Maxine (19 page)

With a big sigh, Cara turned to Gerry and got back to business. “I want to give a good portion of my estate away, but I don’t want anyone to know what I’m doing.”

“The trustees—”

“They’ll have to know, but no one else. Not even Nick.”

Gerry twisted to face Cara. “Cara, your estate can be passed on to your children if you don’t want it.”

“And pass the burden on to them? The risk? Make them a target for every con man and crazy person out there?” She shook her head. “I’ve lived most of my life under that cloud. If I ever have children, I don’t want them to have to live that way.”

“You’re not going to give it all away, are you?”

“No, but I want to put a few million into the Foundation and put it to work.”

Gerry pushed his glasses up his nose. “How much?”

Playing with the strap from the seat belt, Cara answered, “Maybe twenty percent of the value of the estate to start with, including the paintings and artwork my grandfather collected. I want it somewhere people can see and enjoy it. The same with my stepfather’s Egyptian treasures. It seems foolish to have them squirreled away in that house where no one but the staff ever sees them.”

“You could establish your own art museum.”

A museum would honor her grandfather and keep his memory alive. “My grandfather would have liked that, but I’d want any proceeds to go into the Foundation. I don’t want to make money off it.”

“Take some time to think it over, Cara. It’s a big decision.”

“Yes, it is.” So was ending her marriage and taking control of the estate. “I should do something with the house, too, I suppose, since I don’t plan to live there, but I don’t want to put everyone out of work.”

“With the artwork gone, you could have someone give tours or something. People are interested in how the rich and famous live.”

People tramping through the house? “It wouldn’t look the same without the artwork, but I suppose we could have copies made.” She sighed deeply and glanced out the window again. “So many decisions.”

“Take your time, Cara. Set your priorities and work on them one at a time.”

“My first priority is ending my marriage. I don’t care if it’s a divorce or annulment as long as I’m free and he doesn’t walk away with anything more than he had when he married me. I don’t want him to profit from his deception, Gerry. No matter what else happens, he’s not to profit.”

“Cara, he used a phony name and tricked you into marrying him. No judge in his right mind would reward him for that.”

<>

Nick closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. He sat in the back of the plane, alternately staring out the window and watching Gerry and Cara with their heads together. He felt like such an outsider. She’d be better off with a man like Gerry. He’d know how to handle himself with rich and famous people, and he wouldn’t embarrass her. But would he love her enough? Would he tease her and play with her? Would he yell at her once in awhile, so she could yell back? She wanted to be treated like a regular person. Gerry wouldn’t do that because she could fire him. His former brother-in-law was too money-hungry to put his job at risk. No, Gerry wasn’t the right man for Cara.

The thought of letting another man touch the woman he loved turned Nick’s stomach, but what did he have to offer her except love and understanding? He couldn’t get involved with any woman until he had his own business, until he built a solid foundation for the future.

<>

Lance sat in the parking lot at Wright Park in downtown Tacoma, scanning the list of tips called in from Tacoma and Gig Harbor. One looked especially interesting. A woman with long, black hair had had a computer delivered in Gig Harbor. Cara had short dark hair when she took her car, but he assumed it was a wig. What if it wasn’t a wig? He’d have to ask Ian about Cara’s hair the next time he called.

He scanned the list again and found another possibility. A woman who looked like Cara had been spotted at a restaurant in Gig Harbor the day she’d disappeared. The woman had worn a baseball cap, but there was no mention of black hair.

Rummaging through the glove compartment, he found the map of Gig Harbor he’d gotten from a local real estate office. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the address from the computer delivery.

Minutes later, Lance drove across the bridge to Gig Harbor. “Cara, your freedom is about to end.”

<>

The beach road had been repaired while they were gone, so Gerry dropped Nick and Cara off at the road above Nick’s house. She picked up her suitcase, but Nick took it from her hand. His house was a two-flight walk down wooden stairs. “Not with your sore shoulder. I’ll take it.”

She started down the steps. “Do you carry groceries down this way?”

“Or drive down the beach at low tide.”

They walked on down the steps and into the house. Nick set both suitcases inside the door. “Sit down, Cara. We have to talk.”

She didn’t sit. “Talk about what?”

“We need to find you another place to stay, someplace safe.”

She took a step back, her eyes filled with hurt. “You don’t want me in your house?”

Nick turned away from the hurt in her voice and in her eyes. If he looked at her now, he’d grab her and kiss her senseless.

“I don’t understand, Nick. Are you angry with me? Did I do something wrong?”

Nick whipped around, his gaze locked on Cara’s. She looked so damned sweet it hurt his eyes to look at her. Without thinking, his words tumbled out. “Have you ever been fucked? I mean really fucked, down and dirty.” She didn’t speak, but her head moved slowly back and forth. He took a step closer and she sucked in a quick breath. “Have you ever screamed and moaned and cried and begged because you wanted it so much?”

Cara’s chest pumped back and forth, her breaths coming ragged and quick. He leaned in, their noses almost touching. “Because if you stay here with me, I’m gonna take you into that bed and fuck you until you scream for mercy. I’ll kiss and rub and lick and suck and turn you inside out.”

The little whimper that came from her lips nearly pushed him over the edge. He reached under her shirt and brushed his hand across her nipples. Her gasp told him what it did to her. He should stop now, but he couldn’t. He’d never wanted a woman like he wanted Cara. His body ached with wanting her.

“Nick,” she whispered.

“Do you want to stay with me?”

She didn’t speak.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” he whispered, as his lips brushed hers. “Tell me you want me.” He kissed her lightly. “Tell me.” He kissed her again, this time deeply and passionately. She opened her mouth to him and whimpered again as his hand cupped her breast and his thumb found her nipple, taut and ready. He put her hand on the front of his pants, over his throbbing erection, but it almost undid him. “Tell me, honey.”

“I want to stay with you. Please, Nick. Let me stay.”

He slipped his hands inside her clothes to cup her bare behind and pull her against him as his mouth ravaged hers. He pushed her shirt up. She wasn’t wearing a bra. “Oh, God, you’re beautiful.” He dropped to his knees and licked, then sucked those beautiful pale rose nipples as she moaned and ran her fingers through his hair.

When he stood to kiss her again, she unfastened his pants and reached inside. Her eyes widened as her hand moved over the length of him. He had the rest of their clothes off in an instant, then he gazed into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

She reached down to touch him again. “Yes,” she whispered. “Make love to me, Nick.”

In his bed, his mouth quickly found hers again, then moved to her breasts, as his hand moved lower. He ran his fingers lightly around that hot, wet opening, teasing and stroking as he drew her nipple into his mouth. She writhed and moaned, then gasped as he slipped his fingers inside her hot, silky dampness and rubbed, exciting her as if she’d never been touched this way before. She tightened around his fingers, but he pulled them out.
Not yet.

“No, Nick, don’t stop.”

“Honey, I’m just getting started.”

She moaned when his tongue followed his fingers. This time he let her spasms take her over the edge. She was so responsive, he knew he could bring her to another, deeper climax, one she’d never forget.

“Taste yourself,” he whispered, as his fingers moved back inside her and his mouth, musky with the smell and taste of her sex, moved over hers.

She turned her face away, but he turned it back to his. “Kiss me, dammit. Kiss me. Taste yourself.”

He pushed her legs apart and her knees up, and plunged deep inside her. He held still a few seconds, then pulled out.

Her mouth opened under his as she cried out. “Oh, God. Oh, Nick.” Her body shuddered when he plunged in and pulled out again. She cried out again, grasping him, pulling at him. “Please,” she begged. “Oh, please.”

He gave her what she wanted, what he’d wanted for weeks, settling into a rhythm, pounding into her until he felt her body come to a wild, deep climax. Only then did he let himself go.

She was crying, sobbing.

“Oh, shit. Did I hurt you?”

“Hold me,” she cried. “Please hold me.”

“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Cry all you want.”

She nuzzled into his neck as he rubbed her back and behind, holding her naked body so close she was almost a part of his own body. She felt so damn good in his arms, he wanted this to last forever. Her tears stopped, but her arms were still wrapped tightly around him, as if she were afraid to let go.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the day I found you,” he said softly.

“I didn’t know it could be like that.”

“Did your husband ever make you feel that good.”

“No.”

“Another man?”

“I’ve never been with another man.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” For this moment, she was his woman, his lover, his to hold and love as if they belonged together forever. She was a princess and he was a man who worked with his hands, but at that moment, they were just a man and a woman who loved each other. He pulled her tighter, unwilling and unable, for now, to let her go.

It took Cara several minutes to realize the implications of what she’d just done. She’d had the most incredible sex imaginable with a man she loved deeply. She’d given herself to Nick, body and soul.

Nick nuzzled into her neck, his lips and tongue doing wonderful things to her neck and ear. “Ready to start over?” he whispered.

“Don’t you believe in condoms?”

He chuckled. “It’s too late to worry about that now, baby.”

She felt him thicken and grow again and her body responded immediately. That ache down deep inside her, that need she didn’t know she had until she met Nick, made her want him again. And again. And again. But she needed a shower. “I need to clean up, and the bed is a mess now.”

“We’ll shower together, then mess up the other bed.”

They stood under the warm water in Nick’s little bathroom, gently washing each other, kissing and caressing. It was an intimate, sensual experience Cara never dreamed of doing with Lance. She ran her fingers through the thick mat of curly black hair on Nick’s chest, exploring his strong, sexy body, caressing the man she loved. She reached lower and smiled. “I’ll never doubt anything you say about Italians again.”

His rich, warm laughter sounded like music to her. She loved this man so much.

After their shower, they dried each other and Nick took her to the narrow single bed in his small bedroom. This time he was gentle and sweet, loving her with a tenderness that made her love him even more. She wanted to tell him she loved him, because she did, but she had no right to tell him anything until she was legally free. Their time would come. As soon as Gerry ended her marriage, she and Nick would plan a future together, because living without him was unthinkable. She wanted to make love to him every day for the rest of her life, fall asleep snuggled against his strong, solid body, and wake up every morning in his arms.

Nick pulled her on top of him and covered them both with the blanket. She hooked her left leg around him, possessing him, holding onto the one person who loved her. And she knew he did love her. He hadn’t said the words, but she knew. She snuggled in and closed her eyes.

Cara was nearly asleep when Nick rubbed her bare behind. “Are you sure you want to stay here with me, Cara?”

She nuzzled into his neck and nipped his ear. “I want to be wherever you are.”

“Your husband is still looking for you, and I have to go out and find a job. I don’t want him to find you here alone. Why didn’t you stay at your house, where your security people could guard you?”

She’d assumed he’d want her to be with him, to stay with him until she got her divorce. He said he had to work, but she thought... she hadn’t thought about his life at all. She came back to Gig Harbor with Nick because she needed his friendship and support. And his love. “I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t realize I’d become a burden to you.”

“No, honey, you could never be a burden. If you want to stay in Gig Harbor, we’ll find you a safe place to hang out.”