Protecting Her Secret Son Page 21

  Her eyes were glazed a little, her lips rosy when she eased back and returned to the tea.

  Right. Aiden might not be asleep yet.

  Daniel shoved his hands into his pockets and paced to the window, staring down at his truck in the dark driveway. “I should have come up with a different place for you to hide. Should’ve known they’d be impossible. They get that way when any woman walks within ten feet of me.”

  “They love you,” she said again, as if that explained away a multitude of poor behavior. Maybe it did.

  Behind him, he heard her tear open tea bags and the soft clink of the saucers as she covered the mugs to steep the tea.

  “I’ve always liked your dad. And your mother is lovely.”

  “She did everything except call Aiden her grandson.” He left the window in favor of the better view of her. She’d worn a soft, rust-colored skirt with a gold sweater over a wine-colored shirt to dinner and he hadn’t even told her how pretty she looked. “You look like autumn tonight.”

  She stopped and stared at him. “Thank you?”

  He nodded, making a note to give her compliments more often. “You’re beautiful all the time, but this is really nice. I meant to say so earlier.”

  “Thank you,” she said as her cheeks went pink.

  Single parenting was challenging enough and she made it look so easy he forgot she didn’t have anyone reminding her that she was amazing. He wanted to take on that role.

  “Are your parents alive?”

  She gave a small start at the question before regret flickered in her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Does Aiden know them?”

  “No.” She held up a hand. “It’s a long story and you have to be on duty early tomorrow.”

  “I want to hear it.” He wanted all of her secrets, wanted to take the focus off his own awkward family dynamics. “Please.”

  He wasn’t sure she’d answer as she pulled spoons out of the cutlery drawer and honey from the pantry shelf. “I was a few classes away from graduation when I dropped out to marry Bradley,” she said. “My parents hated him for distracting me from my goals. It didn’t matter that he paid off my student loans as a wedding gift. Didn’t matter that I finished my degree online before Aiden’s first birthday. They never liked Bradley and never forgave me for marrying him.”

  Her overwhelming sadness put things into perspective. “No wonder my family dynamics didn’t faze you.” The comment earned him a small smile, so he pressed on. “I thought maybe you kept them at a distance to protect them,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t mind having that option,” she admitted. “In your shoes, I’d be irritated with the Mimi and Pop thing, too. I wasn’t trying to overstep or insert Aiden where he didn’t belong.”

  He laughed. “Trust me, I didn’t think you had anything to do with it.”

  She handed him the tea, took her mug with her to the couch and curled into the corner, one foot tucked under her. “Are you sure about us staying here? I don’t want to put anyone else in Bradley’s crosshairs.”

  “This is the safest place I know while I have to work and the cops are trying to track him down.” He studied his tea. “Maybe Dad’s right about me not finishing things. I’ll talk to the chief tomorrow about—”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence with anything remotely related to stepping back from the PFD.”

  Her intensity stunned him. Other women had yelled at him—or worse—and walked out when he chose firefighting over them. “You’re the first person not connected to the PFD to say that to me.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  He shrugged. “My uncles, Mom’s brothers, were firefighters. Dad always blamed them for making me think it was all ladders, hoses and calendar shoots.”

  She snorted. “I imagine going through the academy disabused you of any such notion.”

  He marveled that she got it. “Those were long, hard days,” he said, remembering. “My dad would’ve preferred it if I’d been half as enthused about roofing at fifteen as you were. I did everything possible to hang out at the firehouse with my uncles.”

  He looked around the apartment and smiled. “That’s about the time Dad started on this. Implied it could be for me when I was old enough.”

  “Was it?”

  He walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch. “Seems I’m putting it to good use at the moment. Looking back, I know Dad was trying to draw me away from a firefighter’s life.”

  “He’s so proud of you,” she said. “They both are.”

  “Funny way of showing it.”

  She grinned, sipped her tea. “Parents want their kids to be safe and happy. Standard flaw in the parental design since the two don’t always go together. Whatever the hang-up with the PFD, those fears and concerns are on them. Were your uncles injured on the job?”

  “Nothing worse than a couple of close calls, though there have been other losses along the way.”

  “On them,” she repeated firmly.

  “Maybe it’s the curse of being firstborn,” he said. “That need for approval. Doesn’t bother my brother at all to go his own way.” He felt like an idiot, saying it like that. “I’ve got a great life and I’m whining about it when we have bigger concerns. Did you hear anything from Hertz?”

  She shook her head. “You know, wanting approval of the people who matter most is a universal concern.” She stretched an arm across the back of the couch and stroked his shoulder. “As an outsider looking in?”

  “Sure, go ahead.” He knew she’d set him straight. It was this basic common sense that he’d gotten used to during their days together. Her practical nature, her sincerity, generosity and humor. If he had a wish to toss out to a star, it would be that they could get through this and make it. He wanted her and Aiden to be his family.

  With an idyllic picture in his head, the words were on the tip of his tongue when she spoke first.

  “I think your strong will is too much like your dad’s,” she said. “It’s not a lack of approval, it’s a different point of view. You see your career as a service and responsibility and he sees steady work hours and weeks and completed projects in the same light.”

  “I think he just wants to retire and move to the Bahamas. If I’d fall in line and take over the business, he could ditch Pennsylvania winters for palm trees and ocean breezes.” With Shannon and Aiden to come home to, maybe the sacrifice would be worth it after all.

  She laughed softly, the sound sliding over him as warm and sultry as the ocean lapping at a sandy shore.

  “Whether or not my dad and I agree on my immediate future, I appreciate you being so understanding about dinner.”

  “Aiden had a blast with your parents.” She gave his shoulder a shove. “You got him to eat his peas.” She fluttered her lashes. “You are Superman.”

  When the laughter died down, she dropped her gaze to her mug. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Apparently, it’s the theme of the night.”

  “Why aren’t you with someone already?”

  I’m with you. He had to fight to keep the words to himself. It wasn’t the time to put that pressure on her when he knew the idea of running still appealed to her. “Should I be insulted by the question?”

  “No.” Her teeth nipped her full lower lip. “Family is obviously important and a core value for the Jennings.”

  For both of us, he thought, but again, he kept his mouth shut.

  “You can’t deny it.”

  “I’m not.” He appreciated her candor and should be focusing on that rather than how much he wanted to kiss her again. “I’ve shown a couple of women this mansion.” He waved an arm around. “They weren’t as impressed by the idea that I built it as you seem to be.”

  He caught her fingers and brou
ght her hand to his lips. Better to distract himself with that kiss than put his heart under the gentle protection of her palm.

  * * *

  Shannon knew she was treading on sensitive issues. His attempts to make jokes accentuated with that gallant kiss to her hand only proved it. “I’m trying to ask if there is, or has been, someone specific.” She plowed on as he shook his head. “Someone who makes you doubt women as a whole.”

  His eyebrows furrowed over those gorgeous blue eyes. “That’s a severe assessment.”

  She kept her hand linked with his, savoring the stroke of his thumb across her palm. He had such capable hands. “I’ve been there, that’s all. After...well, after I reclaimed control of my life, I was afraid to take another chance. Not many people want to admit a failed relationship is a tough hurdle.”

  “Are you volunteering to help me over that hurdle?”

  The teasing tone and the subtle twitch of his lips into a smirk did nothing to quell the voice in her head screaming, Yes, please!

  “No. I’m trying not to interrupt your life,” she insisted. “You’ve gone above and beyond as a boss and a friend. You’ve done more for Aiden and me than anyone else. I just wanted to say if you need a friend to listen, or whatever...” She gave up before she dug herself a deeper hole. Why couldn’t she make her point without sounding like an idiot? Or worse, a desperate single mom who hadn’t had sex in far too long. Oh, yeah. Because that’s what she was.

  Daniel had opened her up, and dreams she’d given up on were resurfacing. Did they have a chance to build a future? He’d told her to believe they’d get Aiden home and now her heart wanted to keep believing... in love.

  “You don’t have to stay over,” she said briskly, rising. “Given a choice, I’d rather be at home. I’m sure it’s the same for you.” She didn’t even know where he lived, only the remodel project he’d been crashing in on the day Aiden had been taken.

  She took her empty mug to the kitchen sink, rinsed it and put it into the dishwasher. The gesture was so maddeningly responsible, directly opposite to the pulsing need she felt whenever Daniel was nearby.

  Her rich, romantic imagination had gotten her into trouble with Bradley. While she knew how to spot losers with more accuracy now, she also had a better grip of what made a man a keeper.

  Daniel was firmly entrenched in that category. It was so much more than her physical attraction to his square jaw, dark hair, vivid blue eyes and sculpted body. All of the packaging had starred in the ridiculous fantasies she’d enjoyed since his first appearance on a site. Now she knew him—his thoughtfulness and dedication, his commitment to career and community. She knew he helped her simply because she was part of his immediate circle and still she longed for something more. Something she feared was well beyond her reach.

  When she’d said she could love him, it was already too late. She did love him.

  “What hurdles did he leave behind?” Daniel asked.

  She jumped, would have turned but he was too close. Her lips tingled, hoping for a kiss. No, being face-to-face with him right now would be a massive mistake.

  “I’ve heard you blame yourself. I’ve seen the shame on your face while you accept the fallout of your choices. Tell me the rest of it, Shannon.” He spoke her name in a delicious caress over the nape of her neck.

  She should be shoving him away, feeling crowded and afraid with his bigger body at her back. Instead, her belly quivered with anticipation.

  “Trust,” she heard herself reply. “He made me doubt my intuition.”

  “In all men?”

  She studied his strong hands, tanned skin made more perfect by the occasional scar. She wanted to know the story behind each one. “In most men. For a time.”

  Daniel was different, the first man she wanted to trust, to believe in. “I was blinded by what I saw on the surface.”

  “What did he do?”

  It had been ages since she’d let herself put any of the blame for her foolish marriage on her ex-husband. Even if someone had been available to listen, she couldn’t have explained any details without risking her, the baby or the listener. Daniel was already involved, already in the crosshairs. “He played on that advantage, preyed on my naïveté. Looking back at the way he isolated me, I want to go back and shout a warning to that starstruck girl.”

  His lips trailed up and down the side of her neck. She shivered, too warm, too edgy.

  “Two women were important to me.” His voice, low and rough, was loaded with the old aches. “Important enough that I introduced them to my family.”

  Her breath backed up in her lungs. It took all her willpower to stand there, caged by his arms, letting him talk when she wanted to touch, to put his mouth to better use.

  “When the thrill wore off and the reality and dangers of my job set in, they walked away.” His lips skimmed over her skin, up along her neck. “My dad blamed the firehouse, hooked me deeper into the company. My mom called the women weak and said I went for shallow over substance.”

  Trust. He’d offered her an invaluable gift. She repaid him with the same. “On the outside, Bradley was everything I thought I wanted. Successful, handsome and charming. His interest in me was its own seduction. Once I was caught, his, he changed into someone else. Something ugly and unrecognizable.”

  “You gave up everything for him.”

  “I didn’t know how else to express what I thought was love.” She’d never given anyone the broken pieces of her soul she was putting in Daniel’s hands.

  “He hurt you.” His knuckles whitened as his fingers curled into fists on the countertop.

  In a thousand small and massive ways. “Life dishes out hurt to all of us,” she said. “I’m stronger now.” Her hips brushed against his as she turned and faced him. He needed to see her strength, needed to see her resolved in the present rather than weakened by the past. “Aiden is my joy, one I wouldn’t have without those terrible days with Bradley.” The muscles in his arms flexed as her palms flowed up to his shoulders. “I would have lost him without your help.”

  He kissed her forehead, featherlight. “I want to stay. I want you, Shannon.”

  Those four words, raw and packed with need, echoed the desire and cravings slamming through her system. Too many words built up in her heart, her throat, and she gave up on conversation. His lips parted and she silenced him with a kiss, pouring her own answering wants into the heated contact. Sinking deep and fast, she molded her mouth to his. Taking, giving more.

  He gripped her hips, squeezed, bringing her hard against his arousal. She clutched his shoulders for balance as passion lanced through her body like an arrow. Her fingers fumbled on the buttons of his shirt while his tongue swirled across hers, invading, teasing and retreating. At last she pushed his shirt open, off, and got her hands on the hot, firm flesh of his torso.

  She moaned as she kissed a path across the wide expanse of his chest, the curls of hair tickling her lips.

  He tugged her sweater back, then in a slow slide, pushed her shirt up and over her head. He groaned at the sight of her breasts, released her bra.

  She smothered the shocked giggle as he boosted her up onto the counter, then clamped her lips hard against the cry as his mouth closed over her breast. He nipped the hard peak gently with his teeth, soothed with tongue and lips. She arched into him, her body already primed and dancing at the edge of a climax.

  She wrestled with his belt, flicked open the buttons on his jeans, desperate to get her hands on more of him, all of him.

  The day’s growth of beard on his jaw was delicious and rough against her skin, left her pleading as he claimed her mouth once more. Skin to skin, she was swamped by wave after wave of sensual need, longing to be filled, joined, overwhelmed by him.

  Pulling up her skirt, she lifted her legs to clutch his hips and rubbed herself shameles
sly against him through her panties. The orgasm shot through her in a scalding rush of delicious pleasure, but she wasn’t nearly satisfied.

  Neither was he, thank goodness. His hand slid under the lace, his fingers stroking her while his mouth plundered hers until she was quivering at the edge of bliss again.

  She heard the seams rip, couldn’t surface enough to care as he thrust deep inside her. For a moment, it was enough to feel him, to savor the way her body gave and flowed around his.

  Then he moved and she craved more. He was everything, the only thing that mattered. Long slow strokes filled, faded and filled again. His pace quickened and she matched him, hanging on and kissing him deeply to smother the cry of ecstasy as another orgasm pulsed through her. A moment later the pleasure claimed him, too, his body trembling around her, in her.

  When her heart rate slowed, her breathing steadied, the absurdity of what they’d done, or rather where they’d done it, crept in.

  “Are you laughing?” he asked, easing back and putting himself to rights.

  “Guess I’m giddy.”

  He drew her skirt down over her legs, tracing the hem above her knees. When he looked up, his expression stole her breath. “In all my fantasies of you, this kitchen counter didn’t feature. I won’t overlook it again.”

  Her knees wobbled as he helped her to her feet. “Fantasies? About me?”

  He jerked his chin in the affirmative, his gaze unwavering. “That sounds creepy I suppose?”

  “Not from you.” She took his hand in both of hers. “Oh, Daniel.” Walking backward, she started for the bedroom. “Follow me and I’ll show you a recurring fantasy I’ve had about you.”

  “Seriously?”

  She paused, pretending to think it over. “Unless it creeps you out?”

  He tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom.

  She laughed, happy to take all he wanted to share, reveling in the joy of the moment and giving back everything he would take from her.

  Starstruck again, in the best possible way, she brought her fantasies to life in the safe, strong arms of the man she trusted with her body, heart and soul. The man she loved.