Cole Cameron's Revenge

"In the library," she said coolly, and set off down the hall.

Cole raised his brows. "Yes, ma'am," he drawled and followed her into the dark-paneled room. The door swung shut after him.

The room hadn't changed at all. There were still the same ugly damask draperies, the same mud-brown leather furniture. Faith chose a ladder-backed chair. Cole settled on the sofa, stretched out his long legs and folded his arms behind his head. He'd rolled up his shirtsleeves and she tried not to notice how the casual posture emphasized the swell of muscle in his biceps.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said.

"Done what?" His tone was innocence personified. "Even my old man let me sit on the sofa in here, Faith. Or are you telling me to sit up straight, keep my feet together and my hands in my lap, the way he'd have done?" He grinned. "If you are, you're in for a disappointment."

"You know what I mean. Telling those lies to Peter-

"I'm not a liar."

"Of course you are. You lied to me years ago. Now you're lying to my son."

"What happened between you and me has nothing to do with this. I'd never lie to the kid."

Faith shot to her feet. "What else would you call those promises you made him? That you're going to be here when he comes downstairs again? That you're going to have supper here, and watch some-some dumb kid's movie with him..."

She stared at him, shocked by her anger. There was nothing dumb about kids' movies, especially when you were curled on the couch with a child, sharing his excitement and laughter. She was what was dumb, otherwise she wouldn't be looking at this man she hated and thinking how handsome he was. She wouldn't be remembering that when he'd worn white shirts like this, with the collar open and the sleeves rolled back, it had made her as hot as the weather just to look at him. She wouldn't remember how she'd loved to slide her hands beneath the shirt, spread her palms over his muscled chest, feel the heat of his skin...

"Just just get out," she whispered. "Go away before you do any real damage, Cole. Before you make any more promises you have no intention of keeping."

He rose to his feet, his face stony. "I told you, this has nothing to do with us."

"Yes, it does. It has everything to do with us. I know you. I know what you're really like, under all that-that charm." Her throat tightened. She swallowed, then began again. "But Peter is just a little boy. He's at an age where he believes whatever people tell him. Can you understand that?"

"You're the one who needs to understand, Faith." Slowly, he started toward her, his eyes never leaving her face. "I didn't lie to the kid."

"You said you'd be here for supper."

"I will be."

"And that you'd watch a movie with him." I’11 do that, too.,,

"Cole, be reasonable. Even if I let you stay this evening-"

"If you let me?" Darkness clouded his face. "You seem to forget, baby. This is my house. If I want to stay here for supper, hell, if I want to stay here until the next century, I can

do it."

I can't. No court-"

Cole tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers and rocked back on his heels. "So, that's what this is all about. You figure sharing this roof with me, even for a few hours, might put you in legal limbo."

"No, of course not. I never thought-"

"That's right. You never thought. Not once." His mouth twisted. He jerked his hands from his pockets, reached out and clamped his fingers around her arms. "Not when you were seducing my brother, not when you were getting yourself knocked up-

Faith yanked her arms free. "Get out. Get out of my house!" Her voice trembled; every part of her trembled as she raised a hand and pointed it at him. "Get-out!"

They stared at each other, the silence broken only by the sound of Faith's rapid breathing and the steady tick of the clock on the mantel over the fireplace.

"Listen to me," Cole said softly, "and listen well, baby. This house is mine."

"It isn't. I live here and-

"You live here. I own it. Maybe, if you concentrate hard enough, you'll start to see the difference."

"Cole." Faith wrapped her arms around herself. Despite the late afternoon heat, she felt cold straight into the marrow of her bones. "Cole, I-I-"

"You what? You're going to get yourself a lawyer and fight me? What will you pay your legal fees with, huh?"

"That's just the..." Her breath shuddered. "That's the point. I have no money. And-and I know you don't give a damn how that affects me-"

"You're right, I don't."

"But there's-there's my son." "Ted's son, you mean."