“Idiot,” Lauren muttered to herself as she stood under the stinging hot shower spray. Talk about overreacting. Joshua probably thought she was some crazed war-widow who used him for sex then laid the blame on him. She had been fully aware of what she had been doing, what she wanted – And he’d given her more than she had ever dreamed.
Okay, so it had been nothing like she experienced with Christopher. They had been 18 and 20 – kids. She’d been a virgin, and despite the fact Christopher was in the Marines, he’d not been terribly experienced. Joshua Chasez was, at least, in his late twenties and with his celebrity status had probably had his fair share of sexual encounters. She smiled dreamily, thinking of how exciting and wonderful he’d been. He had most definitely learned from those encounters!
“Did you expect to never have sex again?” she demanded of herself. “Unreasonable.” She wasn’t even thirty. Doing without for the next sixty years or so didn’t Bear thinking. Perhaps marriage wasn’t going to happen, but sex was bound to!
Of course, it had surprised her – the immediacy and depth of her desire for her guest. Not in the years since she had been at Blackwood Inn had any guest claimed even mild interest. She had hosted celebrities, media moguls and the just plain filthy rich. None of them had sent her hormones on red alert. They were temporary...
And none of them had engaged her children.
There was an aloneness about the man. A sadness from his singularity.
But he was temporary. Could she accept someone who only planned to be in her life a few weeks?
Could she not? Chances for her connecting with someone who made her feel alive as a woman were few and far between. Maybe if rules were firmly in place before she could engage her heart...
He was damn good for her as a woman...
She was liable to be furious, JC decided as he stood just inside the Blackwood family bathroom. Since Lauren had flown from his room in a terrified rush, she would more than likely kick his ass out of the inn when she found he had simply walked in to the inner sanctum of her family. He could live if she made him leave. What he couldn’t live with was answers. Why had she run? He was pretty sure she had more than enjoyed their time in his bed.
“Lauren.”
Blinking the water from her eyes, Lauren stared at the figure of a man standing on the other side of the translucent shower door. Joshua. He didn’t sound angry, just confused. Sliding the door open she peeked around it to see the man who made love like he’d invented it standing there in half zipped jeans, a teeshirt, and bare feet. She wanted to yank his sexy hide into the shower with her.
“There need to be rules,” she blurted.
JC was stunned. “Rules?”
“Of... whatever this is. Affair?”
He felt an uncomfortable swelling in his jeans just knowing she was naked... “An affair?”
“This... Sex... It lasts till you leave and we need to be discreet.”
But what if he was in love? Her rules didn’t say anything about love.
“Listen, you’re here on vacation, my children and I live here. You’ll go. We’ll stay. No one can know.”
She was naked in this steamy small room, making him hard, and she wanted to discuss the future. All he wanted was to get into the shower with her. JC nodded. Whatever she wanted... “I have a condom in my pocket,” he announced huskily.
The shower door slid open farther. “Then get naked and bring it here.”
In record time, JC was stripped, stepping under the hot water. Lauren was in his arms immediately.
“Did you pack a lot of those?” she demanded as she put her arms around his neck.
“Umm... No, I’ll have to go into town and stock up.” He hadn’t planned on ‘hooking up’ here. He had been going to ski.
“Sounds like an excellent plan.”
While JC went into town to make needed purchase, two couples and a single man arrived at the inn. Gone was the time he could spend with Lauren and the kids alone – or so he thought. Olivia sought him out after school, coming to his room. Her soft rap on the door proceeded her poking her head into his room.
“Hi, Mister Chasez!” she called.
“Hey, Olivia. How was school?” JC replied from his place on the bed.
“Good.”
Patting the mattress beside him, he invited her to join him. “What did you do?”
Leaving the door open, she scrambled up beside him, snuggling beneath his arm. “Tommy Murphy says he’s getting a puppy for Christmas.”
Was that a good or bad thing? JC wondered.
“I don’t think he should. He’s a bully.”
“Maybe he is just a bully at school?” JC had absolutely no idea what to say. His experience with kids was terribly limited.
Olivia shrugged. “He has a nice sister.”
“Then maybe she’ll look out for the puppy.”
“Maybe.”
Okay, that went better than he had any right to expect...
“We have other guests,” she told him seriously.
“I know.”
“Does that mean you won’t be eating with us anymore?”
“I don’t know. I want to. I guess it’s up to your mom.”
“Tell her you wanna be with us.”
Could he? Should he? Now that he and Lauren had agreed to be lovers would she prefer distance?
“Olivia!” CJ’s voice carried through the hall. A moment later the boy appeared at JC’s door, hands on his hips in exasperation. “You aren’t supposed to be in here bothering Mister Chasez,” he reminded her. “He’s a guest.”
“I’m not bothering him,” Olivia retorted then turned big blue eyes on JC. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“No, you aren’t,” JC replied, then smiled at CJ. “How was your day, dude?”
“Nancy Kellerman tried to kiss.” CJ made a face and gagged.
Now that was something JC could relate to! Chuckling, he said, “Yeah, it’s pretty gross now, but one day you won’t think so.”
“Hey, Mister Chasez!” Sam dashed into the room and clambered up on the bed opposite his sister.
“Hey, Sam.” JC scruffed the boy’s mussed blonde hair. Noticing CJ’s longing gaze at the now crowded bed, he said, “Why not join us, CJ?”
“I—I really shouldn’t. You’re a guest.”
CJ was the only Blackwood who hadn’t been on that bed that day. Even their mother had spent ‘quality’ time with JC. “It’s okay. You’ve been invited.”
After brief consideration, the boy decided to take a chance. He took a place at the bottom of the bed.
Each child took turns regaling JC of the day’s activity, from school lessons to unauthorized snowball fights. He enjoyed every story, enjoying this ‘family time’ even though he had no right to it. It struck him hard. A family – It was something he wanted. But how could he have a career and this? You couldn’t be a hands on dad and tour, not once kids were school-aged.
Money wasn’t really a problem – He’d made his money while he was very young. He’d invested wisely and though he wasn’t a miser, he wasn’t extravagant.
Yeah, he partied – mainly when he was a loose ends and bored. Hell, he could have partied every night he’d been in the Steamboat Springs area, but he hadn’t. He’d been perfectly content to be with the Blackwoods. Or he could have chosen Aspen or some other ‘hot spot’ if he’d wanted to party. This time had been more about slowing down, relaxing.
He wanted to keep making music – but he could easily stay in writing and producing...
Whoa, dude! Was he ever making some gigantic leaps here! He was hot for Lauren. Her kids were terrific. But he was thinking long term – like commitment. He sure as hell—
“There you all are!”
Lauren stood in the doorway, looking flushed and frazzled. God, she was beautiful.
“We sorta decided to have a after school pow-wow,” JC told her. “And before you say I’m a guest... I invited them in.”
It tugged at her heart to know her children had sought out this man to discuss their day. Joshua Chasez had a way with children – and their mothers no doubt. “I was simply going to remind them Jasper and Barney need to be exercised – and there will be cookies and cocoa afterwards.”
“Sure, Mom.” CJ hopped off the bed. “C’mon, you guys,” he said to his siblings. “You wanted that big doofus Barney.”
Sam was on his feet immediately to chase his brother down the hall. “Barney is not a doofus!” he declared.
With a sigh, Olivia slipped from the bed. “Barney is a doofus,” she said. “But he’s just a puppy.” As she reached her mother, she said, “Mister Chasez doesn’t want to be sent out of the dining room like he’s been bad.” With her parting room, the girl followed her brothers.
“But you were bad earlier,” Lauren remarked teasingly.
JC grinned. “And you liked it, too.” He bounded off the bed and grabbed her, pulling her into the room. Checking the hall, he found it empty. “When can I be bad again?” he asked as he nibbled her ear.
His hot breath made her shiver. “After the kids are in bed – and the guests are in for the night.”
“Clayton seems like a party boy.” JC had seen the man around L.A. He knew he was a partier.
“Well, then he chose the wrong place to stay.”
Her little-miss-prim voice made JC smile. “He’ll check out tomorrow.” He could almost bet on it.
“We’ll see.”
“Lauren, I really don’t want to be relegated to the dining room.”
Her family was already far too familiar with this particular guest – as was she. If she was smart she would ask him to leave before all four Blackwood hearts were broken. She’d always considered herself smart...Two weeks... How entrenched could he get in two weeks? She was about to find out.
Clayton didn’t check out. In fact he was joined by a woman. The couple had been seeking privacy to determine whether their relationship was feasible. No one was more surprised than JC. Maybe it was true – there was no more faithful mate than a reformed rogue!