WindSwept Narrows: #19 Lacie

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  The Rover was familiar.

  The blonde, very familiar. He spoke quietly to the other men with him, striding toward the gate. He lifted the helmet, carrying it in his hand and grinning.

  He couldn’t stop the grin. He’d told her to come by anytime but he hadn’t really expected her to appear.

  Then the grin vanished. The guard had been speaking to her, but now he had his hand on her arm.

  “Mason!” Lacie tried jerking her arm free, her other hand came up to pry his fingers off. “Let go. You’re hurting me.”

  “I told you: leave. You’re not on the…”

  “Let her go now,” Mason ordered loudly, the second guard sliding the gate open and shooting a warning glance at his partner.

  “Sir! I’m…she isn’t on the list…” The man stumbled back, releasing Lacie and holding his breath.

  “Put her on the list. Where ever I am, find me when she comes to see me,” Mason instructed, his eyes never leaving Lacie. He held his palm out, her fingers immediately filling his hand. “This is a nice surprise,” his eyes cruised over her, the grin a little brighter. “Paint day.”

  “Lacie Barton,” she said to the guard, but her gaze was on Mason.

  “I’ll make sure you get a pass,” Mason promised, his fingers twining with hers. He turned from the gate and led her toward the small group of people talking. “We were just finishing up with instructions to the cleaning crew. Give me a couple minutes and we can walk around.”

  “I’d like that,” Lacie went to her toes, kissing his cheek. “I would have called, but I never got your number, Mason.”

  She almost laughed at his expression, his palms patting down his pockets and pulling his phone out, thumbs poised and dark eyes meeting the grin she offered. He tapped in the number she offered and then made a call, her own phone chiming in the pocket of her coveralls. She pulled it out and slid the top to the side, her eyes grinning up at him as she logged his number into her directory.

  “I always considered myself organized,” he kissed her and stepped back, his head shaking. “You break my concentration, Lacie. Give me a few minutes.”

  “I’ll wander around this way. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  Mason watched her as she walked off toward the large trailers set up on the property. He’d done what Chloe said and used the name of Dr. L. Barton and he’d seen an immediate change in the attitude of his engineers and architect. It didn’t excuse their refusal to accept the flaws she had found and they’d been given a severe warning.

  Lacie continued to the large canopy, her hands behind her back as she wandered around the four huge drafting tables holding the blueprints. She looked them over as she wandered between them, red and bright green marks indicating the changes.

  “This tent is off limits.”

  Lacie tilted her head, peering over at the man bent over another drafting table, his pencil poised and eyes shifting to his paper.

  “It’s your name on the bottom of the drawings,” she said quietly, staring down at what he was working on. “Your dimensions are off…or it might be your math…” One slim finger touched several places on the drawings.

  The man lifted his head and stared at her. His hair was a dark blond, barely touching his ears and eyes a pale brown. He set the pencil down and straightened up on the stool.

  “You’re the one who claimed to know things were insufficient for the weight required.” He made the statement flatly, his eyes raking over the sneakers and coveralls coated with paints.

  “They weren’t claims,” she said with a simple shrug. “They were facts. Designs are simple mathematic equations in physical form, manifesting itself in a building. Nothing special. But there’s also no reason for you to not create it correctly. It isn’t like it’s your money.”

  “It would have been perfect as it was. But…” his head tipped. “Always give the boss what he wants.”

  “Would you have bet your life on the stability without the extra supports? Or the lives of others? Are you from this area?” Lacie wandered to the other tables, her fingers tracing lines on some of the comments and changes. “You’re right, though. I wouldn’t have found the discrepancies if you’d done as asked in the beginning.”

  “Clarkson,” Mason came beneath the canopy, the helmet and safety glasses laid on a table. “How are the revisions coming along?” His tone was compelling, boss-like.

  “Almost complete. Seems I have a math problem on my drawing now,” his words were low, barely holding the seething inside.

  Mason looked at Lacie. “Then you’d better have someone help check. I want this plant to withstand a level five quake as well as the manufacturing equipment I plan on installing inside it. I’ll speak with you in the morning,” he took Lacie’s palm. “Ready for a walk?”

  “Yes. How long are they estimating it’ll take for clean-up?”

  “The reclamation and renovation has put just a little strain on the resources of the area, but we’re in line to have it complete in two months. They’ll have the first crew here on Wednesday,” he slid his palm down her shoulder and took her palm. “They’ll go through buildings and have people remove all the largest items and get them into recycling trucks. Doing it the right way will take time but that’s a big part of the whole reclamation.”

  “It takes patience. I imagine the most difficult part is explaining to the stock holders why their profits go on hiatus for a few months,” Lacie glanced around at all the junk that had been left behind by whatever businesses had been on that location in the past. “The impressive thing is how much of this stuff someone will be able to recycle.”

  An hour later they were still walking and talking about anything when the first drops struck the ground. Both looked at one another, Mason tightened his hand around hers and they took off running toward the large trailer marked ‘OFFICES’.

  Mason closed the door behind them, his palm hitting the light switch and throwing the room into view.

  “Wow…” Lacie stood staring at him, dark hair plastered over his eyes and his suit as soaked as her own coveralls and T-shirt. Not to mention squishy shoes. “I hate squishy shoes…”

  “I guess we can make a run for the Rover and just head to the resort,” Mason swept two sets of fingers up, raking back his hair and shaking off the water.

  “This is really fancy for an office in a trailer,” Lacie wandered into the kitchen after toeing her shoes off, bare feet padding over the solid tiles. “Hah! A washer and dryer.”

  Mason had followed a few steps until she opened the door of the dryer and began undressing, tossing clothes into the dryer and turning to find him staring at her.

  “Oh…you’re not wash and wear…well, maybe your shirt…oh, well, it’ll only take a minute and I’ll be warm and toasty,” she turned back to the dials and did a little wiggle seconds before she had the clothing drying. She pulled a large towel from the rack above and wrapped it around her, handing him another one. “Do you keep spare clothes here?”

  Mason felt his mouth open and clothes a few times before he simply shook his head. What was it about this woman that sent his body back to when he was seventeen and totally out of control? There was no denying the tightening in his cock now pressing against the inside of his damp slacks.

  “Well…but you can take this off…” Her hands were on his jacket, sliding it down his arms and draping it over one of the chairs. She reached for his tie at the same time the towel she had tucked beneath her arms decided to unknot. It puddled at her feet, Mason groaned and Lacie scowled down at the floor. She shrugged and opened the knot on his tie, pulling it free and opening the top few buttons on his shirt.

  She dropped it over his jacket and wrapped the towel in place again.

  “Mason?”

  “You’re trying to kill me.”

  “I…me? Does being naked embarrass you?”

  Mason wasn’t quite sure if she was studying him or teasing him, the small bow of her lips fascinating him, not to mention
the expanse of skin bared to his sight.

  “Embarrass isn’t the right word, Lacie,” he laughed and grabbed for her waist, pulling her against him.

  “Oh,” she bit her lip, the strength of his erection pushing into her thigh. “Does it hurt when it’s…umm…not straight?” She finished the inquiry with a voice a little higher than normal.

  Mason held in his laughter, the serious look in her eyes making him shake his head. “Discomfort,” he admitted quietly, one palm leaving her hips and dragging one finger along the edge of the towel. “You think we should head home?”

  “Your home or mine?” She answered, easing back and heading to the dryer.

  “I sent Russell a note and told him you’d come to take his place tonight,” he tried to keep staring anywhere but at the slender body wiggling into a pair of panties before reaching for her tee shirt and dropping it over her head. He finally gave in and just watched her shimmy into the coveralls, pulling them up and buckling and buttoning them into place before turning to find his eyes a little glazed over.

  Lacie just grinned and shook her head, slipped her feet into her shoes and took his palm. “Let’s go home.”

  “You’re a cruel woman,” he finally managed, snatching up his suit coat and patting it down for his phone and wallet.

  “Grannie was pretty much a free spirit,” Lacie told him with a chuckle. “She has this large acreage with no neighbors for miles and we pretty much went as bare as we wanted for a long time.”

  “Cruel.” He murmured at the image she was presenting to him.

  “Did you ask them why they refused to look at the things we found wrong, Mason?” Lacie was glad to see the rain had almost stopped as they walked toward the gate. The guards gave a snappy nod and opened the gates for them.

  “I asked why they chose to disregard my specific instructions,” he answered tersely. “They believed, because of previous employers and clients, that they were providing what I really wanted, not what I was asking for. We had a clear and concise discussion about the words I use and how they’re meant to be taken.”

  “Ouch. People are dangerous when they try playing mind reader,” Lacie waited while he draped his suit coat over the back of his seat and buckled in. “I didn’t mean to cause you problems, Mason.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Who’s the new girl?”

  Two sets of male eyes went to their friend before following his gaze.

  “On the DDR with Sophie and Lacie?” Andy took his eyes from the game, barely.

  “Yeah…The brunette with the short hair,” Dorian Fields handed the game controls to Mark and stepped to the side. He wasn’t concentrating worth a damn anyway.

  “Fleur Delacort.”

  “Women who look like that should be illegal,” a low voice said at his side, watching his brunette writhe and wiggle with the other two.

  “Hi, Nate,” Dorian’s hand went up and into a side clap. “Thanks for the recommendation. Got a week and should slide right into things. One of them belongs to you.”

  “The long haired brunette,” Nate answered, watching Sophie dancing on the lighted pads with her friends to the reggae music they’d programmed.

  “And the blonde is mine,” Mason loosened his tie and felt a suppressed shudder race through him. He’d only been gone three days and it had been like withdrawal from a thousand year addiction. “Damn…I swear it looks like a high school let out.”

  “It’s those damn short coveralls,” Nate agreed with a long sigh. “A new look for Sophie. Casual Friday. The woman has more suits than I ever knew existed.”

  “Lacie has some in her closet, but I’ve yet to see her wear one to the child care center,” Mason admitted, walking with them to the snack bar in the employee arcade and leaning against a stool. “How long have they been at it?”

  “Barely fifteen minutes,” Dorian ordered several bottles of water and laid cash on the counter that served as the bar top. “We have casual Friday’s, right?” He glanced hopefully at Mason.

  “It’s a manufacturing plant, Dorian. We have a dress code, but you’re safe from suits,” he said with a laugh, lifting one of the bottles of water and listening to the music come to a close. “Stay out of trouble, gentlemen.”

  Mason went to the right side where Lacie couldn’t see him while the three were bent almost in half, gulping in breaths of air. He held the water out just close enough for her to see.

  He felt the searing wave of warm pleasure flood through him when she took the bottle and straightened up, about to thank him when he was recognized in her mind and heart. The plastic bottle hit the floor and her squeal was loud and happy as she flung herself into his arms, hugging his neck tightly. His arms closed around her without hesitation.

  “Mason! I thought you’d be out of town tonight?” Lacie hugged him, her lips moving over his. “I love you.”

  Mason Wells wasn’t sure where his vocabulary had vanished to. He’d heard those words whispered to him in his mind but they didn’t even come close to the power of them when they left her lips.

  “Lacie Barton…” He breathed her name before sinking into her kiss.

  “Guess the game is over,” Sophie laughed, accepted a bottle from Nate and stepped down to walk off with him.

  “Which means we do not play dress up tonight,” Fleur said with a chuckle of happiness for her friends. “Perhaps another time. I am going to hit the gym. Have a wonderful weekend,” she offered with a waving flip of her fingers, cruising through people and around to the underground stairs without looking back.