Truth and Humility (29 page)

Wow.  How could she possibly say no to that?

When he popped the clutch, the rear tires sent soft shoulder matter arcing up behind them.  It was then she wondered... when they got to her place, would he notice the strip of condoms still waiting for use on her bedside table?

Thank God for birth control.

Derek’s warning had bothered Danny since he’d issued it the day before.  Something told her not to push, so she didn’t.  It was just as well that the truth came out later than sooner.  She could wait if he needed the time.

Anticipating her late night swim, she slid into shorts and a tank top.  Darkness was descending and she was emotionally exhausted.  Peering out the window of her second-floor bedroom, she noticed the moon was a mere sliver in the sky, which was fine with her.  The path to her tree house was so familiar, sheis fithe could follow it with her eyes closed.

“Let’s see,” she said aloud and rifled through the books on her desk for the reference materials she’d collected from the library the previous Friday.  The meager selection offered nothing of the quality of Austin’s father’s book, but at least the internet connect card she’d purchased for her laptop would allow her to surf the web in the blessed privacy of the tree house.  Now that the lavish fort was outfitted with electricity, it was possible to plug in and work as long as she needed to, out of the reach of her father’s watchful eye.

She zipped the duffel bag closed over her collection of supplies and hiked it over her shoulder.  As she made her way to the back door, she passed her parents who were sitting at the small table in the kitchen.  “I’m headed out.  See you in the morning.”

“Again?” Mary observed over her reading glasses.  Freshly cut coupons littered the table.  “Honey, you haven’t slept in your own bed since you’ve been back.”

“The one in the tree house is more comfortable.”

“Well, here,” Mary said, rising to rifle through the fridge, “at least take the rest of this casserole with you in case you get hungry.  You didn’t eat much supper and you need to keep your strength up if you’re going to start work tomorrow.”

Danny’s hand slipped from the doorknob and she took the giant container with chagrin.  Another liberal round of leftovers she’ll have to dispose of somehow.  Then confusion set in.  “Work tomorrow?”

Mary glanced at her husband, jerked her head in their daughter’s direction in a not-so-secret communiqué.

“Oh, Danny,” Herb jumped in, almost having missed his cue, “We’ve been contracted to tear down that old grain plant on highway five.  Think you can take her?”

Hope sprung eternal.  “With my eyes closed, Pop.  How many men do I get?”

“Six and you start early.”

Her smile was wide.  “Is the pay the same?”

“Same as what your brothers get.”

It was a huge step.  Herb was finally getting over his ire with her, allowing her to re-establish her supervisory position in the family business.  She walked over to him and placed a fat kiss atop his thick head of hair.  The older man chuckled affectionately and took up another grocery ad.  When he knew she was gone, Herb peered at his wife through the glasses.  “That ought to put a smile back on her face.”

As Danny walked through the meadow in her climbing shoes, she thought about the job.  It couldn’t have come at a better time.  Now she could afford the $60-a-month for the Internet connect card without having to borrow from Derek.  And with the bills going to her new P.O. Box, her father would never have to know she was still hammering away at her on-line courses.

The walnut tree stood tall in the distance.  The elaborate construction nestled among its high branches resembled a gazebo since she’d added the circular lower level a few years ago.  It had started out a simple box.  But the box had shrunk as her body grew and larger walls were required.  She decided to make the new addition as big as was structurally sound without the need for ground supports.  The tall trunk jutting through was offset from the center to create a small space for the rear kitchenette and a larger space for the main room, which faced the pond.  In order to fit a small table outside the main room, she added an alcove that robbed the space from the deck instead.   Made decorative with swinging shutters and a green tin roof, the tree house looked like a charming sky villa from the outside.

The distance from the ground wasn’t as much, but it was still incredibly high.

Danny set her duffel bag on the dumb waiter at the base of the trunk and pulled the rope until the platform reached the top, latched tight, effectively transferring her stash to the kitchen above to be retrieved later.  Her nieces and nephews used to ascend up to the structure using the contraption until one of them fell and broke his arm.  Since then, they’d been banned.  But before long she would have to build them their own tree fort in order to cut down on their fascination with hers.

Before climbing her way up, she shirked her shoes, pulled the tank top up and over her head.  The tight white shorts and underwear came off next and she left her clothes piled by the massive trunk.

Naked and cloaked in darkness, Danny padded to the grassy bank, dipped her toe in for a test.  The ever-moving water was reliably cool.  Perfect.  Silt slicked between her toes muddying just a portion of the surface.  Two more steps took her deep enough to lift her knees and let buoyancy take over.  Ahh.  She loved this.  Needed this.  It was the most relaxed she’d felt since...

But she wouldn’t think about that.  Thoughts of
him
were unwelcome, but it seemed the more she tried to forget, the more insistently they hounded her.

Something brushed her leg.  Fish.  She swam out to the center of the pond, at one with the cold-blooded creatures beneath her.  Filling her lungs with air, she flailed her arms and brought her toes out of the water.  They barely surfaced as she lay on her back and let the water lap over her breasts and belly.

She was in her muted world again.  Her head was filled with underwater noise as her ears flooded with liquid.  The stars were so brilliant, more so now than usual.  Was it an atmospheric anomaly that cleared the air so much this night?  Being far from the city, there wasn’t as much smog or pollution to murk up the sky.  She sighed, her chest rising and falling.

How could she want to leave this?  What was wrong with her?

Plunk

What the...  A fish?  Frog?  Water bug?  Holy crap, her
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brother
throwing rocks at her again?  The mere thought made her draw up and sink to hide her nakedness until she could rule out that possibility.  Scanning the shore, she sucked in clear water, blew it back out.  It was so dark...hard to see.

She caught a movement and her gaze darted to the spot just as another small projectile splashed inches from her face.  She flinched, wiped her eyes clear.  “Dammit, Derek, I’m naked in here!”

“Good to know.”

The blood left her face.  That wasn’t Derek.  Blinking rapidly to clear the blur, Danny focused on a shape by the flat rock.   Not that she needed visual confirmation.  The voice alone was enough to stir her juices.

Austin stood up and was still for a moment, his black shape silhouetted against the lighter, steeper rock behind him.  She dared not breathe let alone make a noise.  Her arms swirled in hidden circles beneath the water.  His shape moved again.

Plunk

And she’d been looking right at him.  “You can stop throwing rocks at me.”

“They aren’t rocks.”

Ah.  Acorns.  Funny.  “You do realize, if my family catches you here they’ll hang you from that very tree.”

He sighed, rattled the remaining acorns in his closed palm.  “Some risks are just worth taking, I guess.”

“Since when?” she shot out with attitude.

She was mad.  He was amused, but not for long.  Leaving his shoes and socks by the rock, Austin walked the bank and stood where she’d entered the water.  His stance indicated he wasn’t leaving until she came out.

Exasperated, Danny kicked and floated further away.  Her heart was producing a million beats per second.  “You’re crazy if you think I’m getting out like this.”

He shrugged.  “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Oh, and he was so unfazed by that, huh?  What the hell was he doing here anyway?  “You know...you can’t just trespass on Bennett land whenever you feel the urge to mess with me.”

So, she really wasn’t coming out.  Okay, then.  “It’s your fault I’m here,” he replied, stripping off his navy T-shirt.

It was dark.  But damned if she couldn’t see every bit of that broad chest.  “How is that possible?”  Going for a snarky tone, she swallowed, wondered if she was convincing.  “We haven’t communicated since I left.”

His laugh was clipped, tortured as he stepped out of his jeans.  “You communicated plenty
before
youNew of hi left.  Christ, woman, do you have any idea what you did to me with that parting shot?”

“What... You aren’t seriously getting in with –”

“Boy, that was a good one.  Messed me up just like you wanted.  All I’ve thought about over the last three days is you getting naked with some other guy.”

“Austin, you stay on that bank!”

He could feel her eyes on him.  All of him.  His dick was already hard from watching her strip down and climb into the water, and now it was at full attention under the heat of her gaze.  “You come out, then.”

Water sputtered out of her mouth.  Why should she be nervous?  It was obvious what he wanted, but she was under no obligation to give it to him.  “Jeez, Cahill.  If you want to risk your life for a quick lay, you could have done that with the slut in the red dress.”  Damn, he was coming in.  She waded toward the rock shelf.

“I don’t want the slut in the red dress, and if you think you’re climbing out now, you can think again.”

Oh yeah?  Well, there was no way he’d catch up to her before she reached the rock.  Not worried, she closed the distance with graceful forward strokes.  Her hands gripped the edge and she hoisted herself out of the water, set a knee beneath her.

A large hand clamped around her ankle before she could get both feet up.  Gasping in surprise, her foot was tugged so forcefully, she squawked on her way back into the water.  They surfaced together, her coughing and sputtering.  Austin shook the water from his hair and grinned.

“State record in Freestyle.”

Outrage made her push at him hard.  But he was immoveable and all she did was push herself back, rap her head painfully against the rock at her back.

Austin watched her rage blossom over that one and his brows creased with a helpless laugh.  Didn’t help, but he took her wrists and yanked her against him.  Her steady stream of insults was abruptly cut off when his mouth opened over hers.

The transition was immediate.  Though she kept her forearms between them, everything else touched below the water while he held her close.  The contact rendered her mute and she sank into the devastating kiss.  He was devouring her again, sampling her mouth in a way that dominated.  It wasn’t fair that he had the power to do this to her.

Austin was thinking the very same thing.  Danny was everything he wanted in a woman and whether she knew it or not, she held great power over him.  It scared him to death, yet was satisfying to the core.

“I have to know,” he said, wrapping his hands around her head as he locked eyes with her.  “Have you been with anyone else but me?”

What was the point in lying?  She shook her head, closed her eyes and opened them again.  “No.”  She watched in fascination as something in hsom48">

He backed her against the rock and splayed his hands out against it to cushion her head.  “Good.  Because you’re mine, Bennett.  I had you first.  And if anyone teaches you anything about your body, it’s going to be me.  Got it?”

The meaning behind those richly spoken words effected her like a powerful drug.  “Will you always be this bossy?”  His lips were on her neck and they felt oh so good.

“When I need to be,” he answered huskily, licking droplets from the hollow of her throat.

Heat was building inside her to an unbearable degree.  This was definitely not how she expec
ted to spend her evening...but plans changed.  The easy acceptance of it was what made life so interesting.