“The police aren’t telling us anything,” said Nico, Maria’s oldest son. “Do you have any idea what happened? My father worked construction his whole life. I can’t understand how this could happen.”
“I don’t understand either,” Claire said, shaking her head. “I wasn’t there when it happened, but your dad and I were up on the sixth floor earlier in the day reviewing the plans. He was going to get things ready for the rough-in. I can’t figure out why he would have been anywhere near the window.”
On the last word, Maria flinched and Claire despised whatever cruel twist of fate had brought so much pain to this family.
“I don’t know what caused the accident, but I don’t want you to worry,” she said, meeting the older woman’s stunned gaze. “We’ll take care of you. Pete has been part of English Electric since the beginning. Dad and I want to make sure you have what you need. We’ll keep paying Pete’s salary at least until his life insurance and workers comp and Social Security benefits kick in. Longer if you need us to. Whatever you need.” She kept her gaze on Maria’s, willing her to take some strength from what felt like a feeble offering.
Maria nodded. “Thank you, honey. That’s what Mr. Masters said, too. I appreciate it.”
“It’s the least he could do,” said Mark, the other son. “Our father died working on his jobsite. He’s probably scared we’ll sue.”
“That’s enough,” snapped Maria, showing the first hint of her normal fire. “That is not how your father would want you to act.”
He looked sheepish at his mother’s chastisement, but he was absolutely right. They could sue or at least try. They might not win, but they could make things difficult for Luke, and if he paid them anything, it increased their chances exponentially. Any money he gave them could be used against him in court as an admission of guilt. Claire knew the family, and she and her father owed them. She couldn’t let Maria struggle regardless of the consequence and she knew Maria wouldn’t take advantage of her.
Luke didn’t know the Lesters as anything more than a name on her payroll, and his exposure was so much greater than hers. He had no reason to trust them beyond the fact that she did. Knowing he hadn’t shied away from offering the family his help and support floored her. She didn’t understand where his need to protect the people she cared about came from but God help her, she loved him for it.
“Please let me know when the service will be.” She stood and then bent to brush a kiss over Maria’s cool cheek. The older woman nodded and Claire said her good-byes. She had to swing by the house she was flipping before heading home to Luke, determined, at least for now, not to fight that for herhomemeant him.
LUKE PULLED HIS Veyron into the gravel drive behind Claire’s truck and braced himself for the ass chewing he was sure was in his future. They had never resolved the conflict they’d had over what he’d done with the repairs to the house. With as mad as she’d been about drywall and floor sanding, he could only imagine how she’d react to the added security.
Didn’t matter, he thought, chirping the lock on his car. It wasn’t a horrible neighborhood, definitely on its way up, but parked in front of Claire’s house, his car looked like it belonged to a drug dealer. A freakishly successful drug dealer.
He grabbed the knob on the front door, growling to himself when it turned easily in his hand. Days ago she’d had the house broken into, but did she think it was important enough to lock the door when she was working there alone? Fuck no. And she was blaring Adele. Two steps into the house and he could hear her upstairs singing along with “Feel My Love.” Which meant if he were an ax murdering rapist, he’d probably make it to the top of the flight of steps effectively blocking her only escape before she even realized he was there.
Being deliberately quiet, he climbed the stairs. By the time he reached the top, his anger had hit full boil, and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. Claire on the other hand hadn’t missed a beat. She was singing her heart out, slightly off-key and oblivious to the fact he was there.I could hold you for a million years, she sang. His heart clenched, torn between wanting to kiss her senseless and turn her over his knee for being careless with her safety.
“Get in here, Masters, before you give yourself an aneurysm.”
Over his knee it was. He rounded the corner and found her straddling the top of a ladder finishing wiring for a reproduction fixture for the ceiling. Her worn jeans hugged the curves of her heart shaped ass and he could see the top of her thong peeking out above her waistband where her tool belt was weighing down her jeans. Her soft T-shirt accentuated the generous swell of her gorgeous tits, and she was biting the tip of her tongue as she fitted the light in place. As soon as he got her off that ladder, he had plans for her tongue.
“What the fuck are you doing? What are you thinking leaving the door unlocked? I could have been anyone come to do God knows what. Fuck, Claire.” Just thinking about what could happen to her if she wasn’t careful spiked his blood pressure to stroke levels.
“I knew you’d show up here. You can’t resist me.”
He couldn’t, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to spank some sense into her and shake her before he fucked her.
“Not the point, sweetheart,” he said through teeth gritted so tight he was going to end up needing dental work.
“I left the door unlocked so I wouldn’t have to stop what I was doing to let you in.” She spoke the words slowly as if talking to a child and when he exhaled it came out as a growl. “Relax,” she said, holding the fixture with one hand while she dug in her back pocket with the other hand.
He hurried to help her in spite of his anger, climbing the first couple of rungs of the ladder so he could hold the light fixture against the ceiling. She bent to brush a kiss over the tight line of his lips before thumbing open her phone and holding it out so he could see an image of the front door on the tiny screen.
“Jackson’s tech guy hooked up a temporary alarm so I can hear when someone opens the door and hooked the camera feed to my phone so I can see what’s going on. I knew you were here before you made it in the door,” she said, grinning.
Not only wasn’t she mad, she was working with Jackson’s guys. He could live to be a hundred and ten and he would never understand what was going on inside that head of hers.
“Does this mean you’re okay with the extra security?”
“Do I have a choice?” she countered, screwing the fixture to the ceiling bracket.
He waited until she had the last screw tight before he took his arm down. “No, you don’t,” he said, climbing off the ladder. “That hasn’t stopped you from causing trouble before.” She rolled her eyes, and he fisted his hands to keep from dragging her off the ladder. “Get down, Claire. Now.”
“As you command,” she said, the smart ass thick in her voice.
She swung her leg over the top of the ladder, and he reached up to grip her hips, her tool belt bumping against him as he pulled her off the ladder and into his arms. Her arms went around his neck and he slid one hand up her back. Wrapping her ponytail around his fist, he tugged, angling her mouth for his kiss. He swallowed her cry, not waiting to tease her lips apart, taking what he wanted from her instead. She met him, her tongue licking and tangling with his as she kissed him like he was the air she needed to breathe. Heat and need arced between them. He was never going to get enough of her. Never. He bit her bottom lip, scraping his teeth over the plump flesh and catching her sigh with his mouth.
“Please tell me you are not planning on staying here all night,” he said, palming her ass so he could fit her against his aching cock.
