by Debra Webb
“I don’t understand,” she said quietly.
Nathan shook his head, then opened his eyes. “I can’t do this. When you went away to college and never came back here, I almost lost my mind. Then my mother died and you suddenly reappeared. When you left that time, you took...”
He couldn’t form the words to explain the pain that had followed, “Twice I’ve lost you. Twice I’ve grieved the loss. I can’t do that again.”
“I’m sorry. I never intended to hurt you. I did come back,” she reminded gently, “but it was too late.”
He looked away. “I should go. Let Calvin drive you to Silas’s office. You took a pretty hard fall. If you need me for anything, just call. I need...” He swallowed hard and met her gaze. “I have to go.” He turned and walked away from the only woman he’d ever wanted. The one he still wanted.
He didn’t stop until he was in his car. He turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. If he didn’t move fast, he might change his mind and he couldn’t allow that to happen. He couldn’t survive losing Paige again. The best thing he could do was stay away until she went back to Memphis.
He would be doing her a favor as well. No matter how much she had thought she wanted to make love with him, she would have regretted it tomorrow.
They had no future together. Nothing that bound them except leftover feelings from the past.
Chapter Eight
“Litigate? What kind of five-dollar word is that?” Calvin huffed a disgruntled sound. “This ain’t the legal category in Jeopardy.”
“There’s no rule, Calvin, except that it has to be a word Webster’s would officially recognize,” Paige returned coolly. “Litigate means—”
“I know what it means,” he snapped.
“Well then, what’s the problem?”
“It’s supposed to be a word you can guess in this century, Miss P.” Calvin folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t want to play no more. I think that bump on your head done ruined your sense of humor,” he grumbled.
She exhaled a weary breath and leaned back against the couch. “You’re right, Calvin. I haven’t been myself all weekend.”
“It ain’t got nothing to do with lover boy, has it?” Calvin looked her straight in the eye. “I noticed he ain’t been around.”
“No,” she lied, straight-faced she hoped. “I’m just feeling out of sorts.”
“Is it because we’re going to pull that trick on Mr. Myers?”
“No,” Paige said with much more conviction. “Mr. Myers deserves just exactly what he’s going to get.”
“Long as you know what you’re doing, I’m game.”
She smiled at Calvin’s obvious uneasiness with deception. No way was this kid bad guy material. “Trust me, Calvin.”
“I do trust you.” He looked at her solemnly. “With my life,” he added.
Paige held his serious gaze for a moment before she busied herself putting away the pencils and tablets they had used to play a homemade version of Password. She sure hoped this little plan she and Silas had cooked up would work. If Calvin could get Myers to repeat his offer, they would have him over a barrel. The conversation would be taped, thus giving Paige the evidence she needed to gain a little a little leverage with the overly ambitious man.
“Want another glass of tea?” Calvin asked, getting to his feet.
“No, thanks,” Paige muttered distractedly. Calvin had proven entirely too insightful for an eighteen-year-old. His estimation that the bump on her head had little to do with her state of depression was right on the target. Nathan was the problem. He hadn’t called or come by all weekend. It had only been two days, but it felt like forever since she had seen him.
She had mentally kicked herself a dozen times for behaving like a sex-starved nymph. She still couldn’t believe that she had actually asked him to make love to her. Not hinted, mind you. Flat out asked. Demanded, really.
She closed her eyes and recalled the mind-boggling kisses they had shared before Nathan had come to his senses. Warmth flowed through her instantly as the event replayed in her mind. No other man, not that she had dated that many, had ever swept her into such passion with a kiss. It felt right with Nathan. Natural. The feel of his hard body against hers filled her with such need that she could scream with want.
But Nathan had been right. She sighed, a heavy, fatigued sound. He had kept his head on straight when she had lost it completely. Maybe the fall had scrambled her brains. She rubbed the still-tender spot on the back of her head. Whatever had possessed her at that instant she would never understand. The only thing she knew at the time was that she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Her first lovemaking experience had been with Nathan and there hadn’t been anyone since. Paige hadn’t wanted anyone else. She had tried, but her heart would accept no one else.
She prayed she hadn’t ruined the chance of their being able to maintain a friendship. And she still had to tell him about Jesse. What a mess she had made.
Calvin sauntered back into the room. Sorting out other people’s lives seemed so much simpler than straightening out her own. He stretched out on the couch with his iced tea and turned his attention to his favorite sitcom. A knock at the door, followed by several chimes of the doorbell startled Paige from her disturbing reflection.
“Oh, man,” Calvin protested. “That’s prob’ly Nathan and my show ain’t over yet.” He set his half-empty glass of tea on a coaster on the side table.
“Nathan?” Paige asked, her spirits lifting.
“Yeah, he invited me to go to the pool hall with him tonight,” Calvin said as he laced up his high-top sneakers.
“Hogan’s Pool Hall?”
“Yeah, that’s the place.” He stood to go.
“You just sit tight,” Paige ordered. “I need to have a word with Nathan in private.” She stalked into the entry hall and opened the door, prepared to give Nathan a piece of her mind on the subject of bad influence. Only it wasn’t Nathan at the door. Paige found herself face-to-face with two young men who looked more menacing than junkyard dogs.
“May I help you?” She centered herself in the doorway, effectively blocking their entrance.
“I’m here to see my cuz,” the shorter and stockier of the two informed her.
“I’m sorry, I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Paige attempted to close the door as an alarm sent adrenaline racing through her veins. This might be the two men who had threatened Calvin. She couldn’t let them find him.
A large, dark hand forced the door open. “Oh, I think you know exactly who we’re talking about,” the much larger man insisted.
Paige stared up at him. She stumbled back a step when he pushed past her into the entry hall. “Gentlemen, if you don’t leave, I will call the police,” she announced in the sternest tone she could muster.
“Yo, Calvin, get out here,” the shorter guy shouted past Paige. “You chicken sh—”
“What you want, A.J.?” Calvin interrupted as he burst into the hall, hands on his skinny hips.
“Boy, you got some explaining to do,” A.J. threatened. He swung his arm around Calvin’s neck and ushered him toward the door. “Baby Dave, you keep the lady lawyer company while I have a talk with my homey.”
Baby Dave grunted, never taking his leering gaze off Paige. A.J. and Calvin disappeared from view, leaving the front door wide open. Paige willed herself to remain calm. The two men seemed only to be interested in talking at this point. No need to get excited just yet. Maybe they would have their say and leave.
Baby Dave’s loathsome gaze dropped to Paige’s bare midriff and then to her legs. She swallowed hard. Of all days to decide to dress for comfort. She had pulled on an old cropped T-shirt and ragged cutoffs.
She shifted under the man’s intense perusal. Tiny beaded braids crowned his head. His black sweatshirt looked to be about five sizes too big and a trifle warm. Baggy, wide-legged jeans covered his long legs and puddled in folds around his sneakers.
A fearful plea from Calvin reached Paige’s ears. Her pulse rate quickened as a new surge of adrenaline raced through her body. Maybe talking wasn’t all A.J. came to do. She had to get to Calvin. He trusted her... depended on her. Paige shot a sidelong glance at the front door. Could she outrun the hoodlum ogling her?
“Now you ain’t thinking of making a run for it, are you?” Baby Dave stepped closer and skimmed a hand over her arm.
Paige shuddered and jerked away from his touch. “Don’t touch me,” she warned.
“And just whatcha gonna do about it if I do?” He eased a step closer, grabbed a handful of her hair and allowed the strands to slip through his fingers. “I guess you ain’t gonna do nothing.”
She allowed him to move another step closer before she brought her knee up into his groin with every pound of force in her body. “Guess again,” she muttered and shot out the open door.
A.J. had Calvin backed up against the red Mustang. Paige skidded to a stop several feet away when she saw the knife he held to Calvin’s throat. Her heart thudded in her chest. How could she stop this?
“Stop right now, A.J., before you do something you’ll regret,” Paige told him calmly, inching a little closer.
He glared at her. Calvin looked scared to death. She had to do something. The phone in the barn. She had to get to that phone.
Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her neck, preventing her escape. Paige shrieked.
“Keep that bitch quiet!” A.J. ordered.
“My pleasure,” Baby Dave responded, giving Paige’s head a backward jerk as he started back into the house.
“No,” Paige screamed. She dug her bare heels into the ground and tried to slow him down.
“Let her go,” a low, masculine voice growled.
Nathan. Oh, thank God, Nathan! The sound of his voice sent relief through Paige’s trembling body. Hot tears slipped down her cheeks.
Baby Dave stilled, but didn’t release her.
Paige heard a thud, then a grunt from Baby Dave. The next thing she knew Baby Dave was on the ground with her sprawled on top of him.
Nathan pulled her to her feet. “Go in the house and call the police.” He turned and strode toward A.J. and Calvin.
“Back off, man,” A.J. shouted over his shoulder, the knife still pressed to Calvin’s throat.
Paige stood stock-still, unable to move, her eyes glued to Calvin’s wide-eyed expression. Her heart lodged in her throat as the scene evolved before her eyes.
“If you don’t back off, man, I swear I’ll cut him,” A.J. warned in a nervous, high-pitched voice.
“If you hurt Calvin, I’m going to hurt you—a lot,” Nathan told him in a voice so cold and dangerous that chills ran over Paige.
“Calvin, tell your buddy to back off,” A.J. threatened. “This is between you and me.”
Calvin looked from A.J. to Nathan. Even in the dusky light, Paige could see the fear glittering in Calvin’s eyes, but he said nothing. Paige knew he trusted Nathan to help him. Realizing she was wasting time, Paige turned and ran into the house.
Thank God the 911 service was back on line. Five minutes. The police would be there in five minutes, but anything could happen in that length of time. She rushed back outside. Baby Dave still lay motionless on the ground. Paige looked up from his still form to see an enraged A.J. shove Calvin to the ground and turn on Nathan. Nathan backed away from the knife.
Paige glanced from Calvin’s crumpled form to the two men circling each other. She inched slowly toward Calvin. He had to be okay. Renewed fear crawled up her spine.
A.J. sputtered ceaseless profanities. Nathan said nothing. His lethal gaze spoke for him.
A.J. lunged at Nathan. Paige felt the scream burst from her as time seemed to lapse into slow motion. The sound of her scream echoed around her leaving her weak with fear. A.J. lunged again. Paige saw the slit in Nathan’s shirt caused by the knife, saw the blood ooze forth. Nathan’s blood. Her breath whooshed from her body. Before she could release an anguished cry, A.J. was on the ground and Nathan had the knife.
Sirens blared in the distance. Calvin stirred and tried to sit up. Paige crouched beside him and did a quick visual exam. No visible signs of harm. Thank God. She gave her nerveless limbs the command to move and then she was at Nathan’s side.
“Are you all right?” She touched his cheek. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. Nathan held his hand against the side where the knife had slashed him. “Let me see, Nathan,” she demanded. Panic clawed at her throat.
“It’s not bad,” he insisted, though he winced with pain.
“I’m taking you to the hospital.” She clenched her hands into fists to help control her convulsive trembling. A delayed reaction to the fear, she told herself.
“I’m okay, Paige,” Nathan slid his free arm around her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “Calvin, are you okay?” he asked as the kid staggered over to join them.
“Yeah, my head hit the car when A.J. shoved me down. It kind of stunned me,” he muttered, shook his head and then rubbed it. “But I’m okay now. Man, Nathan,” Calvin looked at Nathan in admiration, “you’re a regular superhero.”
Nathan laughed and then grimaced. Blood seeped between his fingers. “Damn, Calvin”—he glanced down at the scarlet staining his shirt—”your friend ruined my only blue shirt.”
Calvin’s response was muffled by the two official cruisers that ground to a stop in the driveway. Four policemen scrambled from the tan and brown vehicles.
Paige felt suddenly lightheaded. She looked from Nathan to Calvin and then to the two men on the ground. She closed her eyes and released a breath. They could have all been killed. She opened her eyes and rested her gaze on Nathan. She could have lost him today. Lost him forever. And he would never have known that he had a son.
~*~
“Aren’t you through yet?” Nathan complained.
“With that part I am,” Paige told him after securing the bandage on the knife wound A.J. had inflicted. It wasn’t deep, but there had been so much blood. She shuddered.
Forcing her attention on his injury, she took a moment to admire her handiwork, trying not to notice the smooth contours of his bare chest or the rippling ridges of his abdomen. Nathan had the kind of body that was hard to ignore.
“What now?”
She reached behind him to soak another washcloth with cool water. “Has anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue?”
“Patience is not my strong point.” He leaned against the sink and released a long breath.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” She dabbed at his bloody lips with the wet cloth. She moved closer between his spread legs. She worked hard to keep her expression neutral since simply touching him generated such heat that she felt certain she would break out into a sweat at any moment.
“Do you know this?” Nathan’s long fingers encircled her wrist and stilled her hand.
Paige allowed her gaze to meet his. She couldn’t read the myriad emotions she saw there.
“I’ve laid awake thousands of times and tried to figure out how I could have changed things between us.” He shrugged. “Made things turn out differently or maybe even avoided falling in love with you altogether.” His gaze dropped to the hand he held and then back to her eyes. “I’m glad I didn’t know how it would end. Even if I could go back, I’d do the same things all over again.”
For a long time neither she nor Nathan spoke except with their eyes. She saw the tremendous need in his, felt the desire radiating from his body. His eyes closed as she gently traced the outline of his jaw. Such a strong man, yet capable of such sweet words. She tiptoed and placed a soft kiss on his bruised lips. His dark eyes fluttered open as she skimmed her hand down his taut chest making him shiver. She smiled at the power she could wield over this big, powerful man. She gave his hungry mouth another kiss.
Nathan’s hands snaked around her waist and he pulled her tight against him. His mouth took hers in a kiss so ha
rd she tasted the blood from his injured lip.
“Paige,” he whispered against her mouth. “I want you so much.” He cradled her in his arms. “Even if you leave and never come back. Even if I spend the rest of my life alone. I don’t care.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I just want to hold you and love you right now, today.”
She took his face in her hands and leveled her gaze on his. “I want you, too, Nathan.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He settled her on her feet next to the bed. For long moments he simply stared, as if memorizing every aspect of her. She shuddered when he finally touched her. His palm caressed her cheek, the pad of his thumb traced her lips.
She pulled the shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. She watched the desire in his eyes intensify as her cutoffs fell to her ankles and she kicked them aside.
Nathan remained motionless. Seemingly content to look at her. But that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted him to touch her—touch her now. She took his hand and pressed it to her breast. He blinked and then slipped the satin fabric over her nipple. He stroked the peak with his thumb, soft at first, then harder. Heat swirled through her breast and then sank lower. With painstaking slowness he leaned down and tasted her. Paige gasped at the contact of his hot mouth on her breast... the whisper of black silk against her abdomen. She threaded her fingers through his long hair. He nibbled and then suckled, drawing desire up from the deepest part of her. She had wanted this for so long. Wanted Nathan for as long as she could remember. She pulled his mouth from her breast and pressed her lips to his in a desperate kiss. She wanted to lose herself in his heat.
His hands went behind her back and unfastened her bra. He slipped the satin garment off and crushed her to him. The feel of his wall of muscle against her soft breasts sent fire searing through her middle. She could hold him like this forever and be happy just hearing his heart beat, feeling his breath on her bare skin.
He slipped his hands inside the cool silk of her panties and eased them over her hips and down her thighs and over the swell of her bottom. His work-toughened palms caused a sensuous friction on her tender flesh.
