Once Burned (20 page)

“What do you think of Washington?” she asked softly.

“It’s beautiful. So green. I love the trees and the beach, and the smell of the salt air is sort of magical. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering if you miss Northstar as much as I do.”

“Of course I miss it. Just like I missed it when I lived in Denver, but I know it’ll always be there waiting for me whenever I want to come home.”

“I miss the stars,” she murmured. “Of all the things…. It’s the stars that have remind me the most that I’m here and not in Montana with you.”

He reached out and tilted her face toward him. “But I’m right here with you.”

“For now, but you have a home and a life you’ll have to go back to. And what happens to us then?”

Because he didn’t have an answer for that—at least, not one he figured she was ready to hear just yet—he drew her body against his and kissed her deeply, willing her worries away. Then he took her hand and pulled her toward the front door, unlocked it, and closed it behind them. Flipping on the lights, he helped her out of her coat and hung it on one of the hooks beside the door. Then he took a step back, drawing her with him, leading her in the first steps of a waltz.

“What are you…?”

“Shh. Just trust me.”

At his entreaty, doubt left her, and without that tension stiffening her movements, her body became fluid grace and elegance. The beads on her dress flashed and winked as they moved across his living room to the stereo so he could turn on some music. Though she had no trouble dancing in her strappy high heels, they paused to kick off their shoes, and before long, they were gliding around the open living area. The concern that had shadowed Lindsay’s features vanished, and in its place, an open smile lit up her entire countenance. Laughter danced in her eyes, and in the absence of strain, she was breathtaking. In their time together in Northstar, she had eased his anger and pain without effort, refocusing his attention to her, and now he was glad to do the same for her.

“We move well together, don’t we?” he inquired gently.

“We do. Even though I know next to nothing about this kind of dancing.”

“I’m not talking about dancing, but yes, we move flawlessly together in that way, too. I’m talking about the way we pick each other up when we’re down when no one else can do that for us.” He leaned down to press a kiss to the curve of her neck, and she shivered. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I want to find out because I know what I
want
it to hold.”

“And what do you want it to hold, Henry?”

“The same thing that, when Aeli asked you if you wanted more kids and suggested you’d end up with boys if you married a Hammond, spurred you to question the Hammonds’ propensity for sons instead of dismissing the idea.”

Shyly, she averted her gaze. “You don’t want to marry me. I’m—”

“Faulty? Broken? Nothing more than a hot piece of ass?”

She met his gaze again, and pain flashed in her eyes.

“That’s what Max and Logan and the other men you’ve dated have tried to make you believe because they’re too goddamned stupid to see how amazing you are. The fault is theirs, Lindsay, not yours, and I cannot fathom that they could all be so blind. Especially Max. He doesn’t have a clue what he lost when he turned his back on you and Noah.” He twirled her, brought her against him, and said, punctuating each statement with a kiss on her lips, her neck, her shoulder, “You make that gown look incredible, not the other way around. You are a wonderful mother, a beautiful dancer, and an electrifying lover. You are up for every adventure I can throw at you, my family adores you, and you have become my best friend. You are the first person I want to talk to whenever I have to deal with Mel and Doug and the last thing I think about every night.”

“You believe all that? You’re not just saying it to make me blush?”

“I’ve been completely honest with you about everything else to this point, haven’t I?”

She nodded.

“Why should or would I be anything else right now? You started something amazing when you laid everything out on the table that first night at the Bedspread.” He whirled her away from him, then brought her back, splaying his hand across the small of her back and pressing their bodies tightly together. “Would you believe me if I told you that I never had much patience or passion for dancing before I met you?”

“If you hadn’t said something similar at Vince and Evie’s wedding, I might not because you seem to be thoroughly enjoying yourself right now.”

“I am, but it’s all because of you, gorgeous. I just can’t get enough of your body.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“We need to do something about that. But not quite yet.”

“No, not yet,” he agreed. “When do you have to have that dress back? Didn’t you say it’s on loan from a friend with a shop in exchange for doing a photoshoot for advertising?”

“Yes, I did. She asked me to come by for that sometime this week, and I’ll take the dress back then. Skye’s assistant, Joel, will be taking the pictures.”

“He any good?”

“Taught by Skye and almost as naturally talented.”

“In that case, does your friend have any specific shots in mind? Do you think she’d be willing to incorporate a guy with a tux?”

Lindsay eyed him. “What do you have in mind?”

“I know Pat took a few pictures of us, but it might be fun to get some professional shots, too. Think she’d be up for it if we let her use whatever shots Joel takes of us together?”

“I’m sure she’d love that, especially if you’re thinking of shots of us dancing. That’d probably be a lot more visually interesting for marketing than me by myself just standing there smiling. And with how damned fine you look in that tux… she’ll be flooded with new business.” She smiled up at him. “It says a lot to me that you want keepsakes of us together.”

“What can I say? I’m sentimental and I like to have reminders of what I love.”

Her mouth fell open at his statement, but she snapped it shut and didn’t ask for clarification. He didn’t offer further explanation. Instead, he spun her around and pulled her against him with her back pressed to his chest, stepping backwards in perfect timing to the beat of the song. She tipped her head back, laying it on his shoulder and baring her throat. He accepted the invitation and trailed kisses across every inch of skin he could reach, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from her that jammed his sex drive into gear. A fast-paced song came on the radio, and he coached her through ever more complicated steps in a pulse-pounding tango, amazed at how quickly she caught on, and let the physicality of the dance fan the flames of desire.

The steps were forgotten as seeking hands and mouths demanded more. Lindsay grabbed his tie and tugged him toward the stairs and his bedroom at the top. Impulsively, he swept her off her feet and carried her up the stairs. There was no squeal of surprise, no coy laughter, only blatant hunger in the way she kissed him as he ascended to his bedroom. Miraculously, they made it to his room without a single misstep and all their clothing still on. That didn’t last long once he set Lindsay on her feet. She had his tie loosened and off faster than he’d ever managed to do it himself, and he quickly reached around her to unzip her gown. With only a fleeting regret that the cultured segment of their date was over, he slipped the dress down her body, pausing to let her step out of it, and tossed it with as much care as his need-driven haste allowed over the footboard of the bed.

“Jeans and T-shirts are
so
much easier to get out of,” Lindsay remarked huskily as she unbuttoned his jacket, then his vest, and then his dress shirt. “You are sexy as hell in this tux, but right now, it’s damned inconvenient.”

He chuckled and assisted her, peeling out of each garment as she finished unbuttoning it. The rest of his fine trappings were shed more quickly, and their undergarments came off even faster. While Lindsay turned back the covers and slid in between the sheets, he yanked a condom out of the nightstand drawer.

“I’m on birth control,” she murmured, “so if you want to go without that….”

“I guess we’ll be doubly covered. I’d prefer you to be married the next time you get pregnant—” He kissed her neck, intoxicated by the warm, natural scent of her. “—because you deserve nothing less than that guarantee of commitment from your child’s father.”

He didn’t say it, but the desire to be that man was powerful. With that thought in mind, he lavished her body with kisses and caresses, determined to make her feel worshipped and cherished. Because she was.

“Good God, you’re beautiful,” he sighed. “You make me feel so alive, Lindsay, like my life up to this point was just waiting… waiting for you. You know what I want to say, don’t you.”

“I do, and I want to hear you say it,” she whispered, “but only if you truly mean it. I don’t want to hear empty words.”

He positioned himself above her, braced on his forearms, and lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. Then he kissed her with all the tenderness he could muster in the storm of raging need, and against her lips, he whispered, “I love you.”

She curled her arms around him and held him tightly, and a tiny whimper escaped her. He didn’t expect her to say it back and claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss so she couldn’t. He had only his own heart to risk, and so it was easier for him, but she had her son to consider as well, and she needed to know beyond every doubt her heart—abused and burned by callous men—could come up with that he wouldn’t repeat what had happened in her past.

He stroked her to aching need, determined to drive any thoughts of anything but the moment from her mind, and entered her slowly, pushing deep until she gasped. His body remembered hers, and the feel of her tight around him drove him wild, but he maintained a firm grip on his control, taking her to the edge and bringing her back down time and again until she begged him to take her over. And then his hold slipped, and he raced mindlessly toward that ultimate satisfaction, driven by need and sensation.

They cried out together, clinging to each other and quivering as the climax broke over them. Henry panted for breath and, derived of the strength to hold his head up, rested his forehead on her chest as his body continued to tremble.

After a while, his heart rate slowed, and he rolled to the side and gathered Lindsay in his arms. He touched his lips to the nape of her neck and exhaled slowly, skimming his fingertips lovingly over her arm. With her tucked safely in his embrace, he found a peace more complete than he’d ever imagined existed.

“I used to think I understood what changed my brothers when they fell in love.”

“How did they change?” Lindsay asked.

“That restlessness of youth stilled. Nick was always laidback, but when he and Beth got together, he found his focus. Same for Aaron. He didn’t need the wild thrills of our younger days anymore.”

“Why do you suppose that happened?”

“They found what they didn’t know their hearts were searching for.”

She rolled over to face him, searching his eyes as if she could look right into his heart. “And you, Henry? What have you found?”

“My center of gravity.” He brushed her hair back from her face. Recalling what she’d told him all those weeks ago about what she wanted from their temporary arrangement, his lips lifted. “Tell me, Lindsay. How does it feel to be someone’s woman again… for real this time?”

“So wonderful that I realize I’ve never
been
anyone’s woman before.”

* * *

Thanks to her mother’s scheming, Lindsay had planned ahead for her overnight stay with Henry and brought a set of clothing over before she’d dressed for the play yesterday. She was in no hurry to put them on, however, content to sit up in bed for a while and watch her lover sleep. The sky outside was gray, but the cloud cover was thin, allowing plenty of light to brighten the room and illuminate Henry’s sleep-gentled face. In slumber, he was devastatingly handsome, but his physical attractiveness—undeniable, sure—played only a small part in her perception of him. It was the slow and steady rhythm of his breathing, the new familiarity with the lines of his body, and the memory of last night that captivated her and stirred a possessiveness she’d never felt before. If it was true that she’d never belonged to any man before Henry, it was also true that no man had ever belonged to her. But Henry did, and he’d made that quite clear.

Sighing, she combed her fingers lightly back through his hair, and her heart tripped over itself when his eyes fluttered open and a sleepy smile curved his lips.

“G’morning, gorgeous,” he mumbled. “Sleep all right?”

“As deeply as I only seem to when I’m with you.” She leaned down to kissed him. “When you call me gorgeous… it’s like you’re saying
everything
about me is beautiful, inside and out, and I love how that makes me feel. I need to think of a better pet name for you because sexy just doesn’t cut it. It’s about the physical, so it leaves out too much.”

“You can call me whatever you want,” he replied. “Just so long as you call me.”

“And so long as I don’t call you late for dinner, right?”

“Right.”

“Hungry? I thought I’d make us breakfast, and then we can take a walk on the beach. And after that….” She wiggled her brows suggestively.

“Sounds like heaven, but how about we take care of the ‘after that’ first.”

He didn’t have to do much to convince her—not the first time in bed nor the second in the shower—and by the time she dressed and headed downstairs, her body was deliciously tingly and feeling a lot like Jell-O again. They flirted shamelessly while she cooked, and it almost turned into round three for the morning. Only the grumbling of their stomachs prevented them from ascending the stairs again. After breakfast, Henry washed the dishes, and after that, they headed down to the beach for a lazy barefoot walk. They held hands with their shoes dangling in the other, and Lindsay was blissfully relaxed with no room in her mind for worries. The only time since she’d gotten pregnant with Noah that she had been so carefree had been her trip to Montana, but there, her problems had been far away and easier to ignore. Here, they were just around the corner… and yet, she had no trouble holding them off. The effect Henry had on her was extraordinary.