Maya, a woman a decade younger and a universe apart from his stodgy, conservative background. Maybe he should have tried harder with Constance on his own. Maybe he should have married someone like Katherine with the same background as his. Maybe he—
Maya appeared in the doorway wearing some kind of slinky blue-green dress he knew he'd never seen before. The hem hit just above her knees but the slit in the side shot clear up her thigh, revealing a silky, sparkly glimpse of stockinged leg so tempting his eyes nearly fell out. He could scarcely tear his gaze away to observe the rest of the...
One look at the peekaboo bodice and Maya's bare shoulders rendered him incapable of walking across the room without crippling a vital part.
He thought maybe he'd take her to the nearest motel first.
Chapter 26
WANTED: Meaningful overnight relationship.
"Will this do?" Maya asked uncertainly, standing in the family room, displaying her new dress.
She'd piled all those glorious curls into a tumbling mop atop her head, so she was all naked neck and shoulders, except for the thin strip of material at the top of the gown which drew the eye to the very nice cleavage displayed below. Axell would gratefully pay any amount that showed on his credit card for this view. Or was this another of her thrift shop bargains?
"Depends on what you wanted to accomplish," Axell replied skeptically. "Bring me to my knees?" He glanced at Constance who watched with interest. He wouldn't complete his thought. He couldn't think with all his blood concentrated well south of his brain.
The front doorbell rang. No one ever used the front door. Sidewalks weren't a part of the landscape here. Maya blanched a shade whiter and Axell knew at once who their caller was.
He returned a few minutes later trailing the musician, who—with his gold earring and long ponytail—looked decidedly out of place in this family setting.
"Stephen! I though you worked at the club in the evenings." She cupped her elbows in her palms and drifted nervously toward the doorway where Axell stood.
"Even God got a day off," Stephen grumbled, searching the room until he discovered the baby-sitter returning a wide-eyed Alexa to her infant seat. "I figured I could take care of my daughter for one night."
Like hell, he would. Axell draped his arm proprietarily around Maya's shoulders. Her bare shoulders. His ability to concentrate on Stephen's declaration and not the electricity shooting up his arm revealed the extent of his anger. "Have you ever changed a diaper? Mixed formula? Heated a bottle? Those are the essentials of infant care."
Stephen looked angry and confused, and Maya apparently took pity on him. Axell hoped it was pity. Any minute now and he'd be growling and baring his teeth at the intruder. He damned well hoped she understood that because he didn't.
"Dorothy is here. She can teach you what Alexa needs," Maya said reassuringly. "Or you can just kick back and relax and watch some television."
Cleo appeared in the hall doorway, holding Matty's hand. "What's he doing here?" she demanded, glaring at Stephen.
"Time to go!" Maya cried cheerfully, swinging toward the doorway into the kitchen. "We're late. Kids, behave yourselves. We'll be back to see you're tucked in, so you'd better be in bed and sound asleep when we return."
Axell smothered a grin as Maya executed another of her graceful exits. Behind her back, he raised a reproving eyebrow at the glowering combatants. "Dorothy is in charge," he announced in a tone that brooked no interference.
Stephen looked relieved. Axell pinned a mutinous Cleo with a glare. "Remember those guys at Social Services? Do you suppose it's a coincidence that their initials are 'SS'?"
Cleo's glare wavered uncertainly. Axell accepted that as surrender. He was exposing Constance to unhealthy influences, his conscience warned. But Dorothy was here, and Stephen and Cleo were adults—of a sort. And Constance had a sensible head on her shoulders. She could always leave the room if the hostilities escalated. She'd probably take Matty with her. She'd inherited a few of his instincts.
He caught up with Maya and practically shoved her out the door and into the garage.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Maya slipped into the BMW. "It's awful late." The grim set of Axell's jaw rang all her warning bells. "Maybe we should put this off to another time. I'm starving."
Axell reached into the back seat, grabbed a lap throw, and wrapped it around her shoulders, grazing her arm in the process. Heat immediately combusted where he'd