To Claim Her (7 page)

“Get some clothes together.  You can’t sleep here.”  His hand caressed a baby blue underwire before pulling it free. 

She felt her face flame at his familiarity.  “Quit fingering my underwear!”

He mortified her by continuing his search, finally settling on matching bikini underwear with eyelet flowers around the hip seams.  His low chuckle irritated her further.  “I’d rather be -” 

Her smack to his shoulder stopped him short. 

“Feeling violated, sweetheart?” 

She hated him in that instant.  “Kind of.  There are strangers gawking at a freshly dropped tree in my living room and you’re digging through my drawers.”

He laughed again. 

“Not funny.”  She slammed the dresser drawer shut and stalked to the bed.  He followed her with the beam of light.  She dropped her shoes, tugged her shorties down with her good hand and sat on the bed.  “Do you mind?”

“Not one bit.”  He held the light on her feet and propped himself against the wall in a leisurely stance. 

She gritted her teeth and frowned at him.  “Just because you have screwed your way through half the women in North America when you dropped me doesn’t mean every one of is comfortable with your ogling.  I’m not going to be next on your list.  Now, turn around so I can change.”

He was very still for a moment before turning to the side so he was no longer looking at her.  He kept the light aimed in her direction.  She quickly stripped off her pajama shorts and pulled the jeans up and over her hips.  She went back to the closet and pulled a sweatshirt over her head.  No way was she stripping off her tank and putting on a bra while he half watched. 

“I haven’t slept with half the women in North America.   Just so you know, I didn’t drop you so I could sleep with anyone else.  I left because I had something to prove, mostly to myself, after my mother died. I haven’t slept with anyone here since I broke things off with you.”

Here.  She noticed the distinction, not that she had expected that.  He had no reason not to sleep with every woman he crossed.  No doubt they had been willing.  Even now, in a disaster situation late at night, he was so masculine even her elderly neighbor was probably biting her lip anxiously waiting for another look at the wet t-shirt stretched across his broad back.  He handed her a bag from the bottom of her closet, and she pushed clothes inside before returning to the dresser.

“It makes no difference to me.  I haven’t exactly been waiting for you.”

He was on her in an instant, his arms wrapped around her, gentle but urgent as he pulled her into his chest and tucked his face into her neck so his breath hit her skin.  “We’re going to talk about that just as soon as we get to a safe place.  You might have thought we were over.  Now you should know different.  I’m back and you owe me.”

She winced at the grip he had over the fresh cuts.  He loosened his arms but didn’t let go.

“Whatever.”  She pushed until he let go and finished her packing before leading him down the stairs. 

She was surprised to find Mrs. Harris gone.  Several vehicles with headlights were aimed at her house, and men she’d never met worked on her front porch to cover the hole in the wall with tarps, hammers and loose boards from the debris.  They had draped the covering over the tree as tightly as possible, and the outside was once again separate from her living room, save the top of the tree.

The men stopped working and made their way to Mark, hugging and slapping his back or shaking his hand.  She had assumed these men were with the insurance agent, but they seemed to be Mark’s friends.  He really had come to the rescue.

“Thanks for your help.”  He nodded to the dark haired man closest to him. “Gretchen, this is Derek.”  He looked stern and sexy.  Like a school girls’ naughty dream.  She shook off the thought. 

Another man approached, equally sexy, and stretched out his hand for her to take.  “This is Jack.” 

“Hey there sweetheart.”

She smiled quickly at the stranger.

“And of course you know Brent.”

She nodded at the local game warden.  She’d seen him around Sebastian’s house several times.  He’d been there to welcome Mark back to town just days ago.  He had a clear allegiance to Mark after being saved after a gunshot by Mark and his team.  He had been out of the military for over a year but still held the quiet reserved stance of a military man not quite at ease. 

“These men are all from my unit.  We’ve been through hell and back together.”

“Here, here.  But let’s not depress the lady.  Give me a hand, Saint.”

She gave Mark a startled look.  A saint he wasn’t.  She knew better.  He ignored her curiosity and went to give Jack a hand. 

“Looks like you all have it secured.  I’ll get a carpenter out here in the morning to see how bad the damage is.”
              The insurance agent returned then.  “You’ve got good friends to help out on a night like tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”  She didn’t bother telling him they were Mark’s friends or that she’d just met them all.  It would raise too many questions. 

“I’ve spoken to the officer who was here.   He’s going to keep a close eye on the place over night so you won’t need to stay here. I’ll get an adjuster out here tomorrow for pictures and an estimate.  Let me have your number, and I’ll get in contact with you as soon as we know something.”

Before she could speak, Mark rattled off his own phone number.  “We’ll give you a call late tomorrow to follow up if we don’t hear from you first.  We’ll try to get work started as soon as we can get someone out here so be quick with the pictures.”

“First thing in the light of day.”

Mark nodded.  Before Gretchen could respond, the insurance agent was gone.  She wondered if he knew she could speak for herself, even considered standing up for her own ability to speak but didn’t since being taken seriously as a woman was a challenge sometimes.  Maybe Mark had just saved her some trouble. 

As she watched the men finish up the temporary barrier, she considered what else she needed to gather.  She went to the kitchen and grabbed her purse, her phone charger, and a few toiletries from the bathroom.   She didn’t have a lot of valuable items in the house, but she gathered a few things together just in case someone broke in – her laptop, a ring from her grandmother, a photo album and Eddie’s baby book, a picture someone had taken of her with her sister in cap and gown at high school graduation, and a few items that Eddie loved.  It might be an unnecessary precaution but she couldn’t be too careful.  

When she returned, Mark was talking with his friends before they took off.

She thanked them, and Jack gave her a friendly half hug.  Brent had already returned to his truck.  Derek eyed her seriously before nodding and turning to go.

“Nice friends of yours to help.” 

“They’re good guys.  More like brothers than friends.”

She nodded.  “I hope your Dad doesn’t mind you bringing home a stray.”  She secured the front door best she could.  Mark carried her bag to the truck, opening her door and ushering her in out of the drizzling rain with a lift to her bottom.

He rounded the truck and got in.  “You know better than that.”

“Yes.  I do.  He’s offered more times than I can count to help me over the years.”

It went unsaid that he’d offered because Mark hadn’t been here.  But he didn’t acknowledge that thought and neither did she.

He glanced at the house before starting the truck.  “Who is he staying with?” 

“With Laura.  She has a son the same age he’s gone to the zoo with.  He’ll be back tomorrow night.”  Mark had met her when they were in school together. 

She blew out a breath.  Would Mark want to tell Eddie the news right away?  She blew out a cleansing breath and took another look at her house as they pulled away.  When would she be able to return to her home and her independence?

Chapter Five

              Mark double checked the locks and looked in on his father. It was nice to be home for that. The older man was sound asleep, comfortable in bed, so he headed for the shower and the hot spray to wash away the damp and dirt from the storm.

Gretchen was settled in the living area just up the stairs from the kitchen.  A mother in law’s apartment, his parents used to call it.  He’d never minded the distance of the extra room before, but the truth was he would rather put her in the bed with him.  He hadn’t been collecting her for his father’s piece of mind but his own.  He was still plenty angry but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her.

              He turned on the shower and stepped under the spray letting it pound the tension out of his muscles.   There was a lot Gretchen didn’t know about him.  He would open her eyes to the realities soon enough.  She had certainly sprung the surprises on him tonight. 

A son. 

He had a son. 

He came back from the military thinking about her.  He’d been thinking about her off and on since he had left years before.  Her young hopeful personality had been so sweet and innocent.  Something in Mark had kept him from doing what he’d known he could.  He could have screwed her five ways from Sunday and married her for life back then, but they both would have been miserable in a matter of years. 

He had known himself even then, that there was something about him that wasn’t as straight laced as she thought.  The fact that he was a jealous son of a bitch was only part of it.  The dominant streak in him was more than an edge needed for military precision.  He had known that even as a twenty-two year old.

He had been ready to discuss the possibilities with Gretchen a few times but something stopped him.  Probably her innocent smile and the possibility that he was about to screw up her normal vanilla expectations of him.  He had held back until she turned eighteen.  But the longer he was with her, the more seductive her sweet smile became. 

Eventually he caved in and took her home for the night.  One night that turned into a weekend while her sister was out of town.  Once he got a taste, he hadn’t let her out of bed for two days.  He knew then that he couldn’t take over her life.  He would overpower her with a mixture of control and domination that she would likely squash her innocent personality. 

Turns out she did have a mind of her own – one that kept his son a secret for years. 

              He switched the water from pounding hot to piercing cold.  The spray took his breath away but his hard on still raged.  Since he’d carried Gretchen out of those woods three days ago, he had been disgusted with himself for his constant state of arousal. 

He’d followed her around like a puppy until he realized what he was doing.  Back off before you scare her away had been the thought drumming through his head.  Now that he knew he had a son, though, no one was going anywhere. 

When his Dad had told him about Gretchen’s independent streak and tough girl attitude, he finally knew she could handle him.  His plan to finesse her was over.  He had left her feeling scalded and abandoned years before.  He meant to give her time to warm up to him again.  She obviously wanted nothing to do with him, and he had returned with intentions of making amends.  

Not now. 

Now, he wanted to take his anger at her secret out on her body.  He was back to claim her. Body and soul.

He’d start with her body.

              He dried off and made his way back to the kitchen to find a drink.  It was early morning and he should be tired, but the adrenaline rush from seeing Gretchen stand under a falling tree had him wide awake.  Instead of heading to bed, he grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and dropped onto the middle of the couch silently watching sports highlights on television and waiting for the crash to hit him. 

His thoughts wandered back to Gretchen’s house in the storm.  He thought she’d been badly injured or dead.  Finding her lying under a pile of branches in those sweet and sexy little PJ’s with her body still whole was a sign.  He had another chance to take care of their unfinished business. 

There was no way he was leaving there without her.  If she thought she was ever moving out of this house without him, she had another think coming.  He was meeting his son later, and there was no way she would separate them again.  The idea motivated him.  Maybe he needed to go make sure that was clear. 

He climbed the stairs her room.  He found her in bed, curled up small and tight on her side.  Frowning.  The past few days had been a nightmare.  Physically, she’d be fine.  The soreness and scratches would heal quickly, but it would take a while to get over the fear.  She had been the queen of denial in high school.  Denying she needed him, needed help with her sister, even running from a relationship with his parents when they tried to get too close.  Self-protective girl.  No more. 

He slid into the bed and touched her lips with his.  She stretched and snuggled closer, breathing his name.  Awake, asleep, or stuck somewhere between the two, he wasn’t sure.  It didn’t matter.  It was his name she called this time. 

He could help the wide grin that spread across his face.  Or the lust he felt at seeing her peaceful and unguarded in the bed beside him.  He stroked his mouth over her cheek and she sighed again.  He let his lips play over the top of her breasts peeking out of her gown.  She was always so soft there.  Even though the time he’d taken her to bed had been short lived, he had played with her body a number of ways for the months before that.   She was so real and luscious and giving with him.  Or she had been.  He wanted that again. 

He lifted her hand and kissed her palm, easing her onto her back.  He placed her hands above her head and slipped down the sheet. 

“Gretchen,” he murmured.  She sighed and sank deeper into the mattress as he opened the tiny buttons keeping her covered.   He felt his blood heat as he saw her sexy cleavage, her tiny waist, her skimpy underwear.  He should wake her but he knew her well enough to anticipate what would happen.  Self-protection.  Walls would go up.  She would try to talk him out of this even though they both knew it would happen eventually. 

Instead of waking her, he kissed her gently on the belly as his fingers slid over the soft fabric of her panties.  He moved them in slow circles and watched in wonder as pleasure began to steal over her body, making her restless.  Her nipples peaked, and he couldn’t resist a taste.  He licked over the soft skin around the pebbled tip before sucking it gently into his hot mouth.  Goosebumps broke out across her skin.