Caitlin's Choice (11 page)

“Is sleeping like a baby, if you’ll forgive the pun.”

Her gaze darted around the room until it rested on Tyler’s carrier. He was sleeping soundly. She relaxed and blinked her eyes against the glow of the brass lamp.

What had happened? For ten years she had buried the pain and resentment and built a good life for herself. She had not shed a single tear for what she had lost. One week in Andrew’s house and she had become a spineless wimp. If she didn’t pull herself together, she would give Andrew even more ammunition to use against her.

“I’m sorry,” she said coolly. She removed his restrictive arm and backed away from him.

“Right back to square one, huh, Caitlin?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

His face changed to a grim mask. “For a few moments you forgot I was the enemy and you opened up to me. And that scared the hell out of you, didn’t it?”

SEVEN

Caitlin looked at Andrew in disbelief. His ego was bigger than his bank account. “You think I’m afraid of you?” She was afraid, but not in the way he meant.

“Yes, I do. I think you’re afraid of what will happen between us if you let go of all that anger.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong.” She stood and tried to pass in front of him.

“Am I?”
He pulled her down into his lap. The swift movement caught her by surprise and she twisted sideways, grabbing his shoulders for balance. Two steel arms anchored her firmly against his chest.

“Cut it out, Andrew.” She squirmed to free herself, but that only made her achingly aware of every muscle of his body, including one she didn’t want to notice.

“You’re not afraid, are you?”

Oh, he was smug! “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then relax.”

Was that what he wanted? To prove she couldn’t resist him? That he could get a reaction from her any time he wanted? She’d play his game. Andrew Sinclair was far from irresistible.

She went limp in his arms.
“Go on. It’s your move.”

“That would be too easy. I’m willing to work for it.”

He shifted her slightly, fitting her between his hip and the arm of the sofa. He lifted her legs across his lap so that she was reclining.

“Oh, good. The late movie.”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Watching television.”

She recognized his strategy. Lull her into a false sense of security and the minute she let down her guard, bam, he would pounce. As long as she remained alert, he wouldn’t get the chance. After all, she wasn’t the least bit attracted to him any longer.

Liar, her conscience taunted back.

Okay, she might feel a heated attraction to him, but she was also smart enough to keep her distance from a fire so she wouldn’t get burned. Caitlin gave her full attention to the television with a steely determination to thwart any attempt to seduce her.

Unfortunately, the film was Hitchcock’s masterpiece The Birds, and at the first scary moment she buried her head against Andrew’s chest. He rubbed his palm over her back and shoulders, drawing her tighter in his embrace. When the eerie music subsided, she found her position had shifted to her disadvantage.

Andrew’s warm breath caressed her neck and sent a delightful tingle down her spine. Too stubborn to move away and admit he was right, she did her best to ignore him.

“Are you enjoying the movie?” His eyes never strayed from the television—though his hand glided slowly over her bare leg.

The husky quality of his voice and the closeness from which he asked the innocent question sent an electric jolt to her system. No one should have that much effect over another person with so little effort. In her heart, she was furious with him, but reminding herself of that had no effect on her body.

He ran his finger along the hem of her shorts, grazing her thigh. She drew her knees together to fight against the heat rising in her lower abdomen.

“How long are we going to play this little game, Andrew?” She meant to sound indifferent, bored. He chuckled and she knew she hadn’t pulled it off.

“I guess we’ve played long enough.”

He gazed into her gorgeous green eyes, sparkling like emeralds. He felt her try to push him away, only to back down. She wanted that human contact she had spoken of earlier. Someone to hold her, to take away the hurt. What she obviously didn’t want was to acknowledge that he could be that person.

He lowered his head until they were inches apart. Warm breath mingled. Their lips met, barely touching. His pulse rate accelerated. She pressed her palms against his shoulders, but as he started to withdraw, she caught his bottom lip between her teeth.

His mouth curved up in a smile, before he covered hers in a deep kiss that forced her lips apart. He pushed his tongue inside her mouth, tasting, teasing, remembering. Everything about her was just as he recalled—the delicate curves of her body, the velvety warmth of her skin, the soft sighs and moans that she could no more suppress than deny.

Caitlin didn’t know the meaning of halfway. Once she started, she gave everything—more than he could handle, in light of the circumstances. Tyler was less than ten feet away, blissfully unaware of the sudden rise in temperature. Joyce and Leslie were due home any minute. Not the perfect time to be starting something he definitely wanted to finish.

He cupped her face in his hands. He continued to kiss her, but with less intensity. She pulled back to catch a quick breath. Before she could continue, he lowered her against the arm of the sofa and sat back.

She laughed. “Who’s afraid of whom, Andrew?”

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“Why not? You’re funny. You never want what you get.”

He gazed down at her amused expression. “I never get what I want, either.”

“And what did you want?”

“I wanted Tyler to be tucked in for the night and my mother and sister away for the weekend before I got such an encouraging response from you.”

“That’s the problem with you spoiled rich guys. You want everything and you don’t want to wait.”

“I didn’t notice you fighting me off.”

“I was just playing the game.”

“Liar.” He slipped his hand under her T-shirt and cupped her full breast. His thumb grazed her taut nipple. Her eyes widened and she let out a startled gasp. “Just playing the game?”

“I’m very sensitive there since Tyler was born.” She pushed his hand back.

He arched his eyebrow. “Even before that, I seem to remember.”

She ignored his taunt. “May I get up now? I want to put Ty to bed.”

“Running away?”

“I prefer to call it a tactical retreat to regroup.”

He laughed at her honesty. And her warning. The next time, and there would be a next time, he would be starting over, not picking up where they left off. She wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid of herself.

* * * *

Caitlin came down to breakfast in a gray tailored business suit and white silk blouse. Her hair was pulled into a French braid, secured in the back with a large black bow. Tyler, resting on her hip, tried his best to remove the buttons from her jacket. The aroma of fresh coffee lured her into the dining room.

She wasn’t sure who was more surprised by her professional appearance, Andrew or his very hung- over sister. Leslie was nasty enough when sober. Caitlin cringed at the vicious scowl she received when she sat at the table.

“Let me guess. Daddy is taking the little prince into the office to show him off to the peasants,” Leslie spat out sarcastically.

“Good morning to you, too,” Caitlin said cheerfully. She settled Tyler on her knee and gave him a rattle to keep him occupied. “And to answer your question
, I’m taking him to work with me.”

Leslie’s jaw sagged. “You work?”

Andrew let out a grunt of disgust. “It’s not such a novel concept. Not everyone considers polishing off a bottle of scotch a hard day’s work.”

“Gin, honey. If you’re going to be obnoxious, at least get the facts right.”

He scowled. “Don’t brag about it.”

Leslie tossed her hands up in the air. “Hey, we all have to excel at something.”

Caitlin couldn’t help but feel sorry for Leslie. Her life was so shallow and miserable that she tried to bring everyone down to her level.

“You know, Leslie, I’ll bet you could excel at other things if you put your mind to it,” she said.

“Oh, sure. Like being a mommy, perhaps?”

Caitlin shook her head.
“I was thinking more like modeling. You’ve got the right temperament and the looks.”

“What would you know about it?”

“I worked in modeling for six years. If you ever decide you want to do something with your life, I could introduce you to some people.”

“You’re going to help me?” Leslie mocked. “No, thanks.”

“Your choice,” Caitlin said simply.

Despite her words to the contrary, Leslie seemed to be giving the matter serious thought. Her eyes sparkled with interest even though her features remained schooled. She started to say something when Andrew’s angry words cut her off.

“At the rate she’s drinking, she’ll look too old to model before she learns how.”

Caitlin groaned inwardly. If Leslie had thought to accept the offer, his mocking comment had stopped her dead.

Leslie stood up and raised her chin defiantly. “Speaking of old, Andrew, thirty-six is a little old to be knocking up your girlfriend, don’t you think?” Head held high, she waltzed from the room.

The veins in Andrew’s neck bulged. His face turned red, and he looked as if he might breathe fire. “Leslie!”

As he rose to his feet, Caitlin clamped her fingers around his arm. “Leave her alone. You asked for that one.”

“What do you mean, I asked for that?”

“Couldn’t you see that she was thinking seriously about accepting? She’s never done anything with her life. While she was building up the courage to ask, you shot her right down.”

“That didn’t give her the right to insult you.”

Caitlin shrugged as if it were no big deal. “She didn’t insult me. She insulted you. Let it drop, and maybe in a few days she’ll swallow her pride and ask again.”

He straightened and glanced toward Tyler, gurgling and smiling. There was nothing like a baby to put things in perspective. “You really think she’d be good at something like that?”

“Sure. She’s willful, egotistical, and she doesn’t take garbage from anyone—all the qualities she needs to claw her way to the top. It worked for you, didn’t it?”

“That’s a backhanded compliment if ever I heard one.”

Caitlin grinned proudly. “We all have to excel at something. Are you finished eating?”

“Yes.”

“Would you mind holding Tyler while I have my breakfast?”

“For you? Anything,” he whispered seductively. He took Tyler into his arms.

Her eyes widened hopefully. “Anything? Can I move back to my apartment?”

“Anything but that.”

“I thought not. Eventually I’ll wear you down.”

“No, you won’t, because you still haven’t figured out what it is I want from you.”

No, she hadn’t figured that out yet. She thought he wanted Tyler and only took her because they came as a set, but his relationship with her was separate and apart from his relationship with his son. What did he want from her? Did she want to know? Was she ready to know?

* * * *

Caitlin hung her briefcase and the diaper bag on the back of the stroller and maneuvered in the front door. She had refused help from Andrew, insisting she could manage on her own. In the past year, she had not painted a flattering portrait of him to her boss and she didn’t want him meeting Andrew until she had a chance to explain why she was now living in his house.

Despite the closeness she felt toward Marc, she had never told him about her past. She couldn’t explain that she was being threatened without admitting to the source of her fear.

She entered the office to an onslaught of oohs and ahs. In less than ten seconds, she was relieved of the task of entertaining her son as her coworkers passed Tyler around. With a few minutes’ reprieve, she stepped into Marc’s office.

“It’s about time you showed your face.” Marc drew his bushy brows together in a disapproving scowl.

She laughed, and he was unable to contain his own chuckle.

“What happened? Didn’t you like the apartment?”

She sat down in the wooden chair across from  his desk and sighed. “It was perfect.”

“Then why did you leave?”

Caitlin straightened her skirt and launched into her overly rehearsed speech. “Tyler’s father decided it would be best for all concerned if we stayed in his house for a while.”

“Tyler’s father?” Marc’s voice was mildly amused.

“Yes, well . . . when I returned from Singapore, Andrew came to see me. He wanted to pursue a relationship with his son, so I decided it would be in Tyler’s best interests to go along.” She smiled weakly. She wasn’t pulling this off.