Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2) (39 page)

She let herself air dry as she got another
glass of champagne and considered talking to business people. She
figured the neighborhood kids wouldn’t follow her toward their
parents. As she pondered it, though, she saw more than one pair of
old eyes dip, then stick, to her wet boobs.

Neighborhood kids it was. She would opt for
a virgin’s attempt at hitting on a girl over a sleazy old man any
day.

A few glasses of champagne and a few more
dives later, she’d finally had enough. The neighborhood kids were
dull, ridiculous, and extremely irritating. She didn’t care what
this kid’s dad did, or what he got for his birthday. She also
didn’t care which college this other kid went to, or what college
his friend tried to get into and failed. They were too young, and
their conversations were starting to chafe.

With her own
call of duty
over, she
decided to find Sean and tell him she was leaving. And yes, if she
was any good at seducing, she would absolutely give it a
go.

Sean must have just told a joke because the
cheerleaders were in rapture. Not wasting the opportunity to stare,
she checked him out for the hundredth time. She just couldn’t get
enough of that body. Seeing him in a swimsuit was heaven. Almost
better than naked because there was that thrill of the chase. She
wanted to trap him, move in, and reach down under those swim trunks
and play with what she found.

When she looked up to his eyes, he was
looking down at her goods. He then looked up and saw her watching
him.

Busted.

Krista smiled bashfully. Sean gave her a
boyish grin and shrugged. Krista nodded her head to the right,
indicating a meet up. He nodded, and they both moved out of the
swarm of neighborhood kids and toward each other.

It might have been in slow motion as Sean
stepped out and walked toward her, his shimmering, wet muscles in
play, the power in his stride making all the young girls behind him
swoon and stare. He was magical. The glide of his body, the
anticipation of the meeting, the thrill of what might happen next.
His eyes were serious, delving into her as though he were thinking
the same thing.

As he neared, Krista’s heart was hammering.
She could barely get enough air. She could make out the hunger in
his eyes. The hum of his body. She knew what that look meant. She
knew what he was thinking. She’d seen that look often enough;
usually right before some part of his body found its way to hers. A
fantastic climax always followed.

The memories made her intensely horny and
intensely sad at the same time.

She spoke first, their eyes locked together,
“I’m heading out. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Can’t take what? The young guys looking at
your breasts, or the old ones?” His eyes were hooded as they looked
down on her.

“All of the above,” she murmured.

“How are you getting back?” He took a step
closer.

Her legs nearly gave out. “I’ll walk out a
ways, and then call a cab. I don’t want to get a cab from here. It
would be embarrassing.”

“I’ll drive you.”

Her heart and groin both jumped at the
suggestion. “Did you want to swim at my hotel? I plan on getting in
a few more hours without being pestered.” Part of her asked as
friends. But only part. She knew it. She hoped he didn’t.

“Sure.”

Without further ado they got their
stuff—Krista heard the protests of the girls from the other side of
the pool—and walked away from the neighborhood kids. Sean quickly
pulled her into the cluster of trees with the drinks.

Confused, she said, “We can get drinks at
the hotel if you want?”

“I just thought you might want to put on
your wrap. It’s getting cold.”

She laughed because it was so cute. “You
didn’t want all the old men checking me out, or you figured I
didn’t?”

“Both. You’re beautiful—they’ll look.”

His eyes were so green as they looked down
on her. They caught the light of the afternoon and matched the lush
trees around them. She loved hearing those compliments from his
lips. She loved that he thought them—also that he was worried about
showing her off. It meant his attraction, dare she say love, for
her was from a good place. A wholesome place.

“Well,” she said, shrugging, “I don’t want
to get shown up by Blondie, after all.”

“Caught me—that’s what I was really
thinking. I was just looking out for your ego in the end.”

Her wrap was from Hawaii and could fit over
her in a number of ways. Because she definitely didn’t want to get
checked out, and because Sean was worried about it, too, she did a
tie up around her neck so it loosely draped over the rest of her
body. Boob size was evident, but cleavage and all other skin down
to her mid-thigh was covered and non-descript.

“Had practice covering up?”
Sean asked as he threw on a
Hurley
T-shirt.

“I love pools, beaches, and all things
sunny. I learned the ropes during my summer in Hawaii.”

“And yet you live in San Francisco in the
foggiest part of the city…”

“I never said I was smart about my life
choices, did I?”

“You did not, no. Silly of me to
assume.”

They found Tory right away—he was the only
guy in a Hawaiian shirt after all, and said their thanks and
goodbyes.

“Not so fast, Miss Marshall,” Tory said as
he stepped away from his conversation. “I wouldn’t dare let you
leave without giving you something to aspire to.” He smiled
mischievously and half glanced at Sean, who’d taken a small step
closer.

“The swords, that’s right! Lead the way,”
Krista remembered excitedly.

“Mr. McAdams, would you care to join us?”
Tory was being the model host, but a part of her wondered if he
wasn’t poking Sean as he moonlighted her.

“Of course,” Sean said, stepping marginally
closer again.

On second thought, she was sure Tory was
rubbing it in. Sean’s nervousness was transparent.

Thankfully Tory didn’t extend the invitation
any further than them, even though the businessman behind him
would’ve clearly liked to go.

They walked through the house the way Fake
Jeeves had led the party goers, but instead of going straight
through the hallway to the entryway, they curved to the right, went
up another grand flight of stairs, took a left, and then to the
first door on the right. Krista was afraid to ask how many rooms
there were in the place; she might get asked to get the candlestick
from Fake Jeeves in the library and never make it out.

As they entered the room, Krista was struck
speechless. Without thought, she grabbed Sean’s hand to share the
spectacle. She didn’t even notice his lack of resistance, and
barely felt the electrical current--she was that awestruck with
what she saw in front of her.

The large room was like a museum. The walls
were covered with various types, sizes, and ages of swords. Some
looked hundreds of years old. Some looked used, as in, on people!
And some gleamed as if they’d never been out of their display
case.

In the back of the room was
a suit of armor, slightly tarnished, which meant it probably saw
some action at one time or another. A section of the wall next to
the armor had some other types of weapons within the sword realm,
like a wicked-looking ax, a pronged thing that looked like it would
hurt, and a spiked ball that had a cameo in
Braveheart.
All the rest were
swords.

In the middle of the floor
were two rows of display cases, housing even more weapons, which
were probably more exceptional than those she could see on the
walls! He easily had more than a hundred.
Easily.

“What do you think?” Tory asked.

Krista squeezed Sean’s hand, and then leaned
into him when he stepped closer. “I’m in awe. I’m not even jealous.
I couldn’t be jealous. This is…unbelievable. Seriously
unbelievable. How did you get so many? And some look old. Are they
originals?”

Tory was delighted, “Here, I’ll give you a
tour.”

They hit the display cases first, and
learned that this room could legitimately be a museum. In fact,
sometimes Tory loaned out some of the swords for special shows or
occasions. He had one or two from all the prominent historical
periods. He even had one from King Arthur’s era! Spoiler alert: It
wasn’t Excalibur.

He had most of the Lord of the Rings swords,
which were in the back of the room, irritatingly. He had a sword
that still had blood on it! Krista was revolted. And
fascinated.

Sean was just fascinated.

All through the tour Sean kept Krista’s
hand. If he was embarrassed, he didn’t show it. Nor did he care
when Tory noticed. When they paused to look at a sword that
particularly interested Krista, Sean would press close, his body
either touching hers or mere inches away.

Krista was in heaven. The swords, the
man—heaven. She never wanted it to end.

But sadly, she knew that when they walked up
to the gleaming Samurai sword, it would be the last one.

“And finally, your Holy Grail. This is a
true samurai sword. Never used, but hand crafted, expertly
balanced, and razor sharp. It is a one of a kind.”

Krista leaned forward and stared. Unlike its
cheap counterparts, this sword was visibly a work of art; the hand
stitching on the handle, the leather case, the artful curve. It was
magnificent.

“I want one,” she breathed.

Tory laughed. “It wasn’t easy to come by. I
worked closely with a Japanese firm for some months. We did them a
service. Their president was so grateful he bestowed this gift upon
me. A great gift. It more than made up for the risk we took with
his company—which, by the way, was a purely business risk. The
Japanese, though, are as generous as they are loyal. I am still in
touch with him, but I haven’t been able to match such an exquisite
gift.”

“Not in your eyes, no. But in his, you
probably outdid him with your retribution gift. You two are
probably playing the one-upper game,” Krista said.

Tory threw his head back and laughed. “Yes,
you’re exactly right. Such an insightful woman. You are exactly
right. But it still stands, this is a rare treasure. Not easy to
come by.”

“Lucky man,” Krista said, bumping up against
Sean’s shoulder.

“Yes. Speaking of, I notice John sent a spy
with you. I imagine negotiations are out of the question.”

Sean smiled, and for the first time since he
entered the room, spoke. “I couldn’t possibly make it easy to steal
her. You know me better than that.”

Tory laughed again, leading
them out of the room. “Yes, I do. Pity. But since we are working
together, there is always tomorrow. Or the next day. I am not a man
to give up easily. I think you
know
me
better than
that.”

Sean smiled.

“Until next time,” Tory said by way of
goodbye, leaving them at the front door. Fake Jeeves was there,
holding it open.

As they exited they heard, “And Krista?”

She turned.

Tory fixed her with a level stare. “Get
their offer. Don’t dally. Then call me. I’ll beat it. Oh, and Emily
wanted me to remind you about her advice—whatever it was. Although,
I warn you, she is liable to get you into trouble as often as she
helps.” That stare turned to Sean and he winked before walking back
into the great maw of his house.

“I’ve been warned,” Sean said, dropping
Krista’s hand.

Her palm was cold in the absence. Her heart
dropped painfully.

When they were in the car sitting on towels,
Sean asked, “What advice?”

“Girl talk.”

“In other words, mind my own business?”

“Precisely.”

“Cassie says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

“What? Oh Cassie. How is she? Well, I guess
it has only been a week, but did she get over her hangover?”

“She did. She is excited to come back out to
live. She likes it here.”

“Good. I like it, too. I’ve never lived in
Arizona, though.”

“It is great in the winter, but the summer
is rough. And land locked. Without trees.”

“Doesn’t sound awesome.”

“No. Not awesome,” Sean laughed at her.

When they got to the hotel, Krista led the
way to her room.

“Jeez
Krissy, this is a nice hotel,” Sean said, looking
around.

Krista thrilled at the new nickname. She saw
his eyes linger on the bed, and then flit away. She followed his
gaze, remembering his rippled muscles working over her as his
weight crushed her to the mattress.

When she looked back at him, he was watching
her with a covered expression.

“Busted,” she said with a shrug.

He smiled a little, his eyes stayed trained
on her. They were darkened somewhat, with desire kindled and slowly
burning. She felt her skin get hot as she met his gaze.

“Anywho, let’s do this before we lose the
warm sun,” Krista said, tearing her eyes away from Sean’s
unwavering gaze. “Stop staring. It’s creepy.”

“Busted,” Sean muttered as he looked away
and followed her out of the room.

The pool was fabulous. Not as nice as Tory’s
perhaps, but without all the cheerleaders and spirit squad. She
said as much to Sean.

“What was with those kids?” Sean said in
exasperation. “They seemed about our age, well, your age, but then
they started talking and sounded twelve years old.”

“I know! Some guy only wanted to talk about
video games. Really? Video games? That’s it? That’s all you do in
life?”

She did a perfect flip into a dive. When she
surfaced she saw Sean dive in after her.

“What’s with all the fancy dives?” he asked
when he surfaced. He was about three feet from her. Planned
entrance, obviously.