Bayview Heights Trilogy (44 page)

She grinned. “‘As the World Turns’ in
Bayview.”

He rolled his eyes again and left.

Alone, the room seemed smaller to Seth.
Neither he nor Lacey picked up the conversation about Kevin. When
the clock chimed eight, he asked, “You hungry?”

“Yes, a little.”

“I’ve got some soup simmering. Sound
good?”

Lacey smiled and his heart rate stumbled. “It
does.”

She followed him to the kitchen to help. This
room was also paneled in cedar, and Seth had painted the planks a
soft beige and stained the wood a natural blond around the many
windows. Copper pots and pans hung over a work island, and plants
were scattered around the room.

“I love your home,” she said again as they
carried bowls into the living room.

“It’s my haven.”

“I haven’t been in a house like this in
California.”

Seth watched her as they ate in front of the
fireplace. “Do you miss it?”

She cocked her head and stared at the fire.
“I miss the people. I miss the gritty stories. But, truthfully, I
like being the boss. I get to pick and choose what I cover at the
Herald
.”

“I like being the boss, too.”

“I just wish I knew more people here.”

“Linc McKenna seemed pretty interested in
getting to know you.”

“He did?”

Seth nodded, sorry he’d brought it up. “Yeah.
You’ll do just fine.”

“It’ll take a while to get back in the
groove, I guess.” She patted her mouth with a napkin then smiled at
him

Her lips were full and a little pouty and
Seth’s gaze was drawn to them. “A lot of women wouldn’t do what you
did—coming back here when Philip had his heart attack. I admire
you.”

She shrugged. “Family is important to me.
Loyalty is a priority.” She inclined her head across the room at
the photos she’d seen on the bookshelf. “Your family?”

“Yes. My mother and two younger sisters.
After my dad died, I was raised in a houseful of women.”

“My mom died when I was ten. I was raised in
a houseful of men.”

Suddenly, the intimacy of the confidences was
too much for Seth. He glanced up the stairs, wishing Joey would
come back.

He was all too aware of what he was feeling
for this woman, aware that to resist her tonight he’d need the
strength of that superhero they’d been joking about. He stood
abruptly. “I’ll clean up,” he said, his voice more curt than he
intended.

Her eyes widened at his tone. “I’ll
help.”

“No, stay where you are.”

Lacey frowned as he left the room. He was
anxious to get away from her. She knew why. They’d shared too much
in the two hours she’d been here. Any emotional connection with him
was stupid. Understanding him would lead to pain and
frustration.

And acting on the physical attraction she’d
felt curling inside her was out of the question. It didn’t matter
that she found him appealing, or respected his skills as a father
or admired his loyalty to his family. And she couldn’t give a zip
that he loved running as much as she did.

Nothing in this world could make it okay to
give in to this attraction to Seth Taylor. Her grandfather’s
beliefs precluded it. More than that, though, the hurt in Philip’s
eyes whenever she mentioned Seth in a positive light, or even the
good things about the school, made these feelings she had for Seth
absolutely taboo.

She glanced out at the snow, which had indeed
let up. She needed to go, get home and forget all about spending a
few cozy hours in this man’s house.

Seth returned just as Joey came down the
stairs. He was dressed in heavy clothing and headed for the closet.
“We’re going sledding out back, Dad.” He pulled on a heavy parka,
gloves and a hat. “The kids should be here any minute.”

Headlights shone on the front of the
house.

“Dad? Okay?”

“Sure. Just be careful. The pond isn’t quite
frozen yet. Stay away from it.”

“I will. I’ll turn all the outside lights on,
too.” Joey faced Lacey. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for your
help.”

“Anytime.”

After Joey left, Lacey stood up and said,
“I’m leaving, too.”

“You are?”

“Yes, I think I’d better.”

After a long and meaningful pause, he nodded.
“Maybe you should.”

As Seth followed her to the front door, they
heard the kids greet each other outside and then it got quiet as
the group made their way to the back.

Lacey bent down, fumbled for her boots and
tugged them on. When she straightened, Seth was holding her coat
open for her. She avoided his eyes and turned her back to him. She
slid her arms into the sleeves; she was so close to him that she
could smell his woodsy cologne again.
Please, God
, she
prayed.
Let me get out of here before I do something
stupid
.

She yanked the parka around her and heard
Seth say, “Your hair’s caught. Let me fix it.”

Warm smooth fingers slid inside her collar
and lifted her hair. Her neck felt cool, bare of its natural
covering. When he didn’t release her hair, Lacey held her
breath.

Then she felt it. Just the light brush of
lips, butterfly-soft and kitten-smooth on her nape. Then nothing.
Then his mouth found her neck, just below her ear. “Lacey…” His
voice was a harsh whisper.

She knew she should pull away. Instead, she
sank back against him.

His hands gripped her arms. He kissed her
neck, then hesitated before he sucked gently on her skin. Her body
tingled with the caress, and she bit her lip to keep from saying
anything. But a moan escaped from deep inside.

“Turn around, Lace.”

She shook her head.

“Please.”

Swallowing hard, she begged for strength, for
deliverance from the rush of feeling for this man who held her so
tenderly.

It didn’t come. Slowly, she pivoted to
him

His face was ravaged with need, with sadness,
with the same knowledge she possessed—that this was wrong, so, so
wrong.

But his eyes stayed locked with hers as he
slid his hands inside her coat...beneath her sweater...under her
T-shirt to her rib cage. He caressed her now-burning skin. She
gasped and leaned into him. Tilting her chin, she stared at his
mouth, craving to feel it on hers.

He lowered his head.

She thought his kiss would be gentle and
tender, like everything else he did. But it wasn’t. His mouth
covered hers hungrily as he crushed her to him. His lips pressed
into hers, claiming them as his own. He widened his stance and
pulled her even closer. She stood on tiptoe so she could meet him
more fully. His hands slid to her back and up over her bra.

She fit him perfectly, Seth thought as his
need for her raged out of control; he was powerless to stop it. She
made his senses swim—the feel of her silky skin against his hands,
the smell of a subtle, sexy perfume on her neck, the sweet, sweet
taste of her mouth. His tongue traced the soft fullness of her
lips, demanded entry and then explored her fully. He let his hands
roam freely over her back, down to her soft full bottom. The
intimate touch sent shock waves through his body.

After exquisite moments of kissing her—and on
the verge of succumbing to the intense passion spiraling within
him—he let her mouth go but held her close and buried his face in
her neck again.

It was only then that she pulled away. And,
God help him, he knew why. She’d remembered who they were, what
they meant to each other.

He stepped back. The color had drained from
her cheeks. Slowly she raised her hand and touched her lips. It was
the horror in her eyes that wounded him the most.

“We...I...oh, God, we can’t do this,
Seth.”

He swallowed hard, ready to protest the
unthinkable. Except that she was right.

It would kill her grandfather.

She didn’t have to say the words. They both
knew the truth.

Which was why he stepped farther back, saying
softly, “I know.”

Which was why he let her tear herself out of
his arms, fling open the door and rush into the night.

Lacey stood on the roof of Barker Island
Prison, the strong arms of her own, personal superhero surrounding
her.

“We’ll be inside in a minute, Ace,” he
said, nuzzling her. He kissed her neck softly, then hesitated
before he sucked gently on her skin; she closed her eyes to savor
the woodsy smell of his cologne.

Then he took her hand in his, strode to
the edge of the roof and jumped a few feet to the ledge below. She
went with him. His slate blue eyes were serious as he said, “We’ll
have him out in no time. I made a mistake and now I’m correcting
it.”

Her brother was going to be free, all
because of this man, who now placed his hands on the steel bars and
yanked them apart. In no time, they were inside.

It took her a minute to adjust to the
dimness. They were in Kevin’s cell. It was barren and smelled
faintly of disinfectant. Across the room, her brother slept on the
narrow bunk

Lacey walked over and shook his shoulder
gently. Kevin hated to be awakened abruptly. “Kev, it’s me.” She
brushed her hand over his baby-soft hair. “Come on, we’re getting
you out of here.”

His beautiful brown eyes opened slowly,
focusing on her. Then he smiled. “I knew you’d come, Lacey. I knew
you’d fix this, too.”

She took his hand and helped him up from
the bunk. They turned toward their savior.

But instead, Seth Taylor stood there,
dressed in a navy blue suit, with the superhero jersey
underneath.

“I...I don’t understand,” Lacey
said.

Kevin threw off her arm. “What the hell
is he doing here?” He turned accusing eyes on Lacey. “Lace, why’d
you bring him? He put me in here.”

Lacey stared at Seth. “I...I…”

“How could you do this to me...? I don’t
ever want to see you again, Lacey. Don’t come back…”

“No...no, Kevin,
please...Kevin…”

Her brother stepped backward into the
darkness and began to disappear.

“Kevin!”

“Lace,” Seth said. “Turn
around.”

She shook her head, her back to
Seth.

“Please.”

Still she stared into the darkness, where
Kevin had been. “Kevin,” she whimpered. “Kevin…”

LACEY AWOKE bathed in sweat, sitting up in
her bed, shaking. She gasped for breath and looked around the room.
Instead of the grim walls and bare facilities of Barker Island
Prison, she was in her own bedroom, decorated exactly as it was
when she left home years ago. She scanned the room again, just to
be sure. The four-poster bed and matching bureaus were in place,
her beloved Impressionist prints hung on the cream-colored walls,
her desk nestled in the corner.

She sat back into the pillows. It had all
been a dream.
Thank God
. She glanced at the clock: 5:00
a.m. Wearily she rubbed her eyes to stop the nightmare’s images,
but then she remembered last evening.

Raising her hand to her mouth, she recalled
in vivid detail the solid pressure of Seth’s lips on hers. How his
tongue had caressed hers. She whimpered in the darkness and sank
into the mattress, drawing the covers up tightly. She felt like a
little girl again, cowering in her bed. How many times had her
grandfather come to chase away the demons?

That’s it
, she told herself,
think about Grandpa
.

But she couldn’t completely forget last
night. She could feel Seth’s hands sliding into her coat, under her
sweater, beneath the T-shirt. They were big and warm and she’d
wanted them all over her. She wanted Seth’s touch right now. He’d
tug off her UCLA nightshirt, run his hands across her bare skin,
then his mouth, then...

“No,” she moaned and whipped off the
covers.

The chill of the early-morning air brought
goose bumps to her arms. It sobered her. Quickly, running from the
fantasy, she sprang out of bed and hurried into the bathroom. Then
she found her robe and slippers and strode downstairs. Grandpa was
still away so she didn’t have to worry about waking him.

She’d feel better, more in control, after she
had coffee. It was still dark out, she realized when she reached
the living room. Distracted, she went over to turn on a small lamp
beside the telephone.

The red light on the answering machine
blinked. She hadn’t checked for messages last night. She’d been so
upset when she’d returned from Seth’s, she’d raced into the house,
upstairs, and into bed without thinking someone might need her.

She pressed the button. “Hi, honey, it’s
Grandpa. I wondered if you were all right. I tried the paper, too.
I hope you’ve had a nice evening. Leonard and I are playing chess
and reminiscing about old times.” There was a pause. “I love you,
Lacey. Take care of yourself.”

Lacey closed her eyes to stifle the guilt.
Philip sounded wary, and his voice shook. Their confrontation over
Seth had been hard for him, and it hurt Lacey to know she’d caused
him pain. What would Philip think if he knew she’d been at Seth’s,
in his arms, kissing him?

The second message started. “Lace, it’s me,
Kevin. Where the hell are you? I thought we agreed I’d call at
seven on Friday.” Another sin she’d committed. She’d forgotten that
when he couldn’t get her on the phone last week, they’d made this
arrangement. “Geez, I hope you’re not mad at me because I wouldn’t
see you. I’m sorry about that. It was stupid. Will you come up here
Wednesday? I’ll see you then.”

The last message took her by surprise. “Hi,
Lacey. This is Linc McKenna. I, um, wondered if you’d like to go
out tomorrow night. The new theater in town is showing all those
movies.” Hesitation, then his deep voice came back. “I’d...like to
get to know you better, and thought...um, boy, I hate these
machines. Call me. My number is…”