The Summer House (14 page)

“Okay.” He took them from her and smiled.

Now what? Standing in front of him, she clutched the sides of her shirt together, her unclasped bra bunching uncomfortably underneath.

He stood up and cupped her face in his palms. Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her with the promise of renewed passion, making her heart soar.

“Let’s go upstairs. I want this to be special, not just a quickie on the couch.”

“Okay.”

Hand in hand they mounted the stairs. Kyle flipped a switch and illuminated the hall light. They turned to the left, passing the Jack-and-Jill bedrooms with the bath in between. He led her into the master suite, stopping beside the king-size bed covered by a quilt with seashells and sea horses. He dropped her hand to fold down the comforter, blanket and sheet. Then he turned to her, the uncertainty in his expression visible in the light from the hall.

“Are you sure, Cassie?”

She nodded. “Very.”

He reached out and tugged her to him, then turned her so that she was between him and the bed. Nudging his fingertips beneath her bra straps, he slipped it, along with her shirt, from her shoulders and let the whole tangled mess slide to the floor in a heap. She did the same to him, minus the bra. He pulled her against him, groaning as her naked breasts pressed to the bare, hard wall of his chest.

“That feels like heaven,” he said. The words were hardly more than a breath of air spoken into her hair.

She knew what he meant. Skin to skin, no barriers between them, she loved the feel of him. He kissed her gently, then nibbled caresses across her chin, her jaw, and lower to her neck. With little effort, he found a spot that made her want to shout hallelujah again. Her body flooded with feeling—tension, expectation, exhilaration—at the contact. Her heart pounded, kicking up her pulse and respirations, not to mention speeding blood flow from head to toe.

Then he slid his hands to her waist. After unfastening her shorts, he pushed all her clothing off her hips and down her legs, letting her step out of them. Her fantasy of making Kyle regret ignoring her had
always ended with his jaw dropping when he saw her in the little black dress. She’d never entertained the possibility of his jaw dropping when he saw her naked. She hoped it would drop—in a good way.

He reached out and cupped one breast, his eyes telling her that he liked what he saw as he brushed his thumb over the peak. The expression of awe, reverence, approval on his face gave her courage and made her bold. She reached out and unbuttoned his shorts. He slowly pushed them down along with his briefs, letting his erection spring free.

Then he lifted her in his arms and the romantic gesture melted her insides like butter in a hot pan. It was so tender and sweet and irresistible. She put her arms around his neck and clung to him as he braced one knee on the bed, then set her gently in the middle, stretching out beside her on the cool sheets. His body was strong, his skin warm against her own as he snuggled her against him.

He took her mouth in a kiss that started sweet but turned wild as his palm cupped her between her legs. When he inserted one finger, she was moist and ready. For him. She felt as if she’d waited all her life for this moment and couldn’t be more ready. Reaching over, he took one of the foil packets he’d dropped onto the nightstand. He held one corner, then ripped it open with his teeth. He put it over the tip of his erection and struggled to roll it down one-handed.

Cassie tentatively reached out and helped him cover himself, reveling in the sensation of soft skin over steel. Her chest felt tight and her breath caught in her throat. He was all taut muscle and aroused male. He was strong and sleek and so handsome. The sight of him was burned in her mind forever. But she
wanted more. She wanted to feel. She wanted him inside her—now.

Somehow he must have known, because in one fluid motion he was kneeling between her legs, his erection nudging the apex of her thighs. When she extended her hand and closed her fingers around the hard length of him to guide him home, he groaned in pleasure. The sound made her smile even as it became more difficult to draw breath into her lungs.

He entered her in one powerful motion and she gloried in the way her body stretched to accommodate him. He braced his hands on either side of her head, most of his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing her. Slowly he entered and retreated. Over and over he repeated the movement, subtly picking up speed, his face a mask of concentration. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he thrust into her, spiking her desire, intensifying her pleasure. Tension grew in the center of her being until she couldn’t hold it back. Finally she fractured into a thousand bright crystals, floating, free-falling.

Before she grew whole again, she felt one final thrust and he groaned. She heard the sound, as if it came from somewhere deep inside him, from the very depths of his soul. A profound, bottomless reverberation of intense gratification. Then the muscles bunched in his arms as he went still. She felt the shock waves that cascaded through him and smiled with supreme female satisfaction. Real life was so much better than fantasy, and naked beat the little black dress all to hell.

He rolled off her and instantly she missed the warmth of his body. He disappeared into the bathroom for several moments, then she felt the bed dip
from his weight when he slid in beside her again. He slipped his arm beneath her and nestled her against him. She was grateful he’d taken the initiative, because that was exactly where she wanted to be. She felt completely boneless, as if she could never move on her own again. Except for the smile that curved her lips.

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that’s the look of a satisfied woman.” His voice held traces of passion mixed with amusement.

“You’d be correct.”

“Would I also be correct in assuming you’re no longer upset about Steve?”

“Steve who?”

“I guess I kissed that boo-boo goodbye.”

“And good riddance,” she said sleepily.

Snatches of a song drifted through her mind. Something about tomorrow. If it never came. About saying I love you.

She almost wished tomorrow wouldn’t come. She wished she could freeze this moment in time. She didn’t want to think about anything, analyze what had happened. What if it meant more than just washing away regrets?

She was afraid it meant more than she could bear.

K
yle grabbed his sunglasses and the latest
New York Times
action-thriller bestseller, then headed outside to the deck beyond the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, he dragged in a healthy helping of fresh, salty sea air. The sky was blue, there was a slight breeze and the temperature was about seventy-two degrees. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Life didn’t get any better than this.

He glanced to his right, at the Brightwell half of the patio, separated from his by a wooden railing. Then he thought about Cassie, the fact that she wasn’t there and his good mood slid down the tubes quicker than an egg from a Teflon pan.

Damn it.

After a night of the best sex he’d ever had in his life, he should have felt like a million bucks. Instead, he felt restless, irritable, unsettled. Normally this was
when he began the mental process of letting a woman down easy. If he didn’t, inevitably talk turned to a house, white picket fence and kids. Cassie was right. Going from woman to woman did suck the energy out of him. But what else could he do? The woman he wanted was off-limits.

He sat on the chaise lounge and opened the book. After reading the first few pages, he realized he hadn’t a clue what he’d just read. Instead of the words, all he saw was Cassie’s face.

God, he missed her.

Running his hands through his hair, he let out a long breath. Pride goeth before a fall had never been more true. In spite of their newly discovered intimacy, he’d been sure he would have the strength to turn away from her when the time came. He’d been so certain he played the game better than her. But he hadn’t counted on the fact that the game had different rules when he was playing with Cassie.

Instead of finding a way to walk away, he couldn’t wait to see her again. She’d fallen asleep in his arms. During the night, they’d awakened and made love several more times. He grinned, remembering her with the assortment of condoms in her hand. Later he’d been grateful.

This morning she’d bounced out of bed and said she had errands to do. A pre-employment physical and paperwork for the job she was starting in a week. She’d made arrangements for her furniture to be delivered to her new apartment. He wasn’t sure she wasn’t making her own excuses to walk away, because she regretted making love with him. All the things she’d said she was doing signaled an end—to
him, her and this idyllic interlude. The thought hit his gut and sank like a stone.

As long as he lived, he would remember this time with her as the best he’d ever had. Having her in his bed last night was the icing on the cake and he would never forgive himself if she was somehow hurt because of it.

Kyle knew he was in a lot of trouble. He should be grateful for this reprieve, this separation to distance himself from her so he could find the strength to leave her.

Because he didn’t delude himself into believing there was a snowball’s chance in hell of them having a successful relationship. Not having kids was a deal breaker for her. But he couldn’t be the guy who fathered her children. He didn’t know how to be a good father, and Cassie deserved someone who could give her the house with the white picket fence and the kids to go along with it.

Then there was Dan and his reaction to the two of them as a couple. What would he say if he found out not only had Kyle ignored his prime directive not to see Cassie, but he’d slept with her, too. Not his finest hour, although it damn well felt like the finest hour he’d ever known.

“Hi, Uncle Kyle.”

He looked to his right and saw Bayleigh Brightwell, Cassie’s five-year-old niece, resting her arms on the railing. He’d been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard her come out.

“Hi, Bayleigh.”

“Watcha’ doin’?”

“Reading.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“No?”

She shook her head, her straight silver-blond hair swaying with the movement. With one finger, she nudged her wire-rimmed glasses up more securely on her nose. She looked like a miniature adult.

“You weren’t even looking at the pages. Your book is closed.”

“So it is,” he said, glancing at it in his lap. “I guess I was just thinking.”

“It didn’t look like thinking. You had a funny look on your face. Like you had a tummy ache.”

“I did?” Perceptive kid, he thought. This complicated mess with Cass felt a lot like a tummy ache. “Trust me. I was thinking.”

“’Bout what?”

“Stuff.”

“What stuff?”

Your Aunt Cassie’s body, her eyes, her smile, the captivating way she has of making things better just by being there. About the fact he hated that she wasn’t there. About how hard it was going to be to survive after he let her go. None of which he could tell this child, so he decided to change the subject.

“Did you hitchhike to Carpinteria?”

“What’s that?” she asked, wrinkling her cute little freckled nose, which was hardly big enough to support her glasses.

“It’s when you stand by the side of the road, hold out your thumb like this,” he said, and cocked his own in demonstration, “and hope someone will stop and give you a ride to where you want to go.”

She gave him a pitying look. “I’m only five, Uncle Kyle. Mommy says I’m not supposed to go out alone.
She says not to talk to strangers. And never, ever get in a car with someone I don’t know.”

“Your mom is a very smart lady.”

“Thank you very much.”

Megan Brightwell joined her daughter on the deck. She was about two years younger than Cassie, the same age as his sister Amy. The two of them used to hang out together when they all spent summers here at the beach. He and Dan, Megan and Amy. Cassie the forgotten middle child.

Things had sure gotten complicated when they grew up. Megan had fallen in love, gotten pregnant. Bayleigh had been born, developed vision problems and her father had disappeared, leaving her and Megan in the lurch. The miracle of a cornea transplant had restored the little girl’s sight, but he had a feeling it would take more than a miracle to restore Megan’s faith in men.

He looked at the woman who so resembled Cassie, leaning on the railing next to her daughter. “I guess the fact that you’re here means Bayleigh didn’t hitchhike,” he said.

Megan laughed. “Not in this lifetime. Cassie invited us up a week ago. I’m between assignments with the home-health-care company and the ER doesn’t have me scheduled for a per diem shift for a couple days.”

At least Cassie wasn’t using her sister as a shield so she wouldn’t be alone with him, he thought. The idea annoyed the hell out of him. He was wrestling with a future minus Cassie at the same time he didn’t want to distance himself from her.

“And Bayleigh will be starting kindergarten soon.”

“No kidding? It seems like she was just born.”

“Tell me about it. But this is the summer swan song. The last hurrah before the big time. And it seemed important to Cassie that we come up and spend some time with her.” She grinned. “Just between you and me, I think she’s planning to put us to work.”

“Doing what?”

“Painting. I thought she’d have it finished up by now. The furniture needs to be gone in a couple days so they can bring in the new stuff. I can’t imagine what Cassie’s been doing all this time.”

He didn’t have to imagine, and the thought of everything they’d done together made him hard. “So you and Bayleigh are reinforcements?”

She nodded. “But with weather like this, who wants to be indoors? Or go to school,” she said, looking with undisguised adoration at her daughter, who had wandered away and was now tugging sand toys out of a plastic basket by the back door.

He met her gaze. “Yeah, I hear that. I used to hate this time of year. The thought of going back to school—” He shook his head.

“I thought you loved it. You were a good student. Being star quarterback of the football team was the only thing that spared you the label ‘brainer geek.’”

“I got good grades.”

For good reason and not because he was a brainer. He’d buried himself in studies and sports to take the edge off his home life. It always suffered by comparison after a summer at the beach house ended. It was the only time he had the family he always craved. He wondered if Megan, Dan and Cassie knew how lucky they were to have their parents and each other.
When Kyle went back to the real world, his reality was all about stepdads or his mother’s latest fling, depending on where she was in her romantic cycle. Visitations, child custody, alimony and child support. Anger, resentment, retaliation, push-pull.

He and Amy were like pawns in a tug-of-war. He still remembered feeling as if the world was coming to an end when it came out that they didn’t have the same father, even though their parents were still married when his sister was born. After the truth of their mother’s affair hit the fan, the marriage was over. He and his sister were like ships passing in the night. Poor Amy. She was as mixed up as he was. Maybe more.

“Earth to Kyle.”

“Hmm?” he said, glancing at Megan.

“Bayleigh’s right. You do look like you’ve got a tummy ache. Anything you’d care to discuss?”

“Not unless your nurse’s training turned up a treatment for dysfunctional families.”

“If so, I’d have a dad for Bayleigh.”

“At least you’re not alone.”

She looked at her daughter again. “Yeah. In spite of all the medical problems, the worry, the fear of not having what it takes to raise a blind child if we hadn’t found a donor for the cornea transplant, I wouldn’t trade the experience of being Bayleigh’s mom for anything in the world.”

“So you worry about being good enough?”

She laughed. “No. I know I’ll never be good enough for her. I just do the best I can for her every day. Sometimes my best is better than other days, but it’s all I’ve got. And I just keep on keeping on. One foot in front of the other.”

“She’s a lucky little girl.”

Because even though Megan was a single parent, she’d learned how to do it right from her own mom and dad. They’d always been there for her, their other two kids and each other. She had positive role models. He’d had the Bickersons. The Brightwells had been married for over thirty years. His family was revolving doors, musical chairs—mix and match.

“It doesn’t feel lucky from where I’m standing,” Megan said with a sigh. “I wish I could give her what I had growing up—a stable, two-parent home.”

“You should have let me go after him. Legally. If nothing else, he should be paying support.”

She shook her head. “If he didn’t want to stay voluntarily, I didn’t want money. But I’m grateful that you got him to sign off any future claim to custody.”

“I just wish there was more I could do.”

She smiled. “You know, things would have been so much simpler if I’d fallen in love with you. You’re exactly the kind of man I’d want for Bayleigh’s father.”

She was so wrong, he thought. But he wasn’t willing to go there. “You’ll meet someone.”

“If I don’t, will you be a stand-in dad?”

He laughed but, even to himself, it sounded just this side of bitter. “I thought you loved your daughter.”

“I do.”

“Then you wouldn’t want to stick her with me, even as a substitute. Don’t worry. Mr. Right will come along.”

“Mr. Right?” She scoffed. “Who died and made you the romance police? And how would you know anything about falling in love? I thought you and Dan
were die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool playboy bachelors. Although Bayleigh thinks you’re better than Beach Blanket Barbie. You should have kids—”

“Do you know where Cassie is?” he interrupted. “Have you spoken to her today?”

“For a smooth operator, that was a very unsmooth move,” she said. “If you don’t want to talk about it, all you had to do was say so.”

“Okay. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay. Cass should be here soon. I ran into her at Mom’s house and she was right behind me. At least I thought she was. I’ll call Mom. I need to talk to her anyway. She needs a status report on the duplex in case she wants to call in qualified painting reinforcements. Later, Kyle.”

“See you. And, Megan?” When she turned back, he said, “Let me know when your sister gets here.” She nodded and went inside.

He had no reason or right to worry or be concerned about Cassie. But that didn’t alter the fact that he did and he was. It was ridiculous, irrational, and just plain stupid. But he couldn’t help himself. And that worried him almost as much, because even a romantically challenged man like him was pretty sure that irrational concern was a prerequisite to being in love with someone.

Cassie and Megan sat in matching beach chairs on the sand. It was heading toward early evening and there wasn’t a lot of sunlight left. A cooling breeze blew onshore, brushing the hair back from her face. They watched Bayleigh just a short distance away, playing in the wet sand by the water with a bucket and shovel.

“So did you see Kyle after you got here?” Megan asked, absently flipping through the magazine in her lap.

“No.” She felt Megan’s gaze on her.

“I think he’s worried about you.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know that, but he doesn’t.”

“It’s not his day to watch me,” Cassie said with a shrug.

Megan closed the magazine and set it aside. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing.”

“Uh-oh.”

Cassie turned and looked at her sister. “What does that mean?”

“You said that in the exact same tone as when you were sixteen and Dan teased you about having a crush on Kyle. You were the queen of denial then and you’re working on empress status now. You’re in love with him.”

“No.” She shook her head and hoped her tone had matured since her lovelorn days. She wasn’t stupid. She was an intelligent health-care professional who learned from her mistakes. She refused to be in love with Kyle Stratton.

“No? That’s all you have to say?”

“It’s enough. If I say more, you’ll just accuse me of protesting too much.”

“You know me too well.” Megan glanced to her right. “Speaking of the devil—”

Cassie followed her sister’s gaze and saw Kyle walking through the sand toward them. The words had never been more true. He was handsome as the devil and she was in emotional hell because of him,
damned if she fell in love with him, which she was well on her way to doing.