by Judy Duarte
“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.” She slid him an understanding smile, a vibrant heart-tugging one that made him almost believe she’d see his side.
“Thanks.” He returned a grin, but it wasn’t anywhere near as upbeat as hers. Or nearly as hopeful.
He figured that was the end of the discussion, but her gaze lingered on him, as though she was searching for the things he hadn’t told her. But she didn’t press him. Not with words.
Damn. He had to do something, had to change the subject, lift the mood. So he playfully bumped his arm against hers. “Let’s go swimming.”
“Here?” she asked, those sea-green eyes growing wide with disbelief.
“Why not?”
“We don’t have towels.”
He wondered if she ever temporarily chucked that motherly side and, hoping she would, slid her a taunting smile. “What are you—a woman or a mouse?”
“Throwing down the gauntlet, huh?” She laughed, then unbuttoned her shorts.
A gentleman might glance the other way, pretending disinterest in the unveiling. But Brett’s rebel spirit wouldn’t let him tear his eyes away. He watched as she slid the shorts down her hips, revealing a bikini-clad shape that could make a grown man stutter and stammer like a goofy adolescent suffering from a testosterone overload.
Damn. All along, he’d suspected she’d have a hot body, but the proof of it nearly took his breath away. Full breasts, a small taut waist, rounded hips, shapely legs.
And he knew, without a doubt, she’d look even better minus that sleek black material.
As she tossed her shorts onto the dry sand, he lassoed his libido—but just barely.
“Come on.” He took her by the hand. “Last one in is a rotten egg.”
They ran into the water like a couple of kids with no cares in the world.
He wasn’t sure how long they laughed and played—long enough to know his attractive neighbor was more than someone’s mom. Much more. She was a girl, a woman and a lady, all rolled into one small but dynamite package. A package barely held together by the strings of a black bikini.
As a wave approached, Brett dove underwater before it struck, and Caitlin followed. When he popped to the surface, he wiped his eyes with his hand and stole a glance at her, just as she cupped her hand and splashed him in the face.
“Hey,” he said in a mock complaint.
She turned to run, sloshing through the thigh-high water, and he took off after her. The water slowed his steps, but his stride was longer than hers, and he closed the gap. When he was within arms’ distance, he grabbed her, intending to catch her, to playfully retaliate, to get her back.
But as his hands clasped her waist, as she glanced over her shoulder and their eyes locked, sexual awareness slammed into him like a tsunami.
The passion that had been brewing under the surface rose to a head, and there was no damn way he could ignore the heat, ignore the desire to kiss her, to dip his tongue into her mouth, to run his hands along the curves of her bare skin.
He pulled her body to his, not at all sure what her reaction would be. But instead of pushing him away, her hands slipped around his neck. She raised up on tiptoe and drew his mouth to hers—beating him to the punch.
He didn’t usually do this sort of thing in public, but this stretch of the beach had been pretty deserted when they’d arrived. So he let himself go, falling into the spell she’d cast over him.
The kiss began slowly, tentatively, but as passion took the lead, tongues mated in a vigorous hunger, tasting, savoring, seeking.
But it was more than the sleek, wet inside of her mouth that Brett wanted to explore.
When was the last time a kiss had sent his hormones raging, his heart pounding, his blood racing like this? He’d be damned if he could remember. In fact, he doubted another woman’s kiss had ever affected him like this, turning him every which way but loose.
His hands slid along her slick skin, laying claim to each tantalizing curve. Mere strings kept her from being naked, from being completely his.
Desire nearly knocked him to his knees. He wanted to make love, and it didn’t matter where—in a bed, in the back seat of a car, on a patch of grass. Anywhere he could stretch alongside her and love her with his hands, his mouth, his body, taking her—taking them—someplace they’d never been. And he wouldn’t stop until he was fully spent.
A wave built, and as it threatened to splash against them, especially her, he lifted her out of the way. Yet their kiss continued.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, the crotch of her bathing suit pressing against his belly, close to the tip of a demanding erection. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?
The woman was driving him insane—and making him like it. A lot.
His fingers slid under the strap of her bikini top, and he stroked the swell of her breast.
She moaned into his mouth. Or was that an “uh-oh”? When she pulled her lips away, an “Oops” escaped.
“What’s the matter?”
“Surfers at twelve o’clock.”
He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a couple of teenage boys sitting on their boards, snickering.
Great. He and Caitlin had become adolescent entertainment.
“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t usually get carried away when there’s an audience.”
“Neither do I.” But she didn’t release him. Instead, she continued to hold him close, her arms clasped around his neck, her legs around his waist.
And for some dumb reason, he didn’t give a squat what people thought. “This is crazy, Caitlin.”
“I know.” She rested her head against his, but still didn’t unwrap her legs, didn’t release her arms.
If it were already dark…if they were here alone…if…
He held her close enough to feel the beat of her heart. Or maybe that was his pulse beating in his head, reminding him he could use some relief, the heady kind that came from sexual release.
“So what are we going to do about it?” he asked, hoping she’d agree with his libido and want to satisfy their lust.
“I’m not sure.” She took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. “But I won’t tell you that I don’t feel anything, that I don’t want to take things to a deeper level.”
“Well, we damn sure can’t do that here.”
“I know.” She slowly released her legs, allowing him to set her down.
“I guess we’d better head back to the party.”
She nodded, and he took her by the hand and led her to the shore.
But the desire to make love with her was just as strong as it had ever been. And the thought of taking her to bed lingered in his mind, long after she put on her shorts and they headed back to the fire ring.
Caitlin had no idea what the others thought when she and Brett returned looking like a couple of rats that had barely escaped a sinking ship.
Of course, since everyone was friendly and acting normal, she suspected it was only her conscience making her feel as though she wore a flashing neon sign announcing what she and Brett had been tempted to do.
“Mommy,” Emily shouted above the roar of the surf. “Look at the castle we made!”
Joe Davenport, the off-duty fireman, grinned from ear-to-ear, obviously as proud of the creation as the kids were. And why shouldn’t he be? It was an impressive structure, complete with dribbles of wet sand to decorate the towers on each corner.
“It’s beautiful!” Caitlin shot her daughter a smile, then grabbed a towel and dried off.
“Did you enjoy your swim?” Kay asked. “I’m thinking about going in the water, too.”
“It was nice,” Caitlin said, keeping a more accurate description to herself. The swim had been incredible, sensual, hot. A mind-spinning assault on her sex drive—something she’d managed to keep in check with very little effort, until Brett moved in next door.
After she slipped on a pale pink sweatshirt and combed her wet hair,
Brett introduced her to several guys he referred to as Logan’s Heroes. And from his earlier disclosure, she realized they’d each been troubled teens who now lived life on the straight and narrow, thanks to Harry.
Dr. Luke Wynter, who’d arrived while Caitlin and Brett had taken their sensual dip in the water, had just gotten off duty at Oceana General.
“Fancy meeting you here,” the sandy-haired E.R. resident said to her.
Caitlin knew the attractive young doctor, since they often worked together. “It’s a small world.”
Luke was a top-notch physician, with almost an obsessive dedication to his patients and the hospital. And it was nice to see him let down his guard among friends.
Had he actually been a delinquent at one time? His all-American good looks belied the fact. Stormy gray eyes didn’t.
She wondered if she’d ever hear his story, learn how he’d met Harry.
Next, Brett introduced her to Hailey and Nick Granger.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Caitlin told the glowing, dark-haired woman who appeared to be about six months pregnant.
“Hailey is Harry’s daughter,” Brett explained.
Caitlin didn’t see the resemblance to either Harry or Kay, although the young woman was attractive.
Brett placed a hand on Hailey’s husband’s shoulder. “And this is Nick.”
“We’ve met,” Caitlin said with a casual smile.
Just last week, Detective Granger had come to the hospital to investigate a brutal beating of an elderly man. The case had been turned over to homicide when it was determined that the retired banker was brain-dead.
The intense, dark-haired detective extended a hand. “It’s nice to see you somewhere other than the trauma ward.”
“You’re right about that.”
Nick had always reminded Caitlin of a tough, no-nonsense type on the job. But he’d certainly loosened up around Hailey and her family.
And he was especially attentive to his pregnant wife, something that was sweet and heartwarming to see.
As the evening progressed, Caitlin was glad she and Emily had come. She appreciated the welcome the Logans and their friends had offered her and the way they’d drawn her and Emily into the fold.
Every now and again, she stole a glance at Brett. And each time she did, he looked her way, too. It was as though he could sense her eyes on him, her interest, her curiosity.
Or was it more than that?
She wasn’t sure what had happened to them out there, amidst the pounding surf, the setting sun, the shared passion. But there was no denying their friendship had taken a sexual turn.
Was that a bad thing?
Caitlin had been on her own for so darn long, and struggling to be strong, that she hadn’t dated in years. Maybe her body was going through a natural rebellion against forced celibacy.
But that explanation didn’t hold water.
She wasn’t just craving sex. She was craving Brett and his hands, his lips. His body.
“Is anyone hungry?” Harry asked. “I’m ready to eat.”
After a varied chorus of voices calling out, “I am,” and “Me, too,” Caitlin retrieved Emily from the sand castle and walked her to the bathroom, where an outdoor shower provided beachgoers a way to wash the sand away before going home.
As she maneuvered her daughter under the spray, she asked, “Are you having fun, honey?”
“Uh-huh. And when I grow up, I’m going to marry Bobby.”
“You are?”
Emily nodded, eyes glimmering. “Even if he doesn’t like Hello Kitty and thinks it’s dumb.”
Caitlin turned off the water and dried the child with one of the towels she’d packed. Then she dressed her in long pants and a Winnie-the-Pooh sweatshirt. “Okay, honey. Let’s go eat.”
When they returned to the fire, Brett was busy cooking hot dogs over the flame. He looked up and smiled. “How does she like hers fixed?”
“Just plain, the meat and the bun.”
“And yours?” he asked.
She smiled. “I like the works.”
He slid her a slow, crooked grin that suggested they weren’t talking about hot dogs and all the trimmings. A sense of anticipation sent her pulse rate soaring.
An hour later, after everyone had eaten their fill and the sun had disappeared from sight, they sat around a crackling fire, chatting with each other or just enjoying the sound of the surf and the scent of wood smoke mingling with the ocean breeze.
Caitlin glanced at her daughter, who sat in Brett’s lap with her head resting against his shoulder, her eyes closed in slumber.
Would Caitlin rest in his arms one day, too?
He tossed her a promising smile, one that allowed her dreams to take flight—the usual ones of family, love and all that was right in the world.
Whether either of them would admit it, they were becoming a family of sorts. At least, that’s the way it felt to Caitlin.
Were Brett’s thoughts going in that direction, too?
God help her, she hoped so. Because she’d love to lean on him, to confide in him about the custody battle she was facing. To have him in her corner for the rest of her life.
Because, as much as she wanted to deny it, she was falling for the man. Deeply. Heart over head.
And she wondered whether he knew, whether he could sense it.
Brett glanced at the sweet pixie who’d plopped into his lap earlier, as though it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do.
For a man who didn’t like being close to children, he was certainly getting used to the precious little girl in his arms, something that wasn’t nearly as scary as it had once been.
Heck, even looking at Bobby, who was roasting marshmallows and making s’mores with his mom and dad, wasn’t nearly as painful as it had been earlier. And he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe because being around families like the Davenports and couples like the Logans and the Grangers made him believe that somehow, some-way, someday, he and his son could be a family, too, even if it was only for one weekend a month.
Caitlin, he supposed, had something to do with the change in him. Her optimism. Her spirit. The way she made a single-parent home look inviting.
But it was more than a sense of family that drew him to her.
A whole lot more.
And being alone with her had done something to him, too. Something warm and mushy.
“Anyone else want another s’more?” Kristin asked, as she sandwiched a piece of chocolate and a melted marshmallow between two graham crackers.
“I do.” Caitlin reached for the confection and broke it into two, the melted chocolate and marshmallow stretching into a gooey string. She lifted it to Brett’s lips, feeding him.
As he munched on the standard bonfire delicacy, their eyes remained locked. And that sexual energy that had been bombarding them all night settled over them again.
Maybe he ought to reconsider his don’t-get-involved-with-single-mothers philosophy—at least temporarily.
He reached for her hand, although he didn’t have a clue why. Just wanted to, he supposed. And when he turned to look at her, he fell headfirst into her pretty smile.
What was the hold she had on him?
He shuffled the child in his arms, then gave Caitlin’s hand a squeeze. “Should we take her home?”
“It’s probably a good idea. It’s past her bedtime.”
He nodded, then graciously made their goodbyes, thanking the Logans for including them.
Caitlin offered her own gratitude and received a warm hug from Kay and another from Harry.
Then they headed for the parking lot, that sexual something surrounding them like an aura. When they reached the Explorer, Brett clicked the unlock button on the key chain, opened the rear passenger door and secured Emily in the seat.
“I really enjoyed meeting your friends,” Caitlin said, as she climbed into the car. “They’re nice people.”
“Yeah. They’re the best. I’m
glad you got a chance to meet them.”
They remained silent for the rest of the way home. Brett figured the memory of that hot kiss in the surf wasn’t far from her thoughts, either.
He still wasn’t sure about putting the moves on her. But if she offered him a kiss—or more than that—he wouldn’t fight her on it.
As he pulled the Explorer into the complex and headed for the carport, he cleared his throat. “I’ll carry Emily inside for you.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate it. In fact, I’ll pour you a glass of wine, if you’re up for it.”
A neighborly offer?
Or a way to prolong their time together?
Either way, he wasn’t ready to call it a night. “Sure, why not.”
Minutes later, after they’d put Emily to bed, Caitlin went into the kitchen, and he followed her.
As she prepared to open a bottle of wine, he took the corkscrew from her hand. “I’ll get it.”
But as their fingers touched, stirring up that desire that had been brewing all evening, he didn’t give a squat about the wine.
Nor did he want to wait for her to make the first move.
He might be sorry about this later, but he wasn’t going to think about that now. All he wanted to do was taste her lips again, hold her close, press himself against her.
So he took her in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers.
Chapter Nine
Caitlin couldn’t say that she hadn’t expected the kiss, since she’d hoped her growing attraction to Brett wasn’t one-sided.
But that didn’t mean the heat of his touch, the intoxicating, chocolaty taste of his mouth, didn’t take her by sweet surprise.
His musky cologne mingled with the faint smell of wood smoke and the salty ocean air that lingered in his T-shirt. And she inhaled slowly, just to savor his scent.
He pulled her close and ran a hand under the hem of her sweatshirt, skimming his fingers along her skin to the top of her swimsuit. As he reached under the material and caressed the swell of her breast, her nipples hardened and her breath caught.
