Just One Spark (10 page)

No way was she shutting back down on him now. He began to thrust into her slowly but fully. “You mean see fireworks behind my closed eyes? Not caring if I ever breathe again. And as I’m coming down from the high, wondering if my nerves will ever be the same?” Already she was trying to hurry him, trying to quicken his pace. “And it’s not just me.”

Hannah nodded furiously and sucked her bottom lip all the way into her mouth. “No, it is you. It’s not like this for me. It’s usually like ripples.” Her hand dug into his hip as she urged him on. “Please, faster.”

He kept up his leisurely pace, as if he could do this all day. Luckily, she couldn’t see the set to his jaw, the way his eyes were shut tight. A peek at any part of her would catapult him right over the razor’s edge he was balancing on. “What’s it like with me, Hannah?”

Her hand slipped from his hip. He knew where it was going. He pried her fingers from her swollen clit and held them firmly. “Please” she whimpered, trying to tug either of their hands back down.

“Answer me. What’s it like with me?”

She leaned forward and arched against him, meeting his slow thrusts with her own strokes. “Tidal waves.” The words came out in breathy pants.
How could either of us be this close already?

It was all just part of the magic. “It’s not me, Hannah.” He fingered the button to send her flying. “It’s us. Us together. It’s better because it’s us.”

She tilted her head back, the expression on her face robbing him of control. With her lips parted and her eyes closed, she looked euphoric, blissful. Her muscles clenched around him and he had no choice but to hang on, enjoying the ecstasy they created together. He wanted to cry out, scream her name to the heavens, but he knew that would ruin it for her. Instead, he hauled her back up against him and held her close until their breathing returned to normal. Amazing how it remained in cadence even after their lovemaking was finished.

“This is why you can’t sleep over,” Hannah teased.

“This is a reason in favor of my sleeping over.”

Her hair tickled his cheek as she shook her head. “With you here I don’t want to get out of bed.”

“Why is that such a problem?”

“I have a breakfast meeting with my district and regional managers, three ramp-up seminars at three different stores and a training class full of high school sophomores.”

He wrapped his fingers around hers. “You win. I only have a trip to a preschool scheduled.”

She rolled to face him, which left him amazingly aware he wasn’t inside of her any longer. “You go to preschools?”

“Sure. I raise the ladder, let them climb on the truck. Preschool is where I decided I was going to be a firefighter.” Teasingly, he narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not trading. I’ll take toddlers over teenagers any day.”

Is it a walk of shame if I walk into my own kitchen?
Hannah straightened her suit jacket as she followed Mason down the hall a little later. It wasn’t as if Kate and Derek could judge. She grinned, thinking about penguins.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mason stopped so abruptly Hannah plowed right into the back of him. He didn’t move. Peeking around him, she saw Derek sitting on the couch with another man. A man who looked a lot like Mason only bigger. This guy was a brick wall.

“Derek called me.” Even his voice was big as it echoed in the small room.

Hannah tried to get a better look, but Mason had her fenced in the hallway. “Why?”

Derek reached for something on the table. “I found another card when I went to go upstairs.” Hannah closed her eyes at the words.
Another card.
Marty had been here, just steps away from where she’d slept.

Derek handed Mason a plastic bag. Inside was a card showing a picture of a naked well-muscled male torso, a Santa hat leaving little to the imagination. “You can arrest him for this. Coming here violated the restraining order.” Mason handed the bag back to Derek, but his feet stayed rooted.

“Probably not,” the big man said. Hannah saw Mason’s shoulders tense as he stepped toward the man.

“Then why are you here, Junior? If there’s nothing you can do but make more sorry excuses.” As nervous as she was, Hannah couldn’t help but smile at someone calling this behemoth Junior.

“Watch your mouth, Francis. I told you why we couldn’t hold him.”

Derek stood between the men calmly, as if there was nothing frightening about standing between two towers of testosterone.

“Someone want to fill me in?” Hannah said, stepping in to the room from the hallway.

The three men turned to face her as she crossed her arms over her chest. She wanted answers and quickly, because she had to get on with her day. Mason spoke first, but turned his words on the mountain of a man.

“This is my older brother, Mike. He’s a captain at the precinct that released that bastard as soon as he sobered up. Some bullshit about no priors and a shortage of beds.”

Hannah hadn’t wanted to know what happened to Marty. She also hadn’t wanted to make this kind of a first impression on so many members of Mason’s family.

Mike shook his head. “The cards aren’t him, Mason.”

Mason spun on his heel and pushed Derek aside. Derek merely rolled his eyes and moved between them again. “Why? Because he said so?”

“No, because I’ve been tracking his credit cards and cell phone. He’s in Maryland trying to patch things up with his wife.”

Derek cleared his throat. “It might not have anything to do with Hannah. It could be someone with a grudge against Kate.”

Mason pushed a hand through his hair. “D, what about your friend, Troy? He’s overprotective as all get out.”

“For goodness sake, it’s not Troy.” Hannah moved past the menacing McNallys and into her kitchen. She needed tea, hot and strong. She grabbed her favorite purple owl mug and filled it with simmering water from the insta-hot.

The guys huddled around the coffee table exchanging their theories. Mason brought up Jeremy Tolliver. No way she was volunteering that she’d have to spend the next three days working with him. She might end up the subject of a stake out.

Kate padded into the kitchen, her blonde hair in a messy ponytail. Kate didn’t do messy. “A cop, a shrink and a firefighter walk into your apartment. How long until they declare the place a crime scene?”

“I think all we’re missing is the yellow tape. What is it with guys?” She opted for her favorite jasmine tea. What it lacked in caffeine it made up for in comfort.

“My money is still on a neighbor who is horrifically bad at flirting with us.”

Hannah stifled a laugh. Could be a neighbor annoyed by midnight screaming about penguins. She smiled and decided that was the option she was sticking with. After all, six in the morning was much too early for conspiracy theories.

“Dad thinks it’s probably a woman,” Mike said out of nowhere. Hannah turned, her tea sloshing onto the floor, narrowly avoiding the front of her suit.

“You said your brother wouldn’t tell the rest of the family,” she snapped at Mason. The entire McNally clan knew about the biggest mistake of her life. Yeah, they were going to just love her.

“Ryan?” Mason looked at her wide-eyed. “He didn’t talk to my dad about the case, I did.”

Hannah felt the color rising from her neck to her hairline as she slammed the mug against the counter. “You what?”

“Come on, honey, let’s go grab some bagels at the coffee shop.” Kate grabbed her arm and jerked her to the door. She was still fuming as the door closed behind her and she found her coat thrust into her hands.

“What did you do that for?”

“You were about to lay into him, that’s what for.” Kate stepped quickly across the landing and down the stairs. Hannah had to hurry to keep pace with her as they hit the street. “When you’re scared, you get mean.” Kate said as the cold morning air hit their faces.

Hannah thought about arguing but didn’t bother. She stuffed her hands deeper in her pockets and trudged beside her friend for the block until they reached the coffee shop.

While the clerk bagged the bagels for Kate, Hannah tried to ignore the smell. She walked to the window and ran her fingers across the velvet of the chair she’d sat in the last time she was here. She smiled, remembering the way Mason’s kiss had made her toes tingle.

“I have to know,” a voice said from behind her. “Is he stalking you or not?” Hannah turned, recognizing the young brunette from the writing club she’d been eavesdropping on that morning.

Hannah smiled at the ridiculous situation. “Are you writing the romance or the suspense?” If the woman was going to be nosy then she could be too.

“Romance. At least it’s supposed to be, but I’m stuck.”

Kate walked behind the woman arching her brow at the conversation.

“Then if I say he’s not stalking me, it probably won’t help you.”

The woman shook her head and grinned. “I’m glad though. You two look great together.”

Hannah smiled and left with Kate and the bagels. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Hannah said with a wave of her hand. She dug into the bag for a bagel. Still warm.

“Take my car while I’m gone. It’s safer than the train.” Hannah had statistics to prove the train was actually safer, but they didn’t factor in greeting-card droppers. Hannah’s eyes widened. If she had a car she wouldn’t have to ride with Jeremy between stores.

“Thanks.” She meant the save from snapping at Mason, the bagel, the car, everything.

“Don’t thank me. This way I can make Derek drive me to the airport.”

Hannah grinned, realizing she’d forever link Derek to screaming penguins. “Are you coming home this weekend?”

As she punched the code and swung open the door to the building, Hannah noticed Kate’s expression change. “I already booked my ticket to Vegas. Remember, I was going to try and have some fun.”

“Don’t come back on my account,” Hannah said, ascending the stairs.

“I wouldn’t, honey. You can take care of yourself.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” Reaching their door, Hannah turned back to face her friend. “You want more of whatever Derek was doing with those penguins last night.”

Chapter Ten

Hannah pretended the day was normal, smiling as she took her seat at the restaurant table opposite the two people controlling the rest of her career. She put aside the morning spent pondering stalker theories with Mason and his brothers. There was no room for that here now.

Dean Curtis checked his watch as she sat down. She still had three minutes until she was technically late, but on time was out of character for Hannah. But then so was dealing with police captains in her home before breakfast.

As he was district manager, meetings with Dean were nothing out of the ordinary. Meetings with regional manager, Judy Miller, were rarer. The woman oversaw five districts in four states. Judy’s warm smile put Hannah at ease, helping her to school her features into the confident mask she wore so well. Hannah had liked Judy from the day they’d met at a career fair in college. Judy had recruited Hannah to Mendelssohn’s and followed her career every step of the way.

“Are you ready for today?” Dean asked, sipping the coffee already on the table.

“Absolutely.” Hannah nodded. “I’ve had the presentation organized for weeks.”

“You always get so excited for holidays. I’m sure you’ll spread your enthusiasm around, just like always.” The older woman smiled.

A waitress appeared, took their orders and removed the coffee from Hannah’s place. Hannah’s cell phone rang to life, rattling her nerves. She wondered about answering it, but saw it was the store and decided to chance their disapproval.

“Hannah Daniels.”

“When are you coming in?” Gary’s voice sounded tinny and frantic across the line. Hannah knew she’d been placed at the store to compensate for Gary’s weaknesses, but the man relied on her more and more every day. It must be nice to be able to delegate your entire job to someone else.

Hannah chose her words carefully, aware of who listened in. She knew Gary was already on thin ice
.
She wanted credit for all she was doing, but she didn’t want to sink another man’s career either. She hoped it sounded that way.

Without asking about the phone call, Judy turned to Dean. “Call Gary. Drop in while Hannah is away so you can get a grip on how he’s handling things without her.”

Dean nodded, grabbed his phone and excused himself from the table. Hannah hoped someday she’d be able to speak with such authority and command so much respect.

“Your boyfriend was late picking you up?”

Hannah jumped in her skin.
Let’s just cut to the chase.
She didn’t have to ask what the other woman was referring to.“I wasn’t sure he was coming.”

Judy nodded. “You knew the man who attacked you?”

“Yes. We dated a year and a half ago.”

“The police are taking care of it?”

Hannah couldn’t help the corners of her mouth turning up as she thought about the level of police involvement. “Of course. They aren’t holding him, but he’s out of state right now.”

“Can he do that? Go out of state while charges are pending?” Hannah hadn’t even thought to ask Mike that.

“I’m really more interested in putting it all behind me.”

“Good. Don’t discuss it at work again. Just say it’s been taken care of. I got the memo on your conference call last week. Good call, making sure building security is available for walkouts at closing. Like you said, we’re paying for it with our rent.”

“Thank you.” Hannah drank in the compliment from her mentor like fine wine.

“You don’t have to answer this, but is it serious with your boyfriend?”

Hannah nodded. It had felt damned serious this morning.

“How is he handling the holiday schedule?”

“Well, actually. He’s a firefighter, so he understands wacky schedules.”

“That does help. My husband was in his residency while I was an assistant. Have you warned him what will happen when you get your own store?”

“It gets worse?” Hannah said with a laugh.

“More responsibility. But you have more control over the schedule. It’s actually a good time to have small children. You’ll manage it just like I did.”

Her stomach flipped. “If I get my own store.”

Judy grinned from ear to ear. “Galleria in mid-February. Jim’s accepting the district manager position in Northern California. I want you to take all your vacation time first. That will pull you out of Westside early January.”

“Are you offering me the promotion?” Hannah’s heartbeat thrummed in her ears.

“Absolutely. You’ve earned it, Hannah. Dean will tell Gary today and the paperwork is being processed. I assumed you’d be accepting.”

Hannah barely resisted the urge to leap across the table and hug the woman.
I’ve done it.
Her own store.

The moment the meeting was over, she grabbed her cell phone. This news was just too good to sit on. But not everyone she told shared her enthusiasm.

Even Molly had to feign happiness. She said all the right things. But she also asked Hannah way too many questions about the future.

Hannah’s answers surprised herself. Judy had it all. The husband, children and a successful career. She could too, if she prioritized and worked hard.

With her thirtieth birthday approaching, her biological clock had started ticking like a time bomb. And Mason had her dreaming about baby boys with deep-blue eyes. Hannah shook her head at the notion. She was getting way ahead of herself.

Kate would be happy for her, if she ever checked her voicemail. Maybe Mason too. Hannah busied herself with work, pretending it didn’t matter.

She finished the outline of her presentation on the dry-erase board and looked about the room. She was all set for the seminar with twenty minutes to spare. And still no Jeremy. That might have vexed her two days ago, but now that she had the promotion, sharing credit with him didn’t bother her.

Hannah jumped as her phone chirped to life. She leapt across the room and dug it out of her bag. She checked the caller ID and felt warmed from the inside out.
Mason.

“Miss me already?”

She bit her cheek, wondering if she should chance his reaction. “I just worried you might have been late to work with all the commotion this morning.”

“I’m more worried about being away from you until Wednesday night. What time will you be home?”

Hannah’s spirit lightened. “Early, like dinnertime. My store manager is taking over the training classes.”

“He’s taking your teenagers? Lucky you.”

“Very.” Dean was using the training to help Gary with his teaching skills. Hannah swallowed hard. To heck with it, she wanted to know how he’d react. “I have something to celebrate.”

“Me too.”

“Should we wait and share, or can I tell you mine now?”

“We should wait. Anticipation makes everything better.”

“What are you doing with your lingerie?” The cheerful voice lilting behind her made her smile as she turned to see her friend enter the empty conference room. Breeze Cohen was a rival, but she shared Hannah’s passion for retail. At barely five feet tall, with long dark curly hair and cherubic dimples, she looked even younger than twenty-four.

Unfortunately, Jeremy followed Breeze into the conference room. “I’d love to know the answer to that.”

Breeze rolled her big blue eyes. “You had a seventy-percent sell through in fashion last month.”

Hannah nodded. “I have a very detailed department manager.”

Breeze stepped closer, effectively removing Jeremy from the conversation. “Fine, don’t tell me your secrets.”

“We could make a trade. You show me exactly how you are unloading those young men’s jackets and I’ll help you move your panties.”

Jeremy’s chuckle reminded them he was still lurking. “Why don’t we all go to lunch and discuss it?”

As if
. “Breeze and I had a little girl talk planned. We don’t get much of a chance to chat this time of year.” Hannah grabbed her bag. “I’ll see you at the next store, okay?” She and Breeze quickly made their escape.

“I hope I didn’t put you in a weird position,” Hannah said as the women stepped down the escalator towards the men’s department.

“With Jeremy? I don’t know how you can stand doing the ramp ups with him. We were both at the Capital store last year. He drove me crazy.”

“He wouldn’t be so bad if he could just take a hint.”

Breeze steered them directly to the jackets in question. “Tell me about it. I know a few things about him if you need him to buzz off.”

Hannah arched an eyebrow at her friend.

Breeze shrugged. “I keep my ear to the ground.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Hannah studied the jacket presentation in front of them. She’d copied it exactly in her store.

“It’s the number of jackets,” Breeze said, sensing her frustration. “They’re really bulky so I only have two of each size out. It is a pain in the back stock, and you have to make sure your team is filling in, but it works.”

Hannah nodded. That would certainly make the jackets easier to shop.

“Now, tell me how you are selling all those high-ticket fashion items when all I can move is thermal underwear.”

“It’s simple really. Men buy lingerie as gifts this time of year, so you spotlight the items men would like.”

Breeze let out a huff. “How am I supposed to know that?”

She was a very pretty girl. “You could ask your boyfriend for requests.”

“I don’t have time for a boyfriend.” Breeze turned to her. “I’m surprised you do. I thought you were career focused, like me.”

“I am.” Hannah smiled, thinking of the morning’s events.
Am I ever
. “But you have to enjoy yourself too.”

Breeze dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. “Men aren’t worth the hassle.”

Hannah might have agreed with her a month ago. But now all she could think of was sharing her news with Mason. And reworking her own lingerie display.

“Are you sure you can’t come with me this weekend?” Kate whined, her pen clicking in the background.

Hannah kicked off her shoes and shrugged off her blazer. She was so glad to be home. “I’m sure. Calling in sick to work isn’t my style. It causes more problems than it solves. You’ll have a great time anyway.”

“I’d better. This week has been just awful. I deserve a good time.”

“Ask Derek to go with you.” Hannah smiled at the sound of her best friend’s voice and curled up on the couch.

“Honey, I don’t trust myself in Vegas with that man.”

Hannah tried not to laugh. “What does that mean?”

“It means I should have tried this whole younger-man thing years ago.”

“He’s younger than you? But he’s older than Mason.”

“Only by thirteen months. Twins the hard way, he calls it. Anyway, he’s six months younger than me.” Kate let out a low whistle. “It’s really working for us.”

“It was certainly working for you on Sunday night.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Kate giggled. Kate didn’t giggle
.

“Are you giggling?”

“I can’t explain what that man does to me. He makes me feel powerful and yet feminine at the same time. It’s as if I’m constantly excited to be alive.”

“Wasn’t that the point you were trying to make to him? That affairs are not about sex, but about the way the other person makes you feel.”

“I thought so. And I still think I’m right, but he has me thinking about all sorts of other things.”

That’s what Hannah worried about. “Some of his theories getting to you?”

“He’s actually very insightful, Hannah. His family inspired a lot of his research. All through grad school he was working on sibling theories. Even though he’s the second oldest, Derek has always felt like the middle child because he and Mason were so close in age, and Ryan didn’t come until five years later.” Hannah leaned back on the couch and sighed. She didn’t want to hear Derek’s psychobabble secondhand. Or find out Mason’s family history from someone else.

Hannah’s face scrunched up as she recognized why. She was jealous, plain and simple. Kate and Derek didn’t have family throwing up roadblocks or a psycho stalker ex-boyfriend to get in the way of getting to know each other.

“Can you believe that? Three days that turned into almost forty years. It explains a lot about them, don’t you think?”

Why wasn’t I listening?
“How so?” It was all she could think to say.

“How they can just trust their instincts. I still think it’s kind of like hitting the lottery and spending your winnings on more tickets, but it’s romantic as all get out. I mean, knowing from that first few moments together this is the person you were meant to be with. It’s wild.”

What exactly is Kate rambling about now?
“They call that lust.”

“That’s what I told him. Derek thinks amazing sex is the most effective way to jumpstart a relationship.”

And she bought that line?
“He would.”

“Believe me, it was my pleasure. I don’t know what has come over me. The man has me going from being a relationship skeptic to an advocate for love at first sight.”

Hannah’s breath caught in her throat. “Do you really think you’re in love with him?” Her heartbeat echoed in her ear against the silence of the telephone receiver.

“Honey, I don’t know.” Kate said slowly. “I don’t know what this feeling is, but I don’t want it to stop.”

But it would, and Kate needed to be prepared. “What if it’s just a sexual spark? Or an obsessive fascination. Or maybe a hero complex he has about wanting to save you from the cards. He said they could be targeting you.”

Kate’s laughter rang across the phone lines. “Who are you trying to convince here, honey? Me or you?”

“I thought I heard you down here.” Mason brushed past Hannah and into her apartment.

Awareness spiked. He’d been listening for her
.
“Just how much can you hear from up there?”

“Not much really.” His eyes scanned the room. “I heard the door more than anything else.”

She’d been talking on the phone with Kate for at least a half hour since she’d opened the door. Talking to Kate and realizing how little she knew about Mason. Maybe if they just stayed out of bed she might not feel at such a loss. “Something I can help you find?”