Veiled Seduction (16 page)

He laughed when she gave him the finger, and kept laughing even when he hugged her, wet and slippery under the shower.

Maira woke up with a start, ready to jump out of bed when she realized the room was already bright with light. She glanced at her watch, surprised to discover it was already seven. She was usually up and about by five, particularly on Mondays. Even if she wasn’t scheduled to work, she still had a ton of things to do. Then again, she’d never spent a good portion of her weekend nights making love. She was entitled to an off day.

She slipped out of bed and then winced. She’d underestimated just how sore she’d be. She’d been riding horses for quite some time, but her thighs had been put through the mother of all workouts over the past couple of days. To say nothing of the flesh between her legs.

But, oh, it had been worth it.

Taking care not to awaken the lightly snoring, adorable man lying in her bed, she slipped on the first pair of underwear she could find, plus a roomy pair of shorts and her scrub top from the night before, and then padded downstairs to the kitchen.

She’d always thought those depictions of how women acted after a night of lusty sex were exaggerations. But right now, she was totally Scarlett the morning after Rhett had carried her up the stairs, all loose limbed and feminine feeling.

She hummed a cheerful tune as she entered her kitchen and opened her refrigerator. What did one eat for breakfast on a lazy morning after?

Not cereal. That was far too mundane. Oatmeal was boring. Her gaze lit on the bacon and eggs on the top shelf. Perfect. Protein was always good for a body after exertion. She didn’t know when Sasha would wake up, so she’d just get everything ready. When she straightened from the fridge, the carton in hand, she just happened to glance out the wide kitchen window. And froze.

Nightmares did come true. Because, after her second night of major loving with the man of her dreams, the absolute last person she ever wanted to see was her mother. Yet there she was, her small, hefty frame trundling up the stairs to Maira’s front door.

She was so frozen with horror, she couldn’t move until she heard the doorbell ring.

Don’t answer it. Maybe she’ll go away.

Well, that was just stupid.

The doorbell rang again, the musical chime ringing through the house. It wasn’t that she was scared of her mother, it was just that…well, damn it, the woman would be disappointed with her. Though the two of them had never once discussed sex—the thought made Maira gag—she knew that her mother expected her daughters to be virgins until they married. Or died. Whichever came first.

As of this weekend, she had firmly taken herself out of the virgin pool.

The bell rang a third time. The terrifying thought that Sasha might wake up, hear it and come waltzing downstairs pushed her into motion. She slammed the egg carton hard enough against the counter to crack some of its contents and darted to the front door. On the way, she tried to smooth down some of her loose hair, but without a brush and a hair tie, the long mass was a mess of knots and wavy frizz.

She opened the door just as her mother was about to press the bell again. “Mom! What a surprise.”

Her mother took in every detail of her unkempt appearance with a single glance. “I told you I was visiting your sister when I called you yesterday.”

“You didn’t say you were coming here next.”

“You sounded funny on the phone.”

Blasted phone. She truly would strangle Sasha.

“Since when do I have to tell my youngest daughter I’m coming by?”

“Of course you don’t.” Maira stood aside for her mom to enter and shut the door behind her.

“Hmph. You just woke up? This late?”

She pasted a smile on her face and turned to look at her. “No. I was just upstairs…in the bathroom. About to get in the shower.” There, that would explain her thrown-on clothes and crazy loose hair.

“Whose car is that in the driveway?”

She froze. God, why had she never learned how to lie well? “Car?” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded unnaturally high.

“Yes. The car. It’s not yours.”

“It’s, um, my friend’s.”

Her mom crossed her arms over her ample chest. “And where is this friend?”

“He’s…outside. In the garden. He’s here to help me garden.”

“And you greeted a man looking like this?”

Though Maira towered over the older woman, she felt about two inches tall when she got that disappointed look. “I…no. I mean…” Oh, crap.

The strains of Für Elise woke Sasha up, and he yawned lustily and scratched his chest. He cast a glance at the nightstand, smiling when he saw the bright yellow plastic alarm clock on top of the antique wood. Maira’s décor was perfect for her. Calm and controlled on the surface with flashes of fun and excitement and unpredictability.

The music came again, and he frowned, realizing it was the doorbell. Who would come here at seven in the morning?

Curious, he slid out of bed, pulled on his boxers and padded to the door silently. When he opened it a crack, he could clearly hear Maira’s voice. “Mom! What a surprise.”

Without making a noise, he thunked his head against the doorjamb.

He tried to be as quiet as possible as he kept the door open to listen to their conversation and pulled his pants, shirt and shoes on. Though he hadn’t yet met Maira’s parents, he knew they were about as conservative as his own had been. Her mother would not be happy to find some man in her daughter’s bedroom. In fact, she might feel a great deal like he felt when he’d discovered Mason in his sister’s.

Dude, karma. This is completely karma.

This was not the first impression he wanted to make on the mom of the woman he loved. Not at all.

He listened tensely while Maira gave a stuttering explanation for his car in her driveway. Say someone left it here because they went on a long trip. Say your friend is upstairs, working on your plumbing. Say…

“He’s…outside. In the garden. He’s here to help me garden.”

He looked over at the bedroom window and the large tree scraping up against it. Son of a bitch.

Maira was trying to figure out some way to stop her mother from marching out the back door to meet her gardening friend when her doorbell rang again.

Dreading to see who it was now, she crossed the foyer and opened it. And stared.

“Hey, Maira, not ready yet? Come on, we have to get this yard work finished before the sun gets too hot.”

Sasha didn’t wait for her response, which was good, since she was too confused to give him one. He simply pushed past her into her foyer and gave her mother a blinding smile. “Hello.”

Her mother cocked her head, a fascinated expression on her face. “Hello. You must be Maira’s friend. The one who’s helping her around the yard.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you helping her with tree trimming as well?”

“Ahh…”

The older woman’s tone was very gentle. “You have tree leaves in your hair.”

To his credit, Sasha didn’t even blink, simply reached up and dusted the leaves onto the foyer ground. “And you must be Maira’s mother. It’s easy to see where Maira gets her good looks from.”

Since Maira looked nothing like her short, plump mother, she almost snorted. Her mom, though, seemed to relax, and held out her hand. “And what is your name?”

“Sasha Karimi, Mrs. Khan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Her mother’s face fell a little bit. “Karimi. You are not Pakistani?”

“My parents were both from Iran.”

She pursed her lips and considered that. “Are you a doctor with Maira?”

“No, ma’am, I’m a police officer.”

Though she was visibly disappointed, Maira’s mother cast a glance her way. “Maira, why don’t you put some coffee together? Your friend and I will talk about…” she looked at Sasha and raised a challenging brow, “…gardening, in the meantime. That is, if he doesn’t mind.”

Maira realized then that she’d remained completely mute throughout this whole farce. “Um, I’m sure Sasha has lots of things he needs to—”

“Nonsense. Go ahead and make that coffee and I’ll keep your mom company,” he said, smiling determinedly. He looked down at the other woman and offered her his arm in a gallant gesture. Maira could practically see her mom putting a couple of pluses under his “pro” column. Probably not enough to offset his lack of a medical degree, but it didn’t hurt him.

She would have stood there worrying her hands together if Sasha hadn’t glanced over his shoulder and shot her a quick wink. It gave her just the right amount of motivation that she needed to go back into the kitchen and put some coffee together. As it perked, she drummed her fingers against the counter.

She wanted her parents to like Sasha, and as he’d apparently realized, their only way out of this was to brazen it out. She tried to be optimistic. Maybe her mom would fall in love with Sasha like she had, even though he was hanging around her home at a crazy hour of the morning. Even though his parents had emigrated from the wrong country. Even though he was a lowly public servant.

Maira massaged her temples. Being optimistic was hard work.

She poured coffee into two mugs and fixed them the way she knew that her mother and Sasha liked them. She didn’t bother with a cup for herself. Her stomach was churning too much to put coffee in it.

She thought she was hearing things when her mother’s chuckles drifted through the living room. When she entered her mom was grinning widely, sitting in one of her armchairs. Sasha sat on the couch.

“Maira,” her mom said excitedly as she gestured her closer and took the mug that she handed her. “You didn’t tell me this was the cop who saved all those children! It took me a minute to recognize his name.” She turned back to Sasha. “Such bravery and heroism.”

Maira walked over to hand Sasha his mug, and watched as he dipped his head and murmured his thanks before sipping.

“And so humble too. Why, just the other day I was telling my friends how so many other men would have raced on to the late-night talk shows or released a book. You don’t see your young man anywhere.”

If Maira didn’t know better, she would swear Sasha was blushing on command. “Well, that’s just the way my parents raised me, ma’am.”

This time she didn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. He caught it. His lips quirked up.

“So, Sasha…tell me about this family of yours.”

Sasha really liked Maira’s mother, despite the fact she could conduct an interrogation like no one he’d ever met. The woman should go into police work.

He felt a little drained by the time the older woman placed her mug on the coffee table and hefted out of her chair. “Well, I should be going.”

Maira, who it seemed had long ago stopped paying attention, turned away from the window and blinked. “So soon?”

“Oh yes. I have a poker tournament with the girls tonight.”

“Oh. Okay.” The three of them walked to the front door.

“It was lovely meeting you, Mrs. Khan.”

She smiled. “You as well. Maira—we’ll talk later.”

Maira nodded and returned her hug. When she shut the door behind her mother, Maira collapsed against it in relief. “Good job. I think she likes you.”

He shrugged. “Of course she does. Moms usually love me. Even when I’m not saving children.”

She snorted, and he was relieved to note some color returning to her face. “You did lay it on a bit thick there.”

“It’s called charm, Ms. Maira. It’s a gift. Meanwhile, helping in your garden? You know I’m too old to be climbing down trees.”

She grinned. He opened his arms, and she wasted no time in getting inside of them. He hugged her close and nuzzled the baby-fine hair at her temple. Ah, yes, this…this was what he had wanted to wake up to. This made everything complete.

Of course, he couldn’t be allowed to savor the sensation of her snuggled in his arms. Her front door opened wide, and they both froze. The older woman standing there lifted an eyebrow at him, and he had to resist the urge to shove Maira away.

Karma.

It took him a moment to realize that Maira was frantically pushing against him. He released her and she turned to face her parent. “Mom! What…? I thought…”

Poor, honest-to-the-bones Maira. He placed his arm around her, despite her stiff shoulders, and gave her mother a shrug in a the-jig-is-up kind of way. “Hi again, Mrs. Khan.”

She nodded. If he didn’t know better, he would swear she was fighting to keep a smile off her face. “I thought I forgot my keys.” She held up the keys in her hand. “Silly me. They were in my pocket.”

Keys, his ass. Now he had to fight the smile. She was crafty. He really liked this woman.

She grabbed a hold of the doorknob and pinned him with a steady gaze. “You will come to our house for dinner next Sunday.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a command. Still, Sasha nodded.

She smiled. “Excellent. Maira’s father will be thrilled to meet you.”

With that, she was gone. Sasha released his hold on Maira. “Exactly how terrifying is your father?”

Maira stifled a snort as she walked to the doorway to lock it. No more chances.

Her father was a mild academic. He’d probably spend the evening making Sasha watch golf with him. With a family of women, Daddy was pathetically grateful for any males hanging around. Still, wariness was a good look for Sasha. “Don’t worry. He only has one gun.”

The almost comical expression of alarm on his face made her giggle too much to keep the lie up. After a second, he joined in, though his laugh was more strained. When she moved to hug him again, he backed away, his hands up. She wasn’t sure how feigned his look of horror was. “Make sure she’s gone first.”

“I heard her car.”

“Sure?”

“Positive.”

He considered that, and then allowed her to draw close. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For actually trying to pretend you weren’t in my bed.”

“Nah, I get it. I figured she wouldn’t be the kind of mom who you talked to about your sexcapades.”

She shuddered. “Ugh. Ugh.”

“I can relate.” He patted her on the back. “When Mason and Leyla got together, I actually had to watch them snuggling. It took me about a year before I stopped wanting to blind myself.”

Maira laughed and nestled closer.

“Well, darlin’, I never got around to asking. How do you feel today?”

“I was a little tender at first.” She patted his chest when he stiffened. “But I’m feeling great now.”

“Sure?”

“Oh yes. I think I might rub some massage oil in later. That should take care of any lingering aches.”

He stroked a hand down her back, trailing over her butt. She pressed closer. “Or…I could rub it in now.”

Well, there was really no question of which one she preferred, now was there? “Wait here. Lemme get it.”