He brushed his lips across hers, pressed the wineglass back into her shaky hand and moved away. If he kissed her the way he wanted to, they’d be back in the bedroom in two seconds flat.
When he turned the broiler on, she started toward him. “Here, I can—”
“You.” He turned and pointed a finger at her. “Sit. I’m making dinner for you.”
“Well, at least let me—”
“Hannah. Sit.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, then sat stiffly in the chair. Twice he saw her start to rise, but he warned her back both times.
He had the carrots cooking and steaks broiling in a matter of minutes, then took plates out of the cupboard and utensils out of the drawer. He drained the carrots, swore when he lost half of them in the sink, then pulled the potatoes out of the microwave and poked at them with a fork. He had no idea how anything would taste, but at least it didn’t look half bad, he thought.
Needing something to do with her hands, Hannah continued to sip the wine Seth had given her. She rarely drank, but if ever it seemed like an appropriate time to imbibe, it was now. She was still reeling from making love with Seth, and though it was making her crazy to sit here and not help with dinner, she wasn’t certain her legs would hold her up at the moment.
So she watched him move awkwardly around the kitchen, biting her lip to keep from making suggestions or offering her help. She winced when he burned himself taking the steaks out of the oven, but still he refused her help, slid her a look of utter exasperation when she suggested he run his hand under cold water.
When he filled a plate and set it in front of her, all she could do was stare at the food. A man making dinner and fussing over her was a completely new experience for her. It felt odd, but it felt wonderful at the same time.
But Seth’s making dinner for her wasn’t her only new experience, she thought. Heat shimmered through her body as she remembered his lovemaking. He’d been tender, but he’d been strong and forceful, too. His touch, his scent, his taste, all of him still lingered on her skin.
Her throat felt thick and moisture burned her eyes. She took a sip of wine and glanced away, blinked furiously as she told herself she was being silly and childish and overly emotional. She was a grown woman, for heaven’s sake.
“Hannah, what’s wrong?” A frown on his face, Seth knelt beside her and took the wineglass from her hands. “We can order pizza if it’s that bad,” he said. “Or how ’bout eggs? I know how to cook eggs. If you like scrambled, anyway.”
She shook her head. “It’s not the food, Seth. It’s me.”
“What’s you?”
Smiling, she reached out and touched his cheek with her hand, felt that same jolt of electricity she felt every time she touched him. “You…I…” She hesitated. “When we made love…I, well, that was the first time I ever…”
She couldn’t say it. It was too embarrassing. She pulled her hand from his cheek and looked away, couldn’t bear it if he teased or laughed at her.
“Hannah.” He took hold of her arms and pulled her from the chair, then sat down and tugged her onto his lap. “You’re twenty-six years old, you’ve been married and have children and you’re saying that you never—”
“No.” She couldn’t bear to hear him say it, either. “I haven’t.”
He took her chin in his hand and turned her face to his. “Look at me.”
Relief poured through her when she lifted her gaze to his. She saw amazement in his eyes, but there was no laughter, no ridicule, and she let herself relax against him.
“What the hell kind of idiot were you married to, anyway?” he asked her. “And why did you marry him?”
His question caught her off guard, but it was easier to go in that direction than to discuss herself. She shrugged, let herself enjoy the pleasure and intimacy of sliding her hand over Seth’s broad chest.
“My mom was ill when I was in high school,” she said quietly. “With my dad already gone, I needed to take care of her, so I didn’t have the experiences of dating or parties or activities that the other kids had.”
“So you and your ex weren’t high-school sweethearts?”
She smiled at that. “No. I met Brent one year after I graduated high school and three months after my mom died. He’d just moved here from Dallas to set up a housing development deal for the company he worked for at the time. He was the ultimate salesman, charming, handsome, attentive and persistent. I fell in love with that man. I think the only reason he married me was because he was bored living in Ridgewater. That, and because I wouldn’t sleep with him while we were dating. He lost out on both counts.”
Seth’s arms tightened around her. “Hannah, for God’s sake, stop saying that. You’re sexy and beautiful and one hell of a mother. If he couldn’t see that, then the guy is as blind as he is stupid.”
“Thank you.” She laid her head on his shoulder and traced the outline of his collarbone with her fingertip. “For a long time, I blamed myself. I wasn’t pretty enough or sophisticated enough or sexy enough. When he starting traveling more and working late hours, I knew he was seeing another woman. It hurt terribly, but the bottom line was, between taking care of a house and twins and working part-time, I just didn’t care. Sex had never been that interesting to me, and if anything, it became a relief he didn’t want to make love to me. It was easier to look the other way. When he finally did leave, I was beyond caring. I had the girls and that was all that really mattered to me. It’s all that really matters now.”
She lifted her head and grinned at him. “Though now that you’ve enlightened me to certain aspects of life I’ve been missing, I may have to make some adjustments. Maybe find a little time to start dating more.”
He frowned darkly at her. “Don’t get carried away, Hannah. Too much of a good thing can be dangerous.”
“Not too much,” she teased. “A Friday-night date here and—”
She gasped when he suddenly snatched her to him and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was rough, as intense as it was hungry. Every bone in her body seemed to soften, and she melted against him. Desire shot through her like an arrow and once again she wanted him.
“Make love to me, Seth,” she said raggedly when his mouth finally left hers. “Please.”
“Darlin’, that you can count on,” he said, his voice tight with passion, but when she started to lean into him, he held her back. “But first you’re going to eat. You’re going to need all your strength tonight.”
“Oh?” She smiled coyly, looked up at him as she spread her hands on his chest. “And why is that?”
He leaned down and whispered in her ear what he wanted to do to her later. She shuddered at the sensuous words, then sat down at the table and hoped that they could both eat fast.
Sunday morning came much too quickly. Hannah slept on her stomach, curled peacefully under the sheets with her face half-buried in a fluffy pillow. Lying on his side, elbow bent and his head resting in the palm of his hand, Seth watched the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders. He resisted the urge to press his lips to her bare skin, resisted the urge to slip his hand under the sheets and smooth his palm down her back and over the rounded curve of her bottom. Resisted the urge to wake her and do much, much more.
For the moment, though, he was content to simply watch her sleep.
Besides, after the night they’d spent together, he knew she needed her rest. He also knew that Maddie and Missy wouldn’t be coming home until much later on in the evening, which meant that he and Hannah had all day together, to do whatever they pleased. And a nice big house to do it in, he thought with a smile.
She stirred then, rustling the sheets as she rolled to her back. Her eyelashes fluttered open and for a moment, she seemed disoriented. Then her eyes opened wide, and she glanced at him.
“Mornin’,” he said.
“So it wasn’t a dream.”
Her sleepy voice slid over his skin, made his pulse quicken and his blood warm. He grinned at he
r, lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. She smiled against his lips as she stretched, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
The kiss deepened; grew urgent and greedy. He snatched the sheet from her and she wrapped her long, sleek legs around his waist, tempting him, teasing him. He slid inside her on a moan, heard the roar of his heartbeat in his head. He lost himself in the velvet glove of her body, the satin texture and woman scent of her skin, the soft little moans that rose from deep in her throat. Everything about her aroused him, made him ache with a need he’d never experienced before.
“Hannah,” he said raggedly. “Open your eyes.”
She seemed lost somewhere, drifting on a sea of passion, her back arched, her face flushed and eyes closed.
“Open your eyes,” he repeated. “Look at me.”
Her lids opened slowly; she looked at him with desire-glazed eyes. He rose over her, slid his hands up her flat, smooth belly, then cupped her breasts in his palms. When he rubbed her hard nipples with his thumbs, her blue eyes darkened to cobalt. She sucked in a breath, bit her bottom lip and moaned as he lowered his head to one pebbled tip and closed his mouth over her.
“Seth,” she gasped, dragging her hands through his hair. “Now, please, now.”
Her soft plea snapped what little control he’d been clinging to. He moved deep inside her, felt her body convulse and shudder. And then he shuddered, too, held her tight as they tumbled together over the edge.
It was several minutes before he rolled off her, then gathered her close again. She nestled her cheek against his chest, snuggled against him in the crook of his arm with a contented sigh.
“I may never move again,” she murmured.
He smiled, slid his hand over to cup her breast. “Wanna bet?”
She shook her head. “I’d lose that one.”
He kissed her temple, then moved downward to nibble at her ear. “I say we stay naked and in bed all day.”
“What about food?” She traced circles on his chest with her fingertip. “One of us has to get out of bed to cook.”
“We can order pizza and have them leave it on the front porch.”
“Pizza for breakfast?”
“A bachelor’s main staple. That and canned chili.”
She was silent for a long moment, her fingertip still moving restlessly over his chest now. Then she said, “How come you aren’t married?”
It was a simple question, and she wondered why he took so long to answer. She’d bared everything to him, her body, her soul, and God help her, her heart. It hurt to think that revealing even a little part of himself, of who he was and why, would be difficult. She started to rise when he tightened his hold on her and held her in place.
“I’m a cop,” he said evenly. “Not a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week cop, that’s hard enough on a marriage, but an undercover cop. I’m gone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time and I can’t tell anyone where I am. Sometimes it’s dangerous, though mostly it’s just sitting around in a sleazy bar or hanging around the streets, hoping to gain the trust of someone who’s not what you’d consider an upstanding citizen. I’ve tried relationships, even lived with a woman once. It didn’t work out.”
The brief stab of jealousy made Hannah pause. She certainly had no right to feel resentment toward any woman Seth had been with. Undoubtedly he’d been with several.
But the women he’d been with was the last thing she wanted to talk about at the moment. Sliding her hand up his muscled arm to his cheek, she traced his bristled jaw with her fingertips.
“What about your family? Don’t your parents worry about you?”
“My dad was killed when I was a teenager,” Seth said quietly. “He worked vice and was shot in the line of duty.”
“And now you’re a cop?” Hannah shook her head. “I can only imagine how much your mother worries about you.”
“She would if she knew. She thinks I work traffic. She retired a couple of years ago and moved to Florida, so I don’t talk to her very often.”
“And your sister and brother?” she asked cautiously. “You said you don’t know where they are?”
His jaw tightened under her fingertips and she felt his body stiffen. Obviously she’d asked the wrong question.
“I’m sorry.” She sat, pulled the sheets up to cover herself and slid to the edge of the bed. “I’m prying. I’ll just go get some break—”
“Hannah.” His hand circled her arm and tugged her gently back. “Come here.”
“Really, Seth, I didn’t mean to—”
“Hannah, just be quiet, will you?” He sat up in the bed and pulled her against him. After a long moment, he sighed, then said, “I’m adopted. My real parents were killed when I was seven.”
“Oh, Seth.” She laid her head on his chest. “I’m so sorry.”
He stroked her hair away from her face. “I lived on a small ranch just outside Wolf River with my parents, my older brother Rand and my baby sister Elizabeth.”
He paused, but she said nothing, just waited for him to continue.
“I don’t remember the night it happened, only what I was told later by my adopted parents, that my family was driving back from town one night, in a storm.” His voice had a distant quality to it. “A lightning bolt struck the road directly in front of us and the car swerved over the edge of a mountain cliff, then rolled several times into a ravine.”
Hannah closed her eyes, felt the rush of pain and despair wash through her. She knew the ache of losing loved ones, but he’d been so young, a seven-year-old child suddenly without a mother or a father.
“I had a concussion and a broken collarbone, but all in all, I was fine. Everything that happened over the next couple of days is hazy. All I knew was that suddenly I had a new home, a new family and a new name, all in the blink of an eye.”
She sat, stared at him in confusion. “You were separated from your sister and brother?”
“I was told they’d died in the accident along with my parents. For the past twenty-three years I’ve believed that.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Then two weeks ago I received a letter from a lawyer in Wolf River telling me that Rand and Lizzie didn’t die. They were adopted out the same as I was.”
“Who would do such a despicable thing?” Her fist tightened on the sheets. Such a horrible thing was beyond her comprehension. “And why would they?”
Seth shook his head. “That’s what I was on my way to find out last week. The lawyer who contacted me told me he’d explain everything when I got to Wolf River.”
“Oh, Seth.” Hannah sighed and dropped her head into her hand. “You’d be there now if you hadn’t saved Maddie.”
“Hannah.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “Look at me.”
When she met his gaze, he said, “I wouldn’t change one thing that’s happened to me since I came here. Not one thing, you got that?”
“Even the newspaper article?”
He frowned. “Okay, maybe that. But that’s it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Smiling, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, lingered there for a moment, then drew back with a thoughtful look in her eyes. “What was your last name?” she asked. “Before the Grangers adopted you?”
“Blackhawk.” He glanced away, stared blindly across the room. “It was a long time ago, but still I never forgot them. My parents, Rand and Lizzie. I loved the Grangers and they were good parents to me, but there always seemed to be something missing. Something that wasn’t quite right.”
“Maybe you knew,” Hannah said. “Maybe at some instinctual level, you knew your sister and brother were alive.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll see what this lawyer has to say when I get to Wolf River. In the meantime—” he grinned and pulled her into his arms “—I’ve got a woman named Sally on my mind.”
“Oh, is that so?” She rolled away and slid out of bed, then snatched up his white T-shirt from the floor. �
�Sally who?”
“Sally Siren.”
She grinned at him and pulled his T-shirt on, ducked away when he made a grab for her. “Well, I’ve got George on my mind.”
“Yeah?” He tossed the sheets aside, a wicked look in his eyes as he reached for his jeans. “George who?
“You know, George.” She backed toward the door, watched as he yanked on his jeans and started for her. “The cartoon watch-out-for-that-tree George.”
He lifted a brow, then grinned and beat on his chest as he hunched over and came at her. When he grabbed for her, she laughed, then spun and ran down the hallway with him in hot pursuit. He caught her before she made the foot of the stairs and circled her waist with his arms. She screamed when he tickled her and squirmed to get away, but he held her tight and tormented her.
She was still laughing when his mouth swooped down and caught hers in a hungry kiss. She kissed him back, felt her knees turn to warm taffy and the floor under her feet shift and turn. Wrapping her arms around him, she rose on her tiptoes and pulled him closer, was about to suggest they go back into the bedroom when she heard a small, metallic sound from the front door.
She yanked her mouth from Seth’s and turned as the front door opened.
Oh dear God.
Eyes wide, mouth open, Hannah froze and stared into the shocked face of her aunt.
Nine
Alone in the kitchen, a mug of black coffee in his hand, Seth stood at the open window and watched Mrs. Peterson trim her rose bushes while Beau sunned himself on the front lawn, his large jaws busy with a rawhide bone the size of a baseball bat. The steady clip, clip, clip of pruning shears mixed with the hum of an unseen lawn mower, and the scent of freshly mowed grass filled the warm air.
It might have been the perfect Sunday morning, if not for the sound of Aunt Martha’s shrill, stern voice coming from the living room.
Seth’s hand tightened around the mug of coffee that had long since turned cold. Listening to the woman severely chastise her niece had made it impossible for him to swallow. Even harder was listening to Hannah’s submissive replies to her aunt’s verbal lashing.
In Blackhawk's Bed Page 10
