The Great Bedroom War (7 page)

~*~

Samantha pulled a clean tissue from her pocket and handed it to three-year-old Joseph, whose allergy meds had apparently worn off.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you,” Casey, her boss, said, “Kaitlin’s mother wants to order one of your Magic Worry Pals for her daughter’s birthday.”

“Did she mention a color preference or if she wants a cat or dog?”

“No, but pink is probably a safe bet. Or haven’t you noticed it’s the only color the child ever wears?” Casey chuckled. “Anyway, how’s your business doing?”

“A little too well.” Sam sighed, squatting to wipe a blob of paste off the tile floor. Working at the preschool didn’t leave much time for her home-based business. “I have a dozen little critters I need to finish.”

Casey pointed toward the classroom door and frowned. “Hey, wasn’t that Nick out in the hall?”

Sam froze at the mention of Nick’s name and glanced at the door. “Not likely. He couldn’t possibly have finished everything he had to do in L.A. already.”

And even if he had, why would he show up at the school?

Casey shrugged. “Maybe I’m dreaming.”

That could very well be. Casey had only met Nick once, right after Sam began working at the school—a week after she filed for divorce. Consequently, if her boss had to identify Nick in a police line-up, she’d be equally inclined to finger any tall, dark, and hunky man.

“The kids are busy right now. Why don’t you go make sure?” Casey suggested. “I’ll holler if I need you.”

“Thanks.” Sam smoothed the wrinkles out of her white slacks and sky blue camp shirt as she slipped out the door. She glanced up and down the empty hallway, biting her lip. Her boss wasn’t prone to hallucinations. Someone, Nick or not, must have been there.

She strode down the corridor toward the school’s entrance. The sight of her ex-husband pacing outside the glass doors in jeans and a black polo shirt stole her breath.

Oh, jeez. He really was here. And, damn him, he looked even better than she’d feared.

The slight executive paunch he’d begun to develop before they split up had not only completely disappeared, but he was even leaner now than the day she’d married him. Judging from the bulge in his biceps, his flat-as-a-book stomach, and the way the denim stretched over his muscular thighs, he must have been working out at a gym.

Or in the boudoir, doing push-ups over Bimbo Bethany
, the little green monster in her suggested.

Knowing Nick, he would undoubtedly choose the bedroom.

He glanced toward the building and a dazzling smile spread across his sweaty face. The door swung open, and he stepped inside, bringing a gust of heat with him. “Hey, Sammy-Bee.”

For the last two days, the East Coast had been enjoying unusually warm weather for the first week in October. “What are you doing here already, Nick? And why are you standing outside? It must be over eighty degrees out there.”

“You forget I’ve been living in southern California. I told you I’d be home ASAP.” A few strands of silver threaded through his hair now, which only made him look distinguished.

“I didn’t think you meant in less than two weeks. Didn’t you have a lot to finalize?”

“I did. But then Swann’s board of directors came out for the store’s ribbon cutting ceremony. When Ethan and his dad heard about our situation with Dani, Ken offered to stay and wrap things up so I could come right home. You’re looking at the new VP of Sales. The position will involve some travel several times a year but only for a few nights at a time.”

“That’s wonderful.” Swann’s founder and chairman of the board had always treated Nick more like a favorite nephew than an employee. Even though Nick now worked for Ken’s son, Ethan, he still spent several weekends every year fishing with his mentor.

“Bethany wanted to stay in the apartment,” he continued, “so on Tuesday morning, I packed up my car and started driving east.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t bring your sweet young thing with you.”

He hesitated a second. “I told you, Bethany and I are just friends.” His gaze dropped to Sam’s stomach. When she folded her arms over her midriff to hide the weight she’d gained, he blurted, “Please tell me you didn’t let Dr. Adonis knock you up.”

Nice way to poke fun at her flab. Although, after her nasty crack about Bethany, she probably deserved it. “Why would you suggest such an indecent thing?”

He stared at the center of her chest. “Because, the last time the buttons on your blouse strained like that was right after we lost....” The muscles in his throat visibly convulsed and apparently prevented him from finishing his sentence.

Oh, Lord. He hadn’t been insulting her. He’d been genuinely concerned. And now she felt like a total beeyotch. Even so, she couldn’t handle discussing how huge her breasts had grown after they’d lost the baby she’d ached to hold and nurse. Otherwise, she’d never be able to go back to work.

Sucking in a deep breath, she mentally steeled herself. “You’ll be happy to hear I’ve simply put on a few pounds.”

A relieved breath whooshed out of him as he walked around her and spent several moments studying her from the rear. “Well, you’ve put them on in all the right places,” he pronounced, stepping close behind her. Darn him, he smelled good—even with his musky sweat mingling with his aftershave. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “You’ve never looked sexier,
cariño
. Doctors could pass out pictures of you, instead of Viagra.”

Only a horny idiot would get turned on by her excess tonnage. Of course, a slight breeze could excite Nick. His not-so-little soldier had spent so much of their marriage standing at attention she could barely recall what
El Capitán
looked like at ease. Obviously he hoped his flattery would tempt her to fall flat on her back for him the way she always had.

From day one, she’d been so hungry for Nick’s love that even the most trivial compliment left her giddy and eager to please him. No way was she letting that happen again. She would resist him even if her frustration killed her.

Which it probably would.

Shivering, she spun to face him, determined to deflate his monumental ego. “Obviously, your libido still isn’t very choosey. Just so you know, if I decide to have another baby with anyone, it’ll be with your brother.”

Nick’s jaw visibly clenched, suggesting her announcement piqued him as much as she’d hoped it would. “Rethinking your choice fifteen years ago?”

“No. I’d want Justin as my child’s father purely because half his HLA haplotypes are compatible to our daughter’s.”

“Are you sure? Remember, he’s only my half-brother.”

“I’m positive. The haplotypes you passed on to Dani came from your mother. Your brother’s screening tests showed he inherited them from her as well, so he has the same twenty-five percent odds as you do for giving me a child who could help Dani.”

“Not as long as I’m still breathing,” he muttered through his teeth.

“Then you, my dear
EX
-husband, may need resuscitation. Because you lost the right to say a blessed thing about whom I choose to sleep with.”

“Really?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Last time I checked, the First Amendment was still intact and guarantees my right to free speech.”

“Speak all you like. Just remember our divorce decree also gives me the freedom to ignore you.” She smirked, reveling in her small but satisfying victory. “Anyway,” she said, deftly changing the subject to offer him the chance to retreat gracefully, “was there a specific reason you stopped at the school?”

“Yes.” He smiled, clearly appreciating her conciliatory gesture. “When I got to the house, I remembered we’d upgraded the locks. I figured I’d borrow your key and surprise Dani when she gets home.”

Sam glanced at her watch. “She’ll be getting off the school bus at any minute, so you don’t need a key. But you’ll still be a surprise. I haven’t told her you’re moving back yet.”

“Good. I was hoping you hadn’t said anything to her.”

When a flash of gold on his left hand glinted in the sunlight streaming through the door, she grabbed his wrist. The pale skin around the edge of his wedding ring proved he hadn’t recently put it back on. “Why are you still wearing that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You and the law might not consider me your husband, Sammy, but in my eyes and the Church’s, you’ll always be my wife.”

This wasn’t an issue she wanted to debate right now. “If you don’t mind, I need to go back to work. I’ll be home in about an hour.”

Before she could turn away, he captured her in his muscular arms, and his mouth covered hers, teasing her lips in a long, seductive kiss that left her body screaming,
Oh, yes, more please!

Why couldn’t Adam incite these delicious tingles or leave her weak in the knees?

A single flick of Nick’s tongue reminded her of all the intimate places he loved to explore with it. Naughty places, where no self-respecting lady should enjoy being kissed as much as she did —despite that his mouth made her feel wanton and desperate for him to continue.

He slowly drew back and whispered, “
Contaré los minutos
.”

Her breath stalled in her throat.
Counting the minutes
? After being apart for so long, one would think she’d be desensitized to his Latin charisma by now. But no—Nick’s insidious, seductive Spanish still turned her brains to mush and left her tongue-tied.

Dumbstruck, she watched the presumptuous idiot stroll to the door where he glanced back and aimed a cocky but still irresistible—darn his arrogant hide—wink at her.

Obviously, it would take a major case of amnesia for her to finally forget Nick and the incredible pleasure his lips promised and never failed to deliver. With that in mind, she staggered back to the classroom, seriously considering slamming her head into the door.

~*~

Nick smacked his palm against the steering wheel and muttered a string of four-letter words under his breath. He never should’ve kissed her, damn it. But it had been so long, and her mouth had looked so tempting. He hadn’t been able to resist.

It would be just his luck to screw things up with her before he even set foot back inside the house. Despite the potential backlash, the outraged but hungry-for-more look on Sam’s face left him whistling most of the way home.

Unfortunately, leaving her speechless had been a minor victory that he chose to savor since it would probably be his last for a while. Sammy was bound to throw a very loud conniption when she came home and found Chewie lounging around her house. That surprise, coupled with the stolen kiss, could very well land Nick and his pet in a flea-ridden motel for the night.

At the red light near Peddler’s Village, he reached behind the seat and scratched the dog’s neck. “Don’t worry, pal. You’ll grow on her. And Dani will be nuts about you.”

After the stupid stunt he’d just pulled, he needed as much optimism as he could muster. The fury flashing in Samantha’s eyes after he kissed her said it would take a lot more than a peace offering of peanut butter cups to finesse his suitcases and Chewie inside. Only major extortion was likely to convince her to let him stay. Like, say, bribery, guilt, or blackmail?

If necessary, he’d use his entire arsenal of coercion methods. Otherwise, he’d be facing a terminal case of celibacy. Even though the court might have legally dissolved his marriage, his non-practicing Catholic penis still considered Sam his wife—and probably always would.

CHAPTER 4

Nick stomped on the brake twenty yards from his driveway and watched in horror.

A totally ripped, bare-chested teen chased a giggling hottie—who Nick fervently prayed was not his little girl—around the front lawn, attempting to swat her fanny.

The cut-offs on the adolescent siren barely covered her bottom and rode so low the waistband scarcely concealed the crack in her behind. Perspiration glued her tank top to her woman-sized breasts like a second skin. The entire outfit screamed, ‘
Come and get it
!’ as subtly as a streetwalker on Sunset Boulevard.

No. That girl couldn’t be his little Dani. According to Sam, their daughter had only hit puberty last spring, right before she’d flown out to visit him. She couldn’t have grown breasts that size in only six months. Could she?

The girl turned and ran toward his SUV, and his stomach clenched. ¡
Madre de Dios
! That teenage strumpet
was
his daughter.

And directly behind her was a heat-seeking missile with only one objective—penetrate the target, namely Nick’s little girl.

Had Sam lost her mind letting their child dress like that? And when had Dani’s legs gotten that long?

One side of the double driveway was already occupied—by the boy’s car, he assumed. To avoid taking Sam’s space or blocking the kid’s vehicle, Nick parked the SUV along the shaded tree-lined road in front of the Manion’s property.

He wasn’t quite ready to introduce Chewie to his daughter, so he lowered the windows to keep the dog from cooking in the heat. “Lie down and stay,” he ordered. As soon as the animal complied, Nick climbed out of the vehicle.

The moment Dani saw him striding across the road toward the house, she froze in her tracks. The shirtless teen, whose camouflage cargo pants rode dangerously low on his hips, plowed into her, knocking her down.

“Daddy!” She gasped as her beet-faced admirer helped her up and eagerly assisted in brushing bits of grass off her shorts. “What are you doin’ here?”

Clenching his fists at his sides, Nick blinked several times. Every time he looked at the boy, all he could see was a six-foot penis standing beside his daughter. Now, he understood why Sam’s aunt had flipped out that day she’d found her niece dancing in the yard in a string-bikini.

So help him, if that lecher touched Dani’s ass once more, Nick would have to break the kid’s hands.

“Why are you here?” she asked again, wearing a guilty expression.

He shook his head to clear the phallic image that had short-circuited his ability to speak. “You refused to fly out to see me this summer, and you hardly speak to me on the phone anymore. I had no choice but to come to you.” Nick glared at the fine crop of hair sprouting on her companion’s chest. “And here I find you practicing on the front lawn with Hercules for some smutty rock video.”