By Honor Bound (2 page)

Then there was Polly. Looking at the kid breached the icy barrier years of loneliness had erected around his heart. She had eyes like Jim and Angela. Talking to a child at an age when she was so honest and wondering refreshed him in a way he never imagined possible.

Jim should be here instead, enjoying his family. Why was Abe, a man with no strings attached to anyone, alive and Jim, a man with so much to live for, dead?

Just one of those questions to which there would never be an answer.

Chapter Two

Angela’s stomach churned so much she wondered how she was going to eat the Christmas Eve dinner she’d spent the day preparing. Whenever she thought of Abe, heat rose in her face and her heart raced like a love-struck teenager’s. Something in the man’s steady blue eyes and sexy Texas drawl did things to her emotions she never imagined possible.

Most women her age were married with families of their own. She’d had offers from several decent young men her parents loved, but they hadn’t stirred her.

“You’re throwing your life away searching for a dream,” her mother often told her. “Romance is an illusion. Marriage is about hard work and sacrifice. It’s about not growing old alone, like what’s happening to you.”

Angela refused to make sacrifices for someone she didn’t love. Jim and his wife had love. They’d been happy together, but where had it gotten them? At least now they were rejoined in death.

Shaking her head, Angela finished sprinkling cheese over the pan of baked macaroni and placed it in the oven to keep warm. This season without Jim was depressing enough. Why make herself even more miserable and ruin the night for Polly and Abe?

Abe with his broad shoulders and long, hard-muscled legs.Abe who weakened her with a single look.

“How’s that, Aunt Angela?” Polly gestured toward the table she’d just finished setting.

“It looks lovely. Why don’t you get Abe’s present and put it on the coffee table?”

Polly hurried to retrieve the gift they’d shopped for that morning. Unsure of what to buy on such short notice for a man she scarcely knew, Angela had decided gloves were a safe enough choice. Besides, his large, long-fingered hands would look rather sensual in the black leather gloves.

No sooner had Angela placed the basket of sliced bread and butter on the table when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Polly shouted, racing ahead of her aunt and pausing in front of the door. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Abe.”

Polly tugged open the door.

Angela grinned at the sight of the towering Master Sergeant carrying two boxes wrapped in red and green paper.

 “Abe, you shouldn’t have,” Angela said, taking the gifts he handed Polly.

Shrugging, he met her gaze. A shiver ran down her spine. She told herself it was from the cold, but would the cold make her tingle and buzz in places that made her blush?

“Come in and sit. Dinner’s ready.” Angela glanced at him over her shoulder. “I hope you like macaroni.”

“When it comes to food, I like just about everything, but I must say, Angela, your cooking smells especially good.”

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint you.”

“It would be hard for anything about you to be disappointing…” He held her gaze and looked almost sheepish before adding, “ma’am.”

Angela’s pulse skipped. This man liked her. She was sure of it. Not just any like. This was the deep-down, giddy, I’m-thinking-of-the-wedding-night kind of like she’d always dreamed about.

Drawing a deep breath, she took the food from the oven and told herself to get a grip on her emotions. Her brother was dead. This was his best friend who had come to offer some comfort. Maybe her mother was right. She was a dreamer getting desperate with longing for the impossible relationship she’d imagined.

Polly sat at the table, nabbing Abe’s attention with a flurry of questions and stories about school and tomorrow’s visit to her grandparents.

Though Angela didn’t get along well with her parents, she felt Polly deserved a relationship with them. Jim had felt the same, which was why he’d made Angela his daughter’s legal guardian.

“I hope we don’t get a storm tomorrow,” Polly said. She glanced at Abe. “Aunt Polly won’t drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s in bad weather.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get there.” Angela tugged the girl’s ponytail. All day long the news had been filled with stories of the ice storm moving toward North Carolina.

“I’d be glad to drive you,” Abe said.

“We wouldn’t want to impose.”

“It would be no imposition.”

“I’ll call Grandma and tell her Abe’s coming.” Polly darted for the phone.

“Would that be a problem?” he asked. “Because if you think they wouldn’t want to see me, I don’t mind giving you the ride. I don’t want to upset them any more than they must already be.”

“If you’re driving us, then you’re coming to eat. Besides, I think they’d like to meet you.” Angela dished out the macaroni, giving Abe an extra helping. “You look like you can use this.”

The corners of his lips tugged up in what might have been a smile. He always looked so serious and stern it was hard to tell. “I haven’t had a home-cooked meal since

I was about nine years old. Mess hall food’s not bad, though. I kinda like it, especially after the shi—” He glanced at Polly. “I mean garbage I was eating this past year.”

Angela shuddered to think about what he and Jim had gone through. She had the strangest urge to offer him comfort in every way imaginable. This man was getting under her skin and no matter how she tried keeping her thoughts decent and pure, it just wasn’t happening.

After dinner, the three sat in the living room and exchanged gifts.

“It’s a dog!” Polly beamed, tugging the shaggy brown stuffed animal from the box.

Angela smiled. “She loves dogs.”

“I know. Jim said so lots of times.” Abe glanced at the present on Angela’s lap.

She tore off the paper and opened the box.

“Oh!” She lifted out the snow globe with a deer family standing in front of a log cabin with a pine tree nearby. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Abe.”

Again that faint smile flickered across his mouth as his gaze held hers with such intensity that her belly tightened. Thank goodness for the heavy sweater disguising her pebble-hard nipples. The beauty and depth of the man’s eyes turned her to liquid.

“Are you going to open yours?” she prodded, anxious for his gaze to fix on something other than her.

He unwrapped the gloves and tried them on. “These are great, ladies. Just what I needed.”

“Polly, it’s time for you to get ready for bed.”

“Can I sleep with my dog?”

“Sure can,” Angela said. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“Goodnight, Aunt Angela. See you tomorrow, Abe.”

“Goodnight, darlin’.”

Angela smiled. Though that particular darlin’ was meant for her niece, the sound of his deep, sexy drawl caressing the words made her tingle with desire.

Sitting on her end of the couch, Angela folded her arms beneath her breasts and smiled.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re not what I was expecting, that’s all.”

He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “That a good thing?”

“Feels that way.”

“Me too,” he murmured and stood. “I should go, ma’am.”

“Why?” Angela’s brow furrowed and she approached. Maybe he didn’t like her after all? Why was that thought so alarming? She couldn’t have any real feelings for him. For heaven’s sake, they’d only just met!

 “Because.” He drew a deep breath and released it slowly. Emotions gleamed behind the cool sapphire surface of his eyes. “I want to kiss you, Angela, and that would be a despicable thing right now.”

Angela’s heart fluttered and her mouth went dry. Kiss her. That was exactly what she wanted and felt just as guilty about it as he looked.

“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for his cap and jacket hanging on the brass coat rack by the fireplace. “I don’t know why I said that.”

“Maybe because it’s true.”

“You must think I’m some kind of snake in the grass, coming here with Jim dead and—”

“Jim was my brother, not my husband.” Angela placed a hand on his forearm. Beneath his sleeve, his arm felt so hard, so powerful. What was wrong with her? She’d met this man once and already she couldn’t imagine life without him. Was this fate or desperation for both of them? He’d just gotten home after a year in hell. He had no family, no one besides military shrinks to share his problems with. In a strange role reversal, Angela found herself concerned that
she
was taking advantage of
him
.

“Please don’t go,” she said, vowing not to do anything either of them would regret. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

“You heard what I just said.”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t care?”

“I care. I just don’t…” She sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t want you to go.”

For a long moment they stood, their gazes locked. Simultaneously they walked to the couch and sat, though not at opposite ends this time. One of his long, hard thighs pressed against her leg, distracting them though they talked of the coming storm and other trivial matters.

Suddenly his hand cupped her face, his thumb gently stroking her smooth cheek as he stared deeply into her eyes. His warmth seemed to reach out and enfold her in powerful yet invisible arms that refused to let her go.

Angela’s heart thumped against her ribs and she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. As Abe leaned a bit closer, his firm lips parted slightly.

God, she thought.
He really is going to kiss me.

He gently drew her face closer to his. Angela’s eyes slid shut when his mouth touched hers. The sensation was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Abe’s firm yet soft lips moved tenderly against hers. She’d never imagined sensing a man’s emotions through a kiss. Lust, yes, but nothing else. Not like what she felt from Abe. How could a man she just met pour so much affection into a kiss?

Warmth from his body spread through her. She edged closer, slipping her arms around his neck. God, she’d never been in the arms of a man this big and strong. The back and shoulders beneath her palms felt like steel. Her breasts flattened against a chest of warm granite. Her nipples swelled, aching for his touch. He smelled so good, too, so clean and male.

Abe kissed both corners of her mouth then buried his face in the hollow of her shoulder. As he licked her neck, a shudder rippled down her spine. Heat emanated from her belly, spreading lower and settling deep in her pussy.

In the midst of her rising passion, she felt something hard and oh-so-arousing pressing against her stomach. In all her life, she’d never felt a man’s erect cock. The sudden urge to unzip him and touch all she’d been missing was almost overwhelming.

He stood suddenly and ran a hand through his ultra-short hair. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Are you?” Her pulse racing, she approached and touched his arm.

“No. Actually I’m not.” He reached for his jacket and cap. “Thank you for a lovely Christmas Eve, Angela.”

“Thank you for coming, Abe.”

Angela’s belly fluttered. He’d only held her once, but she missed the sensation of his embrace and his soft, moist lips against hers. Somehow she knew the rest of the night would seem empty without him.

God, she was falling in love just like a schoolgirl.

“I’m glad you can join us tomorrow,” she continued, walking him to the door. “I have to warn you about my parents, though. They can be a little difficult.”

“I can take it.”

“I don’t know. Jim used to say boot camp was nothing after Ma and Daddy.”

A smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “I believe I recall him saying something like that, but you’re lucky to have a family.”

“Oh, I appreciate them, as long as they’re not complaining about how I’m not married yet.”

“To be honest, I’ve wondered about that myself.” His gaze held hers and Angela’s pulse raced. “Just tell me to mind my own business, ma’am.”

“Actually it’s because I haven’t found a man I could imagine spending the rest of my life with.”

Until now
. The image of her and Abe married with a bunch of kids appealed to her almost too much. Another image of him disappearing overseas and never coming back shoved her out of her reverie. He was a Marine. There was always the chance that, like Jim, he might lose his life while serving his country.

“Goodnight, Angela.” His warm, callused hand curved around her nape as he kissed her again.

If Polly wasn’t upstairs, she might just consider asking him to stay a bit longer. If her mother only knew the thoughts running through Angela’s mind at the moment, she’d probably faint.

 “Goodnight,” she said, watching him slip on his new gloves. “Drive safely.”

Nodding, he held her gaze as he opened the door and stepped outside. Halfway across the driveway, he glanced over his shoulder at her.

Angela waved again, cursing the tingling warmth that enveloped her body each time he so much as looked at her.

Chapter Three

“I hope my coming here isn’t any trouble, ma’am.” Abe broke the heavy silence. He, Angela, and her parents sat in the living room. Polly settled on the floor next to the stuffed dog Abe had given her and played with a deck of cards.

“Of course not.” Mrs. Franco forced a smile. “Any friend of Jim’s is welcome here, even if he did choose to leave our grandchild with a young, single girl instead of a proper two-parent family.”

“Ma!” Angela snapped.

“It’s true. I can’t say any more, though.” Mrs. Franco nodded in Polly’s direction. “Big ears on little people. I wouldn’t want to confuse the child.”

“Damn it, Patricia,” Mr. Franco growled from where he sat on an easy chair, staring at television with the sound turned down. “Can’t we get through a single holiday without an argument? And who knows, maybe Abe here will marry Angela and we won’t have to worry.”

“Dad!’ Angela glared, then turned her gaze to Abe. “I’m sorry about this.”

He shrugged, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

“Are you married, Abe?” Patricia asked.