Edge of fear, p.16
Edge Of Fear, page 16
He hadn’t needed ESP to realize that she already loved this baby and she’d be cut to the soul if she went through with the procedure. It hadn’t taken much persuading, and yet here she was, next to him on her bed, spilling her guts. Guilt squirmed and he squashed it.
Shaw was a dangerous man. Unlike Heather, he’d make a mean poker player, one who held his cards close to his chest. It was highly unlikely that either his wife or daughter had ever been fully aware of what he did and the people he did it with.
A surge of protectiveness had Caleb pulling Heather even closer to him. “Well, now the bastards are going to have to go through me to get to you,” he assured her.
Instead of relaxing, she went stiff as a board in his arms, pulling her head back so that she met his gaze straight on. Her brown eyes were wild with panic. “God no! This has nothing to do with you! I shouldn’t have, damn it, I don’t need a hero. See? This is why I can’t have this baby, your baby. I can’t have anyone in my life! I’m on the run, Caleb.”
She bit her quivering lower lip as her eyes pooled with tears. “I have to tell you something…My, my father isn’t dead.” She sucked in a quavering breath and continued without looking up, “He and I—we had a huge fight and I haven’t seen or heard from him in over a year. I think he pissed off someone enough that they want to hurt me in retaliation.” She finally raised her eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, Caleb. I’d never forgive myself.”
The look on her face was so honest and sincere that he almost, almost, told her the truth. About his job, his paranormal talents, and the Curse. He caught himself before majorly f-ing things up.
His heart constricted but his voice was smooth and assuring as he whispered into her hair, “Nobody’s going to get hurt, sweetheart. Trust me.”The only thing I plan to break is your heart.
Two hours later they were married and heading to Italy for their honeymoon. “It’s a long flight,” Caleb told her softly, although there were no other passengers in first class to hear him. “Try to get some sleep. You’re going to need all your strength when we get there, Mrs. Edge.”
Mrs. Edge. Hard to believe. It had all happened so fast. Caleb tucked a blanket she didn’t need over her lap. As if she’d freeze in a pressurized cabin. Still, it was sweet.
For someone who debated a minor decision for days, if not months, Heather had gotten dizzy as she was swept along by Caleb’s take-charge actions today. Lord, the man made split-second decisions, then lightning-fast follow-ups. He’d given her mere minutes to pack a bag and lock up her apartment before hauling her into a cab and taking her to city hall. Their wedding had taken four minutes. And two of those had been spent signing forms.
She hoped to God that she wasn’t making a mistake by leaving the relative safety and anonymity of San Francisco for Europe. Wouldn’t these peopleexpect her to eventually go home? Europe wasn’t that big. It was common knowledge that the family had a pied-à-terre in Paris, and her parents’ estate was sixty miles outside of that city. Many of her father’s banking clients had been to functions at both. Worry gnawed at her. What if they bumped into someone she knew while they were in Europe? What if the paparazzi spotted her at the airport? What if…What if…
“Relax,” he told her with a smile. “We’re going to Italy, not the salt mines of Siberia.”
“I am relaxed.” Sort of, she thought ruefully. She felt as though she’d been sucked into a vortex. She tried to smooth the anxiety from her face and forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply.
“Perhaps one day you and your father can patch things up,” he offered, leaning over her to stuff a small pillow between her and the window. “It would be nice for our son to know his grandfather. Is there a chance of a reconciliation? Now that we have a baby to introduce?” Caleb’s tone was light, but she sensed an underlying tension in his voice.
“He’s not exactly the warm and fuzzy type, believe me,” she said dryly. She couldn’t imagine her elegant father around a small child, but it would certainly be interesting to watch.
Loving Caleb this much, this fast, was a little overwhelming. “Has anyone ever called you a human bulldozer?” she asked, intrigued by the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled.
“Only my brother Gabriel. And only when I’m eating MacPain’s cooking.”
“Mac who?”
“His name is MacBain.He’s my brother Gabriel’s—Hmm. I’m not sure what MacPain is called nowadays. Butler? Factotum? Pain in the ass? He runs Gabriel’s household.”
“Good grief. Your brother has a household large enough to warrant abutler ?” So he came from money. Which explained the first-class seats purchased at the last moment at a premium, and the exquisite diamond band on her wedding finger. Things he probably wouldn’t have been able to purchase on the salary of a tractor parts salesman. Not that she had a clue how much or little a tractor parts salesman made.
“Actually Gabriel’s house is a castle.”
“Literally?”
“Yeah. It was originally our family seat in Scotland. He brought it over to the U.S. and had it reconstructed, stone by stone, in Montana.”
“That must’ve given the local cattle something to moo about.” Heather smiled. “Does he have a horde of kids?”
“Nope. He’s single.”
One didn’t have anything to do with the other, but she let it pass. “And eccentric apparently, living in a Montana castle with a butler.”
“They’re just friends,” Caleb said, straight-faced.
“I’m married to a comedian,” she teased. The diamonds on her finger sparkled, shooting off little shards of fire in the stream of light from the small overhead reading lamp. She’d felt the prickle of tears behind her eyes when he’d produced the ring for her during the ceremony. It had all happened so fast, yet he’d still made the time to buy her a wedding ring.
Before he’d come to see her.
Beforehe’d known that she was pregnant.
Had he called his family? Told his brothers he was marrying? Or at the very least, that he was going to be a father? Lord, there was a lot she had to learn about the Edge family. “Tell me about this Montana castle.”
“Long, long ago—rest your head—yes, there you go. Close your eyes, sweetheart.”
She yawned, slipping her arm around his waist as she listened to his deep voice vibrate through the wall of his chest and resonate inside her. “Long, long ago in a land far away,” she mumbled, suddenly so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.
His chuckle reverberated in his chest. “Far away back then, but with jets, Scotland is a quickie these days. Anyway, five hundred or so years ago, Magnus Edridge, our great-great-something-grandfather, fell in love with a beautiful village girl named Nairne.” Caleb stroked Heather’s hair off her face, talking softly.
“At first he ignored his family’s demands that he marry the Laird’s homely daughter so that he could refill the family’s depleted coffers. Those holy wars were hell on the old bank account. Instead, he lavished expensive gifts on the beautiful Nairne—the woman he truly loved—flaunting her in front of his father and the people of the village.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Oh, yeah. Worse, he gave his beloved the Edridge family betrothal jewelry.”
“Shocking. The bastard.”
“But his father kept working on him. He was too old to be plowing the local girls as if there was no tomorrow. It was time he married. Magnus, who was probably a teenager, said fine with me, Pop. I’m engaged to this gorgeous babe down in the village. We’ll tie the knot and be done with it.”
Caleb’s quiet voice and the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear coupled with the monotonous drone of the plane’s engines were relaxing her more than the over-priced massages she used to rely on.“Plowing?”
“In the vernacular. Finally Magnus got the message that if he continued seeing Nairne he’d be banished without a sow—”
Heather grinned. “I think that was asou. ”
“—and he had to marry Janet of the big castle and the even bigger fortune.”
“Poor Nairne.”
“Yeah, well that’s where the Edridge family luck took a southerly turn,” Caleb said dryly, playing with a strand of her hair as he talked. “Magnus trotted down to the village to tell Nairne that he had to marry Janet. He demanded that she return the Edridge betrothal jewelry.”
“Clearly, and surprisingly, he lived to tell the tale.”
“Nairne cursed him. Did I mention that she was a witch?”
“A Scottish witch. Cool. Did she shrivel his balls and turn them black?”
Caleb shuddered. “Bloodthirsty. No. She left those jewels intact, but cursed the ones she threw back at him.”
“He was lucky to get away alive.”
“Anyway, he married Janet, changed the family name to Edge to avoid the curse, and had three sons.”
“And lived happily ever after?”
“From the look of old Janet in her family portrait, I’d say not.”
“What was the curse?” Heather sat up to look at him.
“That was a bedtime story, Mrs. Edge. If you’re not going to sleep I have another activity in mind.”
“Dream on, big boy. Curse?”
He reached out and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. His finger traced the outer edge, making her shiver as he quoted:“‘Duty o’er love was the choice you did make, My love you did spurn, my heart you did break.’” His fingers gently brushed the soft pad of her earlobe.
Heather’s breath got tangled in her lungs as his thumb stroked her jaw. “And?”
“‘Your penance to pay, no pride you shall gain. Three sons on three sons find nothing but pain.’”
“Geez Louise,” she whispered thickly, trying to concentrate on what he was saying, when all her attention was on what he was doing. “She—” Lord. What were they talking about? Oh, yes. “She cursed his kids as well? That was cold.”
“Only five hundred years’ worth,” Caleb told her dryly, unsnapping his seat belt with his free hand.
“Ah. Now I get it. That’s why you think we’re having a boy. Because of the curse.”
“Five hundred years of only boys…Your skin feels like satin,” he murmured, distracted. “What were we—Oh, yeah. And only three to a family. We Edges take Nairne’s Cursevery seriously.‘Only freely given will this curse be done,’ ” he finished.“‘To break the spell, three must work as one.’”
She frowned, trying to tamp down a shudder of anticipation as his hand smoothed down her throat. “It doesn’t quite rhyme.”
Two fingers rested on the frantic pulse throbbing at the base of her throat. He smiled. “Hey. She was a witch, not a poet.”
“What has to be freely given?”
Caleb shrugged. “Haven’t a clue.”
“Come on. In five centuries none of the three sons on three sons has figured out what will break the spell?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe we can figure it out.”
He sat up a little straighter in his seat, and lifted an eyebrow. “On ourhoneymoon ?”
“Why not? What else—” His hand skimmed down the side of her rib cage, and she wiggled in her seat. “Don’t do that—Caleb, I amso ticklish—Shh. People canhear us.”
“Idon’t have the giggles,” he whispered, hauling her into his lap, blanket and all.
Beneath her thighs she felt him. Hard and ready. Desire shot through her, molten and immediate. The bubble of laughter died on her lips as he kissed her softly. His lips were firm and smooth, his taste familiar as he rubbed his mouth across hers in a maddeningly erotic dance that promised paradise.
“You do know, husband mine,” she whispered thickly as heat chased up her spine, “that you’re making false promises here?”
God, she was lucky. Lucky to have met a man like Caleb in the middle of the mess her life had become.
“Relax, sweetheart.” Her new husband rested his chin on top of her head and rubbed her bare arm in a caress that was anything but comforting. Her heart rate shot up, and she wished they weren’t in public. No matter how secluded she felt, behind a curtain just feet away sat a planeload of other passengers.
Eyes closed, she felt him reach up with his free hand, and seconds later the overhead light winked out, leaving them in semidarkness. He slipped his hand beneath the blanket and spread his fingers over her tummy. “Hi, little guy, this is your dad. How’re you doing in there? You take a nap now. Mommy and I have to have a private conversation.”
“What private conversation?” Heather whispered.
Caleb gave her a stern look. “Shh. He’s too young to learn about the birds and the bees just yet.”
He was positive she was carrying his son because of some fairy tale that had been passed down through the generations. She didn’t care if the baby was a boy or a girl. As long as he was healthy. She’d make sure their baby knew nothing but love and security his whole life. “He’s fast asleep,” she whispered, her hand over Caleb’s for a shared moment.
The plane’s engines hummed. Resting her head on his broad chest, she listened to the steady beat of Caleb’s heart. Yes. She was lucky. Damn lucky. And she wasn’t going to waste the first day of the rest of their new life together by bringing up her past.
The first-class seats were wide and comfortable. Caleb reclined his seat, holding her snugly against him. She felt the brush of his lips on her hair. God. She felt ridiculously, dizzily happy.
He skimmed his hand under the blanket.
Her heart literally skipped a beat. “Stop that,” she said on a whispered laugh as she wrestled his busy fingers. “Someone will walk through here and see us. Tell me what it was like growing up with two brothers in a Scottish castle in Montana.” She could barely concentrate because now he was stroking her thigh.
Her desire for this man saturated her. She wasn’t making much of an effort to stop him, merely holding onto his wrist. Absolutely no deterrent to his marauding fingers at all.
His hand cruised beneath the hem of her dress and stroked along the inside of her thigh. She shook her head, reading the intent in his dark eyes before he moved his hand higher. “Are you a member of the Mile-High club?” she asked, her voice unsteady.
Angling his body into her, he gave her a slow, wicked smile. “Wanna join?” He slid his fingers a little higher, the brush of his fingers making her skin burn.
She bit the corner of her lower lip, eyes dancing. “Not with three hundred plus other passengers onboard, I don’t.”
But it was a lie. She’d take this man anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Damp heat started between her legs, and her heart skipped several beats as he lazily rubbed her mound through her sheer panties. Running her fingers through his hair, she drew his mouth down to hers. The kiss was slow and sweet and made her blood heat and pulse lazily in her veins.
“Should I stop then?”
“Of course,” she told him primly, spreading her knees a little to grant him better access to where she wanted, needed, to be touched.
He chuckled, sliding his palm up her midriff under both dress and blanket to feel the weight of her lace-covered breast, teasing the already hard nipple between his fingers. The erotic glide of his tongue against hers made her shift in her seat. His tongue tasted her, exploring her as his fingers drew down the lace covering her and skimmed beneath to bare flesh.
Heart fluttering, senses swimming, she murmured against his lips, “Somebody’s going to come…”
Caleb’s eyes absorbed light. “Yeah.” His voice was raspy and filled with tenderness. His mouth covered hers again, hot and hard. And brief.
She tasted his wicked smile against the underside of her jaw as he cupped her left breast. “Your breasts are bigger,” he whispered, skimming his lips across her cheekbone, as his thumb rubbed her nipple to an aching hardness. His mouth found the curve of her neck. She wanted his mouth where his hand was.
“Tender, too—No,” she grabbed at his wrist as he immediately lifted his hand away. “Don’t stop. I love your hands on me.” Vaguely she glanced around the first-class cabin. But they were completely alone. Of course someone could push through that curtain at any second—
Breathless, aroused, she tried for reason. Okay. Not very hard. “You can’t—”
Apparently he could.
Blindly her mouth found his again as he skimmed his hand over her rib cage, hesitated at her tummy, then dipped beneath the tiny triangle of fabric of her thong. Pleasure swamped her as he cupped her intimately, then slid a long finger deep inside her wet heat. Burying her face against his shoulder, she tried to muffle her moan.
