Double Fault (16 page)

He bent and kissed her, stopping the forced brightness of her reply as well as the beating of her heart as his mouth took possession of hers. The kiss only lasted a few seconds and her response was hampered by the mug of coffee in her hand and the fact that both children were watching with interest, but as he drew away she knew she no longer had any choice. Despite her inner struggle and her fierce protestations to the contrary, she was prepared to take him on almost any terms.

He saw the capitulation in her eyes and gently touched her cheek. “Don’t go away.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “Ben will see to that. He’ll nag me to death until you come back and show him the bouncy mat.”

He laughed as he moved away from the bed. “Tenacity is good but if you get desperate take them both along to the gym. I’ll ask someone to put the landing mats into one of the anterooms for you. There’s always a lull around nine-thirty, between the eager beavers and the Sunday morning regulars, so you’ll probably have the place to yourselves.”

He went into the adjoining bathroom as he spoke and before long she heard the splash of the shower. When he reappeared his hair was wet and water was trickling down the length of his bare back and soaking into the towel he’d wrapped round his waist. He chuckled at her expression as he opened a drawer and pulled out some fresh briefs.

“Close your eyes if it offends you so much.”

She blushed into her mug of coffee and tried to ignore him. It wasn’t easy and in the end she turned to the children in desperation and sent them to find a storybook so she could read to them.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Pierce had pulled on a pair of jeans and combed his hair into some semblance of order, but his shirt still dangled from his fingers. He tossed it onto the bed, moved swiftly across the room and took her in his arms. And this time, with her empty coffee mug on the bedside table and the twins out of the way, there was nothing to hamper Kerry except her own doubts; doubts that faded into insignificance when his lips claimed hers because this time there was nothing tentative about his kiss. It had all the desperation of a drowning man and she felt his urgency in her own response as she locked her arms around his neck until the smooth surface of his still damp chest rested against her breast. With a tortured groan his hands began to explore the hidden curves of her body, his fingers tangling with the cotton of her pajamas while his lips continued to devour her until the children’s reappearance drove them apart.

He stood up, thrust his arms into his shirt and then failed to fasten the buttons because his fingers were shaking too much. He gave her a rueful smile. “There appear to be more disadvantages than advantages to fatherhood so far.”

She shrugged, not bothering to hide her amusement. “You’ll get used to it.”

“If that’s meant to make me feel better, it doesn’t,” he slipped his feet into his shoes and headed for the door.

“Kiss!” Ben bounced up from the bed indignantly.

“I just did fella. What are you doing, keeping tabs?” Pierce paused in the doorway and laughed.

“Kiss Ben!”

“Hey what’s this, a takeover bid?” Pierce returned to the bed and dropped a kiss on his son’s upturned face, following it up with a kiss for Lauren. Kerry smiled at him, her mouth still rosy and moist.

“You seem to have scored a hit.”

“With all the family?” His lips were close to hers as he waited for her answer.

When she nodded he kissed her hard, leaving a promise imprinted on her lips so that when she started reading to the children her voice was breathless and the words jumped and blurred across the page.

* * *

By nine thirty Kerry’s patience was near breaking point. Although she’d read countless stories to the children, dressed them, raided Pierce’s fridge for eggs because he didn’t appear to have any cereal or fruit juice, and showered and dressed herself, he still hadn’t returned. She poured a second mug of coffee hoping the caffeine would help her to concentrate on the children’s chatter. She wished she could find something to take her mind of the immediate future, but after shaking the duvet into shape and tidying the children’s beds, there was nothing else to do. She’d washed up, sorted through their clothes and loaded the washing machine. All that was left was the anticipation of Pierce’s return and it was preventing her from settling. At any other time she would have played happily with Ben and Lauren or, given their immersion in a game of their own, would have taken grateful advantage of a few moments of peace. Instead she found herself wishing she’d been able to persuade Mel to move
Melanie’s Kitchen
to
Greenleas
straight away instead of waiting until the end of the following week. That, at least, would have kept her busy.

“Bounce!” Ben’s reminder broke into her thoughts and she seized on it with relief. Pierce had said he would get the mats laid out in one of the anterooms in the gym and as she already knew where the gym was she would take him and Lauren herself. Anything was better than sitting and waiting.

She held out her hands to the twins.  “Come on. Let’s go and find that bouncy mat.”

“Pierce?” Lauren questioned hopefully as she took Kerry’s outstretched hand.

Kerry shook her head. “No. Pierce won’t be there, just the bouncy mat.”

She opened the door that led directly into the sports complex with a slight frown as she reviewed what she had just said. Should she start referring to Pierce as Daddy, or was it something that would just happen once they were used to living with him. He hadn’t said anything about it so perhaps he didn’t mind.  She made a mental note to discuss it with him as she stepped out into the corridor and turned in the direction of the gym.

Although several people eyed her curiously as she walked past them holding Ben and Lauren firmly by their hands, she didn’t notice because she was too intent on the new direction her thoughts were taking her. Now the barriers seemed to be coming down between Pierce and herself there were so many questions to be answered, so many decisions to be made before they could begin to make a real life for themselves and the children.

She sighed as she turned the corner. And even if things were better between them, would it be enough? Could he ever truly forgive her for hiding his children from him? She doubted it. And how long would it be before he began to find parenthood irksome?

Ben, sensing an opportunity, took advantage of her absentmindedness, wriggled his hand free and started to run. His actions brought her back to the present in double quick time. Ben out of control and running as fast as he could through
Greenleas Country Club
was a nightmare she didn’t want to experience. Holding onto Lauren more tightly she lengthened her stride. She was a moment too late though and he grabbed the handle of the first door he came to before she could stop him. It swung open soundlessly as she drew level and she only managed to prevent him from darting inside by grabbing the seat of his pants. 

Hoisting him onto one hip she opened her mouth to apologies to the people in the room. Pierce and Marissa hadn’t noticed anything amiss, however, because they were far too busy kissing one another.

For a long moment Kerry was too stunned to move as the sight of Pierce perched on the edge of the desk while Marissa pressed herself against him, her long red fingernails like splashes of blood in his tangle of hair, rendered her speechless. Then a blind, unreasoning anger took over, sweeping her away from the doorway and back to the apartment despite Ben’s protests.

“We’ll find the bouncy mat later,” she told him. “Right now there are a few things Mummy has to do.”

* * *

When Pierce eventually returned, shortly before lunch, he found it difficult to get into the apartment. Squeezing past a stack of cardboard boxes he stood in the doorway of the spare room and surveyed the prevailing chaos with amusement.

“Are we expecting visitors?”

Kerry looked up from her third attempt at reassembling the bed with a fierce scowl. “I would be able to fit this damned bed together more easily if I took up weight training!”

He stepped over the boxes cluttering the doorway and lifted the bed’s heavy wooden base without any apparent effort. She slotted the legs into position and then waited until he lowered it to the floor before attempting to heave the mattress onto the bed.

He chuckled as he helped her and then pushed the whole thing back against the wall. “I see what you mean about needing something to do but in future it might be better to choose something less physical. There was no urgency about sorting this room anyway. I was quite happy for it to stay as it was until the house is ready.”

“Well I wasn’t!” Kerry shrugged off the arm he placed across her shoulders and picked up a pile of bedding. “I have no intention of going through last night’s fiasco again, nor do I intend to spend the next few weeks sleeping on the couch, so if you’ll just move out the way I’ll make the bed up. I want to get as much of my stuff unpacked as possible before the twins wake up from their morning nap.”

“What the hell are you talking about Kerry? You seemed happy enough in my bed this morning.” He caught at her arm as she pushed past him and swung her round to face him.

“That was this morning,” she wrenched herself away from him angrily and began to make up the bed with swift, furious movement. “I’ve had plenty of time to think since then thanks to your problem visitor. Did you get everything sorted out to your mutual satisfaction by the way?”

He groaned as he leaned against the wall. “You saw Marissa didn’t you? I knew someone had walked in on us but I never imagined it was you.”

“I’m surprised you noticed anything at all given how occupied you were; and it was Ben who walked in on you, just in case he starts asking awkward questions.”

She finished fitting the bottom sheet and reached for the pillow but Pierce was too quick for her. He seized it and held it just out of reach as he waited for her to come closer. She gave him a withering look.

“I’m not in the mood for those kinds of games Pierce. Save them for Marissa. In fact save everything for Marissa because I’m not about to take out shares in you. I’m an all or nothing kind of person, so as far as our relationship is concerned you can go to hell.”

Pierce pushed himself away from the wall and walked towards her, tossing the pillow carelessly onto the bed. “And I can take Marissa with me I suppose. Doesn’t it ever occur to you that things might not be what they seem? You made the same mistake when you ran out on me. Because you heard me say I didn’t want children you took away my right to fatherhood without giving me a choice. Now you’re doing the same with Marissa. You’re acting as judge, jury and executioner without giving me a chance to explain.”

She stood her ground defiantly, not even wincing when he gripped her tightly by the shoulders. “From what I saw this morning there is only one thing that needs explaining which is why you bothered to marry me in the first place. With your money and contacts you could probably have the children living with you in a matter of weeks.”

“Could but haven’t,” his grip tightened. “What do you think I am Kerry, a self-serving masochist? If that’s what you thought this morning was about then there’s no hope for us. What else do I have to do to convince you that I want you as well as the children? In the bedroom this morning I thought we were getting somewhere but obviously I was wrong. Do you always view the world from where you’re standing because if you do then it’s time you climbed down from your high horse and joined the rest of us a ground level.”

“Finding you again, and then marrying you so quickly, has thrown my life into as much disarray as yours you know, so it’s hardly surprising I forgot all about a longstanding lunch date with Marissa. When you walked in on us today I was trying to convince her she had no future with me without actually telling her why. If she’d learned about you and the children she would have gone straight to the media out of spite.”

“I’m sure she found your methods of persuasion very convincing. I know I did.”

He shook her in a fury of frustration. “You haven’t the faintest notion about anything. You’re still a child Kerry, despite the struggle you’ve had over the past three years, and like a child you can’t see further than the nose on your face. If you’d stayed longer, interrupted us even, you’d have learned the truth.”

She glared up at him, her shoulders hunched against his anger. “Don’t take me for a complete fool Pierce. Maggie told me all about you and Marissa and about how everyone expected her to be Mrs Pierce Simon before long.”

“Well if you already know so much then you should be able to find a bit of compassion for her. Marissa has feelings too Kerry, something you seem to have overlooked in your general paranoia. What sort of person would I be if I shook her briefly by the hand and showed her the door like an unwanted salesman?”

Kerry was only too aware of Marissa’s feelings. She had been at the receiving end of them too often in the past to appreciate Pierce’s concern. Marissa was bitchy and narcissistic and she had never been nice to Kerry. The memory of all the put downs she had experienced at the other girl’s hands added to the jealousy and hurt that had been eating at her all morning, and produced an explosion of reaction. Angrily she pulled herself free.