“I do, but I also think it would be appropriate for you to let them do their jobs. If you won’t be seated at one table during the night, will you at least save me a dance?”
“I will save you as many as you want. Oh, I was wondering when you’re coming back to finish my kitchen.”
“Home Depot hasn’t called to say your stuff is in, but I can check with them and get back to you. Shouldn’t be too much longer. A few days, maybe.”
“I know. I just hate the mess it’s in. I was hoping you might get back to it sooner.” The mess in the kitchen was only a small distraction. Spending an hour alone with him was the bigger attraction.
“You’re sure you just don’t want to see me?” he asked, with a devilish laugh.
She could picture that smug, sexy smile on his face and felt her heart do a silly pitter patter. What a dolt she was. Getting all worked up over a guy, when she really and truly didn’t want an involvement.
“I always enjoy seeing you, Derek, and that’s half the problem.”
“Only if you make it one,” he said quickly. “Look, I’m doing a job for a friend, and it’s just down the road from you in PGA village. I’m here right now.” He lowered his voice. “I’ve been rethinking what I said to you the other day, about the feelings business. You might have a point, after all.”
“I do?” she stuttered. “You mean, you think its okay for us to be lovers without being romantically attached?” Why didn’t that thrill her all of a sudden, when that was exactly what she wanted too?
“Yes, I think we could give it a try. I’m game if you are.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to be here for a few hours. Why don’t you stop by on your way home?”
“I might do that. Sure. Give me the address.” she scribbled it down as he gave her directions. “I’ll call you on my cell when I’m ready to leave.”
“See you later.”
They both hung up, and neither one of them knew they were wearing identical smiles.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
An hour later, Christine knocked on the door. When no one answered right away, she double checked the number on the door and the address Derek had given her. She was at the right condo, so where was he? She looked back to the street and saw Derek’s truck, so knew he was still about.
She tried the door handle and it was open. Entering, she called his name, then followed the sound of an electric drill to the bathroom off the back bedroom.
He was lying on the floor under what looked like a new sink. His head wasn’t visible so she took a long look at his nice thighs and smiled.
“Hi,” she said.
He looked up and bumped his head. Ducking, he peered at her from under the sink and grinned. “So you made it.”
“I did.” She sat down on the bathmat so they could be at eye level. “I’m so glad you changed your mind about us. This will be so much less complicated, won’t it?”
“Absolutely. We can enjoy ourselves and walk away any time we want. We’ll be fuck buddies.” He wiped his hands on a rag and grinned.
She didn’t like the sound of that. Not at all. “Friends with benefits,” she corrected.
“Call it what you will, but the rules are just the same.” He slipped out from under the sink. “This will be a new experience for me but I think I’m going to like it.”
“I’m sure you will. What’s not to like? You can have all the fun you want with no expectations. It’s exactly what most men want.”
“And women. This is what you want too, remember?”
“Uh-huh. Of course it is.” She stood up, playing for time. Suddenly, this whole idea wasn’t nearly as appealing as it was before. She wasn’t at all sure that she could handle it. How could she make love to this man on a regular basis and not get hooked?
“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” She walked into the bedroom and pulled up the blinds. Sunlight poured in, and she could see dust particles flying in the air. The house had that stale unlived-in smell. She opened a window to freshen up the place.
“That’s better, isn’t it?” she said when she returned to the bathroom.
“Much,” he said dryly. “So do you want a glass of wine or something to get into the mood, or is that too romantic for you?”
“Derek. That isn’t very nice. We can be as romantic as we want. I don’t want a wham bam, thank you, ma’am.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’m just learning the rules. Don’t want to do anything wrong.”
“You won’t. You couldn’t.” She smiled shyly. “I’m going to enjoy having you as my lover.”
He turned on the fountain-like faucet on the newly installed sink. Water splashed out, and he dipped both hands in, washing his hands and face.
“Why me?” he asked, turning to her.
“Because I like you. I trust you. You’re perfect in every way.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been told that.” He wiped his hands on his jeans, then rubbed his jaw, looking skeptical.
“Well, you are.” She stood behind him, watching his face in the mirror. He still looked unconvinced.
“Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to think that a woman cares about me, loves me a little, while I’m making love to her. It’s a turn-on. Having sex just for the sake of it is kind of cold, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think about it, truthfully. This is new for me. I’ve never been anyone’s lover before. Wife, yes. Lover, no.”
“I’m willing to give it a try.” He turned around and ran a finger down her cheek. “But if one of us has second thoughts, or finds someone that we want to be with, then we should be upfront and tell the other right away. Is that a deal?”
“Sure. Works for me.” Christine smiled and blushed. “So, what now? You want to do it?”
He laughed. “You do know how to close a deal. But I need a shower. Want to wait?”
“Maybe I could wash your back,” she suggested.
He flashed that mouth-watering grin again. “You could do that. Maybe you could even wash my front.”
Christine licked her lips. “Now you’re talking my language.” Feeling deliciously wanton, she pulled her pink silk top over her head and dropped it to the floor.
With his gaze glued to her chest, she slid down the side zipper off her skirt and let it drop. She kicked it aside and did a quick little turn, flashing her pink thong.
“Holy Mother Mary,” he whispered. “You wore that for me?”
“Uh-huh. You like?”
“Oh, yeah, I like.” His voice was husky as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. “I like very much.”
His hands swept down her back and cupped her bottom. He tilted her up to him. “You’re beautiful, Christine, and I think I’m going to enjoy being your boy-toy.”
He gave her a thorough kiss as if to prove it. “Let’s get this shower out of the way, so I can start deserving the honor.”
He turned on the shower and stripped off his clothes. She had seen him naked a few times, and as before, always the first sight of him did strange things to her insides. She felt heat, liquid heat ignite inside her, and a yearning so deep she didn’t know where it came from, only that it belonged.
“You going to stand there staring, or are you coming in?” Derek stepped into the steaming shower, leaving the door invitingly open.
Christine quickly removed her bra and panties and joined him in the tiny space, where she had no choice but to feel every inch of him.
Sometimes small was good, and she welcomed the confined space. She grabbed the bar of soap, wondering how long it had been there, but not really caring. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she snuggled into his backside. She washed his back, as promised, and his beautifully shaped buttocks, then her soapy hands slid around to the front.
She started soaping his chest, but he took her hand and moved it lower. She could feel him hard, his swollen member moving against the back of her hand, but she didn’t go there. Not yet. She soaped him everywhere exce
pt where he wanted it the most.
Finally, he turned to her and grabbed the soap, using it on her. Soap suds covered her breasts, her stomach, between her thighs, while his mouth plundered hers. Hot, greedy kisses that made her gasp for air. She buried her hands into his hair, holding his head to hers, kissing him with all the hunger in her heart.
His hand slid down and he used a soapy finger to open her up. When she groaned, he didn’t release her, but parted her farther, enticing her, exciting her. She murmured his name, her hips moving restlessly, and he slipped his arms around her, lifting her, bracing her against the shower wall, and slid his throbbing penis inside. He pounded her until she could barely hold on to him, and only his strong arms held her up.
“Please…stop,” she finally gasped. “I’m going to drown if we keep this up.” She reached around him and turned off the shower. “I want to feel you, all of you.” She whispered, “Do you think your friend will mind if we use the bed?”
“Not if we don’t tell him.” He tried to scoop her up but she was so slippery that she slid out from under him. They stumbled out of the stall together and she fell against the sink. He lifted her onto its granite edge, and she held on as he pushed into her once again.
She could feel him pulsing, his cock hot and strong as he continued to thrust. Arching her back, she used the leverage of the new sink to rise and fall onto him, matching his needs, his desires, his movements, until they became one.
Both of them were shuddering with the intensity of their mating, and she knew she couldn’t hold on any longer.
“Hurry, honey. Please hurry.” She bit his shoulder, urging him on.
With one final plunge, Derek came in a major explosion that threatened to rip the newly installed sink right off the wall.
Christine slid off the sink and tumbled down on top of him. Derek was on his back, and she was sprawled eagle on top of him.
She looked into his face. “Oh, Derek. Making love to you is an earth shattering experience. I thought for a second we were going to bring the sink down.”
He laughed. “Ye of little faith. What would that say about my skills as a laborer?”
“I think you labor just fine.”
She started giggling, and he cracked up.
She made a face at him. “You got me all sticky and now I need another shower. Do they have towels?”
“I’m sure they do. He rents it out all the time.” Derek pulled open the folding door to the utility closet. “There. Fully stocked. Everything you need.”
“I have everything I need right here,” she said, and nibbled on his ear.
“Are you up for it again?” he asked, with some surprise.
“No.” She could see that it would take very little encouragement to get him up and ready. “I’m sure after this, I’ll already be walking bow-legged.”
He laughed and helped pull her up from the floor. “I’ll finish up while you shower.”
She was rinsing off when she heard his cell phone ring. He grabbed it out of his back pocket. “Maddie? Hello, darling. What’s up?”
Maddie? Who the hell was Maddie?
“Dinner? Tonight?” He glanced at Christine who pretended not to listen.
“I’m not sure I can make it. Something has come up.” He turned his back to her. “Yes, okay. Tomorrow will be fine. I’ll see you then.”
Christine stepped out of the shower. Derek busied himself with the sink and didn’t even try to explain the phone call.
No way in hell was she going to ask him.
But her insides were all twisted, and it was all she could do to get dressed and hold on to her dignity. She would not question him about his friends. She would not. He was her lover, not her boyfriend, and he had a right to have female friends. She had made the rules and now she had to stick by them.
She just wished it didn’t hurt like hell, that was all.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
It was after six when Christine got home. She was surprised not to see Nicole, but figured she’d be coming through the door any minute and might as well get dinner on. She had taken some salmon out of the freezer this morning and had a package of Caribbean rice and some fresh asparagus. She was gathering these items when she noticed the red flash on her phone, indicating missed calls.
Maybe she’d be eating alone after all.
She hit messages and heard Nicole’s voice. “Mom? I’m at Dillard’s at the Palm Beach Mall. They’ve had the greatest sale on for kitchenware, and I saw some things which will be fabulous for our new kitchen. I picked up a Krupp’s stainless steel coffee pot that makes individual cups of coffee, a stainless steel toaster, and some serving bowls and a platter that match your stoneware set. Oh, and I found some great placemats. I wanted to buy you something to make up for all the damage.” Nicole laughed. “Anyway, I’m just walking out to the car and I should be home in about fifteen minutes.”
Christine heard Nicole swear and whisper angrily, “What is he doing here?” She didn’t hear anything more for a few seconds then she heard Brett yelling something at Nicole.
Adrenalin pulsed through her veins. What the hell was going on?
“Let go of me,” she heard Nicole say. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Christine heard Nicole cry out, and the sound of a door slam and that was it.
Nothing else.
Christine’s heart raced and her fingers shook as she redialed her daughter’s cell phone number. No answer. “Call me,” she spoke frantically into the phone, hung up, and then called again.
It was useless. She knew Nicole was in trouble, but she didn’t know where she was to help her. A shiver of fear ran over her skin, causing her to tremble uncontrollably. She called Derek’s cell, hoping he might suggest something, or at least assist in her search. But luck was against her, and he didn’t pick up. She wondered where he was, and what was so important that he’d turn his cell phone off. But right now she had more worries than Derek and so left an abrupt explanation for her call.
Then she sat down and called the police.
“Ma’am, I know you are concerned, but we can’t start a search until she has been missing for twenty-four hours. We don’t have a restraining order against him, which means he is able to approach your daughter without our interference.” He over-rode her objections. “They might be discussing their future at a coffee shop somewhere. Or making up as we speak. I’m sorry not to be more helpful, but we can’t put out an arrest for this guy if he has had no previous complaints against him.”
“I understand that,” she snapped, “but I’m telling you that he has hit my daughter, and she’s afraid of him.”
“Ma’am, our hands our tied. Please call back if you hear that she’s in danger or being threatened in any way. That’s the best I can do.”
She hung up, more frustrated than ever.
Nicole, where are you? Closing her eyes, she tried to mentally telegraph her daughter and zero in on her location. But she wasn’t psychic and the exercise failed.
She grabbed her keys and headed for her car. She would drive back to the mall and see if Nicole’s car was there or if there was any evidence of a scuffle. Ridiculous. She felt like an amateur sleuth and shouldn’t the police, with all their training and superior knowledge of kidnapping victims, be doing this? Did they have to wait until it was too late? Until he actually hurt her?
The answer was yes, and she knew it. They couldn’t act unless he did. The knowledge sent a chill right through her. She was not going to sit by and let that happen. She was going to find her daughter. She only hoped she was in time.
Not eager to confront Brett alone, she called Derek’s cell again. When there was no answer, she called his home. A boy answered.
“May I speak to your father, please? This is Christine Bradley, and it’s urgent.”
“No. Sorry. Dad isn’t home. He left a note saying he was with Maddie and might be late.”
“He did?” She swallowed hard. He had told her Maddie was a friend, implyi
ng that that was all that was between them, but still, the hurt of betrayal washed over her like a tidal wave. She had only left his side a few hours ago after the greatest lovemaking of her life. He wouldn’t have gone straight from her to another woman, would he?
She needed him, dammit. What the hell was he doing with Maddie? Having seconds? Hadn’t she satisfied him enough?
She swallowed her anger, because Nicole’s safety was more important than whatever Derek was up to. She’d think about all of this later. “Could you please leave your dad a message? Tell him that it’s very important he calls me the minute he comes in? It’s very serious and I need him.”
“I’ll tell him if I see him. But he did say late.”
“Well, if he calls, give him the message, won’t you? Please?”
“Sure. But I don’t expect him until really late. Some nights he doesn’t come home at all.”
Before she could even think of a reply, the boy hung up.
His words stung, a nasty stab in the heart, but Christine pushed it aside for now.
* * *
In less then fifteen minutes, Christine was at the mall outside of Dillard’s. She drove around for awhile then spotted her daughter’s Honda SUV. Her blood went cold, as though she’d stepped into a storage freezer.
He must have forced her into his car and driven away with her. She wouldn’t have gone willingly, that she knew. How had he gotten her inside? And what were other people doing while he was accosting her daughter in broad daylight?
She didn’t have any idea of where he might take her, but the logical place to start was the apartment he had shared with Nicole. It was only a few miles away and she could be there in five to ten minutes. Since she knew the police didn’t want to get involved, once again she called Derek. He still didn’t answer his cell. She’d have liked to know where he was and what the hell he was doing, but she had more serious worries, and no choice but to drive to the apartment alone.
Parking outside, she entered the lobby, happy to see that the security guard was there and might remember her.
ESCAPE INTO ROMANCE- 4 Book Bundle Page 69
