The Mighty Quinns: Devin (14 page)

But he'd said himself it was just a swim. Maybe she was the one reading too much into it. And if, by the end of the night, she and Dev were back in her bed, she had only one person to blame—herself.

Cursing beneath her breath, Elodie tried to appear nonchalant as she tossed aside the shorts and T-shirt she wore. She reached behind her for the bra clasp, but Dev stepped up and slowly ran his hands over her shoulders. “I can do that,” he murmured.

She didn't have the strength to stop him. The touch of his palms to her shoulders had already weakened her defenses. But after unhooking her bra, Dev didn't take it any further. Instead, he strode past her and dived into the deep end of the pool.

Elodie kicked off her bra and panties and followed him in, breaking the surface just a few feet away from where he did. Dev grinned at her. “See? That wasn't so difficult.”

Treading water, she tipped her head back and sighed. “I remember Winchester summers being hot, but how did we ever do without air-conditioning? My father refused to put it in the house. He thought it was a sign of weakness. I think he didn't do it because if he installed air-conditioning in the house, the town would want him to air-condition the mill, too.”

“I can't believe we're talking about the weather,” Dev teased. “Things have fallen apart, haven't they?”

Elodie met his gaze. “Please don't say that.”

“Isn't it the truth?”

“No.”

“Then why are we naked with four feet of space between us?” He reached out, and Elodie laced her fingers through his. Dev pulled her through the water until their bodies touched.

Her pulse leaped, and her heart began to pound in her chest. Elodie looked down as his fingertips began to trace a line across the top of her breast. Just that contact, the bold caress, and she was aching for more.

His hand dropped lower, then cupped her breast, his thumb teasing at the hard nipple. A wave of exquisite sensation raced through her body.

Gathering her resolve, she pushed away and swam to the other side of the pool. “I could lose myself in you,” she murmured. “It would be so easy. As simple as breathing.”

“Then do it,” Dev challenged. “Why spend the time we have together denying what we both want?”

“I'm trying to stand up here, all on my own, and you're like an earthquake, shifting the earth beneath my feet, throwing me off balance.” She drew a ragged breath. “Why are you trying to make this more difficult?”

“I'm not,” Dev said. “I won't. I can't apologize for wanting you or needing you. Besides, why are you so fixated on the future? Why can't we just live in the present and forget about what might happen tomorrow or next month or next year?”

“You make it sound so simple,” Elodie said.

“Isn't it?”

She sank down in the water and watched him, silently observing the play of emotion in his expression. “Then you would be all right if this didn't work out and I went back to New York? You'd have no regrets? It wouldn't hurt you?”

“Not if we'd spent every last moment we had together making each other happy. I could say goodbye without a single regret.”

“What if I couldn't?” Elodie asked. “It was hard enough to get over you when I was a teenager.”

“Do you want me to convince you?” Dev asked as he swam closer.

Elodie shook her head. The look in his eyes sent a frisson of pleasure coursing through her body. Raw need. Uncontrolled desire.

She couldn't fight him any longer. Saying goodbye to him was going to hurt no matter what. So she'd take his lead and stop worrying about the future, at least for tonight.

* * *

T
HE
MOMENT
THE
screen door slammed behind him, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her. His fingers tangled in her wet hair, and he tasted chlorine from the pool on her skin. Dev was like a man frantic for food and water—only his nourishment was Elodie's lithe, supple body.

It had taken a bit of convincing to get her to undress at the pool, but now she tore at her clothes, desperate to feel her skin against his. He hadn't bothered with his shirt after the pool. And when she reached for the waistband of his shorts, he skimmed off the bottom half of his uniform in one quick motion.

She reached for him, wrapping her fingers around his hard shaft, gently stroking him until he was completely erect. “Here?” he murmured.

“No,” she said. She drew him along the corridor, and Dev expected to end up in her bedroom, but instead they ended up in the dark kitchen. He ran his hand over the surface of the kitchen island and smiled. The stainless steel was cool to the touch.

He spanned her waist with his hands and picked her up, setting her on the edge of the counter, and she lay back. He parted her legs and drove into her in one powerful motion, then paused, enjoying the feel of her warm body enveloping his shaft. Elodie cried out in surprise, a gasp slipping from her lips.

Then he started to move. It was rough and it was frantic, but that didn't stop either one of them. She reacted to each thrust, urging him on, demanding every last ounce of his attention.

Dev tried to focus on something besides the naked, writhing body laid out in front of him, but it was impossible. His self-control had vanished somewhere around the front walk to her house. He tried to slow down, but Elodie wouldn't let him. She sat up and wrapped her legs around his waist, slowly moving up and down along his shaft at will.

Again and again, she edged him closer to his release, then drew away. He knew she was close, too, her body sticky with sweat, her breath coming in quick gasps. But then suddenly, she drew back and crawled to the center of the island, giving him a predatory look.

“I'm hungry,” she said.

“You want to eat in the middle of all this?” Dev chuckled, but she seemed dead serious.

Elodie eased herself off the other side of the island and walked to the refrigerator, then pulled open the freezer door. She withdrew a container and walked over to him, then pressed the freezing plastic against his belly.

He gasped at the sensation. “What are you doing?”

Elodie smiled. “Getting something to eat.”

She opened the container, and Dev could see it was filled with strawberry ice cream. Reaching inside, she dug out a glob with her fingers and began to smear it across Dev's chest.

She pushed him backward until he came to a stop against the edge of the counter, and she slowly began to lick the ice cream off his chest. Her tongue was warm, branding his cold skin as she moved from one nipple to the next. His fingers tangled in her damp hair, and Dev was stunned by the erotic scene unfolding in front of him. Usually foreplay came before sex, not after it. But this change of agenda was definitely working for him—until she got out the blindfold.

It wasn't actually a blindfold, but a thin cotton dish towel. She picked it out of a drawer and secured it around his eyes then left him standing in the middle of the kitchen. He felt Elodie circling around him, her body brushing against his. He reached for her but she evaded his grasp.

“You're not going to let me touch you?” he murmured.

“No. But you can taste me.” She guided him to her left breast, and he found the nipple covered with strawberry ice cream. He sighed softly, drawing the stiff nub into his mouth. He found the same treat on her right nipple and then followed a trail of ice cream down the center of her belly.

He set her on the edge of the counter again and knelt down, finding the sensitive spot between her legs. Without using his hands, he began to tease her with his tongue. Dev knew she was watching him, deriving her own pleasure from the sight of his seduction.

But because he was blindfolded, he was forced to imagine the scene. Every move flashed an image in his head that was wildly erotic. It was a strange, tantalizing experience, like nothing he'd ever done before. And he found himself caught up in the overwhelming passion his imagination evoked.

The pleasure continued for another hour, sometimes with the blindfold off, sometimes with the blindfold on. They each took turns tasting and touching the other. Dev had never enjoyed such a long path to release. In truth, he wasn't sure what to expect when the moment finally came to surrender.

He finally found himself deep within her heat again, Elodie's body soft and pliable after multiple orgasms. He stroked slowly at first, running his hands over her hips as she lay across the counter. He reached between her legs, determined to bring her to the edge once more. She shuddered once, and when he felt her come, Dev let go.

Wave after wave of pleasure washed over his body, the orgasm so powerful it made his knees buckle and his body spasm uncontrollably. It seemed to go on forever, and Dev rode it out until the very end, until he was drenched with sweat and completely spent.

He bent over Elodie and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Is there room up there for me?”

“Hmm,” she said. “Plenty.”

He crawled up beside her and lay back on the cool steel, staring up at the ceiling in the dim light. “This is now my favorite spot in the house,” he said.

“What was your previous favorite spot?” she asked.

“Your bed. I liked your bathtub, too. And the front porch. But this is my favorite now. I could live here.”

Elodie giggled.

“What?” he asked.

“I'm not sure your mother would appreciate your naked, sweaty body on her clean kitchen counter.”

Dev groaned, rolling over to face her. “Did you have to bring my mother into this?”

“Sorry. But we will have to clean up the evidence of our night together before she arrives in the morning.”

He sat up, pulling her along with him. “I need something to drink. How about you?”

“There's beer in the fridge. And iced tea and limeade.”

Dev got up and grabbed a beer, then poured a glass of iced tea for Elodie. He leaned against the counter as he took a long swallow of the beer, content with his lot in life. He had Elodie back, at least for the near future. The passion was still blazing between them and nothing would change that.

They'd grown so comfortable with each other that even this seemed natural—the two of them, naked, lying across the kitchen island drinking a cool beverage on a hot summer night. Dev leaned forward and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Tomorrow night is the zoning meeting,” he said. “Are you ready?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. There won't be much to it. I'll give them my proposal and they'll vote on it. If they vote no, there's an appeal process that I can go through, but I have a really good proposal. And by putting in the new driveway and a parking lot in the rear of the house, there won't be any disturbance to the residents on Wisteria Street.”

Dev wasn't sure he should tell her the truth, that things wouldn't be as simple as she thought. They'd put their relationship back on track and he didn't want to spoil it. But he wanted to prepare Elodie for the fight ahead. He was the only one who could help her.

“Ellie, maybe we should go over your presentation. It wouldn't hurt. I'm familiar with the guys on the board. I know what kind of questions they're going to ask.”

“It's not a big deal,” she said.

He grabbed her hand and laced her fingers through his. “It is a big deal. There are people in town who don't want you here and they're going to do everything they can to get you to leave. They'll bring their complaints to this meeting.”

“And where do you stand?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“You know where I stand. With you, all the way. I'll be at the meeting to keep the peace. It's liable to get a little rowdy. Just be prepared.”

A worried expression settled on her pretty face, and Dev regretted even bringing the matter up. She had no idea how intense this meeting could become.

Elodie sat up and then slid off the counter. “I'm going to go take a cool bath and then go to bed. Are you coming with me?”

Dev nodded. “I'll be up in a few minutes.”

She walked out of the kitchen, clutching her iced tea glass in her hand.

Dev sighed softly. He wanted to protect her from anyone or anything that would hurt her. But she'd made it clear that she wanted to do this on her own. So this was one time when he'd have to stand back and let the events play out.

Tomorrow, the town council of Winchester would determine his entire future. It would decide whether Elodie made a home in town or left the next day. All he could do was hope they made the right decision.

 

8

“T
HIS
MEETING
OF
the Winchester Town Council will come to order.” The sharp rap of a gavel on wood brought the room to silence. Elodie glanced around the gallery of the old courtroom and tried to calm her runaway nerves. She spotted some familiar faces—Joannie from the café and Susanna, the glass artist who had fixed her window. Even Jimmy Joe had turned up for the proceedings.

Elodie caught sight of Dev standing at the rear of the room. Instead of his casual summer uniform, he was dressed in finely pressed khaki, his badge on display on his chest, his gun holstered at his hip. When he saw her, he gave her a thumbs-up. But he didn't smile. In truth, his expression was downright grim—matching many of the council members' expressions.

Had her fate already been decided in some back room? Were they just here to deliver the bad news and then move on to a discussion of garbage trucks or potholes? Maybe she was expected to pay a bribe for a favorable decision. Was that the way things worked in Winchester?

Elodie wouldn't be surprised. It was certainly the way her father had worked, and until recently, her father
had been
Winchester. Though the townspeople elected the council to represent them, its members had always deferred to her father on any decisions that affected the mill or his millions.

“Come to order. I'm Irv Solomon, president of the council, and I'll be running this meeting. I'm warning you now, if there's any trouble here tonight, I'll have you tossed out. Chief Cassidy is here and he's not afraid to make arrests if the behavior warrants.” Solomon eyed the crowd, then continued. “The agenda was published in the paper, but since most, if not all of you, are here about the Elodie Winchester proposal, I move that we table other business and get right to her presentation. Miss Winchester, why don't you step to the podium and address the council. After you're finished, we'll take questions and comments from the public before we make our decision.”

“Thank you,” Elodie murmured. “So, shall I begin?”

A man stood up and shouted, “We don't want any Winchesters here no more. They're all thieves and grifters. As far as I'm concerned, we ought to be changing the name of the town and put her and the rest of her people in the rearview mirror.”

A woman stood up. “I second the motion. Those who agree say ‘aye.'”

“That isn't a proper motion,” Solomon said, banging his gavel. “You'll be allowed to speak
after
Miss Winchester is finished. Now, you all sit down and shut up.”

The half of the audience standing reluctantly took their seats, but that didn't lessen the grumbling and whispering.

Elodie took a deep breath and began to explain the importance of the Winchester mansion to the history of the town. She admitted that her father had ruined her family's reputation and had caused many people harm, but she hoped to make up for what he had done with the gallery. She argued her plan would help promote local artists as well as draw tourists to town.

She talked about the art fair that the gallery would sponsor every year, and the possibility of redeveloping the old mill into shops and artists' lofts. She cited examples from other towns where a similar idea had worked. By the end, Elodie was satisfied she'd done her best to convince the townspeople that art was powerful enough to bring Winchester back to its former glory.

Elodie gathered up her papers and sat down, her gaze scanning the council for the members' reactions. Not one person in the group of seven was smiling. Elodie quickly stood. “I'd be happy to answer any of your questions.”

Unfortunately, no one had any questions. There were, however, plenty of grudges and resentments and accusations that some of the townsfolk wanted to share. Elodie sat quietly and listened, but as the meeting dragged out, her patience was beginning to wear thin.

Tears pressed at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over in front of everyone, and it took every ounce of her determination to fight them off. Finally, she heard a familiar voice at the microphone and she turned to see Dev standing at the podium.

The crowd grew silent, and Dev cleared his throat. “Now that you've all off-loaded your old baggage, I'd like to speak for Elodie Winchester. She came back to this town without any expectations. But when she got here, she realized there was a way she could contribute, a way she could make our lives better. I know you're all still angry, but Elodie wasn't even living in Winchester when all that happened. Is it really fair to blame her?”

A few voices shouted “no” and Elodie smiled.

“Don't you think your opinion might be a bit slanted, Chief?” another person shouted. “You
are
sleeping with the woman.”

That caused quite a stir, and Elodie felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“I have something to say.” Jimmy Joe Babcock stepped up to the microphone, and Dev patted him on the back. “Miss Winchester is good people. I'm an independent businessman and she hired me to do some work around the mansion. And isn't that what we all want—more jobs? People are going to have to work to make her plans happen. And I wouldn't mind having a share of that.”

“She gave me a job, too.” Susanna Sylvestri spoke up from the back. “And with a gallery to show my work, I'll be able to make a better living. Jimmy Joe is right, that's what we all want.”

A few more people stood up to speak for her—Joanie from the café and Jeb Baylor's wife. In the end, the council decided to table the decision for two weeks in order to study her proposal more closely.

“When we come to a decision, Miss Winchester, we'll let you know,” Solomon said and rapped his gavel.

As Elodie walked out of the town hall, she couldn't help but feel defeated. She'd spent so much time getting every detail of her proposal right, but none of it had made any difference. This decision would be a referendum on the Winchester family.

When she reached the street, Elodie couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. The tears overwhelmed her and she brushed them away with an angry curse. What the hell did she care what these people thought of her? She didn't need them!

“Ellie! Wait up!”

Elodie glanced over her shoulder to see Dev approaching and she sped up her pace. “Go away,” she cried. “Leave me alone!”

“Elodie, come on.” He finally reached her side and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. “It's not over. They haven't made their decision yet. I understand how difficult that was for you to just sit there and take all that crap. I'm not sure I could have done it with such grace and dignity.”

“I'm not sure why I bothered,” Elodie said. “I should just sell the damn house and be done with it. Someone else can live in this hateful town.”

“The buyers...they made an offer?” Dev asked.

“Yes, they made a formal offer late this evening. It isn't close to the asking price, but it's enough,” she murmured. “I could walk away and never look back.”

He reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm, turning her face up to his. “Is that what you want? Really?”

“No,” she said. “I mean, not for us. But I don't know whether I have the strength to fight everyone's hatred and anger, and I don't want them to focus it on you. I don't belong here.” She drew a ragged breath. “You do.”

“We can change their minds,” he insisted. “You just have to give everyone a little more time. I swear, they'll listen to me.”

Elodie shook her head. “Or they'll start attacking you next. No. I don't want you riding in to save the day like some white knight.”

“You aren't going to accept help, then? Why is my help worth less than what you'd get from anyone else?”

Elodie could see that he'd misunderstood. But she didn't know how to explain. She just needed to do this on her own, without Dev's interference. Sure, he might be able to change their behavior, but he'd never really change what was in their hearts.

“I'll wait to hear the decision, but if it's negative, I'm going to sell the house and leave,” Elodie said.

“You won't appeal?”

She shook her head.

“And what if I find out I'm a Quinn?” he said softly. “What will that mean for us?”

Elodie laughed. “Wouldn't that be an ironic shift of fortunes.”

“We wouldn't have to change the mansion into a gallery. We could live in the house and set up the gallery downtown, in one of the empty shops. Or at the mill. You have other options.”

“But those take money,” she said.

“Which I have. Or will, if the DNA comes out as we believe it will.”

“You can't use your money on me. I won't let you. You could find a place away from here.”

“Is it so bad that I want to find a place for the both of us? We could take that money and build a brand-new life. I could come to New York. Or you could come here. Or we could both move to Tasmania.”

Elodie forced a smile as she backed away. “We'll talk about it later. I promise. I just have so much to sort through. I'll call you for breakfast.” She hurried down the street, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. How was she expected to decide the rest of her life while standing outside the Winchester town hall? She needed time and distance, and she wasn't going to find either here in Winchester.

* * *

D
EV
SIPPED
AT
his coffee—his third cup that morning. He pretended to read the newspaper spread in front of him, but his mind was on the events of the previous evening. He wondered how Elodie was feeling. She'd broken her promise to call him for breakfast. It was nearly eleven and he had been wasting his morning waiting around for her call.

“That was quite a meeting last night. I felt a bit sorry for Elodie. I don't know how she kept it together through it all,” said Joanie.

“She's a pretty amazing woman,” Dev admitted. “Last night was proof of that. I just wish the council would have made their decision last night. It isn't fair that she has to wait.”

Joanie nodded. “I think that was more about crowd control than Elodie's project.” She paused, then cursed beneath her breath. “I'm not really sure I should be telling you this but...”

“What?” Dev asked.

“They've already made their decision. They made it last night. They just didn't want to announce it with the crowd there.”

“She didn't get it?”

Joanie shook her head. “It was a unanimous vote. Dev, you have to remember, most of those guys worked at the factory.”

“So it was just retribution?”

“Pretty much,” Joanie said. “What can you expect?”

“I guess I expected them to give her a fair shake.” Dev cursed softly. “Now, I'm going to have to tell her.”

“Or not,” Joanie said. “If I were you, I'd approach each of those guys separately and try to convince them to change their mind. And once you had their votes, I'd urge Elodie to appeal.”

“And what if I can't get them to change their minds?”

Joanie shrugged. “Is it really necessary to turn the house into a gallery? There's shop space downtown. Plenty to choose from. And what about the old mill? That's already zoned commercial.”

Dev's radio squawked and he plucked it off his belt and answered. “Yeah, Sally. What's up?”

“I've got a gentleman here at the station who insists on seeing you. When are you going to be coming in?”

“I don't have time this morning. Tell him to make an appointment for next week.”

“But, boss, he says he's come all the way from—”

“Sorry, Sally. I'm just too busy today.” He signed off, then gulped down the rest of his coffee. “Keep that news to yourself,” he said. “I'm going to try changing some minds before I say anything to Elodie.”

“You really love her, don't you?” Joanie said.

Her statement caught him by surprise, but then, Dev realized the truth in it. He was working so hard to keep her in Winchester because he loved Elodie. He'd started loving her when he was a kid and now it had come full circle.

“I do,” Dev said.

“Have you told her?”

He shook his head. “That would be the one sure way of getting her to leave town.”

“I'm not so sure,” Joanie said. “She looks like the kind of girl who has been dragging around a rather large torch. She might be in love with you.”

“She'd tell me if she was,” he said. “Elodie is always up-front about how she feels.” Her honesty was one of the qualities that Dev respected most in Elodie. But it had also been the most difficult for him to handle.

She'd been clear that she wanted distance, and he hated to let that happen. But he understood that Elodie needed to make the decision to stay or return to New York without any consideration of what they'd shared.

“No,” Dev murmured. “I'm pretty sure she doesn't love me.” He drew a deep breath. “I have to go. I'll see you later.”

“If you run into Elodie, let her know that there's a small group of us here in town who support her idea.”

“I will,” Dev said.

He walked out of the coffee shop into the blazing noonday sun. The temperature was hovering around eighty, but there was a nice breeze blowing over the Blue Ridge Mountains that hinted of an afternoon thunderstorm. Dev hopped in his cruiser and turned around, heading the car toward Elodie's place.

He needed to be certain that Elodie was still determined to make her plan work. Joanie did have a point. If Elodie couldn't get the zoning variance, why not consider relocating the gallery? She could sell the house and still stay in Winchester.

Dev pulled the car up to the curb, noticing another vehicle with rental plates parked in front of the gate. Elodie had mentioned a buyer for the house. She couldn't have made that decision already, could she? Dev jogged up the front walk. He could hear voices inside as he rapped on the screen door. A few seconds later, Elodie appeared at the door, pale and flustered. “Dev! Oh, thank God you're here. I just called the station and—”