Knocking at Her Heart (Conover Circle #1) (20 page)

Frances sniffed. “I’d like that,”
she said, very formally.

“By the way, Father, Carol said
to thank you for letting your friend down there know about Mrs. Muldoon. She said
they’ve been treated really well.”

Frances looked at her husband.
“That was kind of you, Peter.”

He looked a little
embarrassed. 

The afternoon passed
uneventfully. Sam didn’t stop by or call but that didn’t keep her from thinking
about him or thinking about what might happen later. It would just be her and
him and a couple empty rooms. 

It was shortly before six when
she shooed her parents upstairs to get dressed. Only Kelsie and the Simmons
twins remained. When the doorbell rang, all three children ran to the door. She
nudged them aside and opened it to find an old man, dressed all in white, a
toolbox in his hand. “I’m Joe from Handyman Plus. I’m here to look at a water
heater,” he said.

She had a sudden urge to call the
inspector from DCFS and taunt her.
See. I wasn’t lying. There really is a
man coming to look at my water heater.
Maddie let Joe in. “Let me know if
you need anything,” she said. She turned on the basement light and stepped
aside so that he and his tool chest could go downstairs. She stopped the
Simmons twins from following. If those two got their hands on a wrench or a
hammer, no telling what kind of damage they could do. 

She and the kids were putting
together a puzzle when Joan Simmons arrived and took her boys, leaving Maddie
and Kelsie alone. “I’m going out for pizza,” Kelsie said. “With Mommy and
Brad.”

“How do you feel about that?”
Maddie asked carefully.

Kelsie smiled. “Good. I love
pizza.”

Maddie hugged her. “Grown-ups
make everything so complicated. Why can’t we remember that we really just love
pizza?”

“Uncle Sam is late,” she said.

“I know.” Maddie looked at her
watch. The daycare was officially closed. “Something probably came up at work.”

The minute she said it she
realized that everything had changed. A month ago, heck, maybe even a week ago,
if Sam had been late because of work, she’d have used it as an excuse to
validate why physicians were a poor choice for friends, or God forbid, for
mates. Now, he was just late. It was just one of those things that happened.

When the telephone rang, she
didn’t recognize the number on caller ID. “Hello.”

“Hi, Maddie.”

Jeff. She should never have
answered. “This isn’t a good time.”

“Please. Don’t hang up. I need to
see you. I know it’s over between us. I…I need to tell you something. About
your business. It’s really important. Please.”

She could hear the repairman
coming up her basement stairs. “All right. Tomorrow night. I’ve got a meeting
at the library. I can see you for a few minutes after that.”

“I’ll meet you there. Thanks,
Maddie. You’re the best.”   

She’d barely hung up the
telephone when Sam walked in the front door. She felt almost guilty. She
deliberately focused on her task and tried to ignore how absolutely handsome he
was.

“So, what’s the verdict?” she
asked the repairman.

“I had to replace the
thermocouples.”

She didn’t have a clue what the
thermocouple was or did. “Thermocouples are important?”

“If you like hot water. You
should have some in the next couple of hours. It’ll take that long for the tank
to heat up.”

“That’s fine. As long as it’s
before eight o’clock tomorrow.” She doubted the staff from the Department of
Children and Family Services started to work before that. “How much do I owe
you?”

“I’m on overtime after five. Two
hundred and fifty bucks will do it.”

Maddie reached for her checkbook.
Yikes. She was going through money like crazy. She handed the man his check,
aware that Sam was watching. 

“Thank you for coming.”

“No problem, lady. Next time,
don’t try to fix that thing yourself.”

“All I did was try to light the
burner.”

The man scratched his head. “I’d
have sworn somebody took a wrench to those thermocouples. Bent ‘em up good. No
wonder your pilot light wouldn’t stay on. Oh well.”  He moved to the door.
“I’ve got to get home to the missus. She don’t like it when I’m late.” The
screen door slammed behind him.

“You’re late, Uncle Sam,” Kelsie
announced.

He swung her up in his arms. “I
know.  And I understand I need to get you home. Your mom left a message
that you’re going out for pizza.”

He’d said it without flinching.

“How do feel about that?” Maddie
asked. It was the same question she’d asked Kelsie.

“Jean seems happy. That’s good
enough for me.” He put Kelsie down. “Get your backpack, honey.” He waited until
she was at least twenty feet away. He turned to Maddie, still with a smile on
his face. “If he hurts her, I’ll kill him.”

“Good. Now that we’ve got that
settled, my parents are going to dinner.”

He cocked his head. “Together?”

She nodded. 

“So you’re going to be home
alone?”

“I’m hoping not.”

Now he was staring at her, his
eyes big. “Are you inviting me back, Maddie Sinclair?”

“I make a mean pot of macaroni
and cheese. That’s what the kids tell me anyways.”

“All right, then.” He held out
his hand to Kelsie who had returned to the kitchen. “Let’s go, sweetie. Time’s
a-wastin’.”

“Sam,” she called as he opened
the door.

He turned. “Don’t tell me you’ve
changed your mind.”

“Not that. It’s just, could you
wear a tie?”

*

When Sam knocked, she opened the door,
and stepped back. “I brought pizza and wine,” he said. “I thought you might be
serious about the macaroni…” he stopped as she stepped out of the shadows. “Oh,
Christ,” he said. 

She’d worried he might think it
was over the top. But when he’d left with Kelsie and she’d hurried upstairs to
get ready, she’d known that she wanted to wear something special. She’d pulled
the silk dress out of the back of her closet. It was cut low in the front and
low in the back. And she gained at least five pounds since she’d worn it two
years ago so it hugged her like a second skin. “You haven’t seen me in much
besides jeans,” she said.

“Green is your color,” he said,
letting his gaze linger. “You look beautiful.”

She ran her index finger down the
length of his tie. “Take it off,” she said.

“What?” his voice cracked.

“Your tie. Take it off.”

He got it in a knot but he
managed. She hung it on the front door.

“You want to talk…have some
wine?” He motioned to the pizza. “Are you hungry?”

She took a step toward him. He
took a step back. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought Sam was
scared of her. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He ran his hands
through his hair. “It’s just…you look so great and I want you so badly, but
every time we’ve been together, it’s been crazy, just out of control. I want
you to know, Maddie, that nothing happens here unless you want it to. You’re
the boss.”

She moved forward, crowding him,
until his back was against the wall. They were so close, really just inches
apart. She could feel his warm breath on her forehead, she could smell his
clean, freshly showered scent. 

She felt powerful. And a little
dangerous.

She closed the gap even tighter.
Her breasts were flat against his chest, her thighs against his thighs. She
angled her pelvis, putting need against need.

She kissed him. He tasted like
mint. She stuck her tongue in his mouth, her hand up the back of his shirt, and
her knee between his thighs.

And as simple as that, they were
tearing at each other’s clothes. His shirt first, then the T-shirt came over
his head. She tugged at his jeans, he swore at her zipper. He fumbled with her
bra. Then it was hot, bare skin against hot, bare skin. It was frantic need. It
was impossibly right.  It was perfect.

They managed to make it to the
couch. And he managed to snag his jeans off the floor, fish out a condom, and
tear it open with his teeth.

Then he was inside of her, and he
was touching every part of her, every aching, needy part. His strokes were deep
and fast, and she came hard. He held her tight, and when she was ready, he
pounded into her, slipping his hands under her butt, bringing her closer yet,
until he stiffened, groaned, and after a long moment, collapsed on top of her.

It had been about five minutes of
the best sex ever.

Or at least she thought so until
he lifted his head. His eyes were wide open, his pupils big.  “Oh,” he
said.

For a literate man, his
vocabulary seemed pretty darn limited.

He left her, almost stumbling out
of the room. She heard the sound of a toilet flushing and he came back. He had
a towel wrapped around him. It made her feel very naked. She sat up on the
couch and held the pillow in front of her.

“Can I get you anything?” he
asked, standing very still.

“I’m good,” she said.

He sank down into the chair. “I
don’t know what to say.”

That was pretty obvious. 

“I’m sorry,” he said.

That wasn’t any better. “Because
we had sex?”

She saw the flush race across his
chest and face. “I said it was your show, Maddie. I meant it. I don’t know what
happened. One minute I’m doing fine and the next, your tongue is in my mouth,
and I’m a crazy man. It’s like I’m eighteen again.”

Okay. Maybe she wouldn’t kill
him. “I’m just glad you’re a fast learner.”

“What?” He rubbed a hand over his
face. With his mussed up hair, he looked like a confused, little boy.

“Yeah. The whole pressure thing.
A little here, a little there. You nailed it.”

He stared at her. “You’re not
furious? You’re not wanting to kick my ass from here to the moon?”

She shook her head.

“But it was so fast,” he said.

“I wasn’t interested in slowing
down,” she said, wanting to be honest.

He closed her eyes and leaned
back in the chair. She could see his chest, his broad, muscular chest, rise and
fall with deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, she caught the hint of
moisture.

“I thought I’d blown it. All I’ve
been thinking about for days is that I wanted to make love to you. I wanted it
to be perfect. I wanted there to be music and wine and candles and flowers. I
wanted hours of foreplay, and once I was inside of you, I wanted it to last
forever.”

She’d underestimated what he
could do with a few words. She was fast turning into silly putty. She’d need a
new couch for sure. “All those things are great,” she said. “But this was
perfect.”

He moved quickly, settling in on
the couch. He cradled her in his strong arms. And when he slipped one hand
under the pillow and his fingertips brushed against her nipple, it felt right.
Not exactly comfortable, not exactly soothing. But right. And her breast, knowing
a good thing when it felt it, tightened up in response.

He bent his head and licked her
neck, and she felt the shiver run the length of her body.“ I promise,” he said,
his voice a whisper in her ear, “it’ll last at least fifteen minutes.”

He might. She wouldn’t.

She turned and kissed him. “My
poor couch.”

“You have a bed, right?” he said,
his voice coming in spurts. She had her hand cupped around him.

“Maybe next time,” she
said. 

*

They did make it to the bed the
third time. It was there, with the edge still sharp but smooth enough to
handle, Sam took his time with her. Every touch, every kiss, every squeeze of
her muscles was perfect.

And after that, they sat in bed
and ate cold pizza and drank warm red wine. 

“When will your parents be home?”
he asked.

She looked at her watch. “They
had reservations at seven so I’d say within the next half hour.”

“We should get dressed,” he said.

She nodded. “They know what we’re
doing up here.”

He let out a breath. “It’s one thing
for me to know that your father knows and another thing for me to have to look
him in the eye when he knows that I know he knows.”

She put down her pizza and
stretched. “I don’t think I reason well when I’m sexually sated.”

“I
sated
you?”

“Big time.” She smiled at him,
but he suddenly looked very serious. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that you’re
the first woman I’ve slept with since Gwen. I wanted you to know that.”

She set her wineglass down on the
nightstand with a thud. “Oh.”

“We sort of haven’t talked about
the future. I don’t want to make any assumptions,” he said.

She picked up her glass and
pointed at the bottle. He poured, and she somehow managed to keep her hand from
shaking. When he was finished, she took a big drink. Future. Wasn’t it enough
to have now?