Impossible Dreams (33 page)

“I thought I told you to stay put.” He needed a
flashlight. All he was getting out of this was bruised shins.
“Isn’t there another door back here?”

“To the furnace room.”

He almost heard the shrug in her voice. “Furnace room?
Below here?” In a building this old, that could mean almost anything.
“What kind of furnace?”

“The kind that heats things,” she said dryly,
catching his arm. “The enormously expensive kind, if the bills we
received last winter were any indication. I don’t know why steam heat
ever went out of favor. There are radiators all over that would have done a
better job than whatever the modern version is. Why are you suddenly concerned
by the heating system?”

Axell gave up the search and steered her toward the door
they’d entered. With Maya beside him, he could probably generate enough
steam to fuel every radiator in here. “Coal is scarce,” he reminded
her. “Steam requires coal. Chances are, your furnace room has a coal
cellar.”

She thought about that a minute as they worked their way
back to the door. “Coal cellars have coal chutes, don’t
they?” she asked reflectively.

“You got it. I can’t imagine how they get up and
down it without a ladder, but chances are, that’s what they’re
doing right now.”

“Who?” she demanded. “What who’s
doing? This is a condemned building, for pity’s sake. There’s
nothing here to steal.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Axell
jerked open the alley door and pushed Maya through. Then he firmly turned the
lock and pulled the door shut. He wished he had the deadbolt key. “But
the cops are looking for the place the dealer stashes his drugs. Empty
buildings are ideal crack houses.”

“Let’s get back to the restaurant.”
Nervously, Maya tugged his arm.

He wanted to look for the coal chute. He wanted to know who
was using Cleo’s old building. And had they been doing so even while Maya
lived here? That idea gave him cold chills. Maybe he’d better take Maya
home first. They had some unfinished business, and he doubted if he’d
catch the intruders at this late date.

Reason warred with lust and lust won. He wanted to see Maya
spread-eagled across his bed wearing nothing but garters. He wanted to see if
he could control the situation a little better next time, or maybe not. There
was something exhilarating about utter mindlessness.

“We’ll call the police from home.” With
sudden urgency, Axell hurried Maya up the street. To hell with
intruders. It wasn’t his building anyway.

“Your place or mine?” she murmured provocatively
as he helped her in.

Her room, with the possibility of kids and cats running in
and out, or his, a million light years distant from Alexa or childhood
nightmares. Cursing as he started the engine, Axell decided not to think about
that either. They still had to get through the twin tempests of Cleo and
Stephen. Why had he ever thought life with Maya could be handled in a rational
manner?

“Told you so,” she mocked through the darkness,
apparently reading his mind. “Ready to throw me out yet?”

“You’re just waiting for that, aren’t
you?” He understood her that much, anyway. “One wrong word, and
you’ll be gone. You’re not a kid anymore, Maya. You can stand up to
the grown-ups on equal terms now.”

“Equal.” She snorted inelegantly. “Like
you don’t have it all. There’s nothing equal about this
relationship. Once the sex grows boring, what will you do? Run for governor and
live in Raleigh?”

“Don’t start, Maya,” Axell warned.
“I’m not in any humor to handle your baggage right now. I’ve
got enough of my own to deal with. Just concentrate on how quickly we can get
Cleo and Stephen out of the house.”

“One thing at a time,” she said, her humor
restored if the amusement in her voice was any indication. “Sometimes
life doesn’t let you do things the way you like them done.”

“Well, until that happens, I’ll do things my
way, thank you.” He already had the plan formulated. Get rid of
nuisances, check on kids, seduce Maya. Worked for him.

Every light in the house blazed as they turned up the
driveway. Axell cursed under his breath. Maya remained blessedly silent. The
kids should be asleep by now. Lights were not indicative of sleep.

“It’s still sort of early,” Maya said
carefully as they pulled into the garage. “The kids were probably just
overexcited.”

“If hyperactive kids are all I have to handle, I
wouldn’t be worried.”

The instant they walked through the door into the kitchen, a
babble of excited voices greeted them.

“Muldoon scared Kitty!” Matty shouted.

Looking more like a harassed mother and less like a
dispassionate murderess, Cleo grabbed his pajama shirt. “Matty, get back
to bed. I told you we’d take—”

“Right, like pulling down the drapes helped. The
damned cat will come down when it’s ready.” Obviously steaming,
Stephen strolled into the kitchen pressing a wet cloth to cat scratches on his
bare arm.

“Daddy, he’s been saying dirty words. And Alexa
spit up all over Mommy’s rug.”

Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, Axell thanked God
there were no police or fire engines involved, fixed a glassy gaze on
Maya’s beaming, expectant face, and exhaled. He could deal with this.
Months of sexual frustration had finally found a divine source of release, and
he hadn’t had his fill yet. He could move the Great Wall of China right
now if it meant landing in Maya’s bed. He’d been rude, crude, and
uncouth the first time, and he desperately needed to make it up to her. He
didn’t want her getting any more strange ideas than she already had. He
didn’t
do
things like that.

“Constance, back to bed! Matty, take your cat and get
back to your room.” Axell swept the rest of the room with a look that he
used to clear brawlers from the bar. “Out! The lot of you. Visiting hours
at the asylum are over.”

Belatedly, as everyone scrambled, Axell wondered what
they’d done with his reliable baby-sitter.

***

July, 1946

As you may have heard, I have been visiting in the country with
cousins. I wish you well with your new bride, although I do hope you’ve
developed a taste for sheep since sticking it up her ass is about the best you can
hope from her. Her type certainly would never welcome you with open arms.

Be that as it may, your daughter was born July 1st. She will
stay with my cousins where she cannot cause you undue embarrassment, or I cause
her the same. Should you wish to contribute to her upbringing, you may send
what you will to my cousins at the enclosed address. As she reaches the age of
understanding, I will refrain from telling her of her origins for fear she will
recognize how very small a man her father is.

Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice, doggie’
until you can find a stick.

“Your mommy will see you after school tomorrow,”
Maya reassured the tearful five-year-old as she led him back to bed.

Axell had all but thrown Cleo and Stephen into his car and
driven them to town when the local cab couldn’t arrive soon enough to
suit him.

“Don’ wanna go to school,” Matty replied
sullenly.

Oh, great. Loving, obedient Matty had turned on her, too.
Sometimes, she had to wonder if she’d started down the wrong path somewhere
and if she should turn back and see where she’d lost her way.

“Mr. Pig would miss you.” She used her best
no-nonsense voice as she tucked him in. “And you wouldn’t get to
play Duck, Duck, Goose with Peggy and Billy,” naming his two favorite
friends of the moment. “Now off to sleep.” She pressed a kiss to
his forehead and slipped out the door.

Matty had stayed in his room several nights in a row this
past week. Maya had the distinct feeling tonight would not be one of those
nights.

Oh, well. She checked on Constance and got a rundown on the
evening’s events. Poor Dorothy had apparently put up a valiant front, but
she’d been called away on a family emergency, reassured by the so-called
“adults” in the house that everything was under control. Maya
couldn’t really blame the woman. Cleo and Stephen looked old enough to
handle three little kids and a few cats.

“Well, learn from example, love,” she warned
Constance. “Never swing Alexa in the air after she’s had her
bottle.”

Constance giggled and snuggled beneath the covers.
“Aunt Cleo yelled at Mr. James for saying those words. What does
‘bugger it all’ mean?”

With the whole scene vividly clear in her mind, Maya
chuckled. “It means Alexa’s daddy was very, very angry. Now go to
sleep. I’ll take care of the carpet.”

By the time she’d checked on Alexa and made certain
the other two were settled, Axell had apparently returned from town and rescued
the kitten from the drapery rod in the family room.

“I’m thinking tile and throw-away rugs in
here,” he said in disgruntlement as he surveyed the interestingly stained
carpet.

“Don’t you mean ‘throw’ rugs?”

“No, in this case, I mean exactly what I said.”
He didn’t explain but looked down at her instead.

She was still wearing her evening gown, and Maya shivered at
the focus of his gaze. Making love in total darkness the first time seemed
somehow symbolic. She didn’t know if she could do it again, in the light,
in a bed. Commitment was not something she understood, but “bed”
and “husband” seemed irretrievably linked with “commitment,”
and it scared the hell out of her. A condemned building just seemed more her
style. She bit back a grin remembering just how completely her dignified
husband had lost his cool.

“My bed, or yours?” he asked when she
didn’t answer his rather pointed silence.

“Matty will come looking for me,” she murmured,
fretting at a loose thread. “And Alexa wakes in the night. And Constance
has nightmares.”

“Fine, your room, then,” he said confidently,
steering her in the right direction. “Matty will have to learn to
knock.”

Maya gulped. She didn’t know why this was so difficult
for her. She was a grown woman. Men had slept in her bed before. Not many,
admittedly. She’d never had much time or patience before. And none of
them had erased all thought of sleep. She didn’t know why Axell should be
different. He was just a man. An arrogant Virgo. With a strong streak of
passionate Scorpio.

The labels didn’t help. Her heart still fluttered and
her breath did a little raspy number as Axell loomed large and strong beside
her bedroom door, waiting for her to enter. Labels didn’t make the man.

“We’ve done this before,” he said gravely
as she hesitated, but Maya could see the twinkle behind his placid expression.
Add “impossible” to her list of labels.

She swept past his imposing frame. “I want to shower
first.”

Axell closed the door and propped a chair beneath the knob.
“You showered before we left. You can shower later. Right now, everything
is quiet. We might not have another chance.”

He didn’t even look at the chaos that was her bedroom.
With his gaze focused totally on her, Axell began unfastening the buttons of
his shirt. He’d discarded the fancy jacket and tie before climbing after
the kitten.

Maya bit her bottom lip as Axell’s spectacular chest
emerged from his starched shirt. Tanned, muscled flesh rippled temptingly as he
flung the shirt over a chair. Golden brown hair formed an inverted triangle
between flat brown nipples. Stephen didn’t have chest hair. Heck,
compared to this, Stephen didn’t have a chest.

“Need help?” he taunted, moving closer.

The muscles of his shoulders bulged. His biceps flexed as he
reached for her. Underneath those expensive business suits, he was all animal
muscle. Her gaze dropped to below his buckle. All muscle.

“Your turn,” he whispered challengingly.

Wits fled, she didn’t slip away in time as he closed
the distance between them. For the second time that night, Axell popped the
tiny hook holding up her dress.

“If the cat’s got your tongue, I want it
back,” he murmured beside her ear as her dress fell to the floor.

Axell’s kiss was as devastating as she remembered.
Maya tasted traces of the wine they’d consumed earlier before her mind
hit sensory overload.

Her palms stroked over solid muscles that rippled and surged
beneath her caress. The heat between them was intense enough to ignite
spontaneous combustion. His mouth savored hers as his hands explored, and his
touch brought the realization that except for garters and stockings, she was
completely naked. Somewhere in the trash of the storeroom, she’d left
behind what remained of her panties.

He stroked between her thighs and she almost crawled up his
leg. Axell stepped back to study what he’d bared. Maya had known the
intensity of his concentration could be a dangerous thing. She melted beneath
the heat of it now.

“You’re so...so...petite,” he struggled
for the words as he stared.

Maya saw the worried frown form between his eyes as Axell
fingered her nipple. She knew she wasn’t anything to write home about.
“Disappointed?” she asked lightly, as if the bottom hadn’t
fallen out of her stomach. People had rejected her all her life.

He looked startled at her question. “Disappointed? Are
you kidding? You’re so perfect, you scare me. Did I hurt you earlier? I
didn’t realize...” He gestured helplessly, but his hungry gaze
dropped to the dainty blue garters on her thighs.

Maya didn’t know if it was his words, or his gesture,
or his gaze, but suddenly, it was all just right. He wasn’t rejecting
her. He wanted her. She was woman to his man, and all their other differences
disappeared.

She reached for his belt buckle. “Do I look
hurt?” she asked in a sultry voice she scarcely recognized.

“You look glorious.” He unfastened the buckle on
his own, stripping off trousers and briefs faster than she could think of it.
“I’m thinking that I got the best of this deal.”