Pelican Court (Cedar Cove #3)(26)

“Hate me?” He turned her shoulders so she was forced to face him.

“I don’t, though. I thought I would, but I don’t.”

He stroked the sides of her neck in a leisurely, hypnotic massage. Maryellen half closed her eyes and swayed toward him. Jon wove his fingers deep into her long hair and brought her mouth within a fraction of his own.

“After the way I’ve treated you, you should detest me,” she told him.

“I don’t, Maryellen,” he whispered, and his breath mingled with hers.

She parted her lips, anticipating his kiss. The tip of his tongue, moist and warm, outlined her mouth, and Maryellen moaned at the pure sensuality of it. Her lips parted further and Jon brushed his mouth against hers. His fingers tightened in her thick hair as he continued the kiss.

Maryellen tasted the salt of her tears and realized that she was weeping even as he kissed her. She heard him whisper, but couldn’t make out the words. Whatever he was saying didn’t seem nearly as important as what he was doing and what he was making her feel.

With her arms wrapped around him, she pressed against his hard, muscular strength. They were both panting, their shoulders heaving with the intensity of their desire.

A discordant sound made its way into her clouded mind. She groaned, not knowing where this lovemaking would take them, unwilling to stop. His hands cupped her br**sts, and sensation bolted through her. With his mouth against hers, he unfastened her blouse and bra, and she felt his hands tremble as he eased his thumb over her swollen nipple. This latest invasion made her whimper as she tilted back her head.

The cry came again and Maryellen’s eyes flew open. “Katie,” she whispered. “It’s Katie.”

Jon drew back. They momentarily leaned against each other, trying to regain their equilibrium.

“You—I almost forgot the baby,” she said.

Jon laughed softly. “What baby? Oh, you mean our baby.”

“The very one.”

Maryellen stood up to check on Katie, who was fussing in earnest now. She punched the air with her arms and feet and screamed as though the world were ending. Maryellen supposed that for a baby, feeding time was about that important.

As discreetly as possible, Maryellen fastened her bra and blouse. It occurred to her that this was a bit silly, since she’d be unfastening them again in a minute. “Do you think we’ve warped her mind forever?” she asked, hoping to make light of what had happened between them.

“I can’t speak for Katie, but I know what you’ve done to me.”

“Are you…uncomfortable?” she asked, not knowing how to phrase the question any more delicately. Even when her intentions were good, she managed to hurt him—to reject him, either physically or emotionally. She assumed there’d been painful rejections in his past; all the signs were there. Her own life was colored with anguish he knew nothing about, distress that was impossible to share.

“I’ve been uncomfortable, as you put it, since the first night we kissed.”

She remembered that kiss. Halloween night a year ago. He’d walked her to her car after a party during which she’d introduced him to a friend. Her plan had been to foist him off on someone else in a pitiful attempt to get him out of her mind. That scheme had failed miserably, just like every other one she’d plotted in their bewildering relationship.

“I have to feed Katie,” she told him. Her feet felt unsteady as she reached for her daughter and positioned the infant in the crook of her arm. She sat down in her rocker, unfastened shirt and bra, and gave the baby her breast. Katie’s tiny mouth latched eagerly onto her nipple.

“I take it this is my cue to leave,” Jon said.

She nodded, unable to meet his gaze.

Jon stood only a few feet away. “I’ll leave the photos with you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. She found it hard to believe that only moments earlier they’d practically been rolling around on the floor, kissing and groping with abandon. She was embarrassed, somehow, by the juxtaposition of maternal and sexual feelings.

“Keep the pictures you like for Katie’s baby book and I’ll get the rest on Sunday.”

“Thank you…I appreciate it.” He’d be back then, of course, to collect Katie. Her hold tightened around their daughter.

“I’ll see you Sunday.”

“Katie and I will be here.” She kept her eyes lowered.

She heard him walk over to the door. He opened it. “Maryellen?”

She glanced up and saw that his mouth was twitching with a barely suppressed smile. “You can hate me anytime you want.”

Zach Cox looked down at his watch. It was one of his nights with Allison and Eddie, and he needed to leave the office precisely at five. Frustrated, he closed a file and set it aside. He’d have to finish calculating the employment taxes for the Tulips and Things craft store tomorrow morning. Just as he was about to leave, Janice Lamond appeared in his doorway.

“Mr. Cox,” she said in a low voice. “I was wondering if you had a moment to review the Jackson quarterly tax statement with me?” Her look implored him.

It seemed she routinely required his help at closing time. Most nights Zach didn’t have a problem checking her figures, but on the evenings he spent with the kids, he simply didn’t have the extra minutes to spare.