* * *
In the garage, Bryce climbed out of his car, turned off the house alarms, then stepped inside. Immediately he switched the alarm system back on. He'd tried to get home earlier, but it just wasn't happening today. At least he managed to get home before sunset the past three nights, he thought, then frowned at his house. It was dark, with only a small lamp lit in the foyer. He called out and when no one responded, he checked his watch. Where could they be at this hour? He moved through the house, through the kitchen, sunroom and out onto the pool deck. It was empty and he spun around and searched the first floor, room by room, then took the stairs two at a time.
He thrust open the door to his daughter's room. Her crib was empty, the lights off. A vise clamped down on his heart, and he rushed to Ciara's room, finding it too, empty and dark. He yelled for her.
And he didn't get a response.
Bryce rushed from door to door, shoving them open and finding his house horrifyingly barren of life. He returned to Ciara's room and opened her closet, a little spark of hope coming when he saw her suitcases. Over his harsh breathing he heard soft music and he nearly tripped over his feet as he turned toward her private bathroom door.
With panic still riding him like a hurricane, he thrust open the door and froze.
Ciara flinched, holding his daughter to her chest. She was in the tub, a sea of bubbles surrounding both females.
He let out a long relieved breath. "Thank God." He rushed forward, sinking to his knees as he cupped the back of Ciara's head and brought her to him. His mouth crushed over hers, his kiss hard and utterly possessive. She responded hungrily, soothing his terror with the heat of her mouth.
"What's wrong?" she said when he drew back.
Words spilled from him in a rush. "When I came home the house was dark, I couldn't find you and thought that—" He touched her face, his daughter's head as she splashed water. "Hell I don't know what I thought."
His hands were trembling, Ciara realized. "You thought I left with her?"
His gaze shot to hers. "No. Not a chance. I thought something happened to you. Both of you."
A spark of warmth spread through Ciara and just as she recognized it, she realized how she'd feel if anything happened to them. "We're fine. Oh, close the door, Bryce, the draft is making Carolina shiver."
He did, sagging to the floor and letting the horrible images of the past moments fade. Then he started to notice … things. Ciara's long hair piled on top of her head. The sheen of her wet skin, the swell of her breasts as his daughter snuggled against her, the bubbles on her chin, on his baby, and the way they looked together, as if they belonged. A hard brittle ache settled in his chest.
"What the heck are you doing in the tub together anyway?"
"Relaxing. Pampering ourselves." She looked lovingly at Carolina. "We are girls, you know." She cupped warm water and poured it gently over Carolina's back and head.
His daughter patted the water. "She cries when I give her a bath."
"Do you get in with her?"
"No." He looked at her as if it was the furthest thing from his mind. Which, at the moment, it was.
"I guess," she said, shrugging, "it's the lack of security she feels in the tub. She cried the first couple times with me, too. But she's been in the pool and is used to the water now. See." Ciara poured water over the baby's head. Carolina squinted and blew it out of her mouth, but didn't cry.
Bryce smiled, inching closer. "Hey, princess."
As if just noticing him, Carolina launched toward him, her arms outstretched. Bryce lifted her out of the bath water, settling her on his lap.
"You're going to ruin another suit," Ciara said softly.
"Who cares." He wrapped the baby in a towel and spoke to her, asking about her day and when she just made noise, he agreed and smiled. Ciara's heart swelled and tightened in her chest. Her eyes watered a bit and she understood how hard Bryce was trying to be mother and father to his little girl and how much he loved his daughter. She'd known that he did, but seeing it pour from him was another matter entirely. It made her see how much she wanted to stay right here and be a part of it.
He kissed his baby, settling her on his lap. "She done being pampered?" He inclined his head to Carolina.
"Actually no. We have to rinse the bubbles off or her skin will get dry." Ciara opened her arms for the baby and he put his naked child in her arms.
Their hands folded over each other to get a better grip on the slippery infant and Ciara lifted her gaze to his.
He looked at her differently somehow. She couldn't quite put her finger on why it was different, it just was.
"Look how she trusts you." Carolina laid her head on Ciara's chest and jammed her thumb in her mouth. Ciara continued to drizzle water over the baby. "Next time use the tub in my bedroom. It's bigger. And the whirlpool makes great bubbles," Bryce said.
"Sure, but I'd rather just have you in the tub with me." Ciara wiggled her brows. "Could be interesting."
He groaned with frustration and though he was reluctant to leave, he climbed to his feet. He stared down at her, at his baby against her breast, at the blanket of bubbles cloaking them.
"Call me when you're done," he said reaching for the doorknob. "I want to put her to bed."
"I'll be just a few minutes, she's already sleepy." Bryce looked back, his body growing harder at the sight of Ciara. "I'll be close." She nodded and he stepped out, pulling the door closed.
Ciara looked at Carolina, then slid deeper into the water, warming the child and admitting that the moments just past felt incredibly normal and what they did for her tired soul. In the past couple of days since she'd told Bryce about her family, they'd fallen into a routine. Like a family. She did all those things she used to hate, but because they were for Bryce and Carolina, she didn't mind. Though she was really glad he could afford a housekeeper. It gave her more time for them.
Thoughts of returning to her real life grew more distant and though she knew her boss was wondering what had happened to her, she didn't care. She could keep that locked out forever, but the fact that she was keeping it from Bryce gave her doubts as to how long this would last. Especially when she was falling more in love with him every day.
* * *
Downstairs, Bryce was halfway through the meal Ciara had left for him when he realized she hadn't come down. Leaving the table he went upstairs and when he pushed open the door to Ciara's room, he smiled tenderly. Ciara and Carolina were snuggled together on the bed, the baby tucked under Ciara's chin. His daughter's little fingers were wrapped around a lock of Ciara's hair as if she was afraid she'd leave her. Bryce understood, because he was having those feelings himself. Not knowing what to do about it right now, he stepped close, untangling his daughter and lifting her into his arms. He went to her room, putting her in her crib. She fussed for a minute at the loss of warmth, then settled.
Bryce went back for Ciara.
Scooping her in his arms he carried her to his bedroom. Instantly she woke.
"Bryce?" she said on a yawn as he laid her on the bed.
"Shh." He lowered the lights and stripped out of his clothes. "I want to sleep with you, darlin'. Just sleep."
She slipped out of the robe and reached for him, pulling him down on top of her. "You sure it's just sleep you want?" she said, moving against him.
"Yes." Was that gallant, or what, he thought?
Her hand snaked under the covers. "Can't I interest you in more?"
He rolled on top of her, his arousal pushing against her softness. "I'll always want more from you … always."
* * *
Chapter 11
« ^ »
"Honey, would you grab the potato salad?" Ciara called as she headed out the back door.
Bryce grinned and did as she ordered, following her onto the pool deck.
"Honey?" Hope said when he was outside, her baby on her hip.
He looked at his sister, deadpan. "You want me to say you were right, don't you?"
"Oh, yes."
"Okay, you were."
Hope smiled at the sky. "Ahh, sweet justice."
"Now keep your mouth shut."
"I swear." She crossed her heart to prove it.
"Oh, yeah right, like I believe that."
"Believe what?" Ciara said coming back for the bowl of salad.
"That Hope could keep her mouth shut."
"Not a chance. That's what makes her so interesting."
Hope stuck her tongue out at her brother.
"I'm going to stand at the hot grill and repent," Bryce said dryly.
"Yes, man kill food, man burn food," Hope said.
"Yeah and women clean it up," Ciara added.
He winked at her, running his hand over her waist as he passed.
Bryce laid out the hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids, the steaks for the adults, then shut the grill. His gaze scanned the pool yard.
Children played in the shallow end, their parents scattered about the deck, keeping a sharp eye on them. The air was peppered with "mommy watch, daddy look at me," and Bryce couldn't wait for Carolina to be chattering away like that. Almost. His daughter, who was the most fascinated of the group, was in the shallow end of the pool, her body surrounded by a seated rubber ring float and looking like a stuffed pumpkin with that orange life vest. Katey had one hand on her, yet Carolina was just happy to watch the other children play.
Bryce's brother-in-law Chris tossed horseshoes with Portia's husband Stan. Bryce had known Stan since high school but hadn't seen him in nearly two years. Since he'd married Diana. Katey's husband Drew moved close, gesturing with his beer to Ciara.
"She's great, Bryce. I'm happy for you."
Bryce felt that niggling voice in the back of his head shout off a warning.
"It's serious, isn't it?" Drew said, keeping his voice low.
Bryce tried to deny it to himself, but his heart wouldn't let him. He smiled. "Yeah, it is."
"Good, because if anything, we're all glad she dragged you back into the land of the living."
Bryce sent him an embarrassed smile, knowing it was the truth. He'd avoided people because he didn't want their sympathy for sorrow he wasn't feeling. He hadn't wanted questions about Diana, about their life that was really just existing together. Then Ciara walked in and his world tilted. Nothing was the same, not the house, not his daughter and definitely not him. He turned his gaze to her and smiled as she fussed with the table settings. She'd invited all his friends, and had prepared everything herself, made certain there were kiddie favorites like popcorn and juice boxes, and in the house, she even had goody bags for the kids for their trip home.
She made certain he, Carolina and their guests were happy.
Their guests.
These were her friends, too.
As if she knew he was watching her, she lifted her gaze. Her eyes went wide and she rushed around the table and threw open the grill.
Ciara waved at the smoke. "Oh Bryce, for pity's sake."
"Sorry." He began flipping the food before it scorched. "I was watching you."
"Oh, don't blame me for this. How hard is it to cook burgers?"
"That was a compliment," Bryce said dryly.
"Oh," she said, and reddened.
Drew chuckled and moved toward his wife as Bryce swept his arm around Ciara's waist. "Thank you, baby."
"For what?"
"For all of this. For doing it without help and well, just for wanting to."
"I couldn't let you get so involved with me that you lost your friends a second time."
"It's the woman, darlin', not the occasion that makes the difference."
Ciara's eyes teared. He was looking at her with such tenderness she thought her heart would cave in it was so full. She cupped his jaw, kissing him softly.
"Go Bryce," his sister shouted and they pulled apart.
"Go, do something," he said. "Before I make a complete fool of myself and drag you inside." He focused on the grill.
"Gee and I was going to watch you cook. That whole caveman thing is very erotic. Almost as good as the captain at the helm."
He groaned as the images of that night flooded his mind, the two of them rolling on the bedroom floor and unable to get enough of each other. Tonight would not come soon enough.
Leaving him to grill, Ciara sat on the edge of the pool, spinning Carolina in her little tube and watching the children. Mothers stopped conversation to watch the kids cannonball into the water, or stand on their hands. The men talked near the grill, passing around a bowl of chips.
Bryce said something to his sister. She laughed and tossed him a tart smile. Ciara wasn't really listening, but watching, absorbing, the love between the brother and sister so apparent. Bryce adored his little sister. Hope was nosey because she loved him and wanted him to be happy. It made Ciara long for her own family and she wondered what they were doing right now.
How old were Mike's boys now? And had Cassie fallen in love yet? Had she had her heart broken when there was no one there who understood and could help soothe it? And Richard, she'd missed his wedding. She'd been so angry with them all for forgetting she'd existed. That she'd had plans.
Before it had been as punishment, anger, now she was the only one suffering.
"Hope, would you watch Carolina for me? I need to check on something," she said and Hope nodded, slipping into the water beside the baby.
Ciara grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her damp suit as she walked into the house. She didn't stop until she was in the bedroom she'd used when she first arrived.
Removing her computer from inside her suitcase, she didn't stop to think what she was doing, that she could be creating trouble for herself. She linked the computer across the world, through Ireland, Bangkok, Bombay and she watched the indicator take it back to Georgia, only a couple hundred miles away from where she was now.
She dialed in the number and her heart thundered as she waited for the pickup. She wanted to hear a voice from the past. Just for a moment.
"Caldwell's," a man's voice said on the other end of the line.
Ciara felt a rush of emotions.
"Hi. Ah…" She swallowed, trying to gather her composure.
"Who is this?"
"Richard?"
"Yes."
"It's me, Ciara."
There was silence and then, "Oh God. Ciara?"
"I know. It's been a while."
He scoffed and she could almost hear the bitterness in his tone.
Voices rumbled in the background and Ciara fought a flood of tears. Another voice came on. "Ciara? Oh Lord, girl. Are you near?"
Michael, she thought. Sweet dark-haired Michael. "No, I'm not. I just had to… I miss you."
"Yeah right, so much that you haven't called in what? Five years."
"Can it, Richard," Mike said. "Sugarbear, are you coming home?"
Ciara closed her eyes, realizing how much pain she'd caused her family, realizing that she'd left scars on them for the past years and they might never heal.
"I can't."
"Good grief, sugarbear, it's been years," Mike said.
"I know. I'm sorry. Is Cass there?"
"No, she's not," Richard said. "She followed your pattern and took off to parts unknown. Though she at least comes home occasionally." In the background Ciara could hear children and the voices of women. One was reprimanding Richard and making no bones about how she felt about the way he was treating his sister. She didn't blame Richard.
"I'm causing trouble, I'm sorry. I have to go."
"No, Ciara wait," Richard said into the phone and she could tell he was holding it close to his mouth. "Just come home, baby girl, we'll fix it."
She choked and her next words came on a sob. "Bye. I love you all."
Ciara cut the line, and clutched the phone to her chest, weeping quietly and wondering if she could ever go home. Or if she'd ever have one of her own. She put away the phone and computer before she went into the bathroom to fr
eshen up and disguise the look of a good cry.
No, it wasn't a good one, she thought. It wasn't enough. Her oldest brother's anger was justified, and she wondered about the people she'd hurt because of her career. About to leave the room, she stepped near the window, gazing down at the people enjoying the beautiful day.
Her gaze focused first on the baby, then on Bryce. He laughed with Drew, tipping his head back and she could almost feel his delight seeping under his skin. Oh, I love that man, she thought. She was happy here. She felt fulfilled and needed and wanted. She had real friends with real honest normal lives and she was liking normal so much that she considered whether or not being an agent for the CIA was worth losing this kind of happiness.
In the next breath she knew it wasn't.
* * *
Bryce tasted her, loving how she sank her fingers into his hair, how her body flexed like a silken ribbon as pleasure filled her. She moaned his name, whispering for him to come to her now. And Bryce rose from between her thighs, smiling as she beckoned him into her arms.
She climbed onto his lap, sinking down on his arousal and wrapping her arms around his neck.
For a moment he just held her tightly, feeling her fingers dig into his skin. The soft shudder that wracked her body. She tipped her head back and kissed him, slow and thick, her hips rocking against his as he filled her smoothly, pushing deep into her warmth and feeling her tender muscles grip him.
His blood pounded, his arousal throbbing and yet she moved slowly, in control, torturing him.
Ciara.
She smiled slightly, pushing his hair off his brow and watching her motion before bringing her gaze back to his. Her breath came in short quick gasps and he knew she was near. Her body was alive with sensations and he could feel each one, savored them as they matched his own.
Nothing could touch them here, he thought and swore nothing would keep them apart.
Her movements quickened, the slow seductive lovemaking turning to raw passion, primal. He loved it.
She rode him, her hips thrusting harder and harder and Bryce thought he'd come apart in pieces any second.
"Bryce," Ciara whispered. "Don't let me go."
"I won't, baby, I won't." He held her, cupping her buttocks in one broad palm and pushing her into him.
SINGLE FATHER SEEKS... Page 12
