Luckily for me the deck sat in full sun, so it was perfectly normal for me to take my shirt off. I did it as sexy as possible with my sore ribs. I didn’t even wince.
“What—what are you doing?” Karen looked at me, paint brush paused in mid-stroke.
“I’m going to work on the deck while you’re painting. Is that okay? I figured I’d start here on the steps. I’m going to sand them to prep them for painting, but I think I’m far enough away from your paints.” I watched her eyes follow my movements as I ran my hand over my chest. Yup, I still had it.
“Oh. Sure. Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be fine.” She waved her hand toward me and licked her lips. “Won’t your, ah, ribs bother you?”
I nodded and threw my shirt on the railing. “Probably, but I have to do something. I’m bored, not to mention I’m getting fat.” As I’d hoped they would, her eyes drifted down to my still-flat stomach. I knew she could see just a hint of my happy trail above the waistband of my board shorts. I wore board shorts a lot when I was home. They made it easier to jump into the ocean whenever the mood struck.
She snorted her response. “Fat. Yeah.” With one more leisurely look at my bared skin, she turned back to her painting.
A few hours later, and one coat of paint down, my ribs were about done for the day, as was Karen. I could see her eyes drifting closed as she fought sleep. She was staying awake for longer periods of time each day, but I think the fresh air did her in.
“Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Let’s get you inside before you fall off that stool.”
“Wait. I can’t leave my paints open.”
“I’ll close everything up and bring it all inside, okay?” I walked over to her and held my hand out. She bestowed one of her gorgeous smiles on me as she took it.
“You know, Cage. I could get used to this. You’re pretty good at taking care of me. I’m sorry I’m so much trouble.”
“Trouble? You’re no trouble at all. I like having you here.” And wasn’t that an understatement?
Once inside, she made her way over to the chair she’d been just about living in and sat back with a sigh. I watched the chair slowly recline as she pushed the automatic button. Her eyelids fluttered shut and her hands rested lightly on her stomach. Satisfied that she’d stay that way for a bit, I went back outside to clean up her paints. Once I had it all safely put away, I went into the kitchen to grab something to eat.
My mouth was still full with the last bite of salami and cheese when Karen cried out.
“No! Don’t. Don’t take it. I need it.” I rushed in, my initial confused thought being that someone had entered my small cottage somehow.
“Karen?” She was still sleeping. At least she looked like she was still asleep. I ran my hand over her hair to see if she was awake. She continued talking, but she was definitely still asleep.
“I’m no woman. I’m not a woman anymore. No one will want me.”
I had a pretty good idea what she was dreaming about, and a quiet rage roiled in the pit of my stomach. She’d told me she’d accepted her condition. How could she think she wasn’t a woman anymore? She was even more of a woman for being so strong.
“Sweetheart, wake up. You’re having a bad dream.” I squeezed her shoulders and her eyes popped open.
“Cage? Oh. Oh, I was dreaming.”
“Do you remember what you were dreaming about?”
She turned her head away from me and looked out the side window. “Yes.”
“Now that you’re awake, you know that’s not true, right? You’re more woman than any I’ve ever met. You blow all other women right out of the water. They can’t hold a candle to you.” She still wouldn’t look at me, and I saw a slight tremble in her chin. Fuck no. Not on my watch.
“Karen.” I gripped her chin tightly and turned her toward me. “Trust me on this.” I dropped to my knees and took her lips with mine. The tightness of her lips indicated I’d surprised her, but she allowed it. I gave her a couple of seconds to get used to the idea, and then I began to softly brush my lips back and forth over hers. “Trust me.” I said it again and again, until her lips relaxed and began reacting to the pressure of mine.
Her hands came up to graze over my naked chest. When she raked her nails slowly over me, my breath hitched like it was the first time I was being touched by a woman. Karen, this woman, captivated me like no other before her, and I feared no other would after her. “Yes, Karen. Trust me.” Her hands slipped up and behind my neck to anchor in my hair. With a low moan, she parted her lips, and I used the opportunity to slip inside to explore the delicate contours of her mouth with the tip of my tongue.
I shifted, still on my knees to get closer to her. The arm of the chair separated us, but that was a good thing since she was still too sore to do anything more. If not for that chair being there, I was sure I would have crushed her to me, causing her pain.
Her fingers were running through my hair when I pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes. I wanted her to see the heat in mine. I held nothing back from her as I placed my forehead against hers. “Can’t you see what you do to me?” Not waiting for, or even needing an answer, I went right back to her plump lips.
I alternated between kissing her lips and raining kisses over her cheeks and jaw. Even her stitches received gentle kisses. When her stomach started growling, rather loudly, we pulled apart, both of us grinning like fools.
“Well, okay. I guess that’s it for now.” I did have one small—well not small, thank you very much—problem. If I stood up, she was going to see exactly what she did to me. “Lie back and I’ll go get you some lunch.”
“I can get it.”
“No!” I really wanted get to the kitchen without Karen seeing the hard-on I was sporting. Not sure why I cared though, to be honest. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, I wasn’t particularly shy. Although I didn’t feel as confident around Karen as I did anyone else. Go figure. “Close your eyes and rest for a couple of more minutes. I’ll be right back.”
When she closed her eyes, I made my escape.
***
Things went on much the same way for a few days (some painting by her, some flexing by me, and a few stolen kisses), and then my time was up. I had to take her home. Her mother was in town, so my gig as nursemaid was over. Her suitcase was by the door, and all I could think about was how much I was going to miss having Karen in my house. Charlie and I were going to be lonely all over again. We’d been lonely before, so I knew we could deal with it, but I suspected this time might be a different kind of lonely.
Chapter 18
Karen
By the time I got back to my place, I was able to get around much better. My mother, being a typical, coddling mother, decided I needed a few more days of TLC before getting my independence back. You know how mothers can be.
“Here, honey. Have some tea while I make us up some lunch.” That was another Mom trait. Everything could be fixed with a cup of tea, and if not? Keep quiet and drink another cup. It didn’t matter that it was eighty degrees out. So there I sat, drinking my second cup of tea while she took sandwich fixings out of the fridge.
As I watched Mom making us lunch, my mind drifted to Cage. I wondered what he was doing right now. It took me by surprise how quickly I’d gotten used to him being around, or rather me being around at his house. I missed him.
I missed the way I could almost always catch him looking at me like he was smitten. He wore his heart on his sleeve with me, and it was humbling. Out of all the women he could have, and he could have had just about any he wanted, I was sure, why me? I knew it began because there was a physical attraction, but it was so much more now. And I knew his feelings were sincere.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
I looked at my mom, not realizing she’d placed my sandwich and a glass of milk in front of me. “Oh, sorry. I was thinking about Cage. Just wondering what he’s up to now that he’s not busy taking care of me.”
“Why don’t you invite him over to w
atch the game tonight?”
That was a great idea. One I’d already been tossing around in my head. He didn’t need to be sitting around alone watching his team play without him. I had talked to him briefly just that morning. He’d gone to the neurologist to try to get clearance to play, but he still showed signs of concussion, and the doctor wouldn’t clear him. “I think I will. I’ll call him after we’re done eating.”
“Good. I’d like to meet him in person and thank him for taking such good care of my little girl.” She patted my cheek before she sat down across from me. My mom wasn’t always that kind of mother. She’d had a problem with alcohol for quite a while, but that was all in the past, and she was certainly trying to make up for any slights we suffered from her addiction. I didn’t hold it against her, but I enjoyed the extra effort on her part now.
After lunch, I decided to move out to the deck to work on my art. I’d just about finished a picture of Cage that I had started at his house. It was a pencil drawing I’d done when we were talking the day he started sanding and painting his deck stairs. He’d never seen it. I wasn’t sure he would really appreciate it; it was pretty raw. It was one of my favorite portraits I’d done so far, but it was a bit intense. Intimate was probably a better word. And it was pretty special to me.
Mom moved my supplies outside for me while I called Cage. “Hey, Karen. How are you?” I could hear the smile in his voice, and it helped me picture him. I’d bet anything he was leaning on something staring out at the ocean. He was a leaner. He leaned on doorframes, railings, walls, anything that was, well, leanable.
“I’m feeling pretty good today. Mom says I can put pants on tomorrow.” I laughed at my own words, but it was true. Even at my age, I tended to defer to Mom’s orders.
“That’s great. I’m glad you have your mom there, but I kind of miss taking care of you. You think that’s strange?”
“No. I think it’s sweet.” We talked about inconsequential things for a while, and then I invited him over for the game.
“How about if I come a little earlier? I’ll bring some pizza and beer.”
“Sure, but could you pick up some non-alcoholic beer, too? My mom’s an alcoholic, and she loves that she can still have her beer.”
His end of the line was quiet for a couple of moments, until he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I don’t need to drink beer.”
“Oh, no. She doesn’t mind at all. I’m surprised I never mentioned it. It’s not a secret. She’s been sober for a long time now. Over ten years. It doesn’t bother her if you drink around her. She’s one hundred percent committed to her sobriety.” It seemed to surprise a lot of people that my mom could be around people who were drinking, but it was just like anything else. After you kicked the addiction, and you were able to live with it day after day, it got a little easier. I wasn’t saying there wasn’t ever a time she might want a real beer, but it didn’t occupy her thoughts day and night like it had in the beginning. Not after ten years.
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. I wouldn’t mind having one or two myself.”
“All right. Pizza and beer. Molson okay?”
As if he didn’t know Canadian was my favorite. “Of course. I’ll see you a little later. Come over whenever you want. We’re going to get the cards out and play some poker on the deck in a little bit if you’re interested.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t be fair. I’d kick your ass in poker. Your mom’s, too.”
“Is that nice? You haven’t even met her yet, Cage. I think you should let me win to show her what a nice guy you are.”
“Never ask a professional athlete to let anyone win at anything. I’d sit out and watch you ladies play before I’d throw a game.”
“Oh, yeah? You’re such a hot shot, eh? Bring it, Mr. Booker. And bring some money. We don’t play just for fun.” That part was actually true. Even if it was just five bucks, we always played for money. Luckily, Mom didn’t have a gambling addiction. We just liked to keep it interesting.
“I’ll be there with pizza, beer, and money then. See you soon.”
Mom’s hair was blowing gently in the wind as she rocked back and forth in her chair on the deck. There were two rockers out there, but Mom had brought one of my bar stools out for me to sit on. She even adjusted the easel to the correct height so I didn’t have to bend.
“Penny for your thoughts.” I smiled as I turned her own words back on her. I could remember a time, after my father took off, when my mother would sit just like that in the kitchen, beer in hand. The difference was in her eyes. Maybe it was the artist in me, but I truly understood why they said the eyes were the windows to the soul. I knew she wasn’t sad or mad now.
To prove me right, her head tilted a bit as she turned a sassy smile on me. She looked so at ease here on my little deck. The warm San Diego air agreed with her. “Just thinking that right about now, Samuel is getting home and re-heating one of the meals I left for him. It’s funny how those little things can make me feel good, you know? I like knowing that I have a man—a really good man—to take care of again. It makes me feel valuable. And I love being here with you. I wish it was under better circumstances, but I like this time we have together. I think I’m feeling like I deserve all this. I just feel good. Happy.”
“You do deserve it, Mom. More than most. I know we went through that little rough spot, but even on your darkest days, you never took it out on us.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, sweetie, but there were plenty of times I was mad at you and your brother, just because you were there for me to take care of by myself. I’m not proud of that, but I’ve forgiven myself. Believe me, I know I’ve been given a second chance here, and I’m not going to take it for granted. You, Jody, Samuel, not to mention Lacey and my first grandbaby—you’re all what make my life worthwhile, and I’m damn thankful for it.”
“Aw, Mom. I love to hear you talk like this. Even if you resented us for a minute or two, we never knew it. And that’s what makes you an exceptional mother. I think even at your lowest point, you put us first. I’m glad you’re here.” I shuffled over and gripped her hand. In hindsight, I think my father’s taking off and Mom’s drinking problem may have actually brought us closer as a family in the end. Between the two of us siblings, though, I think it was much harder on Jody than me.
“Well, anyway. You better get back to that drawing if you want to finish it before Cage gets here.”
“Why would you say that?” My mother always was pretty insightful.
“Because I saw the drawing, and I know my daughter. If that’s how he really looks at you, he has it bad. I’d say he’s got one foot over the hill and ready to topple over. If you don’t want him to know that you see him, and how he looks at you, you may want to put it away before he arrives.”
A mere forty-five minutes later, my mother was still silently rocking in her chair when I pronounced my drawing finished. “That’s it. It’s done.”
Mom’s knees cracked as she pushed herself up from the chair. “God, I’m getting old.”
“You are not. You just sat for too long.”
“Maybe. Okay, let me see.” She stood behind me as I held my breath for her reaction to the finished product. I wasn’t on a professional level as an artist by any means, but I really did love drawing and painting, and wanted people to enjoy it. “Oh, my. Karen, it’s lovely, but good Lord, is that what he really looks like?”
“Well…yes, why?”
“He’s gorgeous. I mean look at those eyes—so alluring. And those defined cheekbones—almost too pretty. Dimples? A girl doesn’t stand a chance. And, dear God, he has a cleft chin?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Not really. It’s actually a scar from when he first started playing hockey as a kid.” I didn’t laugh at the rest of her reaction, though. Cage was, without a doubt, one of the best looking men I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I know. Wait until you see him in the flesh. Try
to keep from drooling.”
“I’ll try, but if he really looks as good as this picture I can’t promise anything.”
We were still discussing Cage when he walked right into my line of sight down on the sidewalk.
“Hey, ladies. I have beer and pizza, but no one to answer the door.” Apparently he’d knocked but we didn’t hear him from our spot on the deck.
“Oh, sorry! We’ve been out here. Come back up, I’ll meet you at the door.” Ignoring my mother’s waving hand to keep me seated I got up and walked inside to greet Cage.
The aroma from the pizza box filled my nose as I opened the door and he stepped in. I took the bag containing both beers and put it in the fridge. “That smells so good.”
“Yeah. I know I’m here really early, but I thought we could have some pizza now, and then I could get something else later or whatever.”
“Mom and I had sandwiches a little while ago, but you go ahead. We can heat it up later in the oven. It’ll be fine. If not, I’ll send you out for something else.”
“You got it. Anything you want.”
We were still making small talk when my mother walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. “Okay. I’ve always thought your drawings were dead on, honey, but I think you missed the mark here.” To my dismay, she stood there fanning herself as her eyes drifted over Cage from top to bottom and then back up again. My mother had always been an enthusiastic voyeur of the male physique.
“Cage, this is my brutally honest mother, Maddie. Mom, meet Cage Booker, or Dalton if you prefer.”
“Well, I love the name Dalton. I think I’ll go with that if you don’t mind.” She stuck her hand out to Cage, and without missing a beat he took it in his.
“I think I’d like it if you called me Dalton. It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Maddie. Your daughter is one of my favorite people. There aren’t many like her, are there?”
“No, I think you’re right. My children are a bit better than the rest.”
I was sure Cage would have liked to argue that point. Me? Sure. Jody? Not so much. Before he could stick his foot in his mouth, I led them both outside.
Cage's Misconduct (NHL Scorpions #3) Page 16
