Slowly, he built the fire between them, sheathing himself in a condom before sliding into her silken depths. Taking his time, he rocked them to completion, his eyes never leaving hers as they both shuddered with need. The orgasm wasn’t as physically explosive as the earlier one, but it rocked his soul.
When it was over, he managed to find the strength to discard the condom and pull Cyndi into his arms. With her safe in his arms, they both slept.
—
Still shaken from the revelations of the night before, Shamus strolled into Jessie’s to meet his brother for breakfast the next morning. He’d awoken early, sliding out of bed to grab a quick shower before heading out. He hadn’t wanted to leave Cyndi without talking to her, but knew she needed some time alone this morning.
Her attempt to pretend she was still asleep hadn’t fooled him, but he’d left her with a kiss on her forehead and a note on the bedside table. He’d see her later today.
“Morning, Shannon.” He paused long enough to drop a kiss on his sister-in-law’s cheek as he made his way to a booth in the corner.
“Morning.” Shannon followed close behind him, coffee pot in hand. Not bothering to ask him, she filled his cup and handed it to him. “Hard night?”
“You could say that.” He accepted the mug and took a sip. He knew he looked rough this morning. Sleep had eluded him, and he’d spent the entire night replaying Cyndi’s words over and over, seeing the marks on her back, and filling in the blanks of everything she’d left unsaid.
“What will it be this morning?”
“Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns.” They’d never finished their dinner last night and he’d pretty much missed lunch yesterday, too. He was starving. “But I’m supposed to be meeting Patrick for breakfast.”
Shannon nodded. “He said to tell you he’d be along in a few minutes. He had to run by the station first.”
“Anything serious?” Since Patrick was the sheriff, one never knew what he was facing on any given day.
Shannon smiled. “No. He said he wouldn’t be long.” The bell over the door rang and she glanced over her shoulder. “Speak of the devil.”
Patrick strode over to his wife, nodding at several other men who were having breakfast.
Pulling her into his arms, he planted a long, hot kiss on her lips. Someone whistled behind them, but Patrick finished kissing Shannon before glancing over his shoulder. “You’re just jealous, Burt, because I got the finest woman in town.”
Burt Banner, a grizzled, old man of about eighty, just laughed. “You got that right, boy. She’s not only purty, she can cook.” The old man paused. “She also has the coffee pot.”
Shannon’s face turned a rosy red as she laughed. Quickly, she filled a mug for Patrick before hurrying off to pour Burt more coffee. Patrick watched his wife for a second before sliding into the seat across from Shamus.
“Dani asked where you were last night.”
Shamus sighed inwardly. He’d hoped his brother wouldn’t be quite so confrontational this morning, but no such luck. “What did you tell her?”
Patrick shrugged. “Just that you couldn’t make it because you had other plans.”
Picking up his mug, Shamus took a sip. He wasn’t in the mood for this. “Is there a point to this?” Usually he had all the patience in the world, but after last night, Shamus was feeling rather protective of Cyndi.
Patrick cocked an eyebrow and sat back. Shamus resisted the urge to take a deep breath and roll his shoulders. He felt stiff and tired and not up to another confrontation with his brother. Still, he’d agreed to breakfast, so he’d stay. Extending his long legs, he forced himself to relax and sip his coffee.
When Shannon came back to the table a few minutes later with his breakfast, she glanced from him to Patrick and back again, frowning. “Everything okay?”
Shamus reached for his fork and knife. “Everything is just fine. This looks delicious.”
Patrick hadn’t ordered, but Shannon placed a plate loaded with eggs and bacon in front of him. Shannon hesitated, but when neither man said anything else, she shrugged. “Just give me a holler if you need anything.”
“Will do.” He smiled to ease her concern. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Shannon.
She was another woman who’d had more than enough strife in her life, and he didn’t want to add to it.
They ate in silence until both plates were clean. Shamus felt no urge to fill the void with meaningless conversation. The bell over the door chimed again and he glanced over, suddenly wishing he’d gone straight to work instead of coming here. Burke strode over to the table, looking as if he’d gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
Shamus laid his fork and knife across his plate and pushed it aside. “Pull up a chair and join us.”
Burke seemed momentarily taken aback by Shamus’s good humor, but recovered quickly.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Taking a chair from nearby, he pulled it up to the end of the table and sat.
Shannon came over long enough to refill their mugs and place a fresh one in front of Burke.
She didn’t say anything. The tension was palpable and Shamus was sick of it.
“What’s on your minds?” He’d had enough of this. He had things to do today.
“Got somewhere important to be?” Burke leaned back in his chair.
“Work. I’m taking this afternoon off and there’s a lot I need to see to before lunch.” He was already making a mental list of everything he needed to tell his foreman.
“Everything okay?” Burke leaned forward slightly. “You never take off work.”
“Yeah. I’m helping a friend with something.” He wanted to go over Cyndi’s plans with her.
With everything that had happened last night, they’d never had a chance to talk about the changes she wanted to make in the house.
Burke’s lips thinned and Patrick swore. “Damn it. You’re spending the afternoon with her, aren’t you?”
His patience was hanging by a thread, but Shamus hung onto it. Barely. “Yes, I’m spending the afternoon with Cyndi. She wants to talk about some renovations on the house.”
“The mansion not good enough for her?” Burke’s lip curled slightly.
“Not for a B & B, it’s not,” Shamus retorted. Immediately, he regretted his outburst. This was Cyndi’s business and she might not want anyone to know what she was thinking about doing yet.
“What does she know about the hotel business?” The skepticism was evident in Patrick’s voice.
Shamus had had enough. “What the hell do you know about her?” Planting his hand on the table, he leaned forward. “She’s worked in the business for more than a decade, so she knows what she’s doing.”
He started to slide out of his seat, but Burke’s voice stopped him cold. “You don’t really know anything about that woman.”
A knot grew in the pit of his stomach as he stared at his brother and brother-in-law. “No, you’re the ones that don’t know her at all. You knew who she was, and even then you have no idea of who she truly was and what her life was like.”
“She spinning you some sob story?”
His head jerked around to his brother. “No, she’s not. In fact, she’s done nothing but warn me away.”
“She’s not trying hard enough.” Burke tapped his fingers on the table. “I don’t want B & O doing business with her.”
Shamus froze. Slowly, he turned to face his brother-in-law and business partner. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Burke all but growled.
“I run the construction end of the business. If I want to take this job, I’ll take it.”
“I will not do business with that woman after what she did to Dani. I’m shocked you’d even consider it.”
Shamus flicked aside the guilt that Burke tried to heap on him. He didn’t feel the least bit disloyal. If anything, he felt as if his family was betraying him, condemning him, and Cyndi, without a trial. �
�I will do this job if I want to.”
“You’re just being stubborn,” Burke shot back.
Maybe he was, but that didn’t change how he felt. Shamus slowly pushed himself to his feet.
“Well then, maybe I’ll do it on my own time.”
“Shamus,” Patrick reached out to him, but Shamus shook off his brother’s hand. He hated being at odds with his family, but he didn’t know what to do about it. They’d all dug in their heels on this issue, and there didn’t seem to be any way to resolve it at the moment.
His eyes never left Burke as a deep calm settled over him. “If that’s how you feel, I’ll leave B & O out of it and do it on my own. I’ve got plenty of vacation time coming to me.” Reaching into his pocket, he hauled out his keys. He quickly removed the keys for the company truck and the houses they were currently working on, laying them on the table in front of Burke. “I suggest you talk to Joe Banks. He’ll bring you up to speed on all the projects we have going at the moment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m on vacation.”
Burke stared at Shamus. “Shamus,” he began, softening his tone. “Don’t do this.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“I’m a big boy, Burke. I can handle myself.”
“Can you?” He shook his head and sighed heavily. “Can’t you see that she’s driving a wedge between all of us?”
“She doesn’t need to. You’re doing a fine job all on your own.” He turned away, heartsick at the turn of events.
“She can’t be trusted.”
Shamus shook his head, not bothering to face his brother-in-law. “It’s not her you don’t trust. It’s me.” And that was what hurt him the most. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the diner on him as he strode to the counter. He dropped a ten-dollar bill on the counter in front of Shannon, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes as he turned and walked away.
Chapter Twelve
Cyndi listened to the sound of the front door closing before she rolled out of bed. It had been cowardly to pretend to be asleep, but she hadn’t wanted to face Shamus. Not yet.
She’d bared her soul to him last night. Told him things she’d never told to another soul, except her Aunt Verna, who’d guessed most of it anyway. She felt raw and exposed this morning and needed time to regroup before she talked to Shamus again. She’d almost lost her resolve when he’d bent down and kissed her before he left.
Sighing, she grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around herself as she padded to the window.
Tugging back the edge of the curtain, she peeked out and watched Shamus climb into his truck and drive away.
Her body ached in unfamiliar ways because of last night’s activities. A smile curved her lips upward. And what a night it had been. Shamus had woken her several times and he’d had no problem using all the condoms he’d brought with him.
The smile disappeared as she turned away from the window and padded to the bathroom.
She hoped Shamus knew what he was doing. Most folks in this town weren’t going to think too highly of him for getting involved with her, his family included. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble for him, but there seemed to be no way to avoid it.
She dropped the comforter and turned on water in the shower, adjusting the temperature before stepping under the hot spray. Raising her face, she let the water cascade over her, wiping the remnants of sleep away.
There was also the undisputable fact that Shamus was nine years younger than she was. She chewed on her bottom lip as she picked up her sponge, squirted on some of her body wash and began to scrub. Shamus was young and virile. He’d want a family and those years were almost behind Cyndi. She and her ex had never had kids. It wasn’t something she’d dwelled on over the years. It was just the way things had turned out.
Swearing under her breath, she grabbed her shampoo, squeezed a dollop into her hands, and began working it into her hair. Her relationship with Shamus could be no more than a pleasant affair. There would come a time when he’d want a younger woman to start a family with. She couldn’t fool herself about that. Stepping back under the spray, she rinsed the soap from her hair and body. When she was clean from head to foot, she flicked off the taps and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a fluffy, white towel.
As she toweled off, she decided to enjoy the affair with Shamus for as long as it lasted. She glanced at the mirror and studied the woman reflected back at her. The fact of the matter was that she cared for Shamus more than she’d ever cared for any man. In a short time, he’d come to mean the world to her. She stopped short of saying she loved him—even though she was afraid that it was too late. She had to protect her heart somehow, because it was going to break when he finally left.
Which could be sooner, rather than later, if his family had any say over it. Maybe she should end things.
She shook her head as she tucked the towel around her and reached for her hair dryer. That hadn’t worked out so well last night. She just couldn’t lie to him and he was too stubborn to leave. So be it. They’d deal with the fallout of their relationship as it happened. She wasn’t naïve enough to think the fact that his truck had been parked in front of her house all last night wouldn’t be all over town before supper. That was the way of small towns.
Grabbing her brush, she made quick work of her hair. She didn’t bother with makeup as she was going to be doing a lot of dirty work today. She had to finalize her plans for the house before Shamus got here. She planned on spending the afternoon up in the attic seeing what she might sell or salvage.
Strolling back into her room, she slipped on a pair of panties and matching bra. Jeans, socks, and a purple T-shirt followed. She sat on the side of the bed and laced up her canvas sneakers.
Shamus’s scent wafted up from the sheets and she had to fight the urge to bury her face in the pillow that still bore the indentation where his head had rested last night.
She had it bad.
Turning away, she noticed the note propped up against the bedside lamp. Her stomach jumped as she snatched it up. Maybe Shamus had changed his mind after last night. Not that she would blame him. Maybe it was better to make a clean break now, rather than later.
She opened the folded sheet and let out a sigh of relief. “See you later,” it read. He hadn’t even signed it. Still, she folded it carefully as she rose from the bed. Going over to her dresser, she opened the drawer and tucked it carefully inside.
“Right,” she said aloud as she shut the drawer. “You have work to do.”
Striding back to the bed, she stripped the sheets. Laundry was first on her list this morning.
She could get a load started while she had breakfast. She really needed to contact her lawyer today to see what progress Alicia was making in wrestling control of the estate from the esteemed grip of Harris and Hammond. It was only a matter of time until it happened, but that didn’t mean that Elijah Harris would make it easy on them.
Cyndi glanced at her watch and sighed. It was too early to call her lawyer. She’d have to wait at least another hour. Determined, she grabbed one of the empty pillowcases from the bed and stuffed all her dirty laundry inside. A quick trip to the bathroom and she had the towels as well.
Lugging it all down the stairs, she headed for the laundry room. What she needed was a hot cup of tea and some toast while she made lists of everything she needed to do today.
—
“They’re stalling. I’ve gotten several letters from them, questioning your competency with regards to handling the estate.”
“You what?” Cyndi couldn’t believe what her lawyer was telling her. She switched the phone to her other ear and sat down heavily on one of the kitchen chairs.
“Don’t worry.” Alicia chuckled on the other end. “They’re just playing hardball. They have no basis for their allegation. She paused. “Do they?”
“Of course not.” Cyndi dragged her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath.
“Although.” Sh
e so didn’t want to dig up the past, but it seemed as if the firm of Harris and Hammond weren’t giving her any choice.
“Although what?” Alicia’s voice was sharp. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”
“There’s a lot I haven’t told you. I didn’t think it mattered now that my father was dead.” It seemed as if the past was determined to come to light no matter how much Cyndi wanted it kept buried. Still, she would not let her father or his cronies win. Not this time.
“Tell me.”
“My father had a doctor lie about my mental competency when I finished high school. He used it to keep me from getting into college.”
There was dead silence on the other end of the line. “I always knew your father was a bastard.”
Cyndi laughed. She really liked her tart-tongued lawyer. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“No, but I probably should.”
That pushed all thoughts of laughter aside. “If you feel you have to…” Cyndi really didn’t want to rehash the past, not again.
Alicia’s voice was low and determined. “If Harris and Hammond know things I don’t, it might make things more difficult.”
“When do you want to talk?”
“What are you doing this morning?”
Cyndi glanced around the kitchen. The dishes from last night’s supper were waiting to be washed, the washer was chugging away in the next room, and she had a list a mile long on the table in front of her. “I’m working at home.”
“I’m coming out. It will be better if we talk there with no chance of interruption.”
Glancing at her watch, Cyndi decided that Alicia was right. She wasn’t expecting Shamus for several hours yet. Plenty of time for her and her lawyer to talk. “Okay. I’ll be here.”
“Cyndi.” Alicia’s voice was warm and reassuring. “Whatever you tell me is confidential.”
“I know.” She rubbed her forehead, the beginning of a tension headache forming behind her eyes. “It’s just not something I talk about.”
The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke Page 13
