Enticing Interlude (Tempest #2) (23 page)

Somewhere between the teasing at dinner and during the lyrics of that song, I gave in and stopped fighting my feelings for him. Fleck by fleck, shard by shard, he’d chipped away at my ice encased heart and gotten to me. Eyes burning with that realization, I watched him talking to his father, his sister and Marcus. A lock of his auburn hair had fallen forward into his eyes again. He was as overdue for a haircut as Carter had been, but I liked it long. I loved the feel of the silky strands between my fingers. I was tempted to go over to him right now in front of everyone and tunnel my fingers into it and kiss him and tell him how I felt, if I only had the nerve.

As if sensing my eyes on him, he turned his head in my direction. We stared at each other across the room, warmth sizzling along that invisible connection between us. His features went soft and his eyes melted.

Yeah. We both had it bad.

My ears had perked up when I heard their conversation turn to talk of a wedding, Marcus’ and Avery’s wedding, and the feasibility of having it out here on the farm. Voices had risen pretty high as they debated the date.

“Mommy,” Carter called, interrupting my eavesdropping, yawning so wide his jaw popped. “Can we go to bed now? I’m tired.”

“Sure. Sweetie.” I’d heard other moms complain about having trouble getting their kids to go to bed, but I’d never had that problem with Carter. He liked his sleep and when he was out he was usually out till morning.

I rose from the couch, took his hand, and crossed over to the Anthonys. Don’s head was lolled back against the loveseat.

“Food coma,” Rheta explained her voice low. She rolled her eyes as he continued to snore loudly.

“Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Anthony,” I whispered. “I just wanted to let you know we’re heading up now.”

“It’s Rheta remember? And you’re more than welcome, Bridget.” She smiled warmly. “We’re so glad you could join us.”

I turned for the stairs when Justin suddenly materialized in front of us blocking our path. “They decide on a date?” I asked once I’d caught my breath.

He raked a hand through his hair the way I’d wanted to earlier. “Apparently it’s going to be in April.”

“That’s really soon.”

“Yeah, but not when you have no doubts about each other.” His gaze was so intense I knew he wasn’t talking about just Avery and Marcus anymore.

And neither was I when I answered, “I feel the same way.” Heart pounding loudly in my ears, with a mix of trepidation and elation, I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his sculpted lips. “Good night, Justin.”

His eyes narrowed on my face. He seemed to want to say something more, but didn’t. “Good night, babe.” He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand before bending down to Carter. “Sleep tight, Champ.” He drew Carter in for a hug, mussed his hair, and then kissed the top of his head.

Carter beamed under the gentle attention.

And the remaining sheen of thin ice around my heart melted completely away.

“Carter, I’ll come get you early in the morning,” Justin added. “You can help bring the water buffalo up from the field.”

I stopped with my foot on the first step and glanced back at him, my gaze sweeping the room to take in the entire scene. Don and Rheta were still on the loveseat, and Avery was in Marcus’ lap on the chair next to her dad. “Thanks for inviting us here, Justin.” Tears burned in my throat.

Could he and I somehow share something so wonderful?

“You’re welcome.” His voice was deeper than usual and I contemplated the possibilities as we continued up the stairs. And I knew without looking when I reached the top that he was considering them, too.

When we got upstairs, we went straight to the bath. I washed my face while Carter brushed his teeth. Then I sent him into the bedroom to get on his pjs, brushed my own teeth, slipped on a camisole tank and cotton pajama bottoms, and followed him to the bedroom. He smiled sleepily up at me as I sank down and stretched out on his bed next to him. “Where were we?” I asked.

“The part where Hinklesnort goes out into the scary woods.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember now.” Hinklesnort was the star of his favorite bedtime stories. Each night at bedtime, I added in a new chapter to his escapades, usually from things that had happened to us during our day. I scooted closer to Carter and he shifted to lay his sweet head on my stomach. This was my favorite part of every day. I stroked his hair and began weaving the tale. Tonight Hinklesnort was on a quest to find the magic water buffalo.

By the time I got to the part where I was going to introduce the handsome auburn haired prince, I realized Carter was already sound asleep. I climbed out of his bed, careful not to jostle him. I pulled the covers up, tucked them snugly around him, and kissed his head. I softly padded over to my own bed, slid under my own covers, and stared out the window at the waxing moon in the inky sky.

I let my mind wander through the events of the day. In this house, out here on the farm, I’d been reminded of something I’d forgotten, a thing I’d convinced myself didn’t exist. But it did, and that’s why I’d missed it so much when it was taken away. The world out there still offered genuine love. I’d had some semblance of it from my dad before he’d remarried, and Meemaw had loved me in her own unique way. Not everyone was as full of spite or ulterior motives like my stepmother and Richard. There were still people, like Marcus and Avery and Don and Rheta, who selflessly loved one another and there were even rare men like Arthur who remained steadfast in love with someone even after they were gone.

I don’t know exactly how long I stared out the window lost in those thoughts, but when I heard footsteps out in the corridor, my mind stopped its wandering. I listened harder and heard the additional sounds of running water in the bathroom, and then the creak of his door opening and shutting across the hall.

My decision was all but made.

But first I had to let go of my tight grip on the past. There was no magic potion I could drink that would make me forget it. No one-two-three step process that would remove the distrust I’d allowed to fester inside of me. No guarantee I wouldn’t get my heart broken. It was just going to have to be me making that first step to get on with my life.

I pulled in a deep breath and put my feet on the floor. Quietly, I crossed to the door, taking one last glance back at Carter before closing it behind me. I tiptoed across the hall to his room. Heart slamming hard against my ribs, I twisted the knob, pushed the door open, cringing at the loud creak and stepped inside.

Moonlight streamed in from the window on the opposite wall, gently illuminating his features.

“Bridget,” he called, and I heard the sheets rustle and saw him sit up in bed. “Are you ok?”

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head even though I wasn’t sure he could see me. He threw his legs over the side, his feet hitting the floor at the same time that I took a step forward into the moonlight to meet him.

He wore only a pair of dark boxers. I stared at him, maybe a little too long, longer than I had when he’d been in his swim trunks at the pool. His skin was pale and smooth. His shoulders were wide. His biceps were corded with muscle. His stomach was flat and defined.

He was gorgeous.

“What’s wrong?” He took both my hands in his. “Why are you up?”

At the first contact of his warm skin against mine, my trepidation disappeared and the words that had been stuck inside my throat came out in a rush. “I love you.” I felt his fingers instantly tighten around mine. “And I’m ready. I want to be with you. Will you make love to me tonight?”

He replied by yanking me forward. My body slammed into his, my hands bracing on the center of that gloriously hard chest of his. I felt his heart pounding fast beneath my palm, but I think mine was beating faster. His hands plunged into my hair, palms skimming over my ears, until he had my head held firmly in place. Then his mouth captured mine, hard, and it was even more intense than the claiming one earlier. This was a tongue thrusting between my lips taking possession of what had been offered kiss.

I more than met him half way, doing a little spearing of my own, our tongues rubbing together, his in my mouth and mine in his. It felt so good that my toes curled into the plush rug. Wanting more, I slid my hand across his shoulder blades and into his silky hair. I arched my back to get closer to him, my breasts crushed to his chest, and moaned into his mouth.

He broke the kiss and moved his hot open mouth along the underside of my jaw. Then he went lower raining rapid fire kisses down the column of my neck and across my chest, his lips scorching my flushed skin. I shivered when I felt his hands slide under my tank. His fingers lightly skimmed the line of my spine, and then his mouth seemed to be everywhere at once setting fire to whatever it touched.

His hands went to my waist. They were nearly large enough to completely encompass it. He pulled me in deep, and then slid them up over my ribs. My knees buckled and I nearly died when I felt his thumbs brush the undersides of my breasts. Desire pulsed through me like an electrical current.

I cried out his name and grabbed his strong shoulders to keep from falling.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you, babe.” With effortless ease, he swept me off my feet. I twined my arms around his neck, and he held me tight to his chest as he carried me to the bed.

In the pale light, his face was all dark shadows and sharp angles, but his eyes blazed with shining need that I’m sure mirrored my own. As soon as my rear end hit the mattress, he drew back to the edge of the bed and shrugged out of his boxers. Up on my elbows, my eyes were bright as I stared at the proud outline of him that was revealed.

“You can still change your mind.” Passion made his voice a deep sexy rough rumble.

Sliding closer into a sitting position, my eyes on his, I licked suddenly dry lips. “So can you,” I whispered breathlessly.

He laughed. “Babe, even if I wanted to, which I absolutely don’t, it’s way past the point of no return for me.” He put a knee on the bed, the heated steel tip of him practically scorching the skin at my hip. He took my hands and brought them to the center of his chest. “Feel that? I want you so bad that I’m shaking.”