He had lain awake for a while, mentally redressing her so he could safely shove her back into the friend column where she belonged. It had been a first for him, but he thought he had largely succeeded by the time he finally fell asleep.
As he looked at her in the morning light, the blanket bunched down around her legs and her T-shirt riding up enough to show the sexy curve of her hip, he had to admit he had sadly overestimated his success.
He laid back and rubbed his hands over his face, wondering what the hell he was going to do about this.
He had no business having these thoughts about Sydney, he reminded himself. She was, for all intents and purposes, still a virgin. He preferred his women with experience.
She was ridiculously conservative. He preferred women with an edge.
She was intelligent and book smart, but she didn’t have a lick of common sense. He preferred women who knew how to handle themselves.
She was also sweet, generous, kind, and charming...and the hell if he knew what to do with any of that.
“You know, you don’t have to solve all of the world’s problems this early in the morning.”
He lowered his hands and looked over at Sydney, who was now awake and smiling at him. “I’ve only gotten half of them solved,” he said, tossing aside the sheet and climbing out of bed. “Guess we both beat the alarm.”
“That means I have time to make some breakfast,” she said brightly, also getting out of bed.
“I don’t have much along the lines of breakfast food, Slick.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
She gave his chest a pat as she walked out of the bedroom. When he caught himself watching her shapely ass as she headed down the hallway, he cursed under his breath and headed to the shower, fully intending to set it as cold as it could go.
He had himself back under control after he showered and changed into a T-shirt and jeans. An enticing aroma greeted him when he emerged from the bedroom, drawing him to the kitchen. He found Sydney humming and standing over his only skillet flipping pancakes. He leaned against the doorjamb for a moment, just watching her.
“What song is that?” he asked eventually.
She smiled at him. “‘It’s a Great Day to Be Alive’ by Travis Tritt.”
“Ah. A country girl, are you?”
She lifted the edge of a pancake to check its color and replied, “Bakersfield is hardly the country. But, yes, I was raised on country and Christian music.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Her smile didn’t dim over his sarcasm. “Judge all you want. I love music that tells a compelling story and evokes emotion.”
Seriously, Connors, he thought. Definitely not your type.
“We’re having pancakes?” he asked to change the subject.
“Yep. Nutella and banana pancakes,” she clarified.
“Really?”
She nodded and laughed when she saw his expression. “I know they’re your favorite. You order them any time a place will make them for you. You had Nutella in the pantry so I brought some pancake mix and a couple of bananas.”
She had managed to surprise him yet again. “You really didn’t need to do this.”
“It’s no trouble. I know Lex will want a banana for a snack anyway, so I brought extras. I’m almost done if you want to grab a couple of plates.”
It’s no trouble, Keith thought sardonically as he opened the cabinet to get the plates. Sure.
Right that moment, he felt like he had fallen headlong into trouble...and her name was Sydney Ward.
* * *
“Dane, where are my glasses?”
Archer didn’t look up from the script he was reading in his bedroom’s sitting area. He just reached beside him on the end table next to the loveseat he was sitting on and held Lily’s glasses up for her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking them from him and plopping down on the loveseat beside him.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go shopping?” he asked absently.
“I don’t wanna.”
Amused by her sulking, he marked his place and finally glanced over at her. She had done her hair and makeup but hadn’t yet bothered getting dressed. She was wearing one of his button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of fuzzy socks. The ACE bandage had come off earlier when she tested out her ankle and determined it felt much better after the night’s sleep.
“You female types are supposed to enjoy shopping,” he said.
She glared at him. “Well not this female.”
“Just remember that this was your idea.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she sank back into the cushions and gazed out the bedroom window overlooking the pool in the backyard and the L.A. cityscape beyond. “It’s all your fault,” she grumbled. “If you hadn’t dragged me into the spotlight with you, I wouldn’t have to dress in a way that pleases the public.”
He lost his smile. He still harbored guilt over essentially forcing her onto House of Archer. Between her comment and her injury the day before, that guilt weighed heavily on him now.
When would she reach the point where she decided it was too much?
“You don’t have to go,” he said. “You can come and watch me on the set instead.”
She sighed. “I was just bitching. I’m going to get this shopping done so everyone can shut up about it.”
That didn’t lessen his guilt any. “If you’re sure.”
“Yeah.” She got a gleam in her eye and shifted so she faced him. “You know, when Julia Roberts is dreading going shopping in Pretty Woman, Richard Gere not only goes with her, he manages to get her an entire store to herself.”
“Isn’t Julia Roberts a prostitute in that movie?”
She reached over and pulled the script from his hands, moving like a graceful cat to climb onto his lap and straddle him. Her hands slid over his bare chest and made their way down towards the waistband of his shorts.
“I can roll with that,” she said in a way that had his entire body reacting.
“Sorry,” he said, his breath catching when she bent down and used her teeth and tongue on his nipple. “I’ve got to go and get brutally murdered today.”
She stopped what she was doing and sat back on his knees. “Lucky,” she pouted.
He grinned and began unbuttoning her shirt. “I’m sure I could manage to reserve some exclusive time in a store for you if you really want it.”
“Please,” she said with a snort. “Richard Gere’s character is a billionaire. He probably owned that store and half the other ones on Rodeo Drive.”
He shook his head at her. “You have no idea how much money I have, do you?”
“No, but I’m sure it’s not billions. Probably,” she said as he released the last button and reached inside the shirt to cup her lovely breasts.
She didn’t know, he thought, nor did she care. It was a blessing and a curse to him.
Was it any wonder he loved her so much?
“You’re about to have to redo your makeup,” he warned her before he claimed her mouth.
Her tongue rose to meet his, so naturally. So passionately.
He savored the taste of her, allowing the fingers of one hand to thread through the fine hair at the nape of her neck while the other cupped the petal-soft skin of her breast. He would forever marvel over the erotic sensation of her delicate, feminine body beneath his callous-roughened touch.
Her hands ran along his upper body, flirting with his nipples and circling lower and lower until they taunted him along the waistband of his shorts. He countered that by bringing both of his hands to her breasts and caressing her nipples until she gave him the sexy moans he loved so much. Her lower body writhed against him, driving him wild with need.
After a while, she broke away from his mouth.
“There’s something else that happens in that movie,” she said breathlessly, easing off his lap and kneeling between his legs. “And since I’m feeling a little like Julia
’s character today...”
She reached again for the waistband of his shorts. Taking her time about it, she unfastened the single button and slowly lowered the zipper. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of his shorts and boxer briefs. He lifted his hips when she started lowering them so she could get them all the way down.
When she had him completely disrobed, she rose back up on her knees. She ran her hands along his thighs, her eyes on his as her touch got closer and closer to where his body ached for her.
She leaned down and placed a series of kisses across his thighs, then his lower abdomen. Her lips and tongue made their provocative way along his body, nipping, sucking, grazing.
Loving.
She blended her touch with more kissing, reaching everywhere but her ultimate goal. He barely controlled himself enough to keep from grabbing her and guiding her there.
The seductive look in her beautiful violet eyes told him she knew exactly what effect she was having on him. It also told him she didn’t plan on having any mercy.
Her blissful torture continued until he was certain she was trying to kill him. He groaned loudly when her talented hands finally moved up from his thighs and grasped him. She slowly stroked him, watching his face as she did. She varied the speed and pressure she used based on his responses. His eyes threatened to roll back in his head over the intensity of the pleasure she was giving him.
Then she rose up and took him into her mouth.
He forgot to breathe.
His head fell back on the loveseat cushions. The tendons in his neck strained as she pleasured him, coaxing him closer and closer to release.
“God, Lily,” he managed. “I’m gonna...”
“Mmhmm.”
Her humming response had him groaning again as it added another layer of sensation to her enthusiastic mouth and tongue. His heart pounded like a furious fist in his chest. His hips lifted instinctively as he sought an end to the torment.
He opened his eyes and saw Lily reach down and touch herself. The sight pushed him right over into sweet oblivion.
She moaned deeply, expressing her own pleasure as the spasms overtook him. She didn’t release him until she seemed convinced he was completely spent.
He couldn’t even lift his head as he tried to collect himself. Lily’s hands continued to run along his body in a tender, loving way. She wore an alluring smile when he finally worked up enough energy to look at her.
“I really need to see that movie,” he said in a husky voice.
She grinned. He pulled her up so she once again straddled him. He held her gaze as his hand slipped beneath the band of her panties.
“Did you...?”
She took her lower lip between her teeth and nodded. He loved that she could still blush after all that.
“Well one more couldn’t hurt,” he said, allowing his fingers to slide over her.
She gasped and closed her eyes. He used his free hand to guide her forward so he could kiss her again. Then he used his fingers to glide, stroke, caress, and plunder until she cried out and shuddered repeatedly against him.
“Beautiful,” he said.
She nestled against him as she caught her breath. They just sat there holding each other for a few minutes. When she lifted her head again, it was with obvious reluctance.
“I’ve never been happier about running late,” she said.
“Me neither.” He slid the shirt off her shoulders. “I think I’m going to wear this today,” he said, sniffing the collar once he had it off her. “It smells like you.”
She ran her fingers over the stubble lining his cheek. “Cheesy.”
“Yep.”
“Okay then. You do that. I’ve apparently got makeup to repair,” she said, patting him and rising off the loveseat.
He watched her as she headed to the bathroom in just her panties and fuzzy socks. “Nice look,” he said.
She flipped him the bird. He laughed, remembering when she had done the same to him at the beginning of the tour.
So much had changed since then.
Everything had changed.
Lily brought him so much joy...more than he could ever express to her. She filled a hole in his life that he’d never even known was there. She was his cheerleader, his sounding board, his reality check. She was his lover, his Muse, his heart.
She was everything.
He wanted to do something for her. But what?
An idea occurred to him. He waited until she had closed herself in the bathroom before reaching for his cell phone. He pulled up his contacts and dialed the number he needed.
“Hey, Aria. What’s your ETA?” he asked when she answered. “Thirty minutes is fine. She’ll be ready. Listen...if you were to choose one store to spend a couple of hours in with just the two of you, which one would it be?”
He listened for a moment and then rolled his eyes. “Fine, which three stores? Great. I need you to do me a favor...”
Chapter Eighteen
Keith was quiet on the drive to pick up Lex, but then, Sydney mused, he had been pretty quiet all morning. He had seemed to enjoy the pancakes, even issuing a thank you, so she didn’t think he was particularly upset about anything. She decided not to push him to tell her what was on his mind.
She drove them to the apartment a few miles away and walked up to the door with Keith trailing behind her. She had gotten the sense from some of the things his mother had said that he didn’t get along well with her or his stepfather. She hoped this outing didn’t end up turning into a disaster because of that.
Megan opened the door. “Good morning,” she said with a warm smile. “Come on in. Lex is bouncing around waiting for you.”
“Good morning,” Sydney replied. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“Hi, Keith,” Megan greeted him as they both walked past.
He gave her a cool nod. Sydney winced over the frost he was casting between them. What had happened to cause it?
Lex spotted them as they entered the living room. Her entire face lit up. She gasped with excitement and jumped up to run over to them.
Sydney stood back a little so Lex could greet Keith first. He lifted her and smiled so genuinely that Sydney felt her throat tighten. Lex framed his face and kissed him on both cheeks, then rubbed their noses together.
She then turned to Sydney and held an arm out as though wanting a hug from her, too. Sydney watched Keith try to put her down so she could go to Sydney, but she clung to him like a monkey.
Grinning over his consternation, Sydney stepped forward to hug Lex. Lex pulled all three of them together in an enthusiastic hug that brought Sydney’s face within inches of Keith’s. Sydney’s breath caught when she saw Keith’s gaze fall to her mouth.
Lex released them after a brief embrace, but Sydney felt like something significant had just happened.
She forced herself to stay composed as she turned back to Megan and asked, “Anything we need to know for Lex today?”
Megan glanced between Sydney and Keith before replying, “Nope. Lex has her bag all packed. I put sunscreen on her about ten minutes ago. There’s more in the bag. She should be ready to go. Oh—I’ll grab her booster seat for the drive.”
“Great.”
They all made one last pit stop before hitting the road. Megan gave Lex a hug and then walked them to the door.
“I hope you all have a great time,” she said and signed. “I can’t wait for photos.”
Lex smiled and signed, I’ll take a lot.
“Thanks, Megan.” Sydney said. “Enjoy the time to yourself.”
“Oh, yeah...just me and the washing machine today. Match made in heaven.”
Sydney laughed and waved as they headed out into the parking lot. Keith put Lex’s backpack on the floor in the back and got Lex secured in her booster car seat. They gave her one of her favorite books to read for the drive and then set off.
They had a great time. They began by making a single circuit around the entire zoo, then ate popcorn
and hot dogs for lunch. To let their food settle, they sat for a couple of shows before spending almost two hours in the children’s Play Park.
They ended the day by weaving back through a few of Lex’s favorite exhibits on the way to the zoo’s entrance. They paused in one of the picnic areas to buy some soda and cotton candy, one of Lex’s favorite treats.
Sydney and Keith shared some, too. They sat side-by-side on a picnic table bench watching Lex chase pigeons.
“I thought I had more stamina than this,” Sydney bemoaned before she ate another pinch of cotton candy.
“The kid’ll take it out of you,” Keith acknowledged around his own mouthful of candy.
“Hopefully this sugar will shock our systems. You might be carrying me to the car.”
“Maybe Lex can carry both of us.”
She laughed. Lex saw her. She came running over and signed, What’s so funny?
You’ve worn us out, Sydney replied. Can you carry us back to the car?
Lex giggled and nodded, flexing her muscles. Keith grinned. Sydney smiled and watched him for an extra beat to enjoy the sensation of seeing him so happy.
Can I take pictures? Lex signed.
Sydney nodded and fished in her backpack for one of the two disposable cameras she had bought Lex for the occasion. She learned early on that Lex was a shutterbug. Her phone was filled with photos taken by the little sprite.
She handed the disposable camera to Lex. Stay near the table, she cautioned.
Lex gave her a thumb’s up and danced off, looking through the camera’s lens as she pursued the pigeons.
Sydney watched her with a smile. She loved Lex’s inquisitive nature and sweet temperament. After a moment, she glanced over and saw Keith staring at her. She couldn’t read his expression, though that was nothing new.
“When did you first start hanging out with Lex like this?” he asked.
She thought about that as she pulled more cotton candy from the bunch. “Well, it kind of came about organically, I guess. I went to see her with Lily a few times and we just had this connection. I was also studying teaching techniques for kids with Down Syndrome in my Master’s program, so I discussed those with her teacher, Jessica. Jess and I became friends and she mentioned me to Megan, and Megan reached out to me and thanked me for taking an interest in Lex’s education. Some of my suggestions worked really well for her. Oh, Lex is taking a picture of us. Say cheese.”