Yesterday (5 page)

Blake had thought he would beat Anna from bed a week after arriving at the house. Each morning she was awake and moving about the house well before he had managed to get out of bed. He was an early riser and rarely slept well. He hadn t expected to sleep as deep as he had since arriving, though he had expected the intensely erotic dreams that plagued that sleep. Dreams of Anna, hot and wet, her sweet little pussy gripping his cock as he plunged heatedly inside her. Her moans whispering around him as he pumped inside her tight cunt, desperate to spill his seed inside her and yet terrified that if he did the vision of her would recede as it always had before.

He didn t wake up until nine though, when he heard her soft voice call out something to little Mike. Laughter shimmered through the house. The babies soft giggles and Anna s gentle voice. He lay there for long minutes listening to it, drawing the sounds of it in as he fought to convince himself that he could win her back. Win her back as Devon rather than Blake.

Blake opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the guest room. Damn, he should have put a more comfortable bed in here. He could feel the soft sag of the mattress, the irritating bulge or two of worn springs. His thinking at the time would be to insure that any one who was given this room wouldn t stay long. He snorted at the thought of how well that one was backfiring on him. His buddies had always warned him that his gift of inhospitality would kick his ass one day. This was the day.

The thought of the men he had fought with for over ten years had a smile edging his mouth. Hard, tough men. They had been there when he needed them in this battle though.

Taking out Demorga hadn t been easy. If it hadn t been for the unit he had managed to reassemble, it would have been impossible. But it was over. The dirty bastard was dead and Blake should have been able to assure the safety of his family with that death. Which left him to assume his brother s identity in a desperate bid to quickly insinuate himself back into Anna s life.

An hour later, showered and dressed and after sitting on the bed and calling himself ten different types of a coward, he rose to his feet and moved to the door. Finding the living room was easy enough.

Anna, are you sure it s safe? He paused just before the living room door as he heard the new voice. Margaret Lawrence, Anna s mother. Her voice was soft, filled with warning as she questioned her daughter.

He s Blake s brother. I won t turn him away, Anna said firmly, thought without heat.

Anna, you re holding onto Blake too hard, Margaret said with less than loving emphasis. You barely knew him and you act like you were married to him for years.

Mother, please. Anna s voice was cool, firm. Not while Mike s in the room.

Why not? Her mother s voice was confrontational. Do you think he won t know?

When he gets older Anna, there s no way to hide how easy you were. You barely knew him.

You need to go home, Mother. Anna s voice was cool, but Blake heard the lingering pain in her tone. Devon should be up soon and I m sure he wants to spend some time with Mike.

Anna, he shouldn t be staying here. Margaret had lost any attempt at kindness. We both know you played poor Blake somehow and if I suspect you re behaving lewdly with his brother I ll have Mike taken out of this house.

Silence filled the air now. Blake clenched his fists in fury. He had heard of the less than loving atmosphere Anna had lived in as a young woman but hadn t completely understood the depths it went to.

You can try again mother, Anna said softly. You can try anything you want to, but I promise you, you won t get Mike. Now I want to you leave and I would prefer not to see you again for a while.

Oh, I ll be back, Margaret huffed. And don t think I won t be keeping an eye on things

Mother, leave now. Were those tears he heard in her voice? Fury swept through Blake in that instant.

Maybe I ll just wait

Blake moved into the room. He didn t bother to hide the fact that he had been listening to the conversation, nor did he hide his anger. Margaret came swiftly to her feet, her eyes widening in alarm as Blake stared down at her mercilessly.

No one will take that child out of this house, he kept his voice low, more than aware of the little boy playing silently on the other side of the room. Anna s not alone anymore Mrs. Lawrence, perhaps you think about that before making threats you can t carry through.

Her eyes narrowed as she came to her feet. Cold green ice in a perfectly sculptured face any Ice Queen would have envied. She was a desolate shell of a woman with no mercy, no warmth for the child she had borne.

Blake glanced at Anna. He could see the pain in her eyes, but also the strength it had taken for her to stand up to her mother all these years. How it must have infuriated the older woman to know she could no longer control her daughter.

Devon. Please

Anna glanced at Mike. Mother is just leaving. Weren t you mother?

Margaret sniffed angrily. To think how I comforted you when poor Blake died. How I helped you with the lawyer and stood by you. You have no loyalty Anna.

I have all I need, Anna sighed. Tell daddy I said hello when you see him, but I think it best you stay away for a while.

Blake s eyes narrowed. A while? The witch would be better off never step across the threshold again. He was about to voice that thought when Anna quickly shook her head, as though well aware of what he would say.

For now. Margaret drew herself stiffly erect. But you remember what I said Anna. I won t give in to you next time.

She stomped from the room and seconds later the door slammed behind her.

Do you want to explain that? Blake asked Anna carefully.

She sighed wearily, pushing her fingers through her long fall of hair as she checked on Mike before moving to the kitchen.

I have coffee ready.

Coffee isn t what I asked for, he reminded her. What s going on, Anna?

She shrugged stiffly. Blake left a lot of money, as well as this farm and some very lucrative stocks. My mother things she can take care of Mike s inheritance better than I can. Her or Charlie Austin. Disgust filled her voice.

Are you kidding me? He caught her arm, swinging her around as she stared up at him in surprise. That little pip squeak I saw outside last night? She actually wants to see him with you?

That little pip squeak is the son of her best friend. She shrugged as she pulled from his grip. She s been pushing this since I was a teenager. She was furious when she found out Blake had married me and brought me here after Charlie attacked me one night. I thought she would have a heart attack when I told her I intended to marry him.

The lie wasn t easily voiced he could tell. It was the lie he had told her to give. The same one he had made certain his lawyer would draw papers up for and get signed by the local Justice of the Peace, who just happened to be his brother. Blake had been terrified something would happen to him and it would leave Anna unprotected.

She made coffee as she talked, trying to hide the tremor in her hands, but there was no hiding the grounds of coffee that scattered on the marble countertop.

Then? Blake pushed her for more.

When news came that Blake she was ecstatic. She knew I was on the pill and thought she could run right over me to get what Blake had. She shrugged. Her voice was cold, clinical. When I found out I was pregnant she nearly had a stroke. She couldn t believe Blake would have made plans to take care of me, let alone a child. I don t think she s ever forgiven him for it.

So briefly stated, yet Blake heard so much more. He made a mental note to call the lawyer later and see just exactly how things stood with the Lawrence s and their daughter.

When did she try to take Mike? He tried to keep from sounding harsh, but she wasn t answering the questions to suit him.

Anna shrugged. She s tried twice. I was very ill after Mike was born. The lawyer stepped in and hired a nurse to help me but Mother still filed the motion to gain custody.

It was denied. About a year ago she found out what I had published several books. Based on the content of those books, she tried again.

Anna kept her back to him thankfully. Blake was staring at her in shock and he knew it.

Anna. A writer?

What was wrong with the content? He couldn t imagine her writing anything that would constitute her mother trying to take her child away from her.

Her shoulders tensed as she mumbled something.

I didn t hear you. He watched her carefully as she turned back to him.

Her green eyes glittered almost angrily within the flushed features of her face. I write erotic romance, she stated clearly then. Very explicit, often very controversial erotic romance. She decided if I wrote it then I was doing it and tried to take Mike from me based on that.

If she said she was an axe murderer she couldn t have surprised him more. He stared at that innocent face, her dark green eyes and remembered the virgin he had deflowered on the back of his mustang and nearly came in his jeans. He cleared his throat.

Can I read it? Hell, he didn t know what else to say. The thought of reading her erotic fantasies had his dick so hard he had to hide behind the bar to keep her from seeing it straining against his jeans.

Her face flushed blood red, matching her hair and looking so fucking innocent he couldn t imagine she was writing anything that could possibly make anyone thing she was an indecent mother.

She shrugged nervously. I can t stop you.

He waited expectantly as she turned around, getting down coffee cups, sugar for her own, spoons. She was barely stilling the tremors that wanted to work over her body he could tell.

So what s your penname? Had laptop would find it, he thought with a sense of wild anticipation.

She cleared her throat. Anna Dane.

So your writing has your mother up in arms? He sat down at the bar as she turned and set his cup of coffee on it.

She shrugged again. Her and several other people.

He could tell it hurt and embarrassed her. And she had faced it alone. He knew that for a fact. He had made certain Anna hadn t gone on to find another lover before he crashed into her life again. He didn t want her hurt anymore than he wanted her to lose anything more than she had already because of him. But he hadn t known about the attempts to take Michael away from her. He was going to have to have a long talk with Major Ridgeway and the lawyer.

He watched her as she sipped at her coffee, her head lowered, refusing to meet his eyes, as though she were awaiting his condemnation.

You re a beautiful woman, Anna, he told her softly then. The most beautiful woman he had ever known. What you write or what you do, no matter how you do it isn t a reflection upon you as a mother. Mike is happy and healthy and I can t see you having orgies in the house, so what makes her think she can use it to take Mike?

She took a deep breath and lifted her gaze then. Because, she has the connections and the money to make it happen if I mess up just once. That s how. I could lose Mike and everything Blake sacrificed his life to make sure we had. But I won t pretend to be dead for her, or anyone else. Not for Blake s memory and not for my mothers greed. And if you expect anything different, then staying here might not be a good idea. You can find the books the last room down the hall in the library. Read to your hearts content.

Anna. He stopped her as she made to leave the kitchen. His hand on her arm, her soft skin heating beneath his fingers. I don t need to read the books. I don t need to know what you write or why. And it s a damned good thing you didn t die with Blake, because this hard on sure as hell isn t for a dead woman. And it s not for a writer. Its for a beautiful, too damned innocent young woman that made me catch my breath with first sight of her. And I ll make good and damned sure that anyone else that comes to take what s yours thinks twice about it. That I promise you.

He had a hard on for her. Anna had escaped the kitchen as fast as humanly possibly, picked up Mike and headed out back where she could hopefully make sense of the conflicting emotions whipping through her body.

And he hadn t been lying. She had glanced down, seen the hard, long ridge of flesh rising beneath his jeans and barely stilled her hunger. She hadn t been touched since Blake. Her sexuality, her hormones had been in hibernation other than the erotic fantasies she allowed to come to life on her laptop. Fantasies that often made her blush to write them, but made her throb with longing. Unfortunately, she hadn t met anyone she would even consider allowing those fantasies free with. Until Devon. In the dark lonliness of her bed her dream lover had finally formed a face. And it had been Devon s. Devon holding her down, moving between her thighs, plunging hard and fast inside her pussy as she begged for a release he refused to allow her.

She fought to still her trembling heart as she watched Mike play in the sheltered sandbox and on the swing set her father had put up that summer. He was such a good baby.

Playful and filled with laughter and yet willing to play on his own when he had to. He didn t fuss, and rarely cried. And he was everything in her world.

She would have given up the writing if she thought it would seriously hurt her chances of keeping her baby, but the lawyer had assured her there was nothing that could be done.

Despite the fact that the judge was her mother s cousin and the county she lived in frowned heavily on what she wrote, so far, his advice had held true. Each attempt had been dismissed.

Anna shook her head. Why she tolerated it, she wasn t certain. She made enough money herself that she could have moved away from Grayson. She could have made a new start somewhere else and saved the farm for Mike when he grew older. But she couldn t do it.

Blake had built the house and cared for the land for the family he had hoped to hope. For the children he had dreamed of. She couldn t walk away from that. Couldn t walk away from her memories of him and the comfort she found.

God, she had loved him. She wrapped her arms across her chest as her heart clenched in pain. She had waited so long to be able to come to him. Had waited and feared each day he would find someone else, love someone else before she reach eighteen. That night had been a dream come true. Each touch, each sigh, each masculine groan had been a treasure. His death had nearly destroyed her.

And now here was Devon. He didn t look a lot like Blake. His face was too harshly carved, his bone structure more savage. There was a resemblance, but it stopped there.

Devon was harder, colder somehow, though there had been nothing cold about him when he stated his desire for her.

Anna, I m going down to the barn to check it out. Anna jumped as his voice sounded behind her. I was wondering if it would be okay to take Mike with me? I m just going to look around, see how everything looks.

She jumped from the lounge chair staring at him with wide eyes.

Why? She hadn t been down to the barn in years. It s all grown up and weedy. There could be snakes.

His lips tilted into a small humorous quirk. I ll take my jeep. I just want to look around.

No problem.

She licked her lips nervously.

Dev

Mike ran for him.

Anna watched his face soften as he caught the little body in his arms. Suddenly, his expression transformed, softened, something intent and possessive flared in his eyes as he stared down at the child.

Play, Mike demanded as he waved his small plastic shovel at Devon. I have sand.

Yes you do little man, Devon agreed solemnly. All over you.

Mike laughed and laid his head against Devon s shoulder, staring back at Anna with a smile.

How long will you be gone? A few minutes alone could come in handy.

Devon shrugged. No more than an hour. I have my cell phone on me and left the number laying by the phone in the kitchen. You can call me if you get worried.

She shifted uncertainly.

Don t you trust me, Anna? He asked her softly.

I trust you fine, she sighed. But the barn is old Not that old. Take a nap, or a swim. He glanced at the pool behind Mike s play area.

We ll be back in a bit.

Anna nodded then. When Devon turned she throttled her groan. Dear God, he had an ass to die for. Tough and hard and curved like a dream. She could watch him walk all day.

Her fingers clenched at the sudden urge to sink them into the taunt male flesh and test the flexing muscle.

Be careful, she said as they disappeared around the side of the house.

Always, he called back, glancing over his shoulder a gleam of wicked laughter glinting in his eyes. See you in a bit, darlin.

Anna licked her lips before glancing back at the door into the cool interior of the house.

A pocket rocket moment? Defintely.