Make Me Lose Control (8 page)

He didn’t bother answering as he pounded up the steps to the platform then down the gangway to the berth. At one of the U-shaped ends, he came to halt, stopping so abruptly Shay grabbed at his elbow to ensure his momentum wouldn’t take him into the water. Shaking off her hold, he cupped both hands over his eyes and stared in the direction the boat had taken.

“Damn it.” His head swiveled from side to side, then he raced back up the gangplank to the kayak chained to the coffin-sized metal dock box resting on the platform. “Where’s the key to this?” he demanded, rattling the padlock.

“On the same ring as the boat keys,” she said. They usually hung on a hook by one of the back doors. Despite his clear worry, the corners of her mouth twitched.

His expression turned ferocious. “Are you laughing at me?”

She swallowed her humor back down, though it was hard not to picture him using a one-man craft and a paddle in an attempt to overtake a powerful outboard engine. “It was just a smile.”

“This is no smiling matter. My daughter is out there with a...with a boat-jacker.”

Shay seriously doubted that—hadn’t he said she was with a boy? “Did she look like she was being coerced?”

“She’s fifteen,” Jace said again. He started rattling the padlock once more, as if he could open it with sheer force of will.

Stepping away from the noise, Shay pulled her cell phone from her pocket. London didn’t pick up, but Shay imagined she might not hear the ring tone over the roar of the boat. With a glance at the muttering Jace, she made a second call.

Two minutes later, she shoved her cell away and waved to get his attention. “The lake patrol is on it.”

His gaze shifted to her. “The what?”

“There’s three or four boats on the lake at all times, watching for trouble and making sure the rules are enforced—like a private Coast Guard. It’s a weekday, so there’s little traffic on the water. They’ll find London in no time.”

He stared at her. “You think?”

“I’m sure. They patched me through, and the guys on patrol know the boat, the dock, the situation. Once they find the
Fun & Games
, one of the officers will climb aboard and pilot them back. Don’t fret.”

“I’m not fretting.” His hands pushed through his hair and he spun to stare over the water. “I’m worrying.”

“Because you’re a dad.”

His sidelong look spoke volumes. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He paced around the platform. “Do we just wait here?”

“Why don’t we sit down?” He needed to dial his anxiety down a notch. There was a bar-height dining set on the platform and she pulled out one of the chairs. “You’ll see. It won’t take long.”

He threw himself onto the seat and raked his fingers through his hair again.

Shay stared at the dark disorder and felt a pinch of guilt. “Maybe I should have put her on a leash,” she murmured, perching on the chair beside his.

“No.” He dismissed that statement with a slash of his hand. “This is not your fault.”

“You know, teenagers typically do dumb things now and again.”

He shifted his gaze from the water to her face then back. “Yeah, but her upbringing hasn’t been typical.”

Hard to deny, Shay decided. Instead she sat back in her chair, forcing herself to relax as she took in the blue sky, the sheltering mountains and the water that glistened in the sun, sparking silver and gold. In the distance, a sailboat scudded over the surface.

“It’s like a postcard,” Jace said, indicating his mind was running along the same line as hers. “Beautiful. But— Christ.” He froze. “Can she even swim?”

He dropped his head into his hands, then looked up again to stare at Shay. “How come I don’t know if she can swim?”

“
I
know,” Shay assured him. “She’s fine in the water. A strong swimmer.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. My sister Poppy’s fiancé has an estate near here with an indoor pool. She swims there with my nephew, Mason.” Catching Jace’s alarmed look, she hid her smile. “He’s five. A real lady-killer, though.”

He let out an audible breath. “All right. Fine.” Some of the tension left his shoulders. “Your sister’s engaged?”

“Yep.” Shay thought of her black-haired, blue-eyed future brother-in-law, all elegance and sophistication. A panther to the lion beside her now. “Ryan Hamilton...you might know of him.”

Jace’s eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. “Ryan Hamilton the actor?”

“He produces now,” Shay explained. “But yeah, the one that did TV and movies in his younger days. He has a place in LA and a second house here at Blue Arrow Lake.”

“Whoa,” Jace said, still sounding surprised. “Ryan Hamilton.”

“What?” Shay asked, bristling. “You don’t think a Walker is good enough for a rich Hollywood bachelor?” Her eyes narrowed, she glared at him.

“Wait a minute. Wait just a minute.” Jace shifted from his chair to stand before her. “Now hold still,” he said.

On instant alert, Shay froze. “Is it a bug? A flying bug? I hate those. Even dragonflies, ever since my brother Brett told me they were actually tiny witches on tiny brooms.”

“It’s not a bug, though I appreciate this little glimpse beneath Ms. Capability.” One corner of his mouth tucked up, he brushed briskly at her shoulder. “There. All gone.”

“What was it?” She frowned, looking around to see what he’d flicked away.

“That big chip on your shoulder,” Jace said.

Her frown deepened.

“I never said or implied there was one thing wrong with a Walker,” he continued. “It’s not like I was born with a silver spoon.”

But he had one now, a whole set she was sure, if the house behind them was anything to go by. “Okay,” she grumbled. “It’s just that...we don’t like anything to tarnish Poppy’s happiness. She’s been alone since her stupid boyfriend ran off when he found out she was pregnant.”

Jace twitched and Shay cursed her big mouth. That was a little too close to the current situation, wasn’t it? Except...

But then my mom went to London.

But I did come visit you
, Jace had said.

The exact circumstances between him and his ex were not known to Shay—and were none of her business, especially now that he’d terminated their employment agreement early. “Sorry,” she murmured, training her gaze to her hands in her lap. “I didn’t mean—”

“Have you ever been married?”

Shay shook her head.

“Ever fall foolishly into a relationship?” Before she could answer he said, “I did.”

“It’s none of my concern—”

“Maybe it is, because at the moment you’re still London’s tutor.” He sighed. “I don’t know how much you took in this morning when I was talking to her...”

Every word.
But she’d pretended deafness in case her presence might stop him from sharing with his daughter.

“It’s pretty clear now she had an agenda when she began dating me,” he said flatly. “Elsa, London’s mother. At first I think she wanted to infuriate her father by being with a blue-collar guy like myself. Then she became pregnant—and our subsequent marriage allowed her access to her trust fund. That money was her escape from her father’s home. To a new life in Europe.”

He sighed again. “She was gorgeous, reckless, exciting. And, ultimately, too much for me to handle. For the first five years of London’s life it wasn’t so bad. I dealt with it by seeing her as often as I could. Then one time I arrived for a scheduled visit and Elsa and London had taken off to parts unknown. I rescheduled...same thing. I was traveling a tremendous amount for business and Elsa’s games...they wore me down.”

“That’s terrible,” Shay said.

His mouth twisted in a wry curve. “What is? That she made things difficult, or that I weighed that, considered the long hours I was putting in to build the business—not to mention my nonexistent parental instincts—and gave my ex-wife generous child support but full custody when she filed for divorce?”

Shay opened her mouth.

He spoke before she could. “I’m the bad guy, Shay. Don’t think anything different.”

“I don’t.” Lifting her chin, she kept her gaze steady and cool, her heartbeat steady and calm. This man wasn’t going to get to her. He wasn’t
trying
to get to her, that was true, so it should be easy.

Easy-peasy.

“So?” He pinched her chin, a teasing, almost brotherly touch. “I bared my past and you never answered the question.”

“Question?” That “casual” touch distracted her. Goose bumps tickled her neck and she felt her nipples tighten. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve forgotten what it was.”

His knuckle traced the edge of her jaw. “Did you ever fall foolishly into a relationship?”

Fall foolishly into a relationship? She stared into his golden eyes, mesmerized. Did one night at the Deerpoint Inn count?

“Better yet,” Jace murmured, his curled finger making another light pass. “Did you ever fall foolishly in love?”

Shay pressed into the back of her chair, away from his touch, those eyes, that unnerving query. Fall in love? She shook her head.

“No?”

“Never.” And it seemed both the safest and saddest admission a woman could make.

Jace’s palm, rough and warm, cupped her cheek. “Shay—”

The dual sound of boat engines caught their attention. His hand dropped, she slid from her chair and he hurried down the ramp with long strides, Shay at his heels.

They stood at one end of the slip, watching two boats approach. London stood slightly behind the uniformed officer at the wheel of the
Fun & Games
, her head bent, black hair swirling, both thumbs on the keyboard of her phone. A second boat, with a bar of lights across the top, trailed behind.

Jace shoved his hands in his hair as Shay drew up beside him. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he muttered, though she didn’t think he was expecting her to answer. He might have forgotten she was there. “I haven’t a clue how to handle this, damn it.”

When the prow of the first boat motored within shouting distance, Jace pinned his daughter with a stare. “London Jennings!”

Her head jerked up. Her black-lined eyes went wide.

The lion roared, in clear worry teamed with frustration. “You’re grounded! You got that?
Grounded.
”

Shay’s hand flew up as the words reverberated in her chest. The dock moved, the pontoons beneath it rocking with the waves caused by the oncoming watercraft. She staggered, unbalanced.

Moved, in the strangest way.

You’re grounded
, Mr. I’m-No-Dad had said.
Grounded.

She should laugh. It was funny, wasn’t it? A typical reaction from a nontypical father. But instead, she was worried. Those few words had done something to her, Shay realized.
Jace
had done something to her with the simplest phrase. What exactly that was...well, she had a very bad feeling that Poppy was no longer the only Walker sister with too soft a heart.

CHAPTER SEVEN

L
ONDON
CLUTCHED
HER
phone with one hand and grabbed on to the side of the boat with the other as the lake patrolman piloting the
Fun & Games
pulled back on the throttle, further slowing their movement. They glided closer to the slip and she risked a second look at Jace. His expression remained fierce and he stood with legs braced, his arms crossed over his chest, his narrowed gaze glued to her face.

Uh-oh.

Had she heard right? Had he just shouted she was grounded?

Nobody had ever yelled at her like that before.

It had made her stomach jump, just a little, but that was nothing compared to the rolls and somersaults it had made after she’d climbed into the boat with Colton. It had been an easy thing to dash undetected into the house for the keys and even easier to hand them over to the tanned boy unwinding the mooring ropes from the cleats. Clearly, he knew what he was doing.

Next, they’d reversed out of the berth, cruised past the five-mile-per-hour buoys, then hit free water. There, he’d set the boat on “Fly.”

At least it had felt that way to London. Though her stomach had somersaulted, her grin stretched from ear to ear. She’d sunk farther into the low-slung seat, the speed exhilarating. She was a bird, a plane, an untethered balloon. Then they crossed the wake of another powerboat, and the
slap-slap-slap
of the hull against the water had bounced her bottom against the vinyl. She’d giggled and Colton had glanced over at her, smiling.

So comfortable in his skin. Confident. He’d stood behind the wheel, one knee propped on the captain’s seat. The wind whipped his sun-kissed hair into eggbeater disorder and London had wrapped an arm around her own waist in a secret self hug.

This moment was happening to
her
!

The delight had ended much too soon. There’d been the short burp of a siren. Flashing lights behind them. Head turned over his shoulder, Colton had frowned. A rooster tail of water shot behind the
Fun & Games
as he’d slowed to a stop.

The patrol boat had idled up alongside them. The men inside wore blue uniform pants, bright white polo shirts and navy ball caps emblazoned with the Blue Arrow Lake logo. Both of them looked straight at her.

London decided it was too late to jump over the side or slide under her seat. Colton was the one who spoke up, though. “Jim? Chris? Is there a problem?”

His familiarity with the two didn’t settle London’s jittery stomach. Their serious expressions didn’t ease. “Are you London Jennings?” the oldest one—grandfather-age—asked.

“Um...yeah.”

Then she’d wished she’d taken that swan dive into the lake when she’d had the chance. The man informed her that her father was concerned, told Colton the boat had been taken without permission and said they must return to the dock immediately.

Colton had sent her a puzzled look but agreed in an instant. The older man’s manner had turned more kindly, it seemed to London, and he’d said he’d be taking the wheel.

“It’s all on me,” London had declared then. “This was my idea.”

“Hey—” Colton had begun

“He didn’t know.” London had spoken over him, coming to her feet in the boat, despite its slight pitch and roll. She’d held back her hair with one hand and directed her gaze at the man in charge, meeting his eyes. “I told Colton it would be okay.”

The head patrolman had nodded at that, then clambered into the
Fun & Games
. He’d directed Colton into the other patrol boat, telling him he’d be dropped closer to his home. The boy’s protest had been cut off. “I’ll handle it from here, son.”

On a sigh, Colton had turned to London. “Are you going to be all right?” he’d murmured.

If only the mortification would kill her, she’d thought, right then and there. “Of course,” she’d whispered. “But...but I’m really sorry.”

He’d smiled, touched her nose and vaulted from one vessel to the other. As both boats powered in opposite directions, he’d flashed her a grin followed by a jaunty salute.

And she’d known she had to see him again.

Had to.

For the magic. For the freedom. To take the next step into her own life.

But did he want to see her again, too?

She’d spent the return trip to the dock on her phone. Before, she’d stumbled upon a teen relationship app. Calling it up, she’d tapped on “How to Tell if He Likes You?”

Pay attention to what he does.

At the old boathouse, he’d worked to make her smile. He’d suggested they do something together. Before leaving her, he’d touched her. A nose tap, but
a nose tap
. That had to mean something.

Pay attention to what he says.

This gave her pause. He’d told her black wasn’t her color. He’d suggested a hoodie and jeans wasn’t her best look. She’d known that. She just didn’t know what to do about it.

Now, the prow of the
Fun & Games
gently bumped the dock. The patrolman threw over one of the lines to a grim-faced Jace, who started tying it down. London looked to Shay, but she was smiling at the patrol guy in the other boat. He was idling close to where she stood on the dock, and he swept off his hat to scrub his hand over his crew cut. If he’d been closer, London wouldn’t have been surprised to see him nose tap Shay.

She glanced over at Jace, saw he was now watching the conversation. His expression had gone from grim to foul. Interesting.

When her tutor let out a light laugh, London’s gaze shifted back. Whether Shay noticed it or not, as she chatted, her hand was sifting through her hair. Its color was so pretty, the sun catching gold threads and bronze ones, too. Frowning, London held up a hank of her own. It seemed dulled by the same light.

Another laugh from Shay. Her head was tilted back and there was a sparkle in her eyes. Her lashes were long and curled, but natural-looking. Her outfit was simple, a thin white V-necked T-shirt, a knit skirt of blue-and-white stripes that clung to her hips and fell just above her knees. She was wearing turquoise flats that matched the stones hanging from her ears and the bracelet wound around her wrist.

She looked stylish. Young. Not as young as London, but not as old as London looked in her baggy black clothes and her black dead-head hair.

Still contemplating that, she let out a startled “eep” as her father lifted her out of the
Fun & Games
and set her down on the dock. “Well?” he demanded, planting his hands on his hips.

He was big. More than a little angry-looking.

But the anger barely registered as her mind was on other things. Colton. Their brief time together this afternoon. The app on her phone.
How do you know he likes you?

The last piece of advice bubbled up in her mind.
Follow your heart.

Jace made an exasperated sound. “London,” he said. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Follow your heart.
She half turned, waved to get Shay’s attention. “Hey, will you take me shopping?”

* * *

P
OST
HIS
A
.
M
. mug of coffee, Jace paced the boundaries of the upstairs study area, stewing as he waited for London to join him. Yesterday afternoon, following her boat adventure, he’d been so nonplussed by her nonexplanation of her behavior that he’d marched off to his quarters to regroup.

At dinner, he’d told her they would have a meeting the next day, first thing.

Still striding back and forth, he studied the paper in his hand. It was a solid, short set of rules. No boys. No leaving the property without permission. No boys.

He was going to get the young female in his life under control.

The sound of footsteps had him spinning around. “Oh,” he said to Shay. “You.”

She gave him a half wave and started sorting the books and papers on the table. “Sorry. I’m just here to gather some materials so I can work on lesson plans in my room.”

“You’re not staying?” He figured he could use her support.

“Jace, it’s a family meeting.”

His gaze ran over her, diverting him for a moment. Once again, she was a spot of brightness against the drab backdrop of the house. There was that vibrant color of her hair, the sky-blue of the tank she wore with slouchy pants rolled at the hem. A delicate chain circled her ankle and tiny silver shells hung from the links. A matching bracelet looped one wrist.

He wanted to see her wearing only the jewelry, he thought, the wish striking deep. There’d be nothing else to hide her apricot skin, the gold-red of her hair, the pale pink parts of her that he’d only explored during a short shadowed night.

He wanted to discover her in sunlight. She’d be completely revealed then, under a cloudless sky, in summer temperatures that burned as hot as the lust she spiked in him. He’d stretch her naked on the beach, and cup the lake water in his hands to dribble it over her bare torso. The cool liquid would pearl her nipples, pool in her belly button, run into the soft place between her thighs.

“Is there something wrong with the way I look?”

He jerked out of the fantasy. “What?”

“You’re staring.”

Clearing his throat, he shifted his gaze and willed his south-rushing blood to switch direction.
I was thinking
,
he wanted to say,
about you
.
Nude. At the mercy of my touch.
He cleared his throat again and wrenched his mind back to business. He had called a meeting. There was an important purpose to it.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he said. “It’s...it’s just that it’s all new to me, this father-daughter thing.”

“I know.” Shay hesitated. “Look...teenage girls...they can be vulnerable.”

“Why do you think I’m going to lay down the law?”

She returned the papers she held to the table and leaned back against it. “I have an older brother. I remember Brett’s teenage angst. It came out in punishing sports competitions with his friends, marathons of violent video games, the consumption of incredible amounts of junk-food calories.”

Jace remembered late-night runs to the local pancake house with his buddies, where they’d battle to see who could eat the most orders of buttermilk pancakes deluged with syrup. “What are you trying to warn me about?”

“Girls can go inward. Tuck disapproval—or perceived disapproval, any kind of negative feedback, really—deep inside. They’ll keep it too close. Think about it too much, too often.”

Jace groaned.

“They might become quiet, and be shy about speaking of their dreams and their desires.”

His fingers tightened on his sheet of rules, crumpling the paper. What did he know of a fifteen-year-old’s dreams and desires?

Shay turned and scooped up the materials she’d set down a few moments before. “Tell London I took her Dickens book, okay?”

“Oh, no,” he said, catching her arm as she began to sweep past him. “Now I really can’t do this alone.”

“Sure you can.” She tugged, trying to escape.

Jace only drew her closer, pulling her sweet scent into his lungs. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his palm and she was close enough that he could get a peek at a little cleavage if he let his gaze drop.

Maybe she was afraid of that, because she yanked free of him and stepped back. “Jace—”

“I’m not kidding,” he said, catching her hand. “I need your help.” Holding up his paper, he rattled his list in her face.

“What’s this?” she asked, slipping her fingers free.

“My rules. Tell me what you think.”

She frowned, dumped the things she carried back on the table again and swiped the sheet out of his hand to peruse the three items he’d written. “You named one of these rules twice.”

“Because it’s the most important.”

Her response was an extravagant roll of her eyes. “She’s fifteen—”

“Exactly.”

“Jace, it’s natural for her to be interested in boys.”

“On television. In books. From far, far away.”

“You remember what I told you about Colton Halliday, her boat adventure companion of yesterday, right?”

“I stopped listening after you confirmed he has an X and a Y chromosome.” It was almost true.

She huffed out a sigh. “I know him and his fam—”

“How well?” he asked.

“Very well. And if you don’t trust me, think about the lake patrol. They’re acquainted with him, too, and aided him in avoiding your wrath because they judged the boy blameless in the situation.”

That was actually true, he thought grudgingly, though Jace wasn’t sure that both officers had been exclusively focused on their jobs the day before.

“That younger patrol guy...”

Her brows drew together. “Chris?”

“On the short side, blond, couldn’t drag his gaze off of you?”

“Chris.” She frowned. “And he’s plenty tall. He’s just not built on your massive proportions.”

Jace ignored that. “You dated him, didn’t you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Of course it wasn’t, but what the hell. Jace tilted his head, watching a faint blush tinge Shay’s cheeks. “You broke it off with him.” Yesterday, she’d confessed she’d never been in love. Well, good ol’ Chris couldn’t say the same. He’d been staring at Shay as if she were the first meal following a long fast. “Too bad, because he looks like just your type.”

Her blush deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s Officer All-Good. Apple pie, Mom and eight hours of continuous, guiltless sleep every night. Not a solitary sin or single rough edge.”

Annoyance snapped in her glacial blue eyes. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Jace shrugged. “You tell me. You’re the one who broke up with him.” Why was he needling her? He had no idea, except maybe he wanted to get what she was doing to him under control, too, and because that worshipful expression on Officer Upright’s face had rubbed Jace entirely the wrong way.

“He’s very nice,” Shay said, her tone prim.

“I get it now.” He grinned. “You dumped All-Good because he’s just
too
virtuous. Too respectful. Too polite.”

“You’re ridiculous.”