Better Than Gold (9 page)

“He wants me to forbid—”

She barked a not-amused laugh. “Forbid? He wants you to forbid?” Did this ever get better?

She started forward and he grabbed her and put his arms around her.

“
Forbid
anyone from entering the building until it is decided whether or not this is a town founder.”

She rested her chin on his chest and looking up at him with a grin, said, “You are so doing a terrible, horrible job. Just look at how many people have been in here.”

He grinned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Maybe you should charge admission.”

She started to laugh. “If the duddy fires you, you can come and wash dishes in my— Wait!” She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed back to look into his face. “In my kitchen at home because I won’t have a restaurant kitchen.”

“The university sent me here because anyone with half a brain could do this job.”

“Your problem is you have a whole brain, but that’s nothing. Banks lent me a whole boatload of money to build a restaurant on this spot.”

“That seems to be going quite well.”

She patted his chest and moved away. “You can come with me when I go apply at a big-box store for a job.”

She laughed at all the ridiculous things in her life and then she laughed again because it was all she had.

“What’s going on?” Lenny stood in the doorway, looking most fastidious shifting his gaze between the two of them.

“Just the usual, Officer Gardner,” she responded.

Lenny looked at Daniel and frowned. “I’m Daniel MacCarey. The university sent me to check out the site.”

“With a hammer?” Lenny asked in a serious voice.

“He didn’t do it, Lenny,” Mia interjected. “Someone broke in after Dr. MacCarey and I left yesterday afternoon, sometime during the night. I’d guess.”

Lenny gave a single nod. “I’m Officer Gardner.” Lenny stepped forward for a formal handshake with Daniel. “Dr. MacCarey, since the university has jurisdiction over the site for now, Chief Montcalm said we were to defer to whatever you say as far as how the site is to be handled. I’d like to check out the rest of the property if that’s all right with you.”

“The granite from the crypt may have significant markings on it and I’d like to handle the pieces myself,” said Daniel, pointing to the chunks and shards of granite.

“Whatever you say, Dr. MacCarey.”

Lenny’s radio squawked again and when he was finished talking he made arrangements to meet them at the station to get their statements.

“Thank you, Lenny,” Mia said when the officers were ready to leave. “I, we, appreciate the police department’s help.”

“We do our best, ma’am,” Officer Doyle added as they departed.

Mia hoped with all her might their
best
would be enough.

* * *

D
ANIEL
DROVE
UP
the curving road, past the gawker’s pullout and away from Bailey’s Cove. The lights of the small town faded fast, and his world seemed to shrink down to the two hundred feet of roadway lit by his headlamps. Uncertainty seemed to lurk out there just out of sight in the eerie darkness.

So much had changed since the sun had come up over the cove yesterday morning.

Tonight, by the time the police had taken Mia’s and his statements, four hours had passed. A spate of petty crime, auto accidents and a domestic disturbance kept the officers on duty busy, and it was clear the scene at Mia’s restaurant would need to be left until morning.

Officer Gardner suggested Mia and Daniel go home for the night.

Daniel headed from the coast toward the highway. The closer he got to the interstate, the more he thought about the cold emptiness at his condo. He usually didn’t let his brain go there because in almost every quiet place he felt the same feeling of loss and emptiness.

Except for Bailey’s Cove.

He supposed it was impossible to watch your family fall completely apart and not have your heart regard most of the world as bleak and empty. “It’s not that I don’t love you, Danny, but every time I see your face, I see Sammy’s,” his wife had told him two years ago as she stood in the middle of the living room in their family home, suitcase in hand.

Now, in the span of less than forty-eight hours, the fragile, uncertain path of his life had crystal clear options. The call from his boss had been about more than protecting the site.

What he hadn’t told Mia was that their two futures were linked. Successfully proving the remains were Liam Bailey’s would put Daniel solidly on tenure track and negatively impact Mia’s chances of getting Pirate’s Roost up and running in time for the northerly trek of the tourists.

Worse, if he backed away, chose oblivion for his career, the university would send the newest PhD candidate, Elliot Smith. Smith would not care at all who was harmed in the handling of the scene. At least this way, Daniel might have a chance of getting the time schedule accelerated for Mia.

When he reached the highway intersection, he headed away from the university and from his condo. A motel or an inn had to be better than what he tried to call home, where he had paced the floors most of last night and where most of his memories seemed to have followed him.

At the highway’s next major crossroad, major for this part of Maine, the highway sign gave him a choice of an inn or a chain motel. He chose the inn because “some rooms with fireplaces” seemed like what he could use right now. Once he arrived at the inn, however, even a fireplace didn’t seem like enough to fix the emptiness.

At the memory of Mia Parker’s bright smile and warm lips he knew he’d rather spend the night in Bailey’s Cove than any place else. He parked in the inn’s lot, and called the number he had taken from the back wall at Mia’s building. In the dark he listened as the phone rang.

“Promise me and promise yourself, you will pursue your dream,” his aunt had said to him and he had promised.

“This is Mia,” she answered and by her voice he could tell she wasn’t sleepy, either.

“It’s Daniel.”

CHAPTER NINE

“D
ANIEL
,
IS
THERE
anything the matter?”

The sound of Mia’s voice washed over him and he imagined the look of concern on her face. He knew he had made the right decision for this night.
Go to Bailey’s Cove.

“I was driving and I realized it might be best to stay someplace local tonight. Can you recommend somewhere?”

“Come here.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Because?”

“Because I’d be putting you out.”

“I have a fire in the fireplace.”

He gave a soft snort. “I’ve been feeling cold.”

“I have a bottle of red wine I opened and plan on drinking by myself in a half hour or so.”

He thought he heard some sort of muffled protest in the background. She wasn’t alone. “I like red wine, but if you have company, never mind.”

“Come. I don’t really want to drink it alone.”

There wasn’t even a peep of a protest this time. “Where do you live?”

She gave him her address and added, “Halfway between Pirate’s Roost and the police station and six blocks up the hill on Blueberry Avenue.”

“I can find that. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.”

* * *

M
IA
TOOK
HER
hand away from Monique’s mouth and said, “Get out.”

“Was that him?”

Mia nodded and Monique shrieked.

The excitement of seeing Daniel again had started her heart racing the moment she heard his voice.

“How soon?”

“He said forty-five minutes.”

“Plenty of time for you to change.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” She had donned a clean, button-front cotton Henley and her most comfortable jeans after a shower.

“Oh, please tell me you’re not wearing one of your ugly sports bras.”

Mia tugged the neckline of her shirt and looked inside. “They are not ugly. In fact, this one is a lovely shade of navy blue.”

“Faded navy blue. That makes it muddy blue. If I weren’t two cup sizes bigger than you, I’d take mine off right now and make you put it on. Sexy, fiery red, with lace edges and a front closure for easy access. And there isn’t even a man to see it tonight, or well any night, but I’m hoping soon.”

“Do you wear red lace all the time?”

“Red, pink, apricot, I vary the color with each day, yesterday I wore blue, but lace, pretty lace, not that stretchy stuff that gets those clinging fuzz balls.”

“It’s highly possible, you know, that I will be the only one ever to see my bra.” Mia laughed.

“You invited him to come here, to your home.”

“Because he sounded like he needs a glass of wine and a warm place. A couple glasses of wine and I’ll send him off to the Harbor Inn.”

Monique laughed and pinched Mia’s cheeks. “You’re so cute when you lie.”

“You are a very naughty woman. Does Lenny know?”

“Not yet, but I think he might be hoping.”

“Did he kiss you yet?”

“Last night after he got off work. We had coffee. And a very nice kiss it was, too. He’s like a throwback, a gentleman from a hundred years ago.”

“I think that makes you very lucky, Monique.”

“Yeah, all reserved and polite on the outside, and I suspect hot as a smithy’s forge on the inside.”

Mia smiled. “What if he is the one?”

“You know, every time I see him, I can’t help wonder the same thing. I think I’m ready to go sit at Mandrel’s and wait for him to come in for a late coffee. Give the gossips some new juice.”

“I think we both know Lenny is ready.”

“I hope so.”

“You’re a catch, Monique. Over and above your cup size.”

“Haha! Well, I’m leaving. I have a counter stool to occupy.”

“Don’t have the pie.” Mia gave her the usual warning about the almost irresistible pie at Mandrel’s.

“It’s only for lookin’. And I’m outta here.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Back at ya.”

Monique slid on her short leather jacket and hurried away.

Mia picked up the things that wouldn’t bother her if family and friends saw them, but seemed too messy for a real guest. She polished the two wineglasses she and Monique were going to use, brought more wood in, brushed her teeth because she had the time and wished she had some lace to put on instead of muddy blue.

Maybe it wouldn’t matter. They had gotten carried away earlier today. Maybe the mood would be totally different now.

The doorbell rang.

It had taken only thirty-nine minutes.

Mia rubbed her palms down the thighs of her jeans and put on her best not-nervous welcome face, and pulled open the door.

Monique thrust a handful of condoms at her and fled back down the sidewalk.

“Thanks,” Mia called after her friend.

Monique gave her a thumbs-up, dove into her car and peeled off down the hill.

Mia laughed when she opened her palm and looked at what Monique had brought. Flavored, extra sensation and added pleasure.

She hurried up to her bedroom with them, and then thought better of putting all of them up there. She came back downstairs and put a couple in the drawer of the table near the couch.

When they had been prudently distributed, she checked her hair in the hall mirror and smiled at what she saw. Wild hair. She felt a little wild.

This time when the doorbell rang, she opened it to see Daniel MacCarey standing on her porch. His whiskers were turning into a beard, but they did not hide the deep distress carved into his face. His strong shoulders slumped and his eyes were red with fatigue.

She stepped back so he could come inside her foyer. “You look terrible.”

After she closed the door, she reached inside the jacket he had put on over his ratty sweater and pulled him to her for a hug.

A moment later he lifted her chin and found her mouth with his as he backed her up against the wall and kissed her lips, her face, her neck. His whiskers were long enough to be almost soft but made his kisses seem more urgent.

When his insistent lips crushed hers again, she brought her hands up under his sweater and curled her fingers over his hard shoulders so she could lift herself higher and on tiptoes press herself closer. From here, she could have her way with his neck, his ears, his mouth.

The world suddenly became about him and the fire he lit within her.

Daniel MacCarey stood her up in her own foyer and plumbed the depths in her no one else had ever even stirred.

He was hard. And from being pressed up against the wall, she could tell all of him was hard.

When he put his arms around her and lifted her, she wrapped her legs around him, kissing, licking, nibbling whatever felt best at the time.

He somehow had the key to her passion and she couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

If this was a dream, it was a good one.

He carried her into the living room and leaned over the sofa with her still clinging to him. When she let go and dropped onto the soft throw cover, he sat down on the edge beside her and she pushed up to face him. With her hands free, she stripped off his jacket and tossed it aside. He did the same with her Henley top. She reciprocated with his sweater.

She looked up at him. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My friend said I should always wear a lacy bra that opens in the front.” She looked down at her sports bra that was no way going to fall off easily.

The fatigue lifted from his face as he smiled and slid his fingers under the edge of her bra. She gasped when his thumbs brushed across her nipples. As she raised her arms, her bra followed the path the rest of their clothes had taken—somewhere else.

“Good?” he asked as he touched her collarbone and then skimmed his fingertips down to her breast.

She grinned. “It’s getting that way.”

Scooting her back down on the couch, he gently lowered his weight until they were chest-to-chest, heat-to-heat. She arched for more and reveled when he slid his arm beneath her and molded their bodies together.

She had not expected such a quick and fierce response from her body. There was magic between this man and her and she wanted to experience all of its bliss.

He ran his hand down and up her thigh, teasing her sensitive skin. He smiled as he then cupped her breast, gently caressing and massaging until she moaned. Slowly, maddeningly slowly, he leaned over her breast, finally taking her nipple into his mouth. She let out a small cry as his tongue danced over the erect tip.

“You do such nice things with your mouth,” she said as she kissed his hair and traced the smooth skin of his shoulders and back.

He lifted his head and she thought he was about to fulfill her wish of nakedness, but he switched to her other breast and she almost forgot what her wish was. Her breasts had never felt so well made love to and when he brought his hand up between her legs and stroked her, she knew all of her was going to eventually feel the glory.

“Daniel, this is wonderful.”

“It is.” He lifted his head and watched her steadily as he unzipped her jeans.

When she smiled, he removed her jeans and then her panties.

He held the panties up on one finger. “These are lace.”

“Thank you for noticing.”

She plucked them off the tip of his finger and tossed them. All she wanted, and she wanted it right now, was to have all of him.

When he didn’t strip off his jeans, she realized he hadn’t thought this out any more than she had. Thank goodness for a good friend.

She pointed over her head to the end table. “Top drawer.”

He reached in the drawer, pulled out a condom and put it aside.

“Oh.” She was so ready to use the condom, so ready she could have cried, until he started kissing her again, her lips, her neck, her breasts, over and over.

She panted, as happiness seemed to be the only emotion she could find, and then opened her eyes to find him studying her.

He smiled and continued to gently stroke her with his fingertips.

She gave a few more luxurious shudders. “That feels good.”

“Yes, it does.” He tenderly kissed her mouth and kissed where the chain lay against her neck.

“Am I having all the fun?”

In answer, he stood and stripped down his jeans and shorts as a unit and when he was totally naked, she grinned up at him. “Magnificent.”

He laughed and donned the condom. Then he carefully lowered himself down on her and into her in one fluid movement.

The wave of pleasure hit her and instantly the world went away. There was nothing but the two of them.

“Yeah, magnificent,” he said as she took all of him inside her.

Slowly, relentlessly, he pushed her up the peak, nudging her with his body, his hands, his kisses until, at the top, pleasure burst within her again.

He followed her and she knew for sure she wasn’t the only one having a good time.

“Mia, that was amazing.” He held her close, nuzzling at her neck.

“Exactly what I was thinking, Daniel.”

He kissed her long and soft and she felt their bodies respond again.

* * *

A
HALF
HOUR
or thirty seconds or whatever later, after they had used a second condom, he propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her.

“What?” she demanded after he had been staring at her for several seconds.

“I keep wanting to say thank you, but I don’t want to push my luck.”

She pushed up and kissed his lips and then his whiskered chin. “Thank
you
. Though, I do know what you mean. Since we’re supposed to be on opposing teams, enemies, and since I just had the greatest sex I’ve ever had, I’m thinking it’s appropriate.”

“The greatest ever, heh?” He licked below her ear. She hadn’t realized until that moment how sensitive that spot was and she shivered.

“Call me sheltered, but greatest by far.”

“Okay, Miss Sheltered, I am honored and pleased to have been a part of that action.”

She ran her hand from his hip, across the ridges of his belly and up to his well-defined chest. “I wasn’t kidding about the magnificent comment. You have taken very good care of your body. For that alone, I say thank you.”

He chuckled and she realized what a nice, soft wonderful sound that was—intimate, unguarded and for the moment all for her.

“And you are even more lovely than I imagined.”

A stomach growled loudly and she laughed. “Well, that puts all things into perspective.”

“Mine or yours?” he asked.

“Maybe it was both of us.” She massaged his shoulder. “Let me up.”

Chilly, she scampered for the stairs. Her robe seemed more appropriate than putting her jeans back on.

“There’s a bathroom off the kitchen,” she called over her shoulder.

She donned her warm robe and slippers and then dug for a wrapped Christmas present from the back of her closet.

When the water was still running in the downstairs bathroom, she smiled and tapped on the door. After a moment, she opened the door a crack and stuck the present inside.

“And I didn’t get you anything,” he said, taking the box.

In the kitchen, Mia loaded up a tray with bowls and flatware and bread and butter, Daniel came out of the bathroom wearing a brand-new robe and slippers. “I don’t know who he was, but tell him thank you for me.”

“He is currently and forever relegated to the category of nobody.” Mia realized she meant those words and the realization brought a kind of freedom with it.

She opened her robe and then his and reached inside to press their naked bodies together. He leaned down and kissed her long and hard as he reached around her and pulled them closer together.

When he lifted his mouth from hers, he asked, “How many condoms do you have?”

She laughed and pulled away to tie both of their robes. “I’d hate to faint. I need some nourishment.”

He picked up the tray. “Dining room or living room.”

“Near the fire in the living room, please.”

By the time she had stirred the pot on the stove to make sure it was still warm enough and had gotten into the living room with the open bottle of wine and two glasses, he had moved the coffee table and stoked the fire. On the floor between the table and the fire he had spread a quilt and put out the two large wedge pillows she kept stored in the corner. He had even taken a placemat off the pile for each of them and spaced them on the table with a bowl, knife and spoon on each.