The Lawson Boys: Alex (23 page)

“Fine.” He made
a show of sighing heavily. “Dinner first. I know when I’m
whipped.”

“You? Whipped?”
Harly laughed as she picked up the house keys and made to slip them
into her jacket pocket.

“Yes.” Alex
took the keys from her hand. “Ready, Mistress?”

“Mistress?” She
eyed him doubtfully, laughter still lurking in her eyes. “I somehow
doubt I’d be topping you.”

“Topping?” His
eyes widened, partly in surprise, partly in humour. “And what, Miss
Innocence, do you know about
topping
?”

“Why, Master, I
do read some of those erotic romances, you know,” she almost
purred.

“Jesus.” He
reached for her again, but she danced out of reach and actually ran
out of the kitchen.

Shaking his
head, Alex followed her more slowly. Already at the front door, she
watched with twinkling eyes as he approached.

“If you read so
much,” he informed her sternly, “then you’d know about
obedience.”

“I said I read
them, I didn’t say I agreed with everything.” Folding her arms, she
lifted her chin. “And I was merely pointing out that you’d never be
any woman’s dog.”

“Dog? Did you
just say
dog
?”

“Bitch somehow
doesn’t seem right.”

The minx was
laughing outright. Shaking his head, Alex walked right up to her,
backing her against the door. Bracing his hands on the solid wood
each side of her head, he leaned forward to look down at her. It
took all he had to remain stoic-faced when laughter pulled at him.
Harly was delightful.

“Now, Miss
Bentley,” he said with mock seriousness. “I’ll have you know that
yes, you are correct, I will always be the master in a
relationship. I will always be the master when it comes to sex. I
am
the man
.”

Harly was
having a hard time trying to maintain her own contrite, meek
expression; her quivering lips gave that away. “Yes, Sir.”

“See, when I
say strip, you strip. When I say come here, you come. When I say
kiss me, you kiss me. When I say you’re walking around in my
presence in nothing but silk stockings and a garter belt and a red
satin bra, you will do so.”

“Not
happening.”

“Insubordination will not be tolerated.”

“I’ll tell my
mother.”

“I’m not scared
of her.”

“All right.
I’ll tell
your
mother.”

“Okay, some
insubordination will be tolerated.”

“I thought
so.”

“And when I say
get the bondage gear-”

She guffawed
right in his face.

He laughed
right along with her. Warmth overflowing him, he gathered her into
his arms and hugged her.

Harly hugged
him back, still giggling. “Do I still get dinner even though I’m
insubordinate?”

“Why not? The
punishment can wait until later.” Dropping a quick kiss on the
glossy hair just level with his shoulder, Alex reached around her
for the door knob. “I’ve now got two appetites raging thanks to
that titillating little discussion, but I know by your words that
only one is going to be appeased right now. Let’s go.”

Harly stepped
to the side as Alex swung the door open, only to say in surprise,
“Mum?” when Mrs Bentley was revealed standing on the veranda
holding a small basket.

“Mrs Bentley.”
Recovering his surprise, Alex opened the security screen and stood
to the side, holding it open.

Mrs Bentley
looked from Harly to Alex, and even though she smiled, her eyes
were watchful. “Alex. What a surprise.”

He had the
definite feeling it wasn’t a pleasant one.

“You shouldn’t
have worried about coming out,” Harly said. “I could have picked
the jam up tomorrow on my way home from work.”

Her mother
raised one brow. “Oh, so you did get my phone call. Why didn’t you
just pick up the phone?”

“Oh - ah - ”
Harly glanced at Alex.

“Harly had
spilt something and we were in the middle of cleaning up,” Alex
said smoothly. “She meant to ring you back, but we got
talking.”

“Talking.” Mrs
Bentley looked him up and down.

Alex wondered
just how much she had heard of their conversation, but the wooden
door was solid and he doubted she’d heard anything clearly apart
from the laughter.

Obviously Harly
wasn’t so certain, for her cheeks were bright red. “Is that the
jam?”

Her mother took
two jars from the basket and handed it to her. “Strawberry
jam.”

“Thank you.”
Taking it from her, Harly glanced again at Alex. “I’ll just put
this in the kitchen. I won’t be a minute.”

As soon as
Harly disappeared into the house, Mrs Bentley looked sharply at
him. “Are you taking my daughter out?”

“We’re going
for dinner,” he replied carefully, aware of some undercurrent.

“Harly’s a
lovely girl, Alex.”

“I’m well aware
of that. I’ll take care of her.”

She stared at
him for several seconds before stating quietly, “Be sure that you
do. I don’t want her hurt.”

Before he could
reply to that, Harly reappeared.

“Thanks for the
jam, Mum.”

“No worries,
sweetheart.” Mrs Bentley leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “I hear
you’re going to dinner, so I won’t keep you. Must get to my club
meeting before I’m late.” She gave Alex a tight smile. “Enjoy
yourselves.”

Harly walked
her mother to the car while Alex shut and locked the house doors.
Pocketing the keys, he strode down the veranda and waited by the
Jeep as Harly exchanged a few words with her mother before she
left.

Gazing hard at
Mrs Bentley, he couldn’t believe that she had the gall to warn him
about hurting Harly. That was rich, coming from a woman who hadn’t
supported her own daughter in her time of need. Anger simmered
below the surface as he tried to work out just what made the woman
tick. She seemed concerned for Harly, but after what she had done
to her all those years ago…

As soon as the
tail-lights of the car disappeared down the road, Harly walked back
to him. “Mum makes delicious jam. I’ll give you a jar and you can
take it back to Becky’s and have it for breakfast on toast.”

Opening the
Jeep door, Alex waited until she got inside before shutting it and
walking around to the driver’s side. Getting in, he switched on the
ignition, put the car into gear and drove down the driveway and out
onto the road.

“Alex? Is
everything all right?”

“Hmm?” He
glanced at her.

“You’re very
quiet suddenly.”

“Just
thinking.”

“Oh.”

Silence fell
between them for several minutes before he commented, “Your mother
cares about you.”

“Of course.”
Harly was surprised.

“I wasn’t
sure…when she didn’t get you help after you miscarried.” Alex
frowned. “She sounded so…cold.” Harly was quiet for so long that he
wondered if he’d hit a raw nerve. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said
anything.”

“No, it’s all
right.” She shrugged. “Mum and Dad do love me, they care. I know
it’s hard to believe after what I told you, but they do care. You
have to understand, Mum came from a small town in another state,
and her sister had a child out of wedlock. Back then, it was a
shame, and it was one that stayed with her. Keeping a clean name
has always been important to her.”

“Her daughter
should be more important.”

Harly turned in
her seat to look at him. “Don’t mistake that she cares about me. If
I’d been in danger, she’d have had me in the local hospital in no
time. But there was no danger, the doctor was there, and in her
opinion there was no need to cause a scandal.”

“Your dad-”

“Dad knew what
she was doing. You forget, they are both from a different
time.”

“They were
still your parents.’

“They did what
they thought best.”

“How can you
forgive them so easily?”

“How can you
not?” she returned bluntly.

“What?”
Incredulous, he glanced at her.

“It was my
problem, not yours. They are my parents, not yours. If I can move
on, you can, too.”

Oh, that didn’t
sit well. Alex pulled the Jeep over onto the shoulder of the road
and applied the handbrake. Unsnapping the seatbelt, he turned fully
in the seat to face her. “You can seriously say that to me?”

“Yeah,” she
replied, unfazed. “I can.”

“You went
through hell, Harly, and they didn’t support you. That concerns
me.”

“It’s in the
past.”

“It’s pretty
bloody fresh for me.”

Rubbing her
forehead, she sighed. “Alex, I know it’s new to you. I know you’re
trying to accept things. But it’s also in the past, and what
happened, happened.”

Gazing out into
the blackness beyond the Jeeps headlights, Alex gripped the
steering wheel. “This isn’t about the baby, Harly.”

“Then what is
it about?”

“You never had
the support you needed. I wasn’t here for you, and your parents
didn’t want to know. Who was there for you? Who, damn it?”

The silence in
the cab was thick with emotion, his anger and frustration, his
concern. His regrets.

“I didn’t have
the support then.” Leaning towards him, Harly laid her hand on his
arm. “But I have it now.”

Alex looked at
her. Her face was so earnest in the reflection of the
headlights.

“I have you
now.”

Those four
words touched him right to the soul. With a groan, he laid his hand
atop hers, gripping her tightly. “Harly.”

She smiled a
little.

“Okay,” he
finally said a trifle harshly. “Okay, you’re right. They’re not my
parents. For you, I’ll try to put my anger aside, but don’t think
that I can just forgive them for what they did. I’ll be polite for
your sake. But don’t ask me to forgive them.”

“All
right.”

“I know they
care, but I don’t understand them.”

“All right,”
she repeated.

Picking her
hand up, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of
it, his gaze holding hers. “But I’m always going to be here for
you, Harly. It doesn’t matter where I am, in Afghanistan,
Australia, an Army base thousands of miles away or only fifty, I’m
a phone call, an email, a web cam away. You contact me, and I’ll
get back to you. Know that.”

She nodded, the
cool crystal clearness of her eyes so startling in the dimness of
the car.

“I can’t
physically be here all the time.” Leaning toward her, he reached
out and placed his palm against her cheek. “But spiritually,
mentally, call it what you like, I’ll be here. You’ll always be in
my heart, in my thoughts. I’ll write to you, email you, I’ll be in
contact, Harly.”

“Okay.” There
was a sheen in her eyes, a tear drop that trembled on her lower
lashes.

He brushed it
away with his thumb. “My family will come if you need them. I’ll
come as soon as I can possibly arrange it. You won’t ever be alone
again in a time of need.”

Another tear
spilled out.

This time when
he kissed her, it was gentle, soft, his whole heart poured into it.
Breaking the contact, he rested his forehead against hers and took
a deep breath before saying quietly, “Wait for me when I’m away,
Harly, and I swear I’ll come back. Every time, I’ll come back to
you.”

She looked into
his eyes for a long time, the silence in the Jeep cab seeming to
wrap them in a cocoon. He felt as though she was seeing right into
his soul, searching for something, and all he could do was look at
her with his heart in his eyes.

Finally, she
whispered, “I’ll wait.”

The magic
words, two words so many military people hung onto when they were
away from their loved ones for long periods of time.

I’ll
wait
.

Knowing that
Harly would be waiting for him would keep him going on those long
nights and days, in the dangers of Afghanistan and anywhere else he
was sent in the line of duty.

She’d be
waiting for him when he returned.

He didn’t doubt
it for a second.

Closing the
small gap, he took her mouth in another kiss, gentle at first then
wanting more, his tongue sweeping in to taste of her.

His hand on her
breast. Her hand beneath his shirt, the cool fingers tracing the
muscles along his spine. His hand sliding into her hair, pulling
her closer, touching and tasting, his hand sliding down to grip her
hip, seeking more.

Knuckles
knocking on the window.

Gasping for
breath, they both broke apart to stare at each other, then over
Harly’s shoulder to where a police officer was standing patiently
by the passenger door with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh - umm.”
Harly turned back, fumbling for the window controls. As the window
lowered, she mumbled, “Um, hi, Shane.”

“Hi, Harly.”
The cop angled his torch to get a good look at Alex. “No
problems?”

“None here,”
Alex replied. “Sorry, we pulled over to discuss something.”

“So I see.”
Shane’s lips quirked and he studied Harly’s red cheeks. “Date?”

“Yes, as if
it’s any of your business,” she retorted.

Alex’s eyebrows
shot up in surprise.

Shane laughed.
“Catching you in a car on the side of the road necking isn’t
something I ever thought I’d see.”

“You say one
word to my mother and I will personally hunt you down and kill
you.”

“Threatening an
officer of the law. Tsk tsk. That could bring you gaol time.”

“I make your
espresso every morning. Think about that next time I put the lid on
your to-go cup. Will you really know what’s in it?”

“Well, when you
put it like that, maybe I’ll just keep my mouth shut around your
parents.”

“And your
wife.”

“No secrets
between couples, isn’t that right?” Shane peered past her at
Alex.

Alex grinned.
“Absolutely.”