Mom For The CEO's Daughter (A Completed Novella)

CHAPTER 3

When Kara walked onto the back deck of the beach house for supper, Gabe did a double take. With her hair in the usual bun at her nape, and wearing jeans and a plain white blouse-not to mention her black frame glasses-she didn't look a thing like the carefree woman who'd played in the sand with his daughter that afternoon. She was once again his assistant.

Thank God.

"Burgers are ready. While you were upstairs I also cleaned some veggies for the grill."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have gone to change without asking if you wanted more help with dinner." She pushed her glasses up her nose.

Attraction thrummed through him, along with the unexpected urge to remove those glasses and kiss her senseless. Angry with himself, he quickly glanced away. "I'm perfectly capable of making supper myself."

He set the burgers on the table and Kara immediately put one on a bun for Stacy. "Ketchup?"

The little girl nodded eagerly.

Kara slathered the burger with ketchup and set it on Stacy's plate.

Gabe's eyes narrowed. This was part of the reason he was suddenly having strange feelings for his assistant. His ex, Zoe, had casually dumped Stacy on him that morning, but Kara seemed to love having her around. That was why he kept noticing her kindnesses. Unlike his ex-wife, when Kara did something nice, it was genuine. He appreciated her being sweet to his little girl. And the bikini explained why he'd let those stirrings of appreciation shift into physical attraction.

Now that he understood that, he simply had to figure out how to get their relationship to normal ground again.

While they ate, Stacy and Kara kept up a steady stream of chatter about the sandcastle they'd made. After dinner, Kara volunteered to clean up, so he brought Stacy's electronic tablet onto the deck and he and Stacy sat in the evening breeze, listening to the ocean as they played one of her video games.

"Hey, neighbors!"

"Hey!" Gabe rose and happily greeted Wyatt McKenzie, his new wife Missy and Missy's triplets, Lainie, Owen and Claire, as they climbed the stairs.

When they were all on the deck, he stooped down in front of the triplets. "I was hoping you'd be here this week."

Owen said, "We're here for Mother's Day."

"It's a treat for Mom," dark-haired Lainie agreed.

As Stacy ran over to see the triplets, Kara stepped onto the deck. "I thought I heard voices. I'm Kara, Gabe's assistant." Her eyes widened as she saw the triplets. "You guys are adorable!" She caught Missy's gaze. "Triplets?"

"Yes."

Stacy grabbed Claire's hand. "Come play with me."

But Missy held her daughter back. "We have to get home again. We were just walking on the beach when we noticed you were on your deck. We stopped to ask if you could play on the beach with us tomorrow."

Stacy turned hopeful eyes to her dad.

He laughed. "That sounds great."

The McKenzies left and Stacy yawned. He lifted her into his arms. "Let's get you to bed."

Twenty minutes later, with Stacy tucked in for the night, he walked downstairs on his way to his own room. But he noticed the deck door was open. Walking over to shut it, he saw Kara standing by the railing, staring out at the ocean.

She wore a tiny tank top and sweatpants. But rather than the pants being baggy, the low waistband clung to her hips, exposing the top of her round bottom. He swallowed just as she faced him.

"What's up?"

Heat suffused him. "I was going to close the door but I saw you standing there."

She faced the ocean again. "It's a beautiful night."

Her hair was down again. It swayed in the ocean breeze.

"Come on. Stand with me a minute, Gabe."

He cautiously walked to the railing.

"Being here, on the ocean...it's like a dream for me."

He tried to view the scene through her eyes, but he'd been here so often he failed. Nights at the ocean were beautiful, but he didn't get the thrill of seeing it for the first time that he realized she felt.

She faced him. "Thank you for bringing me."

Her genuine gratitude kicked him in the gut. She was a wonderful person. Not just a good assistant, but a nice woman.

A beautiful woman...

"You're welcome." Temptation deepened his voice to a husky whisper.

He would have been embarrassed but she smiled.

The urge to kiss her snaked through him. He controlled it by reminding himself that she was an employee, a valuable employee, whom he couldn't live without.

She stepped closer.

"This place is so beautiful I could be in a tent," she gazed out over the ocean again, "and be every bit as happy as I am in your beach house." She shook her head. "Maybe happier. I love my tent."

"You camp?"

"Yes. Woods mostly. I love the fresh air and the sense that I'm not confined." She shrugged and her eyes lit with amusement. "I have this thing about being free."

He had a thing about being free, too. Pressure to be perfect fueled everything he did, and some days it was a prison. "I get that."

"Here I always believed you thrived on the excitement of being part of everything."

"I do." He leaned against the railing. "But I'm human. It's good to have a retreat sometimes."

She said only, "Hmm," then assumed the same position he had. Forearms on the deck railing, staring out at the black ocean.

The breeze whipped her long red hair over to him. The desire to catch it teased at him. He imagined grasping a strand and using it to bring her closer.

Closer so he could kiss her.

Need whispered through him with the same rhythm as the swooshing surf.

Catch her hair.

Pull her close.

Kiss her.

Temptation bubbled up again. He'd looked at her soft pink lips for an entire year but had never really seen them until today. He hadn't known she wore bikinis, or that she'd never been to the ocean and loved kids. Until today. Today everything was different.

He faced her just as she turned to him. Moonlight played over her face, bathing her pearly skin with pale light. Her hair drifted to him on the breeze. His body tingled with anticipation.

Desire took over, kicking his common sense off the deck. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

Fire flashed through his veins when his mouth met the soft curve of hers. He raised his hands to her shoulders and found smooth skin, and the fire became hot ice. His breath stilled in reverence of the perfect feel of her, then his instincts took control and his mouth moved over hers. Easily at first. But he'd never kissed anyone who was so soft, so supple, and before he could stop himself he was devouring her.

His lips nipped and sucked, and when that wasn't enough he coaxed open her mouth. With the swish of the ocean providing dramatic background music, their tongues twined and pure unadulterated lust exploded inside him. In twenty seconds, he could have that tank top over her head. In thirty, he could probably lure her to the big comfortable bed in his room.

Before he could put the idea into action, though, she pulled away. Stepping back, she smiled shyly. As if it were a first date, she quietly said, "Good night." Then she slipped into the beach house.

With his blood racing through his veins and his hormones popping as if they were preparing for the Olympics, he cursed.

Not because she wouldn't sleep with him but because he knew eventually she would.