Harlequin Superromance January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Everywhere She GoesA Promise for the BabyThat Summer at the Shore

by Janice Kay Johnson

  She didn’t sag in his arms; she hugged him hard and responded with a ferocity to equal his. The kiss got deep and slick and hot. One of his hands closed over her ass and lifted her. She helped by rising on tiptoe and trying to climb him. He’d have laid her back on the hood of that car and hiked her skirt if...

  His long-lost sense of self-preservation awoke with a jolt. The siren was screaming now. A blue-and-white police unit screeched to a stop at the head of the access road. His large SUV blocked some of the responding officers’ view, thank the Lord, but he needed to unpeel her body from his now.

  No matter how fiercely his body protested the loss.

  He untangled his fingers from her short hair. “Cait,” he said in not much better than a growl.

  She stared at him without comprehension.

  “The cops are here.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God,” she exclaimed in a tone of sheer horror that pissed him off. She tried to leap back, colliding with the bumper of her car. He grabbed her arm. Staggering, she righted herself with his help, then retreated again so that several feet separated them. “Colin?” she asked.

  “Uh...” He looked past her. “I don’t think so. Not yet.” Yeah, that wouldn’t have been so good.

  Not five minutes later, her brother’s 4Runner barreled to a stop on the verge of the road, and he strode down to join them, his gaze pinned on his sister.

  Who now stood a safe distance from Noah, hugging herself in the way she did when she was upset and feeling vulnerable. Although Noah suspected she wouldn’t like knowing how much she was giving away. She had recited her story again, in better order this time, and was now trying to answer questions.

  The two young officers turned, their expressions pathetically grateful when they saw the new arrival. “Captain.”

  He spared them a fleeting glance, nodded, then let his gaze pass coldly over Noah before returning his attention to Cait.

  “You’re all right.”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “A few scrapes and bruises. The worst damage is to my wardrobe.”

  Something dark rose in his eyes that Noah recognized and felt. Colin stood in front of her, his hands lifting and then falling back to his sides as if he believed an embrace would be unwelcome.

  But tears welled in her eyes and she stepped forward, just for an instant leaning her forehead against his shoulder. His arms closed around her, and Noah had to turn away, not sure what he felt but not liking it.

  This tumult couldn’t be jealousy. Why would it be? This was her brother. He should be—was—glad that she was letting herself need him.

  Noah had already held her. Stupidly, suicidally close. If he had half a brain, this was a good time for him to say, I’ll leave you in your brother’s hands, and depart.

  Anguish coalesced in his chest. No way in hell was he going anywhere without her. Even if the actual intention had formed, he wouldn’t have been able to act on it when he saw her straighten and turn her head quickly until her gaze latched on to his, as if she needed to know he was there. Noah had no idea what his face showed her, but she relaxed as if it was what she was looking for.

  I am in deep shit, he thought, and he couldn’t seem to do a damn thing to get himself out of it.

  Her brother joined the grilling, but Cait kept shaking her head. She didn’t even know how she’d seen the weapon. She wasn’t positive she had. Something in her subconscious had triggered the leap of panic; that’s all she knew. But she was sure she hadn’t seen her assailant’s face. Or even enough of the set of his shoulders or his hand or silhouette to recognize her ex-boyfriend.

  “I don’t know,” she said doubtfully, and about the third time she repeated the same thing Noah began to get a bad feeling about it.

  She’d been with this guy for a couple of years. Noah wasn’t clear on how long she’d actually lived with him, but long enough. Someone she’d been that intimate with, she would know on a different level than she would anyone else. The very fact that she was having trouble fitting him into the frame where they all thought he belonged triggered alarms.

  Why would anyone else have come after her?

  She was a woman alone out there. An attempted rape or robbery might have made sense. But this guy—or conceivably even woman, he supposed—hadn’t even stepped out of the vehicle. It had essentially been an assassination attempt by someone who didn’t want to take a chance of being recognized if he failed.

  No, damn it! Who else could it be but Ralston? He made sense.

  Noah scrubbed a hand over his face, struggling for the self-control that rarely failed him.

  “Let me drive you home,” he heard her brother say.

  At that, Noah stepped forward. “Why don’t you let me do that. You’ll want to stay while your people investigate.”

  McAllister’s internal battle was obvious, but finally he gave a short, unhappy nod. “That might be better. Cait—”

  “No, that’s fine.” She summoned a smile for him. “Thank you for coming running.” Her voice wavered. “You always have when I needed you.”

  Her brother’s face softened. With one arm, he caught her close again for a quick hug. “You’re my sister,” he murmured.

  She nodded, bumping his chin.

  When the two of them separated, Noah asked if there was anything she needed out of the car. Colin gave permission for her to take that huge bag she carried around, a cross between a purse and a briefcase, Noah guessed. She grabbed her yellow high heels, too, from the floor behind the seats.

  “You will find the bullets?” Noah asked Colin, who gave him a sardonic look.

  “You think I have no idea what I’m doing? And I wondered why you blocked my hiring.”

  Damn. Noah checked to be sure neither of the two young officers had heard the exchange.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  Colin turned away without a word and strode over to talk to one of the two young officers. Noah realized Cait had heard the exchange and was looking after her brother anxiously.

  Making Noah the bad guy.

  To hell with it. Without asking for permission, he lifted the bag away from her and slung it over his own shoulder, then took hold of her elbow to support her as they hiked up the incline to his Suburban. It stood unlocked. After opening the passenger door, he put his hands around her waist and lifted as she scrambled up. Normally she’d probably have kicked him for the unwanted help, but today she gave him a shaky smile of thanks that made him wonder if he’d misinterpreted that last expression.

  God.

  He was the one shaken to his foundation. If I hadn’t followed her. It ran on a loop. She’d be dead.

  She’d told a couple of people of her intention to drive out there, but the afternoon had been far enough advanced no one expected her back at the office. Living alone as she was insisting on doing, there wouldn’t have been anyone to miss her when she didn’t show up. What little passing traffic there was out there, what were the odds anyone would have glanced down and wondered about the small car seemingly abandoned on the dirt road? Reality: she wouldn’t have been missed until midmorning tomorrow at the soonest.

  If one of those first shots had hit her, he couldn’t help thinking, her body might have been lying in plain sight. Then a passing motorist would have noticed.

  That image made him so sick, angry and frustrated, he ground his teeth together and took a minute to get a grip before he opened his door, deposited her bag behind the seat and got in. Even then, he couldn’t look at her.

  She squeezed her hands together on her lap and didn’t say anything as he backed out, raising a cloud of red dust. During the short drive to town, Cait mostly had her head turned so she could look out the side window.

  He went straight to her town house even though he hoped she’d see sense now and move
back in with her brother. He parked in front and opened his door.

  “You don’t have to come in,” she began.

  She thought he’d drop her off at the curb and drive away. Nice.

  Once again, he grabbed her bag and circled to her side. She’d already opened the door but was bending to pick up the heels from the floor. The ones that went with the ruined suit. The reminder darkened his already roiling mood.

  Still, his hands were gentle as he helped her down. When he saw a wince, he said, “You’re going to have bruises.”

  She made a face, her eyes not quite meeting his. “I guess so. My knees don’t feel so good. And my hands sting.”

  Noah frowned. “Maybe we should have gone by the E.R.”

  “Don’t be silly. I need a hot shower and a couple of ice packs. Or maybe I’ll go straight for the wine.”

  He was probably supposed to laugh. His sense of humor was MIA.

  He kept his hand cupped under her elbow as they made their slow way to the front door. After rooting in the gigantic bag, which he swore weighed twenty-five pounds, she produced keys and unlocked the door.

  He stepped in first and was met with silence. And furniture. By God, the moving truck had come and gone. She now had a simple entertainment center with flat-screen TV and modest stereo system, a coffee table and a big upholstered rocker with a flowery print in her favorite yellows and pinks. Dining room table and chairs.

  “I’ll walk through,” he said.

  She bit her lip and nodded.

  The tour didn’t take long. Nothing had been smashed or slashed. Upstairs the smaller room now had a desk with a printer, presumably for her laptop, a pair of tall bookcases and a pile of unpacked boxes. Two cherrywood dressers had been added to the bedroom along with a free-standing full-length mirror. He even glanced in the bathroom, although he was sorry right away. He felt about a woman’s clutter the way a man from another century might have about the sight of a woman letting down her hair. It was too personal.

  Sexual.

  He backed out quickly and returned downstairs to find she had waited barely inside the door. She was once again wringing her hands together. She took in his face and then looked away. She hadn’t wanted to meet his eyes since that kiss, Noah belatedly realized.

  He had blown it.

  “All clear,” he reported. “I even glanced outside in back. Not so much as a note.”

  “Oh, okay. Time for that shower, then.” She pinned on a smile. “Thank you. I mean it.”

  He nodded. “I’ll stay at least until you’re out of the shower.” Kill him though it might, hearing the water run and knowing she was standing under it naked. Tipping her head back, maybe, eyes closed, letting that water stream over her breasts and belly and down her thighs.

  He could see that he’d alarmed her. Because of the offer, or because he’d given away thoughts that were dangerously carnal?

  “Oh, you don’t need—”

  “I do,” he said grimly. “With the shower running, you wouldn’t hear someone kicking in your door.”

  Her face got pinched. Finally she gave a small nod. “All right. Thank you. If you want to grab a beer or anything—”

  “Go.” That probably sounded grim, too. He wanted to grab her again, go sit on the sofa with her on his lap and just hold her.

  Or maybe more.

  Cait nodded again, backing away until she bumped into the wall beside the stairs. Then she fled, leaving those sexy high heels sitting on a dainty table to the right of the front door.

  Noah waited until he heard her bedroom door shut. Then he groaned, turned and flattened his hands on the wall.

  He did not understand why he was giving in to this inexplicable need to take care of Cait McAllister. Who had family. Who didn’t need him, even though sometimes she looked at him as if she did.

  Time to back off, he told himself. Before it was too late.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “A REFILL?” Like a polite waitress, Nell lifted the coffee carafe.

  “Thank you, no.” Even the toasted bagel Cait had eaten for breakfast wasn’t sitting well in her stomach. This freezing civility with her sister-in-law was all she needed. Cait would have been mad, except she was to blame. Of course.

  What choice had she had but to move back in with Colin?

  The plan was for her to move temporarily into the apartment above his garage, but last night she’d slept in the guest room again.

  He appeared now through the kitchen, still adjusting the knot of his tie. Nell’s face softened when she saw him, and his smile for her was tender and something more that filled Cait with...oh, not envy, she wanted him to be happy, but a sense of her own loneliness, she supposed.

  He kissed his wife, then glanced at Cait, expression guarded as it always was these days. “You about ready to go?”

  Her poor car, fenders barely smoothed out, now needed three windows replaced. “I’m sorry you’re stuck driving me,” she said.

  Her brother’s jaw squared. “I don’t mind.”

  Of course. She forced a smile. “Give me a second. Nell, thanks for breakfast.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She heard low voices while she hurried to the guest room to slip on her jacket and shoes. She had that shame-filled feeling they were talking about her, but she knew how self-centered that was.

  She tried to hurry but was moving stiffly this morning. Her knees sported big purple bruises and her legs didn’t want to swing with their usual ease. Her palms were scraped, and she had ruined her fingernails scrabbling in the dirt. She’d chosen trousers rather than a skirt, but there wasn’t much she could do to hide her hands beyond discreetly tucking them out of sight as much as possible.

  “Have a good day,” Nell said as Colin and Cait went out the door. He wore a sappy smile until he saw Cait looking at him; then he wiped it out of existence.

  And that made her feel crummy.

  He backed out of the garage before she got into his SUV. At the end of the driveway, Colin had to wait for a couple of oncoming cars.

  “I lived alone for a lot of years,” he said suddenly.

  “What?” She turned her head.

  He frowned. “Having somebody kiss me goodbye and be happy to see me when I get home, that means something.”

  She got a lump in her throat. “I understand. You’re...lucky. Nell’s great.”

  She felt his scrutiny, but now she couldn’t look at him. He nodded. They drove a distance in silence before Cait spoke.

  “I can tell Nell really loves you. She, um, gave me hell for hurting you.”

  Her brother slanted a glance at her. “Did she?”

  “She didn’t tell you?”

  “No.”

  “I was having lunch at the Subway right by the Safeway store. Evidently, she saw my car. She marched in, reamed me and marched out.” Now Cait was smiling.

  Colin chuckled but then returned to brooding silence. Not until he pulled into an unload zone in front of city hall did he say, “Cait...”

  She unfastened the seat belt and leaned over to kiss his angular cheek. “No. This is my fault. I hope—” her breath hitched “—that I can earn your trust again. Nell’s, too.” She fumbled for the door handle and got it opened. “Thanks for the lift. I’ll call you later.”

  She got out without looking to see how he responded. He was driving away before she entered the building.

  As Cait stepped off the elevator on her floor, she saw Noah standing in the hall, carrying on a conversation with someone from the city clerk’s office, which happened to be right across from Planning. A couple of inches over six feet and even broader in the shoulders than her brother, Noah stood out amid the morning bustle. But she knew her instant awareness of him had nothing to do with his siz
e. There was the kiss, which seemed to be haunting her. But even aside from that, it was just him; those laser-sharp blue eyes, rumpled dark hair, the quick way he had of turning his head to home in on her. Yes, even the sense that he looked wrong in the handsome charcoal suit, white shirt and red tie.

  She wondered suddenly if he’d ruined his suit pants yesterday when he’d knelt in the dirt to hold her.

  Even as he seemed to make a couple of points, nod and listen, he watched her approach. And, gee, what a surprise, he managed to wind up that discussion at precisely the moment she came abreast of him.

  “Cait.”

  “Good morning, Noah.” She turned into the outer office, said hello to several people and resigned herself to the fact that he was right behind her when she went into her own office. “Did you want something?” she asked politely as she lowered her messenger bag to the floor behind the desk and pulled out her chair.

  He shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “How are you?”

  Terrified, what did he think? But she was astonished at how many other answers she could have given him.

  She was childishly resentful because the independence she was trying so hard to claim was being stolen from her. Miserable because maybe things going wrong with Blake had been her fault. Look how she’d screwed up her relationship with Colin. And scared in a different way because she wanted Noah to put his arms around her again. She wanted to lean on him. She wanted to go home with him instead of her brother. She wanted him to kiss her again.

  “Surviving,” she said. “A little stiff today.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly, if anything intensifying the keen way he assessed her. “You stayed at your brother’s last night.”

  “Yes.” She planted her fists on her hips. “You thought I was dumb enough to say no?”

  “Dumb isn’t the word I would have used.”

  “What is?” She still sounded almost polite. “Suicidal?”

  “Bullheaded crossed my mind.”

  A sound escaped her lips she didn’t think she’d ever heard before. Had she growled?