WindSwept Narrows: #2 Cassidy, Abby & Mia

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “It is not something I am accustomed to, Lucas. I lived in a small village in the South of France and I used to think how much easier this family or that family would have it, if they would all simply work together. It seemed such a simple concept, why was I, a child, seeing it and they did not. Grand’Mere told me there were many reasons. Greed, selfishness…a fear of allowing others to know you too well…pride…” Mia closed her eyes. “It is frightening, Lucas. I do not want to hurt you, but you must know how important this is to me.”

  “Since I know you’re tied to the resort, I know you won’t run on me,” Lucas guided the SUV into the spot before the house. “And if work is our only problem, I’m arrogant enough to believe we can find ways to work around things. I can be incredibly persistent,” he promised, their eyes meeting as they both left the car. He set Scarlet on the ground and opened the front door. “Welcome to our house, Mia.”

  “C’mon, I’ll show you my room,” Scarlet dragged her bag and took Mia’s palm in hers, guiding her through the very large open living area and down the hall to the left.

  “It’s a beautiful house, Lucas,” Mia came back to the living area after a few minutes, her head tilted back to gaze into the high vaulted ceiling and skylights filling the room with sunshine.

  “Thanks…I bought it over fifteen years ago. There was something very appealing about having the beach outside my door,” he had the door to the fridge open, a wince crossing his features.

  “You hadn’t really planned for my being here,” Mia saw the momentary guy type panic on his face.

  “I…no…well…yes and no,” Lucas admitted finally, thinking of the condoms he’d bought that morning. “I had high hopes, let’s put it that way.”

  “Hmm…let me see what I can find,” Mia moved into the kitchen, opening cabinets and finally peering into the fridge.

  An hour later they sat munching on grilled cheese sandwiches and sipping tomato soup. Mia found it very easy to listen to him tell her about the plants that would contain moisture and survive both a drought and a deluge when placed in the right gardens. Scarlet and Mia watered the garden while Lucas cleaned up the kitchen.

  Mia sat on the floor next to the bathtub, playing with the toys while the little girl pretended to paddle around. There was a frown on her face when she left Scarlet’s room after helping her into pajamas, her hand lightly on Lucas’ arm. He’d been sitting at his desk, reading through correspondence and proposals, his attention immediate when she touched him. The look on her face had him instantly looking toward the bathroom. But Mia shook her head and reached for a pen and piece of paper, printing carefully and keeping it close to them.

  “Is there a webcam in Scarlet’s room?”

  Lucas shook his head slowly.

  “I want to go back to the resort, Lucas. Now. Tonight.” Mia announced firmly. “Bring clothing for your morning. And get Scarlet, please. Now.”

  “Mia…”

  “Lucas, please…there are things I must attend to,” she tried conveying the importance to him, even as she pulled out her phone and send a text to him. “I think there is someone watching us…here. Now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Lucas closed his eyes and nodded, dropping the phone in his pocket. He quickly bundled his work into the large case he carried and went into the bedroom, bringing out clean clothing, his morning purchase and Scarlet’s backpack. Mia didn’t hesitate, taking the things to the SUV and waiting. She quickly helped him put the things in the back before buckling a very curious Scarlet into her seat.

  “We are going to the Resort,” Mia told her. “We will have a sleep over.”

  “How the…” Lucas turned the wheel too sharply in his anger, one hand down hard on the dashboard.

  “I will ask Mac tomorrow. Either he or Cassidy will know how to…to fix this…” Mia saw her hands shaking, remembering the instant fear when she saw the small blinking light on Scarlet’s lamp.

  “Mia…it’s…I can’t…how could you be sure?” Lucas finally managed to get his brain wrapped around what she was suggesting.

  “I am not…but I have always trusted my instincts and…please, as you mentioned earlier,” she put her hand on his where it rested on the shift between them. “We can handle this.”

  Silence surrounded them on the short drive, Mia pulled her access pass out with her identification. “Mia Santori, Lucas Tanner and Scarlet Tanner.”

  The guards wrote and then passed her through. “Park at the main entrance, Lucas.”

  “Mia, your room isn’t…” Lucas carried a dozing Scarlet while Mia carried his case and her totes with their clothing inside.

  “I understand…and already have a solution,” Mia led him through the corridor, checking her phone and the room numbers as they walked toward the room she had been using. She paused at one twelve and slid her pass into the slot, nodding to herself as she hit the light switch. “We will use this one tonight.”

  “Mia, are you…”

  “Lucas…believe me…if I wanted to use the penthouse suite, it would be alright,” she winked at him, holding the door for him and gesturing to the smaller room off the main suite.

  “Wow…a woman with power,” he commented, sighing softly before kissing Scarlet on the forehead and watching her snuggle into the large bed. He looked up to see Mia watching him and felt heat stinging his cheeks. She stepped back and he pulled the door almost all the way closed.

  Mia took his palm and walked with him to the bed. Her feet slid from her shoes and she moved over the surface, watching him perch on the edge. His hands worked his shoes open and off before he leaned his elbows on his knees, his palms rubbing his neck.

  “I don’t know how to help, Lucas,” Mia said softly, her palm up and on his shoulder. “I can listen.”

  “You know…in your kitchen…kissing you…if Scarlet hadn’t been there…and now, all I can think of is I’m her father. I’m all she has and…I haven’t been that guy in your kitchen for almost five years, Mia,” Lucas released the thoughts that had been crashing around in his mind for years.

  “Is that when you met Scarlet’s mother?” Mia moved behind him, her hands replacing his and massaging over the tension.

  “Yeah…yeah, I guess it has been that long ago…two months till Scarlet’s birthday…I met her at a fund raiser for one of the local homeless shelters. I thought…if you want to find someone with the same values, the same concerns, you would find them at an event you both cared enough about to attend,” he said with a long sigh. “We dated for a few months…but there were two Jessica’s. I walked in on her one morning shooting up…I don’t know what…I didn’t care. I got my stuff and went home and never talked to her again. I never proposed to her, Mia. I never asked her to live with me…something wasn’t right…I don’t know…then out of the blue one day I get a call to come to Tacoma General. They wouldn’t tell me what it was about…Jessica had told me she was on birth control. I never…hell, never thought about…”

  Mia moved slightly to the side and pulled on his shoulders, pushing him back on the bed. He shifted to his side, taking her hand in his and tugging her to lay beside him. He leaned up on his elbow, staring past her.

  “You’re Lucas Tanner…show identification…take a DNA test…and oh, here’s your daughter. You need to name her. Her mother gave birth to her, listed you and all your details as her father and then walked out of the hospital a few hours later. She left a note with the nurse: Lucas, I know you’ll make sure she isn’t damaged, like her mother,” Lucas brought his palms together. “She was tiny, Mia…so tiny…I told them what I knew about Jessica…but that I had no idea what drugs she had been doing. They conducted some tests and Scarlet was clean. Maybe it was a miracle, maybe, hell, maybe Jessica stopped using for a while…I don’t know…Christ, I felt like such a klutz…I had no idea how…what to do with a baby…I never had brothers or sisters…”

  “But you learned,” Mia said quietly, the sun setting and the room slowly sinking
into twilight.

  “There wasn’t a choice. She needed me. I…I’d been working on a rose garden for a friend…that’s how she got her name…one of the most perfect roses I’d ever seen…Scarlet Rose…that was my baby,” Lucas laid back and closed his eyes. “Scarlet was coming up on her first birthday, when Miranda contacted me. Jessica had overdosed and died. At that point, I hadn’t seen or talked to Jessica in almost two years. But according to Miranda, it was all my fault. She never asked to see Scarlet. She told me she was going for full custody.”

  “When did Scarlet visit her?”

  “The judge ordered it last year. Scarlet only visited her twice before I got it blocked,” Lucas shook his head. “She talked to the judge…I wasn’t there, a social worker was…but whatever she told the judge was enough. But she won’t quit…it’s just one headache after another…always on edge waiting for the next attack.”

  “You’ve done good shielding her from it all, Lucas.”

  “And here we sit in a hotel suite because my damn house is bugged?” Lucas pushed the words between his teeth.

  “One problem at a time,” she said quietly, her fingers moving to the buttons on his shirt, opening them one at a time. She met the single eye he opened to peer at her. “I am not on birth control, Lucas.”

  “I…uhh…bought…”

  “Where?” Mia followed his gesture, sliding off the bed and opening his case, a box of condoms sitting in the corner. She moved them to the nightstand. Dark eyes looked at him as her fingers went to the opening of her jeans, pushing them over her hips and stepping out of them before crawling over the spread to sit at his side. Her hands shook a little as she pulled his shirt free of his pants and finished opening the buttons. She looked at him quizzically when his hand came up to cover hers.

  “Mia…I meant what I said…” Lucas sat up slowly, holding her hands between them in both of his. “I’ve been a dad for the last four years…I…”

  “Shhh…” Mia pulled her hands free and pushed the shirt off his shoulders before crossing her arms in front of her and dropping her top on the floor. She put her palms on his chest, letting the pale coils tease the centers of her hands with a curious, light touch. His body was leanly muscled, she thought, drawing her fingers over the strong shoulders before flitting lower.

  Lucas put his head down, lashes half closed as she continued her exploration. The scraps of clothing she still wore only served to heighten the sensations coursing through him. She was on her knees, long legs folded neatly beneath her, her back straight and a fascination in her eyes that made him wonder. He took the palm closest to him, drawing her attention.

  “Mia…”

  She slowly unfolded her body, stretching out beside him. She slipped her palm from his hand and let it glide over the tanned, flat stomach, her fingers nimbly opening his belt. A soft smile of satisfaction tilted her lips when she pressed her palm along the length of him before letting her fingers open the button on his slacks. The zipper slid down silently.

  The room was becoming warm, despite the cool night breeze coming in from the Sound. Mia sat blinking for a confused minute when he was up off the bed, tugging until she stood beside him. He threw the blankets back, quickly removing his slacks and pulling her onto the cool sheets with him. She was slender and muscled; curved in all the nice girl places, he decided, his palms freely roaming over the tanned woman in his arms.

  Mia let the straps of her bra slide down her arms when he opened the snap at her back, shrugging it off and dropping it to the floor. A soft groan whispered over his mouth, her kiss beginning at the same time his palm surrounded one breast, fingers teasing the nipple awake. Gentle waves radiated from his teasing fingers, her hips moving unconsciously to press heavily against his erection.

  Lucas put his hands on her waist, lifting her until he could capture one nipple with his mouth, arousing it into a taut, hard little point. He tipped them to the side so his palm could caress down her hip and inside the only piece of clothing between them. Long fingers toyed with the dark coils, one sliding between the swollen petals and stroking over the feminine nub vying for his attention.

  Mia gasped for a breath when his fingers began arousing each of her senses without pausing. His palm cupped her, fingers stroking through the dampness. Her body responded hotly when he found the slick opening, gliding one long finger into her while his thumb continued to stimulate the swollen nub. All the pieces were flying free, yearning to connect.

  Lucas felt his senses collide. He hadn’t asked his question. He wasn’t sure of the answer even as he slide a second finger inside her, gently stretching, probing and arousing. He broke his touch only long enough to find the packets on the nightstand, covering himself and pulling Mia over him.

  Her legs parted naturally, his fingers holding the center piece of her panties to the side as he let himself slide against her, coating himself with her dew. Her hands rested on his chest, eyes closed as she felt the pleasures sweeping through her in a slow, teasing stream.

  Lucas saw her lashes open slowly, her hips moving and shifting. He had found the opening to her body and put his hands on her hips, holding her firmly in place to stop her moving too fast, to quickly to take in too much. She was small and wet, the calling scent of her further stroking the fire in him.

  Lucas realized that a whole lot of things were cascading inside him and around him at once. He was fascinated with the expressions on Mia’s face, a faint sheen of moisture glowing in the fading sunlight of the room. He could feel her hands curling against his skin where she leaned, her nails suddenly noticeable. Her head was back, breathing raggedly when all his strength couldn’t keep her hips from moving too quickly.

  He saw the dark lashes slam open and heard her gulp in a deep breath when she bent forward, her palms on his face and pulling his mouth to hers while her hips slammed down on him, hard. A heavy groan was pulled from Lucas. Cascading waves pulsed around him, drawing him deeper, catapulting him over the edge with the long contained eruption. He knew at that moment why she had captured his mouth so fiercely. It was that or release a shout that would shake the rafters.

  His hands had closed on her waist, holding her down when she wanted to continue moving even as his body took control and thrust heavily upward again and again until they both lay silent, but for the jaggedly drawn breaths.

  Mia had dragged her mouth to the heat of his throat, nibbling in soft bites. Her voice softly sexy and close to his ear.

  “Oh, Lucas…” a tiny bubble of laughter broke from her lips. “I had so hoped you knew what you were doing…”

  “I…” he wasn’t sure what to say. “You haven’t done this a lot, Mia…”

  “Hmmm…once…when I was eighteen…I am French…I think it was expected of me…” She lifted her head, leaning on her elbow and gazing into his face. Her head shook slightly, lips pursed. “He did not know what he was doing.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint,” he murmured with a smile that quickly faded. “Mia…could you stop…don’t do that…” he looked into her eyes, saw the fascination when she continued to flex the muscles in her lower body. “Mia…” he groaned plaintively.

  “I had no idea…oh…it can do that again?” She looked at him with such childish excitement, Lucas had to laugh seconds before he lifted her bodily off him and tumbled her to the bed.

  “Condoms are only good for once for safety sakes,” he leaned close to her, taking a long kiss still packed with hunger before striding off to the bathroom.

  Mia lay back on the bed and considered this before rising and pulling her pajamas over her. She leaned on her elbow, watching him leave the bathroom and peek into the room where Scarlet lay sleeping before joining her in the bed. He was wearing a pair of loose shorts.

  “This is nice,” she whispered, willingly going into his arm and resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

  “Yeah…it is,” Lucas agreed, his lips brushing her head softly. “I don’t think you r
ealize or remember the other side of you when you become a dad…or mom…”

  “You cannot be a whole person without it, Lucas,” Mia shifted slightly so she could look into his eyes. “She has your eyes…bright and alive and full of intelligence. I knew instantly that she was yours when I saw them. I believe the best way to be a good parent is to take care of yourself. We…humans…are not one sided. I’ve had so many friends who lost relationships because they could not or would not allow themselves to be a…a parent, a friend, a lover and companion. It must be all a part of the whole.”

  Lucas decided he could easily just lie there listening to her talk to him, the soothing rhythm in her accent and the sweetness in her words. But she’d awakened another part of him that wasn’t interested in talking. He shifted to his side, allowing his palm free reign over the slippery fabric of her pajamas, his body immediately alert and hopeful.

  “I think I’m in the middle of a learning curve,” he whispered against her mouth, feeling the soft smile as her arms came up and circled his neck, her fingers gently spearing the short pale hair and clung to him through the night.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Lucas was in the shower when Scarlet toddled sleepily out of the other room, dragging a small doll behind her, she climbed onto the bed next to Mia, snuggling down and closing her eyes.

  He came out of the bathroom buttoning a clean shirt and looking at the two angelic faces, Mia’s chin resting atop the blond curls in mass disarray. Might be cowardly, but he was glad he wouldn’t have to be the one to untangle things today. He saw the dark lashes flutter and open partially to peer up at him.

  “You’re corrupting my daughter,” he whispered when he went around the bed and bent over to kiss her.

  “Since I have already corrupted her father, I am batting a hundred,” she returned flippantly.