Melting The Ice (5 page)

Chapter Six

Ava awoke slowly, something telling her she wasn’t going to be very happy.  Moving only her eyes, she looked around at her surroundings.  Several things registered at once.  She was in the hotel next to the bar, there was a big, hard naked body wrapped around her equally naked body and an arm, rippling with muscle was draped over her stomach.  She lay still; making sure the owner of said hard body was asleep.  She turned her head and saw Ken sleeping peacefully.  He looked even better all mussed up with his five o’clock shadow dark against his tanned skin.  Her head dropped back to the pillow as she sighed heavily.  At least she had good taste when she was ripped.  What had she been thinking?  Okay, that was a stupid question considering she’d been drunk and so turned on after flirting with the hot young stud for hours she’d been ready to practically beg. 

She hadn’t had a relationship to speak of for several years and that had gotten even worse since the money.  She knew she had deep-rooted commitment issues from her father’s philandering before she had even met Jameson’s father, Patrick but by the time they had been finished, she had been stripped of any desire for a relationship.  Then there hadn’t been time to worry with a man between holding down a job and trying to single-handedly raise a teenage boy.  When Ava and her friends had become multi-millionaires overnight, it seemed like everyone had wanted a piece of them and had been willing to do or say whatever to get some of their money.  Her already untrusting nature had grown exponentially.  She had traveled all over the world and had met some exciting men, even spent time with a few, but none had lasted for more than a few weeks.  The need and the willingness to work on a relationship had disappeared.

She didn’t make a habit of getting drunk and picking guys up in bars, especially in the small town where home base was located.  Too many people knew her and too many would be only too delighted to start rumors and before she knew it, reporters seemed to appear.  One of the main reasons she stayed away from home for long periods of time was the media’s fascination with them.  Nothing was ever mentioned when they donated money to charities, gave someone a house or delivered a truckload of computer equipment to the local school.  Plenty was mentioned when frivolous lawsuits brought by con-artists, tax problems that had been caused by an honest clerical error and quickly rectified, parties the boys had thrown without permission that had gotten out of hand, and trivial incidents such as speeding tickets and fender benders.  Every word written suggested they were lying, cheating criminals buying their way out of trouble.  Ava, Macy and Lena had learned, along with their children, to keep their private business private so there wouldn’t be any fodder for the slanted stories. With that thought at the forefront, she carefully slipped out from the under Ken’s heavy arm without waking him.  She quietly gathered her clothes from around the room and slipped into the bathroom to dress; flipping on the bathroom light once the door was closed.  She got a good look at herself in the mirror and cringed; it was worse than she feared.  Her hair was a mess, her mascara was under her eyes and she had beard burn on her neck.  She ran her fingers through her hair in a wasted effort to work out some of the tangles.  She quickly cleaned up and dressed before turning the light out and slipping back into the room where Ken had rolled onto his back, still deeply asleep.  One heavily muscled arm was lying above his head and the sheet was twisted around his waist showing off the sculpted muscles of his chest and stomach. Damn, he looked like something out of a pinup calendar, she thought as she eased out into the hallway, hardly daring to breathe.  She hurried down the back stairs and looked out the door to ensure she wasn’t seen slipping out of the hotel before exiting the building.  Her Range Rover was parked right where she left and she let out a sigh of relief when she reached under the back bumper and pulled out her hide-a-key.  Thank God!  She climbed inside and noticed her IPhone lying between the seats, the screen blinking at her.  Ignoring the messages, she hit the speed dial button for Macy’s phone.  Her friend’s sleepy voice came over the line.

“What?”

“Where are you?”  Ava asked irritably.

“At the hotel trying to sleep.  The question is where are you?”  Macy yawned loudly.

“I’m in the Range.  Come on, let’s get out of here.” 

“It’s not even daylight!”  Macy grumbled.

“Exactly.”  Ava disconnected the call.  A few minutes later, Macy climbed into the SUV, carrying her shoes in her hand and glaring at Ava.

“You are
such
a bitch.” Macy rubbed her hand over her forehead, wincing slightly.  “I feel like shit.”

“Yeah, this is the reason we don’t do this often, remember?”  Ava put the Range in gear and headed for home, wanting nothing more than to get away from the scene of the crime, so to speak.

“I thought you were laid up with that Ken guy.”  Macy said after a few minutes of silence.

“I was.”  Ava bit out.  She really didn’t want to discuss this right now and especially not with Macy.  They knew each other way too well.  Macy started giggling.   “What is wrong with you?”

“Let me guess…you slipped out while he was sleeping.”  When Ava shot Macy a hard look, Macy laughed all the harder.

“Shut up.”  Ava growled, turning the radio on to drown out Macy’s laughter.

Chapter Seven

“I am never going
anywhere
with you again.”  Ava groaned, holding her head in her hands just in case it accidentally came off.  On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t try to hold it on; if it came off, surely the pain would end.  As soon as her eyes had popped open that morning, she’d been the sour owner of a pounding headache, a stomach that was in full-blown rebellion and a horrible case of cotton mouth.  She had managed to shower and pop some Advil, which had taken care of the worst of it, but she still felt like death warmed over.   Using the very real excuse Jameson’s friend could be arriving at any time, she’d phoned her mother and put her off until tomorrow.  Telling her mother that she had over imbibed the night before was not an option as Ava was not up to listening to the resulting lecture.   Since they didn’t have the energy required to do anything else, she and Macy had been lying beside the pool for the past couple of hours trying to recover from the previous night.

“Like I twisted your arm up behind your back.”  Macy scoffed.  “Quit whining.  You’re making my head hurt.”

Ava refrained from saying anything in retaliation.  She was hung-over and she was disgusted with herself for sleeping with that Ken guy.   Disgust was probably too strong a word considering how damn fine Ken had been.  She couldn’t even use being drunk as an excuse because she would have been hard pressed to turn him down if she’d been stone cold sober.  If word got out she had picked up some guy in the town watering hole, God only knew what would happen.  Probably an article in the local paper claiming one of the three women that won the largest lottery payout in history, Ava Talbot had been seen dancing naked on the bar and having sex on one of the pool tables.  They always had to identify the three of them with the lottery money first.  No matter how gorgeous and charming Ken had been, she had taken a real chance hooking up with some guy on her home turf, she thought glumly.  She really needed to stop messing with these young guys that were so easily discarded.  The vague dissatisfaction she had recently started experiencing worried her; she had everything and still wasn’t happy. 

Her morose introspection was interrupted by the simultaneous chiming of both their phones signaling the front gate.  Macy got to hers first and punched a few buttons.  After a quick conversation, she disconnected the call.  “That was Mike.  Jameson’s friend is here. ” Macy lay back on the lounger.

Ava drifted off for a few moments, the warm sun and ice water she’d been sipping easing the hangover.  Her eyes snapped open when one of the cleaning people that came in several days a week cleared her throat. 

“Ava, there’s a Mr. Secord here asking for you.  He has luggage with him.”

She slowly rose from the lounger, happy that her headache seemed to be dissipating. Slipping a sheer black cover up over the black bikini, she padded on bare feet through the cool, dim interior of the house, the custom blinds closing off the heat of the day.  She entered the main foyer and came face to face with Ken, the guy from the night before.  Her jaw practically hit the floor before she recovered enough to say anything.  Anger and confusion surged through her body.

“What the hell?”  She asked in alarm, her eyes watching him warily, her voice rising.  “How did you find where I live?”  She threw her hands on her hips and glared at him.  “Are you a stalker, or what?” she demanded, her anger growing by the second.  He continued to watch her with a look of stunned surprise on his face.  Macy came strolling in, a sarong tied around her hips over her own swimsuit.  She came to a sudden halt as bewildered as Ava at the sight of Ken.

“Hey Ken…” Macy watched them uneasily, her raised eyebrows questioning without words.  “I thought Chase’s brother was here…”

“I
am
Chase’s brother.”  He avowed tentatively, not really sure what was going on.  Ava gasped and instantly paled, her eyes closing as if in pain.  “I’m Cian Secord and I’m looking for Jameson’s mother.”

Macy’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline.  She couldn’t suppress a garbled laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.  Ava pulled her cover-up tightly around her body, hugging herself.  “Oh my God…” she muttered.  Her eyes narrowed angrily and her hands returned to her hips.  “You said your name was Ken!” she shouted.

“The hell I did!”  He thundered back, offended.

“The hell you didn’t!”  Ava yelled, enraged, her eyes flashing fire.

“Bullshit!”  He snarled, still not sure what had happened but pissed because Ava seemed to be blaming him for whatever it was.  “I told you my name was Cian several times but you kept calling me Ken.”

“And, of course, you couldn’t inform me who you were before you had me up against the wall of the bar?”  She gritted out sarcastically, still not believing the magnitude of her error this time.  She had actually slept with one of her son’s friends.  What the hell was wrong with her?

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked Ava over with contempt.  “Listen, Sweetheart, I corrected you several times.  If it was too loud for you to hear or if you were just too fucked up to comprehend, I apologize but I’ll be damned if you’ll act like I lied to get you in bed.”  He declared in a hard tone, his eyes almost black with his irritation.  “Could you please just tell Jameson’s mother I’m here?”

Ava’s eyes shot daggers at him before she closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.  “I am Jameson’s mother.” She said quietly.  Cian’s momentary astonishment quickly turned to angry disbelief.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”  He mumbled angrily, looking her up and down as if he’d never seen her before.  “
You’re
Jameson’s mom?”

She nodded miserably as Macy seemed to gather herself and smiled cheerfully at Cian.  “Yes she is, and I’m his Aunt Macy.  Welcome to West Virginia.”

“Nate’s mom?”  He asked, nearly as shocked by Macy as he was Ava.  They both had to be pushing forty but neither looked it.

“You know Nate?”  Macy asked with a beaming smile, always happy to talk about her budding rock star son. 

“Yeah, I saw his show in Boston a few months ago.  He’s one hell of a guitarist.”  Cian made small talk with Macy, watching Ava warily.

“I’m very proud of him.”  Macy smiled like the proud mama she was.  “I’m going to spend some time with him on the road when I tie up a few loose ends here.”

Ava’s iPhone chimed.  She glanced at the readout and flinched before pushing the button to connect the call.  “Hey Baby.”  Her fingers were rubbing at her temples while she looked at the floor.  Macy and Cian could only hear her side of the conversation but it was very apparent what they were discussing.  “Sorry, Honey, Macy and I went out for a while last night and I left my phone in the truck.” There was a short pause.  “No, I didn’t get your message but Cian is here now.”  Another pause.  “If I had gotten your message I would have made sure someone was here to get him settled.”  Pause.  “He stayed at the hotel.  He’s fine.”  Pause.  “The Barracks is being rehabbed thanks to Jack’s last party.”  Short pause.  “Jameson, I know I promised Cian could stay and he is.  I’ll just put him in your old room.”  Her face softened while she listened to whatever her son was saying.  “I know what the Secords mean to you, Baby.  He is welcome to stay as long as he likes.”  She said quietly.  “I love you, too, Sweetie.”  She disconnected the call, looked up at the ceiling and shook her head in disbelief.  Finally, she turned to Cian.  “Come with me.  I’ll show you to your room.”  She turned and walked from the room. 

He picked up his duffel and followed her through the large, palatial house.  She stopped in front of a large set of double doors and threw them open.  “This used to be Jameson’s suite but after they built their own place down the hill, I had it turned into a guest suite.”  She lead the way into a large setting area with masculine, overstuffed leather furniture, rough wood tables, exposed beams and lots of wrought iron accents.  A mammoth river rock fireplace covered one wall.  She continued on into the bedroom and his eyes widened.  A massive four-poster bed dominated the room.  The posts were huge and appeared to be made out of entire logs.  A dark blue comforter covered the bed and matching drapes hung at the windows and the French doors leading to the deck.  A large hot tub and comfortable chairs were on the deck, along with what looked like a small bar, and a table with the requisite umbrella.  He followed her into the hedonistic bathroom with its glass block steam shower, sunken Jacuzzi tub that looked like it could seat half a dozen people comfortably, and large fans built in to blow towards the massive double sinks to assist a person that didn’t want to towel dry.  A large, walk-in closet completed the tour.  She slapped a complicated looking remote into his hand.  “Anything you need just let me know.  The remote opens the curtains, dims the lights, turns on the electronics, turns on the gas logs, etc.  You’ll figure it out.”  She motioned to what he had thought was a cabinet, but apparently housed electronics. “Throw your dirty laundry down the chute.  I don’t have live-in staff so make yourself at home.”  She had been rattling facts off politely, a fake smile pasted on her lips; the same lips that had roamed over every inch of his body last night…”For the record, how old are you?”  She queried suddenly, turning to eye him apprehensively.

He flashed a cocky grin, having already gotten past being angry to being amused by Ava’s attitude.  The same woman that had turned him inside out last night was treating him with stiff politeness as is she had never had that curvy body all over him.  “I’m twenty-seven.  Perfectly legal, Ms. Talbot.”  She shot him a look of loathing that made him exceptionally happy looks couldn’t kill.  The initial shock that he’d picked up Jay’s mom in a bar and banged the hell out of her in a hotel room had worn off.  He’d moved past the indignant anger at her suggesting he had misled her then suddenly, it hit him in a whole new light; he had just fulfilled a fantasy straight out of a porno with one of the hottest MILFs he’d come across in his twenty-seven years.  His day had just taken a turn for the better, he thought with a smirk.  He shadowed her through the house as she continued her tour showing him the gym, home theater, game room, and finishing up in the kitchen.  His mind was having trouble working its way around Ava really being Jay’s mother and the fact his brothers hadn’t exaggerated one bit; she was hot and she sure didn’t look like somebody’s mama.  He let his gaze caress the curvy backside exposed by the bikini bottom visible under the sheer cover up.  He’d kissed that lush ass last night and those long, shapely legs.  She’d loved it when he kissed the backs of her knees.  She came to a halt and turned towards him. He grinned when he saw other places he’d kissed last night.  The memory of her responses to those kisses caused him to shift uncomfortably.  His eyes moved up to full breasts that swelled over the bikini top and on to the full sexy lips that had brought him so much pleasure the night before; they were pressed together in a thin line.  His dark eyes met her blue ones and realized she had stopped speaking because he had gotten caught ogling her.  He smiled sheepishly.  “Sorry, Ms. Talbot” He said in a teasing tone. “I was just, ah…thinking about…something.”  His teeth flashed in a broad smile that spread across his gorgeous face.  She glared at him, loathing apparent in her look.  He couldn’t believe she was getting herself worked up like this.  She had been drunk but not so drunk she hadn’t known what she was doing.  She acted like he’d taken advantage of her.  “Would it help if I lied to you and said I was sorry?”  He asked with false gravity.  She rolled her eyes and huffed out a long breath before looking him square in the eye.

“Listen, Cian.  I don’t expect an apology from you because I’m to blame for my choices.  In other circumstances, it would be all good, but you’re
my
son’s
friend
.”  She said, her voice rising a little.  Her look of disgust took him aback. 

“Damn, was it that bad?”  He asked skeptically.  She had better not say it was bad because he had been there too and he knew better.   The sex had been better than good.

She flashed him an irritated look.  “That’s not the point!  You being Jameson’s friend means you’re off limits to me.”  She ran her hand over her face.  “My God, if Jameson were ever to find out I picked you up in a bar…”

“I really think you’re making too much of this, Ava.  For God’s sake, I’m twenty-seven years old and Jay is my youngest brother’s best friend, not mine.  We’re cool but we haven’t been around each other that much.  And besides that, what do you think I’m gonna do; call him up and say ‘Hey Jay, what’s up?  Just wanted to let you know I banged your mom last night?’”  He asked in disgust, becoming pissed all over again.  He was so sick of drama involving females in his life.  His taste in women needed a major overhaul.