“It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. To make matters more complicated, Buck had the impression that India had a lover here in town, a married lover. Caleb got the same information from a friend of India’s in Wichita.”
Peyton frowned thoughtfully. “So maybe the lover couldn’t have children and wanted them, so he and India cooked up the scheme to take Lilly, then run away and live together like a family.”
“Maybe, although there’s also the possibility that the married man didn’t expect his lover to show up here in Black Rock. Maybe he murdered India to save his marriage.”
“That’s a lot of maybes,” she said.
“And that’s all we’ve got right now,” he replied with a touch of frustration.
She smiled at him and placed her hand on his forearm. “You’ll figure it out, Tom. I have all the confidence in the world that you’ll solve this mess.”
He would have been so much better if she hadn’t touched him, but the feel of her warm hand on his skin reminded him of how soft her lips had been beneath his, how warm and sexy she’d felt in his arms.
It had been so long since he’d been with a woman, so long since he’d even allowed himself the pleasure of feminine company. But there was something about Peyton Wilkerson that moved him both on an emotional and a physical level.
“I should probably go,” he finally said. This woman felt dangerous to him, to his sense of peace.
“So early? I still have a cherry chocolate cake for dessert. Surely you’ll at least stay for dessert.” She looked at him wistfully.
“Since you went to all that trouble, I suppose I could stay for a piece of cake,” he replied.
“Great! I’ll just go get it.”
As she left the sofa and went into the kitchen, Tom released a deep sigh. This was all Caleb’s fault. If he hadn’t given Tom that condom then Tom wouldn’t have sex on his mind. And if Peyton didn’t look so sexy and hot, he wouldn’t have sex with her on his mind.
She came back into the living room carrying a tray with two dessert plates with cake, forks and napkins. She set the tray in the center of the coffee table and then handed him one of the pieces of cake.
“This looks sinful,” he said, eyeing the dark chocolate with bits of cherries, but he was thinking about the curve of her breasts that were visible just above the deep neckline of her dress.
“My philosophy is that if it looks good, feels good or tastes good it can’t be all wrong.” She picked up her plate and fork.
Her words did nothing to dispel Tom’s wayward thoughts. He felt like an awkward teenager pumped with hormones and on a date with the school beauty queen.
“When do you start work at the school?” he asked.
“Two weeks.” She frowned and looked down at the cake. “I have to confess I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m just not ready to leave Lilly with anyone, and I can’t exactly take her to school with me.”
“Where do you plan to take her?”
“Portia’s Playpen.”
“She’ll be fine there,” Tom assured her. “Portia Perez is devoted to the kids in her day care.”
“She just seemed young,” Peyton replied.
Tom smiled. “She’s twenty-seven and has a degree in early childhood development.”
“How do you know so much about her?” She slid a forkful of the cake into her mouth and then licked the side of her upper lip.
Tom stared down at his own piece of dessert as a new fire of desire crashed through him. “Portia and Caleb dated when they were in high school. They broke up when Portia went to college. Portia has a great reputation, and lots of mothers here in town trust her with their children.”
“That makes me feel better. One of my goals over the next two weeks is to get out and meet some of the people here.” She set her plate back on the coffee table and leaned back against the sofa cushion.
“One of the things I realized during the ordeal with Lilly is that I haven’t made any friends here. I was isolated with just India hanging around. I don’t even know my neighbors,” she said with a frown.
“To the left are Jane and Harvey Carter. You probably haven’t met them yet. They’re retired and spend most of the summers at their son’s place in Maine. On the right are the Burkes, Carrie and Mike.”
He began to relax again as he told her about some of the people in her neighborhood, and it wasn’t long before he was describing some of the more colorful characters in town.
He loved the sound of her laughter and found himself exaggerating quirks of the people in order to hear her deep-throated laugh.
His laughter halted abruptly when she reached out and ran her finger across the side of his upper lip. “You had a little frosting there,” she said.
He reached for his napkin, his breath caught painfully in his chest. But before he could wipe his mouth, she leaned toward him, and he knew by the look on her face that she wanted—needed—to be kissed. And God help him, he complied.
He leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. In an instant she was in his arms, her mouth open to him. She tasted of sweet, dark chocolate and hot desire, and as her tongue met his he was momentarily lost in the simple pleasure of kissing her.
One minute they were kissing still seated side by side and the next moment she was on her back beneath him on the sofa.
Their tongues battled in a hunger that sprang up instantly. Her arms wound around his back, and her fingers played in the hair at the nape of his neck, creating a sizzling electricity that stung through him.
He wanted her with a raging need and tasted her desire for him on her lips. It had been so long, so aching long since he’d lost himself in a woman, and as they continued to kiss he realized how easy it would be for him to lose himself in Peyton.
Still, someplace in the back of his mind he knew this was wrong, that he was absolutely the wrong man to be kissing her, to be feeling the warmth of her body beneath him.
Reluctantly he broke the kiss and sat up. “Peyton, we can’t do this,” he said even as he felt his arousal tight against his jeans.
“Why not?” Her voice was low and sexy as she sat up and gazed at him.
He couldn’t look at her, not with her mouth moist and red from his kisses, not with her eyes so deep blue with desire. He got up from the sofa, needing to distance himself from her.
“Peyton, I’m not the man you’re looking for in your life.”
She got up from the sofa and smiled at him. “I’m just looking for tonight, Tom, not tomorrow or the day after. I want you, and I can tell that you want me, too.”
His breath caught in his throat as she moved to stand in front of him, so close he could feel her warm breath on his neck, so close her breasts touched his chest. “We’re not foolish kids, Tom. We’re both adults, and I can’t think of a single reason why we can’t make love tonight.”
Tom tried to think of all the reasons it would be a bad idea, but he couldn’t think as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself intimately against him.
“I’m not the man you want,” he finally managed to say.
“You’re the man I want right now,” she replied. “And that’s enough for me.”
Brain dead. He was completely and totally brain dead. She’d effectively removed every concern he had, and his desire to take her was suddenly far stronger than anything else.
She must have seen his answer in his eyes, for she took him by the hand and led him down the hallway to her bedroom.
His last rational thought was a mental thank-you to Caleb, who had made sure he was prepared for a simple dinner of thanks with Peyton.
Chapter 8
Peyton’s heart beat wildly as they entered her bedroom. She’d told Tom the truth: at that moment, she wasn’t thinking of the future. She only knew her need for him now.
It was crazy after knowing him such a short period of time, but she already felt intimately involved with him. What she wanted was to be naked
in his arms, to feel his heart beating against her own as they made love.
The minute they were in the bedroom he claimed her mouth again, kissing her with such searing intent that her bones seemed to melt in her body.
As his mouth left hers and trailed down her neck, she began to unfasten the buttons on his shirt. With several of the buttons undone, she slid her arms around his warm, bare chest, and at the same time he unzipped the zipper that ran up the back of her dress.
He shoved it off her shoulders and it fell to the floor, leaving her clad only in a lacy bra and matching panties. “Just let me look at you,” he whispered as she stepped back from him.
In the illumination from the bedside lamp, his eyes glowed like a wild animal’s as he visually devoured her. She felt his gaze like pinpricks of heat lingering on the fullness of her breasts, lowering to her hips and legs.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said as he pulled off his shirt.
“So are you,” she replied as she gazed at his sharply cut, muscular chest. Before her legs could turn completely weak, she pulled down the bedspread and slid beneath the sheets.
“Peyton, are you sure this is what you want to do?” He shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t want this to be about gratitude.”
She laughed. “Tom, I’m grateful for the guy who throws my newspaper on my porch in the mornings, but you don’t see him in my bed. This isn’t about giving you something, it’s about giving myself something. I want you, and nothing is going to change my mind.”
Her words snapped his inertia and her heart beat even faster as he placed his wallet on the nightstand and took off his pants.
“I’m glad it’s not the newspaper man in your bed,” he said as he slid beneath the sheets next to her and gathered her into his arms.
She smiled at him. “Me, too.”
He captured her smile with his mouth, and there was no more time for levity. As he kissed her he reached around behind her and unfastened her bra and then covered her breasts with his warm palms.
She closed her eyes against the sensations that coursed through her, and as he moved down her body she wrapped her fingers in his thick, dark hair. A moan escaped her as he captured one of her nipples in his mouth.
His skin was hot against hers, and she loved the feel of it. She could feel the length of his hardness pressed against her thigh, and knowing she had caused his arousal only increased the sexual excitement that winged through her.
He kissed and nibbled and licked first one turgid nipple and then the other and she reached down and stroked the length of him through his cotton boxers.
He gasped and slid his hands beneath her buttocks to pull down her panties. She aided him, raising her hips to allow him to take the wisp of silk from her. When she was completely naked he took off his boxers and then pulled her back to him.
Her skin sizzled against his, and as he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her again she felt the absolute rightness of being with him.
Even though her entire body sang with sexual want, she’d never felt so safe in a man’s arms. Although Tom caressed her with hunger and passion, beneath it was a tenderness that was as exciting and wonderful as anything.
As his hands slid down the length of her, over the rise of her breasts and down the flat of her stomach, her breath caught in the back of her throat as he touched her inner thigh with his hot fingers.
“Peyton,” he whispered, his voice deeper than usual. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone.”
“And you make me feel as if this is the very first time for me,” she replied.
He gazed down at her. “Then that’s all the more reason it should be slow and sweet, but I don’t think I have slow in me right now.”
She smiled and placed her hand on the side of his face. “Just love me, Tom. Short and sweet or fast and frantic, I just want you to make love to me.”
His mouth crashed down to hers, and at the same time his hand moved from her thigh to the very center of her. A deep moan built up inside her as his intimate touch shot sweet sensations through her.
He knew exactly where to touch, precisely how much pressure to use to bring her to the brink of climax. As he took her over the edge, she stiffened and cried out his name as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her.
Before she could catch her breath he rolled over and grabbed his pants and pulled out a condom package. He ripped it open and put it on, then with his breath hitching in his throat he moved on top of her.
She welcomed him, opening her legs and grabbing his shoulders. He moved into her and froze, his eyes narrowing as he gazed down at her. “Peyton, you feel so good.” He lowered his head and kissed her with a tenderness that nearly brought tears to her eyes.
As the kiss ended he began to move against her, into her. Slowly at first, he stroked deep and easy, and she arched up to meet his every thrust. But it didn’t take long for their movements to become faster and more frantic.
Peyton was lost in him, in the heat of his body and the arms that held her. She was lost to the fiery pleasure that he gave her as he thrust again and again.
A building tension welled up inside her and she knew he was reaching the end. His body shook with faint tremors and his grunts of pleasure brought her closer to her own climax.
As it rushed over her and she cried out his name, he stiffened against her and collapsed with his chest just to her side.
For several long moments neither of them spoke as they waited for breathing to return to normal and speech to become possible once again.
“Wow,” he finally said.
Peyton giggled. “My sentiments exactly.”
He stroked a finger down the side of her face. “You are amazing.”
She smiled. “I never believe the praise of a naked man in my bed after lovemaking.”
He laughed. “It’s more dangerous to believe the words of a naked man in your bed before lovemaking.”
She laughed again. “I never thought of that.” Reluctantly she disengaged from him. “I need to go check on Lilly,” she said. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
She slid out of bed and grabbed the robe that hung on a hook just inside her closet. Wrapping herself up in the cool cotton, she left the room.
Her entire body tingled with residual heat from Tom. He’d been everything she’d wanted him to be—sexy yet tender, commanding but gentle.
It hadn’t just been the physical aspect of what they’d shared that warmed her. Emotionally it felt right to be with Tom. He fit into her world like no man had before.
As she walked into the nursery, a smile curved her lips at the sight of Lilly sleeping soundly in the crib. There was a peace in her heart she hadn’t felt for a long time.
She covered Lilly with a sheet and stifled the impulse to lean down and kiss her little cheek. She didn’t want to awaken her.
When Peyton returned to the bedroom she was disappointed to see Tom up and with his pants on. “Oh, you’re leaving? I was hoping that maybe you’d spend the night.”
He reached for his shirt and shook his head. He didn’t look at her as he pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up. “I’ve got to go. I’ve still got things to do tonight.”
She could taste the regret in the air, coming off him in waves. He grabbed his wallet from the nightstand and shoved it into his back pocket, then finally met her gaze.
“Peyton, I loved making love with you, but it’s not going to happen again.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, a gesture she recognized as defensiveness. “You deserve to find the man of your dreams, and I can’t be that man.”
“And I think maybe you’re selling yourself short,” she replied, but there was no way she was going to argue with him, to try to make him see that they had something special and should explore where it took them.
Instead she walked silently behind him as he left her room and headed for the front door. When he reached the door, he turned back
to face her. “Thank you, Peyton, for being an amazingly strong, loving woman. You’re going to make a wonderful wife for some lucky man.”
He drew in a deep, visible breath. “And all that talk about you getting out and meeting people. I need to remind you that we don’t know if the danger to you has passed. Until we know who was working with India and what connection they might have to you—to Lilly—the threat isn’t gone. I don’t want you leaving this house unless I or one of my deputies are with you. Make sure your door is locked at all times. I don’t want to scare you, but until we have India’s murderer behind bars, there’s still danger.”
He didn’t wait for her response but turned and walked out the front door. She stood and watched as he got into his car.
She felt as if something had ended before it had really begun, and what surprised her more than anything was the sadness that filled her heart. And as she thought of his final words, she quickly closed and locked her door as a new burst of fear rushed through her.
Tom didn’t go home. He was too restless, too filled with alien emotions to try to sleep. Instead he drove north, toward the family ranch. He needed some time to process what had just happened, time so that the scent of Peyton would wear off his skin. A visit to Jacob was just what he needed. It had been too long since he’d spoken with him.
In another lifetime, under different circumstances, he might have found himself falling in love with Peyton. She was bright and brave, sexy and funny—she possessed all the qualities he liked in a woman.
But she was too late.
And he wasn’t the man she thought he was.
As always when he turned down the lane that led to the Grayson ranch, a sense of homecoming filled him. The house where he’d grown up was once a three-bedroom ranch, but as the kids had come, additions had been added so that now it boasted four bedrooms, three baths and a huge family room addition on the back.
It was a working cattle ranch with acres of pasture and a large barn to house the horses they all owned. As he drove past the house and the barn he thought of his childhood.
His Case, Her Baby Page 9
