This Time (The DeLuca Family Book 4)

by Amy Reece

  He pulled her tightly against him and angled his head to deepen their kiss, opening her mouth and stroking inside with his warm tongue. His hands drifted, one down to cup her bottom, the other under the hem of her blouse to caress the soft skin of her waist.

  She pressed against him, reveling in the taste of his mouth and the feel of his hands as they worked their magic on her. She’d never been kissed so well or so thoroughly, and she wanted more. She slid her hand from his neck, down his sculpted chest, and under the edge of his t-shirt. His skin was smooth and hot, the muscles underneath hard.

  He gentled the kiss, plucking at her lips for a moment before lifting his head. “Okay, Professor. Enough of that. For now.” He framed her face with his hands. “You are so beautiful, Nina.”

  She smiled radiantly at him. “So are you. I love touching you.” She ran her hand across his tight abs.

  He caught it and brought it to his lips. “You are playing with fire, girl. Let’s take a look at your alarm, and then we’ll go pick up the girls.” He rubbed his thumb across her lips. “But I’d love to continue this later, when they’re asleep.”

  “Me too.” Electricity zinged through her body at the possibility of finally making love with him later that night.

  ***

  Seamus

  He put the finishing touches on the eggplant parmesan and slid it into the oven, hoping the girls would eat it. It was a gamble, but he thought he could sell it to Lily since there was no meat and it was covered in cheese; he also hoped to convince Iris that vegetables weren’t all bad. He turned to the cutting board to finish slicing the cucumbers for the salad. He would put the tomatoes on the side, since Iris wouldn’t eat them or anything they’d touched, but everyone else liked them. He focused on cooking, vainly attempting to block out the thoughts of what the night ahead might hold: making love with Nina. But how can I possibly think of anything else? She’d felt so good, so right in his arms earlier, and he’d been a hair’s breadth from scooping her up and carrying her to her bedroom. Later, idiot. You can wait. He’d probably need to give Nina another tutorial on her alarm system, though, since neither of them had been terribly focused or interested in the aftermath of their passionate kiss. She’s one hell of a kisser; how was I supposed to care about a friggin’ alarm system?

  “Homework is done and they’re playing in their room,” Nina said as she entered the kitchen. “How about a glass of wine?” She pulled a bottle from the wine rack. “I’m feeling like a nice Cabernet.”

  “Sounds good. The ETA for dinner is about thirty minutes.” He accepted a glass of the deep ruby wine and sipped appreciatively. “Good choice.”

  “Since we have a few minutes of quiet, can I tell you about something?”

  He frowned at her and reached across the tabletop for her hand. “Of course, hon. What’s up?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since the break-in—it kind of took over everything in my life and I didn’t tell you about the life insurance.”

  “I assume you’re talking about Neal?”

  “Yes. My mom called the afternoon of the break-in because she couldn’t get a straight answer from Neal’s life insurance company. That’s why I went over that night for dinner.”

  “And?”

  “Neal took out a life insurance policy and named me the beneficiary. I knew about it, but I don’t know how much it was—I have an appointment Friday to look into all the details. It seems he also took out another policy. Kira is the beneficiary.”

  “Hmm. That seems kinda weird. I mean, I don’t know much about life insurance—I think I have some through the fire department and I think my parents are the beneficiaries—but it seems strange to take out a life insurance policy for your girlfriend. Maybe he just took it out when they got engaged?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. I tried to ask her about it this afternoon when I called to tell her about the appointment, but she didn’t answer. I left a message, but she hasn’t called back yet.”

  “Do you trust her?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s not the first time you’ve sounded suspicious of her. What is it about her you don’t like?”

  He let go of her hand and stood to check on the eggplant parm. The cheese was barely starting to melt, and he knew it had a while to go. “It’s not that I don’t like her…I don’t know. I guess I never quite bought their relationship. She didn’t seem like she was as into him as he was into her.” He shook his head as he clicked the oven light off. “That probably sounds stupid, but…”

  “No, it doesn’t.” She crossed her arms as if cold. “I think you nailed it, Seamus. I haven’t been able to articulate it clearly, but that’s it. He was so in love with her, but I’ve never felt she reciprocated in the same way.”

  He smirked and bent over to kiss the tip of her nose. “So, same thing, but you used bigger words?”

  “Bigger words?”

  “Reciprocated. Articulate. You’re adorable, Professor Smarty Pants.” Part of her charm was the fact she didn’t seem to realize how much smarter she was than nearly everyone around her. He should probably be intimidated to date a woman more intelligent than him, but he shrugged and decided to simply go with it. He’d always known she was smart, so why should it bother him now? Besides, he thoroughly enjoyed the way her face flushed in the wake of his comment.

  “Whatever. Those don’t seem like big words to me.”

  He smiled as he set the table. “That’s because you spend your days reading and writing all that academic crap.”

  “That reminds me; have you ever read any of Mel’s books?”

  He laughed. “Her romance books? No, they’re not really my style.” He squatted in front of her and took one of her hands. “I’m going to confess something, Nina, and it might make you rethink this relationship. I don’t really read for pleasure. I’m more into movies and sports. I’m never going to be able to have intellectual discussions with you.”

  She reached to cup her palm on his cheek. “I have plenty of intellectualism at work. I don’t need it at home.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “I’m not much of a football fan, though. You should know that going in.”

  “I’ve got three brothers to watch football with.”

  “Good.”

  “Good.” He kissed her briefly, then stood. “You should read one of Mel’s books, though. Finn says they’re great, but he’s biased. Why don’t you go tell the girls to wash up? Dinner should be ready in a couple minutes.”

  ***

  “Are they asleep?” She looked up as he sat next to her on the sofa.

  “Yeah, finally. They were fussier than usual.” He accepted the glass of wine from her.

  “Hmm. They ate well at dinner, though. Lily seemed to really like the eggplant. All the shit happening in our lives has probably finally caught up with them. A good night’s sleep will most likely fix their fussiness.”

  “I hope so.” He sipped the wine, then set it aside and reached to pull her feet into his lap.

  “Are you going to rub my feet, Seamus?” She giggled as he stripped her sock off.

  “I’m planning to start at your feet. Who knows where I’ll end up?” He massaged her feet, working his way steadily up her ankles to her smooth calves. The muscles in her slender legs warmed under his strong fingers as he inched closer to the edge of her khaki shorts. He bent to kiss the inside of her right knee, smiling as she mewled her pleasure. “Any objections?”

  “None at all,” she whispered as she speared her hands through his hair.

  He grinned and moved to kiss her lips, knowing he needed to take it slow and starting with her shorts was likely to bring this delicious interlude to much too swift a conclusion. He pushed her gently back to lay against the armrest and braced himself above her with one arm while the other hand slipped underneath the hem of her tank top. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and his palm covered her small breast as she sighed into his mouth.

  “Oh, Seamus. God, that feels so
good.”

  “Yeah, it does.” He removed his hand from under her shirt and reached to slip the strap from her shoulder, baring her to his hungry eyes. “So beautiful.”

  “Momma? Iris threw up.”

  Seamus looked into Nina’s panicked eyes and swiftly drew her top up to cover her breast, thankful his back was to the hallway entrance and Lily couldn’t see what they’d been doing.

  Nina flew off the couch and ran to find Iris.

  Seamus held his hand out to Lily, who looked to be on the verge of tears. “Come here, Squirt.” He pulled her on his lap and cuddled her against his chest. “Your mom will take care of Iris. It’s okay.”

  Lily sniffled against his shirt but wriggled until she found a comfortable position.

  They remained that way, with Seamus softly rubbing her back as she fell asleep, until Nina returned.

  “I got her cleaned up and tucked her in my bed. I’m sorry, Seamus.”

  He smiled crookedly at her over Lily’s head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take a rain check. Should we try to get Lily back to bed?”

  “Yeah. I’ll take her.” She stood and bent to retrieve her daughter.

  “I got it.” As Seamus shifted to lift Lily, the little girl sat up, opened her eyes, and barfed eggplant parmesan all over his chest.

  “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry, Seamus!” Nina reached for the now-crying child.

  He stood with Lily in his arms, attempting to keep the vomit pooling between him and the child rather than dripping to the floor. “Follow me to the shower.” He managed to get to the guest bathroom without making too much of a mess and stepped over the rim of the tub. He held Lily out of the way until the water warmed, then stepped under the spray, clothes, child, pajamas, and all. He rinsed as much of the vomitus from her as possible, then stripped her sodden pajamas off and soaped her up quickly so she wouldn’t smell sour. Lily continued to cry through the whole process. “Here.” He handed the dripping child out to Nina, who wrapped her in a big towel and carried her out of the bathroom. Seamus drew off his vomit-covered shirt and dropped it on top of Lily’s soggy pj’s. His jeans and underwear followed, and he scrubbed his body, wondering if he’d ever get the disgusting smell out of his nostrils. He dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist before heading to the guest bedroom for a change of clothes.

  “Oof!” Nina slammed into him and he reached out to grab her before she fell on her butt. “Sorry.” She drew her hands away from his bare chest as if they were burned. “Um, Lily’s still crying. She wants you. Would you mind lying next to her until she falls asleep?”

  “Sure. Let me just grab some pants first.”

  “Of course. Sorry.” She backed away from him.

  She’s nervous. Interesting. We were minutes away from making love and now she’s nervous? “I’ll be there in a minute.” He watched as she spun on her heel and retreated to her bedroom. He ducked in to the guest room and dug a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt out of his duffle bag. He padded barefoot into Nina’s room, where she was curled up on her king-sized bed with the girls. Iris was asleep and snuggled against Nina, but Lily lay by herself, crying quietly. She saw him and held out her arms, melting his heart. “Hey, Squirt. Come here.” He lay on top of the comforter and pulled her close. “I’ve got you. Shh.” He rubbed his hand over her back until her tears stopped and she fell into a restless sleep.

  “Seamus,” Nina whispered. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m so—”

  “Don’t apologize again.” He covered her hand and squeezed gently. “It’s okay, Nina. Kids get sick, and I’ve certainly been thrown up on before, believe me.”

  She raised her eyebrows, clearly questioning this.

  “Yeah. Fun fact: people in physical distress of one kind or another frequently lose their stomach contents all over the firefighter trying to help them.” He refrained from adding that they frequently lost control of their bowels as well.

  “Thank you. It’s nice to have some help at times like this. Having two sick at the same time is a challenge. She looks like she’s asleep.” She gestured to Lily. “You could probably go back to the bed in the guest room.”

  And leave her to deal with both girls waking up sick later in the night? Not likely. He knew they’d undoubtedly throw up multiple times before they got the bug out of their little bodies. “You mind if I stay? I doubt they’re done with the barfing quite yet.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. I don’t mind you staying at all.” She smiled crookedly. “I finally got you into my bed.”

  He reached across the bed for her hand. “Now that I’m here, I may never leave, you know.”

  “Okay.” She raised his hand to her lips and smoothed her soft lips over his fingers. “I’m not complaining.”

  He watched as she tucked his hand beneath her chin, her eyes drifting closed as her breathing evened out. She fell asleep with his hand still clutched between hers. God, she’s so amazing. And exhausted. The purple smudges under her eyes had taken up permanent residence and he wondered when she’d last slept more than a few hours at a time. He swore he’d help her get through this—through the pain, loss, and fear—and back to her life, this time with him in it. Was it possible that less than a month ago she wasn’t part of his life? He smiled and watched her sleep until his own eyes were heavy.

  He’d barely fallen asleep when Iris began to stir and whimper. Nina had left the bedside lamp on, so he could see when she got up and took the child to the bathroom. Retching sounds soon followed. Nina carried the limp girl back to bed and Seamus figured Lily would follow suit soon. He felt her forehead, but it didn’t seem like she was running a fever. Probably just a nasty stomach bug. It was nearly forty-five minutes later when Lily awoke and told him she needed to throw up again. Nina started to get up, but he told her he’d handle it. He carried Lily to the bathroom and waited while she lost the rest of her stomach contents and then dry-heaved miserably for a few minutes. He wet a washcloth and wiped it over her sweet little face. “You wanna rinse your mouth, Munchkin?”

  She nodded and swished the water around her cheeks before spitting it into the sink. “I feel bad, Seamus.”

  “I know, Angel. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

  “Will you stay with me?”

  “Of course. Let’s get you back to bed.” He tucked her back in and this time slid under the covers beside her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nina

  The aroma of freshly brewed coffee enticed her from sleep. She wrenched her eyes open, cringing at their grittiness, and glanced at the pillow next to her. It was unoccupied, but still held the indentation of Seamus’s head. Lily was sprawled across the other side of the bed, while Iris lay curled in a tight ball against Nina. They’d both thrown up once more during the night but had finally fallen into a sound sleep around three in the morning. Nina was exhausted, but was reluctant to call in to work yet again; she’d cancelled her classes so often in the past few weeks she worried she might be endangering her job. She didn’t have tenure yet and sympathy for her brother’s recent death would only go so far. She hoped her mother would be able to watch the girls, at least for the morning. She could skip her afternoon office hours without too much of a problem, but she really needed to teach her morning classes. She carefully slid out from under the covers, trying not to wake either of the girls. The best thing for them after a long night of throwing up was sleep. She grabbed a sweatshirt against the early morning chill and slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers before following her nose to the kitchen.

  Seamus was nowhere to be found, but a note was propped against the coffee maker.

  Back in a few.

  ♡ S

  She smiled as she reached into the cabinet for a mug. He’d been completely amazing during the night, taking full charge of Lily so she could concentrate on Iris, who seemed to be the sicker of the two. She cringed as she remembered Lily vomiting all over him. David would have screamed and handed her off; he’d been awful when
the girls were ill, saying he couldn’t watch them throw up without doing it himself, so Nina had better take care of them. Besides, he couldn’t afford to catch whatever they had because he was needed at work. But it was fine for Nina to miss, of course. Her lip curled as she remembered how difficult living with him had been. You sure can pick ’em, girl! She’d been so overwhelmed by his attention at the beginning of their relationship—a popular, charismatic professor deigning to speak to lowly grad student/teaching assistant—she never saw how selfish he was. True, he was generous to a fault with his money, but in a careless, offhand manner. The one thing his girls needed was his time, but he rarely saved any for them and hadn’t raised a single objection when she’d demanded full custody. By then he was so wrapped up in his new girlfriend and her pregnancy he couldn’t be bothered with his two adopted children.

  She grimaced as she remembered, then shrugged and pushed the unpleasant memories away. He did you a favor. You have two amazing daughters thanks to him. Time to focus on the present, which includes a kind, funny, and incredibly sexy new man in your life. She shivered as she remembered the moments on the sofa the previous evening. If Lily hadn’t interrupted…she sipped her coffee, then turned as the back door opened.

  “Hey.” Seamus set the grocery bag on the counter and bent to kiss her. “I tried to be quiet. Sorry if I woke you.”

  She smiled and pulled him back for another kiss. “You didn’t. Did we need groceries?”

  He turned to the bag and unpacked several bottles of Pedialyte, ginger ale, and Gatorade. “Supplies for the patients. I wanted to get out before you left for work to pick up some stuff to get the girls back on their feet.” He put the beverages in the refrigerator before pouring himself a cup of coffee and topping off hers.

  “That’s incredibly sweet. I need to call my mom to see if she can come over to watch the girls while I’m at work.”