Love Me Or Lose Me (3 page)

The tremble he heard in her voice had him ready to kick his own ass. “I do, but it’ll wait.”

He’d already told his father and uncle that he wasn’t going to risk his life with Darcy so they could retire and leave the firm to him and his cousins. He wasn’t going to kill himself to prove to them that he was ready to take the reins. Thomas wouldn’t run the place into the ground, but he wouldn’t run himself there either. Unlike his father and uncle, hopefully he was going to have it all. A job and woman he loved and he’d make sure neither of them ever got short changed.

“I’m not ready to go back.” The strength in her tone ensured him she was serious.

He figured from the way she crossed her arms over her chest and the sudden straightening of her spine she didn’t like his answer. Before he could explain his plan to her, a soft knock sounded on the door. Darcy walked right past him and opened the door.

“Hi.” Scarlett glanced at him then looked back at Darcy. “Dinner is packed up in the fridge. I’m going to Cale’s for the night so you two can talk.”

Darcy shook her head. “Scarlett you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” Scarlett laughed as she leaned further into the room. “And to tell the truth, Cale’s house is probably a disaster so with me there I might actually get him to clean up a little.”

Thomas could tell Darcy was really uncomfortable being left alone with him, and though her distance was killing him, he knew what he had to do. “Scarlett, I’ll tell you what, I’ll spend the night at Cale’s. Darcy and I can get together tomorrow morning for breakfast and talk.”

“But you just got here.” Scarlett protested while Darcy stood there staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

“It’s okay, because I’m not leaving until I make Darcy see I’ve learned my lesson.” He headed for the door, but when he reached Darcy’s side, he stopped.

He yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. He expected her to fight him at least a little, but she threw her arms around his neck and closed the distance between their bodies. Thomas tightened his arms around her, crushing her to him. He groaned at the feel of her breasts against his chest, and he slid his thigh between hers as he lifted her onto her toes. Their tongues teased each other in a fervent game of cat and mouse. Holding her like this knowing he might not ever get the chance again was a vile form of self-imposed torture. He slowly released her and stepped back. Without a word, he turned away and moved for the door. He stopped for a second to kiss Scarlett, who had leaned back against the door, on the cheek, and then walked away. Her brothers followed him down the hall.

As they were going out the front door, he heard Scarlett say, “Wow! That was pretty impressive.”

He waited for a minute, but Darcy didn’t respond. And she didn’t come after him either, which really sucked. Thomas closed the door already trying to come up with what his next step should be.

Chapter Three

“I can’t believe he’s here,” Darcy mumbled to the ceiling.

She rolled over and slammed her fist into the pillow a few times before stuffing it back under her head. She was too wired to sleep, and too confused to even watch the lamest TV show. The problem was she just didn’t know what to make of things. His coming after her was a big enough shock, but that kiss fried whatever thought processors her brain had left. She’d spent the past few hours talking with Scarlett about what she should do next. Obviously, she wasn’t going to be able to resist him. Hell, she’d never been able to in the past, why should that change now? A smile, or crook of his finger, and she was ready to climb onto his lap like a good naughty girl ought to. Jeez, just thinking about kissing him had her wanting to do it again. Thankfully, Scarlett had gone to bed so she didn’t have to explain this all to her.

She wasn’t going to let his ability to turn her into a willing hoyden sway her. There was more to a relationship than sex, no matter how spine bending or mind melting that sex was. In her opinion, there was a lot more. Darcy wanted to be able to have a normal conversation about everyday things. She needed to know he wanted it too. They used to do all sorts of things together. They’d gone to movies, out to dinner, and even the occasional shopping trip if she promised to buy him something special. Those were some of the most fun and memorable, and sometimes even boring times of her life.

She wanted to know he still wanted to do those things with her, whether he liked it or not. Darcy used to sit through baseball, hockey, and football games with him. Normally she wouldn’t have chosen to watch the games by herself. However, if he wanted to watch a NASCAR race she was always up for that, for which she could blame her mother who was a NASCAR fanatic and raised her and her siblings on it. But even though she didn’t enjoy the other sports she watched them with him and they enjoyed spending the time together. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken the time to watch a game. It should have comforted her that she wasn’t the only thing he’d been ignoring lately, but it didn’t.

Thomas was right about one thing, they needed to talk. Preferably without any more kissing until she worked a few things out. She flicked through the channels not even stopping long enough to see what was on before giving up and shutting the TV off. Too restless to sleep, she got up and walked over to the window. If she had stayed home, she and Thomas would be in bed wrapped in each other’s arms, but with the morning light things would go back to him being buried in his work and her trying to get his attention. She wondered what he was doing right now. Were her brothers keeping him entertained? Had they all turned in for the night?

Impulsively, she scooped up her cell phone and dialed his cell number. It was late and he was probably asleep by now. She half hoped he would answer, but at the time she had no idea what she’d say if he did. On the third ring, she was about to hang up when he answered.

“Hello Darcy,” he whispered.

“Hi. Did I wake you up?” she asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“No. I was just lying here wondering what you were doing.” His confession sounded genuine.

“I should be sleeping, but I took a nap when I got here.” She rambled, and she hated when people rambled.

“I napped on the plane,” he said a little louder, but still in soft tone. “So now we’re both wide awake and you’re there and I’m here. If we were together, we could wear each other out.”

“I don’t think that would a very good idea right now.” She hoped he finally grasped the fact that sex wasn’t going to fix what was wrong between them.

“Okay, no hanky-panky. How about a walk? Can you sneak out?” He sounded hopeful, which pleased her immensely.

She glanced over her shoulder at the warm fire and back out the window where the trees swayed in the wind. Darcy wasn’t sure shy she was stalling when she wanted to see him. It would be worth spending some time in the cool night air if she was with him.

Done debating, she said, “Yeah, Scarlett’s sleeping, but it’s a little chilly out there tonight.”

“Bundle up. I really want to see you.” There was something in is tone that pulled her in.

“All right.” She conceded, hoping she wasn’t making another mistake, in a very long line.

“I’ll be there in about five minutes.” He ended the call without saying goodbye.

Darcy tiptoed into Scarlett’s room careful not to wake her. She crouched down and took a pair of baggy sweatpants and matching hooded sweatshirt from her duffle bag and tossed them onto the chair by the bathroom door. Unable to find a thick enough pair of socks in her bag, she turned and started sliding open drawers of Scarlett’s dresser intent on borrowing a pair of hers. When she opened the bottom drawer, she spotted a stack of envelopes tied together with a thin blue sparkly ribbon.

“Top drawer on the right.” Scarlett’s voice filled the air and Darcy was so surprised she fell backwards onto her ass, hard.

“How long have you been awake?” Darcy asked as she slid the drawer shut.

“I was never asleep.” She climbed from the bed looking so cute in her pink and purple plaid flannel pajamas.

Darcy got to her feet and watched as Scarlett walked over and opened the drawer. She reached in pulled out a pair of socks and gloves and tossed them to her. Darcy barely caught them. Scarlett smiled as she turned and walked into the bathroom. Once the door was closed Darcy quickly changed out of her shorts and t-shirt into the sweats. She’d just sat on the edge of the bed and started pulling a sock on when Scarlett re-entered the room. Scarlett didn’t climb back into the bed, instead she walked over to the closet and pulled out a fur lined fleece jacket and tossed it onto the bed.

“You’re going to be nice and warm, but you’re not going to look very attractive. Are you sure you want to see him like that?” Scarlett asked as she climbed back into the bed.

“Maybe it’ll keep him from kissing me.” Darcy laughed at her own joke, but Scarlett didn’t join her.

“If I were you, I’d be doing whatever I could to get another kiss like that.” Scarlett sighed and dropped beck against the pillows.

“His kisses aren’t the problem. It’s all mom’s fault you know.” Darcy yanked on the other sock with a little more force than necessary.

Scarlett popped up onto her elbows. “Whoa, I must have missed something. I know we like to blame her for a lot of stuff, but just how are your issues with Thomas mom’s fault?”

“Easy. She’s the one who always left those romance novels around for us to read.” Darcy shoved her hands on her hips. “Tell me, how are we supposed to settle for anything less than true love and utter devotion now?”

Scarlett dissolved into a fit of laughter. It was true. Their mother had three loves in her life. Their father, epic romances, and NASCAR racing. She’d taken it so far that Darcy, Rhett, and Scarlett were all named for characters. Jarrett and Cale were named after drivers
Ned Jarrett
and
Cale Yarborough
, both powerhouses in the sixties and two of her mother’s favorites. Their father had loved their mother so much he did everything he could to make their life together one that could match the stories she loved so much. So with two role models like that, it was going to be hard for anyone to live up to those standards. Thomas had though, she thought with a smile.

She heard a soft knock and jumped. “That’s him.”

“Well, don’t keep him waiting.” Scarlett jumped out of the bed and shoved her towards the door.

Darcy practically ran down the hall skidding to a stop in front of the door. She looked back at Scarlett who gave her a thumbs up and a big smile. Her hand trembled as she closed it around the door knob. She took a deep breath and let it out as she opened the door. Thomas smiled and Darcy gripped the knob tighter to keep from throwing herself at him. He looked pretty much the same as earlier, damn hot. The only real difference was the leather jacket, hat, and gloves he’d added to the skin tight jeans. It made him look even sexier than normal if that was possible.

She stepped outside closing the door behind her. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He held out his and she slipped hers into it without thinking. “Did you have any trouble getting out?”

“No, Scarlett was all for me sneaking out. It turns out she was awake the whole time.” Thomas chuckled and Darcy joined him.

“Did you run into any issues?” she asked, her breath coming out in little white puffs due to the cool night in air.

“No. Damn, it’s colder than I thought it would be.” He moved closer, his shoulder rubbing against hers as they moved.

Darcy leaned into him, relishing the slight friction between them. “It isn’t unusual to have a few chilly nights in the spring up in the hills. It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks it’ll be so hot Scarlett will need to open the windows at night to cool things off.”

 “Darcy, I know we said no kissing,” he stopped walking and looked into her eyes, “but can we please share a little body heat?”

“I think that would be a really, really good idea.” She slid her arm around his back, and he slipped his around her shoulders.

They walked along the bumpy dirt with the moon and stars lighting their way. It was so different from the lights of the city, but beautiful all the same. The sounds around them were muted, the air brisk and clean. All she wished for at that moment was that they could duck into their favorite little coffee shop two blocks from their apartment and grab a couple of hot cocoas. Darcy spotted a car pulled off to the side of the road ahead of them and slowed her already unhurried gait. They got a little closer and she recognized it as her brother Cale’s Jeep.

“Did you swipe the keys or did he hand them over willingly?” She asked a little surprised that Cale let him take his precious toy.

“I’m sure he would have given them to me if I asked, but he was snoring so soundly I just didn’t have the heart to wake him.”

She knew just how strident her brother’s snore could get. “That explains your need to get out of the house.”

“I could have survived, but passing up the chance to see you was too much.”

“You know all this sweet talk isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“I know.” He nodded. “But it’s a start. How about we sit in the car and warm up a little before we head back?”

Darcy thought back to the first time she had sat in a parked car with a guy to whom she hadn’t been related. She’d just turned sixteen and the boy hadn’t been much older. It had started off so innocently, but had led to steamy windows and some serious fumbling around. Being a good girl, she hadn’t let things go too far, and lucky for both her and the guy they hadn’t gotten caught.

The last time was when she was in college. The guy had been a second stringer on the football team that she was tutoring. He’d been a little too hands on, and she’d had to teach him a lesson overzealous boys had been learning throughout the ages. She figured it fit in with the modern history guidelines. At the time she’d hoped someone would come by and ask what they were doing, but no one did.

If anything got started with Thomas— which would be almost impossible since the Jeep had bucket seats in the front and a tiny ass back seat— the chances of them getting caught were null. Worse Darcy knew she’d be more than willing to let things go all the way even though she shouldn’t until they worked things out.

So she surprised herself when she said, “Sure.”

Thomas stumbled, but recovered quickly. She wondered if it was due to the bumpy dirt road, or if he was surprised too. He glanced over at her and she got her answer. His smile was a little too big.

“Did you think I would say no?” she asked as they reached the car.

“Yes, and I’m man enough to admit it.” They both laughed and for a minute it felt like nothing was wrong between them.

He opened the driver’s door and motioned for her to get in. Always the gentleman she thought as he closed the door and rounded the hood. He climbed in beside her and handed her the keys. She started the car knowing they’d have to wait a few minutes for the car to warm up before they could crank the heat up. Not liking the silence that had settled over them, she reached for the radio, but Thomas grasped onto her wrist stopping her. As he moved their arms back, he slid his hand from her wrist and slipped her hand into his.