Wilder Days

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, cupping her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye. “I should have told you what I do as soon as I had the chance. It’s just that when I realized what you thought, it hurt a little.”

“What else was I supposed to think?”

He nodded, once. “Fair enough.”

“You…you investigated me,” she said in an accusatory tone of voice.

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

Del hesitated. “I can’t assume anything, Vic. I need to find out why they went after you. There are other ways to get to me. I can’t figure out how they connected us. It’s been such a long time.” He moved a little bit closer.

“So investigating me was just…part of the job.”

“No.” His head dipped. “I wanted to know.”

“You wanted to know what?”

“Everything.” With every heartbeat he moved closer.

Vic licked her lips. “There’s not much to know. My life is…pretty dull. At least…”

Del kissed her. She’d known it was coming, had passed and ignored her chance to step out of the danger zone and away from this kiss that was going to complicate everything. Her life. His. Her heart.

She loved the way Del kissed, his lips gentle and firm, his body molding to hers and his arms wrapping around her. He gave everything he had to this kiss, the way he had always given everything of himself to whatever he did. The movement of his mouth over hers rocked her to her core, made her forget everything else.

His tongue swept over her bottom lip, and she couldn’t contain the catch in her throat that gave away her response. One caressing hand was in her hair, the other stayed firmly at her spine. Every now and then his fingers rocked, comforting and much too arousing.

There was comfort in a kiss. She had forgotten that. She had also forgotten what it was like to be swept away by physical sensation. To feel as if she were melting, as if her knees might buckle at any moment. Her lips parted more widely, as unconsciously she invited more. And more.

“This,” a cold voice called from too nearby, “is totally disgusting.”

The kiss ended abruptly and Del backed up a step just as Vic did. To his credit, he looked almost as shaken as she felt.

“Gross,” Noelle muttered. “Why on earth did you two kidnap me from a perfectly decent vacation to make me watch this disgusting display of lewd middle-aged behavior?”

Del recovered quickly. “You’re our chaperon, kiddo.”

“Don’t call me kiddo,” Noelle said coldly, her eyes pinned on Del. “We’re not going to bond or anything, so you might as well save your time and energy.”

“No kiddo, huh?”

“No kiddo.”

“How about I call you ladybug, instead?”

Noelle made a guttural noise that very clearly spoke of her distaste, before spinning around and heading for the kitchen.

Del smiled down at Vic. “I think she’s beginning to like me.”

Vic shook her head. “I’m sorry. She’s really not always so…awful.”

And no matter how much a kiss made her think otherwise, she knew Del would not be around long enough to get to see Noelle’s better side.

Going to bed early was preferable to watching the two lovebirds. How incredibly gross.

Noelle kicked back on the bed, her eyes on the ceiling, her headphones and the music in her ears drowning out any sounds that might drift through her closed door.

This was bad. Really bad. Yeah, her mom did date now and then, but never guys like Wilder. She spent more time with her friends than with guys, especially Wanda Freeman. Wanda had even fixed her best friend Vic up a few times, but that had always been a disaster. There were men from Grandpa’s company, dweebs like that stiff James Moss, or that guy who smiled all the time, Ryan what’s-his-name. She had never worried about those guys because they never kissed her mom like that, or went to a crappy shack in the woods on vacation or called her kiddo and Ladybug. She snorted. Wilder obviously thought if he played nice with the kid it would make a difference to the mother. Fat chance.

If only her Dad knew about Wilder, he’d do something. He’d come in and run that thug off and realize that the three of them belonged together again. It had been such a long time…she barely remembered what it was like to have a father and a mother. Her dad steered clear of her because her mother was always there, and that was obviously uncomfortable for him. It wasn’t his fault that he rarely came around, or that when he did he didn’t stay long. It wasn’t his fault that he never smiled anymore, or that he was always so anxious to leave.

Yeah, if he knew, he’d do something. Noelle smiled. Something drastic. How cool would that be?

He wanted her. More than was right, much more than he should. Hell, he wasn’t eighteen anymore. He didn’t lose control of his emotions or his libido.

But he wanted Vic so much it hurt.

She stepped onto the porch to join him. The screen door squealed, the planks on the porch squeaked as she stepped across them. He felt each sharp sound as if it fluttered through his body. This was not good.

“She’s asleep?” he asked.

Vic nodded as she sat in the rocking chair beside him. “Out like a light,” she whispered, as if her voice might disturb the night. And what a night it was. The moon was full and the air had taken on a comfortable cool hint as it washed across the nearby lake and through the trees. The air smelled clean and fresh, the moonlight lit the rustic front porch and the woods before them. And it lit Vic in a way that made her look even more beautiful than she usually did. That in itself was a miracle.

He could not afford to get sloppy and sentimental over a woman. He tried to tell himself that what he felt was just a residual of what they’d had long ago, the faint echo of what an eighteen-year-old had thought was love.

And still, he wanted her.

“How long will you be here?” Vic asked, her voice soft and easy.

“As long as it takes.”

“That’s not—”

“Necessary?” Del interrupted. “No, I guess it’s not. But what am I supposed to do, Vic?” Anger made his voice too caustic. “Leave you here?”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Not this time.”

Vic rocked, silent for a long moment. “Surely no one will find us out here. I’m sure Noelle and I will be fine on our own.”

Was she so anxious to get rid of him? Apparently so. “Let’s get one thing straight, Vic. I’m not leaving here until we have the Mayrons in custody. If I do have to leave, Shock will be here. No one else. I don’t trust anyone but Shock.” With you. He couldn’t say that. He couldn’t reveal that much of himself, to Vic or to anyone else.

Vic sighed, and he felt it. “If it was just me, I’d argue with you,” she said. “But I won’t take risks with Noelle. If there’s even a remote chance those people will find us here…” She turned her head and looked at him, square on for the first time since he’d kissed her. “I’ll do anything to keep Noelle safe,” she said. “Anything.”

He’d use that, if he had to. If she tried to kick him out again he’d appeal to her motherly devotion and protective instincts. “Good. Then we agree that I’m staying.”