Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,94
Her heart took a leap as he approached her, clean shaven, his black hair cut short once more. He stopped so close she could feel the heat of his hard body, smell his aftershave.
“We’re sleeping together,” he said. “You’re a reporter. Maybe you found that out, too.”
Michael smiled at Claire. “That’s good. Because I just took an assignment here in Houston. I want us to spend some time together.” His gaze met Ben’s. “Claire and I have a lot to talk about. I’m sure you’ll be busy with your son.”
Ben’s eyes took on the feral gleam she had seen the night he had gone after Sam. “I’ll be busy. Not too busy for Claire.” He turned in her direction. “Sam’s party’s at six. I’ll pick you up at a quarter to.”
He didn’t wait for a response, just turned and strode out of the apartment. Claire’s heart was still pounding when Ben closed the door. She knew about the birthday party at Sage and Jake’s on Tuesday night, of course. Sam had called to tell her. It was the first real excitement she had heard in his voice since he had come back from the bayou.
“Claire?”
Her attention swung back to Michael. She had almost forgotten he was there. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asked, determined not to be rude. “I just made a pot.”
“That’d be great.”
She didn’t really want to talk to Michael, but he wasn’t leaving her much choice. She poured him a cup, and a fresh cup for herself, and they sat down on the stools she had purchased for the breakfast bar.
She took a sip of her coffee. “You said you took a new assignment. What is it?”
“Actually, it’s connected with the exposé I was working on in Colombia. Houston has a drug trafficking problem. I made a few contacts in South America, the kind of people who know what’s going on. I’ll be doing some digging, trying to connect the dots. If I can, it could be big, Claire. Really big.”
“That sounds dangerous, Michael.”
“Good stories don’t come easy.”
She sipped her coffee. “Is that why you came here? You were looking for another story?”
He set his mug down on the counter, reached over and took her hand. “I came because you’re here, Claire. The story just gave me an excuse. I never stopped loving you. I figured if we spent time together, maybe we could find what we had before.”
Claire started shaking her head. “I don’t think—”
Michael put a finger to her lips. “Don’t say anything. Not right now. Just say that if I call, you’ll agree to see me.”
She looked into his handsome face, saw the interest she had seen long ago when they had first met. And yet it didn’t feel the same. “I can’t do that. Not right now.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll find a way to make things right.”
Claire made no reply. She wasn’t in love with Michael. She was in love with Ben Slocum.
She couldn’t have the man she wanted.
And she didn’t want the man she could have.
Twenty-Seven
Ben guided Sam up to Claire’s front door on Tuesday evening. He hadn’t seen her since last Saturday, when he’d found her in her apartment talking to her ex-boyfriend. He was still trying to wrap his head around the jolt of murderous jealousy he’d felt when he’d seen Michael Sullivan standing in her living room as if he belonged there.
“Can I ring Claire’s doorbell?”
“Sure, go ahead.” He could sense Sam’s eagerness to see her. The bad news was, Ben wanted to see her nearly that much himself. He tried not to think what might have happened between Claire and Sullivan after he’d walked away.
Had she gone back to him? Had she kissed him? Hell, had he taken her to bed?
The thought twisted his guts into a knot. His mind flashed back to Laura the night, three days after he had given her an engagement ring, he had walked into her apartment and found her in bed with another man.
Just then Claire opened the door, putting an end to the ugly thought.
Sam grinned up at her. “Hi, Claire.”
“Hi, sweetheart. Happy birthday!” She bent and gave him a hug. “How does it feel to be ten years old?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been ten that long.”
“Maybe you’ll feel older after your party.”
Sam’s grin widened. It was good to see him smiling. He hadn’t been doing a lot of that lately.