Chapter 3 #2
I needed to shift gears and come up with a plan, specifically a plan that involved her not being here for the entire month I was supposed to be here.
Whether that meant me leaving or finding some way to get her to leave, it needed to be one or the other.
There was no way I could tolerate a full month here with her. The temptation would be too great.
The coffee maker beeped, and I spun around.
I filled a mug with straight black coffee, exactly how I liked it.
I took a few sips before jogging out to my car.
In the surprise of finding Audrey last night, I hadn't unloaded the car.
I carted in some file boxes for cases I was working on, along with my laptop.
I set up a workstation at the dining room table and sat down to plow through my email.
I might be taking a month off from active duty on cases, but I would be monitoring and doing online work from a distance.
I was scrolling through my email when I heard footsteps on the stairs.
I took a gulp of my coffee, bracing myself.
Audrey walked through the archway and looked over at me.
Seeing her was like a kick straight to my chest. My pulse rocketed and my entire body tightened.
This response was the very reason I’d found it convenient to avoid holiday visits with her family ever since that fateful afternoon when she’d caught me off guard and I'd fallen prey to the desire beating like a drum in my body.
Her glossy dark hair was damp and fell straight over her shoulders, brushing the tops of her breasts.
I might not be able to see them through her loose T-shirt, but I knew exactly how they felt against me.
I had a vivid memory of the weight of her breasts in my palms. Because that's how far I'd let things go that one afternoon five long years ago now. She’d been only nineteen years old at the time, while I’d been looking ahead to thirty.
If anything, she'd only gotten more alluring in the time since.
Her hazel eyes caught mine as she stepped across the room and slipped into the chair at an angle across from me.
She flipped her hair off her shoulder and met my eyes. Damn. I could’ve lost myself in her eyes for days—layers of green, gold and nutmeg, the color shifting the way shadows moved in the trees and leaves fluttered in the wind.
“Good morning,” she said simply, her voice husky with sleep.
Thank fuck I was seated at the table, which hid my instant erection. I took another sip of coffee. “Morning. There's coffee in the kitchen if you’d like some.”
“I might get some in a minute. What did my dad say last night?” she asked.
After his call and our brief talk, she’d gone to bed, which had been for the best. I’d needed her out of sight to get a grip and to keep my hands to myself.
“He was checking to see how my drive went and if all was okay with the house. If I didn't explain last night, your dad asked me to stay for the month until after the New Year passes,” I explained.
Audrey nodded, idly twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “Yeah, he's been worried about those break-ins in the area.”
“Reason to worry from what I hear.”
Haven’s Bay, like many coastal towns in Maine, had plenty of houses that sat empty all winter. They were prime pickings for thieves looking for a quick buck and things to sell.
She glanced around the room, her eyes coming back to me. “Well, the house seems fine.”
“I did a check around last night except for your bedroom. Everything is as it should be. I'm assuming you would've said something if there was something amiss in there.”
She nodded quickly. “Of course. It's fine.”
She went quiet, still twirling her hair around her finger, her eyes watching me.
“I didn't know you would be here. I hope you didn’t mention me to my dad,” she said, her eyes worried.
“I told you I wouldn’t. I figure that's up to you.”
I forced myself not to offer more. I generally took a blunt approach to difficult or painful topics, probably a side effect of being an FBI agent.
I spent so much time addressing topics that sent many people to jail I found it easiest to cut to the quick.
But this was up to Audrey. Not me. Not to mention I had my own personal reaction to it.
She didn’t need my fury at how Matthew had wronged her to affect how she wanted to handle it.
She bit the corner of her bottom lip, worrying it in her teeth.
Not helpful at all for the state of my cock at this point.
I took another gulp of coffee and willed myself to think of anything other than Audrey sitting here in front of me, available and quite clear about the fact she wanted me, if last night was anything to go on.
“Do you plan to let your family know what happened soon?” I finally asked.
One shoulder rose and fell in a graceful shrug, her gaze watchful and guarded.
I hated that look in her eyes, hated knowing she was worried what anybody thought about what had happened.
Matthew was the asshole. She had nothing to be embarrassed about.
Good riddance as far as I was concerned. She was better off with someone else.
Exactly. How about you? She wants you and you sure as hell want her.
Shut the hell up. I can't have her.
You're the only one saying you can't have her. In fact, her father would probably love for you and her to be together. At least he could trust you.
My job takes up too much of my life. There's not much room for anyone, certainly not Audrey who deserves far more than I could ever give her.
Only you can love her the way she deserves to be loved.
Fuck. I gritted my teeth and willed my mind to stop debating these points.
That summer after she tried to seduce me and halfway succeeded, I’d had hours and hours of mental debates over her—what she meant to me, and what I could and couldn't do about it.
In the end, what finally stopped the debates—to be honest, they never stopped but they quieted down—was when everything blew up on my case and the breadcrumbs led straight to my father.
The upheaval of my family being shattered and torn apart by my father's actions had taken up all of my emotional energy.
“I don't know when I’ll tell them,” she finally said, her husky voice piercing my thoughts. “I will. I just wanted a few weeks to myself before I did.”
“How long are you planning to stay here?” I asked.
“I was supposed to be in Italy for a month. Now I'm here, and Matthew's there and my phone won't stop ringing,” she said, pain and anger flashing in her eyes.
I looked at her phone, innocuously sitting on the table where she’d set it when she sat down.
“Is he calling you?”
It took an act of will to keep my voice calm. I was furious with Matthew to see the pain in her eyes.
She nodded. “Yeah. I guess he didn’t expect screwing one of my bridesmaids to interfere with our plans.”