Four Seconds to Lose

  “Yeah.” I help myself to a carrot. Tired and hungry. I haven’t eaten all day. My body is all kinds of messed up.

  “Hmm . . . So, did you finally break that stoic horse and work him in good?”

  “Ginger!” My wide eyes dart over to Tanner. He’s within earshot, but his back is to us and he keeps it that way. Given that he’s avoided all eye contact with me since my near-nude fiasco with the deliveryman yesterday, I’m not surprised.

  Thankfully, Storm passes through the doorway at that precise moment, balancing two bowls against her belly, exclaiming loudly, “Chow time!” Cain trails behind her, his strong arms laden down with more food. I noticed earlier that he kept a bit of the scruff on his face, shaving everywhere except the area around his chin and mouth.

  I really loved the feel of that soft scratch against my skin.

  My heart automatically starts racing and I catch myself smiling, memories of last night hitting me deep in my belly. All other realities fade into the background and my problems somehow become less urgent, less serious. That’s what being around Cain does for me. He’s a mental shield against all that is bad in my life. Even stripping onstage turned into something I could sort of enjoy—in a twisted way—because of him.

  “Cain! We were just talking about you,” Ginger chirps, relishing any opportunity to tease her boss.

  “I’ll bet,” he mutters dryly, disappearing behind me to place the platters down on a side table. A second later, I feel cool hands curl around my neck and his index fingers slowly trace along my collarbone.

  He must feel the hard swallow in my throat as I try to calm myself. What is he doing? Does he want everyone to know that we slept together last night?

  Or . . . are we a thing now?

  “Sorry to be rude, but the spawn demands food,” Storm murmurs, not waiting to load a plate for herself. “Ladies, help yourselves before those rabid men come out. They forget their manners sometimes.” Cain makes a point of pulling my chair out as I stand, his hands giving my waist an affectionate squeeze as I pass by, sending a thrill through my stomach. Storm happens to glance over her shoulder at that precise moment to catch Cain’s hand on me and a sly smile touches her lips. I’m happy to see it’s not a venom-laced sneer, like the one I’d expect from China.

  Still, I wonder if they ever slept together. I wonder if he’d tell me the truth, if I asked. I wonder if I even want to know the truth. The idea of Cain with another woman—or women—makes me grit my teeth.

  I just make it back to the table with a plate of food when the processional of large men files through the door. Cain’s hands once again finds my bare skin, his thumb rubbing up and down my spine, giving a light tug at the string on my bikini top, as if ready to untie it, as he pushes my chair in all the way. If I focus intently enough, I can still feel him inside me. I really shouldn’t think about that right now.

  I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect him to be so open about whatever is between us.

  I didn’t expect to want it so badly.

  My heart skips a beat as he takes a seat next to me, instead of at the outdoor sectional couch where Nate’s already making himself comfortable. Leaning in, his mouth grazes over my ear as he whispers, “Sorry, but after last night, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.” It sends a shiver through me. “I hope you’re okay with that.”

  By the smirk touching his face, he damn well knows I am more than okay with it. By the glance down at my bikini top, no doubt noticing the two tiny protruding bumps, he can now see proof of it, too.

  I sit quietly as he pours a glass of water for me. “Tell me if you want something stronger and I’ll get it from the bar for you, okay?” I nod but say nothing. Cain doting on me hits me deep in the chest, in an emotional wave that’s both soothing and crippling.

  “You serving women today, Cain?” Ginger calls out with an impish grin as she slaps Ben’s muscular ass and cuts in front of him to load her plate. “Or just the one you’re trying to impress?”

  “He can be a smooth fucker if he wants to—” Ben’s mutter is cut off with a sharp elbow to his gut from Ginger and a bark of “language!” from Storm. Ben’s eyes instantly flash to the eight-year-old quietly hanging onto our every word from her seat next to Nate. He winces an apology to Storm.

  “Here. Keep quiet.” As if to prevent anything more from coming out of Ben’s mouth, Ginger shoves three carrot sticks into it. He grins lasciviously at her but doesn’t utter another word, busy chomping down like a horse.

  “So, Charlie . . . Ginger told me you were a gymnast?” Storm says.

  I nod slowly, wondering what else Ginger and Storm have talked about that involves me.

  “You should come by my acrobatics school. I’ll be looking for a part-time coach soon, given . . .” A manicured index finger points toward her waist as she spoons some pasta salad into her mouth.

  “Oh . . .” I feel my brow knit tightly. “I don’t know the first thing about acrobatics.”

  She waves a dismissive hand as she chews and swallows. “These kids need to keep up with basic fundamentals as well. I’ll bet you’d be good with those. And I’d pay you, of course.”

  “Well, thank you for the offer,” I respond, not sure what else to say. I’m not going to be here long enough to take her offer seriously, but it’s nice of her to offer me a job. It makes me sick to think what she would say if she knew what I’m involved in. She certainly wouldn’t want me within a thousand feet of her school and those kids.

  “Poaching my employees, are we?” Cain remarks with a crooked grin.

  Storm shrugs, throwing her own devilish smile his way. “I just figured you wouldn’t want her on the stage anymore, now that . . .” Her eyebrows arch suggestively.

  “Charlie won’t be going back on the stage. At all.” The answer is quick, firm, and without room for argument, I’m sensing. Not that I would argue.

  At all?

  A hand gently settles on my knee beneath the table, giving me a gentle squeeze before sliding up my thigh. Not too far. Just enough to remind me of last night. Thank God there’s a colorful tablecloth hiding my wanton display as my legs part instinctively, earning a tighter squeeze and a slow hiss from between his teeth. I wonder if that’s why he pushed my chair in so far.

  Good God, does Cain think I’m into the public stuff? I mean, I was stripping for him . . . in public. Last night we had sex . . . in a public place, though it was deserted and dark.

  My legs impulsively squeeze back together as a trickle of sweat—and not from the oppressive heat—rolls down the back of my neck. Cain doesn’t move his hand. From the corner of my eye, I catch that almost imperceptible and downright sexy smile of his. Sexy enough to make me relax against his hand once again.

  “So, Trent, I forgot to tell you that Charlie has your old apartment,” Storm says loudly enough to be heard by the others, throwing a wink in my direction.

  “Really?” Trent licks a spot of ketchup off the inside of his thumb before he takes another bite of his burger. He’s a tall, attractive guy, with unkempt brown hair and a flutter-inducing smile. He’s the type of guy I would have easily fallen for before I met Cain.

  And, now that I have met Cain, I think I’ll be measuring all future men against him for years to come. Turning to take in a peripheral view of that intent gaze on his friends as he quietly eats, I wonder if there are more of him in the world. I wonder if I will ever meet anyone who will measure up, who will make me feel whatever it is I’m feeling right now.

  Or if Cain is right and there are no second chances in life.

  “Better tenant than you ever were,” Tanner ribs with that goofy smile of his.

  “That’s because she’s been spoiled with renovations and air-conditioning,” Trent throws back, grinning at me.

  “Hold on. Wait just a minute.” Ben’s hand is in the air. “When did you move i
n there, Charlie?”

  “Just over three weeks ago,” I answer, wondering where this is going.

  Ben turns his sizeable body to face Tanner, who now has his head down and is inhaling his food as if it’s his last meal. “I’ve been waiting for an apartment in that building for a year and you keep telling me there aren’t any available, you asshole!”

  “Ben!” Storm snaps.

  “Can we wash his mouth out with soap, Mom?” Mia asks, an impish grin on her face.

  “Forget soap. I think we need bleach,” Storm mutters.

  “I’m sorry!” Ben exclaims. “But the rent is ridiculously low for that place. Why wouldn’t you give it to me, Tanner? No offense, Charlie.”

  I guess Cain has still managed to keep his ownership status somewhat private because Ben obviously doesn’t know, otherwise he’d be riding his ass about it and not Tanner’s.

  “Tanner has strict rules against orgies,” Cain answers for his superintendent.

  Ginger and I barely keep our food in our mouths with the snort of laughter that ensues.

  “What do you have against orgies?” By the expression on Ben’s face, you’d think he was completely serious.

  “What’s an orgies?” All amusement cuts off as heads turn to take in the eight-year-old peering up with curious eyes at a frozen Nate—a raised brow and a fork heading for his gaping mouth.

  Dan is on his feet instantly. “Okay! Mia, it’s time to get ready for your sleepover. I’ll drive you.”

  “But, Dan . . . ” comes the whiny voice, though she stands and trails him sullenly.“You two are on cleanup duty for that.” Storm juts two fingers out, aiming at Ben and Cain, who both have the decency to look sheepish.

  The little girl’s disappointment at being forced to leave doesn’t last long, though, as I hear her excited shriek from inside only seconds later. “Livie!”

  “Hello, hello!” Two stunning young women step out onto the patio: one with bright red hair, the other with raven black. Both have the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen on a person, and anyone can see that they’re sisters. Their windblown cheeks and wild manes make me think they were hanging out of a car, driving at high speeds down the autobahn.

  The redhead makes a direct line for Trent to bend over and lay a borderline inappropriate kiss on his lips. Her black bikini shows off a solid muscular body, marked with white scars along one side. If she’s self-conscious about them, you’d never know. Given her ass is angled directly in Ben’s face, I’d say she’s either oblivious or just that confident. I wonder if she stripped at Penny’s, too.

  “Are you intentionally torturing me with this view, Kace?” Ben mutters. That makes her break free of her lip lock with Trent. She turns to smack Ben’s forehead playfully. “Always.”

  The black-haired girl—I’m guessing the younger of the two—quietly places a box in front of Storm before reaching down to rub her pregnant belly.

  “Oh! You picked up another key lime pie!” Storm squeals, her eyes lighting up.

  “Kacey said we need to keep Genghis happy,” the girl answers with an eye roll.

  Storm snorts. To us, she explains, “Kacey swears the reincarnation of Genghis Khan is growing inside me and is trying to conquer the world by eating its entire food supply.” Sitting up to eye the pie with wide eyes, she adds in a murmur, “She may be right.”

  The redhead—Kacey, I’m presuming—turns her attention to us, those haunting blue eyes scanning over the table, slowing as they pass over me, before settling on the man next to me. She walks over to pat his shoulder. “Glad to see you’re alive.”

  “Good to see you two again.” Gesturing toward me, he says, “This is Charlie. Charlie, meet Livie and Kacey.”

  I get a polite smile from Livie. From Kacey, a suggestive brow and, “The Charlie?”

  I answer effortlessly, “The Kacey?” though I feel a blip of discomfort inside. I don’t know how I should feel about being a topic of conversation among all these people that I don’t know.

  “The one and only,” she answers with a laugh. “Tell me you didn’t come with that schmuck over there?” Her chin juts in Ben’s direction.

  “No, but she’ll be leaving with me. Right, Charlie?” His question is to me but his eyes and crooked smirk are on Cain, and I get the impression that he’s intentionally needling his boss about something.

  A deep chuckle erupts from the normally reserved Nate. I’m guessing he knows more than Ben does about what happened between Cain and me last night. That or Ben is really that obnoxious. Either is a possibility. All the same, I blush at the idea of Cain giving Nate too many details.

  Ignoring Ben, Cain asks them, “What were you two up to today? You look . . .” His voice drifts off.

  “Like we just jumped out of a freaking plane?” Livie’s wide, stunned eyes tell me she’s not kidding.

  “And it was one helluva rush!” Kacey throws an arm over her sister’s shoulder, her face beaming as she squeezes her tight. A small cheer erupts around the patio as everyone congratulates them on something I could never do, with my deathly fear of heights. Even the idea has a tremble running through my body. Of course Cain feels it and rubs my leg soothingly.

  “Nice work, twisted sisters!” Ben calls out around a mouthful of food, sounding genuinely impressed.

  Storm’s eyes are positively twinkling as she gazes up at the two of them. ““You didn’t chicken out! Good for you, Livie. I’m going with you next time.”

  “No—no next time.” Livie’s head shakes back and forth adamantly.

  “Oh, come on! It was fun! Admit it!” her sister prods.

  “No. Not fun. Maybe fun later. Right now . . .” She takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’m going to lie down for a bit. I need to unwind. And plot Dr. Stayner’ s death.”

  I wonder who Dr. Stayner is. It sounds like he had something to do with her jumping out of a plane.

  “You want help unwinding?” Those deep dimples of Ben’s are in full force.

  “No thanks.” The answer comes hard and fast, suggesting she expected his offer and had the rejection ready on the tip of her tongue. Still, Livie’s cheeks turn crimson instantly. Spinning on her heels, she’s gone in a flash.

  “Good lord, Benjamin Morris!” Storm tosses her napkin on the table. “You are out of control lately. Do I need to have you fixed?”

  Bellows of laughter explode from Nate and Trent. Even Ben and Cain start laughing. I’m thinking there’s an inside joke that only the men are in on, because the women exchange puzzled looks and eye rolls.

  I can’t help but envy this group as I listen to the easy conversation flowing—the gentle back-and-forth banter and genuine laughs coating the atmosphere with warmth. There’s a deep connection between everyone here, and I can’t say I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it.

  As much as I know I don’t belong, all of them are doing their best to make me feel otherwise. And when the plates are empty and being collected, and people begin dispersing in various directions, a trace of sadness trickles through me.

  “That was fantastic, Storm,” Ginger exclaims, standing to stretch as a loud splash comes from the pool. Trent and Kacey, diving in together. “I’m going to go float for a bit before I’m forced to work by my slave-driving employer.” She winks at Cain before sauntering off.

  Ben’s eyes trail her as if readying to follow, when Storm reminds him, “The kitchen is the other way.” She flashes him a radiant smile as she banishes him to his punishment, adding sweetly, “And make sure you rinse the plates well before you load them into the dishwasher. I had to get a repairman in here last time.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ben is on his feet quickly, that grin of his still plastered on as he leans in over her shoulder and plants a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m sorry about earlier, with Mia,” I hear him offer in an unusually soft tone. As much of an a
ss as he is, Ben isn’t a jerk. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that. Especially now, as I watch him steal a well-angled glimpse of Storm’s cleavage, which is practically spilling out of her dress.

  If Storm notices—which I’m guessing she does, because her hand reaches up to gently slap his face—she doesn’t get angry. I don’t think Storm is the type to easily anger.

  “Thank you for the meal!” Tanner hollers, ambling toward the house. “Gotta get back to the apartment now.”

  “You’re not going to stay for Dan’s cake?”

  Rubbing his protruding belly, Tanner mutters, “Oh, no. I need to get back to my, er . . .” His voice fades as he collects his water gun.

  To your antisocial tendencies.

  Storm just shakes her head and chuckles. “Glad you could make it, Tanner. Next time, why don’t you bring that lady friend of yours?” Her suggestion only speeds his skinny legs as they carry him into the house. “He met someone online.” Storm waggles her brows at me. “I’m trying to get him to bring her to the wedding.”

  The heat of Cain’s hand suddenly vanishes from my thigh and a tiny whimper of disapproval escapes my throat before I even realize it. He never did try anything more, and that has left me both relieved and frustrated.

  With a dark chuckle, Cain begins gathering up a pile of dishes. When I begin to rise, intent on helping, he urges me back in my seat with a push down against my shoulder. My eyes trail him as he follows Ben into the house, his arms filled with dishes.

  “He’s definitely a sight, isn’t he?” A secretive smile touches Storm’s lips as she breaks off a piece of piecrust with her fingers.

  I clear my throat as a faint blush creeps into my cheeks. Storm can likely see that. Thankfully, she can’t also see the spike of jealousy in my stomach. I don’t want her looking at him like that, even if her observation is true.

  When her soft, musical laughter fills the air, I realize she’s teasing me. “Go on, Charlie,” Storm instructs, shooing me away with a hand and a smile, her hungry eyes on the pie. “I’ll join you, shortly.”

  With a nod, I excuse myself, making a beeline to slip into the refreshing pool, conscious that the blue of my bathing suit is light enough to showcase any wet spots I may have acquired due to Cain’s attention. My body revels in the slight shock of the cool water as it swathes my skin, taking my temperature down a few degrees. I wish I didn’t have all this makeup on. I wish I could just stick my head in.