciting to him than pleasing a woman.

  He loved every scent and flavor, every contour and texture of the female body. He might have been a lousy husband in many respects, but in the bedroom he’d nev
er heard a single complaint. Good sex was probably the only thing that had held his marriages together in those final taxing months. But he didn’t want Abi to feel pushed into something she wasn’t ready for.

  He looked down at her hand clutching his wrist, then up at Abi’s face. He was going to ask if she was sure, if it wasn’t too soon, but then he saw the look of tortured ecstasy in her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, her lids half-closed.

  There was no question she new exactly what she wanted. And God knows he wanted it, too.

  He fumbled with the button on her shorts, but his fingers felt rubbery and uncoordinated. The reality of them lying here together like this really had him in a state. Almost twenty-five years of sexual experience under his belt and he felt like a damned kid again. He was actually nervous, the way he’d been in tenth grade when he’d touched a girl this way for the first time on the couch in her parents’ den—so scared they would be caught by her father but too turned on, too curious, to stop.

  Maybe he was nervous because he knew how important this was, what it meant to her to take this next step. He didn’t want to do something wrong and screw this up.

  Abi reached down and yanked the button free.

  He was only a little embarrassed that he was coming across as so inept. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” she said, her voice breathy and deep.

  Will lowered her zipper, and she sighed—long and slow and deep. He slipped his hand inside the opening, over top her panties, and she hissed out a breath, eased her legs apart. Through the silky fabric he could feel how wet she was, how ready to be touched, but he wasn’t about to rush this along. He was going to savor every second.

  Abi reached down and tugged at the button on his shorts.

  He pulled his hand free and grabbed her wrist, the way she’d done to him. “You don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t,” she said. “That’s why I want to. That’s what makes it so special.”

  His heart stilled in his chest. What did she mean by that? Was she trying to say she’d been forced to do things against her will? “Abi, are you saying that you were…”