Closing Costs (16 page)

Groaning into her neck he slid the thin straps of the dress down, moving the soft fabric aside to reach her small pert nipples. She gripped his shoulder as he sucked one between his lips, grinning as her pussy flexed and gripped him tighter. Moans filled the dark porch as he rocked into her, suckling her flesh, holding fast to her hips. "I'm gonna come. Craig. Oh... shit."

Her whole body shook and pulsed and Craig's entire life felt complete as the glory of her orgasm took him to the edge. "Look at me," His voice sounded rough. She kept trembling, wouldn't do it, so he tilted her face up, stared into her brown eyes, once again filled with tears. "I love you." She kissed him then, blocking out anything and everything but his need to be right here, right now. He gripped her hips harder, thrust deep and his climax roared up from the base of his spine, nearly blinding him. "Dear God!" He whispered into her neck, the orgasm rolling through him, his body turning into one pulsing erotic nerve.

"That's it baby," She threaded her hands in his hair, kissed him again, as their bodies stayed joined, cooling in the night air. "I missed you." She sighed and stood, releasing him to flop back against the couch back, still breathing heavy, head spinning, heart racing.

"Come back here. It may take me a minute to recover." She smiled and let him tug her down next to him. He draped an arm around her, kissed her forehead, her hair, unwilling to let the amazing moment end. She snuggled into his side, a perfect fit. The sounds of the summer night soothed him, the distant noises of a passing train mixing with the clicks and murmurings of whatever she had living in the pond behind her house. Content beyond imagining, he was about to slip into a brief refractory nap when she spoke, jarring him and everything he knew about his world to a new level.

"I killed my first husband. I mean, I did it accidentally. But he spent the last four years of our marriage taking out his frustration of being a marginal doctor on me. With his fists. And his cock. And anything he could lay his hands on." Craig lurched to his feet, turned and stared at her.

"What the fuck are you…"

She held up a shaking hand, kept her seat. "I have to tell you Craig. I won't hide this from you anymore. Blake," her voice broke. "Blake nearly beat him to death when he found out. When I missed being at the brewery for an entire week because he broke my ribs. I never went to the hospital. I loved him you see." She dropped her chin into her hand, staring at him.

"How can you... I mean... what... who... Christ!" He ran a hand through his hair, paced the length of the porch once and then again before she spoke.

"Calm down. Let me finish. Blake and I, um, he had a huge crush on me. That's what we called it anyway. I flirted with him too much. And then, there we were, one night, alone in the brewery. My ribs were still sore but I was restocking some of the Tap Room swag and nearly fell off a ladder. He caught me. And then kissed me. The rest is history. Sordid, but mine."

Craig shook his head, tried to clear it, but it buzzed as if full of bees. She kept talking, her legs curled up under her body as if trying to make herself small. A small target. "Fuck!" Craig clenched his fists. He had a very mild temperament. Always had. But at that moment he needed to hit something so badly that his fist already ached with anticipated contact.

"Please, calm down. Sit. I have to finish." He did, but his jaw already hurt from clenching it. "Mitchell was a handsome man, tall, wealthy, but insanely jealous and, at the end of the day, really not that smart. I mean, his money came from five generations of banking so we never wanted for anything, materially speaking. Not even for a minute. I thought I'd really scored. He adored me. Worshipped the ground I walked on. When I started working with Evan, it all unraveled. About the same time he kept getting passed over for promotions at the hospital, which was just about the time I met Blake." She heaved a deep sigh. Craig put a hand on her knee and she took it, pressed it to her lips.

"So I became a bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy as far as he was concerned. I did fuck the "kid" in the brewery. But I hadn't screwed every other man in my immediate universe, like he thought. The last time, when I finally told that yes, I was with Blake and I wanted a divorce…well, that did land me in the hospital."

"I don't want to hear anymore," Craig's throat was tight, his eyes burned. He had never, ever felt so fucking furious in his life.
What do you know? You really do see red.
He stood.

"You have to." Her voice was soft, comforting. He grimaced, now mad at himself for making her do the soothing. He sat, but the beast inside him was growling in his ear, making his skin crawl.

She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes once and looked straight at him. "Blake came here the day I got admitted to the hospital. Evan tried to stop him. By the time Evan had followed him here though, Mitchell was nearly dead already. Blake is, uh, a black belt."

"So I've heard."

"I got out of the hospital a day before he did. Jack picked me up, drove me home, and stayed with me a while but I made him leave. Evan was due to replace his vigil. I wouldn't let Blake come out. I was," she stopped, a sob breaking through her monologue. But she held up a hand, indicating he should stay seated. "Angry with him I guess. But mostly I was afraid if he showed up, I'd leave with him and by then I had decided what to do. I'd already had Jack confirm all of Mitchell's assets for me. He was a trusting guy when it came to his money. No prenup or anything. Then I had divorce papers drawn up, had them in my hand. I sat here." She ran a small hand over the cushion, her eyes awash with memory. "Waited for him."

"Once he started up the steps, I knew I'd crossed a line. That he would likely kill me that day. I'd stood at the top of the steps, there," she motioned to the huge granite slabs. His leg was weak. Blake had nearly broken it when he broke his nose, his arm and gave him a concussion. 'Come here Suzanne.' He said to me. So I did. And I reached out," She lifted a trembling arm as Craig watched, never more familiar with the term "watching a train wreck" in his life. "And pushed him backwards."

She stood, pulling Craig to his feet. He crushed her to his chest, then leaned down and covered her tear streaked face with kisses. But she struggled out of his embrace. "I'm damaged Craig. In more ways than one. I still barely sleep at night without waking up screaming. I'm married to my job as a result. Obsessed with it. It was all I had at one time. It. And Blake."

Something told him to save that part of the history lesson for later. He held her closer, felt her shaking cease finally, closed his eyes when her arms slipped around his waist. "Shh..." he tried to soothe, but frustration poured through him.

Suddenly he had a bit of insight into what may have gone wrong with her and Blake.

"Listen," He held her at arm's length. "I don't give a shit about any of that. Sounds like the bastard got what he deserved, and then some. From you and from Blake. I won't obsess over it I promise. You're here with me now. That's where I want you to stay."

"I can't have children. Thanks to Mitchell and some of his more creative methods of punishing me for 'being a slut.'"

"I don't like kids." She grinned at him, wiped her eyes.

"Bullshit."

"Suzanne, let it go honey. Please. You've been holding it so tight, so close. Obviously you haven't let anyone in on the worst of it." Except Blake, he thought but forced that out of his mind. "It's over. I'm here. Give some of it to me." He sounded desperate, unsure, but he didn't care.

"I don't know Craig. I've ruined one perfectly good relationship over my own lame bullshit."

"Leaving you available for our relationship." He brushed her tears away. "Karmic, really." Pulling her into his arms again, he shoved his temper away, he'd deal with that later. Talk to Gordon about it and get another version of the story. That made him pause. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"I made them promise. So I could tell you. Pretty much everyone who knew about it agreed that was best." She tilted her face up to his. Craig smiled, kissed her then broke away, still holding her close.

"I'm staying here tonight." She raised an eyebrow. "Or you are getting on the bike and coming back to my not so luxurious extended stay hotel. Your choice. But I am not letting you out of my arms. Not tonight. Not ever."

"If you insist." She laid her head on his chest. "I'm not so sure you want all my drama."

"Bring it, Red." He held her tight, and they stayed that way a while, listening to the beat of one another's heart.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Where the hell is…" Sara stood at Jack's enormous desk, which sat, devoid of anything cluttering its rich walnut surface. His laptop docking station and huge monitor took up one corner. The only other thing she could find were business cards in a sleek black holder and his Mont Blanc pen; the very one she'd given him as a birthday present during the months of their brief, turbulent engagement. She smiled at it but refocused, realizing she'd need Jason to help her locate the mediation file.

He'd been delayed in Germany after his brother-in-law's funeral, helping prep his sister's family for a return to the states. Maureen had apparently been near catatonic from the beginning and was only just coming around long enough to cry for the bulk of each day, leaving Jack in charge of the kids, the military's paperwork machine and other details. So, she and Jason had to handle this week's high-level mediation between one of their oldest and most respected agents and a buyer who claimed the agent and seller had withheld crucial information about a house's plumbing system. Michigan's standard real estate purchase agreements locked all parties into an industry supervised "conversation" prior to anyone filing lawsuits and cases rarely went past that stage, with one party typically acquiescing and paying out to settle the case.

This one she wasn't so sure about. The agent in question had been one of their top producers in her day, but had lately shown signs of something alarmingly close to dementia, refusing any offers of help or the not so subtle suggestions she retire. Sara sighed and dropped into Jack's huge leather chair. Her nerves were on fire from the stress of handling operations for the whole company for nearly a month. She needed him here. Period. She put her head on the desk, getting a quick whiff of Jack's subtle, citrusy cologne. It nearly made her cry.

"Um, hi. Is Jack around?"

The soft female voice made Sara's body tense as she looked up to see one of the most shockingly attractive women she'd ever laid eyes on in person. She wore a slim fitting brown suit, matching pumps, had her chestnut hair piled up in a carefully messy up-do. Bright blue eyes seemed confused at the sight of Sara in Jack's chair. Sara wiped a hand across her eyes, sucked in her gut and stood. "No, he won't be back for at least another week. Can I help you? I don't think we've met." She knew she ought to come out from behind the desk, shake the gorgeous woman's no doubt perfectly manicured hand. But something made her stay still.

"I'm Shannon Simon, a new agent. I was just, um, well, never mind." The other woman's gaze flickered up and down Sara's equally well-dressed form, making her face heat up. "He told me he'd be back." A sudden piercing realization hit Sara between the eyes. She sat back down, staking her claim as best she could.

"No. His family situation is…"

"Oh I know," the woman – or girl, now that Sara had had a minute to figure out how young she was – waved an indeed well-maintained hand. Sara bristled.

"Well, okay. Can I..." The girl cut her off again. Sara sensed her temper lurking around the corner but forced it back. She had no business knowing Jack's status with his agents.

"No, no. I'll give him a call. Thanks." The woman stayed in the doorway. Jason appeared at her elbow.

"Sara, Jack's on line one." The woman raised an eyebrow as she put her hand on the phone.

"Well, Shannon, so nice to meet you. Please excuse me."

"So you're Sara." The woman's gaze took on a sharp edge Sara did not care for, not one bit.

Jason rolled his eyes and pulled the catty bitch out of the room. Sara stared at the blinking light on the phone. Warring emotions scrabbled for her attention. She blinked when Jason reappeared in the door. "Line one, Sara." She nodded and picked it up, closing her eyes at the sound of Jack's voice from thousands of miles away, still with the power to bring her to her knees. Bastard.

"Yes." She kept her voice short, busying herself by scrabbling around in his super neat files. Finding nothing related to the case she sighed.

"Uh, hey. You okay?" The deep growl of his voice made her shiver. But she let the new-found shaft of jealous light blind her instead.

"No. I'm not. Where's the file?"

"Jason has the particulars. Notes are on my computer. Password is K-A-T-E" Sara flinched and shoved down the urge to snap at him. He'd been through so much. Maybe she'd overreacted to the little…No, she didn't. She knew a predatory look in a woman's eye when she saw one.

"Fine."

"Okay then. You'll be fine. Fran is on her last legs, professionally. But there is no way she slipped like that. I have the proof."

"That's great." She sat and let the silence get uncomfortable.

"What's wrong Sara? I don't have time for bullshit. You have no idea what I'm dealing with right now." Sara heard his niece's voice in the background, shouting at her brother. Jack sighed. "Christ. This is such a mess. I…I wish had brought you with me. I could use..."

"Who the hell is Shannon?" His silence spoke volumes. "Never mind. None of my business. But did you check her ID? Just to be safe?"

"She's a new agent."

"I gathered that. What else is she Jack?"

"That could be under the 'none of your business' category."

"I guess, except for the fact that you and I are supposed to be working through our issues. You know, so we might be together?"

"Honey, hang on, Uncle Jack is on the phone. Go find your mom for me, will ya?" A little girl's voice answered, breaking Sara's heart.