by Leanne Banks
His heart sank, and for a moment the old loneliness seeped in. He’d won his son and lost his lady. Damned if it didn’t hurt like hell.
But Trace wasn’t the kind of man to accept such a defeat with good grace. The whole thing made him angry. It made him want to kick something or howl in frustration. Restraining himself, he carefully rose from Robby’s bed and turned off the light. He closed the door behind him and walked down the hall to his bedroom.
He was angry with Talia for avoiding him. He was angry with Madelyn for taking her sweet time before giving him custody of Robby. He was angry with himself for picking such a bad time to fall for a hardheaded woman. At this point, he was angry that his room was painted blue.
A good old-fashioned display of temper would help. He eliminated his options the same way he’d slashed budgets his first day as CEO. He couldn’t yell. He couldn’t get drunk. He wouldn’t kick the dog. Yet the frustration of wanting Talia and not having her burned a hole in his gut.
After stripping off his clothes, he stomped into the shower and swore for all he was worth. English, French, Italian curses; he wasn’t choosy, just colorful. Until the hot water turned cold, he said things that would have singed a sailor’s ears.
If nothing else, the swearing cleared his brain.
He made plans as he dried off with a fluffy beige towel. Talia wanted him. He just had to remind her of that. He smiled as he realized the LAM skating party was only two days away.
After Talia laced her roller skates, she knelt before Jason and tied his skates a little tighter. The crowd at the roller rink ranged in age from infancy to senior citizens. It appeared to Talia that the children were far less wobbly than the adults. As if to prove her point, a Barringer foreman barely broke his fall by grabbing her shoulder. Pushed off balance, she veered, but clutched the bench where Jason sat.
“Sorry, it’s been a while,” the man said sheepishly.
She smiled. “No problem.” After watching the man hobble off, she turned to Jason. “You ready to learn how to skate backward, sport?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Jason said eagerly. Talia noticed he even let her hold his hand. She figured that might last all of ten minutes. They moved out into the crowded rink and took a few practice turns around. Talia couldn’t prevent herself from searching for Trace, but there was no sign of him yet. Perhaps that was for the best. She wouldn’t be able to hide her excitement at seeing him. She’d missed him with an aching intensity over the past week.
Turning her attention back to Jason, she moved them to the edge of the rink and began to show him how to skate backward. She’d performed a couple of circles when someone plowed into her.
“Talia!” Robby shouted. “Where’ve you been?”
Talia landed on her bottom. She looked up at Robby and couldn’t stop a smile. The child moved at two speeds—the speed of light and dead to the world. “I’ve been working at my sub shop. Where’ve you been?” She got to her feet and gingerly rubbed her backside.
“I got a new house, and a Reptile Renegade bedspread, and a swing set, and a puppy,” Robby blurted out.
“Wow, a Reptile Renegade bedspread?” Jason broke in.
“Yeah, it’s really neat. Did you ever get your baby?”
“Yeah, it’s a girl. But Dad told me Mom couldn’t help it.” Jason shrugged philosophically. “We named her Natalie. She’s not that bad, and I get to hold her. I let Mom change her diapers, though. They’re pretty messy.”
Talia muffled her laugh.
Robby commiserated briefly with Jason, then turned back to Talia. “How come you haven’t been to see us?”
That took her by surprise. She’d worked so hard to give Trace and Robby plenty of space. “Um, well, I guess I thought—”
“Talia’s a busy lady,” Trace finished for her as he rolled up beside the small group.
Her heart immediately beat faster.
“Hi,” he said.
She felt devoured by his gaze, but knew her eyes were just as hungry for him. “Hi,” she finally murmured.
The skaters continued around the rink and the music played on as they stared at each other, until Robby pulled at Trace’s pants leg. “Dad,” he said in exasperation, “how come you’re not talking?”
Trace blinked, and a faint smile lifted the corners of his lips. “I guess I’ve got something on my mind.”
He gazed meaningfully at Talia’s mouth, and she felt herself growing warm. She looked away and twisted an earring. She had a choice of six to fiddle with that night.
She cleared her throat. “Uh, I was just going to ask Jason if he wanted a soda. I’m feeling thirsty.” Her mouth went as dry as the Sahara when Trace took her hand. “Would you and Robby like to join us?”
“I want to skate some more first,” Jason said.
“I do too,” Robby said.
“Okay, we’ll be over on that bench if you need us,” Trace said.
“Looks like it’s just you and me,” he added as they skated toward the drink stand.
“You and me and about a hundred other people,” she said.
He chuckled. “A man’s gotta have a dream.”
When he made that kind of comment, Talia had the sensation of stepping off a high cliff. After Trace paid for their drinks, they carefully rolled to an empty bench.
She watched as Jason attempted to teach Robby how to skate backward. “So how’s it going?”
Trace leaned back and stretched his arm across the top of the bench. “I’ve got a new house.” He began to idly stroke her hair.
“Uh-huh,” she said, loving the feel of his hand in her hair. “And a new puppy, swing set and Reptile Renegade bedspread.” It would have taken most people months to accomplish all that. Being a Barringer certainly had its advantages, she thought.
He gave her hair a little tug. “How did you know about the bedspread?”
She took a sip of her soda and grinned. “Robby told me, right after he knocked me down.”
Trace grimaced. “Oh, sorry.”
She opened her eyes wider. “Whatever for?”
He’d planned to start selling Talia on what a great package deal he and Robby were, but he didn’t want her feeling overwhelmed by them. “Robby can be a little overexuberant at times.”
“I think he’s great. Look how hard he’s trying to keep up with Jason.” Talia watched the younger child take a nasty spill and set down her soda. “Oops, I better go check.”
But Trace handed her his soda instead and stood. “No, you sit tight. I’m the parent.”
She noticed the grim set of his mouth and frowned. What was his problem? she wondered. She had no intention of usurping his authority.
Trace gave Robby a hug and checked his knee. Before his dad had finished, Robby was pulling away, ready for more skating. Shaking his head, Trace returned to her side.
“Pretty resilient, isn’t he?” Talia asked.
“Yeah. How are things at the shop?”
“Busy, and that’s good.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make the last LAM meeting, but—”
“Everyone understands,” she interrupted. She noticed how he clenched and unclenched his fist, and felt concerned. “Is everything really okay with Robby?”
“Robby’s fine. I’ve got custody of him, now.”
“That’s good.”
He looked at her pointedly. “He’s the least of my problems.”
Puzzled, Talia wrinkled her brow. “Is it something at the office or with your family?”
He glanced away from her. “Neither.”
When he began to tap his paper cup with his forefinger, Talia knew something was very wrong. “Trace, look at you. You’re fidgeting, and you never fidget. What is wrong?”
His jaw tightened. “I guess I don’t like being dumped after a one-night stand.”
She felt as if he’d punched her. “Dumped!”
His gaze fell over her like a warm, seeking hand. “What would you call it w
hen you make love with a woman until you’re crazy with the scent and taste of her and you repeatedly phone her, only to have her avoid you? What would you call it?”
A hard lump of emotion welled in her throat. There was anger in his rusty voice and hurt in his beautiful green eyes. If her goal had been to make the ending smoother between them, she’d failed miserably.
“I was trying to make it easier for you in case you had second thoughts.” Her voice wavered. “I, uh, thought you might need some space.”
“Space?” he repeated incredulously. “When the hell did I ask for space?”
Talia could suddenly imagine what Trace’s employees felt like when they incurred his displeasure. She barely resisted the urge to squirm. “You didn’t. But our time in Washington was rather…” Feeling uncomfortable, she turned away.
He caught her arm and pulled her back to face him. “Rather what? Exciting? Exhausting? Erotic?”
“Intense,” she blurted out. Lord, she was botching this. Her thoughts were getting all jumbled up and the fact that Trace had both hands on her arms wasn’t helping.
“We lead such different fives, Trace. I didn’t know if your feelings would change once we got home.”
“And what about your feelings?”
All of her barriers tumbled down at the hint of uncertainty in his voice. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, “more than you could know.”
“I doubt that,” he muttered, and took a moment to absorb her confession. His heart lifted a little. “Then where have you been all the times I called you?”
He watched the color rise to her cheeks as she looked away.
“Yard work,” she mumbled.
“Yard work?”
“Yes, yard work,” she repeated testily. “I was upset after we came back from Camilla’s. It was like withdrawal. I had to keep busy with something.”
He chuckled and she glared at him.
“Crazy lady,” he murmured, and bussed her forehead. “Do you realize how tormented I’ve been for the last week? When I go to bed, I remember everything about that night in Washington. The way you kiss, the way your skin feels, the sounds you make when you…” His voice trailed off as he remembered where they were.
Her eyes were full of the memories, too, the passion, the pleasure. She let out a shaky sigh and bit into her lower lip.
Trace withheld a groan and looked around. “Is there anywhere around here where I can kiss you?”
Talia heard the frustration in his voice. It matched her own. She shook her head. “Nowhere.”
He cursed softly, but didn’t release her yet. He looked at her silky hair, her expressive eyes, the earrings in her ears, and wanted her so much it made him crazy. He kept his voice low. “I’ve imagined you in my bed.”
Talia sucked in a deep breath and tried to lighten the mood. She felt entirely too warm. “I hear anything’s possible when you have a Reptile Renegade bedspread.”
He laughed, and the sound landed in the pit of her stomach. He touched her hot cheek. “You’re blushing.”
Pulling away, she prayed for someone to drop a bucket of ice on her. “We’ve discussed this before. I don’t blush. I’m not pale enough.”
“It’s not a pink blush,” he said thoughtfully. “More of a dusty rose.”
Indignantly, she faced him. “I don’t blush. But if I did, it would be very rude of you to point it out.”
He faked contrition. “I wouldn’t want to be rude. How can I make it up to you?”
“Let’s skate,” she said briskly.
He took her hand, but his look was easily read. “Okay,” he said. “For now.”
Chapter Eight
It wasn’t smart.
Not smart at all to get so close to Trace and Robby. Not smart to eat dinner with them three nights the next week, or have Trace follow her back to her house after Robby had been tucked into bed. Not smart to ignore the fact that Kevin would be home within two weeks and she hadn’t a prayer of explaining her feelings to him.
Not smart to ignore the differences that would always stand between her and Trace. It was easy to forget they were worlds apart when he held her in his arms or talked with her late at night. But when she was away from him, she remembered he was far more educated, sophisticated and wealthy than she could ever hope to be. Than she ever wanted to be, for that matter.
Talia sighed and dismissed her disturbing thoughts. She glanced at her alarm clock, then at Trace, and a smile found its way to her lips.
He was sprawled in naked contentment amid her cotton sheets. He was also sleeping. She couldn’t help but admire him. She’d done that quite a bit lately, in and out of bed.
He was such an attentive father, listening to Robby’s chatter, laughing with his son, encouraging Talia to join in. She never felt excluded. It seemed both of them were always touching her. Trace would slide his hand around her waist or touch her hair. Robby would grab her hand and drag her off to see something or give her a wet kiss.
It was dangerous. It made her hope and dream.
But Talia was too happy to upset the applecart. She knew that time would come without any help from her. She’d deal with it then. Right now she needed to wake Sleeping Beauty and send him home. By mutual agreement, he never stayed overnight. He’d hired a wonderful live-in nanny for Robby, but he needed to be there in case of nightmares.
She smoothed his eyebrows and ran his fingers through his love-mussed hair. “Trace,” she said softly, “it’s time to get up.”
Grudgingly, he opened one eye. “It can’t be time. I just got here.”
“It’s eleven-thirty. Time for all good CEOs to be in their own bed.”
He closed his eye again, but a sexy grin teased the corners of his mouth. “‘Good’ is a rather bland term, wouldn’t you say?” He snatched her hand and placed it on his chest.
Dirty pool, Talia thought. Trace knew she was endlessly fascinated with his chest. Of its own accord, her hand wandered over it, combing through the dusting of brown hair and playing with his nipples.
Catching herself, she pushed away and sat up. She automatically pulled the sheet to her, leaving Trace in a rather exposed position, which he ignored. She, however, could not.
“You’re always kicking me out of bed, Talia,” he said as he opened his eyes and raised himself to his elbows.
“You need to get back to Robby,” she reminded him.
He frowned. “I know, but do you have to be so damned enthusiastic about it?”
She smiled, managing not to laugh. “I guess I could weep and pitch a fit every night. Would that help?”
He plucked at the sheet, then looked up at her, his expression serious. “No, but it would be nice if I knew you wanted me to stay.”
Her breath caught. Trace could do that to her with just a look, yet this time he did it with words. She leaned over him and touched his chest. “You must know that I want you to stay.”
He rubbed his face into her palm. “You never say it.”
She almost protested, then realized it was true. Trace was always praising her, but she was too awestruck or shy to tell him how she felt. A tinge of guilt sneaked in when she saw how she’d made him suffer. Another step closer, she thought, and decided it was time.
“I want you, Trace. It feels like I want you all the time. The bed is cold and lonely when you leave. There are times in the middle of the night when I have to force myself not to phone you just to hear your voice.”
Chagrin swept over her. “Do you know how many orders I’ve messed up thinking about you instead of work?”
“Salami instead of turkey?” he asked, looking very pleased. He pulled her closer and kissed her palm.
“Something like that.” Sobering, she bared a little more of her soul. “I want you, Trace, like I’ve never wanted anybody else.”
She was flat on her back with his mouth pressed to hers before she could take a breath. The kiss was full of passion, charged with emotion, demanding her response. She gave it
in full measure.
Finally Trace pulled back and looked at her for a long moment. He could drown in her soft brown eyes, lose his mind when she smiled. He touched the mole above her mouth, then ran his hand to the three gold beads in her ear.
“The next time you feel like calling me in the middle of the night, do it,” he said as his hands grew more restless. He stroked her hair and cheek, then extended the caress to her neck and shoulders, gorging himself with the satiny texture of her skin.
Drawing circles around her breasts, he watched her nipples pucker before he touched them. Her breathing quickened, and his mouth went dry the way it always did.
“Trace,” she whispered huskily.
Leaning down, he took one rosy bud into his mouth and suckled. Her trembling tightened his already hard body. Suddenly, he knew that seeing Talia for a few hours here and there wouldn’t be enough. The implication of that knowledge could have scared him, but need superseded fear. In time, they would have to deal with what was happening to them. Right now they had a few stolen moments, and he’d give her everything he could.
“We’ve got to make this bed so hot,” he murmured, “it stays warm until morning. I can’t have you getting cold.”
She smiled, and his heart turned over. “We haven’t got long,” she said.
He flicked his tongue over her other nipple. “You want to help?”
She smoothed her fingers down his chest, hovering at his belly button while he shifted to accommodate her. She gently wrapped her hand around his aching fullness.
“What do you think?” she asked as she began to stroke him.
Trace just groaned.
“She’s gorgeous, Gina,” Talia said to her friend the next day. Gina had brought her baby daughter to the shop to show her off. Talia cooed at the wide-eyed infant. “What does Don think of her?”
“He’s in love,” Gina said smugly. “All Natalie has to do is blow a few bubbles or bat those baby blues and he gets all misty-eyed.”
Talia shook her head at the notion of Don getting weepy over a baby. Still, when she looked at Natalie, she felt a tug at her heartstrings herself. For a fleeting moment, she wondered what her baby would look like if Trace was the father.
