Share
BOOK 5
Related chapters
Being Yours BOOK 5
'She’s all clean and changed, Mommy,’ Lynne said, glancing at her sister-in-law. ‘And she really was awake. I heard her when I went in to put the coffee on.’ ‘Right,’ Ann said, disbelief in her tone, but her expression held nothing but loving indulgence. Lynne continued to rock the baby, stroking a finger tenderly along the Mandy’s cheek. In response to that touch, a small, pursed mouth made sucking motions as the infant turned her head toward Lynne’s breast. ‘Wrong fountain, angel-face,’ she said with a laugh, dropping a kiss on the soft, downy, pale red hair before passing the baby over to Ann. ‘Better go see your mom.’ Ann, quite unselfconsciously, discreetly lifted her T-shirt, snuggled the baby close and let her nurse. Cliff looked at Lynne, and the heavy, dragging pain grew to unmanageable proportions. ‘I have to go,’ he said, abruptly shoving back his chair. ‘Thanks for dinner.’ ‘Oh, dear, I’ve embarrassed you,’ Ann said. ‘I’m sorry. Come on, Lynnie, let’s us girls go ins
Being Yours BOOK 5
Lynne spent the next hour wandering through the main floor and basement, making notes of pieces of furniture she thought would fit in her apartment. There was so much here! All her mother’s things, all Taylor had bought when he had his own apartment, and all of Ann’s things as well. In the basement were boxes and boxes of dishes, cutlery, knick-knacks and linens. There’d be no difficulty finding enough. The difficulty would be in trying to choose. Tomorrow, she reminded herself. She’d worry about it tomorrow. Now, she’d go to bed, sleep like a log, and be ready for a hard day’s work. But, as she lay there breathing in the perfumed breeze, picking out the individual aromas of nightscented stocks, nasturtiums and freshly cut grass, sleep was far away. She wandered to the balcony and watched the moon reflect on the water of the river, silvering a rippled path that seemed to arrow right into her heart the way Cliff’s kiss had. No. He was too old. He really didn’t like her. He was all s
Being Yours BOOK 5
Mindful that Lynne had left her bicycle in the office building over the weekend, Cliff arrived at her house Monday morning in what he thought would be plenty of time to offer her a ride to work. Once he learned from the old man upstairs she had set out walking half an hour before, he slammed his car door so hard, it likely did internal damage to its workings. Why couldn’t she have waited for him? Didn’t it occur to her that he’d come by to get her? When he arrived at the office, she was safely ensconced behind her desk, peering at the top sheet of a sheaf of papers as Joe tapped a pencil on it and explained something to her. Unseen, Cliff watched as Lynne slanted a smile up at Joe and thanked him for his help. Before they could notice him, he slipped into his own office and shut the door. All the rest of the day, he forced himself to keep his office door closed, to ignore the sound of Lynne’s voice, her laughter, both of which he heard during the lunch break. He knew half the men
Being Yours BOOK 5
Stay away from her. Cliff clenched his teeth and repeated the sentence over and over silently every time he found himself drawn to Lynne’s office during the next week. He checked once per day to make sure she wasn’t having any difficulty with the tasks he assigned her, but beyond that, he kept to himself. It did him no good at all and it was his own fault. He’d kissed her that evening upon leaving her brother’s home. And he’d kissed her again outside her apartment. What a fool! If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t remember the soft trembling of her lips, the way they’d parted shyly for him, the feel of her in his arms. Her scent somehow lingered in his car, even days after she’d last been in it. She invaded his dreams at night to the point where he wondered if he should even bother trying to sleep. When it became impossible to escape thoughts of her, he’d put on jogging clothes and run until he was physically exhausted. Sometimes after that he could get a few hours’ rest. When, one
Being Yours BOOK 5
“Yesss ...’ His breath whistled in and out and then, as she made the same motion again with her hand, he capitulated. He covered her hand with his and moved it just the way he wanted, then, only moments later, he tore it from him and entered her in one strong thrust that filled her with his power, sent need spiraling again deep inside her. This time, he moved slower, holding her so she couldn’t increase the pace, taking it slowly, kissing ‘her eyelids, her face, her mouth, all the while stroking in and out of her with a deliberate rhythm. The sensations grew stronger, rippling through her, sending her head tossing from side to side, making her squeeze her eyes tightly shut. ‘Look at me,’ he said raggedly, and she opened her eyes to see the darkness of his turned even blacker, lines of strain in his face, his mouth a hard, taut slash. She managed to lift one trembling hand and cup his cheek with her palm. He pressed his lips into it, thrusting with his tongue as he thrust with his bo
Being Yours BOOK 5
'Well,' Grant said Monday morning when Lynne arrived at work. ‘You’re looking great. The break must have done you good. I take it Cliff didn’t work you too hard?’ To Lynne’s disgust, she felt heat searing her face and was grateful when Nita arrived to distract her husband’s attention from Lynne. ‘Guess what?’ she said, her face a picture of astonishment. ‘I just heard from Cliff. He’s taking off this morning for a drive down the Oregon coast. He says he won’t be back in touch till his vacation’s over. And,’ she added, her gray eyes forming disbelieving circles, ‘he said he’s not taking any work with him!’ Grant whistled. ‘Well! I guess you must have done him some good, too, Lynne. I guess my sending you over there to work with him for a weekend was a smart move. He’s very protective of women. Maybe he’s afraid if he hangs around Ill send you over again.’ Lynne suspected Grant was absolutely right, but: not for the reason he assumed. She knew why Cliff had gone. To escape her, to gi
Being Yours BOOK 5
If he was ‘smitten’, Cliff took great care not to let it show for the rest of the weekend. Though he agreed to stay in one of the spare rooms that had been finished and furnished since his first visit, Lynne knew without having to be told that he — and she — would both be sleeping alone Saturday and Sunday nights. Taylor was delighted with both the gifts Cliff had brought, and equally pleased by the expert help he could provide. The fanlight, installed in the front door, sent great splashes of rainbow color across the deep shine of the hardwood floor in the foyer. The two men spent the rest of the afternoon and even an hour after dinner hard at work, cutting, fitting, nailing, discussing, while Lynne and Ann did finishing work, sanding, painting, and even wallpapered one bathroom. Despite the busy schedule, Lynne was not deprived of time with her niece who was now making her first, all-too-successful attempts at crawling, and was very proud of herself, not to mention very apt to ge
Being Yours BOOK 5
Shock waves resounded through the office following the news that Cliff was leaving the company and joining up with a friend in Vancouver, an investment broker. It was an amicable dissolution of the partnership between him and Grant and Nita, and would change nothing in the basic structure of the firm. Grant assured Lynne that her arcticling year was not in jeopardy, and that they’d all help her through her exam preparations. Though she couldn’t say so, she didn’t care about that. She could only nod, feeling numb, and wonder if Grant and Nita knew why Cliff had decided so suddenly he wanted out of the company. Nothing either of them said gave her reason to suspect that they knew, but that failed to ease her heartache. She knew, and that was what mattered. Did Cliff suspect she was pregnant? Was he running from that, too? No. She was sure of it and felt guilty for the thought. He was too honorable to do that, and she had to tell him. But it all happened so fast she didn’t have a chan
Latest chapter
