From Seduction to Secrets

by Andrea Laurence

  Sawyer nodded and opened the car door. He was feeling pretty steady on his feet now, but as they moved toward the stairs, he felt less sure. Kat was quick to move to his side. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and put hers around his waist.

  “Grab the rail and help me,” she said, so he did.

  It took three times fumbling with his keys and dropping them, but they finally made it inside his place. He stumbled in, shrugging out of his blazer and tossing it onto a wingback chair like he did every night. His keys went into a bowl by the door as he flipped on the overhead light.

  He paused as Kat gasped, and figured the original rose medallion in the ceiling, along with the restored crystal chandelier, had caught her eye. Instead, when he turned, she was running her hand over the ornately carved wood of the staircase just to their right.

  “The woodwork is beautiful.”

  Sawyer looked around his living room and nodded. “I forget you’re a wood carver. You’ll find a lot you’ll like here. Much of the house had already been redone when I bought it, but thankfully, they left most of the original woodwork intact. The decorator I hired did a good job incorporating the existing historical details into my modern aesthetic.”

  “I’m surprised you got all those words past your tongue,” Kat said with a smile.

  “Very funny. The kitchen is this way.”

  Kat followed him through the living room and into the kitchen at the rear of the house. He’d had it done in all white, with black hardware and dark antique fixtures for a stark, clean look. It seemed to go well with the original white shiplap that ran through the home and the tiny white octagon tiles on the floor.

  She strolled through the kitchen, touching the quartz countertop and the faucet before bending over to look at the wood cabinetry of the island. He’d had that piece done by a local carpenter who carved the details by hand. Kat noticed immediately, running her fingers over the scrollwork.

  “You don’t even cook in here, do you?” she asked, as she stood back up.

  He shook his head, making himself dizzy, so he sat on a bar stool on the other side of the kitchen island. “I like things with clean lines, and designs that look tidy. I also like features that will help with resale down the road. This seemed like a good mix, whether I use it or not. And I have used the microwave,” he said, pointing out the stainless-steel machine mounted into the side of the island. “And the coffee maker.”

  Kat nodded thoughtfully. “Well, speaking of coffee makers, you have been a good boy so far. I believe I promised you coffee and toast.”

  “Coffee is in that jar, and bread is in the pantry over there.”

  She followed his guidance, moving around the kitchen to prepare a late-night drunk man’s snack. A few minutes later, she presented him with a steaming mug of black coffee and a plate with two dry pieces of toast on it.

  “It’s not haute cuisine, but it’s what you need. When you’re done, we’ll follow it up with a big glass of water and some ibuprofen. You’ll wake up feeling like a champ.”

  “You know a lot about being drunk.”

  Kat shrugged. “I went to college, same as you. Late-night parties followed by early morning lectures mean you learn how to cope, and quickly. I also lost my parents when I was in school. There are a few weekends I don’t remember after that happened. Water, Advil, toast and coffee are a combination that never fails.”

  “I think I would’ve failed the semester if I lost my parents.”

  “Well, fortunately, I went to an art school. They encouraged me to funnel my pain into my work, and my grades actually improved. Except for chemistry. I got a D in that,” she said with a smile.

  Sawyer chuckled and finished his requisite meal quickly. As she put his dishes into the sink, he went over to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. “Here you go,” he said, handing her one.

  “Thanks. How are you feeling?”

  “Better. It all seemed to hit at once tonight. Drinking that late was foolish,” he admitted. “But it got you here. I can’t complain about that.”

  Kat set her water on the counter and looked at him with amusement crinkling her eyes. “Did you set all this up to get me to your house?”

  “No,” he said, with a dismissive shake of his head. “Lately nothing I plan works out as well as I want it to, so I’ve decided to give that up. Sometimes it’s better to just go with the flow and see what happens. It always works for Finn, so why not me?”

  She narrowed her gaze at him. “You’re not Finn. You’re Sawyer.”

  He shrugged and finished off his water. “Fat lot of good that does me. Finn is the one who reaps all the rewards. He has all the fun, gets all the girls, lives life to the fullest. He always gets what I want,” Sawyer said, looking pointedly at Kat.

  She dismissed his inebriated tirade, stretching out her hand and gently grasping his wrist. “You may look alike, but the world needs only one Finn. And it needs you to be yourself, because there’s only one you.”

  Sawyer looked down at her hand and followed the line of her arm until he was gazing into her eyes. “Stay with me tonight.”

  Kat froze for a moment before dropping her hand from his wrist. He could tell by the line between her brows that she was conflicted. She wanted to stay. She wanted him. But she kept putting this fantasy of a future with Finn in front of her own needs and desires.

  “Just one night. One last time.”

  She backed up until she hit the quartz countertop of the island. “You’ve been drinking. You don’t mean it. We both agreed it was a mistake the last time.”

  He took a step forward and shook his head. “I know exactly what I’m saying, Kat. I’m not that drunk.”

  “I don’t know, Sawyer. I—”

  He took another step, but she didn’t move away. “Finn will be home soon. And if you get what you want, everything that happened between us will be a deeply buried secret once you move on with your life. I will become your brother-in-law or the baby’s uncle Sawyer. Nothing more. And I’ll be okay with that, because it’s what you want. But give me one last night to keep with me. A night to remember you by.”

  Sawyer reached out to capture the ever-present strand of auburn hair that fell along her cheek, and pushed it behind her ear. He let his knuckles graze her skin and felt her press into his touch.

  * * *

  “Please, Kat.”

  There was something in his voice. In the way he looked at her. Something that told Kat she wasn’t going to be able to walk away from him. Not tonight.

  She closed her eyes and leaned into the warm fingers brushing against her face. She longed to have those same warm hands on her body and his lips pressed to hers. These last few days, she’d missed Sawyer. Whether he was aggravating her or making love to her, she missed it. And she knew she would miss it for the days and weeks to come.

  Why not indulge one last time? Give them both something to remember?

  Opening her eyes, she closed the gap between them, cradled his face in her hands and pulled his mouth to hers. The rough stubble of his evening beard prickled against her hands in sharp contrast to her own soft skin.

  The moment he realized she wasn’t just kissing him, but saying yes to his proposition, the intensity increased tenfold. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against him with the hunger of a man who’d long denied himself sustenance. He pressed her back against the island, his hands roaming across her body just as his tongue explored her mouth.

  Kat met his intensity. With everything she had, she wanted him. And if it was the last time, she wanted to remember every moment in his arms.

  Her breathing quickened when his lips traveled along her jaw and down her throat. He licked and nibbled at her skin, causing Kat to gasp and writhe as the pleasurable tingles vibrated through her nervous system. Her neck was her weakness and Sawyer instinctively se
emed to know it. As her knees softened beneath her from the sensations, he tightened his grip, holding her upright.

  And then, when she needed him more than ever, he retreated. She opened her eyes to see him looking down at her with desire blazing in his dark gaze. He seemed pensive, and it scared her. He wasn’t changing his mind, was he? Then he took a step back, helping her regain her footing, and reached for her hand. “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “I’m taking you upstairs,” he said. “If this is the last time we’ll be together, I’m going to do it properly, not some quick tumble on the closest hard surface.”

  She followed him back to the staircase she’d admired earlier, and they went up to the second floor. There, he opened a pair of French doors to the master suite, which took up the majority of that level. In the center of the room was the showpiece—a grand four-poster bed that was carved to look like ivy was wrapped around its massive columns and across the headboard.

  Kat couldn’t stop herself from walking up to it and touching one of the columns. It was an old piece. Better than her own work, she had to admit. It was beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful bed she’d ever seen. She had the sudden burning urge to go to her shop and make a headboard at her first opportunity.

  “I found this in the attic when I bought the house,” Sawyer said, as he came up behind her and ran his own hand over the smooth, polished wood. “I had it restored and refinished. I must’ve known you would be here to see it one day.”

  Kat turned to face him, looking up at the dark eyes that watched her so carefully. He reached out to brush the hair from her face again and then softly ran his thumb over her bottom lip. Even as he teetered on the edge of being tipsy, he was more thoughtful and loving than any man she’d ever been with.

  His attention to detail continued as they moved around to the side of the bed. They slowly removed each other’s clothing, caressing and kissing the bare skin as they exposed it. Then he picked her up around the waist and lifted her onto the high mattress. She scooted back as he advanced, covering her body with his until his warm skin chased away the cool conditioned air being circulated by the ceiling fan overhead.

  Sawyer propped himself on his elbows, looking down at her. Kat wished she knew what he was thinking, but she was too afraid to ask. Knowing the truth would only make things harder.

  He slipped between her thighs, rubbing his hands over the outside of her legs and hips until she nearly purred from the caress. He dipped his head, drawing one of her nipples into his mouth. Sawyer teased it, tugging hard on her flesh until her back arched up off the bed.

  Kat dug her heels into the mattress, lifting her hips and seeking him out. He didn’t disappoint, moving forward into her without much effort. She was ready for him, welcoming him inside with a hiss of satisfaction.

  From there, he took his time. He wanted a night to remember and they would have it. Every inch of her skin was caressed and kissed. Every sound she made he seemed to memorize. When he moved inside her with more urgency, Kat fought to keep her eyes open so she, too, could remember every moment.

  Eventually, she lost that battle. Her release exploded inside her just as his mouth clamped down onto hers. He swallowed her cries, taking them into himself for safekeeping and mingling them with his own low groans as he poured himself into her.

  It was a leisurely, but emotionally exhausting, lovemaking session. And when Sawyer collapsed at her side, he was curled up next to her with his hand protectively resting on her belly.

  Kat knew it then. If she was being honest with herself, she’d known it before. She’d known it the first night they spent together, but she’d been too stubborn to believe it. It wasn’t a part of her plan. It wasn’t the way she wanted things to turn out. But that didn’t make it any less true.

  Kat was in love with Sawyer.

  She could tell herself that she wanted to marry Finn, but that was just her own head getting in the way of what her heart wanted. She hardly knew Finn. But what she did know was that there was no way he could compete with Sawyer. His twin had already taken his place in her heart and no matter how hard she tried to push him out, Sawyer was still there.

  She closed her eyes tightly and cursed herself. She was an idiot. She’d gone and fallen in love with the wrong Steele twin.

  Turning her head, she looked over at him. His eyes were closed, his golden lashes resting on his cheeks. He’d already fallen fast asleep, thanks to the combined sedative effects of good sex and strong whiskey. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but seeing him asleep was enough to give her pause.

  Sawyer was a good man. He was as stubborn as she was, for sure, but he had a very strong compass when it came to right and wrong. That he’d given in to his desire for her, even knowing it wasn’t right, had to mean something. It meant he cared for her, too, no matter if he knew or understood that himself.

  But that moral compass wasn’t going anywhere. He’d asked her for one last night and that’s all he would take. Once Finn was back in Charleston, he would step aside just as he’d said he would. Even if it hurt him. Even if it broke his heart to do it. And telling him that she loved him wouldn’t help. It would only make it harder on both of them. She knew he would put the baby’s needs first, just like she had.

  And nothing short of a time machine would change the fact that Finn was her baby’s father.

  Ten

  “Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ huíláile!”

  Sawyer looked up from his computer and inwardly cringed at the sound of his brother’s voice and his massacred attempt at speaking Mandarin as he came down the hallway.

  Finn stopped in Sawyer’s doorway. He was wearing his usual suit, but instead of a tie, his shirt collar was unbuttoned to show a gold necklace with a jade medallion he’d picked up overseas. “I have returned, twin of mine. Did you miss me?”

  “Not particularly,” Sawyer said flatly.

  Finn smiled and continued down the hall without missing a beat. Sawyer didn’t really want to follow, but he wanted to know how things had gone in China, and his father would probably be demanding a full report immediately.

  Pushing up from his chair, he went out and followed Finn to the big corner office where Trevor Steele held court. His brother was already in there by the time he reached the assistant’s desk.

  “Sawyer, come in and shut the door,” Trevor said.

  Finn was grinning from ear to ear in one of the two guest chairs across from their father. Things must have gone well in Beijing. Or his brother was too busy doing other things to notice that it hadn’t.

  “The manufacturing plant is complete and operational. I returned home for a few weeks while the staffing team works on hiring from the local area and getting the team trained. I think we will have them punching out hammers and sockets within a month, conservatively.”

  Both brothers turned to Trevor for his reaction and Sawyer wasn’t disappointed.

  “Thanks for the update,” Trevor retorted, “but I know exactly what’s going on over there. Do you really think I’d send you halfway across the world to manage a multi-million-dollar operation and not know what was going on every second of the day?”

  Finn’s smile faded. “Of course you would keep abreast. You’re the president of the company. I just wanted to share the good news with you and Sawyer.”

  Trevor sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his chest. “You did fine, son. Better than I expected, really. But it’s hard for me to focus on that considering the mess you left behind at home.”

  “Mess?”

  Sawyer’s hands curled into fists on the arms of his chair. Completely oblivious as usual. “He’s talking about Kat and the baby, you idiot.”

  “That’s not a mess,” Finn argued, looking between his father and his brother. “My attorneys have it all handled. I’m going to meet with her this week to negotiate
a settlement and get her to sign off. It’s fine.”

  Trevor studied his sons for a moment and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know how the two of you could look so similar and be so different. You are a damn fool, Finn. It’s not fine. You got a stranger pregnant.”

  “It was an accident! I assure you I did, and always have done, everything in my power to keep that from happening.”

  “Everything short of keeping it in your pants,” Trevor snapped.

  While Sawyer did enjoy Finn getting his comeuppance on some level, he was growing uncomfortable being in the room. “Do I really need to be in here for this? I thought we were out-briefing on the new facility.”

  He started to push up from his chair, but Trevor’s sharp gaze caused him to sit back down immediately. “You stay,” he said. “You’ve been the one handling things with Kat while he’s been gone. You know her better than anyone.”

  “I don’t see what the problem is,” Finn argued. “I plan to take care of Kat and the baby.”

  “That’s not enough. Writing a check and walking away from your responsibilities is not enough. You’ve forgotten that I’ve met this woman. Your mother met her. Your grandmother and sisters have met her. And they like her. I like her. She’s not your usual weekend delight that you can give a check to and send on her way. She’s more your brother’s speed, to be honest, but she had the misfortune of meeting the wrong Steele twin. She is smart and kind, and the best damn thing to ever happen to you. She could be the thing that turns your life around. And accident or no accident, she deserves better than what you’re offering.”

  “You don’t even know what I’m offering.”

  “I know what you’re not offering,” their father said sharply. “You know, I sent you to China in the hopes you would grow up. You’re almost thirty-four years old and you’ve been causing problems for the family since you found that pecker between your legs. Now it looks like I’m going to have to make you man up once and for all.”