“I think my writing just unnerved her.”
He picked up the pages she’d printed for him to read. “What you write is very passionate. I’d be willing to read every word you’ve ever written.”
“So you’re not put off by this type of fiction?”
“Turned on is more like it.” He drew her hand to his crotch and the very hard erection that was waiting. “Very turned on.” He lifted her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles.
“I don’t know. She might force me to use a pen name.”
He chuckled. “A pen name? Is that her idea?”
“No, but she said she’d contest the will.”
The plates he carried came down onto the counter in a crash. His voice took on a dangerous tone, low and eerie. “She what?” He formed his lips into a thin grimace as he wiped his hands on a kitchen towel. “She threatened you?”
“Not exactly. Just made it seem as though I shouldn’t be thinking of limiting my career.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled. “I know you don’t want me butting into your affairs with your sister. But if you need me, please let me help. I know more people than you can imagine.” He walked over to her, lifting her chin. “I’m serious. Don’t let anyone bully you.”
“I can stand up for myself.” She sat back and crossed her arms. “Why does everyone think that I’m such a lightweight?”
He studied her, silently brooding, and kept his mouth shut. She didn’t know if he thought she was a “pleaser” as Mike and Fran believed. This was the last straw. “I can take care of myself.”
“Hey, I’m not going to let what goes on between you and your sister interfere with us. It didn’t work before, got me nailed a few days ago, and right now you’re upset. All I’m asking is if you need to talk, I’m here. Do you understand? I love…your writing.”
“Thank you, it really means a lot to hear someone express an opinion that doesn’t have to do with their own bottom line.”
His lips quirked sensually. “Well, I’m not that innocent. Let’s just say it’s not my bottom line that responded.” Dustin rubbed his hand down the large bulge behind the zipper of his jeans. “Baby, your writing, your body, just being next to you drives me crazy. You intrigue and entice me.”
* * *
A walk between the houses early in the morning was nothing new. Claire had done it for years. She was thrilled being with Dustin, but her joy was edged in sorrow, confusion, and an underlying bitterness that seemed to define her relationship with Fran.
She opened the front door and smelled coffee. She slipped off her shoes and went into the kitchen. Fran was seated at the dining room table. “Wi-Fi still hasn’t ventured this far.”
“You can use your phone if you’re lucky, but for not for large files.”
“So, are you and Dustin just enjoying a roll in the sheets or is this something more permanent?”
Claire stalled. Dustin and she had hemmed and hawed about the future. She believed they both wanted to be together but that was as far as they’d gotten. That didn’t seem like a way to determine what type of relationship they had other than physical and something fueled if not driven by their past. They needed to talk.
Somehow discussing this with Fran bordered on conspiring with the enemy. This whole conversation felt déjà vu and not comforting in the least. She wanted to tell Fran to mind her own business, yet after last night if they had another point of contention, Claire feared they’d have a big meltdown without their parents to intervene. This was new territory and she, at least, understood that pushing the boundaries could end up tearing them apart. That type of renting might never get repaired. Not only would she lose her parents, she’d lose Fran. For all her sister’s outlandish neediness, she was still her twin.
“We haven’t discussed it.” Claire looked at her sister steadily. “I’ve only been back for a couple of days.”
“And you both haven’t reconnected before this time?”
“No. You know that. I would have told you.”
“Everyone has secrets.” Fran smiled oddly. “Is this a rebound thing? You just decided to go after him after all these years?”
“I didn’t chase him and wrestle him to the ground. He was a willing partner.”
“I didn’t mean that he was having sympathy sex with you. I simply wondered if you were thinking with your head or maybe if this is how you get material for your writing.”
Claire griped the back of the chair. “Really, this is too low for even you. Do you ever think before you speak or is it your intent to hurt?”