The Fight for Us (12 page)

“The furnace was new two years ago, and it’s high efficiency. Water heater and A/C are both three years old, and the roof was re-done just last year.”

He wasn’t reacting to her at all except to stare, and her lips pursed sweetly as her cheeks blushed.

“I do love these countertops,” he muttered as he sauntered toward her. When he was standing in front of her and she was peering up to him, he leaned to her neck, sucking a gentle kiss just below her ear. She moaned quietly, and he instantly reached for her hips, squeezing them as he held her in place. He nuzzled against her neck and closed his eyes as her arms enveloped his waist and pulled his body into hers.

He was shocked at how easily he was pushing away the guilt at the moment. He’d been nearly overcome by it for a moment at the previous house, but then he’d become overcome by her instead. The second he felt her lips parting and one was between his, he’d forgotten about the shame. He didn’t understand the shame, except that he knew it was somehow attached to the blame he placed on himself for Delia’s death—as though he didn’t deserve to move on and find happiness because he was responsible for destroying hers.

He could feel Joss’s heart beating against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her just as tightly as hers were wrapped around him. Her neck was warm under his lips, and he had no intention of opening his eyes. It was too comfortable and warm with her in his arms, and he was terrified he’d lose that if he gave himself even one second to consider the guilt.

The door being thrown open on them yet again was about the most unwelcome interruption he’d ever experienced in his life. He stepped back from her. “What the fuck is it with this guy?” he muttered, and as Randall rounded the corner with a man in tow, Isaiah took a deep and calming breath. That was until he saw the look of utter shock on Joss’s face.

“Todd, what are you doing here?” He followed Joss’s attention to the man beside Randall, and then he looked back to her. Her face was suddenly pale, and the fact she seemed to have forgotten he existed was making him feel like a bit of a chump.

Todd was a few inches shorter than he, and a few years younger too if he were guessing. He dressed well, though casually, and the Rolex on his wrist said the leather on his feet was likely Italian and likely expensive. There was something oddly reminiscent about his look, but it wasn’t until he spoke that Isaiah figured out what it was.

“I decided it was time to buy myself a home on Bristol, so I could be closer to our daughter—you too for that matter.” The man’s lips pulled up in a smile that looked just as sadistic as it did seductive. That smile was leveled at Joss, and as Isaiah glanced at her, he was relieved at least to see utter terror than any reciprocation of the man’s seduction.

“I…I don’t… No. You can’t just—”

“Of course I can. She is still my daughter as much as yours.” His tone had turned bitter, and as Isaiah fully turned to face him, Todd finally paid attention to the man standing between him and Harper’s mother. “Well, I see you have a client.”

Todd’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Isaiah, and Isaiah held his steadily on the man until Todd finally looked away dismissively and sauntered toward the great room. But not before throwing a sideways glance to Joss and one last comment too.

“Good to see you, dear.”

Joss didn’t react at all but to stare at the floor in front of her. She seemed a bit in shock at the moment, and as Randall’s voice floated back to them from the other room as he did his best to sell the property to Joss’s ex-husband, Joss slowly shook her head from side to side.

“This isn’t happening.” She muttered before walking toward the front door.

He followed her silently, and when they reached their cars, he grabbed her hand and stopped her before she could open her door. “Well, I can’t say I’m thrilled your ex-husband is going to be in town, but I fail to understand why you’re suddenly so upset.”

She turned toward him slowly, and when she was finally facing him, she exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry. But he’s full of shit. He has a reason for moving back, and I can guarantee it has nothing to do with Harper.”

“Would it make you feel better if I made an offer on this house, so we can salvage the half commission you’ll lose to Randall if I don’t, not to mention the kick to your dignity of losing that commission on a sale to your ex-husband?”

Her lips pulled up slightly at that. “Yes. So long as you’re making an offer for the right reasons.”

“It’s the best property on the island, and it’s priced appropriately. How’s that for a good reason?” He winked at her, and she finally smiled.

“It is a good property.” She nodded at him. “Back to the office then? We have a couple hours until school’s out, so we can get the offer written up and e-mailed to the sellers.”

“I’ll follow you.”

When he was pulling open his driver’s door, he glanced at her just to catch her looking up at the house once more and shaking her head in irritation. But irritation implied anger, and he couldn’t say that’s what he was seeing. In fact, her expression was more like horror, terror, utter dread.

* * * *

Within three hours they were seated in a booth that looked out over the water at The Landing. Joss was directly across from him against the window side of the booth, and Natalie was beside him while Harper was beside Joss. He’d been with her every second since pulling up outside her office, and she’d not yet mentioned to Harper that she’d seen her father. Isaiah was confused to say the least.

Joss had completed the offer paperwork, scanned it, e-mailed it to the owners who currently resided in Texas, and then called them to alert them that she’d sent an offer for them to consider. The whole process had taken nearly an hour and a half, and he was relieved Randall and company hadn’t returned to the office during that time, but as they were leaving, Steph caught her attention.

“Interesting day.” It wasn’t a question. It was a loaded statement that brought Joss up short for a moment as she paused mid-stride.

“You could say that,” Joss muttered. The girl gave her a sympathetic smile and then waved to him as he followed Joss out the door.

The second she was belted in beside him in his car, he glanced at her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He was hoping, thanks to feeling a little shut out at the moment. He’d spent the better part of his day replaying
the
kiss over and over in his head and getting more aroused with each imaginary recitation. At the moment, it was quite clear she was thinking about nothing at all except her ex-husband, and it was offending the hell out of him.

“No. I’m fine.” She didn’t look it at all.

She didn’t say much more as they waited for the girls to wrap up practice so they could go to dinner, and now as she sat across from him, her mood had changed little. Her attention kept shifting outside to the water, and when it would return to the table, she seemed to be struggling to focus on them. When he stretched his leg out, intentionally letting it rest against hers, she pulled her gaze from the water to him. He watched her, forcing his expression to remain impassive. Her lips pursed, and she suddenly looked horribly guilty as her forehead wrinkled. He nudged her leg with his, and she finally relaxed and gave him a small smile.

Trying to communicate with her telepathically was proving to be nearly impossible, and as much fun as it was to play footsy with her, it was hardly effective at getting inside her brain. But she at least seemed to be forcing her attention to remain on him for longer than half a second. Of course, none of this was missed on their daughters, and as they heard Harper scoff, they both turned to the girls who were eyeing them suspiciously and trading eye rolls with one another.

“What are they doing?” His own daughter muttered to Harper as though he and Joss weren’t at the table.

“I don’t know. Maybe this is how old people flirt,” Harper responded as they both started sniggering uncontrollably. Joss elbowed Harper in the side.

When Joss’s phone vibrated on the table, she snatched it up. Her eyes moved up to him, and a sly smile was on her lips. She handed him her phone, and when he read the e-mail from the sellers indicating they were accepting his offer, he chuckled and winked at her as he handed her phone back. He was going to take this as a sign that Bristol was exactly the place he was supposed to be. Perhaps the fact Joss was the one who made it so was a sign as well. Though, he guessed that remained to be seen.

Chapter Eleven

Joss’s phone rang four days later on Thanksgiving night as she was lying in bed. It was eight. She really needed to get a life.

“What are you doing?” Isaiah’s deep voice got her every damn time, and as her lips pulled up, she rolled to her side, snuggling deeper into her warm down comforter.

“I’m almost afraid to tell you, but it involves the warmest place in my house.”

He chuckled. It was a seductive sound, and her skin started prickling instantly. “What are you doing in bed so early on Thanksgiving?”

“Reading and trying not to eat all the leftovers we brought home from Steph’s parents’ house. How was your Thanksgiving?”

“Quiet. Uneventful. And we didn’t ruin dinner, which is a minor miracle.”

She was silent for a moment, but then she set her mouth free. “You never did tell me why you kissed me the other day.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “I groped your breast too, but I see you’ve already forgotten that part.”

She didn’t need to see him to know he was smiling, and she started laughing. “Oh, no. I didn’t forget at all. But you still aren’t answering the question.”

He sighed in mock exasperation. “You’re really going to ask me this question?”

“Of course. There’s very little I’m not willing to ask.”

“I’m starting to understand that about you. Very well. I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you.”

She harrumphed in answer to his non-response response. “That tells me nothing.”

“It tells you I wanted to kiss you. Hell, it even tells you I wanted to grope your nipple.”

“Well, it doesn’t tell me if you intend to do it again.” She shook her head in mortification as he laughed. There it was; Joss being Joss and saying the first thought to enter her mind with no thought of restraint whatsoever. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she muttered. She shouldn’t even be thinking it, really, but she’d given herself over to the fact that she wasn’t able to stop thinking about it or wanting it with this man.

“Oh, no, I love it when you say things you shouldn’t say. You do it often, and I find it…”

“Humiliating?”

“I was going to say refreshing.”

They were both silent then. He’d still managed to dodge her question, and she knew full well he was aware of it. It certainly wasn’t a mistake.

She finally cleared her throat, feeling a bit vulnerable at the moment. “Well, I should probably—”

“Not yet.” His voice was serious. It wasn’t harsh or angry, just calm and deep. “I kissed you because I’ve wanted to for a very long time now—since I decided I didn’t hate you as a matter of fact, and if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure I can even say I didn’t think about kissing you a time or two even when I didn’t like you very much.”

There was no chance in hell she was going to interrupt his sudden bout of honesty, and given how little trust she put in her mouth, she bit down gently on the pad of her thumb, waiting for more.

“Kissing you is a sorry substitute for making love to you, but it seemed like an obvious first step in that direction. Playing with your nipple was…well, aside from incredible it was a little overzealous. But it’s been awhile.” He trailed off then.

Joss bit into her thumb even harder, stifling her need to speak—not that she had a clue what she’d actually say, but Joss rarely knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth to talk. It was a bad habit for sure, and one she wasn’t going to let get the better of her at the moment.

“In answer to your question, I have every intention of kissing you again. I also have every intention of groping your tits again too, preferably without your shirt or bra in the way. I could keep going, but seeing as I’m nowhere near enough to you to make anything I say actually happen, it might just be torturously cruel.”

She finally unclamped her teeth from her thumb. “You could come over. Harper’s at a movie with Steph. It’s their T-day tradition.” She gritted her teeth as she waited for a response. It was a little bold for her taste, but her body was so overly enticed at this point, she couldn’t play it cool to save her life.

“Tempting as that is, Nat
is
home, and I promised her I’d watch some scary movie with her that she’s too afraid to watch alone as soon as she finishes her composition paper that’s due next week.”

“Maybe next time.”

“Definitely next time.”

Joss had just opened her mouth to say goodbye when that warm seduction oozed out of the phone one more time.

“How about you torture me a bit more?”

She laughed. “How so?”

“Tell me about your favorite thing to do with a man.”

“Easy. Morrell mushroom hunting—”

“In bed.” He started laughing again, barely getting the last of his sentence out.

Joss was most definitely not laughing. Her skin was prickling. It felt like her arousal was literally crawling over her skin, slowly touching its feather light trail on every sensitive ounce of flesh she had. The huff of breath that burst from her mouth against her will was just a reaction to that trail finally settling between her legs.

“Come on, Joss.” His voice was serious now, and she suspected there was little chance he’d be backing down. Apparently, this was actually a serious challenge he was posing.

“Isaiah, you can’t really—”

“I can. How about I make it easy and turn this into a quiz?”

“Hmm…” She realized she’d hummed out her own non-response response when he started chuckling again. She’d done it subconsciously. All she’d really been thinking about was exactly how she’d like to answer his challenge if she had a mind to—and the nerve to for that matter.

“I’m going to take your inability to speak coherently as my cue to continue. So, do me a favor. Close your eyes and relax, and let that mouth of yours go for a while.”