Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) (10 page)

She leaned against the counter and sipped the steaming coffee with her eyes closed. It was heaven. James was so kind to let her stay with him, she needed to find a way to repay him. She knew as a single parent, nobody ever cooked breakfast for her and she was pretty sure James hadn’t had someone cook him breakfast in a long time. She searched around the cupboards and managed to find the ingredients for pancakes. This would be her way of saying thanks for being a friend. It didn’t seem much, but it was the only thing she could think of.

She poured a second cup of coffee for herself and realized it was still relatively early, so she’d grab a quick shower to kill some time before the boys woke. Danny never slept past six, so she had about thirty minutes before chaos ensued. She was pretty sure even if Mason didn’t normally wake up at six that Danny would ensure that his friend would be waking up.

She was digging through her overnight bag when she noticed the plastic bag stuffed inside it. When she opened it she found her body wash, shampoo and all the rest of her shower things along with Danny’s bubble bath. James must have grabbed it while she was getting the rest of the things together. How he managed to do it without her noticing she didn’t know but she was more than thankful.

She stood in the shower and let the hot water flow over her for a few minutes. Her body was so tense from a combination of everything. Lack of sleep, worry about what had happened with her house and James. He made her body tense in a whole different way and since her vibrating helper was somewhere in the mess at her house and she didn’t have time to relieve it manually.

“Oh, shit.” She remembered James saying that he and his brothers would clean her house for her so she could move back in. She’d have to insist she be there because the last thing she needed was for one of them to find that little helper of hers. Especially A.J. because knowing him, he’d never let her live it down. He was a sweetheart like the rest of his brothers but he was the biggest flirt she’d ever met.

Reluctantly, she turned off the shower and quickly dressed in some fresh clothes because she was right on the money. As she got to the top of the stairs, the two boys came charging out of Mason’s bedroom. She put her finger to her lips to quiet them down so they wouldn’t wake James. That was if they hadn’t already woken him.

“We’re going to cook breakfast and surprise your Daddy,” Marina whispered to Mason. She shook her head as the boys tiptoed downstairs behind her doing their best to whisper, but it was anything but quiet. If James didn’t wake at this point he would sleep through anything. The thought of how James’ parents dealt with seven boys made her chuckle. The noise from two was bad enough.

Mason was a big help as he showed her where James kept everything. He pulled the maple syrup out of the fridge and placed it on the table. He showed Danny where to get the forks, and Marina handed them plates to put on the table. They were bouncing around waiting for her to give them the cue to wake James. She’d lost count at how many times they’d asked if everything was ready.

“Can we wake Unca James now, Mommy?” Danny asked as she piled the large platter with the last of the pancakes. She only had one more batch to grill and they were so anxious, she couldn’t make them wait anymore.

“Okay. Go.” Marina laughed as they ran up the stairs sounding like a heard of elephants. James was going to be awake before they even got to the top of the stairs.

A picture of him sleeping on a bed flashed through her head, but it wasn’t the boys waking him. It was her. In her mind he was naked and sexy as hell. She was getting lost in the daydream but the smell of burning pancakes snapped her back to reality.

“Damn it.” She sighed as she turned them over to see they weren’t too bad. She’d make sure that these ones were on her plate so at least James wouldn’t think she was a terrible cook. Hopefully the smell of burned pancakes didn’t linger. She poured the last of the batter onto the grill and made sure she kept her thoughts on the pancakes. Not on the beefcake upstairs.

J
ames didn’t even know what time he’d eventually fallen asleep, but the aroma of coffee woke him. He couldn’t remember setting the coffee machine but he did remember going downstairs the night before to see Marina curled up on the couch asleep holding Sarah’s favorite book. It was not the most comfortable thing to sleep on and he didn’t want to wake her, so he lifted her into his arms. Marina snuggled into him, making him aware he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Her warm breath brushed across his chest, causing him to sink his teeth into his bottom lip to keep from groaning. When he placed her on the bed, it took everything he had not to lay next to her and pull her into his arms. For a moment he thought she was going to wake up, but she just mumbled something about a white knight. When he told her to go back to sleep, he held his breath for the seconds her eyes were open, but they fluttered closed again and he quickly left the room.

He’d lay in his bed for hours after trying to force himself to sleep. It didn’t work. He wondered if the reason she was on the couch was because of another nightmare. She didn’t really admit that she was having them frequently but anybody with eyes could see she looked exhausted. He knew that anyone who’d been through the type of abuse Marina went through usually ended up seeing a therapist but he wasn’t aware if she did. Maybe that was why she was having the bad dreams. It really was none of his business and he was sure she’d at least talked to someone in her family about it.

Mason and Danny burst into the room distracting his thoughts. He stretched to ease the stiffness in his muscles. His lack of sleep was playing havoc on his body and although the boys seemed to think they were surprising him; he’d heard them long before they came running into his room. They both started talking at the same time and it took a moment to figure out what they were trying to tell him.

“Auntie Marina says to tell you breakfast’s ready.” Mason jumped on the bed.

“Mommy made pancakes.” Danny stood next to the bed jumping up and down.

“Okay, guys. You both go on down and I’ll be right there.” He gave his son a big hug and ruffled Danny’s hair. They ran out of the room and he chuckled at how two little boys could make such a racket. He couldn’t imagine the noise he and his six brothers must have made. His poor parents must have worn earplugs.

Marina was serving the pancakes onto the boys’ plates when James entered the kitchen. Danny and Mason were digging in before she even finished pouring the syrup. She nodded towards the cup of steaming coffee as she piled another plate across from the boys.

“Here you go.” She’d showered and her hair was still damp. The scent of some sort of berries filled his senses. It seemed she’d found the things he’d grabbed from her bathroom. That scent had been making him hard since the day he met her. Hell, it was at the point anytime he smelled something with berries he’d get aroused.

James pulled out the chair and sat quickly before she noticed. It was insane he was getting hard all because he smelled her shampoo or body wash. He still didn’t know where the scent was actually coming from because he’d never been that close to find out. Even when he’d carried her to bed he was afraid to breathe too deeply.

“You didn’t have to do this.” He poured cream into his coffee as he watched her ease into the chair next to Danny.

“It’s the least I could do after what you did for us.” She covered her pancakes with syrup, and all he could think was the damn things were going to start floating on the plate.

“I didn’t do anything.” James smiled at Mason devouring his food, not because his son didn’t eat, but he seemed to be really enjoying the pancakes.

“You did more than you think. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d gone home alone.” Her voice cracked.

“But you didn’t, so don’t mention it. I’m glad I was there.” He met her eyes and had to quickly look away. “You should probably stay here until Stephanie and John get back home.” Hopefully the statement sounded casual and not a plea for her to stay.

“I can’t impose on you for three weeks, James. It wouldn’t be right.” She’d placed her fork on her plate and was shaking her head.

“Don’t start that again.” James sighed as Marina opened her mouth to speak. He put his finger to her lip. “I’d feel better and the boys will love it.”

“Fine, but I’m hoping it won’t take that long to get my place cleaned. Will it?” Her hopeful expression had him flinching since he didn’t want to lie to her. The place was a disaster from what he’d seen, and it was going to take a while to repaint the walls and fix the front door. He wasn’t sure if Marina had actually seen all the damage that was done.

“We’ll have to take a better look at it, but it’s pretty bad.” He didn’t want to upset her, especially in front of the kids. If she wanted to get back into her home as quickly as possible, he’d do everything he could to make that happen. He’d do anything to make her smile.

The rest of breakfast was pretty quiet except for the forks clinking against the plates. He’d glanced up several times to see Marina wasn’t actually eating much. She just seemed to be moving her food around her plate but Mason and Danny quickly cleaned their plates. Then Mason put James in a state of shock when he instructed Danny to put the plates in the dishwasher. James was constantly reminding him about clearing his dishes away. Guess it was another positive of having Marina at his house.

Marina began fixing the dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down the counter but when James tried to help, she waved him off. He liked how at home she was in his kitchen. Maybe a little too much because he knew she would be leaving as soon as her house was ready. His heart clenched when he thought about her going.

“You cooked breakfast, I’ll clean up.” James placed his cup into the dishwasher.

“Nope! You go do whatever you need to do. I got this.” Marina turned him and pushed him out of the room and even though it was his kitchen, he knew better than to argue with a woman. His grandfather and father taught him that. He chuckled as he made his way upstairs thinking about all the times he’d heard his grandfather tell him he never argued with Nanny Betty because there was just no way to win an argument when a woman had a rolling pin in her hand.

James shaved, had a quick shower and got dressed. It was the fastest time he ever got ready in the morning because Mason wasn’t running in every five minutes to ask him something. He also wanted to spend as much time with Marina as possible before she went back to her own house.

He raced back downstairs and heard the bouncy hip-hop music float out of the kitchen. It wasn’t his favorite type of music, but it had a good beat. The lyrics said something about hearing the singer roar and an eye of the tiger.

He stepped into the doorway and stopped. Marina had her hands in the sink, but what drew his attention was the swing of her hips as she danced to the music with her slightly off-key singing. James leaned against the door-jamb and crossed his arms over his chest. He smiled as she sang louder to the chorus of the song. He chuckled as she raised her hand in the air at part of the chorus, causing her to turn around. Her face flushed beautifully as she scrambled to turn off the iPod and then turn back to the sink.

“Don’t stop on my account.” James casually moved to the counter and poured another cup of coffee. “Do you always do dishes that way?” he teased and hopped up onto the counter next to the sink.

“Okay, you caught me.” Marina sighed. “I like to sing badly and dance when I clean.” She tossed the cloth into the sink, and the soap splashed up on her cheek. James reached out without thinking and brushed it away with his thumb. Her tongue darted out and flicked across her lower lip as her gaze met his.

He cupped her cheek and it was as if a magnet was pulling him closer to her. His eyes moved to her lips and his thumb grazed the edge of her mouth. A soft gasp escaped her as her lips parted. His eyes moved back to hers and they drew him in as if they were talking to him, telling him to do the thing he’d been aching to do. James brushed his lips against her mouth and she whimpered but she didn’t pull away. So he pressed his lips full against hers and slid his hand behind her head.

When she kissed him back, his body came alive for the first time in a long time, and he completely devoured her mouth with his. Her lips were soft and his tongue glided across the seam, begging to let him enter. She opened with a whimper and he plunged his tongue inside. She tasted of maple syrup, coffee and heaven. Marina fisted his shirt as he slid off the counter and plowed his fingers through her silky hair. Their kiss came to an abrupt halt when Mason and Danny thundered down the stairs. James stepped back just as the boys ran into the kitchen.

“Can we go to the park, Daddy?” Mason held his hands together as if he was praying.

“Sure, bud. You guys go grab your coats. It’s probably a little chilly outside.” They raced out of the kitchen chattering about slides and swings and who was going to climb the highest on the jungle gym.

Marina had turned back to the sink and her hands were in the water, but he couldn’t see anything left to wash. She just stood there gazing down into the water. James put his finger under her chin and tipped it up so she had to look at him. She met his gaze and he could see the confusion and fear in them.

“I’m sorry, Marina. I shouldn’t have kissed you.” James pushed a stray piece of her hair away from her cheek.

“It’s okay, it didn’t mean anything.” She pulled back from him and turned back to the sink. James put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.

“I didn’t say it didn’t mean anything. I just don’t know if either of us are ready for this but it isn’t because I don’t want it.”

“What do you mean?” She was leaning into him, and he couldn’t think with her so close. He stepped back and dropped his head.

“I don’t know what I mean, Marina. I’m confused and I can’t explain it but as much as I want to kiss you again, I just feel like it would be the wrong time to start something, or maybe I’m just scared.” James plowed his fingers through his hair.