Her Dominant SEAL(21)

“She’s doing fine. I saw her this morning.”

“Some of the old rumors are surfacing now that he’s out of prison.”

“I heard some of them when I went to the high school to get Piper’s homework.”

“Well, I went to school with Evie before she had to drop out. I can fill you in. Maybe we can go out for dinner later on this week.”

Karen watched the children out of the corner of her eye. “That could be fun.” Karen would like to find out what Lacy knew about the Avery family.

“Miss Eastman! Fluffy’s throwing up.”

“Gotta go.” Karen waved to Lacy and went to go see what was wrong with the rabbit.

***

Thank God for Bailey’s Irish Cream and hot chocolate mix. Karen nuked the cocoa in the microwave and added in the liqueur. She gave a sigh of satisfaction when she found the can of Reddi Wip behind all the diet soda. She piled it high on the beverage and then swiped up a large scoop in a spoon and ate it.

“Nirvana,” she moaned.

She took the drink into the bathroom where the hot water was waiting in the bathtub. She let the bathrobe fall to the floor and made sure not to look in the mirror as she stepped into the tub. No need to see all the ‘curves’ God gave her when she was planning on indulging in eighty-million calories.

The water felt luscious. Her feet had felt cold all day, except for those few minutes in Drake Avery’s arms. For some reason, her entire body had heated up even hotter than in this bathtub. Karen leaned her head against the rolled-up towel, took a sip of her creamy cocoa, and groaned as she pictured dark eyes and black wavy hair. God, that man was sex on a stick.

She licked her lips, tasted whip cream, and thought of his lips.

“Bad girl.” She groaned and took another sip of hot chocolate.

As the liquor and hot water finally warmed her up, the shivering stopped, and her brain started to work again. She thought about the hell that the Avery children had lived through, starting with poor Piper. Apparently, she had been brought into the hospital, basically broken and battered by her own father when she’d been little more than a baby. Then there had been what had happened to Drake.

Half the town, the contingent that she didn’t like, thought he was no-good. The other half thought he walked on water. She knew what he had been doing for his sisters. She’d talked to Trenda as she had worked on the scholarship applications for Piper. Hell, it sounded like Drake was putting half the Avery clan through college!

Trenda had let it slip that he was a SEAL. This afternoon, during recess, she’d done a Google search. She’d been amazed at the dangerous job they had. He really was a hero. Now he was taking care of Piper because of that bastard father of theirs. He was amazing.

Karen took another sip of chocolate and shivered. She wasn’t cold. She was hot, remembering that she had actually been carried by a man today. Talk about a total turn on. She closed her eyes and smiled and replayed the experience.

She put the empty mug on the floor, and pushed out of the cooling water, letting it sluice off her body. She grinned. Okay, maybe the curves weren’t that bad. And, she was pretty sure she’d seen Drake looking her over, how cool was that?

Now, to form a game plan, because she sure as hell wasn’t going to let the Averys handle this all on their own. She pulled on her robe, and went into her home office and pulled up the information that she’d been gathering on scholarships for Piper. Okay, she would still be eligible for the scholarships if she graduated with honors, even if she wasn’t in class. But the one that Karen had really wanted her to get depended on Piper putting in a certain amount of hours as a teacher’s aide.

“Well, we have to get this stuff straightened out in two weeks, that’s all there is to it.” Karen picked up her cell phone.

“Edna?”

“Did you see Piper?”

“Yes, but I can’t tell you where.”

“Of course not.” Edna sighed. “Are you sure she’s safe? Maybe she should leave the state.”

“She is not leaving the state. She is not giving up everything she has worked for because of a criminal,” Karen said harshly. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure she’s in good hands.”

There was a long pause on the phone.

“Drake came home, didn’t he?”

“I can’t answer that,” Karen said.

“That’s a yes.” Edna sighed again. “Tell me he’s bald with a pot belly.”

“He’s fat and bald,” Karen answered obligingly.

“You lie, he’s still handsome as hell, isn’t he?”

Karen heard the lust in her friend’s voice.