Second Seduction Read online

  “T. G. I. F.” He gave her a high five and darted past guests arriving for dinner. Moments later Christa joined him in the foyer. She ruffled his hair. He and the older woman who doubled as desk clerk and sitter waved and left.

  Once the door closed, Stella left her station. She leaned against the counter. “We looked him up on the internet.”

  “Who?”

  “Mark Blakefield.”

  “Why? I said he was none of your business.”

  Stella laughed. “Since he’s Davy’s daddy we thought you’d want to know about him.”

  Peggy sauntered over. “His family owns a group of magazines.”

  “I know that.”

  Peggy smiled. “He’s not married or engaged. He likes hot women. He’s rick and available. You can hit him for a bundle. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be tied down by a kid.”

  Christa glared. “What he wants has nothing to do with you.”

  Peggy glanced toward the cash register. “You are so dumb. I’d hit him for child support in a heartbeat.”

  “Ten years would add up,” Stella said.

  Christa stepped from behind the counter. “To work.” Once they returned to their posts, she entered the office but left the door open.

  After booting the computer she opened the booking calendar. The inn was solid for December and January. Even the cottages were full in January. She found a list of confirmed reservations she had neglected earlier and entered them. After checking emails she listened to phone messages. While she and Davy were in town she’d missed a call from a realtor who was interested in listing the property. She made a note to call in the morning.

  For a brief time she considered asking Mark for child support. The money could be used to rid herself of Stella and Peggy. She shook her head. Not an action she would be proud of making. Davy was her joy and her responsibility. He had been from the moment she’d held him in her arms.

  She rose and walked to the door. Seven o’clock. Her heart stuttered. Mark stood at the entrance to the dining room. Stella put her hand on his arm and said something. Christa resisted the urge to storm from the office and claim him.

  She shook her head. Her half-sisters weren’t his type. Neither was she. Hadn’t Stella said he liked hot women.

  Christa returned to the desk and finished what she had neglected since Mark’s arrival. Then she made a list for her weekend relief. At ten she took the cash and the receipts from the registers. Peggy glared. Christa ignored the muttered comments. After locking the money in the safe she locked the office door.

  Christa stepped onto the porch. A hand grasped her arm. She gasped.

  “Don’t panic.”

  “Mark.”

  “We have a problem to solve. I’ve seen him. He is my son.” As he spoke he drew her down the steps. “I want to know what happened ten years ago to make you run away. I want to know why you never told me you were pregnant.

  She met his gaze. In the lights from the inn and parking lot his green eyes mesmerized her. She looked away to break the spell. “We’ll talk tomorrow. It’s been a long day.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “I would have married you.”

  Those words brought tears to her eyes. Memories flooded her thoughts and senses. Her body responded to his scent, and his touch. He ran his tongue over her lips and urged her to open to his probing. She wanted to laugh, to cry and to run. Except, this felt right just as it had years ago.

  Heat stormed her body and brought a pulsing low in her belly. She slid her arms around his neck. Her mouth opened and his tongue slid inside to explore in an advance and retreat movement and stimulate the need she felt. She wanted to have his skin on hers and have him deep inside. She pressed closer.

  One of his hands cupped her rear to press her against his groin. The desire she must resist grew urgent. She couldn’t fall into his bed again, not until she knew his plans for Davy. She jerked her head back and pressed her hands against his shoulders. “Let me go.”

  He loosened his hold. “Tomorrow, then. We’ll do more than talk.”

  She shook her head. “Mark.”

  He laughed. “What time?”

  “Ten.”

  He cupped her face between his hands. “Don’t be late or I will come looking for you.”

  This time his lips didn’t linger. The kiss was gentle and ripe with promises. Hope surged. When he released her she forced herself to step away. She turned and ran down the path to the house.

  “Night.”

  His call followed her and added a charge to the feelings the kisses had stirred. Memories roared in her thoughts. She was in trouble. All she had felt for him had been rekindled. How could she protect Davy and herself? Ten years she had called the passion raging between Mark and her an infatuation. She had lied.

  * * * *

  Though Mark wanted to go after her he knew such a move would spook her. Even after all these years she had the power to stir the embers of desire into a raging fire. The impact of her scent, her taste, the sounds she had made raised an urge to carry her away and never let her go. Now he knew what his father had said was true. “Blakefields fall hard and fast. Once they do, no matter what happens, they will never forget.”

  Tomorrow he and Christa would talk. He needed to know about the past ten years, his son and the possibilities for their future. He sucked in a deep breath and swore her scent lingered. He wanted to feast on her body, to savor her responses and join his passion to hers.

  One thing puzzled him. The name change. When she’d learned she was pregnant had she married and passed off his son as another man’s child?

  He strode past the house. For a second or two he considered going on the porch and pounding on the door. He wanted answers now. Instead he continued to the cottage. How could he create a scene and chance waking his son?

  As he stepped inside the cottage he halted. What drove him? Love or anger? Mark walked to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Though he could have gone to the bar at the inn he had no desire to interact with Christa’s half-sisters. A meeting with them would stir his disgust of them. Who knew what story they would invent?

  He opened the beer and booted the laptop. Several emails from the office waited. He typed responses and read the feature for the December issue. After okaying the piece he logged out.

  He finished the beer and tried to forget the impact of the kiss and seeing Christa again. He ached. He felt as hard as a slab of cement. He stripped to his briefs and began a series of exercises and pushed himself to exhaustion. As he sprawled on the bed he tried not to think about the morning and the acts he wanted to perform with Christa. He groaned and knew he faced a long night.

  Chapter Three

  As the alarm rang, Christa groaned and turned the annoying sound off. She eased out of bed. Her sleep had been broken by dueling dreams. First there had been highly erotic memories of Mark and making love followed by visions of Mark and Davy. The pair had run and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t catch them. Several times screams had roused her. Had they been silent cries or had she shattered her son’s sleep?

  She hurried to the bathroom. How was she going to explain to Mark her reasons for leaving college and why she hadn’t told him about Davy? Would he understand those hectic days? Would he believe she’d made him Davy’s guardian in the event of her death? There’d been no other choice. She couldn’t let her half-sisters have custody of her son and the inn.

  She stepped into the shower, washed and turned the temperature down. As the icy spray hit she gasped. The treatment was needed to make certain she was alert when she met Mark.

  What would Davy think about the recent event? He’d never acted as if he missed having a father. He’d never asked about one and he’d never warmed to either of the men she had dated. Neither had she.

  After dressing she applied make-up to hide the deep shadows beneath her eyes. She knocked on Davy’s door. “Up. Breakfast in ten minutes. Then off to school.”

  He bounced out of
bed. “T.G.I.F. day. Do you think we can buy my bike tomorrow?”

  Christa smiled at her son’s question. “How much have you saved?”

  “A lot.”

  “If you don’t have enough, we can price them and see how much more you need to save.”

  He made a face. “You could give me an advance on my allowance or give me the money like you do when the half-aunts ask. I’d even pay you back.”

  Christa groaned. “I could and I’ll think about it.” She wished her father and step-mother had made her half-sisters earn the things they wanted instead of giving them everything they’d whined for. When she’d become their guardian she’d been too young and too swamped by the new responsibilities to fight every time they demanded some new clothes or treat.

  “Do they every pay you back?”

  “Not your business.”

  He ducked past her on his way to the bathroom. “I bet they don’t and that’s not fair.”

  “Things will change.”

  “Good.”

  Christa shook her head. This time she wouldn’t back away from the confrontation with the pair. She only wished Mark hadn’t arrived ready for a fight.

  “Breakfast in ten minutes. Pancakes and syrup from our trees.” She hurried to the kitchen. After she talked to Mark she would tell her half-sisters just what they could expect. She mixed the batter and turned on the griddle. Life was about to change and she couldn’t cave in to whining or bullying.

  Once Davy was on the school bus, Christa entered her office. She stared at the computer screen. How could she concentrate on business when she’d be meeting Mark in about two hours. She went to the door and glanced at the full tables in the dining room. He wasn’t there. She returned to her desk and checked for messages. Too early to call the realtor. She checked the menus for next week’s meals and placed orders for needed supplies. Thoughts of Mark intruded to disrupt her concentration.

  At quarter to ten she dropped a pencil on the desk and left the office. She waved at the desk clerk. “I’ll be away for an hour or two.” Surely that would be enough time to settle matters with Mark.

  Christa paused on the inn porch and drew in deep breaths of the crisp autumn air. Slowly she walked along the path to the cottage where Mark waited and planned her strategy. He would not claim custody of her son.

  * * * *

  Mark paced about the cottage. He feared if he sat down he’d fall asleep. In spite of all the exercise he’d done he had remained awake most of the night. Even a cold shower hadn’t chased the need for sleep. Christa was due in five minutes. He finished a cup of instant coffee and washed down several cookies he’d brought from home. Though he could have gone to the in for breakfast he knew one glimpse of Christa and he would demand an immediate meeting.

  He groaned. The need to have her naked in his arms warred with the desire for answers. She’d kept his son from him. That had to end. He needed to spend time with the boy and to know him.

  Did Christa understand how important family was? His father and his sibs would welcome the boy into their homes and hearts. Could Christa understand how knowledge of his son’s existence had changed him?

  He glanced at his watch. Ten o’clock. Where was she? Had she taken the boy and run? He would follow and find them. He opened the door. Christa stood with her hand raised to knock. She gasped.

  “You came.”

  Here brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “You said you’d be waiting at your dorm so we could go out to dinner. You weren’t. I asked a couple of people and they’d never heard of you.” He hadn’t realized until now how much that failure had hurt.

  “I should have left you a message but I had to rush away. My answering machine was filled with messages about the accident and the deaths. My half-sisters were alone. Because I wasn’t there they were placed in foster care.”

  He stepped aside so she could enter. “I’m sorry. I wish I’d known. I would have come with you.”

  She shook her head. “That would have made things worse. They were scared and angry.”

  That didn’t explain why he’d found no trace of her. “You could have called.”

  As he listened to her explanations he began to be aware of her. Her scent eddied around him and raised the same desire he’d felt the first time they’d met. He closed the door and caught her in his arms. “I need you. Come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “The bedroom.”

  She shook her head. “That won’t solve anything.”

  “Would take the edge off.”

  “You’re angry.”

  He nodded. “I am but I still want you. Last night you were as aroused as I was.”

  She lowered her gaze. “Maybe I was only remembering what was. You wanted to talk. That’s why I came. Once you admit you have no claim to Davy you can go back to your life and your hot women,”

  He laughed. “Been keeping track?”

  “My half-sisters told me.”

  “And you believe them?”

  She let out a long sigh. “No.”

  “I’ve dated my share of women, hot or otherwise. As for my claim, you know he’s my son.”

  “Just forget about us and go home.”

  “Not going to happen.” He stepped closer. “He’s my son and he has a right to know my family and to spend time with me.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. Though he hadn’t meant to make her cry, she had to understand how important acknowledging the boy as his son was for him. “When did you marry?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then explain how Christa Parsons became Christa Sommers. That’s the reason I couldn’t find you.”

  She walked past him and sat on the couch. “Where did you come up with that name? I’ve always been Christa Sommers.”

  Mark frowned. How had he mistaken her name? “I don’t know. That’s the name I used.”

  “You were looking for the wrong person.”

  “The wrong name but the right person.” He sank on the other end of the couch. “Why didn’t you return to school?”

  “I had to stay here. The inn was mine. My half-sisters needed a guardian. My dad left a lot of bills I had to clear up.”

  “Weren’t there any relatives to take the girls?”

  “Not on either side. Took me months to straighten matters. The girls were hysterical.”

  Mark moved to her side. “Life must have been a mess for you.” When his mother had died, his father had been there and there had been aunts, uncles and cousins to help. “Why didn’t you call when you learned you were pregnant?”

  “I did and spoke to a secretary. You were in Europe for an indefinite stay. After Davy was born I tried again. You were on another trip. I didn’t want to leave a message with a secretary.”

  “I see.” He heard hurt and anger in her voice. “And you never tried again.”

  “And have you laugh and deny he was yours? Or have you try to buy me off?”

  “You didn’t know I would do that.”

  “With all my responsibilities I didn’t need a rejection.”

  “What’s his full name?”

  “David Marcus Sommers.”

  Mark swallowed. She’d named the boy for him. “Thank you.” The anger he felt oozed away. He kissed her fingers. “Tell me about our son.”

  She shook her head. “Just go home.”

  “Look at me.” He touched her cheek with his fingers. “I’m not leaving and I won’t take Davy away. Except for a weekend or even a week or two in the summer. I want to spend time with him and let him meet my family. Can’t you understand?”

  “How? You’ve met my family.”

  “You’ll like my sibs and my dad and step-mother. All I want is to spend time with him.”

  She met his gaze. “I’ll tell him about you and if he wants to see you I’ll let you know.” She rose.

  “Not so fast. What have you told him about his father? About me?”

  “Very little. He kno
ws you’re a guest and might be related to his dad. I need to know what my half-sisters have told him. When he comes home from school he and I will talk. The decision to see you or not will be his.”

  “That’s fair but I won’t stop trying.” He rose and clasped her hands. “Let’s seal this with a kiss.” What she’d agreed to was a start but he wanted more. He brushed his lips over here.”

  “Mark.” His name flowed on a whisper.

  He gathered her close. “I want you. I have since I entered the inn.” He drew a deep breath. “That’s a lie. I’ve wanted you since the day we collided outside Chem lab. Blakefields always fall hard and fast.”

  “You can’t mean that.”

  “Stop deciding what I feel or how I’m going to act.” His mouth closed over hers. He slid his hands beneath her sweater and stroked her smooth skin. As he deftly unhooked her bra all her resistance faded. He ran his hands over one breast and felt her nipple bead. His tongue slid over her lips. Her mouth opened.

  He plunged his tongue inside to crest over hers. He stroked and retreated. Her body moved on his. He continued kissing and caressing as he moved them toward the couch. He lifted her and pushed her sweater higher. He caught one breast in his mouth. The catch in her breath spurred him to suck.

  “Do you want me as much as I want you.” He kicked off his shoes and slid his jeans down.

  Her eyes widened. “Mark.”

  “This is the way it has always been when I’m around you.” He pushed her to the couch and slid a hand beneath her skirt. As his fingers edged beneath the edge of her panties she trembled. “Remember how it was.”

  “I’ve never forgotten.”

  Her skirt was above her waist. He slid her bikini down and exposed her. He began to strike her labia and felt the welcome moistness. “Do you want me?”

  “Yes.” Her breath quickened.

  Mark grasped his penis and teased her clitoris. She moaned. He paused at her entrance. “Now.”

  “Yes.”

  He thrust inside and rode until her movements matched his. Her cries rose to meet the guttural sounds rolling from his mouth. He felt her tense. He raised his head and thrust once more. His release seemed endless. He bent and devoured her mouth in a deep and carnal kiss. “Christa.” How could he express how complete he felt in this moment. He slid away from her.