Hideaway (16 page)

P
arris moved toward the source of heat and fell into a deeper sleep. There were no dreams of gaping mouths cursing her or the pressure of cold steel against her body. She felt the comforting embrace of strong arms around her and a soft sigh escaped her parted lips. Something feathered across her nose and lips but she did not wake up.

When she did wake up she found herself sprawled over Martin’s chest, one leg cradled intimately between his. Her head came up slowly and she realized what had been tickling her nose. Her face had been pressed to the solid surface of Martin’s hairy chest.

His large eyes were open, staring down at her. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas back to you,” she mumbled, as heat burned her face. She tried easing off his body. He tightened his hold. “Let me go, Martin,” she pleaded softly.

“Why should I, Parris? You crawled on me last night, and I managed to get exactly two minutes of sound sleep. Now that you’re rested you want to leave? I’ll let you go when I feel like letting you go,” he taunted.

She stared up at him. The dark smudges under his eyes verified his admission that he hadn’t slept. The shadows under
his dramatic dark eyes and the faint shadowing of a beard on his unshaven cheeks made her breath catch in her throat.

This dark naked man whom she was sharing a bed with still had the power to touch her the way no other man had been able to do. A look, and only a look, was enough to make her tremble with desire.

He shifted slightly until she lay by his side. Both of them exhaled audibly. Martin grasped her hand, threading his fingers through hers. The gesture was a familiar one. Years before they’d laid in bed, fingers joined, talking.

“If I stay with you, Martin,” Parris began quietly, “I’m going to lose everything I’ve worked for over the past ten years.”

“What will you lose?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound selfish.

“My home, my job.”

“You can always buy another home and secure another position with any design firm you want. You’re an expert in your field, Parris. If you wanted to you could go into business for yourself.”

“What about Regina? She’ll be uprooted from everything that has been familiar to her.”

“She’ll be leaving
friends
, Parris. You cannot measure her loss of friends to her finding her family.” He lowered his head and kissed her hair. “I’ll buy you a house, darling,” he crooned. “Anywhere you want. You can pick it out and decorate every inch of it. If you want to work I’ll hire you to work for ColeDiz. You can decorate the villas and bungalows we plan to build in Belize. Regina could attend the same school as her cousins so she won’t feel so alienated when she changes schools.”

Martin had all of the answers. He had planned his statement the same way he prepared for a business meeting.

“I don’t know, Martin. I’ve spent ten years building a life that is exactly the way I want it.”

“I, Parris. You speak of I but what about Regina? Isn’t she entitled to have her father in her life? You grew up without your father because he couldn’t be there for you. You don’t even remember him. Do you want the same for our child?”

Closing her eyes, Parris turned toward Martin and pressed her face to his muscled shoulder. “You know I don’t.”

Releasing her fingers, he cradled her to his chest, inhaling the perfume on her warm flesh. “I’ll take care of everything, darling. The sale of your home and car. I’ll arrange for storage of anything you want to keep. I’ll…”

Parris placed her fingertips over his mouth. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?

“Because I’m methodical and practical, Parris. I have to think of Regina’s future. Every child a Cole brings forth into this world is provided for, and a plan is put into place for them the moment the infant draws their first breath. It’s always been and always will be that way.”

Parris lay motionless, reflecting that if she married Martin it would make her a Cole and afford her all of the privileges which would give her the protection she needed for herself and Regina.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll stay with you.”

Martin felt lightheaded with relief. “Does that mean you will marry me?” he asked slowly.

She nodded, biting down on her lower lip. There was a moment of strained silence before she said, “Yes.”

Martin moved over her body, supporting his weight on his elbows as he cradled her face between his hands. His gaze made a slow journey over every inch of her face.

“When?” he asked.

Parris stared back at him, registering the leashed tension in his body and the apprehension in his gaze. “Soon.”

He flashed his dimpled smile as tiny lines fanned out around his eyes. “How about New Year’s Eve?”

She shrugged a delicate shoulder. “It sounds good to me.”

She savored the pressure of Martin’s body as he pressed her down to the mattress, his mouth busily exploring her neck and shoulders.

“Everything will be different this time,” he murmured.

“I don’t want it to be different, Martin,” Parris gasped as the heat from his mouth seared her breast. “I want it to be better than before.”

He heard the sound before she did and he sprang from her body, sliding down on his pillow and pulling the sheet up over his chest. Regina stood in the doorway, staring at her parents.

“I knocked,” Regina said quickly, staring at the two pairs of eyes watching her.

Parris recovered quickly, gesturing. “Come here, angel.” She patted the space between her and Martin.

Regina raced across the bedroom and crawled onto the bed. She lay atop the sheet between her parents.

Martin pulled her unbound ponytail and kissed her forehead. “Merry Christmas, cupcake.”

Regina kissed his stubbled cheek. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.” Turning to Parris, she kissed her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Mommy.” She held up her left arm and peered at the watch on her wrist.

“Daddy, did you know that as of today December twenty-fifth that Mars is in conjunction with the sun, over 225 million miles away from the earth?”

Martin shifted his sweeping eyebrows. “Does your watch tell you that?”

Regina compressed her lips in a gesture of annoyance. “Don’t be silly, Daddy. The watch can’t tell me that. I just know that,” she said smugly.

Martin looked embarrassed. “What does the watch tell you?”

Regina stared at her mother’s Christmas gift to her. “It can tell you all of the phases of the moon at any time of the month. It can also tell you what time it is in any part of the world at any time. My watch tells me the day, date and of course the time.”

He was impressed. “Tell me more about the planets.”

“Mercury will begin the new year at the edge of the morning twilight, and dives deeper toward the sun as the month passes. Near the end of January it will be an evening star. Venus starts the new year as a brilliant evening star.”

Martin stared at his daughter, his mouth gaping slightly. “Good gravy, where did you learn all of this stuff about the stars and planets?”

“Mommy took me to the planetarium in New York City. She bought me some books and I did a lot of reading.”

“You like astronomy?”

Regina rested her head on his pillow. “I like science. I’m not sure what I want to be when I grow up.”

“You can be whatever you want to be,” Martin reassured her.

“It’s been a good Christmas,” Regina said, smiling.

“It’s going to be a better new year because we’re all going to be together,” Martin stated, smiling at his daughter.

“Really?”

Parris pressed her head to Regina’s and told her that she and Martin were getting married. Regina didn’t seem as excited about her parents’ upcoming nuptials as she was about living in Florida. It had taken less than twenty-four hours for her forget about returning to New York to inform her classmates that she had learned to swim in the ocean while vacationing in Jamaica.

“Who do you think you are coming here?”

“I am
whomever the hell you want me to be,
old man.”

Samuel felt an uncontrollable rage he could never explain whenever he encountered Joshua Kirkland. There was something about the younger man that reminded him too much of himself when he was Joshua’s age. They were both so much alike it was frightening. However, it still could not explain his hatred for the arrogant human being who dared to defy him again and again.

The blood rushed to Samuel’s face, as a tic tortured his left eye. He could barely tolerate Joshua’s presence, but M.J. could not. Why of all days did he have to show up?

“You picked a bad time to come visiting. We’re having a private family gathering, and you’re not welcome.”

Joshua’s feral grin should’ve been a warning as his left hand moved with startling speed, applying deadly pressure to Samuel Cole’s exposed throat, thumb and forefinger tightening against the vital area. He achieved his desired reaction as the large man slumped weakly against his body in pain.

“I’ve been invited to a wedding, Sammy,” Joshua whispered savagely. He supported the older man’s massive bulk. “Not you or anyone else will keep me from attending.” He released Samuel’s throat. “Stay the hell away from me or so help me I’ll make M.J. a widow.”

Samuel, gasping, tried filling his lungs with much needed oxygen while Joshua brushed past him to take the staircase leading to Martin’s apartment. The maid who had answered the door stood watching in horror. When she had opened the door she silently admired the tall, slender, well-dressed man, never thinking he would try to murder her employer.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Samuel shouted at the startled woman. “Get out of here!”

M.J. walked into the entry just in time to hear her husband shouting. “What’s going on, Sammy?”

Samuel shot his wife an angry glare. “Martin invited him.”

“You’re not making sense, Sammy.”

M.J.’s soft voice grated on Samuel’s taut nerve endings. “That Kirkland bastard.”

Her thin nostrils flared in rage. “How could he, Sammy? It’s not enough that Martin’s marrying
that
woman, but he also has to have that…that…” M.J. was unable to come up with an appropriate description. Her slender manicured hands curled into fists, her dark eyes narrowing. “The sooner this is over, the better.”

Her heels mirrored her anger as they clattered noisily on the marble flooring as she stalked away from her frowning husband.

The sun shone brightly for Martin and Parris’s wedding, yet for Samuel and Marguerite Cole the day had become as gloomy as a dark, storm-swept sky.

It was her wedding day and Parris hadn’t begun to change out of her jeans and blouse and into her dress. She heard footsteps and turned to find a pair of pale green eyes watching her. She took in the suntanned face, bleached hair and the lithe body in an expertly tailored dark suit.

“Hello, Joshua.” She was surprised at her calm greeting when
her heart was racing erratically. A week’s absence had made him more attractive, and disturbing, than she’d remembered.

He inclined his blond head. “Parris.”

She gestured to him. “Come in. Please sit down.”

Joshua folded his lean body down onto a plush armchair, crossing one leg over the other. “How do you feel?”

Parris moved over and sat down on a matching chair. “Great.” Her brown eyes sparkled. “Do you think I’ll make a presentable bride?”

Joshua nodded. “Your tan looks terrific,” he remarked. “How’s Regina?”

Parris stared at the denim fabric covering her knees. “She’s like Martin. Everyone loves her.” Her head came up and she met Joshua’s gaze. “I hardly get a chance to be with my own daughter. If she’s not visiting with an aunt or uncle, it’s her grandparents and cousins.”

Joshua reached over, holding her hands gently within his. “Don’t worry too much. Having a family is still new to her. You’ll never lose her.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” She smiled when his lips parted in a warm smile for the first time.

“I know I’m right.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “I’ll let you get dressed for your big day.”

Parris was shocked by his show of affection. He didn’t appear as frightening as he had before.

“Martin’s in the library,” she called out when Joshua stood up to leave.

She left the chair and moved over to the bed, staring at her reflection in the mirrored doors of the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling closets. Her hair and face had been done earlier that morning when M.J. offered the services of her personal stylist. She was going to refuse then thought better of it because her soon-to-be mother-in-law had been overly polite and respectful whenever they encountered each other over the past week. A frenzy of activities had kept the two women apart from each other except at times whenever they shared an occasional evening meal.

Regina had been equally entertained, spending several days at Juliana’s and Nancy’s homes. She attended a recording session with David at a Miami studio, bubbling effusively when Regina realized her uncle was a popular musician.

She and Martin had discussed Regina’s education, deciding to enroll her in a private school in West Palm Beach until they moved to their permanent residence.

Parris favored Fort Lauderdale and Martin barely acknowledged her recommendation with a shrug of his broad shoulders. This attitude was evident whenever she asked for his opinion, and she stopped asking.

It was as if they’d reversed roles. Now he was the private person. She saw what she didn’t see three weeks ago. The ten-year separation had changed Martin when she found herself waiting for bits and pieces of information to filter down to reveal his plan for their future. The open, spontaneous man was now cautious, even secretive.

She had agreed to leave New York, her home, her job and all that had been familiar for the past ten years for her daughter’s emotional well-being. She had become the martyr while Martin had become a stranger.

Martin had become the nervous bridegroom while she’d managed to forestall the attack of jitters she experienced twelve years ago. She couldn’t help but parallel this wedding day to the one when she married Owen. His moods had vacillated from depression to euphoria and she blamed it on nerves, for the both of them.