Harbour of Refuge (33 page)

The door opened and he heard her voice. “I’m back, I picked up a few more things for the roof, Chris brought me back. Whose car is in the drive?”

Everything in his body came alive at that simple phrase. He had to fight from getting up and rushing in there. Instead he remained seated.

“In the kitchen, honey. You have another visitor.”

When she stepped into view his breath left him in a rush. She wore a red tank top and blue jeans, which hung low on her hips. Around those very hips sat a tool belt. Her hair, those wonderful strands, drawn tightly back into a ponytail.

“Enzo,” she said, after her mouth had moved a few times with nothing escaping.

“Hello, Halyn.”

“Wh…what are you doing here?”

He wanted to kiss her. “You left before we could talk.” He headed towards her. Her eyes widened briefly but she didn’t back away. “I figured I had to track you down or you’d never hold still long enough.”

“I…I have work to do.”

“I’ll help.”

“I’ve got it.”

He held her gaze. “I insist.” He wasn’t even going to ask about Chris. Chris could be a girl.

You don’t have any say or claim over her.

The hell he didn’t. It might not have been as sudden for him as it had been Gio, but Enzo had realised she was his woman. “Let’s go.” Glancing behind him, to the couple standing there he added, “It was nice meeting you.”

She led the way outside and around to the back, not saying a word until they were there.

“Why are you here?”

His answer was his kiss. He pulled her tight to him, wrapped his hand in her ponytail and slanted his mouth over hers. She planted her hands flush against his chest, remaining stiff for all of a heartbeat before she sank into him. Melted, pressing as close as she could to him, her nails digging through his shirt to his chest.

Her whimper was like fire pouring over him. He answered with a rumble and held her even closer. Stroking, licking and teasing her, he kept up his assault on her mouth. She met him and gave as good as she got.

Slowly it dawned on him where they were. Standing outside her family’s house. With immense reluctance, he ended the kiss and stared down at her. Swollen lips, parted as she breathed heavily. Her eyes overflowed with desire.

“Why do you think I came after you, sweetheart?”

“I don’t know.” She backed up and readjusted the fit of her tool belt. “I have to get on the roof and replace some shingles.”

“Let’s go then, but we’re not going to let this keep going without talking, Halyn Jennings.”

She muttered under her breath, hefted the shingles then climbed up. He followed and soon they were ripping off the damaged shingles.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“You were sick. Don’t you remember me there taking care of you?”

She stilled before peering up at him. “That…that wasn’t a dream? You were there?”

“I was there.”

“I thought Mila had been there. I dreamt you.”

“You told me.” She flushed and he laughed. “Don’t look so worried. You didn’t do anything too bad.”

“Too bad? What’s that mean?” She tossed the shingles over the edge.

“It means that while you do talk when you’re insanely delirious, I was completely taken by what you divulged.”

She watched him, eyes wide. “Well?” she demanded when he didn’t speak, just returned her look.

“Well what?”

“What did I say?”

He flashed a sex-filled grin. “Are you sure you want me to tell you?”

“Enzo!”

“There was a bit of that.”

She groaned, dropped her hammer and covered her face. “I’m never going to be able to look at you again.”

Contrite, he reached for her hand. “Don’t be embarrassed, Halyn. I for one am glad you have such amazing sexual dreams about me.” He tugged on her wrist. “Come on, look at me.”

Embarrassment all over her features, she did. Touching her gently on the cheek, he released her.

“Can we talk about it now?”

“Apparently I don’t need to say anything, you hear it all when I’m sick.”

“I was talking about what happened between us.”

There it went, her eyes shuttered and he shook his head. “No, Halyn. That’s not fair. Don’t shut me out.”

“You made your position clear.”

“I made a mistake because I was pissed off.”

She shook her head and he swore. When she moved to the ladder, he beat her there and kicked it to the ground.

“Are you insane? What are you doing?”

“Keeping you in one place so you can’t run from me anymore. Christ, Halyn. Does the idea of talking to me make you that sick you can’t even discuss anything?” He expected her to lash back but all she did was sink to the roof and loop her arms over her knees.

“No.”

Lowering himself beside her, he mimicked her movements. “I know you think not being able to have children will keep me away, Halyn, but I don’t care. I want you, not your uterus. If…and I mean
if
we decide to increase the size of our family, there’s always adoption. A child we raise will be ours, just the same, and that’s all I want with you. A chance to have a family. To
be
a family.”

He looked at her and frowned when he saw the tears. They streamed from her eyes and she ignored them, staring out over the town.

“Sweetheart, why are you crying?”

“I feel like a failure.”

He gathered her close. “You’re not a failure, Halyn. You are an amazing, loving, kind, generous woman who people meet and you blow them away. You look at the world in a way not so many do anymore. You like the good, tend not to see the bad, in people. Why else would you sleep with your doors unlocked?”

“I…” The dam broke and she began sobbing. Her father and some man he didn’t know stepped out back.

“Everything okay? Why’s the ladder on the ground?”

“She was trying to run again. We’re going to just stay up here until we finish talking.”

“Who are you?” the man beside Greg asked.

Enzo cocked an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

“Her ex-boyfriend.”

He almost snarled at the man. “You can leave. I’m her current boyfriend and I have no plans on becoming an ex.” Enzo returned his attention to the woman he held, her face plastered to his chest, soaking his shirt. He didn’t care. Not in the slightest. She was back in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“For what?” He nuzzled her hair, loving the springiness of it. It was addictive to touch.

“Being so difficult.”

“Relationships aren’t supposed to be a walk in the park, sweetheart. We both have opinions and mouths. Things are bound to get sticky on occasion.”

“Sticky? Is that what you’d call it?”

“Show me a couple who hasn’t argued and fought, Halyn. We’re human, we do that sometimes.”

He tried to pull back and look at her but she held him tighter. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he stared out over the rooftops. Small town, small-town values and people in everyone else’s business. Even though it was the height of day, only a few cars moved down the streets, a few more people walked, but it wasn’t busy by any means.

The view was something out of a painting of times long past. Only for the woman in his arms, it wasn’t past. It was very real and she didn’t view the world in the same way he did. He was cynical, figured most people wanted something from him—money, a way in to the racing world, or something else.

Halyn was different. She saw the good in people, trusted with open arms and heart. And he’d taken advantage of it. That was the sad part, he’d done exactly what he had hated others for trying to do.

“I’m sorry, too, sweetheart. For how I was.”

She sat up and wiped her cheeks free of the tears. “I need to fix this. How is Liev doing?”

He kissed her before settling on the other side of the area needing to be patched. “He’s okay. Doesn’t much like his nanny person. And I can’t say I blame him, she wasn’t right for him.”

She stiffened but didn’t say anything about it. “How’s his school work coming?”

“I know he’s glad to be with Jaydee right now, because she can talk to him about things I haven’t a clue on.”

“Still not caught up to his level of reading yet?”

“Hell no. He was listening avidly while Jaydee was talking about her work. Gio and I just shook our heads, totally lost.” He hammered in the shingle before lining up the next one. “He speaks Italian now.”

“Wonderful. Does he talk to you in it?”

“Doesn’t talk much, still. Bare minimum to get by. Expression is still brooding and serious.” He shook his head. “One day, I’ll get through to him, although Jaydee said she was like that as well, so it may be how they deal. He still doesn’t like being touched much, especially by those he doesn’t know.”

They finished and he watched her. The afternoon sun bounced off her curls, turning the lighter browns to gold and the darker to silken chocolate. Not fighting the urge, he reached across to where she sat and slid his hand around the nape of her neck.

“Come here,” he murmured, tugging her close.

The kiss was tender, the steel rod in his pants insistent. He could get lost in her taste and never seek his way out. Rubbing her neck, he pulled back and stared at her. “Anything else we need up here?”

“Just the ladder.”

“Cheeky.”

She merely grinned. “You go get it, I’ll wait up here.” That said, she lay back on the roof and closed her eyes.

Enzo watched her for a few moments before he forced himself to look away so he didn’t take her on the roof. The flash of exposed skin on her belly where her shirt rode up tempted him. Her parted lips. Her curves. All of it made him horny as hell.

At the edge, he looked down and saw her father sitting out there at the picnic table in the backyard, nursing a drink of some kind. Her father got to his feet and put the ladder back up. With a two-fingered salute, Enzo went to the woman lounging. Had a tool belt ever looked so sexy on a woman? He doubted it.

“Come on, lazy.”

“You were supposed to take a bit longer than that so I could lie here.”

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, immediately concerned.

“A bit tired, still recovering from being sick.” She sat up. “Are you here for a bit or are you leaving?”

“Want me to go?”

She shook her head. “No. I was going to use you to help me do a few more things around here.”

“By all means, sweetheart. Use me.”

She stood and walked to the edge where she climbed on the ladder. “I plan on it. Gonna work you then
work
you.”

His cock throbbed in his pants and he fought his groan. Following her down, they headed to where her father sat.

“Thanks for putting the ladder up,” Enzo said.

“Didn’t want my baby girl up there forever.”

“Daddy, Enzo said he’d help me with the things I had on the list. You and Mom can go meet your friends. We’ll be fine.”

Her father looked at him again before standing. Brushing a kiss over his daughter’s cheek, Greg stared at him. “We’ll be back before dinner.”

“Have fun, Daddy. This way, Enzo.” She led him off with a slight tug on his arm.

* * * *

Halyn stared at the flowers that sat on her kitchen counter. Purple, blue and white, they made her smile. They’d been on her porch when she had got home from work today and she’d known they were from Enzo even before she got to the card.

He’d stayed two days in town while she was at her parents and she’d got home late yesterday night so she’d not seen him yet. She smoothed her hands down her sun dress. That was going to change really soon—it was a special occasion for her to be in a dress.

Swiping the basket from the counter, she headed for the door. Soon she was in her car heading down the road towards her destination, top down and music blaring. She whipped into the parking lot of his apartment complex and found a spot. Once she’d climbed out, she walked to the door and entered.

On the fourth floor, she exited the elevator and began down the hall. Enzo’s door sat partially propped open and she lifted her hand to knock when it swung wide, and she found herself face to face with Amber Watkins.

The expression on Amber’s face wasn’t happy but the second she saw who stood there, it segued into a practised smile. “Thanks, Enzo. See you at school.” Amber adjusted her breasts and sashayed her ass out of there.

Halyn took a deep breath, determined it wasn’t going to ruin her evening. She trusted him. That was what she needed to remember. Knocking, she called out. “Anyone home?”

“Halyn?”

Enzo sounded out of sorts. He came into view and her body responded. Damn, all it took was a look at him and she immediately thought sex. Lots of sex. Against a wall, on the floor, it didn’t matter so long as it involved him and her, naked and getting sweaty.

She shrugged. “Door was open.”

“Come on in.”

She did, pushing the door shut behind her. She dragged her gaze over him.
Have I said damn recently?
Because, wow…damn.

“Where’s Liev?”

“In his room.” He shoved a hand through his hair and looked around like he’d lost something.

“Everything okay?”

He shook his head. “No. Come here.”

She stood before him. He tucked some hair behind her ear and kissed her. Closing her eyes, Halyn leaned into him, running her hands over his chest and up around his shoulders.

“Maybe this is a bad time, I saw Amber leave and I don’t want—”

He kissed her again. “Please tell me that psychotic harpy didn’t say anything to you.”

“No, she adjusted her breasts like she’d finished a job and left. All she said was she’d see you at school and thanks for whatever it was you did.”

“I didn’t… Jesus, Halyn, you don’t think—”

She covered his mouth. “If I really thought you’d done something with her do you think I would have kissed you?” She gave him a small smile. “I’m well aware of the kind of woman Amber is, Enzo. Maybe I should leave.”

“No, I’m not insane enough to let you go. I didn’t think I’d see you today, did you get your flowers?”

“I did, thank you.” She leaned against him, arms around his waist, glad to be near him again. “I came to invite you and Liev to a picnic dinner. If you don’t have plans for tonight, or haven’t already eaten?”