Lori Foster Read online

  “It was for me.”

  He shook his head. “Okay, then. You say you slept with me because you wanted to. So what’s changed? And don’t tell me you don’t want me anymore, because I won’t believe you.”

  She didn’t have a ready answer. And despite her arguments and indignation, she desperately wanted to go with him. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  He made a sound of disgust and stood. “You do that.”

  Lace watched him begin snatching up tattered paper from the floor with excess energy. He wadded it into tight balls and hurled it all into the fireplace, where the paper burst into colorful flames. Lace stood to help him, her thoughts whirling.

  As she tossed her own wad of paper into the fire, Lace shook her head. Daniel would someday get over his ridiculous conclusions that love was harmful and too powerful. Then he’d marry some prim and proper little lady, probably a doctor’s daughter or some such, and he’d live happily ever after in esteemed propriety.

  And, like her mother, she’d miss him forever.

  Lace squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push that troubling thought away, but it had rooted itself deeply and she felt buried beneath it. A wad of paper hit her in the rump and she turned. Max grinned at her.

  “Sorry. You’re blocking the fireplace.”

  With an evil smile and a sigh of relief to be distracted, Lace wadded another ball. Max went running. He caught Guy, who’d just started to wander in, and used him as a shield. Unfortunately, Lace had already let the wadded paper ball fly and it hit Guy square in the chest. He went stock-still and stared.

  Lace took a step back, trying to stifle her laughter, but the expression on Guy’s face proved to be too much and she giggled.

  “Okay, then.” Guy advanced, slowly, keeping Lace in his sights. Lace held out her hands, trying to ward him off even as she laughed some more. Just as he was ready to pounce, Annie slipped up behind him and slapped a huge red bow to the top of his head, where it clung to his short hair. Guy whirled on her and they both went running. Max watched them go, then hustled around the room gathering up new paper bombs, preparing for their return. He loaded up his arms and crept off after them.

  Daniel slipped his arm around Lace. “They’re all nuts, aren’t they?”

  She smiled. “Wonderfully so. You don’t mind that they’re racing through your house?”

  “Why should I?”

  Since she couldn’t think of a single reason, she shrugged. They heard squealing from the guest bedroom and Max came tearing out, Guy right behind him, pelting him repeatedly in the back of the head with the paper bombs. They flashed past into the kitchen where a loud crash followed. Annie, her feet now missing her sexy high-heeled shoes, came through with her own arsenal, in hot pursuit.

  “While we have a moment alone, tell me you’ll go to the cabin with me.” He tipped up her face, kissed her lightly and whispered, “I need you, Lace.”

  Her lungs squeezed tight and her heart expanded. There was really no reason to fight it, she decided, gladly giving up her resistance. “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

  His eyes turned hot and she felt it clear to the bottom of her stomach. “You won’t regret it, Lace. I promise.”

  Oh, that tone of voice, the meaning behind the words. She leaned toward him, and Max shouted, “We’re going outside to build a snowman. Want to come along?”

  Guilty, they jumped apart. When Lace looked at Max, he didn’t taunt her. He kept his brows raised in a mildly curious expression.

  “Mmm, how about I help Daniel clean up, then I’ll make some hot chocolate for when you come back in?”

  Max shrugged. “If you’re sure you won’t join us?” His gaze traveled from Lace to Daniel and back again. They both shook their heads.

  He narrowed his gaze. “All right, then. But you two behave yourselves in here. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Laughing, Lace pointed a finger at him. “There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do!”

  “Oh, yeah. In that case, have at it.” He gave Daniel a salute and seconds later he and Guy trudged outside.

  Annie ran past to the guest bedroom, and when she reappeared she wore jeans as tattered as Guy’s, with scuffed boots, one of Daniel’s old sweatshirts and his coat. She waved on her way out.

  “My sister, the tomboy. What a relief. For a minute there, when she showed up in that damn killer dress, I thought I’d lost her forever.”

  Lace took in the affectionate smile on his face and felt compelled to warn him. “You’ll never lose her, Daniel, but the woman in the red dress is as much a part of Annie now as the tomboy. Just as you’ve saved her old clothes, you now have to accept the new. And even you have to admit she looked terrific.”

  Instead of admitting anything, Daniel looped his arms around her and kissed her long and deep. His hands cupped her bottom and he urged her closer. “What I noticed is how good you look.” He stared at her mouth, speaking through small nipping kisses. “You’re beautiful.”

  Embarrassed, she pulled away and forced a laugh. “I imagine I look wrecked after crying and making a fool of myself.”

  “No one thought you were a fool, least of all me.” He studied her face. “Tell me how you’ve been this past week. You didn’t overdo it, did you?”

  “With my friendly neighbors dropping in to help, not to mention Annie and Max? No, I didn’t overdo.”

  Daniel stepped closer, looming over her. She knew that look, the one he employed when irritated, and she braced herself. “Your neighbor? The guy with all the gold chains and the killer dog?”

  “The dog is being trained and already shows much better manners. The neighbor is full of gratitude because I was so understanding. He offered to pick up my mail and paper since you weren’t there to intimidate him.” She lifted her chin. “I declined his offer.”

  Daniel relaxed and she rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake, you couldn’t really be worried about him.”

  “Not worried. I just don’t like him.”

  “Why?”

  He muttered something, then threw out his arms in exasperation. “His damn dog tried to have you for breakfast. That’s reason enough, isn’t it? Now tell me when we can leave.”

  Wondering if Guy had been right, if Daniel could possibly be jealous, she decided to let it drop. “Instead, why don’t I give you your present?”

  His brows lifted. “I wait with bated breath.”

  Lace went to a bag she’d set in the entry hall and carried it back to where Daniel stood by the tree. He hadn’t moved. She handed him the first gift from the bag. He turned it this way and that, shook it, squeezed it.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, will you just open it?”

  “All right.” He tore the package open and removed a pair of lemon yellow silk briefs. Lace bit her lip to hold back the laughter while Daniel examined his gift from every possible angle. Finally he said, “The color will do wonders for my eyes.”

  Lace coughed, which turned into a snicker, and finally a robust laugh. When she started to quiet, she took one look at Daniel, and lost it again.

  “Brat.”

  “I’m sorry.” She took deep breaths to gain control. “Does this mean you don’t like your gift?”

  “I like it fine, as long as you don’t expect me to wear it.”

  “Oh, but I do.” She bobbed her eyebrows as she said it. “I can already picture it.”

  “Well, don’t.”

  “I have one more thing for you.”

  “More underwear?”

  She chuckled again, but shook her head. “No. Something else.”

  This package was smaller and she warned him not to shake it.

  It was wrapped in a way that the lid came off without tearing the gold foil paper and Daniel treated it gently, setting the lid aside. He pushed back the tissue paper and then stared. “A pocket watch.”

  Lace licked her lips, overcome with nervousness. “Annie told me you didn’t wear a wristwatch because it bothered you. I
thought this way you could drop it into your pocket.”

  He lifted the watch out carefully, as if it were made of fine crystal. Lace practically bounced beside him, hoping he’d like it, afraid he wouldn’t. He studied the watch, hefted it in his palm.

  Lace swallowed, then summoned every ounce of her courage. “I had it engraved on the back.”

  His gaze flicked to her face and then back to the watch. He turned it over in his palm and read the inscription. “Dr. Daniel Sawyers—brother, friend, physician.” His eyes met hers. “I don’t understand.”

  It was impossible to stay still, and she shifted again. “That’s what you are,” she explained with a small shrug. “All those things. You understand what it means to be family, to have responsibilities. And you take those responsibilities to Max and Annie very seriously. And you’re the very best doctor I’ve ever known and an incredibly good friend to Guy. I didn’t know how to say it…how to put into words how much I admire you for that.”

  He touched her cheek and she rambled even more. “I know we argue a lot and I sometimes insult you.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “So I wanted you to know how I really feel, that I’m glad to know you and that I think you’re an incredibly good man.”

  He stepped close, crowding her, the watch now gripped in his fist. He wouldn’t let her look away, wouldn’t let her hide from the admission of her words.

  “Do…do you like it okay?”

  “I like the watch very much. I like the inscription even better.” He kissed her, and there was so much in that kiss, things she couldn’t begin to comprehend, but she felt them all the same.

  She blinked up at him and he smiled. “Thank you, Lace.”

  “Well.” Lace felt at a loss for further words. The way he watched her made her feel vulnerable and she didn’t like it. With a false laugh, she stepped away and clasped her hands together. “I’m glad this is working out. Maybe this little trip you have planned to the cabin will clear the air, get rid of some of the sexual tension between us, and we’ll actually be able to be friends instead of adversaries. What do you think, Daniel?”

  When she looked up, Daniel again looked remote. He turned the watch over in his palm, shook his head and stuck it in his pocket. “With you, Lace, I never know what the hell to expect. I think I’ll just wait and be surprised.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  DANIEL WATCHED her walk around, pretending to familiarize herself with the cabin. She looked ready to jump out of her skin. He smiled to himself and slipped up behind her. “Are you nervous?”

  She jerked, then turned to face him. “Nervous? No. Why would I be nervous, for heaven’s sake?”

  Her gaze darted around, studying every inch of the cabin. She looked at the fireplace, where he’d already started a fire, and then to the candles he’d lit to provide added muted light, to help set the mood.

  Looping his arms around her, he anchored her to him and nuzzled her neck. “Maybe you’re nervous because you’re not as worldly as you like to pretend. Because being with a man, and making love, is new to you.”

  “Ha!” She pushed against his chest, putting space between them. “We’ve already done…” She waved at the bed. “This.”

  “Not really.” Daniel slipped her cape off her shoulders and draped it over a chair. If she had any inkling of the things he wanted to do to her, that he planned to do to her, he had no doubt she’d be twice as skittish.

  The cabin was small, with a king-size bed in the only bedroom, visible through the open door. A plush furniture grouping sat to one side of the living room, forming a conversation pit that faced a large stone fireplace. A state-of-the-art entertainment center occupied one entire wall. Scented candles were situated everywhere, even, she had noted, in the bathroom, which was equipped with a Jacuzzi tub.

  The cabin was a place of seduction, a retreat meant to indulge the senses. It was obvious he intended to indulge Lace very thoroughly. And himself in the bargain.

  “Lace, it’s okay to be a little unsure of yourself. Talking about sex and making love are two different things.”

  She stiffened and turned to glare at him. “Are you suggesting I don’t know what I’m talking about?”

  At the moment every word she said, every action, delighted him. She was so womanly, and she was his. No man had been with her except him, and she was here with him now. He felt exuberant, alive and nothing could damage his mood.

  “Sweetheart, I’m only suggesting that you might be a little unsure of yourself. After all, despite all your vocalizing on the subject, you have very little hands-on practice.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t understand—”

  Daniel kissed her. He didn’t want to waste another single second debating the issue. Finesse was the last thing on his mind, and he kissed her with all the hunger, greed and urgency he felt. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, then groaned when she touched her own to his.

  “Damn, Lace…”

  He kissed her again. She cuddled close, pressing her body into his, trying to get closer. Their clothes were in the way and he wanted her naked, now, but he pulled back. She went on tiptoe to try to kiss him again, and he had to hold her back.

  “Just a minute, Lace. Let me catch my breath.”

  “Why?”

  He hugged her tight, charmed by her innocence. “Lace, what we did the last time, that wasn’t even close to what it should be. I goofed, mostly because I wanted you too much and I rushed things.”

  “It felt right to me.”

  “Which only goes to show that what I said is true. You need more experience. With me.”

  She looked around the cabin again and scowled. “It certainly seems you’ve had enough practice. I can’t believe you have this place, that you sneak here for your little rendezvous.”

  “I don’t sneak, I’m only discreet. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “Who else knows about this place?”

  He sighed. When Lace wanted a fight, she was like a bulldog with a meaty bone. “My father knows. And Guy and Max.”

  With her hands on her slim hips and the most evil expression he’d ever seen in her eyes, she stalked up to him until they were nose to nose. “I see. All the men know. But not poor little innocent Annie.”

  “There’s no reason for Annie to know…”

  “Have Guy and Max used this place?”

  He felt like squirming, but resisted the inclination. “It’s not my place to say what other men have…”

  “Ha! In other words, they have. So this is the ‘guys’ place,’ is that it? This is where the men hang out when they want to do lascivious things?”

  With his teeth gnashing together, Daniel agreed. “It allots a certain amount of privacy, yes.”

  “So. What if Annie had wanted to indulge in some lascivious pursuits? You prefer she does her rendezvousing out in the open? You would keep this palace of private seduction from her?”

  He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “All right. I’m a male chauvinist pig. Feel better? I wallow in the double standard and I probably always will, at least where my little sister is concerned.” He sighed and gave her a questioning look. “How the hell did I go from apologizing for my feeble performance to discussing my lack of understanding on the feminine sexual revolution?”

  She grinned at him and shrugged. “I’m sorry. But it just rankles that you have this place.”

  “Why? I thought you believed in mature, adult relationships. You know how I feel…felt, about getting involved.” Lace didn’t notice his correction, and Daniel decided not to rush his fences. Especially with her being so prickly. “I’m a man, Lace. I have the same urges as any other.”

  “Not toward me, you didn’t. At least, not until you found out I was a virgin. Now I’m suddenly good enough to grace your little cabin?”

  Okay, so my good humor isn’t endless. Daniel twisted his jaw, trying to hold the words back, but Lace tapped her foot on the hardwood floor and
he lost the struggle.

  “Dammit, can I help how I feel, Lace? I can’t deny that I’m…flattered to be the only man you’ve been with. But I swear, if you hadn’t been a virgin, I’d still have asked you here. Long before we made love, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. And I might be a fraud, but I’m not a total hypocrite. I don’t expect all women to be virginal.”

  Lace plopped down on the couch and put her hands on her knees. “I suppose I can understand. Most people do tend to feel territorial in these situations.”

  He bit his upper lip, not overly thrilled with his feelings being termed a situation. She started to articulate on her latest theory, but Daniel held up his hands. “I concede to your professional assessment. In fact,” he lied with a convincing air, determined to get things back on his designated track, “I was hoping you’d give me a demonstration of all your assembled knowledge.”

  She didn’t look insulted by his suggestion. She looked intrigued.

  He held out his arms like a sacrifice. “I’m waiting to benefit from your wealth of scientific edification.”

  “Is that so?” She pushed herself up from the couch and came to stand in front of him. He dropped his arms and smiled. “Anxious to get started, are you?”

  He traced her collarbone with one finger and watched her shiver. “Very anxious. Will you enlighten me with your accumulated wisdom? Will you instruct me?”

  She bit her lip, then looked at him suspiciously. He saw comprehension in her gaze, and then stubborn determination. She blushed, but she stared him in the eye. His groin tightened when he realized what that look meant.

  “Certainly, Daniel. I’ll instruct you. If you’re sure you want me to.”

  His lungs constricted, but he managed to croak, “Absolutely.” Hell, he’d had fantasies about it. “You just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  She nodded, resolute. “Okay. First off, I think you’re right. We rushed things the last time. Not that it wasn’t wonderful, but…we should try to get to know each other’s preferences a little more.”

  He preferred her naked, moaning his name while he watched her climax, but he kept the thought to himself.