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“Watch your language, baby. You don’t want our children to grow up using foul language.”
“They’ve heard worse,” she said flippantly, “and no doubt from their classmates.”
“I know you hear it at the high school, but I’d prefer that Sabrina and Layla not hear it at home.”
Belinda affected a facetious smile. “Please let me up, Griffin.”
He smiled. “That’s better, darling.”
Waiting until Griffin moved off her and helped her to her feet, Belinda caught the front of his sweatshirt. Standing on tiptoe, she thrust her face close to his. “If you ever hump me in front of the girls again I’ll hurt you, Griffin Rice.”
Griffin winked at her. “Would you prefer that I hump you in private? I know I don’t appeal to you, but your body is saying something else.”
Her fist tightened. “What exactly is my body saying?”
“That regardless of how we may feel about each other, our bodies are in agreement.” He leaned in closer. “I could smell sex coming from your pores.”
Belinda let her hand fall at the same time her jaw dropped. “How dare you! Your arrogance just supplanted whatever common sense—”
“Cut the act, Belinda!” Griffin said angrily, cutting off her tirade. “It’s only a normal reaction between a man and woman, so don’t confuse sex and desire with love. I’m not in love with you, and I doubt whether you’ll ever be in love with me. Circumstances beyond our control have forced us into a situation we never would’ve or could’ve imagined. I didn’t ask to be a father but I intend to make the best of it, and if that means making sacrifices to keep my vow to my dead brother then I will.”
“Pray tell, Griffin, just what are you sacrificing?”
The seconds ticked off as he stared at the woman who intrigued him more than he wanted. The sexy godmother who made him want her when everything said that she was so wrong for him.
“Having a normal relationship with a woman.”
“Don’t you mean sleeping with other women?”
“That, too.”
“My heart bleeds for you, Griffin. If you think I’m going to become a replacement for your other women, then think again, mister. I don’t play house.”
His eyebrows flickered. “Do you play at all?”
“Yes,” she retorted. “What I do play is for keeps.”
“If you play for keeps, then where is your so-called boyfriend?”
Oh, you’re trying to be slick and get into my business, Belinda mused. “You’ll get to meet Raymond when he comes up from Florida this summer.”
“Why do I have to wait for the summer?”
“That’s when he’ll be able to get away.”
“Don’t you mean that’s when he’ll be paroled?”
“Oh, no you didn’t!”
“Yes, I did, Belinda. Is your Raymond in a Florida jail? I’m asking because I don’t want that type of element around my daughters.”
“Why are they always your daughters, Griffin?” Belinda shot back, the timbre of her voice escalating along with her temper. “Aren’t they also my children?”
“I thought we now belong to both of you.”
Belinda and Griffin spun around. They hadn’t heard Sabrina when she’d come out of the house. They were so busy going at each other that they hadn’t realized they weren’t alone.
Belinda went over to hug her. “Of course you belong to both of us. You and Layla are my daughters.”
“What about Uncle Griff?”
“You’re his daughter, too.”
“If that’s true, then why were you fighting?”
“We weren’t fighting, sweetheart.”
“It sounded to me as if you were fighting.”
Belinda met Griffin’s knowing gaze over Sabrina’s head. As new parents they’d made an unforgivable faux pas—argue in front of their children. “There’re times when adults don’t agree with something, so it may sound as if we’re arguing. Your uncle and I love you and your sister. We made a promise to take care of you and make certain you’re safe. I’m going to ask you and Layla to be patient with us because we’re newbies playing mom and dad.”
Sabrina smiled. “You already sound like a mom even though Uncle Griff needs more practice at being a daddy.”
“Well, excuse me,” Griffin drawled. “What do I have to do to sound like a daddy?”
“First of all you have to learn to say ‘that’s enough, young lady.’”
Griffin forced back a smile. He’d lost count of the number of times Grant had issued his favorite warning. “What else?”
Sabrina narrowed her gaze. “There’s ‘did you do what your mother told you to do?’”
Belinda pressed her palms together. “I like that one.”
“You would,” Griffin mumbled under his breath.
Layla, carrying a large quilted tote, joined them on the porch, frowning. “Aunt Lindy, I thought you were coming with us.”
“I am. I just have to put a few things in a bag. Don’t leave without me.”
“We won’t” came three voices.
Chapter 5
Proper attire for movie night in Paoli was pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Belinda, her head supported on a mound of overstuffed pillows, lay on the carpeted floor beside Griffin, while Layla and Sabrina were huddled together, sharing a large throw pillow. They were watching Akeelah and the Bee for the umpteenth time. The film had become a favorite of the twins, along with most of the feature-length animated films from Disney/Pixar. Sabrina, who’d demonstrated promise as a budding artist, had expressed interest in becoming an animator.
It was only Belinda’s second trip to Griffin’s house, and there were a few changes since her last visit more than five years before. He’d added an in-ground pool, expanded the outdoor patio to include a kitchen and added another room at the rear of the house that served as a home office. File folders bulging with contracts, strewn over a workstation, were a testament to a less-than-efficient filing system.
Griffin made a big production of preparing for movie night when he taught the girls how to build a fire in the fireplace. Refreshments included popcorn, s’mores, bonbons and cherry Twizzlers.
“Who wins the bee?” Griffin whispered to Belinda.
Layla sat up. “Don’t tell him, Aunt Lindy!”
Belinda tickled Griffin’s ribs through his T-shirt. “I’m not telling.”
Griffin caught her fingers. “Don’t do that.”
“Are you ticklish?”
Not releasing her hand, he stared at Belinda for a full minute before lacing their fingers together. “Yes.”
Smiling, she winked at him. “Do you have any other weaknesses I should know about?”
Griffin closed his eyes rather than let Belinda see how much she affected him, how much she’d changed him and his life in less than a few weeks. How could he tell her that he liked her because she was different from the other women he’d been involved with, that he wanted what she gave Raymond—her Sunshine State lover—and like Belinda, if he had to play then he wanted it to be for keeps? Spending a Friday night at home watching movies with Belinda and the girls was the highlight of his week—and something he could very easily get used to.
“That’s it,” he lied smoothly, redirecting his attention to the large plasma screen mounted on the wall. Griffin pretended interest in the movie when it was the woman pressed to his side that he found so intriguing.
* * *
Belinda had just dozed off when she heard the soft knock on the door. Sitting up, she turned on the bedside lamp. “Who is it?”
“It’s Count Dracula, and I’ve come to suck your blood” a deep voice crooned in a perfect Romanian dialect.
Belinda smiled. “Sorry, count, but I’m all out of blood.”
“Curses!” he snarled, this time sounding like a pirate.
“Come in, Griffin.” The door opened and Griffin walked in, wearing a pair of black pajama pants and matching T-shirt.
Friday night at the movies had not only been enjoyable but also enlightening. She had seen another side to Griffin’s personality, the opposite of the aggressive and competitive attorney who’d become notorious for holding out until he got the best deal for his clients. He had a really wicked sense of humor, telling jokes and deliberately flubbing the punch lines. Sabrina and Layla had adored the attention he lavished on them and they, in turn, reciprocated in kind.
“Is movie night over?” She’d found herself dozing off and on until she decided it was time to go to bed, leaving before the end of the film.
Griffin nodded. “When I told the girls they had to brush their teeth before turning in, they said I sounded like Aunt Lindy.”
“Is that a good thing?” she teased, smiling.
“I’d say it is.”
“What are you doing?” she shrieked when he ran and jumped onto the bed, flopping down on the mattress and pressing his back to the headboard.
Crossing his bare feet at the ankles, Griffin gave Belinda a sidelong glance. “I came to talk.” Before settling down to watch the movie, he’d watched as she brushed and pinned Layla’s and Sabrina’s freshly relaxed hair, covering theirs with bandannas before doing her own. Her smooth transition from aunt to surrogate mother was nothing short of amazing.
“What’s so urgent that you can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“What do you think about getting the girls a dog?”
Belinda went completely still. “What kind of dog, Griffin?”
“Don’t worry, Belinda, it won’t be a pit bull or Rottweiler.”
“What kind of dog?” she asked again.
“A Yorkshire terrier. One of my neighbors has a purebred bitch that whelped a litter of pups about three months ago. She’s sold off all but two, and I told her that I would have to talk to you before offering to buy one.”
“A puppy,” she whispered. “You want me to take care of a puppy?”
“Sabrina and Layla will take care of it.”
“I don’t think so, Griffin. You’re fooling yourself if you believe girls their age are going to take care of a dog. I’ll wind up feeding, bathing and walking it. And what’s going to happen when it gnaws on my rugs and furniture?”
Griffin dropped an arm over Belinda’s shoulders, bringing her cheek to his chest. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Please don’t say no until you see them. They’re adorable.”
“I’m certain they’re adorable but—”
“Baby, please,” he crooned softly. “Grant promised the girls they could have a dog.”
Tilting her head, Belinda stared at Griffin looking down at her. The soft glow from the lamp flattered the contours of his lean face. “Donna didn’t say anything to me about getting a dog.”
“Grant wanted to surprise them. I’ll buy the cage, wee-wee pads, food and chew toys. I’ll also commit to covering the vet and grooming expenses, and of course the pooch will need one of those designer puppy carriers that cost an arm and two legs.”
She smiled. “Why does it sound as if you’re running a con on me?”
He returned her smile. “I didn’t mean for it—”
“It’s okay,” she said, cutting him off. “When are we going to look at the puppies?”
Griffin kissed her forehead. “Tomorrow after breakfast.”
“I must have sucker written on my forehead.”
He laughed softly, the warm sound rumbling in his chest. “Why should you be any different from me?”
“Are we really soft, Griffin?”
“No. We’re just two people who want the best for the children we’ve been entrusted to love and protect.”
“You’re right,” Belinda said after a pregnant pause. “I always believed I’d grow up to fall in love, marry and have children of my own. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I’d be raising my sister’s children. What makes it so challenging is that they’re not little kids, but pre-teens who’re beginning to assert their independence. I try and do the best I can, but what frightens me is what will I do or say if, or when, they come out with ‘you can’t tell me what to do because you’re not my mother.’”
“Let’s hope it never happens, but if it does then I’ll step in.”
Belinda tried to sit up, but was thwarted when Griffin held her fast. “You’re not going to hit them.”
He frowned at her. “I’d never hit a child. What I can assure you is that my bark is a great deal louder than yours.”
“I’ll not have you yelling at them.”
“What’s it going to be, Belinda? You can’t have it both ways. There’s going to come a time when they’re going to challenge you, because all kids do it. But the dilemma for us will be how do we deal with it as parents. And if I have to raise my voice to get them off your back, then I will. Remember, they’re twins, so they’re apt to tag-team you.”
Belinda remembered when Donna broke curfew and Roberta was sitting in the living room waiting up for her. Donna said something flippant and all Belinda remembered was Roberta telling Donna that she’d brought her into the world and she could also take her out. Her mother’s tirade woke up the entire household and it took all of Dwight Eaton’s gentle persuasion to defuse the situation.
It was after the volatile confrontation that Belinda made a promise to herself: if and when she had children she would never scream at them, because not only was punishment more effective, but also the results lasted longer.
“If you’re going to raise your voice, then I don’t want to be anywhere around,” she told Griffin.
“Dammit, Belinda, you act like I’m going to verbally abuse them. When it comes to discipline we are going to have to be on the same page, or else they’re going to play one off the other.”
“I know,” she whispered, burying her face between his neck and shoulder.
“What do you do when your students act out?”
“I put them out of my class, and then write them up.”
“Do you have problems with the boys?”
“What kind of problems?”
“Do they try and come on to you?”
“A few have tried, but when I give them a ‘screw face’ then they usually back off.”
“Show me a ‘screw face.’” Easing out of Griffin’s comforting embrace, Belinda sat up and glared at him. There was something in Belinda’s gaze that was frightening. “How do you do that?” he asked.
She smiled. “Practice, practice, practice. I have more problems with my female students than the males. Some of them outweigh me, so they believe they can take me out with very little effort. In not so many words, I tell them I can roll with the best of them.”
“You’re not talking about fighting a student?”
“Of course not. But what they don’t know is that I have a black belt in tae kwon do, with distinction in sparring and power breaking. Myles studied karate for years, earned his black belt, but didn’t like competing. I, on the other hand, loved competitions.”
“Do you still compete?”
“No. It’s been a long time since my last competition. A lot of teachers refuse to teach in rough neighborhoods, but the confidence I gained from a decade of martial arts training and the fact that these kids need dedicated teachers is why I stay.”
“So you can kick my butt.”
Belinda smiled. “With one arm tied behind my back,” she said, teasingly.
“Ouch!” he kidded, pressing her back to the mattress. “When I first met you I thought you were cute and I wanted to ask you out, but you were Miss Attitude personified.”
“I was nineteen and you had already graduated law school, so I thought you were too old for me.”
“I’m only five years older than you. I graduated high school at sixteen, college at twenty and law school at twenty-three. That made me an accelerated student, not an older man.”
“You seemed so much older then.”
“What about now?”
“When I saw you rolling around on the porch with Layla and Sabrina I had serious doubts as to your maturity.”
“They love it when I wrestle with them,” Griffin drawled. “Fast-forward thirteen years, and I’m going to ask you something I should’ve asked when you were nineteen. Belinda Eaton, will you go out with me?”
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
“Why do you think I’m kidding?”
“Not only are we aunt, uncle and godparents but our nieces’ legal guardians. We sleep in each other’s homes, you have a key to mine and I to yours, but right now we’re in bed together. Dating would be ludicrous given our situation.”
“You’re right about us sharing a situation.”
“Is there something wrong with that, Griffin?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it, but I would prefer having a relationship with you aside from what we share with Sabrina and Layla. That way I could get to know you better.”
Belinda was strangely flattered by Griffin’s interest in her. She experienced a gamut of emotions that didn’t let her think clearly. Circumstances beyond their control had brought them together and the man whom she’d come to believe couldn’t be faithful to one woman wanted a relationship with her.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
His expressive eyebrows lifted. “What’s there to think about?”
Belinda gave him a long, penetrating stare. “I have to decide whether I’m willing to see you exclusively.”
“Does that mean you’ll give up Sunshine?”
“Who’s Sunshine?”
“Your pen-pal chump living off the taxpayers in a Sunshine State prison.”
“Raymond is not a chump,” she said in defense of the kindest man whom she had the pleasure of knowing.
“He’s in Florida and you’re in Pennsylvania, which means you live at least a thousand miles apart. How often do you see him, Belinda? Or better yet—how many times a year, if he’s not incarcerated, does he make love to you? How do you know if he’s being faithful to you?”
Her temper flared as she sat up. “How do I know you’ll be faithful to me?”
“You don’t. All you’ll have is my word.”
Belinda wanted to tell Griffin that she was beginning to like him, in fact, like him a little too much to be indifferent to his sexual magnetism. When he’d held her down on the porch she’d been on the verge of climaxing and that just looking at him made her body hot and throb with a need long denied. Griffin was right about Raymond. She didn’t know whether he was sleeping with another woman but that wasn’t her concern because he was her friend. She’d fallen in love only once in her life, and it ended with her moving off campus to come back home. It took years before she trusted a man enough to sleep with him.
“If I can’t have Sunshine, then it definitely has to be no skanks, ‘chicken heads’ or hoochies for you.”
Throwing back his head, Griffin laughed. “You drive a hard bargain, Lindy Eaton.”
“It has to be all or nothing.”
Griffin ran a forefinger down the length of her nose. “If you ever have to negotiate a deal always remember to give your competitor an out.”
“Is that how you see me, Griffin? Am I a competitor or an opponent?”
“Neither.”
“Then what am I?”
“I’m someone who’s concerned about you. You’d fallen asleep less than half an hour into the movie. I know you’re exhausted. You no longer cook, clean, wash and iron for one, but three. Layla told me you spent more than an hour folding laundry.”
A scowl settled into Belinda’s features. “You have the girls spying on me?”
“No, Belinda. I only asked them how their week went and both were only too willing to tell me. The reason I want to take you out is to give you a break. It can be one night a week. We can leave Layla and Sabrina at your parents’ or with my mother when she comes back. You can let me know in advance what you want to do or where you’d like to eat and I’ll make it happen.”
Belinda’s expression brightened. “If all you want to do is to take me out to dinner, then that means that I don’t have to give up Raymond.”
“It doesn’t matter because I get to see his woman a lot more than he does.”
The slow, sexy smile that never failed to make women sit up and take notice of Griffin Rice spread over his face as he moved over Belinda, supporting his weight on his elbows.
Belinda’s breasts felt heavy, her nipples swelling as she leaned into the solid wall of his chest. For years she’d watched Griffin with other women, wondering why, other than his gorgeous face, they chased him and now she knew. He was inherently masculine and sexy, and it didn’t matter that she was another in a long line of women who would get to sample what the celebrity lawyer was offering. She opened her mouth to his kiss, drowning in the sexual heat, succumbing to the sensual spell that made her feel as if she and the man holding her to his heart were the last two people on earth.
Griffin’s heart slammed against his ribs when he showered kisses around Belinda’s lips and along her jaw. Lowering his head, he fastened his mouth along the column of her velvety, scented neck, nipping, suckling, licking her as if she were a frothy confection.
“You taste and smell so good,” he mumbled over and over.
Baring her throat, Belinda closed her eyes. She wanted to tell Griffin that he felt and smelled good, too, but the words were locked in her throat when a longing she’d never known seized her mind and body, refusing to let her go.
Without warning the spell shattered when his hands moved under her pajama top and cupped her breasts. “Griffin, no! We can’t!”
“I know, baby,” he gasped near her ear. He couldn’t make love to Belinda while the girls were in the house, and not when he couldn’t protect her against an unplanned pregnancy.
Her breathing coming in uneven pants, Belinda moaned softly. “Go to bed, Griffin.”
He smiled. “I’m already in bed.”
“Your bed,” she ordered softly. “Good night, Griffin.”
Burying his face between Belinda’s breasts, Griffin closed his eyes. He didn’t want to let her go, but he had to. Reluctantly, he moved off the bed. “Good night, Belinda.”
It took a long time after Griffin left her bedroom for Belinda to fall asleep. The thrumming in the lower part of her body had become a reminder of what she’d missed and needed.
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