Sparring Partners (18 page)

Last week the 'cottage' was just that, a
nice place to go when William held court as the country gentleman.
This week the 'cottage' looked more like what it was, a twenty
bedroom mansion on a Lake Geneva with a swimming pool on the roof
next to the observatory. How in the world was he supposed to take
his new 'family' there?

For the first time in his adult life Jordon
wondered, no matter how briefly, whether running B.H. was worth all
the crap that came with it. The instant acid burning its way
through the tender lining of his stomach at the thought told him
not to go there, dragons waited down that dark cave, and his elf
stripped away and hid his armor.

Jordon pushed thoughts of B.H. to the dark
recesses of his mind, and the rolling acid in his gut began to
neutralize, before burning yet another hole. Thoughts of Reed
freshly scrubbed, curled on the patio chair in her ridiculous frog
pajama bottoms and her cropped 'super foot' sweat shirt, sipping
wine, her Mona Lisa smile concealing her slightly overlapping front
teeth, made all the monsters go away.

Even so, he was getting his armor back. Even
if he had to frisk her for it.

Maybe there was more to having a wife than
bizarre in-laws, community property laws, and dinner at the
cottage.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The evening grass was wet on Finn's feet as
Henry pulled her through the woods to her workshop. Her thin halter
dress and strappy canvas sandals weren't much protection from the
damp ground or the juniper bushes scraping her skin along the path
to her workshop. The path was lit by solar powered lanterns that
emitted a soft coppery glow, so there was no need for Henry to pull
her so close to the bushes, he could clearly see his way.

Of course, Henry probably would have found
his way with no light at all given how determined he seemed to pull
her arm out of its socket. Since she couldn't pull away, Finn
ignored him and the stinging of her skin and concentrated on the
magic of the evening.

Maybe then she'd calm down enough not to
kill every Bennett within a hundred mile radius. Maybe not.

Focus on the flowers. Ignore the
assholes.

The planting beds around the shop contained
the sleeping plants and the waking night blooming flowers Reed
planted to surprise Finn after Finn sold one of her giant flying
pig sculptures, for a hideously ridiculous amount to a Chicago art
gallery. Dusk had blossomed into night. The time of fairies had
passed for the evening, now was the time all the tricksters came
out to play.

That was okay with Finn. She felt tricked
enough by Jordon and William and Jordon's beautiful mother, not to
mention Henry, who thought he had some kind of right to drag her
through the woods.

Screw them. Screw them all. Screw them twice
and may the tricksters play havoc with their immortal souls and
their digestive tracts. It was the least they deserved.

Henry stopped abruptly causing Finn to crash
into him. "What's so damn funny? I don't see anything funny in the
way you treated Jordon's mother. Lily is a wonderful woman. Just
what's going through that demonic head of yours?"

"Actually I was hoping you and every Bennett
here tonight got as sick to your stomachs as I got the second I
recognized William."

Henry ran a hand through his hair, ruffling
the spiky pieces above his neck. They went right back to where they
had been so Finn didn't see much point in the exercise, but she
noticed he did it whenever he really didn't know what to say. He
took a deep breath and turned his mist colored gaze toward her.
Their color was wasted in the moonlight. All Finn saw was black
pupils set in a frustrated face, softened by something she couldn't
identify. It was almost like Henry was willing himself to calm
while at the same time willing her to understand.

"No way." Finn said, pushing Henry away.

"No way, what?"

"No way am I going to stand here and listen
to you make excuses for lying to me."

"I never lied to you." Henry said, sounding
like he believed it.

"Yeah? Whattaya call not telling me that my
niece married the nephew of the richest man in America. An
oversight? No, let me guess, you forgot?" Finn yanked her arm free
of his grip the second Henry loosened it and headed for her shop
and the shotgun she kept behind the door.

Henry was on her in a second. Damn the man.
He moved more silently and quickly than anyone Finn had ever met.
She'd been intrigued by him before. Now she just wanted him
gone.

"Hold on a second. I want to talk to
you."

"I don't want to talk to you. Get off my
property."

"Well as you so tactfully pointed out it's
not strictly your property anymore is it? Jordon has control over
at least half of Reed's half."

"That half of a half isn't anywhere near my
shop. In fact, I think that
quarter
of the property is under
the pond. Why don't you go wait there. I'll find you in the
morning."

Henry moved to grab her again. Finn managed
to wiggle away from him and make her way through the shop door. She
almost had it slammed shut when Henry stopped it with his foot.

"Damn it." He said. "That hurt."

Finn grunted and let go of the door, taking
a good deal of satisfaction from his obvious pain. She was pissed
and had no intention of letting one
over-sized-sex-oozing-misty-eyed menace of a man talk her out of
her pique. That settled, she stepped away from the door and Henry
charged through, slamming it behind him. He leaned against it so
she couldn't escape.

Finn didn't need to escape. She'd simply
shoot him if she needed to.

"You are one stubborn woman."

Finn didn't respond.

"Childish too, for someone of your advanced
years."

Finn's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed but
she remained silent. The rushing in her ears wasn't silent though.
It whooshed with the force of a hurricane.

Advanced years? My tight ass.

Her narrow-eyed frosty smile begged him to
continue even as volcanic heat scorched the tips of her ears making
her blush all over.

Henry took a step closer.

Finn jutted her chin up and took two steps
closer to him. Close enough to slap him if he opened his mouth
again.

Something in her eyes must have given away
her intent because Henry smiled openly. His shoulders relaxed and
he heaved a sigh of relief. That annoying twinkle was back in his
eyes as well. Finn's hands itched with the need to fist at her
sides. She forced herself to relax instead, since he seemed to gain
satisfaction the angrier she became.

"Go ahead, baby. Hit me. Get it out of your
system."

"If I hit you, you wouldn't be smiling like
the Cheshire cat."

Henry trailed the back of his hand lightly
across her jaw until his thumb found her lower lip. "If it would
make you smile again, I'd stand here and let you hit me all
night."

"Spoken like a man who has no appreciation
for the danger one woman can wield when properly motivated."

"Spoken like a man who'd do just about
anything to motivate you."

Finn's eyes turned cold, as cold as her
heart. "Like lie to me?"

Henry had her against him, holding her face
in both his hands quicker than any viper was capable of striking.
"Look at me, Finn. Really look."

His expression was earnest enough, but then
Finn had seen earnest before. This time there was more there. An
expression flitted across his face that was more than sincerity,
more than honesty, it was pain mixed with need and a longing so
deep Finn felt the ice around her melt. She tried to speak, she
even opened her lips, but she couldn't get past the swelling in her
throat or the inexplicable need to blink back the warm wetness in
her eyes.

"It wasn't my truth to tell. It was
Jordon's. I have one job. One job I do extraordinarily well. I
protect Jordon. I don't think for him. I don't lie for him. I keep
him safe. That's what I do. That's who I am. For the record, I was
against hiding the truth from the time Jordon asked me to find
Reed's ring size. I..."

Finn put her fingers to Henry's lips,
stilling his words. "Shut up big man and kiss me before I take you
up on your other offer. Right now I'd like to hit you almost as
much as I'd like to see you naked."

"Weren't you with your teenage painter
earlier today?"

"Does that matter to you?"

Henry's eyes widened and something in them
flared before he became more rueful. "Yeah, surprisingly enough it
does."

"Why?"

Henry shook his head, the smile on his face
sad and small. "I don't want to go there. Not yet. Maybe
never."

The thump in her heart forcefully reminded
Finn she could and did feel more than just that which was safe.
Henry wasn't twenty-five with nothing to offer but a good time and
a warm bed when she wanted one. Henry wasn't someone she could
brush off with a wave and a smile when he got too close. Henry
wasn't safe. Safe kept her numb. Tonight she wanted, needed to
feel.

Alive.

Vital.

Close.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat
and moved forward, taking Henry's hand in hers. He didn't pull
away. His hand was warm, hot even, stilling some of the trembling
in hers she couldn't control.

"Would it matter to you to know I haven't
slept with Pete in weeks? That part of our relationship, such as it
was, ended. Pete and I are collaborating on a mixed-media project.
It's kind of hush-hush right now, but it could make us players in
the field. We're talking our own shows in Milwaukee and Chicago.
It's big."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes. It makes a difference."

Henry moved closer. Finn could feel the heat
coming from his body. He was so tall he made her feel fragile but
not afraid. He wasn't pushing her. He wasn't using his size as a
threat. He was surrounding her with warmth and a sense of need she
could taste and smell but couldn't see. Even the air around her
hummed with his energy.

Inviting.

Intriguingly filled with the promise of
instant gratification.

Irresistible.

"Dark chocolate."

"What?" He asked squeezing her hand
gently.

"You smell like homemade hot chocolate laced
with Kahlua on a snow covered night mixed with wood smoke from a
roaring fire." Finn closed her eyes. "I can almost taste you."

Henry laughed, a full rich sound that caused
Finn's eyes to fly open, startled by the sound. Before she could
react further, he swept her off her feet like she weighed no more
than a toddler, an unusual experience for Finn who was used to
towering over most men.

CHAPTER TWENTY

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking you to the kitchen. You
obviously haven't eaten if you're thinking about hot chocolate when
it's close to eighty degrees outside"

"Put me down." Finn said, disgruntled. "The
kitchen is five steps away. I could walk if I wanted. I don't want
hot chocolate. I'm beginning to wonder if I even like it at
all."

Henry stopped, but he didn't put her down,
he simply held her tighter when she tried to force her legs to the
ground. The effort didn't look like it was costing him much either,
and for some reason that irritated her as much as it turned those
same legs into silly putty warming in his hands. Vacillating
between irritation and attraction, Finn settled on irritation.

She was about to set into him when she made
the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were more smoke than
mist now, but even in the dim light she could read his need
clearly. He wanted her. She'd been wanted plenty, she knew the
signs, even so, something in Henry's eyes was different. Or maybe
it was her own insides turning to goo that was different and she
was simply projecting, but Finn didn't think so. She was dampening
all over, from the fragile baby hair on the back of her neck and
the crevice between her breasts all the way to her silk panties
that clung to her now blood filled lips below her well trimmed
mons.

"If you don't want hot chocolate what do you
want?"

"I want you to stay."

"You're going to have to be clearer than
that, Finn. There will be no misunderstandings between us, ever.
Tonight was the first and last time you will accuse me of lying to
you." The warmth in his voice vanished, leaving it tempered and
cool like a newly sharpened blade, hard, clean, and piercingly
efficient.

"Tell me what you want."

Something about the intensity in his eyes
and the way he held her told Finn it wouldn't be easy to let this
man go once she let him in. He wasn't the artistic type she
favored, ready to share moments together and then simply part with
a smile and a 'thank you'. His currents ran deeper, and navigation
with or without a paddle had never been one of her strengths.

"I want you to stay. I want to see you
naked. I want to take you deep inside me and hold you there until
we both burst. And then, I want to hold you while I sleep."

"And tomorrow?"

Finn smiled coyly up at him. "Before or
after we shower?"

He squeezed her. Even when she batted her
eyes at him playfully he didn't smile.

"After we're dressed. What then?"

"No regrets, Henry. Clothes or no clothes. I
don't do regret."

A look of disappointment flashed across
Henry's face followed by narrow-eyed determination. He led her to
the bed without a word and didn't try to kiss her when he set her
on her feet beside it. Henry didn't say a word as he slowly
undressed. It wasn't a strip tease, in fact nothing about his
efficiency spoke of the playful sex games Finn had made an art of
over the years. Those were fun. Frivolous. And about as sustainable
as cotton candy on a hot day at the fair.