by Addison Fox
Was that really how she’d seen that evening? As a one-night stand?
And how had such an amazing, vibrant woman thought there was something missing in her? His earlier dark thoughts about Jason took a dip further toward murderous rage as he began to understand the true depths of what the asshole had done to Grier emotionally.
His jumbled thoughts parted as he registered her walking away from him and he moved after her, nearly slipping on the slick parking lot. He regained his balance, thankful his long legs gave him one stride for every two of hers, and caught up with her. “If you think you’re dropping a bomb like that and walking away, guess again.”
“There is no bomb, Mick. Just like there is no us. There was hot sex and an amazing night together. Thank you for it and the smorgasbord of orgasms you managed to serve up.”
Mick reached for her hand, holding tight until she turned to look at him.
He didn’t say anything—he couldn’t even find words—as he stared into her dark gray eyes. So much pain there. And anger. And a hurt that lanced through him and made him wish he could change things for her.
But he knew better than anyone there were some roads you had to walk on your own.
So he fell back on the two things he’d always had in spades.
Honesty and humor.
“Smorgasbord?”
Her pink cheeks turned a delightful shade of red. “It seemed an apt term.”
“It’s unique, I’ll give you that. Just like you.”
A soft sigh escaped her lips. “Why do you keep pushing? I’m not really worth the trouble.”
Mick moved in and wrapped his arms around her. As his mouth met hers, he murmured against her lips. “You are so worth it.”
He felt the briefest hesitation before she melted in his arms. The hard set of her shoulders relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his waist and her lips opened beneath his.
He reacted in kind, pulling her more tightly against his body. Moments as fragile as the snowflakes that fell around them knit themselves together as he made love to her with his mouth.
The heavy gloves that covered his hands restricted his movements as the urge to touch her consumed him. And the seducer became the seduced as her tongue slid past his lips to tangle with his. Fire shot through his body straight to his groin as the sweet taste of her lit up his senses.
Good God, how he wanted her.
Which was the exact reason he needed to pull back.
Mick lifted his head but kept his hands on her. “And baby, for the record, what we shared wasn’t a one-night stand.”
She blinked a few times as the sensual haze receded from her gray eyes. “It wasn’t?”
With as much finesse as he could muster while his body screamed at him in frustration, he leaned in and planted a kiss against her jaw, then worked his way slowly up toward her ear. “No, it wasn’t,” he whispered hotly in her ear, satisfied when she shivered in his arms.
“How can you say that?” she mumbled back as her hands reached under his jacket and fisted in the heavy flannel of his shirt where it hung past his waist.
Her fingers brushed against his skin and almost had him throwing restraint to the wind, but he forced himself to focus. “Because I’m most definitely getting my hands on you again.”
Kate took her favorite chair in the back of the Jitters and opened her book. As outings went, it was a far cry from the nights she’d always imagined she’d have growing up, but at least it wasn’t the inside of her house.
She was sick of her house.
And she was sick to death of her own company.
Lifting the decadent mocha she permitted herself once a week, Kate allowed her gaze to roam the room briefly. The coffeehouse was quiet tonight, the few people in evidence huddled into small conversation groups. She’d smiled and said her hellos on her way in. She was thankful no one had tried to follow her to her seat or make small talk.
If it was possible, she was more sick of small talk than she was of the inside of the house.
After another quick sip of her mocha, she reached for the book in her lap, determined to settle in to someone else’s problems. One of her students had sighed dramatically through a book report over teen vampires and she’d picked up Vampire Academy on a whim. Four books later, she was hooked and desperate to know whether Dimitri would stay a soulless vampire or whether he could somehow be saved.
Smack in the middle of one of his odes to the heroine, a deep voice interrupted her. “Are you all right?”
The light hand on her shoulder had a shriek bubbling to her lips as Kate dropped her book.
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
The man from the Indigo’s lobby bar—Jason—was already bending down for her book that had fallen from her lap. Without thinking, she followed him down and their heads collided.
For the briefest instant her hand covered the back of his head, the soft strands of his hair against the pads of her fingers, before they both pulled away as if having been singed.
“I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Kate dropped her hand and grabbed the book, embarrassed to be caught touching him and reading teen fiction. “You just startled me.”
“Can I sit down?”
“Sure.”
“Why’d you ask me if I was all right?”
“You looked as if you were about to jump out of your skin.” He pointed to the book. “That must be one incredible story. I should give it a try.”
“It’s a YA.” At his confused look, she added, “Young adult. About vampires. One of my students recommended it. I doubt it’s your cup of tea. Or coffee.”
“Since my body’s still on New York time and I’ve not slept for two days, I’d be willing to give it a try anyway.”
His smile was as warm and friendly as she’d remembered from the bar and Kate fought the interest that prickled the back of her neck.
“It’s part of a series.” Kate fought the urge to smack her forehead at the inane chatter.
“Even better. Hours’ and hours’ worth of reading material.”
“What are you doing here?” On a rush, she added, “I mean, besides dealing with jet lag?”
“I didn’t feel all that welcome in the hotel lobby and there’s not much else open.”
“Small towns have a unique way of welcoming outsiders. Out-and-out acceptance that borders on parade-worthy or flat-out rejection. Unfortunately, you’ve gotten the latter.” The real question, to her mind, was why.
And if her curiosity at Dimitri’s eventual fate was high, it was off the charts for the man sitting opposite her. What had brought him all the way here? And why was Grier’s reception so chilly?
“You’re from New York?”
“I am.”
“We seem to be getting a lot of New Yorkers these days. They’re going to need to add a direct flight.”
Stop babbling, Winston. Your country bumpkin roots are showing. In vivid detail.
“You’re Grier’s sister?”
“Half sister.”
He leaned forward and she had the insane urge to run her fingers through his dark hair again. This time on purpose.
“You said that before. In the exact same way.”
“Sorry.”
Jason didn’t move back and she couldn’t help but notice how the day’s growth of beard roughened his cheeks slightly. Or how thin lines radiated from the corners of his eyes. “Nothing to apologize for. It just sounds complicated.”
“You have no idea.” When he just waited for her to continue, she reached for her drink and took another fortifying sip, measuring her words. “Neither of us knew the other existed until a few months ago.”
His eyebrows rose. “That explains a lot.”
“I thought you were her friend. Didn’t she tell you?”
“Would you consider me unoriginal if I said it’s complicated?”
“Not much about Grier isn’t complicated. But I don’t need a blinking neo
n sign to understand that’s code for a previous relationship.”
Whatever interest sparked in her veins fizzled at the evidence he was likely in Indigo to win Grier back. What was harder to understand was why the thought was so disappointing.
“We did have a relationship. But it’s been over for a while.”
Kate fought the urge to squirm in her chair as the moment grew awkward with the knowledge he’d had a relationship with her sister and she knew he felt it, too, when he stood up.
“I should probably let you get back to your book. I can get this to go, right?”
“Oh sure. They’ve got cups over there.” She pointed across the café.
“I’ll see you around.”
“Sure.” He had taken a few steps before a question rose to her lips. “Why are you here?”
When Jason turned, she could have sworn she saw an ocean of regret in the dark depths of his eyes. But it was the lonely timbre of his voice that confirmed it. “I’m not quite so sure anymore.”
The first thing Grier saw as she walked through the door of her hotel room was Sloan and Avery sitting on her bed, a plate of cookies between them. Before she could even say anything, Sloan was up and across the room. “I’m so sorry for what I said.”
“I know.” Grier reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I know,” she whispered again against the soft blond hair at Sloan’s temple.
As Sloan pulled back, Grier couldn’t help adding, “But how’d you know I’d be coming back to this room alone?”
A sheepish grin stole across Sloan’s face. “Avery and I were up in her apartment. Walker texted me from the lobby and let me know you were by yourself.”
Grier shook her head in mock disgust. “Sold up the river by my lawyer.”
“We actually made a bet on it,” Avery said. She extended what looked like a twenty toward Sloan. “Doubtful bitch here won.”
Sloan waved the twenty like a flag. “And before you take that as an insult on your charm, grace and all-around wonderfulness, I have absolutely no doubt the two of you will have sex again. I just didn’t think it would be tonight. So I’m going to double this twenty and say it’ll be by the end of the week.”
“Sloan!” Grier crossed to the bed and picked up a cookie. “What do you take me for?”
“A woman who’s got a date for hot sex with Mick O-yeah O’Shaughnessy.”
“You know, I never got that before,” Avery said thoughtfully as she reached for a cookie. “Isn’t it funny, orgasm and O’Shaughnessy both start with the same letter?”
Grier dropped onto the bed and reached for a pillow, tossing it at Avery’s head. “You’ve got a one-track mind.”
“It’s a rare and awesome gift. And like all gifts, it must be protected, nurtured and treated with the utmost respect.”
“He is more than a hot package,” Grier argued.
“Of course he is.” Avery reached for a cookie. “That’s just the fun part to focus on. Mick’s a great guy and always has been. In high school, he used to tutor everyone in physics.”
“Physics?” Fascinated at this glimpse into his past, Grier reached for her own cookie. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. By the middle of the year it was evident Mick understood it better than the teacher. Small town and all that. I think it has something to do with the flying.”
“Well, that makes sense.” Grier smacked her head lightly. “I’d hope someone who flew planes for a living understood the properties of physics.”
“Anyway, my point is, even back then, Mick was quick to share his knowledge. Quick to include everyone.”
Sloan let out a small sigh. “That’s so sexy. Why don’t more people understand that? Inclusion beats exclusion every time.”
“He also ran errands for some of Mary’s older neighbors. Still does. He’s just the guy who jumps in and does what needs to be done.”
Another piece of her heart crumpled to a hopeless pile of dust at further evidence of just how wonderful Mick was. “He’s a good man.”
Avery smiled and reached for another cookie. Although she said nothing, it would have been impossible to miss the I told you so from a mile away.
“So, catch me up on what I’ve missed.” Sloan resettled herself on the bed. “Like for starters, what was Kate doing in the bar with you and Jason?”
“You’ve got me there.” Grier couldn’t resist another cookie. “I told him I’d meet him at four and when I showed up, the two of them were sitting there.”
“An oddly poetic match,” Avery added.
Grier leaned forward. “Want to know something? I actually had the exact same thought. Well, not the snarky poetic part, but the match part. They’re quite attractive together.”
Sloan’s tone was careful, clearly a nod to her earlier haste. “That doesn’t bother you?”
“Well, if he pulled the same sort of shit on her that he did on me, that would make me go all big sister on his ass. But assuming that was a one-time fuckup”—Grier paused—“which I still think it was…”
It was Avery’s turn to wave a hand. “Did I actually just hear you defend Kate?”
“I guess so.”
“Why?”
“Well, because—” Grier broke off. How could she explain it to them when she couldn’t even explain it to herself? “Just because. She’s my sister and blood’s thicker and all that mushy shit.”
“Fair enough.” Avery nodded.
Grier kicked her foot out as she got comfortable and connected with the end table next to the bed. A heavy thud had her up and moving, only to see that a large padded envelope lay on the floor. “What’s that?”
“I forgot. We brought it up before.” Sloan leaned down to pick up the package. “Avery got it earlier today.”
Grier reached for it, an odd charge shooting through her fingertips as she touched the package. “Who’s it from?”
“I’m not sure,” Avery said as she sat up. “Chris took it. Want me to call downstairs?”
“Please.”
Grier turned the padded envelope over in her hands as Avery made the call. Those odd sparks continued to fire up beneath her skin, growing in intensity.
She abstractedly heard Avery say, “Really?” before she replaced the phone in the cradle after a quick thanks.
“Who’s it from?” Even as she asked the question, Grier knew she held something big in her hands.
“Your aunt.”
* * *
Kate finished scrubbing off her makeup and dried her face. She’d always taken comfort in ritual and that feeling had only grown since losing her father.
Order amidst chaos.
Every night, she kept to the same routine. She changed her clothes, then carefully brushed her teeth and finished by washing her face.
So why couldn’t she find any peace in the ceremony of it tonight?
On a heavy sigh, she burrowed under the covers.
She knew exactly why. And the reason sported Italian loafers, a killer smile and a heart that beat for her sister.
How could it be even remotely possible that the one man she’d had more than a passing interest in could be Grier’s fiancé?
Well, ex-fiancé if she’d put the pieces together correctly.
But even if she had, Jason Shriver clearly wasn’t in the middle of Alaska to see an ex. He was here to win Grier back.
A cold sensation unfurled in her stomach as she thought about Grier. The feeling was less about her sister and more about the way she’d treated her since the woman had arrived in Indigo.
And while she’d like to chalk it up to anger, pure and simple, Kate knew it was something more. She might smile and offer polite platitudes to most everyone else, but she made it a rule never to lie to herself.
Grier was a threat.
A threat to her relationship with her father and the bond they’d shared.
Or so she’d thought.
As Kate had observed Grier over the past few months, her thoughts had begun
to change. It had been subtle at first—the woman’s clumsy attempts at striking up a tentative friendship had been earnest and more than a little sweet.
But when Sloan, Grier’s friend, came to town and the two had struck up a threesome with Avery Marks, Kate had actually grown a little jealous.
Every time she saw them together, the three of them looked like they were having fun.
Snowball fights on the town square or laughter over a bottle of wine at the Indigo Blue or coffee at the Jitters.
Grier had sisters. Of the heart. And Kate had increasingly found herself wishing she could take part.
The phone rang and she jumped as the sound punctuated the silence. Her anxiety ratcheted another notch higher as she saw her aunt’s name on the caller ID.
“Aunt Maeve. What’s wrong?”
Her father’s sister lived past the edge of town. Maeve had spent most of her life out there after her husband died, puttering around and keeping to herself. Even with the short distance between them, Kate had to make the weekly effort to go out to see her as the woman rarely made it into town.
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Well, good. How are you? Is everything all right with the house? This latest storm hit us pretty hard today.”
“I’m good. I’ve got what I need.”
Kate smiled to herself. Didn’t she know it. Her aunt had a stocked pantry full of enough food to see her into the next millennium. Her husband had set her up well financially and Jonas had seen to some home improvements a few summers back.
Barring an unexpected illness, Maeve was set up comfortably enough.
Kate struggled for something to say. While they found enough to talk about on their weekly visits, her aunt usually called once a year and that was to decline their Thanksgiving dinner invitation. “I’ll be out to visit on Thursday. Can I bring you anything?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll e-mail you if I think of anything.”
“All right.” Kate paused a moment. While the urge was strong, she knew hanging up would be a mistake. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“It is, Katie. But I need to tell you something. And I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Kate sat straight up in bed. “What is it?”