Dynamiting Daddy's Dream House Read online

  "Troy, Jill, I'm hungry." Annie peeked out from the back seat of her car.

  "I guess we'd better get something to eat, then. I saw a place a couple of miles from here called the Maison Paris. How does that sound?" He'd also called around looking for a restaurant with a romantic atmosphere. Jill deserved a reward for spending the week with Annie.

  Jill's shy smile told him he'd made the right decision. "I'm not sure. I think it's pretty fancy."

  Annie back climbed out of the car and stomped her feet. "No, no, no. I hate those places. They have waiters who stick their noses in the air and look at children like they're bugs. I want to get a kid's meal."

  Troy's romantic dreams scattered like a fragmentation grenade.

  "How about the Spaghetti Barn?" Jill didn't seem too bothered by the change in plans.

  Annie pouted for a moment, then nodded. "All right. But I get to pick my own kind of spaghetti."

  ***

  Jill had never been to the Spaghetti Barn before but wasn't disappointed. A funky and eclectic décor based on 1930s antiques and tacky paintings of Italian landscapes gave the restaurant a homey look. She, Troy, and Annie ordered, then, while they waited for their food, they played bocci ball.

  She wasn't much good at the game, but Troy had an uncanny ability to score perfectly. He was on his way to a victory when at the last minute he accidentally knocked his target ball away, leaving Annie the winner.

  Annie crowed at her sudden victory.

  Jill expected the competitive Troy to be irritated at losing. Instead, she saw nothing but pure pleasure in his eyes, pleasure over Annie's happiness.

  He'd thrown the game, she realized, but he'd done so in a way to make Annie believe she'd won on her own.

  Before they could begin a second game, a young couple and their little boy joined them in the restaurant's central courtyard.

  "Hey Mister, can we play too?" The boy looked about Annie's age but he had to outweigh the little girl by thirty pounds.

  "What do you think, honey?"

  Annie looked like she'd rather suck lemons but finally agreed. "Just one game."

  The mother headed for one of the iron tables near the Bocci court and poured herself a glass of red wine from a carafe. "Do you want to join me?" she asked. "The men can get pretty intense."

  Jill nodded. She'd spent all day with Annie. It only seemed fair to let Troy have a few minutes with his daughter.

  "Thanks. I'm Jill Villars."

  "Alyson Snoodle. Alyson with a 'Y'." She took a large swallow from her wineglass, then licked her lips. "Where does your daughter go to school?"

  Jill's heart sank to her work boots. She'd actually started to feel like part of a family tonight. She'd been in denial, but the keen disappointment she felt over Alyson's false assumption made her realize that this family thing wasn't just an idle fantasy. She wanted Annie for her daughter--and she wanted Troy for her husband.

  Troy wanted her as a babysitter and, possibly, as a sex-toy. Although what a man who'd been married to Liz Sebhra could want with a someone like her she had no idea. Liz had been the epitome of glamor and sophistication. Jill was, well, an inexperienced virgin. With bad fingernails.

  "I'm sorry. What did you say?" she managed to sputter in an attempt to gain time.

  "I asked where you and your husband are sending your daughter to school."

  She didn't need to explain their relationship to this stranger. "Annie doesn't go to school yet. She'll start kindergarten next fall."

  "Really? T.J. has been in school since he was two. It's the only way to prepare for the future, you know?"

  "I guess I didn't know that."

  The mother nodded. "If they don't get into the right elementary school, their chances of getting into the right college go way down. You can kiss med school good-bye. Or in your daughter's case, finding that doctor-husband."

  Jill bristled at the sexist comment. Someone had left this poor woman back in the fifties. "I'll mention that to Troy."

  Alyson laughed. "He'll just say to send her to public school. Men don't understand."

  "I see. Well, we enjoy having Annie around as much as we can." She paused realizing she might have hurt the other woman's feelings. "I mean, it's wonderful to have them in school if you're both working."

  The woman looked like she'd stepped in something stinky. "I stopped working as soon as T.J. was born, of course. Believe me, keeping up with his school and his sports and his lessons is a full time job."

  Jill looked over to see how the game was coming. This professional mother had certainly put a damper on her domestic fantasies. If she squinted just right, she could still see Annie, herself, and Troy as a perfect family. But Troy would have to be the one who would stay home with Annie. He'd said that's what he wanted. Certainly Jill would never put herself in such a dependent trap.

  "You don't work, do you?" Alyson made work sound like some sort of a curse.

  "I'm in construction."

  "Oh." The woman tittered nervously, then looked at her more closely. "Oh my. I saw you in the Times. You're the woman who dynamited a man's house just before he moved in." Alyson leaned closer and smiled. "It was revenge, wasn't it? Had he betrayed you? You can tell me, your secret stops right here." She patted her more than ample chest.

  "I think I hear them calling our name," Jill said. "Troy, Annie. Let's go."

  "We beat them," Annie gloated, then added in a loud stage whisper, "That T.J. thought he was so smart. I don't like him."

  She took Annie's hand and led her back to the table. "I hope you were a good sport." Actually, Jill hoped nothing of the sort. Still, she wouldn't encourage Annie toward bad behavior just because she was far from perfect herself.

  Annie skidded to a stop at their table and glared. "I thought you said dinner was ready?" Obviously salads didn't meet her definition of a meal.

  "The rest will be here in a minute, I'm sure. Troy pulled out chairs for Jill and Annie.

  Annie sat down and stared mutinously at the greens. "I don't have to eat this, do I?"

  "You might at least try a bite," Jill said. With all the time she'd spent with Annie this week, she'd slipped pretty easily into the parental role. "If you do, I'll tell you a secret."

  Annie eagerly chomped down on a piece of lettuce, then nodded solemnly at Jill and slowly crossed her finger up and across her narrow chest. "Tell me now."

  Jill forced back a grin. Promises and secrets had to be two of the first things children learn. She leaned over and whispered in Annie's ear. "I didn't like T.J.'s mother very much."

  Annie giggled. "T.J. said girls have cooties. What are cooties?"

  "Cooties are lice eggs," Troy said. "You don't have them."

  "Cooties are also a made-up thing," Jill corrected. "Boys like to say girls have cooties because they haven't learned how to play nicely."

  She glanced over at Troy to see how he would take to being contradicted. She found herself wondering if he'd ever learned how to play nicely. Nicely just wasn't a word that came to mind when she thought of Troy. Playing, on the other hand, just wouldn't leave her mind.

  His gaze was plenty hot, but not with anger. She'd done her best to deny the sexual attraction that flowed between them. After that look, she couldn't doubt it any longer. Troy could choose virtually any woman in the state. Right now, it looked like she was his choice.

  "I'd forgotten about that," Troy admitted. "Over the past few years, my concerns have been a lot more with real bugs than with pretend ones." He took Jill's hand in his own large hand and squeezed it gently. "You know you've been great this week. I don't know if I would have made it without your help."

  She flushed. "We're both doing each other a favor. What else are friends for?"

  "Is that what we are? Friends?"

  "Dinner is here. Finally." Annie grabbed at her silverware. As she pulled it back toward herself, the fork somehow got itself tangled around Annie's glass of milk.

  "Careful." Troy's impossibly fast h
and reached out and snatched the glass before it hit the table but not before half the milk had spilled out, all over Annie.

  She broke into tears. "This is my favorite dress."

  "What a baby."

  Jill looked up to see T.J.'s smirk. He and his parents were passing by on the way to their own table.

  Troy's face turned dark. An artery on his neck pulsed visibly.

  "Maybe you should get a high chair for your daughter, Jill." Alyson suggested smugly.

  "Maybe we should mind our own business," T.J.'s father put in, his voice sounding almost strangled. "T.J., tell Annie you're sorry."

  "Are you kidding?"

  "Roger." Alyson sounded shocked at her husband's suggestion.

  "Now, T.J."

  "Sorry." His surly grunt denied the words.

  Troy nodded briefly, accepting the apology.

  "What was that all about?" Jill overheard Alyson whine as her husband dragged her away.

  "Take a close look at that guy," the father urged. "He'd just as soon kill you as say hello."

  Whether Troy heard or not, Jill couldn't tell. He busied himself helping Annie wipe up the mess.

  Jill took the man's advice, doing her best to look at Troy with unbiased eyes. He did look powerful and dangerous. But his anger was controlled, not wild. He would react to protect those he cared for. Right now, Jill felt protected rather than threatened by that power. But would she always?

  ***

  "Why don't you come up to our suite?" Troy suggested. He needed Jill more than he had thought possible and Annie was sound asleep after five more games of bocci ball.

  Jill's eyes took on that panicked look. "I'm not sure."

  "Trust me, I'm not going to attack you." Not that it wasn't tempting.

  "That's not what I'm afraid of."

  "Sounds complicated. Why don't we talk about it over a glass of wine?"

  She shrugged, sending that little wiggle through her body. He hadn't figured out how she combined her firm muscles and slender frame with feminine softness but he was anxious to explore the mystery more fully. Explore it with his hands, his lips, his entire body.

  "I guess I could come up for a few minutes," Jill finally agreed. "But I'm warning you, I might get a little silly after another glass of wine. I already had one at the Spaghetti Barn."

  "I'll take my chances."

  Troy drove the rest of the way to the hotel, parked, then lifted Annie from the back seat and cradled her in his arms. He tucked Jill's arm into his and set off toward the elevator. Right now it looked like Annie's prediction might come true. Today might just turn out perfect no matter how unlikely that had looked.

  Troy tucked Annie into her bed, turned on her nightlight, and kissed her forehead.

  "Night, Troy," she mumbled.

  "Good night, Angel."

  Jill looked uncomfortable and beautiful in the living room. "Is she all right?"

  "She's fine." He closed the distance between them.

  For half a second, panic crossed Jill's hazel eyes and she looked like she might run.

  He waited. He'd waited all week for this and he'd wait longer if he had to. But man, he hoped he wouldn't have to.

  Jill gave him a lopsided grin. "Do I look nervous?"

  "You look beautiful," he answered truthfully if incompletely.

  "Thanks." She put a hand on his chest, not pushing him away, just touching him.

  The simple contact upped his pulse by a couple of notches.

  Watching her for another sign of panic, Troy reached for her arms and tugged her against him.

  Her body conformed to his like a sheath to a knife--a perfect fit. Her head turned upward, as she met his gaze with a look filled with desire. Her tongue darted out, we her lips, then disappeared.

  Troy groaned. Jill managed to trigger every male urge in his body, soul, and mind. Without waiting for more invitation, he pressed his lips against hers.

  He teased open her mouth, then met her tongue with his own, exploring and caressing.

  Jill sighed with contentment, then pressed herself more closely against him, her soft breasts yielding against his hard chest.

  He reached to caress them, stroking her breasts' heaviness through the thin fabric of her blouse. Her nipples puckered, pressing against his thumbs. His own arousal hardened in sympathy.

  "Wow," he breathed when their lips separated. He hadn't forgotten how explosive her kiss could be, but he had tried to convince himself that he'd been imagining things. He hadn't.

  Jill's hands circled around him. One traced his hips, teasingly near the center of his excitement.

  "Oh, yes." His voice sounded unnatural, harsh, and hoarse in his ears.

  "Troy?" Jill sounded hesitant, as if afraid of his disapproval. Her hand darted back to her side.

  "Darling?" The endearment slipped out.

  "I have a confession to make."

  He froze. Had something happened to Annie? "What?"

  "I'm a virgin."

  For a moment the words didn't compute. Then he laughed. "I thought you were going to tell me something terrible."

  "This isn't terrible?" She sounded shocked.

  "It is a little of a surprise. Not to mention a pretty negative statement about the state of the male in America. Still, I can't think how it's a tragedy. It is a treatable condition, you know." Troy knew just the treatment. His body burned to start applying his prescription immediately.

  "Men have always treated me like one of the guys. I sort of decided there was something about me that just didn't excite them."

  He laughed, then bent to nibble at that sweet curve where her shoulder joined her neck.

  "I'm serious."

  He kissed where he'd nipped, then pulled back a fraction of an inch. "There's definitely nothing wrong with your excitement quotient."

  ***

  Jill felt a pressure drop from her shoulders-a pressure she hadn't even known she carried. Troy could have any woman in the world. His marriage to Liz Sebhra had proven that. If he wanted her, she really must be desirable.

  "In that case what are we waiting for?" She launched herself into his arms. An errant giggle escaped before she could rein it in. Making love to Troy wouldn't live up to her fantasies, of course. Nothing could. That didn’t matter. It could fall a long way short and still be the most exciting thing that had ever happened in her life.

  Troy's grin matched the happiness that welled up inside of her.

  She kissed him, glorying in the ability to take the initiative in something as important as that.

  His erection pressing against her abdomen gave her a sense of power and sent a liquid thrill to her core. She could do this--she knew she could.

  "Perhaps we could slip into something more comfortable," Troy suggested.

  "I'm dying to see you naked," Jill admitted.

  "You know, right now that sounds incredibly comfortable.

  He disengaged himself from her grasp, then ran his finger down her blouse. He didn't seem to take the effort to unfasten her buttons but they parted for him as if they knew that was their function.

  "No fair, you're supposed to be getting naked."

  "That's your job. My job is to get you there." He groaned as he pushed her blouse back, slipping it off her arms. "You have an incredible body."

  Troy's eyes looked like they could consume her.

  Jill couldn't match Troy's expertise with unfastening clothing on the opposite sex, but she could certainly make up for it in willingness. She flung herself into tearing off his shirt and exposing that fascinating chest underneath. She'd seen it that first night when he'd attacked her with his knife. A couple of times during the week, she'd seen him stripped down to his jeans at work. He'd always slipped on a shirt before she could drink her fill. Or could she ever have enough?

  She let out a gasp as he shrugged his shirt. He was beautiful.

  Several scars crossed his chest. Most were old and healed. One still looked red and angry. "What happened?
" She traced the newest scar with her finger doing her best to be careful, not to hurt him.

  "The Congolese government didn't like it when I announced my retirement," Troy admitted. "I was insistent, but they were too."

  At least he had put that part of his life behind him. She knew that soldiers were important but she didn't think she could stand knowing that the man she loved would put his life at risk for money. Even if he did fight for good causes, they weren't his causes.

  "How about the other scars."

  "Occupational hazard," he said. "I'd rather talk about these." He slid his hand behind her and her bra obligingly fell apart.

  Jill clasped her hands over her breasts. They were too big, she knew. Troy was used to emaciated model-type bodies.

  He caught both of her hands in one of his own, gently pushing them away. "So beautiful."

  She looked for a hint of mockery in his eyes but saw nothing but black pupils so wide they almost wiped out the thin ring of blue-black iris.

  Then he bent his head, capturing one of her breasts with his mouth.

  An electric charge ran through her with such force Jill could have collapsed if Troy hadn't steadied her with one strong hand. His teeth caught gently at the hardened tip of her nipple, his tongue caressing it with warmth. If he touched her between her legs now, she knew she would explode and vanish into millions of pieces.

  The knock on the door sounded like an announcement of doom.

  "Put on a bathrobe," Troy whispered. He jerked a thumb in the direction of the closet. Without his seeming to move, his huge knife appeared in his hand.

  "It's probably just your turn-down service," Jill suggested.

  "I canceled it when we moved in. I don't like strangers in my room when I'm not there."

  He didn't say anything about non-strangers. Jill took a measure of hope from that.

  "Hurry," Troy urged. "Put some clothes on."

  When he had been kissing her, her near-nakedness had felt wonderfully alive. Now she simply felt exposed. "Right."

  Troy padded to the door. She hadn't even noticed him removing his boots.