Stay: Changing Tides, Book 1 (23 page)

But he pushed her over that precipice. Each tingle broke, spreading in duplicate shards that laced her stomach and wrapped around to her back where it sizzled up her spine. As if from a distance, she heard his strangled yell, his body pulsing larger inside her body, jumping in reaction to the shared intensity of their release.

Blood hammered in her veins, muffling the sound around them, and she slowly settled back to the reality of what they’d just shared. She sat up to wrap her arms around him before kissing the chaotic pulse beating in his neck. Hugging him close, she smiled, basking in the temporary happiness they’d created.

He pulled her from the counter and settled her against his chest, his warm breaths brushing her temple as he carried her toward the bedroom.

She glanced at the hallway clock when they passed. “It’s getting late.”

He pushed the door open with his foot and tumbled to the bed. His kiss lingered over her lips for a moment before he leaned up on an elbow to smile down at her. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

She shook her head. Hell no. “I just didn’t want you to miss Jonathon.”

“Well, if that’s all you’re worried about, I hope you’ll be happy to find out he won’t be back until morning.” He slid a finger over her lower lip, his eyes hooded as his sex jumped against her thigh.

“Really?” Excitement clenched her chest. An entire night spent in his arms should have scared the hell out of her. The temptation to lose herself in this man couldn’t be ignored. “Do you want to stay the night?”

“God, yes.” He nibbled at her shoulder. “Have any ideas what we could do for the rest of the night?”

She rolled over, straddling his hips. “I can think of a few things.”

Brack finished toweling her hair dry before he pulled her back to the bed. He held the sheets up as she climbed under them and lay next to her. They’d spent the last several hours enjoying each other’s bodies. God, the things they’d shared.

She yawned, pressing the back of her hand against her kiss-swollen lips. He pulled her closer into the curve of his arm. Everything about her drove him wild. He didn’t want to let her go, but he’d never try to make her stay. She didn’t push him. The least he could do was return the favor. But he couldn’t resist letting her know that he wanted her around. “I still don’t know why you have to leave, but until then… You’re good for me, for Jonathon, and we’ll take as much of you as you’re willing to give.”

She snuggled closer to his side with a tiny nod.

“How long do we have?”

This time she shrugged. Her breathing eased, and the heavy draw of sleep tugged at his eyes. The scent of their lovemaking lingered in the room, and he inhaled with a smile. He would have fallen asleep with that smile if the single tear that traced from her beautiful eyes hadn’t dampened more than the tangled sheets beneath them.

He had to keep this simple. He didn’t want her to hurt.

Chapter Sixteen

The soft trill of her cell phone dragged Abby from sleep. She rolled from beneath the arm Brack had draped across her stomach and grabbed the phone. The call alert flashed bright in the early morning light and she groaned. The number wasn’t one she recognized, but she’d bet money she knew who it was.

She clicked the side button to ignore the call before the ring woke Brack and lay back on her pillow. She didn’t want to answer her mother’s call for help this time. Would it be so terrible to sever all ties? She’d done her best. Tried to help her mother through the stages and intricacies of her illness, but always, just when Abby harbored a hope that she’d finally settled into a healthy routine, she’d go off her meds and revert to deadly behaviors.

A person could only take so much. And Abby felt the sting of her mother’s inconsistency more this time than ever before. She’d make it impossible to enjoy the life Abby knew she could find here. Good people, a great job. But most of all, a man and his son. People she loved…

Her mother’s illness scared her more than the thought of living without love, without a family of her own. She’d made herself a promise never to subject anyone to the horrors of schizophrenia. Her new friends, Brack, and certainly Jonathon, didn’t deserve the chaos her mother would bring.

She glanced at Brack’s handsome profile as she hit the button to call her voicemail. She brushed his hair back from his forehead, memorizing the strong lines of his jaw and eyes. His touch and taste would remain burned in her heart.

Her mother’s voice grated shrill over the speaker. She was in jail again, for theft this time. She needed bail money. Abby erased the message without listening to the rest. She knew the next few lines by heart.

“Sorry, baby girl. I love you. I’ll get help…”

The same as every time before. She closed the phone and rolled back into Brack’s embrace. She needed what only he could offer. A moment to forget everything.

She kissed his neck, straddling his hips. His body responded to her touch even in sleep and she reached for one of the condoms they’d set on the nightstand.

His hands stalled her subtle shifts against his rapidly hardening sex, and he smiled sleepily. “Good morning.”

She pressed a deep kiss to his mouth, sucking at his bottom lip. “It is indeed.”

She took her time covering him, enjoying the way the early-morning light played over his perfect body. She kissed and touched the minute scars marking his torso, memorizing their texture and wondering at their source. Everything about Brack made her want to know more. “I love touching you.”

“Good.” He entered her in a swift stroke, his hands splaying out across her belly and moving higher to tease her nipples. “Then don’t stop.”

Pleasure came swiftly, her mind reeling from the way she reacted to him. But she kept the pace, wanting to return the feelings he evoked and give him the same unbound satisfaction he’d shared with her several times through the long night hours.

She leaned close, taking every inch he had to offer before teasingly pulling away until he nearly left her body. She watched the deepening crease of tension across his forehead, his eyes hooded and intense. His pleasure heightened her own until after several greedy pumps over his body he rolled her to her back and took them both over the edge to another brilliant release.

Tiny stars burst at the corners of her eyes as the orgasm rocked up through her core and shook her legs. She cried out, her voice strained by the pressure in her chest. This man would remain in her mind and heart forever.

With his body connected to her own, and the pleasure they shared, she didn’t know if she was strong enough to walk away. It was crazy to expect him to deal with her mother’s problems. It was too much to ask. And still her heart refused to listen. He was strong, inside and out. Maybe, maybe he could handle her insane life.

Brack rolled to his side and pulled her close, his chest rising and falling rapidly from their lovemaking. “Good Lord, woman, you’re going to kill me.”

She laughed, feeling giddy with the knowledge that she might have more time with him. “I was feeling awful I had to wake you, so I figured I’d do it in a nice way. I have to go.”

He sat up, her pale peach sheets looking incredible draped across his hips. But it was the concern in his gaze that moved her. “What’s wrong?”

She slipped from the bed before he could entice her back and pulled on a tank top and pajama bottoms. How to make him understand? “It’s a—family issue I have to take care of.”

One tanned arm draped across his leg, his expression confused. “Family? This is the first time you’ve ever mentioned them. Everything okay?”

She tossed his clothes to him, uncertain how long she could keep her emotions hidden. Before she could decide anything for certain, she had to deal with her mother. “Not close family,” she lied. “I’ll try to explain later. But I really have to go.”

He nodded, standing in all his delicious, naked perfection. Damn, but there wasn’t a portion of his body that could have been considered unlickable. “I’m being kicked out? Hmmm—” he grabbed her hand and pulled her close, “—maybe I didn’t do well enough last night. Care to try again?”

Heat slicked her thighs. And again, and again… “Not now. I really have to go, as sorry as I am to ruin our good time like this. I’m so sorry—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t apologize. I was only kidding. Go. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be dressed and out of here before you know it.”

She kissed him, lingering over the soft curves of his lips, inhaling his warm, spicy scent. She needed to shower, but the lingering essence of his body clung to her skin, and she hated to wash it away. With a heavy sigh, she stepped back “I’m going to grab a shower before I go. Feel free to make coffee.”

He winked. “Just go. Before I change my mind about being nice and pull you back to bed for a couple more hours.”

She grabbed a towel from the closet and hurried into the bathroom. “Thanks, Brack.”

He smiled hugely. “See you at the auction tonight?”

“Yes. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She closed the door then and held her breath. Her heart wouldn’t maintain a steady rhythm until she heard the front door close behind him. Racing to the front room, she watched as he pulled out of the drive.

Her fingers shook as she dialed the number her mother had left and she slid down against the door until she sat on the floor.

The man who answered rattled off a list of official names before asking her how he could help. She gave her name, her mother’s name and asked what she could do. The first man transferred her to another and she listened with the same cold feeling that closed over her each time she had to make these calls.

Found her nearly naked on a park bench… She attacked one of the officers… Stolen goods in her bag… Medications… Security camera clearly shows…

Abby braced her forehead with a shaky hand. “She’s schizophrenic, so the meds are probably hers. She’s trying to get help.”

The officer spoke with genuine concern. “You can bail her out, but she’ll have to appear at an arraignment date.”

Laughing at the thought wouldn’t do much good. Her mother never showed up for her court dates. She probably had arrest warrants in ten different towns. For a moment, Abby considered leaving her in jail. But memories of the condition she’d been in after spending a couple of nights in lock-up made the decision easier. She’d have to bail her out.

After the official conversation and dates were set, Abby asked the officer where they were located.

She thanked him for his help and hung up the phone. Tears broke free to spill down her cheeks, and she didn’t bother to wipe at them. It would take a bit for them to stop this time around. Her mother was in Maine. One reason brought her here. Her baby girl, her daughter who she’d never leave alone for too long.

If Abby was going to stay, she’d have to tell Brack. She’d have to open up about everything her mother had done, and everything he was in for if he wanted to be part of her life. He might turn her away once he knew. But it was a chance she had to take this time.

Love blossomed in her chest, and the tears came harder.

She loved them.

To the very depths of her heart, she loved them and always would.

She’d never been so scared of rejection. And now, she just had to hope they’d accept her and the problems she’d bring into their lives.

Brack waved for the last car to go past before he signaled for Linwood to back the rescue truck around. Midday, and it proved to remain uncommonly warm for earliest spring. The rest of the country might be in full spring bloom, but Maine lagged behind when it came to giving up the vestiges of winter.

Linwood stopped at the edge of the fairgrounds and shut the engine off. He climbed down stiffly, and for the first time, Brack really noticed the man’s age. “You doing okay, old man?”

“Never better.” Linwood tossed several heavy traffic cones at him for emphasis. “Don’t worry ’bout me.”

Brack set his cones in place and smiled. “For the first time in a long time, I’m not worried.”

That wasn’t completely true. He’d worried about Abby most of the day. Her cryptic explanation about helping a family member had shaken his assuredness that what they’d shared wouldn’t cause problems this time around. Questions had raced through his mind throughout the day. But one stuck out more than any. Had she just needed an excuse to get rid of him?

Linwood chuckled, breaking the depressive train of thought. “Well, that wouldn’t have nothin’ to do with your truck parked at Abby’s early this morning, would it?”

Brack eyed the old man. He’d left at ten minutes of six. “How’d you know that?”

Linwood shrugged. “Didn’t till now.”

“Shit.”

The old man chuckled. “None o’ my business, no how. Now let’s get this place set up. I got a date tonight and I don’t plan to be here any longer than I have to.”

A date? Brack shook his head. He grabbed boxes of decorations and passed them to the volunteers gathering on the fairgrounds. All of his team was assembled as planned. Except one.

Thinking about her constantly couldn’t be good, and he immersed himself in the setup details.