On the Line (31 page)

“No.” Nathan squeezed her hand, and she didn’t want to hear what she knew he was
about to say.

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t even suggest it.”

“Janelle, who else?” he asked. “She was his biggest cheerleader, even after he died.
You said yourself she kept pushing you to go back to him until the end.”

“I don’t care what you think, if she’d known what he had planned, she wouldn’t have
given him a key,” Janelle snapped as she ripped her hand from Nathan’s.

“Maybe she didn’t know the truth,” Kelsey muttered.

Janelle’s head snapped toward her sister’s voice. “Kelsey?” she asked. “You can’t
possibly think our mother would do that, regardless.”

Kelsey looked up, and Janelle saw the sadness in her sister’s face. “Actually I can,”
she replied and took a deep, shaky breath. “Patrick and I talked about it while I
was in the hospital. How else do you explain Richard getting in and out of the house
without you even knowing it, Janelle? You haven’t exactly been a light sleeper since
Zach was born, but if he didn’t make any noise, you may not have heard him. If he
had broken a window or smashed in a door, you’d have been at the top of the stairs
before he set foot on the bottom one.”

“But, Kelsey,” Janelle whined as an icy finger poked at her heart. “Our mother would
not have agreed to a kidnapping.”

“Probably not,” Kelsey agreed as she shrugged her shoulder, “but she would have agreed
to revenge against me.”

Janelle’s eyes widened and her gaze bounced from one face to the other—Kelsey’s face
held a quiet, resigned strength Janelle wasn’t familiar with, Nathan’s countenance
was uncomfortable and wary. Janelle opted to tackle the wariness.

“Nathan, I still can’t believe you would suggest such a thing. This investigation
isn’t even yours, you shouldn’t even be looking into it,” Janelle said.

“Someone has to, Jan.” Nathan clasped his hands in front of him. “It’s gone on long
enough, someone should have already looked into how he got into the house. I’m tempted
to go to the station on Monday and say something.”

“Don’t you dare,” Janelle snapped. She felt faint at the idea of someone suspecting
her mother of having anything to do with this whole incident. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I want it settled,” Nathan growled. “I want the case closed so you and I
can have a normal life.”

“We’ve never had a normal life, Nathan.” Janelle pushed away from the counter and
pressed her hips against the sink.

“I think it’s about time we start then, don’t you?” he asked, imploring and vulnerable
as his eyes rounded on her face.

Her mouth went dry.

The longer he had to wait for her answer, the more uneasy Nathan became. He looked
across the island at Kelsey who had her head down, her hand hovering over her phone.
She glanced at him briefly then picked up her phone and left the room as quickly
as she could. Nathan stood and moved to stand in front of Janelle then propped himself
against the kitchen island as he crossed his arms in front of him.

“Janelle,” he said softly. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“I don’t know, Nathan,” she answered, shaking her head.

“What do you not know?” Nathan questioned calmly as his heart skipped every other
beat. “Do you still think we made a mistake?” She shrugged and he wanted to reach
out and give her a light shake.

“I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry.” Janelle cast a brief glance toward the living
room. “I want you in Zoe’s life, Nathan. You’re her father, and I’ve always known
you’d be a good one. She needs that.” Janelle took a step closer. “I didn’t mean
to hurt you, don’t you know that?”

“No, I don’t. Because you did just that,” Nathan replied, tamping down the sting
of the truth. “And I want to be a part of Zoe’s life too, but more importantly, I
want to be a part of yours.”

“Isn’t it a package deal?” Janelle said with a flippant wave of her hand.

Nathan scowled at her as he straightened. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

Janelle lowered her eyes and backed away.

“Is this about your nightmare? Do you regret sleeping with me again?” Nathan asked
as he closed the distance between them.

“My nightmare?” Her face paled as she looked up at him.

He nodded. “You know, the one you had before you woke up screaming and made me leave.”
He watched her swallow and his heart lurched as he continued,“Do you think your subconscious
was trying to tell you something?”

“No,” Janelle mouthed. “It’s my mother. I hear her voice in my head, always criticizing,
always fussing. She tells me those things in my nightmares when I can’t shut her
out.” Janelle took a step and raised a shaky hand to rest on his arm. “I thought
I’d escaped her lessons and her teachings, but when I sleep, she’s there, drilling
her rules into my head and telling me where I’ve
failed. I can never make her proud.
I’m not a good daughter or mother, and I sucked at being a wife, Nathan.”

His heart broke to see this strong woman reduced almost to tears because of her mother’s
constant badgering and criticisms. He wrapped her in his arms, his anger and fear
momentarily forgotten. She needed him again and he needed to be there for her. “Do
you want a normal life with me, Jan?” he asked softly as she sniffled against his
chest.

She nodded. “I think so.”

He smiled and exhaled slowly. “I’ll take it.”
For now
. He hated doing it, but he
broke the embrace. “I should go home now.” As he turned to leave, her small hand
gripped his wrist.

“Please stay,” she said softly.

He met her gaze and swallowed the lump in his throat. He’d been waiting for that
request for four days. “Are you sure?”

She closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek. “Yes,” she whispered across
his ear and he was instantly aroused.

Twenty-Two

Once the kids were in bed and Janelle was certain they were asleep, she led Nathan
upstairs to her bedroom. Regardless of what nightmares she might have, she was determined
she would not be sending him home before morning.

She heard the lock of the door behind her and she turned to face him. Before he could
question her surety about this, for the umpteenth time since she’d invited him to
stay, she pressed her lips against his. His lips were soft, but firm, and tasted
like the icing from the cake they’d had after putting the kids to bed. He wrapped
his arms around her as she slid hers around his neck and heat radiated from every
point their bodies touched, pooling low in her abdomen.

Their lips still connected, she began to back toward the bed, pulling him with her
as her hands lowered to the tail of his shirt. She slipped her hands under it and
pressed her palms to his stomach. The muscles under her hands quivered and he broke
the kiss. Panting for air, he looked into her eyes and held her gaze.

“Jan, are you—”

Her hand covered his mouth and she stepped closer until their noses were almost touching.
“Don’t you dare ask if I’m sure again or I may have to gag you,” she whispered.

His eyes darkened a little more as they widened. She felt his smile grow under her
palm and she slowly moved her hand to reveal his wicked grin.

“Don’t tease me,” he said then quickly covered her lips with his again.

She nipped his bottom lip as she slid her hand back under his shirt. Slowly, she
skimmed her hand up his rippled torso, lightly tracing her fingers across his skin.
He groaned and pressed his lips against hers harder, sucking
on her lower lip as
she raised the fabric to his chin. When they separated so she could pull the shirt
over his head, she met his lusty stare and became lightheaded with giddiness.

She tossed his top over his shoulder toward the foot of the bed as he reached for
the bottom of hers. He wasted no time in removing it, and it quickly joined his.
Janelle laughed lightly as he yanked her against his chest and reached for the clasp
of her bra.

“Slow down,” she giggled. She placed her hands on either side of his face. “I have
plans.”

Nathan’s eyebrow lifted, and he dropped his hands to her waist as her bra fell off
her shoulders and down her arms. “Oh really?”

Janelle nodded, lowered her hands, and let the bra drop to the floor. She turned
them so the back of his legs were against the bed, then gave him a light shove. His
rear landed on the mattress and his hands went to the waistband of her pants. She
swatted them away and shook her head as she inched closer.

“Not yet,” she whispered across his ear and heard a stifled groan. She slowly went
down to her knees, sliding her breasts against the length of his torso as her hands
moved to his hips. Her fingertips slipped under his waistband and she dragged her
knuckles against his skin to the front of his jeans.

She popped the button, unzipped them, then grabbed his underwear and jeans and lowered
them at the same time. He lifted so she could ease them completely over his buttocks
and down his long, lean legs. Her eyes fell to his manhood, standing at attention
and staring at her. She lifted her face to his, met his curious gaze, and smiled.

“What are you doing?” Nathan asked, panting laboriously, his voice thick with desire,
the gold flecks in his eyes dancing against the dark brown.

She allowed her grin to widen slightly then lowered her head as she held his stare.

Nathan inhaled sharply through his teeth as her mouth closed around him and his eyes
rolled back into his head. Was she trying to kill him? If so, she couldn’t have picked
a sweeter torture. Her tongue was warm and wet and
caressing him in ways he hadn’t
been touched in a long time. He felt slightly faint as the blood rushed from his
head and directly to the part of him being massaged by her tongue and teeth and warmed
by her breath.

He focused on inhaling slowly, counting to three, releasing the air, repeat, for
as long as he could. When he felt ready to explode, he gently pushed her head away.

“Enough,” he croaked.

She gave him a large, innocent grin as she rose to her feet. Her hands made quick
work of her jeans, and before his sluggish brain could comprehend what she was doing,
she had her pants off and on the floor at their feet.

“Slide back.” She motioned toward the middle of the bed and he did as he was told.

As he adjusted against the headboard, she retrieved a condom from the open box in
the drawer of her nightstand. She crawled onto the bed and positioned herself over
his knees, straddling him as she reached for him. He tried not to whimper as her
hand wrapped around his erection and slid the condom on.

She tossed the wrapper onto the floor and inched up his thighs. She lifted to her
knees and positioned herself over him. He raised his hands to her hips to hold her
steady as he met her brilliant blue gaze. She had a Cheshire-like grin on her lips,
and his heart raced. He’d never seen the take-charge side of her in the bedroom,
but he liked it. He hoped it was a good sign of things to come.

“Are you ready?” she murmured, and he was hypnotized by the movement of her lips
as she spoke.

His mouth felt like a desert, so he nodded. Janelle bent over and met his lips with
hers as she slowly lowered herself onto him until he was completely inside. She pulled
her face away and threw her head back as she gasped for air. Had he hurt her? He
couldn’t remember ever being in this position with her.

“You okay?” he ground out as the simple act of trying to sit up pushed him deeper
and she constricted slightly.

Her features relaxed. “Yes,” she uttered, and he watched the corners of her mouth
turn up. She looked at him again, fire in her eyes as she slowly raised herself then
lowered again.

He groaned as he took her mouth with his and didn’t wait for the invitation to force
his tongue past her lips. As she moved on him, he mimicked the motion with his tongue.
He slid one hand up her side and grabbed one of her breasts, massaging lightly but
taking time to pinch her nipples every now and then, simply to hear her whimper.