Her Dakota Summer (8 page)

Chapter Eleven

Dakota sat in the dimly-lit kitchen, nursing a half-empty bottle of beer. Celeste had been closed in her office since he and the boys had returned from the playground. Foregoing dinner, she’d poked her head out to say good night and had gone right back to the computer. He glanced at the glowing dial of his watch.
Eleven-thirty.
She usually stopped working between now and midnight. Then she would shut everything down, peek at the boys and do her nightly security tour, checking the locks on the doors and windows that he’d already inspected. Finally, she would wander into the kitchen for a late-night snack.

The office door opened with a slight whine of the hinges. He sensed rather than saw her pass the kitchen on her way upstairs. The second time she passed, her check on the sleeping children complete, he wanted to call to her, then decided it would be better to let her finish her evening ritual. He got up from the table and moved into the dark hallway, planning to meet her by the door to his suite.

A tiny sneeze caught him by surprise and he started. He’d forgotten how quick she was. She’d made her way back from the garage door before he was halfway down the hall.

“Now who should be wearing a bell?” he teased her in a low voice.

Celeste made a startled sound of her own. “Looks like we scared each other. What are you doing prowling around past your bedtime?” She matched his light tone and stepped closer to him.

Dakota wound his arms around her waist. “I missed you,” he murmured into her neck and kissed the pulse there. “I don’t like being away from you.” He slipped both hands around her waist, under her T-shirt and kissed her, nudging her lips open with his tongue, tasting her. The whole day had passed like cold molasses for him, each hour dripping by with an agonizing slowness.

She was warm and soft and he kissed her once more, nudging her against the white-painted surface of the wall. The fragrance of her warm skin, a cross between some faraway floral and a richer, fruity scent made his blood flow faster and his cock stiffen in his jeans. Her body fit perfectly against his and she draped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer, pressing her soft breasts to his chest.

He whispered to her, words that meant both nothing and everything. Settling both hands on her waist, he brushed the satin skin of her belly with his thumbs, causing her to shiver. Encouraged, he moved his hands up her body, reaching the soft curve of her breasts. What was it about her that had attracted him from the first meeting? He drew a lazy circle over the very tip of her breast, repeating the movement on both sides until she was grinding herself against him, smothering her cries against his mouth.

“You’re torturing me,” she said and undid the waistband of his jeans, slipped her hand inside and stroked his cock, running her fingers over the tight skin until he thought he would explode. Her demanding kisses pushed his desire for her even higher.

“You don’t know what torture is.” He lifted her skirt then hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and pulled them down and off, then slipped his hand between her thighs. Celeste moaned, spurring him on as he stroked her clit, feeling her twist and writhe beneath his touch.

He took the condom out of his pocket, ripped it open and rolled it on, too eager to think of anything but sliding inside her.

“Wait.” Celeste put her hands against his chest. “Here? In the hallway?”

“Why not here?” He pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat. “Perfectly acceptable location.” He lifted her legs and thrust inside her with one smooth movement, her gasp a puff of air against his cheek.

Using the wall as leverage, he drove into her, his senses overwhelmed by her sweet presence.

She gave a long moan and whispered, “I love the way you fuck me,” which drove him even crazier than he already felt.

Later, they sat on the deck, chatting quietly as the lightning bugs flashed their love signals across the backyard. Celeste was in silhouette, the glow of the citronella torches playing across her face.

“This is a very awkward situation.”

“Not so much, Celeste.” He smoothed a hand over her thigh. He couldn’t get enough of touching her or smelling her. “I only have a little while left. This can work.”

“But the boys… Oh God.” She dropped her head into her hands. “They’ll be so confused. “

Dakota leaned back in his chair. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a rift between Celeste and her children. He knew how vulnerable kids were to the company that came in and out of the house.

“I know you hesitate because I’m young, younger than you,” he began. If he wanted to hold on to Celeste, and he did, he had to convince her of his seriousness. “But this isn’t a game to me.” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb along its soft contours. “I wouldn’t risk my job if I didn’t take this seriously.”

“But you’re much younger than I am,” Celeste murmured. She squeezed his hand. “You have so much ahead of you. I’m playing a fool’s game.”

He cleared his throat before speaking. “I’ve got
you
ahead of me, if you’ll allow it.” He raised his shoulders in a brief shrug. “I have to put myself in your hands.”

“Dakota.” Celeste squeezed his hand again, sending a thrill through his whole body.

“Cel.” He drew her close. “We can do this.”

“Okay,” she whispered and laid her head on his shoulder.

Chapter Twelve

The demand for good editors for the ever-expanding publishing phase of electronic books was increasing and Celeste was in the middle of the storm. Blushing Passion Press—the company she primarily free-lanced for—was one of the premier publishers of romance ebooks and the virtual stack of manuscripts to be edited and proofread, while welcomed, seemed never ending.

Celeste sat down at her desk to work. Dakota had told her the agenda for today, which included a visit to some Lego demonstration at Raritan Valley College, the park and the drive-thru at Sonic. A quick press of a button woke her desktop up from its after-dark slumber and she rubbed her temples in preparation for giving her author some helpful comments in their document.

The tinkling tune of her cell phone gave her some relief. Hoping it was Dakota with a check-in, she picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was her boss, Paris.

“Morning, Celly,” Paris’s words tumbled out one after the other. Sharp-tongued and to the point, she never minced words, but was quicker to praise than to criticize. “I’ve got good news for you.”

There was a pause and Celeste heard people talking in the background. “Morning, Paris. How are you? What’s the news?”

“Doing well, sweetie. Listen, we got a new editor. He’s fantastic and will halve your workload.”

Celeste smiled and spun in her chair to look out the back window. “Paris, you’ve brought me the best news of the day so far. When does he start?”

“If you go through your files as soon as possible and send him those you haven’t opened, he can get to it today. But if you need more time…”

“No, I can get them out within the hour.” She loved her job and most of the genres she edited, but the shape-shifting romances were her least favorite. Since she’d been given the opportunity to lighten her workload by choosing which manuscripts to surrender, she knew instantly that she would mix them in with some more traditional romances, but the shape-shifting ones would be the first to go. Excitement began to build as she realized how much more time she’d have to spend with her boys—and Dakota.

“Cool, baby. Send ‘em to me and I’ll get them out to him. I’ll send an email of formal introduction a little later, but I want to get him in the loop as soon as possible.”

Celeste clicked her mouse, navigating to the folder that held all the manuscripts. “Working on it right now. Thanks Paris, I appreciate this.”

“You’re a good editor, Celeste. Didn’t want to lose you by wearing you out. Getting you some help was my first priority.” She snapped back into a more business-like tone. “Besides,” she continued, “we needed a little testosterone around here. And I figured you’d want to spend more time with your boys. I know the load has been a little heavy.”

“I have a nanny, so it works out.”

Paris’s voice held a note of surprise, “Ooo, la, la. Very fancy, sweetie. Is it one of those hot male nannies with a great body, who loves to swim in a Speedo?”

Celeste giggled. “That’s about right, except for the Speedo part.”

There was a pause at the end of the line. Paris had been shocked into speechlessness. “You’re pulling my leg, Celly.”

“Would I do that to you?” Celeste chuckled.

“Well, well. I say you should be glad to be rid of half the work. Gives you more time to supervise. You have to keep an eye on your children’s caretakers. That’s for sure. Use your time wisely.”

“You’re too much, Paris. Thanks for the reprieve, though. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do my best work, with the number of books we had to do.”

“You always do your best work, Celly. Enjoy the rest of the summer.” Paris disconnected.

Celeste rocked back in her chair, unable to wipe the satisfied smile off her face. Her free time had just multiplied by two.

* * * *

Dinner was a noisy affair with Malcolm and Jackson vying to tell her all about the wonders of the Lego demonstration and the new additions to their local park. The weather had been too cool and overcast to swim, so the afternoon had ended with a loud game of Monopoly and some before dinner ice-cream.

When Celeste told the table her good news, Jackson’s face fell. “Does that mean that Dakota has to leave?”

Celeste shot a quick glance at her nanny, who had conveniently looked down to scoop food into his mouth. “No, that’s not what it means. Dakota is going to stay here with you. I’m just going to have more free time, that’s all.”

“Good,” Jackson pronounced, grabbing a steamed broccoli spear and gnawing on it, “Because we’re not finished having fun yet.”

Malcolm nodded, agreeing with his younger brother. “Yeah, we ain’t finished having fun.”

“Aren’t.” She and Dakota spoke at the same time and she glanced back at him again. This time their gazes met. A little jolt of emotion shot through Celeste and she couldn’t suppress a smile. “It’s supposed to be ‘we aren’t finished having fun’.”

Dakota returned her smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “That’s about right,” he said. “Lots of fun still to be had.”

Malcolm looked from one to the other. “You guys are weird.”

Chapter Thirteen

“There’s a state fair-type thing tonight if you want to take the boys.”

Celeste pushed the silverware drawer closed and wiped her hands on a yellow cotton dishtowel. “It’s late.”

“They didn’t swim today, so they’re bouncing off the walls. We can go just for an hour.” He eased the dishtowel from her grasp, tossed it onto the counter then took her hands in his. His hands were warm, his eyes alight with anticipation. “It’ll be a date.”

Celeste smiled and let him draw her close for a brief kiss. “Let’s go then.”

The boys were wide-eyed and quiet in the car, not used to being out so late at night, but when they arrived at the fairgrounds, the tent lights, the games and the smell of fried food in the air revived them. They bounced in their seats as Dakota maneuvered the station wagon into a dirt-packed space and as soon as they unlocked the doors, they were the first out of the car.

Celeste breathed in the myriad smells of the summer night air and felt that grin creep across her face again. Though she had read about the fair in the paper numerous times over the past few years, she’d never got up the gumption to pack up the boys and go exploring. Now, she was ready for adventure.

“Mommy!” Malcolm tugged at her arm. “There’s Isabel’s mother and Isabel! Can I go say hi? Can I?”

“Isabel is Malcolm’s girlfriend.” Jackson offered.

“She is not,” Malcolm said, before he ran off.

“Well, wait,” she began, but it was too late, Malcolm had already dashed over and hugged his friend from school. Her mother waved, saw Dakota and a puzzled look came over her face as she hurried over.

“Celeste,” the petite brown woman said, hugging her. “I haven’t seen you all summer.”

“I’ve been so busy, Ruth, I haven’t had a chance to do much of anything.” She stepped back and indicated Dakota with a nod of her head. “This is my nanny, Dakota.”

“Hi, Dakota.” Ruth shook his hand, a speculative look on her face. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice meeting you too.” He smiled and took his hand back.

Isabel and Malcolm were whispering behind Ruth’s back.

“Mommy.” Isabel touched her mother’s arm. “Can Malcolm come with us?”

“Oh, no, Malcolm, you can’t—”

Ruth put a hand on her arm, her eyes twinkling. “It’s not a problem, Celeste. Isabel hasn’t seen Malcolm in a while.” She winked. “You know how much they like each other.”

Celeste grinned. The two had been close friends since kindergarten and she and Ruth had often joked they would sit together at the wedding. “If it’s all right with you, Ruth. We should have made the rounds in about…” She turned to Dakota, raising her eyebrows in question. “An hour?”

“Why not two? It is summer vacation.”

Celeste nodded. “I think two would be just right.”

She turned back to Ruth, catching a glint of gleeful suspicion in her eyes. “Is two hours okay with you, Ruth?”

“Sounds good to me. Come on, kids.”

“Wait.” Celeste dug into her purse and handed Malcolm two tens. “Don’t spend it all in one place. In fact…” She gave him another ten and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “Don’t spend it all on yourself. Be nice.”

Malcolm smiled. “I will, Mom. Thanks.” He shoved the money into his shorts pocket.

Celeste directed her attention to Ruth. “Thanks, Ruth. We’ll meet back here in about two hours or so.”

“All right then.” Ruth smiled and tilted her head. “You…have fun.”

* * * *

“My goodness,” Celeste said after the woman had ushered the two children away. Jackson was looking at a display of hand-sewn teddy bears at a booth. “She acts as if she already knows something.” She shrugged. “More power to her.” She turned to Dakota, her expression shy. “I hope you didn’t mind me introducing you as the nanny. I…didn’t want to assume.”