WindSwept Narrows: #11 Mariah Peyton

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  Eli went to the unconscious man and snapped a photo, shooting it to the night desk with his inquiry.

  Mariah opened one eye when they were alone at the front desk. “It’s after three in the morning, Eli…what in the world are you doing awake?”

  “Mostly trying to get you to return my calls,” he answered, pulling a chair to the side and leaning back tiredly. “I had some idiot notion I could corner you at the Emporium…then you disappeared on me.” He stopped when his phone chimed, opening it and lifting it to his ear. “Baker…how convenient. Send a patrol car to the health center on the resort…they have him restrained,” he paused when the shout echoed through the ER. “And conscious. Umm…send me a couple really big guys…thanks, McKay.”

  “Someone you need, I take it?”

  “Wants and warrants…we will gladly take him off your hands, doc,” Eli saw the tiniest of smiles tilting her lips. “I know it’s late…or early…I’m off the next couple days unless all hell breaks loose,” he amended with a sigh. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  “Eli…I have the kid party tomorrow at five. I get out of here in…fifteen minutes or when my replacement appears. I have to be back here at eight until four a.m.. I need sleep and I want to hit some stores tomorrow,” Mariah ran out of breath, laying her head on the desk with the ice pack on her neck.

  “Okay…sleep until ten…I’ll pick you up and take you around and we can talk and have a late lunch…” He stopped when she shook her head. “No?” He said flatly.

  “Why don’t you meet me at the house,” she looked up with a crooked grin.

  “Umm…tonight?” Eli cleared his throat.

  “Hmm…” she dropped the ice pack into the trash with a nod. “And here is my replacement now…I’m going home…logs are up to date…some cops are coming for the noisy guy…do not let anyone release him until the cops are here to take him into custody…in fact…suggest that they have him transported on the gurney to the cell until whatever he’s used wears off. Make sure you copy the police on his tox screens when they come through,” she said firmly, taking Eli’s palm and tugging. “I have to get my stuff. I’ll be there in a few, alright?”

  Mariah watched him nod and stride from the back, stopping only long enough to talk to the officers entering the ER. He led them to the bay while she went to change clothes.

  It didn’t surprise her that there was no activity at the construction site. She knew she’d gotten lucky the night before as far as timing was concerned. If they were going to make another attempt, she mused, guiding the bike around the curving road home, it would be maybe Christmas or Christmas Eve. Tomorrow night, she thought, chewing her lip as she entered the house, deep in thought. Jacket and helmet were dropped to the heavy dining chair before the silence registered.

  She made certain the locks were in place before sinking to the chair and working her boots free, leaving them next to the table. A small smile broke when she entered the loft, lights from outside spraying gently across the back of the man sprawled on one side of the large bed. It was almost five in the morning, she reminded herself as she quickly stripped and climbed beneath the quilts.

  Eli wasn’t surprised that a part of him knew when she was close, his palm out to pull her against him before they both slipped peacefully to sleep. He wasn’t sure where his dreams had taken him until he realized the arousal and gentle caresses weren’t a figment of his imagination. Tender bites and soft kisses trailed over his throat; delicate fingers brushing the hair from his face before her mouth settled over his. Warm and pliable, she woke him slowly, drawing him into her dream, he realized with a heady groan when her fingers stroked over his stomach and inside his shorts.

  “Mariah…” Her name whispered from his lips, his hands roaming freely over the woman stretched out over him.

  “Do you think we should talk first?” Mariah lifted her head slowly, daylight beginning to break through the clouds. “I’m sorry…I didn’t realize…throwing you into the middle of a family…” She stopped when his hand left the back of her head, one finger over her lips.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how important it was for you to have a family,” he countered, his finger trailing off to circle her ear. “You know we won’t always agree on stuff…”

  “But making up will be fun,” she promised with a sexy wiggle that made his breath catch. “More talking later,” she told him, sliding to the side and reaching for the nightstand.

  Mariah didn’t ask questions when he wandered off at the mall, setting their watches and telling her to meet him back there in two hours. She just grinned and watched the long legged stride. They’d talked all morning, through breakfast and a lot of cursing at the traffic. She only shook her head, repeating that taking the bike would have been easier, with the exception of trunk space.

  Two hours later, she stood at the entrance, loaded down with bags when he came in from behind her, looking satisfied and empty handed. She frowned at the wrapped packages he uncovered once they were at the house, carrying everything inside for her.

  “No wrapping?” She asked in disbelief, papers and tape and note cards laid out on the table in front of her.

  “Hey…I’m supporting the economy,” he told her, laying back on the sofa and closing his eyes. “They have charity groups you pay to do that stuff up right for you…it’s a business totally designed for males.”

  Mariah decided she couldn’t argue that point at all, itchy curiosity at the collection of presents beneath their tree. But she resisted, enjoying the music around her as she wrapped the presents and labeled them neatly.

  She moved to sit next to the sofa, her hand sliding over the flat of his stomach, fingers deftly opening buttons as she stealthily worked her way to his collar.

  “I’m not sleeping, you know…if it was your intent to take advantage of me,” Eli murmured, his voice resonating in a low, husky tone.

  “Aw…shucks…and here I thought I could ravish you while you slept,” Mariah, quietly continued caressing his skin, his shirt completely open. “I just thought of a really nice Christmas activity…one you previously promised me…”

  Eli waited a long, silent minute, lifting his arm from his face and finding her gone. He heard her on the stairs, moving around in the loft. He quietly kicked his shoes free, deciding patience would have its own reward.

  It was an hour later before Mariah and Eli lay on the floor, gazing through half closed eyes at the sparkling Christmas tree, the only source of light in the late afternoon. She lay with her head on his shoulder, a light quilt covering them both. Eli ran his palm over her shoulder, fingers toying with the stray dark hair curling in the steam of their lovemaking.

  “A new tradition?” He asked casually, meeting the wide eyes she lifted from his chin.

  “I hope so,” she admitted honestly, sighing thickly. “I have to go the Emporium. It’s the last party for the children.”

  “You’re taking the bike?”

  “Yes…I should be home a little after four,” she told him, sitting up and looking around for the band that had been in her hair, quickly raking it into shape and binding it up.

  Eli let himself stare at the arched back and raised arms. The quilt pooled at her hips, the rise of her behind barely visible and still etched in his palms. Their clothes were strewn across the surface of the sofa, the piece she was searching for dangling from his fingers. He cleared his throat loudly, watching her turn and offer an arched eyebrow.

  “It’ll cost you…” Eli moved it just out of her reach, his grin crooked at the way she tried to keep her arms folded across her chest. “Mariah…shy?”

  “Of course not…” She frowned, strained to reach for her bra. “Eli…” She yelped when he gripped her palm and tugged her to the floor with him again. Wide brown eyes blinked when she found herself boxed against the sofa and Eli.

  “A kiss, my sweet…” He let the piece of lace and nylon fall into her hand, his palm on the side of her face before his mouth covere
d hers softly. “I’ll take my car and explore a little around the Emporium. And it’s okay if you wake me,” he assured her before collecting and sorting their clothing.

  ****

  Mariah was running down the corridor to the office, gloves stuffed into the helmet dangling from her fingers. She made it around the corner into the office with a breathless apology.

  “I am so sorry…I’ll dress quickly…” Mariah dropped the helmet, tossed her jacket on top and began unzipping her boots when she looked up at the loud gasps from both women. “What?” Brown eyes flew from one wide eyed stare to the other.

  Eloise raised one palm and gently touched the side of Mariah’s face.

  “Oh, god…I forgot all about it…”

  “What happened?” Gwen exclaimed.

  “Drug induced fool in the ER last night,” Mariah shook her head, quickly changing her clothes.

  “Make-up,” Eloise said as she quickly pulled her boots into place. “I’ll go talk to Aunt Zora…be right back,” she promised with a nod.

  Mariah watched with a little frown. “Why Zora?”

  “Eloise and I are the wrong coloring,” Gwen explained with a smile, zipping her own boots and studying the effect in the mirror. “Aunt Zora will have the right colors. I had no idea emergency rooms were so hazardous.”

  “You’ve no idea, Gwen,” Mariah sat on the edge of the sofa and pulled the low boots on. “Between designer drugs and alcohol and simple…mental illness…it’s becoming more and more common.”

  Silence surrounded them as Zora and Eloise stepped through the office door, having heard her statement. Zora opened some small containers, her fingers light on Mariah’s face, dabbing and easing the colors, blending the shades until there was no evidence of the large bruise.

  “There…you are all beautiful…now…off with you…” Zora ordered with a smile at the three young women, their long legs quickly taking them to the carousel room and the waiting, excited kids.

  Half way through the evening, Eloise tapped Gwen on the shoulder, her eyes directing her cousin’s vision with a smile. Leaning on the wide open arch of the entry, Eli Baker watching the activities for several minutes before striding off with Morgan and Ethan.

  “So you two worked out the problem?” Gwen asked when the kids were settled with a dramatic reading of the Night Before Christmas by Santa.

  “Not a lot of talking…” She admitted, shaking her head at the soft laughter from Eloise and Gwen. “Maybe he wasn’t thinking a permanent kind of thing…I’m not sure I was, either, but it feels so right to be with him. I have a really hard time thinking of being without him. Then the practical side of me says it’s barely been any time at all…and the side of me that’s been in a war zone says that time is irrelevant,” she whispered, a little pain her voice.

  Eloise straightened her back with a long groan, crossing her legs beneath her on the floor. “It’s a really weird thing…when you meet someone and they’re at the same stage in life that you feel you are…a kind of always phase…where it all just neatly falls into place. As a logic girl, let me tell you, it totally can mess up your head if you think on it too long,” she scowled at the laughs around her.

  “I’m not sure I was looking for a permanent thing,” Mariah said with a long sigh. “I’ve seen too many things that make it very difficult to believe in much of anything permanent,” she admitted ruefully, glancing up at the clock and scrambling to her feet. “I am off…I’ll see you girls tomorrow!”

  Mariah decided she definitely loved the feel in the air when it was thick and cold and filled with scents from people cooking to seaweed to burning logs on people’s fireplaces. It was another dry, cold night with clear skies and excellent riding conditions.

  She was kicked back listening to the others on her night staff talking and finishing their lunches. Eyes half closed and her mind wandering. Perhaps she wasn’t searching for someone permanent. It was hardly fair, given the schedules she had lived through the last ten years. True, she mused, this was going to be only a holiday thing on her part. She’d received a basket of fruit and a large box of chocolates from the two night shift people, thanking her for giving them time with their families. It made her smile as she bit into the center of a very nice pear.

  Mariah had the logs up to date and was pulling her boots on when her replacement appeared. Nothing complicated to explain, she gave a little wave and snapped her gloves in place, the helmet last before she stepped into the cold, brisk very early morning air. She lifted the visor for a few minutes, inhaling the sharply cold air while the bike warmed a little before heading onto the road. Just maybe taking a little detour toward the north, cruising through the very quiet streets around the construction sites.

  It was almost five when she climbed off the bike, a long yawn breaking free as she tapped in the door code. It felt like home, she mused, sinking to the sofa after flipping the switch near the tree, the sparkling lights off the angel ornaments bringing a smile as she removed her boots and lay back, pulling the quilt from the back over her and just staring. She fell asleep to the twinkling lights, letting the hypnotic colors and beat lull her off.

  Chapter Nine

  It was after seven when Eli wandered down the stairs, frowning that he was in the bed alone. He’d only been asleep for three hours and was still tired, but there were a lot of things on his mind lately. Mariah Peyton was at the top of his list at the moment.

  He’d spent the last couple days thinking about his reaction to her sinking herself into the Paddington family. And how easily she drew him along with her. Maybe he’d been a cop for too long. It was too easy to fall into a pattern of not thinking about the future because too often you wondered if you had one to think about. His sigh was soft when he saw the Christmas tree lights glowing and Mariah sleeping on the sofa, curled beneath a quilt. He kicked back on the recliner and stared.

  He wasn’t adverse to her finding peace and even comfort with her new family. He wasn’t even against considering himself part of a couple or in a committed relationship. He never thought of a tomorrow with anyone before. He’d met most of the new Paddington family the night Mariah brought Eloise back on her bike. So why had it unnerved him to be taken to breakfast with the family?

  He’d never been much on families. Maybe it was seeing first hand every day what they did to one another in the name of family, but he wasn’t sure. His own were half a country away and given the drama some of them invited into their lives, he was generally alright with the separation. He’d been living on his own for a good part of his life. He had a simple one bedroom apartment and it had been fine for a long time. Only now, it wasn’t so comfortable. Now it felt empty after only a few days with Mariah.

  Eli stood up, tapped the lights off on the tree and gathered Mariah against him, taking her up the stairs and listening to the mumbling as he settled her into the large bed. He fixed the blankets over them both and pulled her close. Neither of them moved until almost noon.

  It was as if her internal clock suddenly went into alarm, her body bolting upright, long hair flying around her face as she searched for the location of the clock in the bedroom. Bedroom? She frowned. She was on the sofa. She looked down, grateful her clothing was all still in one place.

  “Noon?” She yelped, clapping her palm on the side of the man closest to her, ignoring his groan. “I’ve got things to get done! Damn it, the stores close early today,” she clamored out of the bed, feet moving quickly into the bathroom, the door slamming loudly. “Why’d you let me sleep? That’s why I was on the sofa! I had my phone…” She came out of the bathroom, talking loudly and patting down her pockets. “My phone set to alarm me at nine…” she came to an abrupt stop when a couple hands were up, one on the back of her head, the other covering her mouth.

  “Geeze, woman…breathe and slow the hell down…I need a bucket of coffee before dealing with you in the morning if they’re all like this,” Eli met the glaring dark eyes. “I will hurry…and we can catch food an
d coffee to have while I drive. And we will talk…which we have not done about this whole thing yet. Okay?” He asked cautiously before moving his hands when she nodded slowly. “Ten minutes…” he promised, gathering his clothing and going into the bathroom.

  Mariah went below and started the coffee maker she’d gotten from Eloise, popping some bread into the toaster and writing on her notepad in between pouring juice and setting out a large coffee mug for him. She was tapping her pen off her cheek when she heard him on the stairs, a grin creasing her lips when he sniffed.

  “This is some kind of illusion,” he said suspiciously, peering into the large cup of steaming coffee by the empty chair. “When did you…?”

  “I asked Eloise…it was in the store room and just needed cleaned up,” she answered easily. “I have work tonight…Christmas exchange with the family and breakfast tomorrow at ten…they moved it because of my hours…I’ve got to get some of these things to the main living area today before I leave for work tonight…” she sighed and let her head fall to the counter top. “There aren’t enough hours in the day at this time of year.”

  “Draw me a map to the main living area…sort out your packages…I can deliver them later,” Eli said after a long swallow of coffee, looking over her list. He checked his pockets quickly and took her hand. “Let’s go…I’ll drive…you direct…we’ll make it fit,” he promised, snagging up his jacket on the way out the door.

  Mariah snagged up her pack with her wallet and her jacket, at his side as he opened the doors to the SUV. She watched him. It was impossible not to, she thought. She liked him. A lot.