Maureen Child - Up Close and Personal

She gritted her teeth at the easy endearment, knowing it meant nothing.

Smiling now, he gave Beast one last pat on the head, then stood up and paced off a few steps before turning and walking back to her. He stopped in the circle of the lamplight and looked down at her thoughtfully. “You see, I’ve done some thinking, and I’ve figured out what the problem is.”

“Congratulations,” she snapped, scooting to the other side of the mattress. She couldn’t stay in her bed and talk to him. It was disconcerting. Tempting. And oh, how she hated to admit that, even to herself. Once her feet were firmly on the floor she added, “Now, go away.”

Still smiling, he walked around the bed and came close to her. Here, there were more shadows. The golden glow of the lamp didn’t reach this far. She refused to back up and let him corner her against the wall. So she stood her ground.

“Don’t you want to know what it is I’ve discovered?”

“Will it make you leave if I say yes?”

He grinned. “It might.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What is it then?”

“This isn’t about keeping my dog from me,” he said, reaching out to lay both hands on her bare shoulders.

God, why had she worn a tank top to sleep in? She should have worn flannel. Head to toe.

Heat from his palms slid into her system and washed through her like a fever. She had to fight her own reaction to him. Her own instinct to lean into that broad chest. To go up and kiss that mouth that had done so many amazing things to her such a short while ago.

“I know what you really want, Laura,” he said and bent down until they were eye to eye. “And I came here tonight to tell you, you don’t have to try this hard to get back into my bed. You’ve only to ask.”

Time stopped.

Later, Laura would think she must have been struck dumb to be able to remain speechless for so much as a second after that incredible statement. But she wasn’t quiet for long.

“You dolt.”

“What?”

She brushed his hands off her arms, and then planted both palms on his chest and shoved hard enough to rock him back a couple of steps.

“Neanderthal.”

“There’s no reason for all of this, Laura,” he said, that accent of his dancing along her nerve endings, promising romance.

She fought past it.

“Are you crazy? You really think I took Beast to get you back?”

“What other reason would there be?” he asked, irritation now sparking in eyes that were still glinting with desire.

“Oh, I don’t know. Because I felt sorry for the dog? Because I didn’t want to see him abandoned? Because I think you’re a big jerk who doesn’t deserve Beast?”

“Now just hang on—”

“No.”

“So you’re saying you feel nothing for me,” he said, taking a stand, unmovable no matter how hard she pushed.

“I am,” she said, glaring at him since that was all that was left to do.

“You’re a liar.”

“You—”

He swooped in then. Simply grabbed her up, yanked her in close and claimed her mouth in a kiss that stole what breath she had and fogged her mind. Sensations coursed through her in a wild stream. The feel of his mouth on hers. The taste of him. His strong arms holding her pinned to his chest. All of these things and more tied her up into so many knots, Laura was helpless to unravel any of them.

And she didn’t care to.

Instead, she surrendered to the lush moment. Gave herself up to the rush of being in Ronan’s arms again. Even though she knew it was a mistake she would regret deeply in the morning, for this one instant, she simply let herself feel.

And just as she was really beginning to enjoy herself, it was over.

He let her go and took a step back. Even with her mind reeling, she saw amusement in his eyes again and wanted to kick herself.

“I think we’ve both got our answers now,” he said.

“Get out,” she whispered.

Behind them, Beast whimpered.

“All right.”

Surprised, she watched him warily. “Just like that?”

He shrugged. “I’ll not stay when you tell me to go. But I won’t stay away, Laura. What’s between you and me isn’t done, is it?”

“Yes,” she said, realizing how stupid that sounded coming from a woman who had just willingly given herself up to a kiss hot enough to burn down the house. “It is.”

He reached out, cupped her cheek in one palm and stroked her skin with his thumb. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

“Why, Ronan? You left two months ago without looking back. Why do you care now?”

He let his hand drop. “There’s something you’re not telling me, Laura. You want me, that’s easy enough to see …”

She grimaced and huffed out a breath.

“But it’s more than that, and I think you know it. There’s something … else. And I’ll know what it is before we’re done.”

She was in trouble, and she knew it. Her own body betrayed her when she was around Ronan. And she knew, if he put his mind to it, he would discover the truth about the surprise pregnancy that had ended in a miscarriage. Maybe Georgia was right. Maybe she should just tell him.

But the baby was her secret. Her loss.

She’d known from the first that there was no future in a relationship with Ronan. The day he’d walked into their real estate office and told her in brief, concise terms exactly what he wanted. What he needed from her. And maybe it had been the Irish accent that had done most of the seducing. But it hadn’t mattered in the end. She’d allowed herself to be swept up into an affair that had burned so brightly, it had gone to ash before its time.

“Now, see there,” he whispered. “It’s that flash of something … off … in your eyes that intrigues me. You’ve a secret, Laura.”

“No, I don’t,” she lied.

He laughed and shook his head. “All women have their secrets, darlin’,” he said, “and all men find a way to reveal them.”

“Sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Of course he was. It was one of the things she’d liked most about him. At first.

“Be foolish of me not to be, wouldn’t it?”

He would see it like that. Laura had never known a man as self-confident, as completely convinced of the rightness of everything he did, as Ronan Connolly. She envied that as much as it irritated her. Which was, she was forced to admit, quite a lot.

He turned to go.

“What about Beast?” she asked.

He shot a look at the dog that had moved to stand in front of Laura, like a big, furry shield. A smile curved Ronan’s mouth briefly. “He can stay with you. For now.”

Laura’s fingers curled into the dog’s long, shaggy hair. “Ronan?”

He stopped and looked back at her. The lamplight didn’t climb as high as his face, so his features, his eyes, were in shadow when she asked, “Why is it so important to you? Why do you care what my secrets are?”

A long moment of silence stretched out until all she heard was Beast’s gentle breathing and the tap of rain at the window. Just as she decided he wasn’t going to answer her at all, he spoke.

“Because I want what’s mine, Laura Page.”

“But I’m not yours.”

“You were,” he reminded her, “and if those secrets still belong to me, I’ll have them before we’re done.”

He left her then, quietly closing the door behind him.

Laura dropped onto the edge of the bed, finally giving in to the weakness in her knees. She lifted one hand to her mouth and swore she could still feel the buzz of his kiss sliding through her.

Then she sighed.

He hadn’t returned her key.

Laura got a late start the next morning.

While Georgia was out dealing with business at the post office, Laura stayed home to wait for the locksmith. Once all of the locks had been changed, she felt safe enough to leave Beast at home and go into the office.

Of course, her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep and her temper was more than a little on edge. And it was all Ronan’s fault.

This wasn’t right, she told herself as she unlocked the real estate office and flipped the sign on the door to ‘open’. She was supposed to be free of Ronan. Getting on with her life. Getting him out of her system.

The phone rang and she snatched at it gratefully. “Brand New Page Realty,” she said, plastering a smile she didn’t feel onto her face.

“You’re late today,” Ronan answered.

“Had to wait for a locksmith,” she told him, with just a bit of satisfaction. “Oh, feel free to throw that key away now.”

He chuckled. “Think I’ll be keeping it in the way of a souvenir.”

“You want keepsakes now?” she asked, sitting at her desk and riffling through the stack of mail. Bill. Bill. Bill. She sighed, tossed them to the desktop and leaned back in her chair.

Through the front window, the only signs of yesterday’s storm were the puddles in the street and the soaked piles of leaves that had been torn from trees. Thanks to the rain, the sky was a brilliant blue and the cold wind that rushed in off the ocean was drying everything out quickly.

“It wasn’t so long ago that you were telling me we were through,” she reminded him.

“Times change,” he countered and as he spoke, a long, black car pulled up in front of her shop.

Laura watched the driver of the car get out and she shook her head as she met Ronan’s gaze through the window. He was holding his cell phone to his ear and grinning at her.

“You know, it’s illegal to drive in California while holding your phone.”

“Ah, but I’m a dangerous man who likes a risk.”

He really was dangerous. To her peace of mind if nothing else. But damned if she’d let him know it. She’d spent hours during a long sleepless night berating herself for giving in to that kiss. No way was she going to slip up again.

Ronan was like any other bad habit.

The only way to quit was cold turkey.

“What are you doing here?”

He walked around his car, pushed open the door and a bell overhead jangled to announce him. Only then did he shut off his phone and tuck it into a pocket of his black slacks. “Giving you another chance to show me how much you want me.”

“God, you’re an impossibly arrogant man.”

“If you think that’s insulting, you’d be wrong.” He walked farther into the room. “I do wonder though, why you’re so on edge around me. Didn’t used to be.”

“Times change,” she shot back, throwing his own words at him as she set the phone back into its cradle.

“I like a woman with a temper,” he said. “Call it a flaw.”

“The very notion that you’re willing to admit to a flaw might ordinarily be a cause for celebration—”

He smiled as if everything she said amused him, and it probably did. That smile of his, along with the accent that seemed to ripple over her skin like a caress was a formidable weapon to a man who already had too many at his disposal.

“You’ve left Beast at home then?” He glanced around the office then back to her.

“He’s fine. And he knows I’ll be back.”

“Whereas, he wept and pined for me in my absence?” he asked.

Frowning, she shuffled the bills into a neat pile all while keeping one wary eye on him. “Ronan, why are you here?”

“To tell you I’ll be gone a few days.”

In spite of everything, she felt a ping of disappointment. Stupid. She should be glad he was leaving again. “So you’re proving my point about Beast. You’re gone more than you’re home.”