Chain of Title (8 page)

He straightened, and his lips
thinned in restrained anger.  His chest expanded in a deep inhale.

“You’ve already fucked him,
haven’t you?  I heard all about the permanent smile on your face at the gym
this morning and again after our daughter walked in here,” he said gruffly, motioning
around the deck.

Boy, for a city the size of
Mt. Pleasant, it sure felt like a small town.

“Well, Frank, I’m not a
monk.”  She saw the hurt in his eyes.  “Now get out of my house.  And don’t
bother giving Dani her key back.  I’m calling a locksmith immediately.”

With that said, Shayna
stormed into the house and upstairs to her bedroom.  She heard the frosted
glass panels rattle downstairs when Frank slammed the door shut and watched from
a bedroom window as he got into his black Mercedes and sped away.

She circled slowly, gazing
out at the sweeping views the contemporary design of her home afforded.  Then
she walked in a daze to her bed, feeling hollowed out, stripped.  She collapsed
onto her back on the white, downy comforter, not remembering ever feeling so...lonely. 
Her father was gone, she’d written her mother off long ago, her brothers were barely
speaking to her, Dani was disillusioned with her—and Frank...  A man she had
loved most of her life, who had given her hope in hopeless times, and had ultimately
wounded her irrevocably.

As much as she hated to admit
it, she did believe Frank was sorry about what he had done, the way things had
ended.  She didn’t really think he wanted to hurt her.  She had read the
genuine anguish in his eyes, the regrets, and the sincere desire to make amends
and start over.  She was so glad he had stormed out.  If he had stayed, if he
had kissed her, it would’ve been all over—and she knew it.

She suddenly felt a desperate
need to hold onto to something that proved she hadn’t wasted all of those
years.  The only evidence of that right now was one angry, disappointed
daughter.

Shayna felt the gentle
current from the ceiling fan and began counting the white planks high above.

Then the tears fell.

The
sound of her name in the distance and the gentle nudging woke her.  Her vision was
hazy, and it took her a moment to acclimate.  When she finally did, Sean Parker
was smiling expectantly down at her.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he
whispered, stroking her cheek.

She gave him a sleepy smile
and then her expression quickly turned to alarm and she bolted upright, the
comforter covering her, falling away.

“Does everyone in Mt.
Pleasant have a frigging key to my house?” she said bitingly.

Sean, clearly taken aback,
stood to give Shayna space.

“Your front door was
unlocked, Shay.  I didn’t mean to barge in.  I did knock and ring the doorbell
first, but you didn’t answer.  I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after
the way things ended earlier today.  I left a couple of messages...” he trailed
off, skimming his hand over his hair.  “Look, I’m sorry.  I’ll go.”

She closed her eyes and
exhaled loudly.  Crap, she still hadn’t turned that damn cell phone on, and
Frank hadn’t locked the front door when he left.  She glanced at the clock
beside her bed.  It was ten-thirty at night.  Wow, she had really passed out
from the day’s drama overload.

“No, Sean,
I’m
sorry. 
I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.  I’ve had a really lousy day.  I didn’t
get your messages because my phone has been off since yesterday, and then I
apparently fell into a coma after the one-two punch from Dani and Frank.”

She stood, intending to go
and splash some cold water on her face, but didn’t make it to her bathroom.  Instead,
she wrapped her arms around Sean, feeling an overwhelming urge at that moment
for a warm connection.  He squeezed her tightly, and she burrowed against him. 
He smelled so good, and he felt even better in her arms and against her body.

“I’m not sure I’ll be very
good company tonight.  A rain check might be safer.”

Hugging her closer, he
whispered, “I’m not worried about playing it safe.”

She chuckled and snuggled
closer.

“So, Frank came by today?” he
asked, with what sounded like feigned disinterest.

“Yeah.  Dani left here mad as
hell and went straight to
Daddy
.  She must’ve given him her key, because
he walked in here like he owned the place.”

She felt Sean stiffen.  “You
didn’t know he was coming?”

“No!  I’ve never invited him
here.”

“What did he want?”

Shayna sighed wearily, not
really wanting to rehash the day’s events.

“To apologize.  To ask forgiveness. 
To sell me on starting over.  Blah, blah, blah.”

Sean was noticeably quiet for
a few moments.  “History
is
a powerful thing, Shay.  I waited until you
finalized your divorce to start anything with you, because I wanted to make
sure you went through with it.”

Shayna’s eyes narrowed.  “I
know, you told me that earlier today.”

Sean tucked his hands in his
front pockets and looked resolutely at her.

“Shayna, if you think there’s
any chance whatsoever you might want to get back together with him—tell me
now—
please. 
I’d rather know now than later, when I’m in too deep.  I’m all grown up, I can
handle it.  Trust me when I say that I can handle it better now than later.”

Something was different about
Sean.  Where was this coming from?  It had to be more than him finding out
about Frank’s surprise visit today.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

He gauged her carefully, as
if trying to make a decision.

“What aren’t you telling me?”
she asked again.  “What is it?”

Sean shifted his stance and
exhaled.  “I met your ex tonight.”  Shayna’s mouth fell open.  “He and his
business partners had dinner at my restaurant.  He asked for me specifically,
introduced himself and his associates.  Then he had a private chat with me before
they left.”

The air rushed out of Shayna. 
She could feel the fury rising in her.  Sean just watched her, guardedly, and
waited.  Her eyes swept side to side and she shook her head.

She stammered, “Why would,
what was he—“

She placed her hands on her
hips and inhaled deeply, shaking her head to clear the heavy fog of the day. 
“What did he say to you, Sean,” she asked crossly.

“What he said doesn’t
matter.  It’s obvious he wants you back,” he said with preternatural calm.

“I can’t believe he did
that.  Who does he think he is?”

“You still haven’t answered
my question, Shay.”  He had a wistful look.  “If you need some space, some time
to think about things, that’s fine—just tell me.  Now.”

“What did he say to you,
Sean?”

“What he said doesn’t
matter.  What
you
say, right now, is all that
does
matter.”

She thought seriously about
what he was asking.  Sean Parker, supremely confident, handsome, funny, smart,
sexy as hell, was asking her to hurt him now rather than later.

With everything in her life
feeling so uncertain and swirling around her, there was one thing she was
certain of in this moment.  She did not want to hurt this man, now or later.

Sighing resolutely, she said unequivocally,
“I’m not going back to Frank.  I meant it when I said it last night, and I mean
it now.  He broke my heart once.  I won’t give him the chance to do it again.”

Noticeable relief washed over
Sean, his face softening, body relaxing.  He inhaled deeply before closing the
gap between them and grasping her face in his hands.  A satisfied smile curved
his lips.

“That’s all that matters to
me,” he said hoarsely, as he dropped down to seal their lips in a scorching
kiss.  Their hands roamed, searched, stroked, and pressed their bodies
together.  Shayna, standing on tiptoes, could feel his prominent arousal
against her belly, causing the heavy heat and throbbing between her legs to
intensify further.

She broke from his hungry
lips and begged with a whisper, “Now, Sean.  I need you right now—fast, hard,
right now.”

His low, throaty growl
elicited her needy moan, as they hurriedly undressed each other.  Shayna
dropped down on the bed and began scooting further up, locking onto Sean’s heavy-lidded
eyes as he stalked above her in the milky moonlight.  Then he pressed between
her legs and cupped her face in his strong hands, still focusing his eyes on
hers.

When she felt him at her entrance,
a sharp breath pushed passed her lips.  He kissed her hard as he drove into
her.  She heard herself whimper as he pumped harder, deeper.  God, he made her
feel so needy...the kind of neediness she hadn’t felt for a man in thirty
years, hadn’t expected to ever feel again.

He kissed and sucked at her
neck, working his way back to her lips.  Then he coaxed her eyes open.  She
knew after last night  that he liked her to watch him watching her come, and
she was almost there.  As she arched in her release, Sean nipped at her neck
and moved down to suck her nipple.  Shayna raked her hands through his thick
hair as her spasms gave way to much needed relief.

He withdrew and, grabbing her
hands, pulled her up and off the bed.  She followed him hand in hand to the
glass panel he slid open, leading to the private deck.  Positioning himself
sprawled on a chaise, he guided Shayna to straddle him and remain standing. 
His hands caressed her thighs and buttocks as he nipped at her belly and just
above her closely cropped curls, before dipping down and greedily sucking her
clit.

A quick, unexpected orgasm
sliced cleanly through her.  Then she felt his fingers stroking her centerline
before plunging into her slick core while his thumb gently circled her clit. 
She swayed and writhed above him, her face falling back toward the starry sky,
her hands gripping the top of the chaise as he teased and tormented her into
oblivion before pulling her down onto his hard heat.

She gasped from the sudden
fullness, quickly riding him, clenching him tightly with her core, as he tweaked
and sucked hard at her nipples, bucking beneath her.  Shayna slanted back and
reached between his legs, caressing and squeezing him.  She heard his breathing
quicken as his release tore from him in a roar.  Then he pulled her close
wrapping his arms possessively around her until his heart slowed and his
breathing regulated.

Warm air currents rustled
through the surrounding trees and skated across their fevered flesh.  They let
the silence of the star-filled night blanket them as they laughed softly and murmured
sweet, heated sentiments to one another.

Sean’s broad hands smoothed
along Shayna’s thighs, up along her hips, around her slender waist and over her
breasts, ending softly around her throat, where he stroked her jaw line with
his thumbs.  The stars reflected in his eyes, glimmered with the lustful,
reverent look he leveled at her.

“You’re beautiful, Shayna—inside
and out,” he said huskily.

Sean’s hands skimmed up to cup
her face and he looked at her resolutely in the silvery moonlight.

“I’m expecting a fight, Shay.
 From your ex.  He isn’t going to go away quietly.”

Shayna narrowed her eyes and
began to shake her head.

Before she could speak, Sean
pressed a finger to her lips and said determinedly, “I don’t care who he is,
Shay.  He’s not going to win this one.”

The
long ride in the wide elevator gave Shayna time to organize her thoughts and to
smile indulgently as she thought about the new man in her life—someone she had
never expected.  She caught sight of her reflection in the framed, beveled
glass opposite.  She blushed and looked away, shaking her head softly.  Good
lord, she felt like a kid again, her heart racing, palms warming, and knees
weakening, just at the thought of Sean Parker—at the images of
them
together.  She brought her fingers to her lips to quell the growing smile.

He was fantastic in the
kitchen too!  She giggled inwardly.  After finding out she had missed lunch and
dinner, he had foraged through her cupboards and refrigerator late last night,
making gruyère and ham paninis with a delicious fruit, cheese, and nut-laden
spinach salad.

Inhaling deeply, she closed
her eyes and switched focus to the task ahead of her.  When the chime announced
the end of her journey to the top floor, she straightened and smoothed out her sleeveless
gray pencil dress.  It was a perfect match for her eyes.  She went sleeveless
as often as possible at this time of year, seeing no reason to hide all those
hours at the gym.

“Here you are, Mrs.
Chastain.  So nice to see you again,” the elevator operator said with a smile.

“Good to see you, too,
Charlie.  And it’s Ms. Montgomery, now,” she informed him, patting his shoulder
softly.  He looked embarrassed, but before he could apologize, Shayna smiled
and added, “There’s no way you could’ve known that.  I haven’t made it legal
yet.”  He seemed relieved and nodded, gesturing to the exit.

Shayna sauntered fluidly
across the marble floor, pushed smoothly through the ornate mahogany double
doors, and stepped into the posh reception area.  She continued her path past
the first line of defense and turned left to head down the hallway, ignoring
the blustering receptionist who quieted when the switchboard lit up.

The staff in the hallway parted,
offering her wide berth and watching popeyed as she passed them, focused
tightly on her mission.  She turned to her right and saw the executive
secretary working busily at her oversized desk, guarding the entryway to the
top dog.

“Hello, Brittany.” Shayna announced
her presence with an arctic chill.  She hadn’t seen this little trollop since
she found Frank balls-deep between her legs three years ago.  All the color
from Brittany’s over-painted face drained and, she swallowed hard.

“I see you’ve been promoted,”
Shayna continued.  “I’m sure you earned it—the hard way.”

The girl’s brown eyes widened
and she looked like she might vomit.

“Is he in his office or the
boardroom?” Shayna asked, in a chilly, dismissive tone, looking down with
palpable disdain at the girl displaying her silicone breasts in her too tight,
too low-cut knit top.

Brittany cleared her throat
and brushed some dark tendrils from her face.  “Office, but he’s with—“

Shayna threw her hand up to
quiet the girl, so she didn’t have to hear another word from the tramp.  With a
side glance, she saw Brittany reach for the phone.

“If you pick up that phone, I
will break your arm, little girl.”

Brittany inhaled sharply and
placed her hands in her lap, covering more of her flesh than the ridiculously
short skirt did.  Shayna continued her determined march to Frank’s carved
mahogany door and flung it open—hard.  When she stepped inside the expansive
corner office, Frank’s head popped up from the documents he was reviewing on
his desk, his two partners in leather wingbacks opposite him with folders and
papers in their laps, glancing worriedly at one another.  All three men clearly
startled by her unannounced entrance.  She and Frank locked hard stares.

Without looking at his
associates, she said, “Hello, George.  Hello, Robert.  Get out,” one corner of
her mouth curled slightly, as she ordered them away.

She could see their
reflections in the floor-to-ceiling windows, shrugging and looking at one
another and then to Frank for guidance.  He nodded without taking his eyes off
Shayna.  The two men tentatively gathered their documents and files.  Exiting,
they gawked back into the room as they closed the heavy door behind themselves.

Shayna raised her chin as she
watched Frank consider his options.  He stared up at her for a moment, then
removed his reading glasses.  His blue tie was a bit askew, and his white dress
shirt appeared a little rumpled.  The suit jacket was tossed on a nearby side
chair.  He couldn’t hide the carnal approval on his tanned, weathered features
as he drank in every inch of her figure.  Shayna cocked her head at him
knowingly, and chuckled inwardly.  Whoever coined the phrase “
looking good
is the best revenge
” couldn’t have been more spot-on.

“Really kicking yourself,
aren’t you, Frank?”  She snorted delicately, lithely sitting back in one of the
black wingbacks, allowing the slit at the side of her dress to snake up and
flaunt her toned thigh, deliberately crossing it over her other leg and
exposing more smooth skin.  Frank’s eyes traveled the length of her long bare legs. 
He licked his lips at the sight before him, before flicking his eyes up to hers.

“I see you’ve promoted your ‘
on
again, off again’
girlfriend.  That’s nice—you never know when you’ll be
on
again.  This way, you can just pull her in here for a nooner.  That
is, if you remember to take your little blue pill.”

He winced, and his eyes
creased at the snide remark.

“Or maybe you felt like you
had to promote her?  You know, in hopes of avoiding a potentially nasty and
embarrassing sexual harassment lawsuit?”  Shayna smiled sardonically.

“Well, you’re quite the
smartass today, aren’t you, Shay?  Feel better?” Frank said, in a clipped tone.

“Oh, I do, Frank.  I
really
do,” she said with a broad smile, chuckling throatily.  Then she sighed
indulgently.

Understanding registered on
Frank’s face.  He clearly realized where the heightened confidence and luminous
glow were coming from...or, rather, who had put it there.  His eyes turned
wistful, and he reclined resignedly in his executive chair, appearing defeated,
but she knew better.

He drummed his pen tip on the
desk blotter.  “So, he told you about our little chat last night?”  Frank
quipped with raised brows.

“What?” she asked playfully. 
“Oh, that.  Sean mentioned it in passing, but that was it.  Trust me.  We
definitely
don’t waste our time talking about you.”  She winked.  “Sean’s a grown man.  He
can take care of himself.”

“Sure about that, Shay?  Have
you had him checked out?  Because I have.  If there’s anything you’d like to
know, just ask,” he said arrogantly, as he pulled a file out of his top drawer
and slapped it down on his desktop.  “People with our kind of money need to be
careful, sweetheart.”

Shayna huffed loudly.  “Tell
me about it.  You can’t even trust the people closest to you, not even the ones
you’ve known most of your life.”  She nodded faintly when she saw the anger and
regret flash across his face.

“Let’s see if I can summarize
what’s in that file of yours.  That way you can stop worrying so much about me
and get on with
your
life.”  Shayna paused for affect.  “Sean’s parents
were among the first to settle in Mt. Pleasant, before greedy land developers
gobbled it all up.  The Parkers took a big risk with the little bit of money
they had, and started Gaetano’s—named after Sean’s mother’s grandfather.  She was
a war bride from Tuscany, by the way, in case your snoop didn’t put that in the
file.  Anyway, his parents worked hard and hoped to start a family, but things
didn’t work out the way they planned.  Oh, the business did well after a while,
but they were unable to have a baby.  But, as fate would have it, the Parkers were
finally blessed with a change-of-life baby:  Sean Nicholas Parker.  They were
quite busy with the restaurant, worked tremendous hours, and expected Sean’s
help more as he got older.  He rebelled, like many teenage boys, and found
himself on the wrong side of the law a time or two, mostly fights and some minor
vandalism.  In fact, his father sent him to a local boxing gym thinking they could
beat the fight out of him.”  Shayna arched a brow and shook her head slowly.  “But
none of that stopped him from graduating class valedictorian from Mt. Pleasant
High School.”  Shayna paused and bit her lip, then sighed.  “He’s a bad boy
and
smart as hell.  I find that to be an irresistible combination.”

Frank sunk further back in
his chair, resting his elbow on the desk and holding his loosely fisted hand
against his tightly pursed lips, staring pointedly at her.

Smoothing her dress, she
continued, “Anyway, Sean enlisted in the Navy as soon as he graduated from high
school.  He wanted to get away from everything, get his head on straight.  He joined
as a sailor, earned a business degree, and was honorably discharged as an
officer.  He only came back to Mt. Pleasant when his mother became ill with breast
cancer.  He helped his father with the business for a couple of years before
his mother passed away, followed six months later by his father, Rex.  Died of
a broken heart—at least that’s what Sean thinks.  I’m sure you already know
that it was tough for him in the beginning, for all kinds of reasons.  Losing
both parents so close together, a mountain of debt from the business, blah,
blah, blah, he had to file for bankruptcy.  He could’ve left after that, but he
decided to start again—in honor of his parents.  He’s had his ups and downs
with the restaurant over the years, but he’s always managed to pull it back
up.  Of course, it’s much harder when cities and developers are in bed together
to squeeze out the little guy, family-owned businesses, in favor of monolithic,
ubiquitous chains that have all the charm of a sterile exam room.”

Frank sucked in air and
exhaled loudly in exasperation.

“I know that things are
difficult for his business right now. He’s hardly alone.  I also know that he
has a new business loan in process, as you’ve no doubt read about in your
file.  It’d be a shame if someone with the means and connections manipulated
the delay or pressed for the disapproval of those loan documents.  If that were
to happen, I suppose I’d consider stepping in to help him out with his dream.” 
Her eyes bored into his.  “I’ve done it before—haven’t I, Frank?  You certainly
had no problem taking my money.”  Her hand abruptly cut through the air to halt
him when he moved to speak.  “Look how that turned out.  I’d say I have a nose
for smart investments, wouldn’t you?”  Shayna thrummed her fingers on the
leather armrests as she sat casually in the wingback.  Frank glowered at her.

“Have I missed anything,
Frank?  Anything important?”

He released a jagged
exhalation.  “Just how long have you known this guy, Shay?”

A soft curve inched up one
corner of her mouth.  She read his expression and shook her head in disbelief. 
“What’d you think, Frank?  That’d I’d only known him for a hot minute?”

“
How long
, Shayna?” he
gritted out, with restrained anger.

Her eyes widened with
understanding.  “You’re worried that—what?  I was cheating on you while we were
married?”  She started laughing uncontrollably, then bit her lips together to
stem the bubbly flow.  “Oh, wouldn’t that be rich.”  She relaxed back in her
chair and held his fierce stare, giving nothing away.  “I think I’ll just let
you wonder about that.  It’s more fun that way.  For me at least.”

Frank slammed his palm down
on the desk and shot up out of his seat, walking to the large, well-appointed
sitting area with all of its mounted flat panels airing various muted news
channels.  He jammed his hands into his pants pockets, rattling coins and keys,
as he rocked slightly from heel to toe, panning his gaze out over Mt. Pleasant—the
city he had built.

Without turning to look at her,
he said in a low, even tone, “I’ve
always
credited you for believing in
me when no one else did.  For
helping
me when no one else would.  I’ve
never pretended that I did this alone.”  He paused.  “
We
did this
,”
he said triumphantly, sweeping his hands across the panoramic view of Mt.
Pleasant.

He was right.  He had always
been generous in his praise where she was concerned.  He used
we
,
ours
,
us
, rarely
I
or
me
when talking about the business. 
However, the design and scope of the sprawling city, the vision, reflected him,
not her.

“Did you marry me because of
the money you knew I had back then?  Is that why you’re so concerned about
another man doing the same thing?” she asked with complete, humble sincerity.

The look on his face turned
to stupefaction.  He strode briskly back to his desk.  She could tell he wanted
to touch her, hold her hands, but he refrained.  Instead he sat partially on the
edge of his desk, with his hands clasped together.  She could see that her question
had hurt him to the core.  His blue eyes swung away and he shook his head.

In a ragged breath he
answered, “No.  No.”  He rubbed hard at his eyes and pulled his hand roughly
down his face before looking at her.  The anguish in his eyes tugged at her
heart—the trap laid by time coming back into focus once again.