Against the Wall (Stoddard Art School Series Book 3) (20 page)

“Totally gone.” He tightened his hold and lifted her off her feet. “Just me and you. Nothing past these doors.”

“Please tell me they’re locked.”

“Tighter than Fort Knox.”

“And Shadow?”

“Asleep on the screen porch.” He kissed her again. “We’re all alone. Think desert island.” One hand moved lower to cup the round of her behind.

“Escaping to a desert island… Isn’t that called avoidance? Denial?”

“Only if you say no.” He raised an eyebrow as if to challenge her.

Kay laughed. “To you? Doesn’t seem possible.”

“Now that, I’ll remember.” He pecked her lightly on the lips and set her down. “I want to show you something. Upstairs.”

“Etchings?”

“Close.” Bear gave her the boyish, mischievous grin sending shockwaves straight to her thighs. “Follow me.” He kissed her fingers and then held them tight in his hand as he pulled her toward the stairs.

“We finished setting it yesterday. I couldn’t wait to show you.” At the top floor, Bear pulled his keys from his front pocket and unlocked the door to the “penthouse.”

When Kay last saw this room, she’d fallen in love with the lines and the view and how lovely the room could be. She couldn’t have imagined just how beautiful it would turn out.

Walls of a soft buttery cream flowed into the crisp white of the trim around the doors and the windows capturing the sights of the harbor and far out to sea. The ceiling paint was the palest shade of blue.

The bedding pulled in the warm, rich wall color with a thick spread and shams and accented with the coolness of the soft blue with an arrangement of pillows. A brass framework crowned the bed’s four carved posts. Sheer panels of white flowed at each corner to pool onto the floor. The construction mats she remembered from the other day had hidden the beautiful oak floors, which now shone beneath the gentle tones of several oriental scatter rugs.

Their telescope gleamed at the window, and the tub now sported lush towels hung over one side and a brass wired tray across its span to hold soap, a rough sea sponge, and a jar of bath salts. It even had a place to set a book and a glass of wine.

“You like?”

“Bear…” Kay looked at him over one shoulder as she took in each detail. “I love it…”

“What do you think of the prints?” He gestured to opposite wall.

She hadn’t even noticed the artwork. In gold-leafed frames of various shapes and sizes, sepia photographs of historic Bell Harbor’s dock and waterfront graced the walls.

“Your mural inspired me. The new, celebrating the old.”

“They’re perfect.” She held her arms wide. “The whole room is…perfect.” Kay couldn’t come up with a better word. “It’s soft without being too feminine, warm, yet light and airy. Totally romantic.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Bear pulled her into his arms and angled his head to kiss her.

“You’re very good at this.”

“Kissing?”

She smiled against his lips. “That, too, but I was talking about decorating.”

“I’m a man of many talents.” He moved her slowly backward.

“So I’ve been told.” Kay lifted her chin as he laid a line of warm kisses along the curve of her throat. “Oh, I love the chandelier.”

“Mmhmm.”

Her legs hit the edge of the mattress, and she stumbled back across the bed. Bear wasted no time and covered her with his body, pressing her into the creamy bedding.

“We can’t.” Kay protested with as much conviction as a starving man pushed toward a smorgasbord.

“Of course we can.”

She blinked up at him. “We’ll mess up this perfect bed.”

“I’m good at that too, remember? There’s a reason they call them throw pillows.” His arm swept the bed before lifting off her tank top.

Kay needn’t have worried. The rich comforter and thick blanket hit the floor seconds before the rest of her clothing and all but his pants.

The afternoon sun warmed the room. Had it not been for the clean breeze tickling over her skin, it might have been too hot, but then hot took on a very different meaning when she was in bed with Bear Coulter.

In one swift motion, she went from under him to on top, straddling his hips, while he held tight to hers. His erection strained against the denim of his jeans.

“I like the view from up here,” Kay teased.

“So do I.” Bear’s large hands skimmed over her waist, cupping the sides of her breasts.

Kay traced the high sweep of his cheekbone as she studied him. Beyond the smolder in his hazel gaze, he looked drawn. Serious. As if the day’s stress was written about his face. Around his eyes. “Did something else happen after you left the cove this morning?”

His eyes held hers, and he forced a small smile. “Nothing I can’t handle. Nothing I want to talk about. Not now.” His thumbs toyed with the pebbled tips of her nipples. “Desert island, remember.”

Each circle of his finger sent ever-increasing waves of pleasure through her. Escaping with him into an afternoon of sexual abandon was intoxicating. “Quite a tree house you’ve built on your island.”

“Beats getting sand in your shorts.” He threaded a hand into her hair and pulled her mouth to his.

Kay opened her lips to the insistent plunge of his tongue and rocked her hips slowly over the hard length of him. Reaching between them, she released the metal button from its buttonhole. “Helps if you’re not wearing any.”

Before adding his jeans to the scattering on the floor, Bear fished a condom out of the pocket and tore the foiled package open with his teeth. Sheathing his erection, he was quick to pull her back astride him. “There…happy?”

“Oh, yes, very happy.”

“Good. Let’s shoot for ecstatic.”

Kay left a sleeping, post-ecstatic Bear briefly to put Shadow out on his run. She’d heard him pawing at the door shortly after Bear had gathered her tight to him and murmured that he loved her and he’d run away with her anytime she wanted.

Donning her tank and panties and following the dog to the kitchen door, she held tight to Shadow’s collar. Like a member of a SWAT team, she checked the backyard for anyone who might catch her as she dashed half naked to secure him outside before zipping back inside again.

She padded back through the lobby toward the stairs with two bottles of water she’d snagged from the huge stainless steel refrigerator. Kay paused to give the painting her ever-critical appraisal. The work was good. She was pleased. Another day or two and she’d be finished.

The conversation with Madeline Sullivan crept back in to worry the edges of her mind. There was no question if she asked Bear, he would sign off on her internship, but given Maddie’s final warning, it meant they would have to hide their relationship. At least for the remaining time she was at Stoddard.

She didn’t want to hide. She wanted to stand on rooftops and yell to the world she had fallen in love with the most wonderful man on the planet.

But if there were so much as a hint of anything going on between them, it would not only threaten her degree, but also the school. He’d never be able to visit her there. She’d have to use Dottie as an excuse to keep coming back here. It would be lies on top of lies, and Kay hated even the thought of that. She seemed surrounded by dishonesty and half-truths lately. Between Todd, and now Dottie.

Something was going on between Dottie and her mother. She could feel it, but being blind-sided by Claire and losing her beloved cottage had only solidified her decision not to try and figure it out. If they wanted to keep things from her. Fine. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t care anymore—damn it, now she was even lying to herself.

Focused on the tiny lovers tucked into the rocks, Kay worried her lower lip. She hated secrets almost as much as she hated the thought of waiting six months longer to be with Bear. If she were honest and refused to use the mural as her internship, she would still need to complete the requirement. She couldn’t decide which would be worse.

Todd. Todd would be worse. He’d guessed there was someone else the other night on the phone.
I almost feel bad for the guy.
If she went back to Stoddard and hid her relationship with Bear, Todd would boast he’d been right about it not lasting more than a few weeks. He’d never stop telling her “I told you so.”

The town was too small. The school, even smaller. She’d have to cross paths with him daily. If he suspected things were still going on, he wouldn’t hesitate to let the Internship Committee and the Graduate Board know. It would be a semester of walking on a tightrope across a shark tank.

She couldn’t do it. No matter how tempting. Kay wouldn’t cut corners to get her degree early if it meant she’d have to lie about her and Bear.

Kay slipped back into bed and snuggled against the broad warmth of Bear’s back. She traced the silvered line that cut through his tattoo. Strength from strength. That’s what he said it had meant. She’d count on the strength of what was building between them to get her through the next year. Losing the cottage. Dottie. A lonely year at school and a long-distance relationship. Thank goodness she and Bear were solid.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Warm breasts pressed into his back as Kay wrapped an arm around his waist. Her breath tickled his shoulder a moment before she laid a kiss upon his tattoo.

Rolling onto his back, Bear gathered her close.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Glad you did.” He sighed. She felt good tucked into his side. “I could get used to this.” He tightened his hold. “Where did you disappear to?”

“I left the island temporarily. Shadow needed to go out.”

“Didn’t even hear him.”

“You were recharging.” She smiled against his chest and teased the hair there.

“What did you want to ask me?” He rested his lips on the top of her head breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. “There’s a very good chance I’ll say yes to pretty much anything right at the moment.”

“No need.”

He shifted so he could look at her face. “I thought you wanted—”

Kay shrugged a shoulder and gave a quick shake of her head. “I’ve decided to handle it another way.” She trailed her fingers down the plane of his stomach. “But make no mistake…you would have said yes.”

“You decided?”

“Mmmhmm.” She snuggled against him again.

A flare of irritation raced through him. Maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe it was all the business with Diane, maybe it was his curse for being attracted to strong women, but there it was. He pulled back and sat up. “Did this decision have anything to do with me? Us?”

“Well, yes, in a way, but—”

“And you didn’t think you should let me in on it before you made up your mind?” He got out of bed and found his jeans.

“Bear…”

Turning to look at her, some of the anger evaporated. He wasn’t mad at her. He was furious with himself. With Diane.

He raked a hand through his hair and blew out a breath.

Kay was on her feet. “I didn’t mean to exclude you. It wasn’t like that.” She told him about the conversation with the director from Stoddard and her internship. “As much as I want to be with you—and I do. I want this. You and me. I don’t know how or when or where. I just don’t want a lie to get in our way.”

He was an ass. What right did he have getting upset with her? He was the one hiding things. “I’m such a jerk.”

“No.” She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms about his waist, resting her cheek on his chest. “I was going to tell you, I promise.”

“I believe you.” As he wrapped his arms around her and held her, he prayed when he said those exact words, she’d believe him as well. He’d better make it soon. “What are you going to do about the cottage?”

“I don’t know if there is anything I can do.” She moved away from him and sat on the edge of the bed. “It might not sell for months, but I don’t feel right staying there now. My work here is almost done. I suppose the smart thing to do is to pack up and head back to Stoddard. Use the rest of the summer to find a place to live, find a job.”

“Stay with me.”

Kay shook her head. “I have to go back sometime.”

“Not right away. You can stay here.” He swept the room with a hand.

“I can’t afford to stay here.”

“Sure you can. I know the owner. He’d give you a sweet deal.”

“You’re trying to start an inn. You can’t be giving rooms away.”

“Then stay with me out on the point.”

She gave him a quick frown. “I don’t know.”

“You hate it, I know, but it’s not ugly on the inside. You’ll see. I’ve a crazy week with the guys here to lay the stone out back and finish the final landscaping. How about Friday night? My place. I’ll wine and dine you. Build a fire in the fireplace. Shadow will wear a tie.”

Bear sat beside her and took her hand. “I’ve wanted to show you things out there. The view alone will seduce you. And we can talk everything through. Figure things out. Together.”

Kay looked at him with concern. “You’re still upset about the internship.”

“No. I’m not upset.” He cupped her cheek. “I get it. You’re absolutely right. We can’t build something around a lie.”

****

Bear sipped his coffee while he leaned against one of the poles holding up the new pergola. It crowned the inn’s back patio, which consisted of huge slabs of cut New Hampshire granite. The stonemasons were building him an outdoor grill area off to one side as well. It looked great. He could picture small private parties on the back lawn, family gatherings, intimate summer weddings. It was finally coming together.

The last few days had been a frenzy of activity. Months of stressing that the work would never get done, and then suddenly there seemed to be a mad race to the finish line. The stone guys were concerned about the rain moving in for the weekend, and they wanted everything set and covered before then.

The phone had already started ringing with bookings. If he kept up this pace, there was no reason why he couldn’t be up and rolling by Labor Day. Next few weeks, he’d start advertising for a cook, housekeepers, servers. Who knows, if he found a great chef quick enough, he might even be able to open the dining room for dinners before then.

As for things with Kay, he was ready to settle everything tomorrow night. It was all planned. Food was set. Hell, the wine was already chilling. He’d been rehearsing just what he wanted to say.