Chapter 15
Despite their disheartening chat two nights ago, the day before the festival Kean woke up to Charli’s soft, warm body snuggled into him once again. He was either the biggest masochist or the biggest jerk. Whatever he was, when Charli showed up on his doorstep the previous night, with Mexican to-go bags from Chilli Spring and a smile hotter than their jalapeño sauce, he just hadn’t been able to send her away. This had gone way beyond the purely physical thing they’d agreed upon.
When she’d told him she didn’t want kids, he’d felt as if she’d just cut him open with a steak knife. Growing up in a big family, he’d always thought he’d have one of his own, too. Three, maybe four kids. A house with a spacious garden where children could play. A dog, maybe two. It wasn’t as if he’d already started thinking about proposals and wedding plans with her, but hearing her talk about another woman as his wife meant she hadn’t even contemplated the possibility that they could have a future.
Now, as he lay in bed with her arm across his waist, her head on his chest, and her soft breath fanning his skin as she slept peacefully after what had to be the most amazing night he’d ever had, he couldn’t help feeling like he’d fallen into quicksand—and he fell a little deeper into the pool with every kiss, every touch, and every moan that escaped her gorgeous lips.
He hated that he’d allowed himself to think that this meant more to her, that they could actually have a future together. She’d made it clear, again, that she had no intention of staying. And as much as he liked Charli, he wasn’t going to leave his hometown for a woman. He’d been away from Spring once, and he’d missed his family, his friends, and his town too much. This was exactly where he wanted his kids to grow up. Kids he wouldn’t have with Charli, apparently. He shook the thought away. There was no reason to keep torturing his mind now. He’d better revel in the warmth and passion while it lasted. When she left town, he’d move on. No big deal, right?
His grip tightened around her shoulder and he placed a kiss on the top of her head. In such a short time he’d grown so used to having her around, to falling asleep with her soft body next to him, to sneaking around his family just to steal a kiss, that the thought of losing her was inconceivable.
Charli stirred. “At some point we should probably get out of bed, you know.” Her voice was muffled and a little groggy as she lay with her head on his chest. She was right but, honestly, who wanted to get out of bed when you had a sexy, curvy brunette half sprawled across you?
“Or we could, hypothetically speaking, stay in bed for the rest of the day. I can bring some food and drinks and we can get out of this warm cocoon only to use the bathroom.”
Charli laughed. “Why, I had no idea you were a sex addict, Bob. You’re sort of scaring me now.” She pulled back slightly, disentangling herself from his grip. “In fact, I think I may have been right with my assumption that you’re a serial killer. First you seduce them, then you bury them in your garden. No wonder the grass is so green out there.”
He wrapped both his arms around her, hoisted her on top of him and squeezed tighter. Then he buried his face in her neck, her hair falling on his face. When he playfully bit her neck and soothed it with a quick kiss afterward, she gasped. She could play the prude all she wanted, but she loved being skin to skin with him—her body didn’t lie.
“Yeah, you got me. I’m a perv who enjoys hiding in the bushes and creeping up on pretty ladies. You’re my prisoner now. I’ll keep you captive until I’m done with you.” He let out his best evil laugh and buried his face in her neck again. She giggled. “And I’m afraid I won’t be done with you for a looong time.”
It wasn’t completely a joke. What had started out as an improvised romp, had quickly escalated into something more. It wasn’t just sex. Yeah, spending naked time with Charli was a great bonus, but he enjoyed their alone time afterward just as much. When they lay in each other’s arms, cuddling and talking, laughing and bantering—that was when he appreciated her presence both in his bed and in his life. Even though she wasn’t going to stay.
She pinched his hip, and he recoiled from his thoughts. “Maybe I’ve developed that syndrome… what’s it called?”
He laughed at the way her adorable face wrinkled in thought. She puckered her very kissable lips and it was all he could do not to devour them all over again. Maybe he really was a sex addict.
“It had something to do with Sweden, I think. Or was it Norway…”
“I think you’re referring to Stockholm syndrome.”
She smacked his chest. “Exactly!” Then she propped herself up on top of him, her hands on the mattress on each side of his face as a wicked grin curved her mouth. “I’ve got Stockholm syndrome, and if you let me go now, I won’t know what to do with myself. Better keep me captive a bit longer, just in case.”
He didn’t have the chance for a smartass comeback because her lips were on his a moment later, effectively stealing all the air from the room as he once again lost himself in the passion she brought out in him.
When he started running out of air, he pulled back, and she stared at him with slightly glazed eyes. Yeah, their kisses were something unreal and he was quite amazed at how quickly things escalated when they were together. The fuse didn’t take long to burn and explode into fireworks. Every. Single. Time.
He closed his eyes and she rolled off him, then rested her head on his chest. Breathing evenly, his mind started conjuring up images of lazy Sunday mornings, of romantic weekend getaways, of Sunday lunches at his parents’, with Sophie and her brother or sister playing in the garden, and Charli cuddling their own child. His eyes flew open.
Whoa, there. Hold your horses, buddy. She’s not long-term material, remember?
“You sleeping?” Charli asked, providing a reprieve from his dangerous fantasies. He groaned in response, and the giggle she let out warmed his heart. Damn, he was a goner. “I don’t want you to think I’m being nosy, but I was wondering… um…”
“Go ahead, shoot,” he said, when he noticed her hesitation. “No, wait. Knowing you, you’d probably pull out a gun for real.”
She giggled again and, man, those tingles in his belly had to stop. They made him feel like a sissy. If Adam knew what kind of effect Charli had on him, he’d never stop teasing him.
“It’s not that I don’t like lying in bed with you on this rainy morning but… Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?”
Her question caught him by surprise, but he faked a nonchalant tone. “I don’t have anything scheduled for today. Work’s a bit slow these days.”
She propped herself up and frowned. “Are you having problems with the company? Because I’ve seen you hanging around a lot lately, and I’m sure you going to work late is not all my fault.”
He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Well, it partly is your fault. Who wants to go to work when he has a sexy woman in his bed?” She narrowed her eyes in her no-nonsense way that meant business, and he chuckled. “No, seriously, I’m good. Just not much going on.”
At least that was what he’d been telling himself lately. He didn’t want to let his fears of losing it all take over.
“I think you should expand your horizons, so to speak. You only cater to your town and the neighboring places now, but you should make sure even people who live farther out know about you. Do you have a website?”
He frowned. “No, I never thought I’d need one.”
She made a buzzing sound. “Wrong answer, Bob. We’re living in the age of the Internet. Everyone needs a website if they want to keep working. I could look into it, if you want, call a few contacts and get a quote. The guys who made the website for Golden Gate Events were pretty awesome.”
Why had they ended up talking about this, anyway? He just wanted to revel in the warmth of her luscious body a bit more, just until they both had to get ready to start a new day and go back into the real world, where they pretended they couldn’t stand each other. He didn’t want to be reminded he was close to calling himself a failure.
“Do we have to talk about it right now?” he asked, rubbing his hands up and down her back as she relaxed against him again. This was the best part: when she leaned into him and let him hold her without any sexual implications. Bonus points when she grazed her fingers on his chest. That short-circuited his brain cells every time. “I was hoping we could make a better use of the time we have left before you have to leave. And my idea didn’t include making a business plan for my company while we’re naked in my bed.”
She chuckled. “Sorry. You know I’m a planning freak. I have to have plans, I can’t help myself.”
“Do your plans for the morning include a hot shower?” he whispered in her ear. Her body quivered, and he grinned in satisfaction. “Together, perhaps?”
She chuckled, then moaned when he placed a wet kiss just below her ear. He’d learned that was one of her most sensitive spots, and he’d been enjoying taking advantage of the knowledge to weaken the tough, no-nonsense attitude she sometimes put on when she wanted to leave and he wouldn’t let her. It had always worked so far.
He sat up, purposely letting her body fall back onto the mattress when he got out of bed. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned, not exactly inconspicuously. He smiled.
“So, you gonna join me this time?” he called over his shoulder with a nonchalant tone, even though his whole body was on high alert, hoping she’d say yes. The wicked smile she gave him was all the answer he needed. He scooped her up and put her over his shoulder. She giggled, kicking her legs even as she held on tight to him.
A series of heavy knocks on his front door stopped him just as he crossed the threshold into the adjoining bathroom. A look at the clock on his nightstand informed him it was six a.m. That was weird.
“Who’s that?” Charli asked, wriggling until he put her down. The knocks grew more urgent, and his brother’s voice calling his name made her eyes grow wide. She brought her hands to her mouth as her eyes widened. “Oh my God. Is that Adam? I shouldn’t have stayed. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. Why did you let me sleep in? Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh.” She knelt down, reaching for her clothes scattered on the floor, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop ogling her, even as his brother’s fist kept pounding on the door.
He pulled a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his waist. “Stay here and be quiet. He won’t come into the bedroom,” he said, when he noticed her panicked expression when she couldn’t find her panties. “I’ll see what he wants and get rid of him.”
She looked up from the floor and nodded, then peered under the bed looking for her underwear.
He opened the door to find Adam with his fist in mid-air, ready to knock again. “Well, hello. It was about time you opened the damn door.”
Kean frowned. Adam wasn’t one to lose his temper quickly, maybe because raising a daughter as a single parent had taught him the meaning of patience, and he definitely wasn’t one to use curse words, also because of living with a little one.
“What’s wrong? Are Sophie and Ellie okay?” he asked, taking a step aside to let his brother in, and suddenly feeling a little worried about Adam’s unexpected visit.
He walked into the cottage and looked at Kean. “Yeah, they’re fine. Have you seen Charli?”
The blood left Kean’s face and plummeted down to his feet. Had they been busted? Charli was going to kill him. “Uh… Charli? Um… why should I know where she is?”
“Her car’s not in the driveway. Ellie tried to call her several times, but she’s not answering her phone. We’re worried something might have happened to her.”
Ah, damn.
“Maybe she just got up early and went to the marina for a morning workout.” And if his brother hadn’t interrupted them, they’d definitely be doing a workout together. He shook away the vision, afraid his brother might see where his mind had gone. “I think pregnancy hormones are making your wife worry over nothing.”
Adam smiled and got that silly-ass expression on his face, the one he got whenever Ellie was around or someone mentioned her.
“Yeah, it’s probably that. Between Ethan not showing up for their Skype chat the other day and those crazy hormones, she gets a little antsy lately.”
Phew. Disaster averted.
“I’ll let you get back to your shower.”
Kean froze and had to remind himself to play it cool. There was no way Adam knew Charli was in the other room waiting for him. “Yeah, uh… Let me know if you find her. And tell Ellie to chill. You should probably take her on a romantic weekend somewhere, with a king-sized bed, spa treatments and chocolate-covered strawberries. I bet that would help. Both of you.”
Adam laughed. “I probably should.” He turned toward the door but stopped mid-spin as his eyes settled on something beyond Kean. “Hang on. Is that Charli’s bag?”
Kean’s blood effectively iced over in his veins. “Huh? What?” Playing dumb probably wouldn’t work, but it was worth a try.
Adam moved past him toward the kitchen counter. “Yeah, that’s her bag.”
The damn woman couldn’t have a more common bag, something black and inconspicuous. No, she had to strut around town flaunting that red and zebra-printed thing that only she owned. “Uh, she, um… She probably forgot it when she, uh… She stopped by yesterday.” Beads of perspiration formed on his brow. Damn, he’d always been a lousy liar. “But she left. Of course. I don’t know where she went, though.”
He was nearly thirty-two, for heaven’s sake—he shouldn’t be scared of his younger brother finding out he’d been sleeping with a woman. He should actually kick Adam out of the house and go back to that shower his brother had interrupted. He hoped Charli was still waiting for him.
Adam whirled around, his fists on his hips. “Please don’t tell me she’s here.” The glowering coupled with his harsh tone told Kean playing dumb wouldn’t be a good idea now. When he didn’t immediately reply, mainly because he was thinking of a way to explain the situation without his brother freaking out, Adam rolled his eyes and let out a grunt. “Damn, Kean. You’re going to put me in an awkward position now. You’re my brother, but she’s Ellie’s best friend, and if I have to take sides, I’ll have to take my wife’s.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. Take sides? What are you talking about?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You haven’t had a girlfriend since you came home from Portland. If all you wanted was sex, you could have picked someone else. Ellie’s going to kill you for using her friend when she was most vulnerable.”
“Hang on right there, brother.” His temper spiked and he couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his tone. “Not that I have to share my sex life with you, but the fact you haven’t seen me with a woman hanging off my arm in the last four years doesn’t mean I haven’t dated.”
Adam frowned. “Nobody in town saw you with a woman. I would have heard about it.”
“You were too depressed and miserable to even realize I was gone most nights. And yeah, I purposely chose to hang out with women outside town just so nobody would want to stick their nose in my relationships.”
Adam opened his mouth to retort but Kean cut him off. “And for the record, I didn’t take advantage of Charli. She was more than willing to participate, and the fact that she’s been showing up at my door since then tells me she isn’t exactly against it.”
“That’s beside the point. She made it clear she wouldn’t be staying. You knew this could never work, yet you slept with her. After the way things ended with Vanessa, you should’ve known better—”
“Okay, I think you should go now.” He stepped around Adam and opened the door. The last thing he wanted right now was to talk about the way his ex had stomped on his heart, choosing her career over him. Especially since he knew Charli was going to do the same. “Tell your wife her friend is safe and thoroughly taken care of.”
“Kean.”
“Go back to your family.”
Adam gave him one last worried glance before finally walking out. Kean resisted the urge to slam the door, knowing it would make him look like a sulky teenager. When he went back to his room, Charli was sitting at the foot of his fully made bed, already dressed and looking as if she was ready to bolt at any moment.
“Why are you dressed?” He stalked toward her with a smirk, holding out his arms to pull her to him. She stood up and shook her head.
“I heard your conversation. I should get going. I bet Ellie will be waiting on her doorstep to interrogate me. I knew this was a bad idea. I should’ve gone home last night.”
He placed his hands on her elbows and pulled her close. She took a step back, putting space between them. “Charli, don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know anything about us.”
“There is no us, Kean.”
His heart squeezed even as he put on a fake smile. “Well, it didn’t look like that when we were just about to step into the shower. Or when you were screaming my name last night. Four, no wait, was it five times?”
She chuckled. “That was a moment of weakness.”
“Then how about another one? Just to start off the day.” He leaned into her and kissed the side of her neck. She sighed, then pushed him away with her hands on his chest.
“I have to go.”
“No, you don’t. Not yet.”
“Yes, I do. The whole town’s going to know we slept together. They’ll think I’m a slut.”
Kean rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a drama queen. Adam’s not going to hang posters around town. And what do you care what other people think, considering you weren’t planning on staying anyway?”
She huffed and threw her hands in the air. “Don’t go there. I can’t take it right now.”
He didn’t want to fight with her. Not after such an amazing night, and not while he was standing in front of her with only a towel around his waist. So he put his hands on her shoulders and stared straight into her beautiful hazel eyes, which were currently shooting daggers at him.
“Chill, Lioness. Nobody’s going to call you names, and if anyone dares, I’ll punch them in the face and make them take the words back.” He squeezed her shoulders and smiled. A corner of her lips lifted. “I won’t keep you hostage, if you want to go. And we can take a rain check on the shower, perhaps?”
She nodded with a weak smile, but from the worry line that still wrinkled the space between her eyebrows, he was sure she was seeing all the worst-case scenarios in that pretty, ultra-organized head of hers. He bent and kissed her, a mere peck really, because she moved away before he could deepen it.
“I… uh… I’ll see you around,” she said, as she spun around and walked out of his bedroom. She might as well have told him to go hang himself, from the way she said the words. He had a feeling she wasn’t planning on coming back with takeout bags of Mexican food and a sexy smile tonight. Or any other night. And he hated that the thought hurt so bad.