Marriage On Demand (12 page)

"That's the last of them," she said as she settled herself on the wooden step. He shifted to make room for her. She wanted to tell him not to bother, that she wouldn't mind if their arms brushed, but she figured he might not want to know about that. After all, two mornings ago he hadn't taken her up on her subtle offer to make love again. She didn't think it was because he hadn't read the intent in her eyes.
Austin
might have a few flaws, but stupidity wasn't one of them.

"You had a lot of people out here helping," he said.

His voice was low and controlled. She liked the sound of it, of him. When he spoke, she wanted to stretch like a cat napping in sunlight. Her body grew warm, her mind lethargic. It would be easy to start purring. She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling.

"Everyone has been very helpful," she agreed. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The full skirt of her dress fell past her shoes. She stared out at the vast expanse of green lawn and the grove of trees beyond. The sun had slipped lower, until most of it was hidden behind the leafy branches. The slight breeze still carried on it the warmth of the day. Despite her bare arms, she felt no chill.

Without wanting to, she turned toward
Austin
. His profile fascinated her – the straight nose, the well-formed lips. Her gaze moved slightly to the right and she saw his gold hoop earring. It was silly how that tiny piece of jewelry got to her. She supposed it was because this was Glenwood and men didn't wear earrings. Somehow it made
Austin
appear even
more wicked
. And tempting and—

"What did you say?" she asked, realizing he was speaking to her.

"I asked when you thought the painting and cleaning would be finished. The furniture is ready to be delivered anytime."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "There are only two more rooms to paint, and they're pretty small. The kitchen has been scrubbed from top to bottom, so I'd guess by
noon
tomorrow. Is that all right?"

He looked at her. Pure gray eyes met and held her own. She wanted to see desire and affection lurking there. Of course she saw nothing of the sort.
Austin
kept his feelings carefully concealed. It was part of his charm, she admitted to herself. The mystery about him. Why was it women were instinctively drawn to men who were bad for them? It didn't make sense. Thank goodness her
feelings for him was
only a crush that would fade with time. Any woman who actually fell for
Austin
was destined for heartbreak.

"I'll call the man in the morning and have him bring everything somewhere between
noon
and two."

"That would be great. Thanks." She smiled slightly. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I really appreciate everything you've done for the children. First loaning me the house, then paying for the furniture. And you were terrific with David today. He had a great time with you. Since the accident he's been withdrawn and…" She stopped talking when he groaned low in his throat and rose to his feet. "What's wrong?"

"Stop looking at me like that," he commanded, pacing in front of the steps.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm some damn nice guy."

"But you are.
Austin
, you've proved it over and over. Face it, there's no way a man who opens his house to orphans can be all bad."

He swore under his breath. She pretended not to hear the word or notice the way he was rubbing his temple, as if he had a headache.

"Besides," she continued, "there are worse things than being a nice guy."

He stood in front of her, his legs spread slightly, his boot clad feet firmly planted on the walkway. Flecks of paint had spattered his worn jeans and red polo shirt. "I am not, and I have never been, nice."

She shrugged, fighting a smile. "If you say so."

"I do."

The last rays of sunlight caught his long hair, making it shine. There was no hint of other colors in the dark strands, no red or brown, just pure black. Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist and hips. He was tall, strong and good-looking A predator with a gentle streak that he didn't want to acknowledge. She didn't mind. Knowing it was there was enough.

When the intensity of his gaze started to make her nervous, she glanced around at the wide porch. It was big enough for a small dance to be held there. Everything about the house was oversize. It was a stunning home, but empty.

"Why did you buy this place?" she asked.

He looked up past her to the wide windows and the peaked roof. "Because I could."

That didn't make any sense. "Do you ever plan to live here?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I like the loft. It's convenient and more my style."

"Then the house is just for show?"

He dropped his gaze to her face.

"Exactly."

She wondered who he was showing it to. Judging from the lack of furniture and the dust on the floors, he hadn't spent any time in the mansion at all. So he hadn't bought it to impress women. Obviously he hadn't been inside the house for years.

"I'll do my best to keep the lads under control," she said. "They can be really hard on a place. You've been so generous I don't want to repay that with broken windows and crayon drawings on the walls."

He moved to the stairs and took his seat next to her again. "Don't worry about it. I've already told you – I'm doing this because when I showed up at the home, the people there were good to me. I owe them. I wasn't the easiest kid in the world."

She turned her head toward him. "Gee, why doesn't that surprise me?"

He smiled slightly. "I guess it's pretty obvious I've never been a model citizen."

"You're not so bad." She released her knees and straightened up. "You didn't have to help out today, but I'm glad you did. I never thought David would enjoy spending time with a man. I'll make sure someone can work on a project with him in the future."

"He's a good kid."

Rebecca rested her elbows on her knees and dropped her chin to her palms. "The whole problem with his family makes me crazy. I can't believe his relatives don't want him. He's smart, funny, well behaved. What's not to like? I just don't understand people like that."

"How can you be in your business and still be so damned innocent?"

Austin
's angry tone caused her to draw away from him. "What are you talking about?"

He gestured widely. "You work with these kids every day. You know about the abuse and neglect. Adults who use children for their perverted sexual pleasure. Parents who abandon their flesh and blood. Hunger, drugs, crime, they all prey on the young. You have to know about it, and see it. Why do you still believe in happy endings?"

"I'm not Pollyanna."

"You're damn close."

"I know bad things happen to children. But good things happen, too. Orphans find new families. Sick kids get better. Okay, so some don't find complete happiness, but I believe in doing everything I can to help. Why do you want to make that sound like such a crime?"

His mouth twisted at one corner. He shifted until his back pressed against the pillar at the top of the stairs and he was facing her. One long leg stretched out behind her back. The other bent at the knee with his foot resting on the second step. The toe of his cowboy boot was hidden by the hem of her skirt.

"You're trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon."

"At least I'm trying. What are you doing to make it better?"

"Saint Rebecca."

Usually she was able to control her temper. The little things that annoyed most people rarely got to her. But
Austin
's cynical view of the world rubbed her the wrong way. "So what's your story? Why do you insist on seeing everything from the worst possible angle? I know you were in the children's home when you were a kid. Is it that you didn't get adopted? Do you think the system failed?"

He raised one eyebrow. "I couldn't have been adopted. My parents were both still alive."

"Then why were you there?"

She blurted out the question without thinking, then wanted to call it back. The sun had fallen behind the trees, leaving them in shadow. The cries of the night creatures began softly, building in sound and intensity with each passing minute. The smell of earth and grass, the coming cool of evening, reminded her that she was alone with
Austin
. Isolated with a man she didn't really know. They'd been intimate with each other. She knew a little about his body, his touch and his kisses, but almost nothing about his soul. He played the villain to hide a softer side. That she believed. But why he felt he had to conceal his gentleness she didn't know.

Something deep inside, some voice she'd learned to listen to, whispered that it was better she didn't understand him. She knew instinctively that learning the truth about
Austin
would be deadly. Not because the information would scare her away but because it would be too easy for her crush to blossom into something more dangerous. A woman would be a fool to care about a man like him. She knew that as surely as she knew the sun would rise tomorrow. Everything about him and his life-style screamed that he was destined to break hearts. Hers was already so fragile she wouldn't survive if it shattered again.

"You really want to know why I was at the home?" he asked, his voice deceptively lazy as if he didn't care about her answer. But her time with the children had taught her to look past the obvious. The sudden stiffness in his shoulders, the watchful expression in his eyes warned her that her answer carried some significance.

She didn't want to know. She would regret hearing his story. Yet the side of her that he mocked, the instinct to heal, was too powerful to be ignored. "Tell me, please."

"My mother wasn't much interested in raising a kid. She used to dump me with relatives while she went off and had a life. Eventually she ran out of family, so she left me on the steps of an orphanage up by
Sacramento
. When I turned out to be more than they could handle, they sent me here."

He spoke the words casually, as if they told a story about someone else. The urge to reach for him and hold him close almost overwhelmed her, but she forced herself to stay where she was. "How old were you?" she asked.

"Ten or eleven. She came by every few months to take a couple of pictures of me." His mouth twisted. "She needed proof that I was alive to keep her meal ticket going."

"I don't understand."

He'd been looking out into the night, but now he turned his dark gaze on her. His eyes bore into her, as if he were searching down into her soul. She felt cold suddenly, although the temperature hadn't changed. She folded her arms over her chest and shivered.

"Blackmail." He let the single word hang alone for several seconds. "My father was—" he shook his head "—is a successful politician in
Washington
. Married, two kids, conservative constituency. He made the mistake of having an affair with my mother back when he was
a nobody
. She got pregnant and decided he was her meal ticket."

"She used you for blackmail, then left you in an orphanage?"

"No big deal."

No big deal? Who was he kidding? Rebecca stared at him, trying to absorb what he'd told her. How could any mother treat her child like that?

"I don't know what to say," she murmured. "It must have been awful for you."

"I got by."

She remembered
Austin
's care when he'd worked with David that afternoon. No wonder he'd handled the boy so well. He knew what it was like to lose everything. "You know what David's feeling," she said. "That's why he likes you so much."

"You're making it more than it was. I let the kid help me paint the room. Nothing more. I'm not like you, Rebecca. I don't believe the world s worth saving."

"That must make your life very lonely. How do you stand it?"

He glared at her. "I think I liked you better when you were spilling things and couldn't get out more than a sentence without blushing."

"I didn't know you liked me at all," she blurted without thinking.

"I don't generally sleep with women I dislike."

"But I seduced you. It wasn't your choice."

He leaned forward until they were close enough for her to feel the heat of his body. Excitement licked up her spine. "How the hell can you still
be
so innocent?" he asked. "Honey, you never had a prayer of seducing me. If I hadn't been interested, we wouldn't have done it."

She wrinkled her nose. "Big talk now that it's behind us. You keep your interpretation of what happened and I'll keep mine. "

She studied the lines of his face. Stubble shadowed his jaw. The twilight pulled the color from his features, making his eyes look dark and mysterious. A waste of time. He didn't need any help to be more appealing. There was something too magnetic about him already. If only she could figure out what it was. She knew it was something about the way he was always alone. Maybe he challenged women on a primal level. Maybe females were instinctively drawn to a solitary male, wanting to bring him into the circle of intimacy.