Feels Like Family (16 page)

She looked skeptical. “Really? You haven’t thought about those kisses at all? Maybe I’m remembering them all wrong. Could we try it again? This time without me throwing a pie at you first, of course. Or having a couple of kids around to keep things from getting out of control.”

When she leaned closer, Erik put his hands on her shoulders and studied her. He wanted to be really sure about this, needed her to be sure, as well. Something told him that this time one kiss was going to lead to another and then to a whole lot more.

“What’s really going on here, Helen?”

Her lips twitched. “I thought my communication skills were pretty well-honed. I want you to kiss me again, Erik. Or I can kiss you. It doesn’t really matter which way it starts.”

He grinned. “Haven’t you heard? Men like to take the initiative.”

“Then do it,” she said.

But instead, he ran a thumb along her cheek, then along the curve of her jaw. Her skin flushed beneath his touch. “You’re such a contradiction,” he murmured, beginning to lose his grip on the common sense that was yelling at him to stay away from this woman. As direct as she was being, there was more going on, something he had a hunch he should know before he got in any deeper. Still…

He stroked a hand down her arm, the skin like velvet. “Such a contradiction,” he repeated. “Hard as nails in some ways, but so damn soft in others.”

She held his gaze, waiting, silent for once. Then she licked her lips and he was lost. That mouth of hers had tormented his dreams for a while now. It had only gotten worse once
he’d kissed her and knew just how soft her lips were, just how passionately she would kiss him back. He’d lied about forgetting all that. He’d thought of little else for weeks.

“This is such a bad idea,” he murmured, just before he leaned forward and claimed her.

Two hours later, when he woke up in his bed, the sheets tangled around them, her body curved into his, the idea seemed a whole lot better than it had at first glance.

H
elen wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she’d deliberately set out to seduce Erik tonight, but it certainly wasn’t the wave of guilt that washed over her not five seconds after she’d had one of the most mind-shattering orgasms of her life. Her conscience, which usually remained silent given the relatively honorable life she’d always led, was screaming so loudly it drowned out the part of her that wanted to bask quietly in the moment. She’d even lied to his face about birth control, implying he didn’t need to worry because she had taken care of it. Things had been so hot and wild at the time, he hadn’t questioned her more closely.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Erik asked, propped up on one elbow beside her, his other hand resting on the bare curve of her hip.

“I was just thinking that we should have done this months ago,” she said. It wasn’t a total lie. She’d thought that several times as he’d been making love to her. They’d wasted weeks on a dance that had had an inevitable outcome. How had she escaped the power of the chemistry between them until tonight?

Erik grinned at her. “You weren’t ready months ago. Neither was I.”

Helen wanted to argue that she’d been waiting her entire adult life for a man to pay so much attention to her pleasure, but she remained silent. Such a comment, which would have come naturally under other circumstances, rattled her now. She hadn’t expected to feel so connected to this man after sleeping with him just once. She hadn’t expected to feel anything more than a momentary release, a mutual satisfaction. Somehow she’d convinced herself that she could be intimate with Erik for however long it took for her to get pregnant and yet somehow remain detached. Tonight had pretty much destroyed that illusion. She might be able to walk away when the time came because she had to, but she wouldn’t be detached.

“You’re still thinking too hard about something,” he said, scrutinizing her face. “Talk to me. Try the truth this time.”

Instead, she reached for him. “Talking is a waste of time,” she said right before she kissed him.

Erik pulled back, his gaze locked with hers. For a moment, she thought he was going to argue, but then he honed back in on her mouth.

Her body sang, she thought with amazement, as he stroked and caressed and probed, lingering here, skimming there, taunting and teasing until every inch of her was shouting for yet another magnificent release.

“I love watching the way your eyes turn dark when you’re about to come apart,” he said, gazing into her eyes.

“Are they dark now?”

He nodded.

“Then what are you waiting for? I want you inside me, Erik. Now, please.”

“Not just yet,” he said, and began his exploration of her body all over again, taking his time, clearly savoring every touch.

Helen had never allowed herself to let go completely with another man. Maybe it was because she was a control freak. Maybe it was simply because she was terrified to be that vulnerable.

Erik wasn’t giving her any choice. He seemed to know her body as if he’d been studying it for years. He knew when she was achingly close to release, only to have him slow things down. He knew just how long to let the heat cool before turning it up again. In fact, to her frustration and delight, he was an expert at the teasing seduction.

Each time, he took her a little higher, then let her back down again until she was ready to take charge herself and end the torment.

“Now,” she commanded, her unyielding gaze locked with his.

“Now?” he asked innocently. “You think so?”

“Yes!” Her hips writhed as he played his fingers over her damp heat. For this instant, her urgency had nothing to do with getting pregnant and everything to do with getting to that pinnacle that he was cleverly keeping just beyond her reach. It was all about the two of them and a connection so powerful it would have terrified her if she’d had the ability to think clearly.

“Okay, then,” he said at last, hovering above her. “If you’re sure.”

“I am so sure,” she whispered, lifting her hips.

When he entered her this time, she felt the most amazing sense of completion, as if she’d been waiting for this her entire life, not just for the past half hour. She bucked, trying to
draw him deeper inside, but Erik controlled the rhythm, steadying her to accept his pace. Slow, then fast, then slow again until she was practically mindless with need.

The first wave of pleasure caught her by surprise, a quick, intense burst that erupted at her core, then rippled through her. While she was still savoring that, the sensations deepened in intensity, gathering force like the eruptions of a volcano, each one washing over her in wave after sensual wave.

When Erik’s body finally tensed in release, Helen was already shuddering, every inch of her body covered in a sheen of perspiration. It took only one quick brush of his finger, one touch of his mouth to her breast, and she came apart with him in a dazzling explosion that left her heart thundering in her chest and her mind reeling.

Never so at a loss for words in her life, she looked into Erik’s eyes. The moment demanded something, some expression of appreciation, or at the very least an awestruck “Wow!” She couldn’t even manage that.

“You okay?” he asked, regarding her with concern. “You look a little dazed.”

“Dazed doesn’t begin to cover it,” she whispered.

He grinned with smug, male superiority. “Really?”

“You know you’re good at this. You must.”

“It’s been a while. I thought I might have lost my touch.”

“It hasn’t been that long. This is the second time tonight.”

He laughed. “I meant before tonight.”

“Well, obviously it’s all come back to you,” she said.

“You didn’t do too badly yourself.”

“I can do better,” she said. “I was a bit out of practice, too.”

“Any better and we’d both be dead,” he commented. “Now for the tricky part.”

“Which is?”

“Are you going to stay the night or are you going to scamper out of here like a scared rabbit?”

She didn’t much like the imagery, especially as she’d considered making up an excuse to leave. “What makes you think I’m scared?”

“I can see it in your eyes.”

“Well, I’m not,” she protested. “I’m staying.”

To his credit, he didn’t gloat. He merely nodded. “I’m glad. You hungry? I could fix something.”

Helen considered the offer. “You know, I never eat this late, but I’m starved.”

“Good. Me, too. You stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“All this and he cooks, too,” she murmured as he climbed out of bed. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“I think we both know the answer to that,” he said wryly. “Back in a minute.”

When he’d left the room, Helen glanced around. She’d noticed very little about his house when they’d arrived. They’d come here, not because he’d insisted, but because it was closer than hers by a block. By then, they’d both been intent on getting out of their clothes and into his bed. Now she had time to look at the very spartan decor. The dresser had no pictures on top, just a small TV at one end. The nightstand beside the bed had only a lamp on it, aside from the candle Erik had grabbed from a table in the living room as they’d passed through it.

The flame from that unscented candle was the only illumination in the room now, keeping most of it in shadows, but even so she could tell he’d done nothing to make the bedroom his own. She even wondered if he’d rented the place furnished, since the furniture had that sturdy, unin
teresting look to it. Even the room’s one chair was utilitarian—a place to toss clothes, rather than the kind of comfortable chair a man might choose if he intended to relax in his room watching late-night TV or a ball game.

In fact, even without getting a good look at the living room, she had a feeling this was the home of a man who’d never really intended to stay in Serenity. She was surprised by how much that bothered her. Obviously, in one regard, it’d be more convenient for her if he did decide to leave at some point, yet just the idea of that happening made her heart contract with pain.

She was still pondering that when he returned carrying a tray with two plates. He’d made a frittata, mixing the eggs with slivers of onion, peppers and tomato, along with a combination of cheeses, then baking it in the oven and cutting it into thick, fluffy wedges.

“This is amazing,” she said, when she’d taken her first bite.

“Don’t sound so shocked. I
am
a chef.”

“I know, but I can’t even imagine having enough ingredients in the refrigerator to make something like this.”

“I noticed your cupboard was nearly bare the night I was there to camp out. You don’t cook at all?”

“I can follow a recipe under duress,” she admitted. “But my lack of skill in the kitchen is a very good thing for Sullivan’s. I’m your best customer.”

“True enough,” he said, still regarding her curiously. “If you don’t cook, which I assume means you don’t enjoy it, why are you so willing to pitch in at the restaurant?”

“It’s Dana Sue’s. I’d do anything to help out a friend.”

“And The Corner Spa? I know for a fact that you’re not an exercise nut. Did you provide the seed money for that because Maddie needed work?”

“In a way,” she replied. “And in theory, it was supposed to encourage me to exercise. The doctor was all over me about my blood pressure.”

“It’s high?” he asked, alarm in his eyes. “Why didn’t you mention that?”

“It
was
high,” she said. “It’s under control now. I manage to make myself do enough exercise to relieve at least some of the stress. And I have a little pill to do the rest. No big deal. Why would I mention it to you? It’s not exactly relevant to this.” She gestured at the tangled sheets.

He frowned at her glib tone. “You’re too young for a problem like that. You need to take better care of yourself.”

“I’m trying, especially lately.”

“Good,” he said, then fell silent. When he spoke again, he sounded uncertain. “How do you want to handle this?”

“Handle what?”

“You and me,” he said, then gestured at the rumpled bed as she had a moment earlier. “This.”

“We could pretend it never happened,” she suggested, only partly in jest.

“That implies it’s not going to happen again,” he said. “I think we both know otherwise.”

Helen shivered at the implication. “Do we?”

“I do. Don’t you?”

“It would be a shame not to repeat something that incredible,” she admitted, grinning at him.

“Okay, then, do we tell Dana Sue or not?”

“Absolutely not,” she said at once, which had his frown deepening.

“Okay, I have one reason why that makes sense, but something tells me you have an entirely different reason,” he said.

Helen wasn’t about to explain that Dana Sue might im
mediately put two and two together and come up with her baby plan, so she said, “Isn’t it obvious? She would make way too much out of this. Besides, I don’t think I could stand to have her gloating about it. She’s been predicting it for months.”

He laughed. “Yeah, the gloating would be hard to take. So, for now, we keep this just between us?”

“Agreed,” she said.

“Any idea how we’re going to pull that off?” he asked.

“No kissing, no touching, no lingering looks in public,” she suggested. “And I’ll act like I’m furious with you. That shouldn’t be hard. You usually do or say something on a daily basis to infuriate me.”

“I’ll be sure to continue,” he promised.

But despite Helen’s conviction that secrecy was the right way to go, she couldn’t deny feeling a little pang that she couldn’t share this with her two best friends.

But share what? she asked herself. It wasn’t as if she’d started a relationship that might lead somewhere, one that Dana Sue and Maddie would be elated to hear about. She’d started an affair that she hoped would result in a pregnancy. That was something best left unsaid. She knew in her heart that neither of her friends would congratulate her for that. Right this second she wasn’t sure she was very proud of herself, either.

Erik was in the storage pantry at Sullivan’s when he heard Maddie talking to Dana Sue. Though Dana Sue knew he was nearby, she didn’t seem to censor herself or warn Maddie that they might be overheard. Dana Sue took it for granted that he’d be discreet. He’d already learned far more of the intimate details of Maddie’s post-pregnancy recovery than he needed.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on with Helen?” he heard Maddie ask. “I haven’t seen her for a couple of weeks now. It’s not like her to avoid us.”

“You think that’s what she’s doing?” Dana Sue asked, sounding surprised. “I just assumed she was busy. You know how she gets when she’s working on a big case. She goes into hibernation. The final hearing in the Holliday case is coming up soon and she’s determined to get Caroline everything she deserves.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Maddie said. “She has been consumed with the Holliday divorce lately, but Caroline tells me that’s just about wrapped up. And she’s already handled Tess’s problem with Jimmy Bob West.”

“I know,” Dana Sue responded. “Tess is ecstatic. Diego’s back home and working again already. She thinks Helen hung the moon.”

“Okay, then, with those two things under control, Helen should have some free time. Where is she? Have you even spoken to her?”

“Now that you mention it, no,” Dana Sue replied. “She was popping in here just about every day for a while, but suddenly that stopped.”

“Well, what do you make of it?”

“New man in her life?”

“Why wouldn’t she tell us about that?” Maddie demanded. “She tells us everything.”

Erik decided it was time to make an appearance before Dana Sue’s agile mind leaped to a conclusion it would be best to avoid. He’d known Helen’s absences were going to spark speculation. He also knew she’d opted to avoid Sullivan’s rather than risk Dana Sue spotting some slip that would reveal their new relationship—
she hadn’t been that confident that either of them could stick to their plan.

Emerging from the pantry with bags of flour and sugar, he smiled at Maddie, who was beginning to regain her shape after her pregnancy. He thought she’d looked amazing while pregnant, but he had a hunch she was happier with her more slender figure.