The Forbidden Brother

by Joanne Rock

  He bent to kiss her, a barely there graze of his lips over hers. She tasted like funnel cake sugar, so sweet he wanted a lick. He took in the feel of her as she wound her arms around his neck, her whole body swaying against him.

  “This is crazy,” she whispered, as a night breeze blew around them and she pressed closer. “We can’t get carried away out here where anyone can see us.”

  “You’re right.” Taking her hand in his, he pivoted, drawing her toward the back of the building. “I know a better place.”

  He didn’t want to go in through the front door and risk running into Madeline or any guests who might try to draw them into conversation. He wanted Jillian all to himself. He guided her down one side of the wraparound porch to steps that led into a rose garden.

  “Wait.” She halted on the flagstone path between two towering rosebushes, their scent heavy even in the cool evening air. “Why continue this madness? You can’t get me out of Wyoming fast enough, but you’re willing to sneak me into my hotel up the back stairs so we can...” She shook her head, unwilling to complete the thought.

  Cody kept hold of her hand, feeling her pulse throb fast at the base of her palm. A soft, subtle hint of how he affected her.

  “Who said I want you to leave? Just because I’m in no hurry to have a movie crew film on my ranch doesn’t mean I want you to go.” He liked the idea of Jillian sticking around. For one thing, he hoped she’d stay at least until he could convince her to get the blood test. For another? He wasn’t done exploring this attraction. How long could a powerful draw like this last?

  He needed to know. And intended to find out with her.

  Her eyes searched his. “You mean I’ve been misreading all your cues? Like when you accused me of plotting to intercept your brother on the night we met?” She arched an eyebrow. “I took that as a sign you weren’t pleased about me being in Cheyenne.”

  The breeze rumpled her curls, which softened the scowl on her face.

  Cody wanted to kiss them away from her mouth. To feel the strands of hair on his bare skin. For now, he skimmed them off her cheek.

  “You should have read it as a sign that I don’t want you to ever look at my brother the way you look at me.” He could burn himself on that heated gaze of hers. “Because that’s all it meant.”

  Her mouth worked silently for a moment, then snapped shut.

  “And I’m not trying to sneak you up the back stairs to your room right now,” he added, remembering the other accusation she’d lobbed at him.

  “You’re not?” She glanced up at the building.

  “No.” He leaned closer to speak into her ear. “If you’re interested in a little more privacy, I thought you might like seeing The Villa.”

  A slow smile spread over her face. “There’s a villa nearby?” She turned her head back and forth, looking in both directions. “On the grounds of a Wyoming guest ranch?”

  “‘The Villa’ is what we call the only freestanding unit for guests. It’s more of a bungalow, but in the literature for this place, my sister labeled it that.” Cody led Jillian through the rose garden to the far edge of the grounds. “Apparently, the name helps communicate the level of luxury. It doesn’t get rented very often.”

  “No one’s staying there now?” Jillian asked as they arrived at the building in question and stepped onto the lit front porch. In most of its details, The Villa mirrored the look of the main house.

  “I am.” He took out his master key card printed with the White Canyon logo and passed it to her. “I reserved it just in case.”

  Her slender fingers wrapped around the key and she stared down at it.

  “Just in case...” She flicked the plastic against her nails. “You thought there might be a vicious storm tonight that would prevent you from driving the rest of the way home?”

  He shrugged. “That particular scenario didn’t occur to me. No.”

  “I have a perfectly good room upstairs in the main house,” she reminded him, settling the edge of the key card on his chest before lightly dragging it down the front of him. “Just in case you suddenly wanted somewhere to stay.”

  “I wouldn’t want the rest of the ranch guests speculating about us if I followed you up those main stairs.” He wanted Jillian all to himself. All night long.

  He didn’t want to spare an extra second of his time fielding questions about how their evening went.

  “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” Her eyes were serious for a moment, as her hands hovered at his waist. “I let go of worries like that two years ago.”

  When she’d been treated for cancer. His chest constricted as he thought about her battling for her life.

  “I had another reason for wanting this space.” He’d messaged the housekeeper from the rodeo to ensure the room was readied the way he wanted. “But only if you’re game.”

  “You know I can’t say no to an adventure.” Jillian held up the card and moved toward the door.

  She slid the plastic into the lock mechanism and the light turned green. He opened the door.

  Heat rushed out from the room; the hearth glowed with a freshly laid fire. The scent of applewood and hickory filled the air.

  “I thought you might appreciate the warmth of a fire,” he said, following her into the room after locking the door behind them. Then he saw the expression on her face.

  The naked emotion.

  And—damn it to hell. The tear.

  * * *

  Cody McNeill was supposed to be her adventure.

  Her wild fling that helped resurrect her long-snoozing sensuality.

  He was not supposed to touch her heart with a tenderness that brought her to her knees.

  Blinking from the brightness of the fire, Jillian tried to swallow back the sudden tide of emotions threatening to swamp her. She didn’t want Cody to see how his kindness affected her. Couldn’t bear to expose another piece of her soul.

  But when she pivoted on her heel to face him, she could see his hesitation. His careful consideration of her reaction, as though she were a puzzle to solve rather than a sensual woman. By letting her runaway emotions intrude, she’d ruined the mood just when things were getting heated.

  So, unwilling to deal with any of it, unable to let her cancer steal this from her, Jillian tossed the key card on the floor and headed toward Cody. She ignored the question in his eyes and flung her arms around his neck.

  Then she kissed him like it was her last night on earth.

  And his, too.

  She worked the fastenings on his shirt with unsteady hands, attraction and emotion fueled by a new frenzy. She craved having his caresses all over her, hot and possessive, to see if this chemistry was as combustible as she remembered. To burn away the tangle of confused feelings until all that was left was passion.

  “Jillian.” Cody broke the kiss long enough to rasp her name, his chest rising and falling like he’d run a marathon.

  Meeting his gaze in the glow of orange firelight, she paused long enough to see what he wanted.

  “Are you sure?” His fingers traced a path down one cheek before he tipped her chin up. “About this?”

  Her grip tightened on the cotton shirttails she’d dragged from his jeans, the fabric still warm in her hands. “This might be the only thing in the whole world that I’m positive about right now.”

  His eyes lingered on her for a moment—long enough that she wondered what he saw. A woman desperate to feel desirable? Whole? But no matter. Because a moment later, he nodded. Decision made.

  “Come with me.” He took her hand and led her into the darker recesses of the guesthouse.

  They went through a cool kitchen, where the only light was the glint of the fire reflecting off stainless steel appliances, and past a staircase with a heavy pine banister. They finally arrived at an open door toward the back of the unit. Mor
e flickering light emanated from within.

  The master bedroom, she realized. There was another fire laid in the simple black hearth. The glow illuminated a king-size sleigh bed with a simple white duvet and a mountain of white pillows in every size. A tea cart near the bed held a white ceramic pitcher, stemware and a few silver-domed platters.

  A pewter cup held a bouquet of echinacea flowers in yellow, red and purple.

  While she took it all in, Cody drew her forward, deeper into the room that had been so carefully prepared for them.

  “You should have a bed this time,” he told her simply, explaining his thoughtfulness. “Every time.”

  He stopped at the edge of the footboard, hooking a finger in her flannel shirt to tug her one step closer. Until there was only a breath between them.

  He was so near, and yet it felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff. Like if she moved forward that fraction of an inch, she would be in free fall, tumbling down into something deep and unknown.

  “I’m so ready for this.” She said it aloud. To herself. To him.

  She didn’t know if it was true. But she wanted to lose herself in his touch. His hands.

  His answer was a kiss on her cheek. Impossibly gentle, but the start of so much more. She tipped her head back, giving him everything. All of her.

  He kissed his way to her ear. Her neck. Down her throat. He undid the rest of the buttons on her shirt, sliding the flannel apart. Tugging the gauzy blouse over her head. Flicking free the clasp of a bra that hid the rumpled knot of scars on one breast.

  Last time they were together had been so rushed, so hungry, that she’d never been naked. Never had to worry about the roped surgery marks where the surgeons had operated to remove her tumor, or the patches of pink, shiny skin from radiation therapy.

  Threading her fingers through his, she gently steered him away from her breasts, wanting to prepare him.

  “My body is...” She blinked, not ready to have this conversation. Not sure how she even felt about her scars. “I just don’t want you to be surprised. I’m a little...misshapen.”

  She didn’t feel ashamed, necessarily. She felt proud of her body for surviving. For triumphing.

  But at this moment, she wished it was beautiful.

  “You’re exactly the right shape for a warrior. A survivor. I can’t imagine anything more beautiful.” His gaze was steady. “Does it bother you to be touched there?”

  His words soothed her. Eased her doubts.

  “No.” She shook her head, a curl grazing her cheek. “It feels good.”

  “Then I hope you’ll let me touch you more.” He eased his fingers free from where she’d held him back. “But first I’m going to lay you right in the middle of all those pillows.”

  His hands spanned her waist and he lifted her. She held on to his shoulders until he dropped her gently in the center of the bed. The cream-colored lace of her bra still fluttered open around her chest, the straps loose on her shoulders.

  Cody tugged off her boots and her jeans, setting them aside before he stripped naked. The firelight burnished his skin with a bronze glow. His muscles rippled as he moved: the thick, corded ones in his back, the flat, taut ones of his abs. Her throat went dry as she looked at him.

  Then he was with her, using his weight to shift her on the bed as he stretched out. He rested one warm palm on her belly, steadying her while he kissed her throat. Her collarbone. Lower.

  She told herself not to worry, but that didn’t stop her from tensing when he dragged a thumb along one thick line of scars. Or when he stroked the pink expanse from the radiation burn.

  “Your body is a miracle,” he whispered over her skin before he licked a path around her nipple, then sucked gently.

  Desire flooded through her, hot and fast, drowning her insecurity in a pool of want. By the time he switched his attention to her other breast, she was so distracted by the heat between her thighs she forgot about anything else.

  Jillian snaked her leg around his, holding him against her, rocking her hips into his. She wanted more. Now. The ache of waiting coiled tight inside her.

  Fingers flexing against his shoulders, she closed her eyes. She knew she wouldn’t last long. Not when the tension was mounting every minute.

  He slipped a hand between her legs, touching her just where she needed. The pleasure came so hard and fast she shuddered with it, experiencing waves of sweet, tender release. Clinging to him, she let it roll over her. Through her. When the last spasm hit her, she opened her eyes for a moment—just long enough to see him roll a condom in place.

  She unwound her arms and legs from him enough that he could move on top of her and position himself between her thighs. Enter her inch by tantalizing inch.

  Raining kisses on his chest, his neck, wherever she could reach, Jillian moved with him, wanting him to feel every bit as fulfilled as she already did. The scent of his aftershave, the taste of his skin, burned into her brain a searing memory she’d never forget. She gave herself over to the joining, back arching so he could capture the taut peak of one breast and then the other again. The feel of his tongue there, loving her body where it had been hurt and neglected for so long, was a potent kind of alchemy.

  It changed her somehow. Changed how she felt about her body and sex, so that it all seemed unbearably beautiful. Another orgasm built inside her. When it charged through her, she felt it in every nerve ending, all the way to her toes. She held him tight, and his body tensed before a final thrust put him over the edge in turn.

  By then, as the last aftershock faded, Jillian was speechless. Awed. Something wonderful had happened for her. A new acceptance of herself. A new joy in her beleaguered body. And this responsible, practical man of few words had wrought that magic with his hands and his quiet tenderness.

  It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Not that she regretted this time with him. But she wasn’t ready to have the earth moved and her reality shifted by any man. She had a list of adventures to experience and a promise to herself she would not break.

  But with her heart already dancing dizzy pirouettes after their charged encounter, Jillian knew she needed space fast. Distance. She rolled away from him while they each caught their breath.

  “Cody—”

  “Jillian—”

  They started talking at the same time.

  “You go first,” she offered, not even sure what she would have said. How would she tell him that she needed to get back to LA? That she couldn’t afford to stick around Cheyenne and fall for a hot rancher with magic in his hands?

  “I have a favor to ask.” He reached behind her to drag the duvet around her so she was covered. Warm.

  “And how clever of you to ask it when I’m swamped with endorphins and still reeling with physical bliss.” She tucked the blanket closer to her chin, rolling over to look in his eyes.

  His very serious eyes.

  It occurred to her too late that Cody might be concocting a plan to give himself space and distance at the same time she was. Her stomach tightened into a knot.

  “You’ve already gotten my brother’s okay to film on his land, and I know that means I could wake up any day and find you gone.” He brushed her hair from her face, his touch making her pulse flutter even now.

  “I have to show the executives from my company around first. Make sure they’re okay with using his ranch instead of the one we really want—Black Creek.” She wondered if he would ever budge on that issue.

  “I understand.” He nodded, but didn’t offer his ranch. “Before you leave Cheyenne, I want you to consider having a blood test.”

  His words hung in the air between them. Jarring.

  She hadn’t been expecting anything like that. Hadn’t realized he was already making a plan for his life once she was gone.

  “A blood test.” She repeated the words, unable to make
the idea reconcile with what they’d just shared. With everything she’d been feeling.

  “Yes. A blood test is sensitive enough to detect pregnancy this early.” The reasonable, practical Cody reasserted himself. “I think we’ll both sleep better once we rule out any chance you’ve conceived.”

  The bubble of sensual euphoria burst. At least, she hoped that was the only thing breaking inside her. Because his statement rattled the hell out of her.

  A chill crept over her despite the blaze roaring in the hearth at the foot of the bed.

  “Of course.” She straightened, letting the duvet fall away as she searched for her shirt. “If you’ll make the appointment, I’ll show up.” After punching her fists through the armholes of her blouse, she fastened the bra clasp under the fabric, since the straps were still perched on her shoulders. “I wouldn’t want you to lose sleep.”

  He sat the rest of the way up in bed. “Wait a second. Where are you—”

  “I’m sorry. I forgot that one of my bosses is flying in first thing tomorrow.” She slid on her jeans and stepped into her boots. “I can’t afford to screw up anything else on this job.”

  Grabbing her purse, she headed for the door.

  Eight

  After finishing up a meeting with his foreman the following Monday, Cody stalked out of the Black Creek Ranch office. Next month, once renovations were complete, he would move more of the business side of the ranch work to his new facility in town.

  A location that would be forever associated in his mind with his passionate first encounter with Jillian.

  But for now, Cody’s business manager still worked out of an old double-bay garage that had been converted to office space over a decade ago.

  Jamming his hat on his head in deference to the noontime sun, Cody headed toward his truck. He needed to get to Cheyenne for the appointment he’d made for Jillian to have a blood test. He’d wanted to drive her there personally, since he hadn’t seen her in days—not so much as a glimpse of her after she’d walked out on him at the White Canyon. He’d received a text message in which she’d politely refused his offer of a ride, although she’d agreed to meet him at the assigned appointment time.