Kissing Trouble (3 page)

“Julie...?” Wendy shuffled out of her room, rubbing her eye with a small fist.

“Everything’s fine,” Julie said, never slowing her pace. “Get back in your room and close the door. You too,” she told Dustin as the boy stumbled out of his room.

She took the stairs at a quick, cautious clip, keeping against the wall with all her senses on high alert. The hard clap of her heart counted off the seconds until she hit the bottom landing.

The front door stood wide open to the star speckled night. Balmy summer air swept into the foyer, circled around her bare ankles and faded deeper into the house.

Her insides writhed with confusion and fear as she edged closer. Her mind scrambled trying to remember if maybe she hadn’t locked the thing properly, because there was no other sound, except the blaring of the alarm. The night was quiet and. Julie wasn’t used to that level of silence, or darkness. It creeped her out and stole a chill through her. How could there be that many stars glittering in the sky and the night still be so damn black? It made no sense. But she didn’t dwell on it.

Moving quickly, she shut the doors and flipped the latch. She slid the chain into place for good measure before hurrying to the alarm control panel in the wall. She keyed in the passcode and the shrieking instantly died. But her ears continued to ring as though the alarm had recorded itself onto her brain.

She blew out an exasperated breath and rubbed a hand over her face. She made a mental note to examine the locks more properly in the morning. It was impossible to tell if she just hadn’t locked them as tightly as she’d originally thought, or if something was actually wrong with them, but she would make sure it didn’t happen again. Four weeks of that would drive her insane.

Relieved that it was nothing but the wind, Julie started for the stairs, eager to return to the warm folds of sleep. There were still a few precious hours before she had to deal with the world, and the Vance children, and every second of sleep counted.

Her hand had just closed on the railing when she heard it.

“Took you long enough!” came a deep, male voice from somewhere in the house.

Ice cold terror washed through her in a wave. It shrilled between her ears so she couldn’t even hear her own heart accelerate until her chest began to ache. She tasted bile when she tried to moisten her lips and swallowed rapidly.

The hallway was stamped with pale patches of moonlight that spilled freely from the windows in the kitchen. Whoever was in the house hadn’t bothered turning the lights on, which furthered her assumption that it was a burglary and they hadn’t yet located the light switches. That gave her some advantage and that was all she needed.

Keeping on the toes of her feet, Julie scurried to the opposite side of the hall and pressed her sweaty back against the wall next to the sitting room entrance. She paused just long enough to suck in a breath and hold it for two heartbeats before darting a quick peek inside.

Light shone through the sheer curtains over the high windows, creating shadows over the furniture. But the room was void of human life. Yet in no way did that comfort her.

Shifting her weight to put her strongest foot forward, Julie darted further along to the next door. The kitchen. She took another breath, braced herself and started to move forward only to have something tall and menacing lurch out into her path. It would have barreled into her had she not jerked back.

Instinct, and eight years of kickboxing, took hold and Julie reacted. The bat spun expertly lengthwise in her grasp. Her arms swung left and in that same fluid motion, she thrust with the butt of the bat like a battering ram straight into her assailant’s face. The satisfying crunch of bone was swallowed by the howl of agony. The shadow stumbled back, collided into the doorframe.

Julie swooped down. Her leg shot out and she kicked the figure off his feet. He went down and she kicked him straight in the ribs. She was rewarded with another exclamation, then a weak whimper that would have been amusing any other time.

“Shaun?”

The second voice from somewhere deeper in the kitchen had Julie sidestepping to press her back into the wall just outside the door for a second time. She swung the bat over her shoulder and planted her feet shoulder-width apart, bracing her weight.

The second figure, blind in the dark and confused by the commotion, scuffled forward. Julie could hear their hesitant steps towards her. The first one snarled in pain when his buddy trampled on him by accident. Julie heard the second one stumble and catch himself on the doorframe.

“Dude, what—”

Julie swung without a second of pause. She kept her her aim low for the abdomen. It made contact with a satisfying thwack and a sound like a mouse being stomped on whooshed through the air as the second figure dropped on top of the other, earning a loud grunt of pain from his friend. He was shoved unceremoniously off and he collapsed on his side, cradling his abdomen and whining like an injured puppy.

Breathing hard, Julie scuttled back, keeping a close eye on the pair.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing here?”

Neither spoke. There was a sound like air being released from a balloon, but that was all.

“Who are you?” she snarled a second time.

Deep in the kitchen, a lock clicked. The terrace doors slid on their grates and then banged shut as a third person joined the party. Then a very bedroom-worthy voice vaulted through the room, cutting through the darkness to muffle the groans at her feet.

“Very funny locking me out, you assholes.” The soft clip of feet beat against the silence. It was moving across the room, towards Julie and the two still trying to catch their breaths. “Guys?”

Lights burst to life. Julie grimaced as the sharpness off it chased away the shadows and burned her eyes. The two on the floor groaned even louder. The one nearest her, the one that had gotten the bat to the gut, flopped over onto his back.

“Run!” he squeaked. “
T-1000
’s are attacking!”

The footsteps were hurried now. A shadow fell over the two on the floor. Julie tightened her grip on the bat.

“What the fuck—”

Julie swung, determined to take the intruder down before they could get the upper hand.

“Whoa!”

He was quick. He ducked and Julie’s bat struck the doorframe inches from his head, chipping wood and sending slivers of pain shooting up her arms. She cried out as her weapon rebounded and flew out of her hands. It clattered noisily to the floor and rolled out of reach.

Julie opened her mouth to curse only to be slammed into by a hard body. They both struck the ground, with her taking most of the blow. The impact, combined with the immense weight coming down on top of her, crushed the air from her lungs so she couldn’t even cry out. Her assailant took advantage of her momentary weakness by wrenching her arms over her head and locking them to the hardwood by the wrists.  Toned thighs settled on hers, anchoring her completely so all she could do was thrash uselessly.

“Get off me!” she snarled.

“Easy, love,” the smoky voice soothed, like he were pacifying a child who was having a wee tantrum.

The light behind him shone through dark hair, tinting the tips a soft red. Shadows painted over his features so all she could make out was the glimmer in his eyes and the slight flash of teeth in what she could have sworn was a grin.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “What do you want?”

“Honestly? I wouldn’t say no to a beer,” he replied evenly. “Maybe a smoke.” He paused. Then added more seriously, “Definitely a smoke.”

Confusion pulled at Julie. “What?”

But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the soft scuffle from above them. His head came up so she had a view of his throat. Julie had a harder time twisting her head around to see what had caught her attacker’s attention.

It was Dustin. He stood on the bottom step in his
Tony Hawk
pajamas. His glasses were slightly cocked on his nose and his eyes were enormous behind the silver frames.

Julie’s heart missed a full beat before she found her voice.

“Dustin!” She struggled against the hold still pinning her to the icy ground. “Get back upstairs!”

The boy looked from her to the guy on top of her, then at the two shuffling gingerly to their feet, but didn’t move. He seemed to be frozen in place.

Cursing inwardly, Julie acted.

With her companion’s attention fixed on the boy, Julie thrust up sharply with her hips, sending him teetering forward in surprise. He had no choice but to release her arms in order to catch his balance.

Julie rolled, twisting her torso and dislodging her hands free. He didn’t stand a chance once she was loose. He certainly wasn’t fast enough to stop her when she slammed her fist into his jaw, following it up with a knee straight up into his groin.

“Motherfaaa...”

He dropped sideways off her, holding himself and expelling a series of very creative curse words that Julie hoped to God Dustin didn’t memorize. She scrambled to her feet and threw herself at Dustin and grabbed him.

“Run!” she shouted even as she shoved him up the stairs. “Dustin, get the others. Lock yourself in my room and call the police. Go!”

But the boy was fighting her, craning his neck, and trying to look around her at the figure hunched over on his hands and knees, still swearing vividly. Then he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and spoke the last name Julie ever expected to hear.

“Mason?”

It was as though someone had torn the very ground out from under her. Her stomach lurched and dropped somewhere around her ankles as a whole new surge of dread coiled up through her body. A wave of dizziness had her swaying into the banister. She clutched at it as her insides trembled with pain and horror.

Julie turned with a slowness that made her wonder if someone had put her entire life on slow motion. Her limbs creaked, protesting the action. She had to will her legs to remain firmly beneath her while she fought to face one of her greatest nightmares.

Mason heaved unsteadily to his feet, using the wall as leverage, and turned furious blue eyes on her. “Are you out of your damn mind, lady?”

He stumbled awkwardly to the light switches next to the alarm panel and smacked them on with a frustrated sweep of his hand. Light flared on overhead, drenching everyone in its sharp glow.

Julie winced, but it had nothing to do with being blinded.

He’d gotten wider around the shoulders and the width of his chest, and his dark hair was longer, more unruly, but he was still six feet of rugged beauty. Even with the scowl knotting his brows together, his features were perfect, clean cut and chiseled. His eyes were an impossible blue and his lips looked like they would feel like velvet. Julie had spent far too many nights dreaming of feeling that mouth on hers, until that mouth had broken her heart.

Memories of that night four years ago were what jarred her back to the present and the very big problem looming before her.

Julie fingers tightened around Dustin. “Get back upstairs. Now, Dustin!” she snapped when he remained defiant.

Shooting her a look of loathing, Dustin stomped back upstairs—literally. He slammed his feet on every step all the way to the top. There was a pause, followed by the resounding bang of his door slamming shut. Julie would have groaned if she hadn’t been caught in the resonating pulse of power that always washed off Mason. He was like a magnet, imposing and compelling. Even when they had been kids, he had a way of making people listen and do what he wanted just by walking into a room. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she had been one of them.

Mason seemed too preoccupied with keeping upright to properly look her in the face. There were also tears in his eyes. But even then, she wasn’t sure if he would recognize her. The last time they had been in the same room, she had been fifteen, a mousy thing with a mouth full of metal. And while he had never been cruel, at least never to her, he hadn’t stood up for her either that night.

As the barbs embedded around her heart burrowed just a little deeper, Julie gritted her teeth against the memory. She reminded herself that was years ago and she had moved on. Mason Brody couldn’t hurt her anymore, and yet, just the sight of him hurt.

Oblivious to the turmoil he was causing her, Mason reached down and adjusted the bulge between his legs. His face twisted in a grimace of pain that almost made her feel bad. Almost.

“It’s after two in the morning,” she said, fighting to keep her voice even as she broke the silence. “What are you doing here and why are you creeping around?”

He huffed indigently. “Did it really sound like we were
creeping
anywhere? I think we were making enough noise to wake half the town.”

He was still not looking at her. He seemed focused on unsnapping the fastens of his jeans and drawing away the cotton material of his boxers to peer down at his crotch.

“Why are you here?” she demanded, hating the way her body was tilting itself forward just a notch to also get a glimpse.

“My dad owns half of this place!” he snapped back. “So if anyone should be asking questions, I think it should be me.” He elevated his weight from one leg to the other again. Then gave his left leg a shake and winced. “Jesus Christ you lunatic! Didn’t anyone ever tell you, you never hit a guy there? I’d like to have kids one day.”

Julie narrowed her eyes. “You attacked me. I was defending myself and my charges from a pack of criminals for all I knew.”

He visibly bristle at the implication of being a criminal. His hands fumbled as he fought refastened his pants.

“Well, you know what, lady—”

“Okay, wait!” The guy who had caught the length of her bat in the stomach leaped forward, hands up. “Let’s all calm down.” He turned to Julie. “There’s clearly been some kind of misunderstanding here. Why don’t we move this into the kitchen and discuss it like adults?”

While he asked the question openly, his gaze was on Mason, who was still having trouble doing up his pants without rubbing the stiff material against his private parts.