CHAPTER ELEVEN
Vaughn awoke to the unfamiliar sounds of someone tossing and turning. It took only a second for things to register and for him to realize it was Annabelle, murmuring fitfully in her sleep while her body jerked against his.
He might have successfully fought temptation last night, but only because he hadn’t touched her. Hadn’t allowed himself to connect emotionally. That was then. With her this upset even in sleep, he had no choice but to break his vow to keep his distance.
Unless he wanted to watch her suffer. He didn’t.
“Annie.” He reached over and pulled her tight against him, shaking her gently. “Wake up, sweetheart. You’re having a bad dream.”
Her head turned from side to side. “We’ll be good, I promise. Don’t separate us,” she pleaded, then suddenly jumped up and looked around with unseeing eyes.
“Annabelle,” he said softly.
She turned and focused on him.
He saw in her face the exact moment she realized where she was.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, ducking her head and not meeting his gaze. “I should go.” She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her leave.
“Tell me about the dream.” He brushed her hair with his hand.
She eased back into his arms and her muscles seemed to relax a little. “I’ve had these nightmares for as long as I can remember.”
Holding her tight, her lithe body molded to his, he inhaled the fragrant scent of her hair and fought his body’s response and the desire building. A desire to ease her pain the only way he knew how, to bury himself deep inside her body and make her think of nothing except him.
But even he knew better than to think sex was the answer to anyone’s problems. “The dreams started when your parents died?” he asked.
“Yes. I told you I wasn’t even sure Uncle Yank would take us in.”
He swallowed hard. “I thought you just meant you were frightened and made that assumption.”
“It was more than that. I heard the social worker tell him that if he didn’t take all three of us, we’d go to foster care. Separate homes.”
She swallowed a sob and he thought his heart would crack at the admission. “But your uncle kept all of you.”
“And I kept an eye on my sisters. I made sure they behaved, or I tried to. I figured if we were good girls, he wouldn’t send us away.”
He massaged her shoulder with one hand, trying to ease a pain too ingrained for mere reassurance to touch. “Yank would never have let you be separated.”
She tried to laugh, but choked instead. “I was twelve and I had no way of knowing that,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Good point. And these dreams?” he asked, pushing when he should let things go.
She sighed. “They come almost nightly.”
His gut told him he’d regret what he was about to say next. “But you didn’t have any the first night we were together. At least not that I heard.”
“You didn’t reject me that night.” She drew a deep breath and rolled over to meet his gaze. “Look, I’m not trying to give you a guilt trip, it’s just fact,” she said, her tone earnest. “But last night you let me stay because I begged. You didn’t want me here and I’m sure the dream came back because in my heart, I knew that.”
He winced, his gut churning, his emotions too wrapped up with this woman. “I want you here. It’s just that it’s complicated.”
A soft smile curved her lips. “Welcome to my world.”
He couldn’t help but laugh, and at that moment the alarm clock Annabelle had set the night before went off, signaling it was time for her to leave before her uncle or Lola woke up, ventured downstairs and found them together.
“Saved by the bell,” Annabelle murmured and once again tried to roll away, this time to rise for the day.
Though he should have let her go, he allowed his heart to overrule his head. “Annabelle?” he said, pulling her back.
“Yes?”
He sucked in a deep breath. “Don’t ever doubt I want you. Here. In bed with me.”
She deserved to know that truth and not have old insecurities resurrected because he had his own anxieties, he thought. He laughed, shaking his head.
“What’s so funny?”
He groaned. “I am. Or should I say, life is. So, same time, same place tonight?” He extended the invitation despite himself.
She answered with a huge smile and a kiss. Her lips came down on his and parted immediately, her tongue slipping deep inside his mouth. The kiss spoke of suppressed need and longing, of an emotional yearning.
And damned if he didn’t respond to that. All rational thought fled and he rolled her over until his body covered hers and then he took control of the inferno between them. Or so he thought until her hand slipped into the waistband of his boxers and unerringly found him, hard, erect and wanting her.
He eased to his side, giving her better access, and she curled her hand around him and began the perfect up and down gliding motion, imitating the act of him pumping into her body as they made love. He let out a strangled groan, feeling his climax building fast. His eyes shut tight and he lost track of his surroundings. All he was aware of was the incredible friction she created and the warm, rhythmic contractions pummeling his body relentlessly, until he came in a scalding hot climax that left him spent and shaken.
And when he opened his eyes to deal with what had just transpired between them, he saw Annabelle leaving, the door to his room closing silently behind her.
* * *
Showered and dressed for the day, Annabelle made her way to the kitchen, both Boris and Spike trailing at her feet. She refused to think about her talk with Vaughn or what his face had looked like in the throes of climax, or to even analyze things too deeply. Including how she’d taken control and perhaps even advantage of him, despite knowing he was conflicted and had labeled her in his mind as complicated. What in life wasn’t?
Her stomach grumbled. Cereal and milk was something she could make for breakfast without much effort. Expecting to be alone, she stopped short upon seeing her uncle sitting at the kitchen table. He held the newspaper up in front of him, first moving it to arm’s length, then directly in front of his eyes, before growling in frustration and tossing the paper across the table.
“What’s wrong?” Annabelle asked, joining him. “Did your favorite horse lose an important race?”
“I’m losing something,” he muttered cryptically.
She narrowed her gaze. “What’s going on with you?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“You’re crankier than usual, for one thing.”
He snorted. “And Lola’s not?”
“We aren’t talking about Lola, and it’s not Lola I’m worried about. It’s you.”
“I’m fine.” He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, defiant and angry.
“Bull,” she said, walking over to his chair and staring him in the eye. “You’re keeping something from me. That I can handle. I’ll figure it out soon enough. But you’re being mean and nasty to Lola and I’m not going to stand for it.”
“Damn women. You always stick together.”
She pursed her lips tight. “This isn’t a gender thing. By siding with Lola, I’m siding with you. She’s good for you and I don’t want to see you drive her away. You need her.”
“I don’t—”
Annabelle waved away his final words with a sweep of her hand. “Be careful what you wish for or you’ll end up alone,” she said, voicing her biggest fear.
Except in this case she wasn’t projecting. Uncle Yank’s bad behavior threatened the one person who’d kept him sane all these years. She didn’t want him to suffer.
But he remained stubbornly silent. “Okay, if you don’t want to talk about it, we won’t.” She pulled a bowl from the cabinet, Special K from the pantry, and skim milk from the refrigerator and proceeded to make herself breakfast. “Want some?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “I had coffee.”
She glanced at the full mug in his hand and the empty canister on the table with the word Salt inscribed on it. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, wondering whether to mention his error or not.
Finally, she said, “Did you pour salt in by mistake?”
“It’s not my fault the damn stuff is side by side on the counter,” he said defensively and glanced away, not meeting her gaze.
She frowned and without further discussion, made him a fresh cup of coffee without being asked. Then she settled in to eat her now soggy cereal.
The two of them ate in silence. Neither Vaughn nor Lola showed up for breakfast. Annabelle didn’t take Vaughn’s absence personally since she’d snuck out on him. She refrained from touching her lips, which she imagined still tingled from his kiss. He was such a mix of contradictions. He wouldn’t touch her with her uncle under the same roof, but he let her stay in his bed, in her mind, a more intimate act than something purely physical. Yet with desire flooding her body from being near him, she hadn’t been able to help but test him with the kiss, which had led to so much more.
Even now her body vibrated with unslaked need, but she didn’t mind. Just knowing she could affect the great Brandon Vaughn on any level gave her immense satisfaction, she thought, curling her hand around her coffee cup, and revisiting their morning in bed in her mind.
An hour later, Uncle Yank had volunteered to take Boris for a walk and Annabelle used the opportunity to call her sisters from the privacy of her room. She caught Sophie on her cell phone as she was getting out of a taxi on her way to a breakfast meeting. Sophie said she hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Uncle Yank, but then she’d been so busy she hadn’t been focused on anything but business, she’d admitted with a touch of guilt in her voice. Same answer when Annabelle had spoken with Micki.
But causing guilt hadn’t been Annabelle’s intention. She was equally busy, equally absorbed with business and Vaughn. She didn’t blame her sisters for their distraction. But between this unexpected visit and Lola’s drastic change in appearance, Annabelle just wanted to understand what was going on with the man who’d raised them. So she and her sisters had agreed to sit Uncle Yank down at the upcoming family party and find out once and for all.
* * *
Vaughn headed to his gym downstairs, the one place in his home where he was guaranteed to be alone. No phone calls from parents trying to reach him, no animals begging for attention, no Annabelle guaranteed to distract him, and no bickering Yank and Lola needing him to referee. Or so he thought.
He walked into the partially mirrored room and caught sight of Yank in the reflection. He turned in the other man’s direction. “What’re you doing here?”
Yank shrugged. “Same as you, I suspect. Want to get away from animals and women. Not necessarily in that order.”
Vaughn chuckled. “Okay, I admit to thinking something along those lines. Is Lola making you insane?”
He snorted. “Does a bear—”
“Don’t even say it,” Vaughn muttered. He sat down on the padded seat of the bench press and resigned himself to working his jaw not his muscles. “I’m going to pry,” he said, warning the other man.
“Figures.”
“Why aren’t you interested in Lola? Not only is she beautiful, but she’s as loyal to you and your nieces as they come. She’s stuck with your obnoxious personality all these years, and she obviously loves you. Enough to completely alter her appearance to get your attention. So, either there’s just no attraction, which frankly I don’t buy, or you’re scared to death after all these years as a single man. The latter gets my vote.” Vaughn shot Yank a pointed stare and waited for the older man to tell him to mind his own goddamn business.
“Hell, you think I don’t know how she feels? And I’d be blind not to appreciate how she looked before and after this dumbass transformation.” Yank burst out in what could only be described as a guffaw of laughter. “I’d have to be blind, get it?”
Vaughn shook his head. At least Yank still had his sense of humor. “Well you’re not blind yet, so what gives?”
Yank kicked at an old ball Vaughn kept in the room. It hit the far wall and rolled back. He repeated the distracting motion while he talked. “Did you know Lola and I had an affair once?”
Vaughn’s eyes opened wide in shock. He knew this because his head jerked up at the same time and he caught his stunned expression in the mirrored wall. “You and Lola?” he asked, completely taken off guard.
He laughed. “Yeah. Right before the girls’ parents died and they came to live with me. Man, we were hot for each other.”
Vaughn groaned. “That was probably more information than I wanted to know,” he muttered.
Yank scowled at him. “My point is, of course, I appreciate who and what she is.”
Vaughn doubted any of the nieces knew about the couple’s past and wondered how they’d feel if they learned the truth. They’d probably applaud.
“So what happened?” Vaughn asked. “My first guess would be that she came to her senses, but if that were the case she wouldn’t have stuck by you all these years and wouldn’t be flaunting her, uh—assets at you now.”
Yank rolled his eyes as if Vaughn were an idiot. “The girls happened and I couldn’t split my focus.”
This time it was Vaughn’s turn to laugh. “Give me a break. You were the legendary womanizer in your day. The girls may have limited where you could do things, but I doubt they slowed you down,” he said chuckling.
“Yeah, well, I’d never felt about anyone the way I felt about Lola.”
Vaughn nodded, understanding completely. “And it scared you,” he guessed, mainly because he was in that same sorry state himself.
“Hell yes. Lola was a bright, beautiful woman who deserved a hell of a lot better than a man like me.”
“Don’t you think that was her decision to make?” Vaughn asked of Lola.
Ball forgotten, Yank leaned back against the wall. “Well, this is all hindsight, you know? All I knew then was, I was suddenly a guardian of three girls who wore panties with bows on their butts and had big, sad eyes. That scared me spitless. Add a woman ready to make us a family—” He shook his head. “I couldn’t handle it back then.”
“And now?”
“I’m not about to saddle her with an old man who’s going to lose his eyesight,” he muttered, then rose from his chair.
“Isn’t that her choice?” he asked again.
“This discussion is over. We can move on to my niece.”
Vaughn stiffened in his seat. For all his careful planning, he’d blown it now but good. “Look, Yank—”
“My Annabelle’s got a tendency to pick losers.” As Yank paced the floor and muttered, Vaughn furrowed his brows and shut his mouth. He was clueless as to where this discussion was going, so he might as well find out before he created trouble he might not be in.
“Annabelle needs a good man,” Yank continued. “All three of my girls need a good man.”
Vaughn swiveled around fast.
“Can’t argue that point, can you?” Yank asked Vaughn.
“Uh, no, I can’t.” He had no doubt what Yank’s point was. His niece deserved the best and Vaughn, with his sorry excuse for a family, dyslexic background and the way he’d betrayed Yank years ago, wasn’t it.
Yank walked over and slapped Vaughn on the back. “Glad to hear it. I knew we’d understand each other.”
“We do.” Vaughn swallowed hard. He was damn glad he had Yank Morgan back in his life and he’d already known to steer clear of his niece. Now he had confirmation. He understood Yank’s unspoken words.
After this business deal, when Annabelle left for New York, anything they shared while she was here was over.
* * *
By midday, Vaughn arrived at the lodge. As Mara had informed him, Annabelle had called Nick for a ride and had gotten there first. He was way past being jealous of Nick. After all, he was the one who had Annabelle in his bed. He did a quick tour of the construction area before returning to the office where Mara sat at her desk stuffing and stamping envelopes.
“Hey there,” he said, treating her to a wink.
“Hey yourself.” She pushed a too-tall pile aside before it toppled over. “I think offering a free night to all your registrants is a great idea.”
“At least it’s a start. Finding out who wants this lodge not to succeed would be even more helpful.”
She nodded. “What do the police say?”
“That they’re following up leads, whatever that means.”
“Hey, at least you know you’ve got the best working for you here,” Mara said.
Vaughn rolled his eyes at the blatant pat on her own back. “I just gave you a raise when we started this project,” he reminded her. Before the lodge’s inception, Mara had been his personal assistant. Now she ran things here, too.
“Are all men this thick or is it just you?” Mara asked, laughing. “I’m talking about Annabelle, not me.” She stuffed another envelope, licked, sealed, stamped and began another pile.
“Oh.” She had a point. Annabelle was the best. “Where is she, anyway?”
“When she arrived, she asked to use the computer and printer, worked for an hour and then headed to gather the employees.”
“Uh-oh. What’s she up to now? Anything I need to be forewarned about?”
“It’s pretty basic. And nice, too. She’s inviting all high-level employees, including construction foremen, to a big party her firm is throwing in Manhattan.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s a long drive from here.”
Mara tried to lick an envelope, then grimaced. “I’ve got no spit left.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I doubt anybody minds the trip.”
“And she’s doing this…”
“For you, blockhead…” Mara rose and smacked him on the side of the head.
He rubbed the sore spot and laughed. “I haven’t been called that since—”
“I broke up with you,” she said, grinning.
“You’re too pleased with yourself,” he muttered.
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s not a distinction too many women share, so you’ll have to forgive me for gloating.”
“So, how’re things going with Nick?”
She frowned. “Not real well. He’s frustratingly withdrawn.”
“So when have you ever let that stop you?” He ribbed Mara. They had a close friendship that had withstood both a fling and a breakup. She’d take his jokes in the helpful spirit in which they were intended.
“You sound like Annabelle,” Mara said.
“Do I? What’s Annabelle been saying?” he asked, leaning closer.
“That I should let Nick know I’m interested in him, for one thing.”
“And for another?”
Mara bit down on her lower lip, probably wondering whether or not to confide in him. Finally, she said, “Annabelle suggested that I not approach Nick unless I’m seriously interested.”
Considering her eyes lit up at the mere mention of Nick’s name, Vaughn doubted lack of interest was an issue. How serious Mara was about his friend or how Nick would react, Vaughn didn’t know.
He had no idea what Nick wanted out of life, he realized. Did his friend want an affair or something long-term with the right woman? Vaughn had given up thinking the perfect woman existed, or at least the perfect woman for him, and he’d shoved that view down his best friend’s throat so many times Nick probably wouldn’t bother expressing his feelings on the subject if they differed from Vaughn’s own. And they might.
Look at Yank and Lola. Vaughn had encouraged Yank to give her a chance. Vaughn had gone as far as to insist the choice to opt in or out of a relationship with Yank ought to be Lola’s to make. But he didn’t think the same rules applied to Annabelle.
And when Yank had said Annabelle needed a good man, Vaughn knew the other man was politely insinuating Vaughn wasn’t him. Because despite all he’d overcome in life, he was still the kid who couldn’t succeed and the man Laura had left behind because he was lacking. In the years since they’d been close, Yank obviously had come to believe that, too. Vaughn might help Annabelle ease her insecurities at night because it was what she needed, but long-term, he owed it to her to make the best decision for them both.
Nick, on the other hand, didn’t have the same hang-ups or insecurities. He glanced at Mara who, used to his long silences, merely waited until he was ready to talk.
“I think Annabelle’s right. You should go for it,” he told Mara at last.
She jumped up and gave Vaughn a big kiss on the cheek, just as Nick walked in, catching them.
Vaughn shook his head in frustration and shot an apologetic look Mara’s way. “I’m outta here, kids,” he said to his partner and assistant.
Nick clenched and unclenched his fists, his expression hard and unyielding. Mara definitely had an uphill battle ahead of her, Vaughn thought.
Good thing she was woman enough for the job.
He strode out of the office and headed to find Annabelle. She had a heart of gold and knew how to reach people on a gut level. She was bringing to the job the same skills Vaughn lacked to help his lodge. If he wasn’t trying so hard to convince himself otherwise, he’d say they made a great team.
* * *
Nick watched as Vaughn left the room after being caught with his arms around Mara, then he exhaled slowly. How many times in his damn life would he have to come in second or back off from something he wanted because of Vaughn—a man he had the utmost respect for and considered closer to him than his own brother? It made it all that much harder.
“Nick.”
He turned, his thoughts unexpectedly cut off by Mara. Every time he looked at her, he felt that kick to the gut signaling getting over this woman wouldn’t be easy. He liked her outspoken manner and business sense, enjoyed her sense of humor and bold laugh.
And he loved how her brown hair framed her face in chunky layers, disobeying her fingers when she brushed her hair back from her cheeks. No, he thought, getting over her wasn’t happening soon. But as he’d told Annabelle, he wanted a woman who was all his, not one who had lingering feelings for his best friend.
“What?” he barked at her.
She folded her arms across her chest and her chocolate-colored eyes locked with his. “You’re an ass.”
“So you’ve told me many times,” he muttered. “What prompted it this time?”
Head held high, she stormed over to him and grasped his forearms with her much smaller hands. “High school was a long time ago, and Vaughn’s just my employer and my friend.”
He swallowed hard. “And I care because?”
“Of this.” She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, taking him off guard.
He didn’t know what the hell was going on here, but he wasn’t stupid and understood interest when he felt it. Going on instinct alone, he lifted her by the waist and sat her down on the desk. Then he sucked her lower lip slowly and gently into his mouth, taking control of this situation. And of her. The kiss went on, dueling tongues and undeniable chemistry aflame between them. By the time they broke apart, Nick wasn’t sure who’d started it any more than he could say who actually had control.
With the way his hands were shaking, he doubted it was him. He met her gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dilated. Maybe it was a draw.
“What was that for?” he asked. He ran his tongue over his damp lips, tasting her.
“I’m not interested in Vaughn.”
He raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond.
“So you can stop acting like an idiot—or should I say a typical man—and take me to Annabelle’s party, or you can forget this ever happened and find yourself another woman to scowl at every day.” She exhaled hard. “Whew. So, what have you got to say for yourself?” she asked.
He grinned. “You’ve got yourself a date.”