Stirred (26 page)

“Oh my God!” I hissed as I struggled to my feet. “Oh my God! Shit,
shit
!” I grabbed my jeans and pulled them on without any underwear. Once I was all zipped up, I turned to Sean and pushed him toward the rear glass door. “You have to leave, right now! Go out the back. Hurry!”

He balked, pulling back and facing me head on. “Eden, I’m not gonna skulk around like some—”

“Please, Sean,” I begged, fear twisting through me. “You have to leave! That’s my son. He can’t see you here!” I nudged him closer to the door.

He planted his feet and grabbed me by the arms. “Eden, my car is parked right out front, remember?”

I froze for a moment, panicked and anxious, and tried to figure out what to do.

“Mom, whose car is that?” Ian called out from down the hall. “Geez, that’s a freakin’ Vanquish Carbon.”

Sean gave me a gentle shake. “Eden, look at me,” he ordered, and my eyes rose to meet his. “I wouldn’t hide even if I could, so here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll go out back and wait a few minutes while you go see to…” He snapped his fingers three times.

“Ian,” I supplied.

“Yeah, Ian. Tell him I’m here to pick something up my brother left at school and my mother asked you to bring home. There’s a small box outside. I saw it earlier. I’ll grab it and come back in through the family room, okay? I’ll thank you for bringing it home. You’ll introduce me. Then I’ll leave. Okay?”

I just stared up at him, worry overwhelming every cell.

“Okay, Eden?” Sean repeated, urging me out of my stupor.

All I could do was nod. Without another word, Sean opened the door, but he turned back and pulled me in for a scalding kiss. Afterwards, he slipped outside into the darkness. I shut the door behind him and ran to the bathroom where I flushed the toilet for cover, washed my hands, and finished up by smoothing my hair into place just as Ian walked in to meet me.

“Mom, didn’t you hear me calling?” he asked.

I smiled, my brow raised as if I were surprised. “Ian, what’re you doing here? I thought you took Gracie to Wazzu for the weekend.”

Ian nodded. “Yeah, but she was freaked about missing our last study group before the SAT next week, so we came back.”

Staring blankly at him, I barely heard what he said. My mind reeled with thoughts of Sean wandering around out back.

Ian’s brow climbed high. “So?  Whose car is that parked out front?”

My mouth opened and closed without any words coming out.

“Mom? The car? Whose is it?”

I glanced toward the patio door then back at Ian. “Oh…um…that’s…it belongs to…one of my students.  I mean…the brother of one of my students. He dropped by to…pick something up.”

He looked around for moment. “Pick what up?”

Again, I peeked at the rear sliding glass door, this time wringing my hands. “Um, just something his brother left at school. His, um…his mom left an urgent voicemail message and…she asked if I wouldn’t mind bringing it back here so her older son could drop by and pick it up.” I shrugged, so uncomfortable lying to my own child. “I didn’t mind. They…they live so close, you know, so…” Another shrug. God, I was such a poor liar and certain Ian could see right through me.

“On a Saturday?” he asked. “Why didn’t she say something yesterday?”

“I…I don’t know,” I said, feeling uncomfortably trapped.

Ian sighed in response. “Well…what is it then?” he asked, but before I could cook up an answer, Ian’s girlfriend, Gracie, screamed from the other room. “What the heck?” Ian said as he turned and sprinted back the way he came.

“Ian!” Gracie called out.

With a hand to my head, I ran after him. We both stopped short when Sean—standing in the open terrace door with a limp box under his arm—smiled and waved.

“Sorry,” he said to Gracie. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” He turned toward me and raised the damp box up before focusing on Ian. He wiped his shoes off on the small area rug near the door and, shifting the box back under one arm, held out the other as he closed the distance between him and my son. “I’m Sean. You must be Ian, right? Your mom was just telling me about you.”

Ian accepted Sean’s outstretched hand, his brow drawn tight in confusion. After dropping Ian’s hand, Sean hooked a finger over his shoulder toward the rear terrace.

“My little brother, Robbie, left his pet turtle he brought to school for show and tell. No consoling the kid, I swear. Cried for the last eighteen hours. Lucky for us, your mom graciously retrieved Charlie and put him out back. Guess she doesn’t care much for reptiles, huh?” He smiled his signature confident grin as he waited for a reply. But, while my gaze whipped back and forth between my son and Sean, Ian simply shrugged before he swung his head toward the front of the house.

“That your car?” he asked, putting his arm around Gracie when she stepped to his side.

Sean grinned even wider as he shuffled the box to both hands. “Yeah. Cool, huh? Gift from my old man,” he explained with a roll of his eyes. “Tax write-off, I’m sure, but hey, won’t hear me complaining.”

Ian offered him a weak grin and turned to me, as if I had something to add.

I raised my arm toward the front entry. “Well, okay then,” I said to Sean. “I’m glad I could help. Let me show you back out.” I hurried past everyone on my way to the foyer.

Behind me, I heard Sean say, “Nice to meet you,” before following me out.

I opened the front door. “Say hi to your mom and Robbie for me.” I stepped out onto the front stoop in my bare feet, my arms wrapped around myself.

Before Sean turned to leave, he leaned in and whispered, “Remember what I said, Eden, about your husband.” He raised a brow to bolster his point then stormed off.

Though I hated being told what to do or not do, I’d seen the pleading look in Sean’s eyes, and I understood how he felt and where it was coming from. I’d just have to set his mind at ease. Declan was seldom interested in me anyway, but if, by some longshot, he was, I’d just blow him off as I’d done dozens, if not hundreds of times in years past.

With that vow in place, I returned to the house, but not thirty seconds later did Ian start in on me, peppering me with questions about Sean.

“Why did you let that guy in? Dad wouldn’t want some guy he doesn’t know in the house alone with you.”

“Oh, Ian, relax. I was doing one of my students a favor.”

“Do you even know him?”

I was irritated by his tone, even though I knew he was right. “Yes, of course, from school. He picks his little brother up sometimes when his mother can’t.”

“Still, why would you bring that…thing—”

“Thing?” I interrupted, my hands on my hips.

“Yeah, that…turtle or whatever… Why would you bring it into the house? Dad will be pissed if he finds out.”

“Ian, you saw Sean bring that box in from outside…where I put it.” I shook my head. “Look, I know you’re only trying to protect me from your father, but…let’s remember our roles here, shall we?”

My defensiveness only seemed to arouse Ian’s suspicions even more. With Gracie now hanging back in the kitchen, Ian and I continued to bicker back and forth for a few more minutes.

Until a voice boomed from behind me. “Don’t talk to your mother like that, son.”

My mouth sagged open and I spun around, my brow drawn low. I lifted my arms then let them flop back down to my sides.

“Declan. You’re home, too?” I asked, stunned and with a lump growing large in my throat. “Doesn’t anyone around here believe in phone calls, or maybe a text? All I ever ask is for a little peace of mind and to be kept apprised of where you guys are. Jesus!”

Too flustered to remain, I stomped off to my bedroom, my emotions high and my nerves completely on edge. I stopped in the doorway and pressed a hand to my pounding heart, certain it was about to leap straight out through my mouth. But then I heard footsteps coming down the hall behind me. I rushed for the bathroom and grabbed the first thing I saw off the counter. Declan followed, a smirk on his face and his shoulder against the door frame as he leaned there casually, watching me drag my brush through my hair as if it were on fire. I glanced from my own reflection to his and back again, trying my damnedest to ignore him and the fire burning deep in my belly.

He grinned, his eyes bright and bloodshot. “Wanna tell me what crawled up your ass, sugar?” he asked.

I stiffened. The only time Declan ever used that endearment was when he wanted something, a favor or…attention. I laid my brush down and moved into my closet and dressing room, closing the door to a mere crack. I pulled out my nightshirt then peeled off my jeans, throwing them into the laundry hamper. When I spun back around, the door was open and Declan was standing there with his hand on the knob. His gaze swept over me, head to toe, then back up again, halting at my crotch with a raised brow and a leering grin.

“Worried about panty lines, sugar?”

I glanced down at myself, my face burning bloody red when I realized I wasn’t wearing any panties. With considerable effort, I straightened my back with a confidence I didn’t possess. “Mind giving me a little privacy?” I returned.

Both brows rose high this time. “Such modesty, Eden. And a blush to boot. Well, wonders never cease.” He released the doorknob and closed the space between us.

I took a hesitant step backward, but there was hardly any room to maneuver out of Declan’s way. He lifted a hand and took a lock of my loose hair between his fingers, rolling it around before tucking it behind my ear. He gazed at me, heavy-lidded with rheumy eyes and his mouth set in a provocative half-smile.

“You certainly are lovely, Mrs. Ross, just as beautiful as you were twenty years ago. How you’ve managed to improve with age is beyond me. You still have that beguiling blush of youth I’ve admired since the first day I met you.” His hand dropped to my shoulder and slid halfway down my arm. The pad of his thumb smoothed over the swell of my breast

My arm snapped up involuntarily and knocked Declan’s hand away. Before he had a chance to react, I grabbed my pajamas and a pair of plain cotton underwear and brushed past him, out into our bedroom, where I closed the main door in case Ian and Gracie were close by. Concentrating on changing clothes as quickly as possible and out of Declan’s reach, I tossed my nightshirt on the bed and slipped on my undies then tore off my t-shirt, trying hard not to give into the urge to straighten the messed-up duvet. But my nerves made me clumsy, and I fumbled with the clasp on my bra. Behind me, Declan drew nearer at a leisurely pace, and my heart thundered even harder.

With my back to him, I watched his reflection in the sliding glass door, stiffening when I felt his fingers at my back. My bra sprang forward, and Declan ran his hands along my shoulders and down my arms, sweeping the lingerie off my body and onto the floor. It landed next to the panties Sean had ripped off my body earlier, right before he fucked me like I’d never been before.

Declan dipped down and snagged my ruined underwear. He held them up to examine the thin, ripped cords on either side. I spun around and snatched them away, bunching them in my hand as I dropped my eyes from Declan’s amused, though penetrating gaze.

“I thought I’d wear them today, but…I found them in the clean laundry like that. I was gonna throw them away. Guess I dropped them,” I mumbled while trying to slide out from the narrow space between Declan and the edge of our bed.

But Declan blocked me from leaving with a hand to my waist. “You must’ve been in a hurry if you dressed without replacing them. Is that why the bed’s a mess?” he asked with a quirked brow and his speech a bit slurred.

I glanced over my shoulder at the rumpled bed covers then back up at my husband. “What?” I asked, confused and so nervous, my heart felt like it might jump clear out of my chest.

Declan smiled with a chuckle. “You know, that strange little bed-top dance women perform to squeeze into their too-tight jeans.” He skimmed his hand from my waist down my hip, adding, “Strange though. I don’t think you’ve gained an ounce of flesh since losing all the baby weight after having Ian. So maybe you just bought those jeans a size too small, huh? By mistake, of course.” He slipped a finger along the elastic waistband of my cotton underwear. “Not that I mind. You have an amazing body, Eden. Made for fucking,” he said as his hand dipped lower and he leaned in for a kiss, Declan’s typical idea of foreplay.

I pushed against his chest, trying my damnedest to be civil while not stirring any suspicions. “I’m sorry, Declan. I’m not in the mood.”

He stopped and looked deep into my eyes. I felt so exposed, like he could see straight into me, see every lie, every infidelity.

But he just grinned. “Well, it’s not required that you be in the mood, sugar. You know I’m not the demanding type. Just lie there like you usually do.”

That said, Declan dove in for a kiss, regardless of how I tried to pull away, to shove him back as I twisted my head around.

“Declan, stop! I don’t want to have sex right now!”

But he didn’t seem to care what I wanted. He wrestled both of my hands into one of his and pinned them behind my back, then crammed his other hand against the already tender flesh between my legs, all while sinking his teeth into my neck.