Stealing Home

chapter 22



“COME BACK TO Denver with me.”

Lorelei pulled her shorts over her hips and sighed. “What just happened doesn’t change anything.”

His voice was hard behind her. “It changes everything. Go throw some clothes in a bag. I’ll buy whatever else you need to stay in town with me for the next few days.”

And that right there was part of the problem, Lorelei thought. Mark could just about buy whatever the hell he wanted to just like that. No thought involved or financial struggle. Anything at all. He wanted it and it was his.

She and Logan had trouble some months buying groceries.

Not that she begrudged him the money, really. Some people just had it, some didn’t. She knew that, was fine with it. Except when there was a situation like Michelle’s. Then it got to her. Made the unfairness of it burn in her chest.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Mark pulling his shirt over his head. A flash of gold metal caught her attention before gray cotton covered it. Bitterness and guilt mixed hot in her abdomen.

His good luck charm. Funny how she hadn’t noticed it ten minutes ago when he’d been naked.

But she wasn’t the least bit surprised he was wearing it. No doubt he’d kissed it like a long-lost girlfriend and put it on the second he’d spotted it. He’d probably permanently fused the clasp so it could never come off again.

Seeing it around his neck served a purpose, though. It reminded her that there was no solid, honest foundation for them to build a relationship on. When she’d pushed him that day he’d told her it had been a girl’s—but whose, she still didn’t know. Something else was missing, too. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

“I’m going downstairs to finish hanging the laundry. The front door’s unlocked. You can leave that way.” Lorelei didn’t look back when she walked out.

She had just hung a pair of Michelle’s little pink Wranglers when the creaking of the screen door signaled Mark’s presence behind her. A small stain on the hem of the tiny jeans suddenly caught her interest. Wonder how that got there.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him lean his tall frame against the trunk of an old maple. He rubbed back and forth against the bark as he scratched at an itch, then he crossed one foot over the other and hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. The black ball cap was back on and pulled low over his eyes.

He looked casual, totally relaxed.

She knew better.

“Care to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours, Lorelei?” Wow, he even sounded casual. Mark was a dang good actor.

Lifting the pant leg for a closer inspection, she scraped her thumbnail across the teeny mark. “Nope.”

His sigh could have parted the tree branches. “All right. We’ll play a round of twenty questions then. Are you mad because I didn’t call or come by before today?”

I’ll be damned, that looks like a grape jelly stain. She’d have to remind Logan not to feed Michelle peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Too much sugar. “Nope.”

“Are you upset because I didn’t let you lead back there in your room just now?” He jerked his head in the direction of the house.

She snorted. “Get over yourself.”

“I promise, next time you can tie me to the bed and have your way with me. How’s that sound? You can do whatever you want. Except whips and chains—I’m not into pain.” He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Well, except maybe some spanking. That might be all right if you ask me real nice.”

A smile tugged at her mouth and she bit her cheek to stop it. Tried for a frown instead. “There’s not going to be a next time, Mark.”

“So spanking’s out?”

She choked back a laugh. Smart-ass. “Go home and leave me alone. I’ve got work to do and Logan should be bringing Michelle back from therapy soon. Go harass someone else.”

Lorelei didn’t realize what she’d let slip until he asked quietly, “Why does Michelle need therapy?”

Shit. All humor left her and she grabbed up another damp pair of toddler jeans, hung them on the line, pinned them. “Never mind.”

His voice was soft with his next question. “Is she who you were talking about that day in my room? Is Michelle sick?”

She spun to face him and threw the clothing in her hands at him as hot grief overcame her. “I said drop it!” Tears burned the back of her throat and stung her eyes. What right did he have to ask that like he really cared? Damn him. She just couldn’t deal with this right now, not when so many emotions were at the surface. Raw vulnerability ripped through her and she pushed back violently, an instinctual response to the overwhelming emotion.

He pushed away from the tree and strode across the grass, avoiding the wet wads of clothes. “That’s it, isn’t it? What this whole thing has been about. Something’s wrong with Michelle.” His eyes filled with instant understanding and sympathy.

Feeling scared and cornered, she lashed out, all rationality lost in the face of such emotional bombardment. “You don’t get to ask me questions about my life and my family like you give a shit. I want you to leave. Now.” It was too much. He was tromping all over her personal boundaries and if he didn’t leave soon she was going to lose it. She wasn’t ready to let him in.

He was relentless. “Is she going to die, Lorelei?”

It was all suddenly way too much. Michelle, Logan, Mark.

She lost it.

Tears sprang up and spilled down her cheeks. When he tried to reach for her she slapped out blindly against his hands. Something close to hatred flooded her. His life was so perfect. He was so f*cking perfect. “I said leave! Go back to Denver and leave me and my family the hell alone.”

His hands grabbed hers and he pulled her roughly into his arms as she fought him. He grunted when she elbowed him and said against her hair, “No. I’ve already told you that. Damn it, Lorelei, calm down and talk to me.”

That was rich. “Talk to you? Why should I when you don’t say a single thing to me?” She gave up on struggling when she realized the futility. His strong arms held her effortlessly. Her gaze lifted to his and she glared at him instead.

He stared down at her with confusion in his eyes. “What are you talking about? You know how I feel about you.”

Did she? She knew he wanted her, found her desirable. Even that he found her funny. But, no, she didn’t know how he really felt.

But that wasn’t what she was talking about now. “What about you, Mark? Your secrets?”

A hard glint came into his eyes. “This isn’t about me. This is about you finally telling me the truth about why you stole from me. It’s because Michelle needs help or she’s going to die, isn’t it? And you and Logan don’t have the money to get her the help. That’s why you needed the money my necklace would bring so bad, isn’t it?” He gave her a gentle shake. “Isn’t it?”

She snapped like a wishbone. “Yes! She’s going to die because I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t sell your cross. I couldn’t do it because of how I feel about you. And I hate myself for it!”

Mark sucked in a breath. “Don’t say that, honey. You don’t mean it.”

She wasn’t so sure.

Blood roared in her ears and a hard ball was lodged deep in the pit of her stomach. She shoved out of his arms, leveled her gaze on him, and sent him away. “I do mean it when I say I want you to leave.”

He let her go and she walked to the house. She refused to look back when she opened the screen door and stepped inside. She didn’t stop until she was in her room. And she didn’t give in to the feelings tearing at her until she heard a door slam and the sound of wheels crunching gravel as his car pulled away and sped down the drive.

Then she gave in and let the flood take her.

MARK PUNCHED THE gas pedal and the Ferrari responded. It rocketed down the gravel road. A turn came up and he took the corner at sixty, sent the car into a slide to make the Duke boys proud and grinned over the quick rush.

It was about frigging time he’d finally got some answers.

Man, had he got them. Lorelei had folded like a deck of cards. He supposed he should feel guilty for what he’d just done, and a big part of him did. He felt bad for pushing at her, bullying her for answers until she’d snapped. But it had been necessary. It was way past time for her to come clean, and he’d realized that for her to do it she’d need some serious prompting.

See, he was learning how she worked, what made Lorelei Littleton tick. He’d reached a point of near desperation that night the guys had invited him out to the strip club. Ten times he’d picked up the phone to call her. Ten times he’d dialed Lorelei’s number and hung up before it rang. And that was when he’d had to admit the truth, admit the guys were right.

He was totally whipped.

He wasn’t ready to call it love, but it was way more than he’d felt for a woman in a long, long time. It was more. Stronger. Deeper.

So he’d sat there after hanging up the phone for the last time wondering when he’d become such a sissy. And that’s when it had hit him. Just because Lorelei had a hold on him didn’t mean he had to be a pansy about it. Instead of staring at the stupid phone like an idiot he could be figuring out how to get what he wanted. He’d always been more of a doer, so he got off his ass and did something.

He’d stayed up that night watching girlie movies and downing Lorelei’s favorite drink. Triple-shot mochas with whip. Those he’d drunk because he was pathetic and had wanted some sort of connection to her while he’d been twelve hundred miles away. And probably because deep down he was a real sick, twisted masochist who liked to be punished.

Man, he’d paid for it the next day. But it’d been worth it. Well, not the mochas—hell, no. That’d just been plain stupid on his part. There was a reason he stayed away from caffeine. Now he remembered. Boy, did he remember.

But all those movies had been worth it because they’d showed him the same thing. When pushed too far the women got pissy and blew up. Then the poor, abused guy was able to get down to the real important stuff.

It had seemed like it might work for him, so he’d planned, strategized. And he’d managed not to call her for four whole days.

Late at night had been the toughest. He’d gotten used to her being with him so quick it was a little scary. And when she hadn’t been there it’d been tough. He’d had a few sleepless nights. Well, all right. All of them had been sleepless. But he’d got what he wanted today so it’d been worth it.

Now he knew what she’d been hiding from him. And he was still jarred by the truth, but he’d wanted to know. Had needed to know deep in his gut that Lorelei was someone he could trust enough to tell about his dyslexia and know she wouldn’t someday use it to belittle him. To make him feel worthless like his ex-wife had.

Now that he knew why she’d stolen from him, he felt much better. He’d needed the truth. And it turned out it was something he could help with.

Now he had some plans to put into action.