The Baby Bargain (4 page)

“Can you just forget? Is it really that simple?”

He dropped his gaze to her face. Down the lines of her throat, over that shirt to
her jeans. “Not you. The rest, yeah. But you…” He shut his laptop. Then reached down,
lifted Megan, and swung her up from the chair to sit on the table. “You’re the one
thing in this town that I need to taste again.” Kicking the chair out of his way,
he wedged his hips between her thighs and ran his palms up her bare arms.

He felt the goose bumps rise on her skin, saw the flush spread over her face and chest.
He affected her as much as she did him. He lowered his head and drew his lips over
hers. Then he caught her bottom lip and sucked gently. Tasted strawberries, dark chocolate,
and pure Meg.

The leash he’d kept on his raging lust snapped. He wrapped an arm around her waist,
pulling her into his erection. He sank his other hand into her silky hair, tugging
her head back and invading her mouth. Deep and possessive, he wanted all of her, as
much as he could have.

She dug her fingers into his biceps and kissed him back. The sweet, somewhat timid
girl he remembered? Vanished. This woman invaded him with the same fierce passion.
Her hands slid around him, snaking beneath his shirt to knead his back.

More. It wasn’t enough.

Adam broke the kiss, every cell in his body aching, needing. Wanting. She’d never
been this fiery, this responsive. Oh, she’d been hot in that girl-next-door way. But
this?

The woman of his most erotic dreams. She touched him like she couldn’t get enough.
He began working the buttons on her shirt, the filmy material slowly parting. Revealing
more, and then more, until he pushed it off her shoulders. Leaving her in a tiny,
light green bra.

Blood roared in his ears and his arousal strained against his pants. But this was
not about him. No, tonight was all about Megan. She was fuller than he remembered,
spilling over the cups just enough to drive him crazy. Molding his hands to her flesh,
he felt the silky coolness of her bra against the heat of her skin. He brushed his
thumbs over her nipples through the material.

She tightened her thighs around his hips in response.

It finally got through to his overheated brain that she was tugging on his shirt,
trying to get it off.

Adam reached back, grabbed a handful of material and pulled it off. Tossed it…somewhere.
Didn’t know, didn’t care, his attention was on her.

“Meg.”

“Adam.”

He pushed her back until she rested on her elbows. Her hair spread out on the dark
table like rivers of red and gold. She stared at him, her mouth slightly parted, her
breath coming fast.

She was so damned beautiful it made his chest ache. He never wanted Meg to know what
he truly was. The child his parents hated, and how much that hatred drove him to prove
how worthy he was.

She’d thought he was a patriot. Out saving the world.

Jesus, he’d never let her find out what was out there, the human monsters that did
unspeakable things to one another. Meg needed to be exactly where she was, in this
quaint town, saving her animals and being…

Meg.

He couldn’t have her forever, was too fucked up to have any woman or family in his
life. But for this short time? It was a gift, and he’d walk away, knowing he’d treated
her right. Given her the only good thing left in him, the ability to bring her pleasure.

“Let me give you this.” He pushed her back and caged her on the table with his arms.
Then he kissed her.

Chapter Six

Megan was on sensory overload. Adam surrounded her, his hard chest and taut stomach
pressing against her, showing her his strength.

His mouth, oh God he tasted of dark chocolate and a flavor so erotic, it made her
frantic. Dimly, she remembered the no-sex promise. As she ran her hands over his back,
all that warm, rugged skin, her fingers tripping over ridges of muscles and catching
on old scars, she was glad he’d forgotten it. Trailing down over his belt to feel
his tight butt in his jeans, she admitted the truth to herself.

She needed this. Wanted him. And just for this short while, she gave herself over
to it.

His thick arousal pressed through their jeans. He slid down, his hardness leaving
her hot center. His mouth trailed over her jaw, into the curve of her neck. His tongue
hot and wet. Shivers danced over her skin. Then he rose, hovering a few inches over
her. Cool air rushed in and she squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers digging into his
waist, trying to bring him back.

She wasn’t ready for this to end. Not yet. “Adam.” She forced her eyes open, looked
down at him.

The intensity of his stare, the harsh need pulled his face tight. “Let me. I need
to taste you. This…” He leaned on one arm, drew his other hand over her bare shoulder,
trailing over her skin with wicked heat, to the front clasp of her bra. He popped
it open and drew the material apart. He cupped one breast, sliding the pad of his
thumb over her nipple. Hot sensations shot through her, making her arch.

He made a sound deep in his throat and bent over her, drawing her other nipple into
the wet heat of his mouth. He tugged and rolled one, sucked the other. The dual sensations
rose, higher and sharper, making her moan. Her belly tightened with need. The ache
between her thighs bloomed. She couldn’t take any more.

“This I can give you,” he said. “I want to give you pleasure, Meg.”

His voice was thick, rough, sexy. The tight skin over his cheekbones had darkened
with color. He drew his hands down her stomach, his gaze hot on her skin.

Megan’s stomach clenched with a flare of worry. Did he see her stretch marks? They
were thin, silvery, hard to see against her pale skin. But what if—

His hands caught the clasp on her jeans. Unbuttoned. Unzipped. Pulled them down her
legs. In a swift motion, he slipped off her shoes and her pants. Then he was back,
pressing his hips between her legs. He sucked in a breath, his chest expanding. “Damn,
Meg. So pretty.” He drew one finger along the top edge of her matching green panties,
following the line from one hipbone to the other, then over the material to touch
her intimately through the cotton.

His jaw flexed and his throat worked as he visually drank her in.

Megan felt a wave of desire and power rush her. It burned the backs of her eyes to
see this man, so hard, so strong, a man who walked into danger over and over for his
country, who had suffered for his country, to see him look at her this way. The heat,
the need, it shattered her ability to think of anything but Adam.

He slipped his hand deeper, cupping her through her panties, touching and stroking
as she swelled and throbbed in response. He leaned over her, drawing his tongue up
her stomach to capture one aching nipple as he slid a finger beneath her panties and
deep inside her. She cried out, wrapping her arms around his head, holding him to
her as he touched and stroked her. Then he kissed back down her belly and kept going.

She couldn’t catch her breath. Her nipples were so sensitive even the air made her
shiver. Deep in her belly, tension pulled tighter and tighter. He gave her no respite.

Gently, he nipped at her hip with his teeth, then soothed the sting with his tongue.
She clenched her thighs around him. He caught her legs, pressing them wider, and settled
to his knees, staring at her panties. Raising his eyes to meet hers, his face flushed
deeper. “That is the sweetest sight. Your panties are damp, clinging to you.”

Blood roared in her ears. This was…more. Something was happening.

He kissed her through her panties, dragged his tongue over her and pressed the damp
cotton into her. Megan thumped her head back, her entire body rising. Not enough,
there was never enough of him.

One of his hands caught her hip, holding her to him. Another hand swept aside her
panties and then he was there, kissing her, as if he were drinking her in. She shattered,
erupting with hot waves of pleasure. Everything was gone but what Adam was giving
her. He stayed with her, pushing her higher, then bringing her down with soft kisses
and sending her flying apart again until she finally calmed enough to realize he was
settling her panties back into place. He loomed over her, caging her again as kissed
her.

She slipped her hands down his back, trying to get between them to touch him. She
could feel his arousal against her. He pulled her hands up and held them tucked between
their chests. Before she could open her mouth to protest, he said, “Know why I left
your panties on?”

She shook her head, unable to understand where he was going with this. She knew he
wanted her. Oh, not forever, not for a lifetime, but for sex.

“If I’d taken them off, if I’d…” He ground his jaw for a few seconds. “Tonight is
for you, Megan. I can’t give you commitment, I’m not that man.” Agony flickered in
his eyes. “I can’t be that man. Ever. But I can give you pleasure. Trust me for that.”

In that moment, when his barriers were down, she saw Adam. And what she saw broke
her heart.

…

“How did the big date go?” Sienna Lorey’s image stared at him from his laptop screen.

They often worked together via Skype when Adam traveled. Right now, he avoided his
assistant’s nosy gaze by focusing on the electronic copy of the country club blueprints.
He had walked the entire golf course, buildings, outbuildings, memorizing every detail.
“Where are the blueprints of the hotel?”

“I’m getting them. The first copy wasn’t updated with their latest remodel, so I called
and they’re sending over their most current blueprint. Now stop avoiding my question.”

He shifted his gaze from his iPad to his laptop screen. Sienna had her blond hair
pulled back in a ponytail and wore workout clothes. She was working from home, rather
than the office in L.A. today. Her glasses hid the worst of her dark circles, but
he wasn’t fooled. He hated her exhaustion.

“Rough night?” Damn, he worried about her. Was doing work with all of the guys, all
Trace’s friends, keeping her from healing? Keeping her stuck in grief?

“Get that look off your face, boss. I’m fine. You’re the one tangling with your past
right now.”

He leaned back in the chair and ran his hand over his face, glanced at the dining
room table he was currently using as a desk.

A spike of volcanic heat blasted through him at the memory of last night. The way
Meg had responded to him, the way she’d looked at him. She’d made him feel like a
god.

After she’d left, he’d showered and taken care of his raging hard-on. Then spent much
of the night going through his parents’ shit in all those boxes.

The pictures.

All these years and he still couldn’t face them. Fucking coward, that’s what he was.
He had medals proclaiming him a hero. He had given them all to his little brother.
Left them on his grave. That was the only time he had gone back to San Diego, where
Brady was buried.

He felt a warm gentle sensation on his right leg. Looking down, he saw Ellie. She
sat next to him, her head resting on his leg. She had stayed with him as he’d tried
to decide what to do with the pictures. Burn them? Put them back into storage somewhere?

“That’s it, I’m coming out there.”

Sienna’s voice jerked him from his thoughts. Fighting down the ghosts, he studied
the computer. “No. I’m fine.” Taking a breath, he said, “I saw Megan last night. We
had dinner. We’re catching up. Now can we work?” He’d asked Megan to come over tonight,
but she’d said she was busy. She couldn’t see him Sunday, either, but promised to
call him about next week. He was trying to be patient.

“Did she mention her mom running for mayor?”

He blinked. “Catherine Young?” He’d met her a few times when he and Meg had dated.
Looking back, he wondered why Megan had let him get away with avoiding family events
for the most part.

“Now Catherine Sullivan.”

Adam sat forward, startling Ellie. He put his hand on the dog’s neck, rubbing that
spot she liked beneath her chin. “That’s why I didn’t recognize her name when I checked
the club’s schedule. She’s having a fund-raiser gala at the club tonight.”

“Yep. I’ve already bought your ticket. For business, of course. You need to check
out how the staff works, find the flaws in security. After all, there will be a mixer
in the clubhouse after the gold tournament.”

Adam sighed. “Why do you jerk me around like this?”

“Be nice or I won’t have a tux sent over from the local monkey suit store.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly, “because that would break my heart.”

“Sarcasm duly noted. I also reserved one of the guest cottages at the country club
for you. You’ll want to check that out as well.”

Adam knew what Sienna was doing. He’d told her about Megan, that she was the woman
he couldn’t forget. What he hadn’t told Sienna was that he could never be the man
she wanted. There were things locked inside Adam, trapped there, that he couldn’t
talk about. He actually could not say the words. His throat would close up, strangling
him with guilt if he tried. He was that screwed up. The only time it came out was
his nightmares.

But Sienna didn’t know that, no one did. And looking around the house, he realized
that when he made love to Megan, he didn’t want it to be here, where ghosts and guilt
haunted him.

…

Megan slipped through the country club’s French doors leading to the patio to call
Bridget, her best friend and babysitter when her mother wasn’t available. She sucked
in a breath of cool air, tinged with damp chlorine from the well-lit water feature.
People milled around by the heaters, holding drinks and chatting.

Quickly, she made her way across the flagstones to the intricately designed wrought-iron
fence. She slipped her phone out and made the call. A few minutes later, she’d spoken
to Cole, telling him she loved him. Bridget was in the middle of reading his favorite
books to him. They were fine. She was spending the night, so Megan didn’t have to
worry about what time she got home.

Megan put her phone away. For a moment she stood there, her hands on the waist-high
fence, a light breeze fluttering the slit skirt of her long gown around her legs.
The moon shone down over the lush green grass of the golf course. She thought of Adam.
The way he kissed her, touched her…his tenderness had punched through her old anger.
For the first time, she understood he gave her what he had to give, with a sweet intensity
that had rocked her right to her very soul.

She sucked in a deep breath. He was truly haunted, and this town…her…they hurt him
in a way she couldn’t grasp. He had come back from war with a new edge, tougher and
more brittle. What was the right thing for her to do? Let him go without telling him?
Give him the freedom he needed from his past? She knew he hated Raven’s Cove, had
always wanted to escape it. Now he was selling the house, his last tie. If he never
knew about Cole, he would finally be free of the town. But that wronged both Adam
and Cole, and she knew it. But if she told him, then what?

She knew he wouldn’t stay in Raven’s Cove. Cole would be shuffled between them with
long car rides or trips on a plane. Growing up in two different homes.

Her throat tightened. She loved her baby so much, she wanted to protect him from any
possible pain. But that wasn’t realistic, was it?

“Dr. Young.”

She startled at the voice behind her, and her stomach clenched. Nathan McCray. He
wore a tux and too much arrogance to suit her. He was part owner of the country club,
and the golf course, which was named after him. “Mr. McCray, it’s very nice of you
to come tonight.”

“I like your mother’s ideas for the town. I’m supporting her campaign.”

Megan didn’t know where this was going. Did he think he could use his support as more
blackmail? “Thank you. I know my mother appreciates it.”

He looked around, then back at her. “Look, Dr. Young, I was angry last week in your
office. I said things I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.”

“For the bribe or the threats?” The words were out of her mouth before she thought
about them.

“That wasn’t a bribe.” He frowned at her as if she was a child. “That was a fee for
your expert testimony. You misunderstood.”

“Okay.” She didn’t trust the man, but she didn’t need him for an enemy, either.

“I still disagree with your assessment of Celtic Fire, but I was wrong to lose my
temper that way. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

“Of course.” She didn’t know if he was sincere or if this was a new tactic. “As long
as you understand that I won’t lie under oath.”

He sucked in his lips for a second. “That’s good, because lying under oath is perjury.
Enjoy your evening.” He turned and walked away.

Megan stared after him. What had that been? First he came in to her office and tried
to bribe her, then he apologized? Which was the real Nathan McCray?

A burst of laughter from inside the ballroom reminded her where she was—the fund-raising
gala. This was her mother’s night. She strolled into the sparkling grand ballroom.
One side of the room had round tables set for dinner, and beyond that, the stage with
her mother’s campaign photo and slogan on the wall.

To her left were the band and the dance floor. The far side of the room held the bar
where people surrounded her mother. Megan smiled, glad to see things were going so
well. She was headed toward her mother when she spotted her mentor, Lawrence Hamilton.