Chapter Three
Rain drizzled from an ominous gray sky, and a handful of black umbrellas dotted the grave site. Damien stood with his jaw tight and lips stiff as the casket was lowered into the ground. Cold droplets trickled down his face to the edge of his tight collared shirt, like the tears he’d never be able to cry. He was being watched, and he knew instantly it was her. Lindsey had told him she would come, and she had. That held weight with Damien. So many people made promises, talked about things they’d do or wouldn’t do, but at the end of the day, their actions didn’t live up to the talk.
He glimpsed at her out of the corner of his eye, and caught a flash of the blond hair that trailed over her shoulders and flowed nearly to her waist. She wore a navy-blue dress that hugged her body and her rounded belly. Attraction coiled in his stomach. He still wanted her. He had always wanted her, but girls like Lindsey didn’t belong with men like him. She would want a family man, someone who came home after their nine-to-five, and ate pot roast at the table before bouncing the baby on his knee. After his screwed-up childhood, he thought it best not to go down that route with anyone. He did best on his own and had excelled as a Marine, but now he didn’t even have that. He had no idea what he was going to do next.
When the burial was over, he said a few words to his father’s relatives, ones he hadn’t seen in over twenty years. Lindsey stood near a cluster of trees waiting. Her hair whipped wildly as the storm intensified. He walked past columns of headstones to meet her.
“Thanks for coming.” The drizzle changed to a downpour and thick droplets of cold rain pelted down on them.
“Get under my umbrella.” Lindsey gently grasped his arm and pulled him close to her. He was already wet from standing without one during the burial, but there were worse things than being huddled next to Lindsey as the storm swirled around them.
“How are you holding up?” Her voice was gentle and sweet. He could listen to a voice like that all day.
“I’m fine. Part of me wishes I could feel sorry or sad. I just feel numb.” Why the hell had he shared that with her? In her eyes he found kindness, and a judgement-free understanding. That was why. She hadn’t changed a bit. Lindsey had been the only person he trusted enough to tell his secrets to. They often had talked about their dreams and fears as they watched fireflies glow over the dune grass. That had been before he kissed her, before the ground had shaken under his feet with the simple brush of lips. He’d had to distance himself from her then, because Lindsey had deserved better than the likes of him.
“You closed this chapter of your life when you left Chatham. You’ve already mourned for the father he never really was.” She ran her hand down the sleeve of his shirt, and he fought the urge to pull her against him, and find comfort in her embrace. Instead, he stepped back, breaking the contact.
“Let’s get out of here before we’re both soaked through.” Was that disappointment that swam in her eyes, or was it just him wishing it was there?
“Come in the car with me, Damien. You’ll drown if you take your bike.”
He shook his head. “I’ll get your interior wet.” He turned to walk toward the Harley. “See you at the cottage,” he yelled over the rain pounding on the pavement.
“I don’t care about the seat. It’s just water. It’ll dry.” Her eyes pleaded with him. Damien didn’t want to be in an enclosed space with her. He was already pinned under her spell.
“I’ll see you at the cottage,” he said again, needing to get away from her before he did something stupid. Damien swung a leg over the bike, kicked out the stand and revved the engine. The bike roared to life under him. It would be hard spending the next few weeks in the small seaside bungalow with Lindsey only a few feet away at any given moment.
He’d seen her carefully count her cash at the sandwich shop, and then her shoulders slump slightly when the bill was presented at the garage. She was too proud to take a handout, so he had suggested they bunk together, even though the Seahorse Inn had phoned him to let him know of an unexpected vacancy. This was his chance to help her as she had helped him. He wouldn’t screw it up by packing on more uncomfortable feelings for her.
As he pulled up to the cottage, he looked over the sandy hills teeming with tall grass, out to the choppy ocean waves. With a little work, this cottage would be a picturesque retreat. When he opened the front door, the little dog greeted him, its stump of a tail ticking back and forth. Daisy rolled over to expose her stomach, and her jowls fell back into a smile as he rubbed her belly. He’d dripped water all over the floor, and stood to get a towel.
“Leave it,” Lindsey said as she entered the room. “There are clean towels for you in the bathroom. Toss your clothes outside the door and I’ll throw them in the dryer.”
Damien followed her directions; he knew not to mess with a pregnant lady. Besides, her voice held the quiet strength of his first drill sergeant. He went into the bathroom and cranked the water to steaming hot. The funeral had been the easy part; it was what came next that had his shoulders tight and his stomach in waves, just like the turbulent ocean outside. He hoped he could do what he needed to at the house without dredging up too many memories. The scorching water beat down on his skin for a good ten minutes before he shut it off and stepped out. Lindsey had left a few bath towels at the edge of the sink. He wrapped one around his waist, stepped out into the hallway, and square into Lindsey.
*
Warmth rushed to Lindsey’s cheeks as she stood in the hallway, face-to-face with Damien. He’d come out of the bathroom and nearly knocked her over. Now he gripped her arms to keep her from toppling backward and strength rippled through his well-trained arms. His fresh-from-the-shower scent intoxicated her. She swallowed hard and couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting down his torso, slick from the shower, to where a towel was tied loosely around his narrow hips. A jagged and deep scar snaked over his side, reminding her that he had seen the horrors of war. When she looked up, he was staring down at her. The heat from Damien’s bare skin pulsed into her fingertips. Her heart beat quickly as his eyes dropped to her lips. What was happening? The Damien she had known in high school had avoided her like a case of the chicken pox after their first kiss. Why would he want to repeat it? He’d made it quite clear after their Spin the Bottle encounter that he wanted nothing to do with her—and yet his pupils widened, spilling inky black over the light blue of his irises until his eyes were dark and intense. Damien leaned closer until they were only inches apart. He tightened his grip on her elbows and drew her against him, brushing his lips over hers.
If their first kiss had been fireworks, this was a nuclear explosion. A bolt of heat shot through her and she tangled her arms around his shoulders. His tongue played over hers and need spun through her. When he backed her against the wall and deepened the kiss, she couldn’t stop a sigh from escaping her throat.
To her disappointment, he abruptly broke off the kiss and looked down at her. Surprise widened his eyes. “I think your baby just gave me a warning kick.” His voice was low and breathless. “She wants hands off her mama.”
Lindsey let out a shaky laugh. She wasn’t quite steady after that kiss. Hell, she hadn’t been steady since she’d bumped into him on the side of the road. “What makes you so sure it’s a girl?”
“I just have a feeling.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek. “Sweet, pretty, like you.”
“Damien.” She pulled him closer, not ready for the moment to end. The towel did a poor job of concealing his physical reaction to her. Warmth enveloped her like someone had taken a thick towel straight from the dryer and pulled it tight around her body. Tingles coursed over her skin, like a thousand butterfly wings sashaying up her spine. It could have been the baby weight, but suddenly her knees didn’t feel up to the task of holding her. She’d never been so undone, except once. That one night in the closet with Damien.
“Lindsey, everything about this is a mistake.” His voice was gruff and sexy. She wanted nothing more than to pick up where they left off, but she could already feel him closing a wall around himself. Damien ran a hand over her hair before he turned, walked down the hall to his room, and shut the door behind him. The scar that wound down his side was nothing compared to the mutilation that zigzagged sharply down his back.
Was that part of the reason he’d left the military? He hadn’t said it, but she was sure he wouldn’t have received so much time off for a bereavement leave, and he said he planned to stay for a month or so. His loose timeline told her he’d cut off his career with the Marines, or something had prevented him from returning.
Lindsey went into the kitchen and took out a frying pan from under the stove. The dog sat behind her like a shadow, anticipating her every move as she made her favorite comfort food. She put a pat of butter in the sizzling pan and dropped in two slices of bread. She couldn’t think past the taste of Damien’s lips or how his hard body had pressed up against her. She put cheese on the bread, added slices of ripened tomato, and stacked the two pieces together. While it melted together inside the pan, she turned and indulged Daisy with a piece of American cheese before sliding the sandwich onto a plate. She repeated the process, and replayed the kiss in her mind, going over every detail until she was thoroughly worked up.
He had said it was a mistake, and the hurt of rejection had launched pain into her heart and tightened her throat. She hadn’t been able to keep the eye of her husband, what made her think she could keep the eye of Damien? She shook her head. If she was to be a strong single parent, she’d have to develop more of a backbone. Damien didn’t want to be involved with her. Well, that was just fine. She had an overflowing bucket of worry as it was, without adding a man to the mix. She set both plates on the table, and knocked on Damien’s door to let him know she’d made lunch. He wouldn’t catch her off guard next time. From now on, this would be a business relationship only. Her heart and her mind couldn’t deal with anything else.