by Ginna Gray
The plan was working. She had softened toward him, was comfortable with him now. And he had seen the passion in her eyes when he touched her.
But, sweet heaven, the waiting was killing him.
J.T. was fairly certain that if he pressed he could take her right then, right there. Simply pull her into his arms and hold her tight, kiss her luscious mouth until neither of them could think, and sink with her to the floor.
Tempting as the thought was, however, he knew that neither the time nor the place was right yet. Forcing down the raging desire that racked his body, he removed her finger from his mouth and kissed the back of her hand. "That was delicious," he murmured against her skin before released her.
"Th-thank you."
A blush spread up her neck and face, and she quickly turned back to the sink, but not before he'd noted with a deep sense of satisfaction the tremor in Kate's hands as she plunged them into the dishwater.
Taking mercy on her, and himself, he stepped to one side and leaned his hips back against the counter beside her, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles, and folded his arms loosely over his chest. "You know, since it's just the two of us, instead of you going to all the trouble to cook a huge meal, why don't I take you out for Christmas?"
"Oh, J.T. that's so sweet of you, but—"
"Yeah. We could drive down to Durango and spend the day. I checked with the weather service. The snow is supposed to end by midnight, and the roads will be plowed by morning."
He saw the a flash of longing in her eyes, but it was quickly squelched. "Thank you for the thought, J.T., but I don't dare leave for the whole day. If I did, Cletus or some of the others would be up here in a flash."
"They don't have to know we're gone. We'll leave the radio on and the drapes open. You have a timer on the coffeepot. We can hook it up to a lamp in the parlor, just in case we don't get home before dark."
"I don't know…" She caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
"C'mon, Kate, it'll be fun. Beside, it'll do you good to get out." He ducked his head and waggled his eyebrows at her. "So whadda ya say? Hmm?"
* * *
The day was more than fun; it was heaven.
It started with an exchange of gifts before breakfast on Christmas morning. For days Kate had been itching to open the red foil-wrapped package with her name on it that had mysteriously appeared under the tree, but she contained herself and opened Zach's gifts first.
The packages had arrived only the day before, just an hour or so before he had called to wish her Merry Christmas. In typical brotherly fashion, Zach had sent her a polar-fleece top and a new guest register for the B&B.
She then opened the red foil package, but she did so with such excruciating care that finally J.T. groaned, "Just tear the damned paper off, will you."
She laughed and continued her meticulous unwrapping. "Oh, J.T.," she gasped when she finally lifted the lid. "It's beautiful." The box contained an exquisite silk scarf in a misty pattern of cobalt-blue, lavender and Kelly-green swirls. Kate loved it and thanked J.T. profusely. She immediately looped the silk oblong around her neck over her robe and stroked its softness as J.T. tore into her gift to him.
"Oh, Kate!" He lifted the gift out of the box with something akin to reverence and turned it slowly, his face full of awe.
It was a piece of Western sculpture by a local artist that she'd seen him admire one day when they had gone into town for supplies and the mail. About sixteen inches high, the piece depicted a cowboy on his horse, riding hell-for-leather after a maverick steer.
When J.T. finally looked at her, his eyes gleamed with pleasure. "Kate, this is…" He shook his head and looked back at the sculpture. "I don't know what to say."
"I hope you like it."
"Like it? Sweetheart, I love it. It's wonderful." Leaning across the space that separated them, he hooked his hand around her nape and brought her closer for a long, searing kiss. When he raised his head he drew back only inches and looked deep into her eyes. "Thank you, Katy, mine. And merry Christmas."
She blinked in surprise when he withdrew a small flat box from the pocket of his robe and handed it to her. "What is this? You've already given me my present."
"That was just the decoy. In case you were one of those who rattles the boxes or sneaks a peek."
"I would never—" she began, but J.T. cut off her indignant protest with another quick kiss, then grinned.
"Just open it," he murmured.
She did so with her heart pounding. When the velvet jeweler's box emerged, her startled gaze darted to his, but he merely waited, watching her. "Oh! Oh, my!" she exclaimed in a breathless voice when she lifted the lid. "Oh, J.T. it's exquisite."
Nestled against the black velvet lay a dainty, antique necklace made of amethysts set in swirling strands of gold, delicate and lacy as a spiderweb. "But how…? Where…? When did you get this?"
"I found it in Durango, the day I got your flowers. I thought it looked like you. Delicate and beautiful."
"Durango! But you'd been here only a little over a month at that point."
J.T. met her stunned gaze with unblinking directness, his eyes intense. "So? I knew even then what you were coming to mean to me. Now, why don't we put this on you and see how it looks?" He plucked the necklace from the box and moved around behind her.
The delicate web of cool metal settled against her neck and collarbone. Kate's trembling fingertips touched it as she tried to decipher the confusing emotions that roiled inside her.
She wore the necklace with her black turtleneck and long gray skirt for their trip to Durango. They left immediately after showering and eating breakfast. To avoid being seen leaving, Kate lay down in the back seat until they were clear of Gold Fever and climbed into the front once they started up out of the valley.
As the weatherman had promised, the storm had moved east during the night and the sky above the twisting mountain road was a clear, vivid blue. A deep blanket of snow covered everything, sparkling in the sun like a field of diamonds. There didn't seem to be anyone else on the highway, so the snow was still a pristine white, even that which had been piled on the side of the road by the snowplow.
In Durango, they enjoyed a sumptuous buffet dinner at the Strater, a grand old Victorian hotel on Main Street. Afterward, they strolled hand in hand around the quaint Western town, looking in the shop windows and simply enjoying the crisp, sunny day.
Then J.T. took Kate to a movie at the old Gaslight Theater at the end of Main Street. It was the first movie that Kate had been to since she'd left college, and she thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the darkness with her hand in J.T.'s, losing herself in the story unfolding on the screen.
A purple twilight had fallen when they emerged from the theater, but Kate was too happy to be concerned about arriving home after dark.
The mellow happiness lasted almost all the way home.
Savoring the end of a perfect day, they were both quiet. Mozart flowed softly from the CD player. The only other sound was the crunch of the tires on the snow-packed road. They met only two other vehicles as they wound their way back through the snowy mountain passes, making it feel as though she and J.T. were the only two people left in the world.
For most of the trip Kate simply relaxed with her head back against the seat and looked out the window at the eerily beautiful sight of moonlight on the craggy, snow-covered peaks and deep valleys.
They had just crested Turnbow pass and began the descent down the twisting road into the valley when J.T. broke the silence. "There's Gold Fever," he murmured as the lights of the town came into view far below.
"Mmm." Kate smiled dreamily as the sound hummed from her throat. She was feeling too lazy and content to say more.
"You know, I've been thinking," J.T. said casually, bringing the Jeep to a crawl to negotiate a hairpin curve. "Do you have any idea at all what Reverend Sweet might have done with that money?"
The question shattered Kate's contentment like brittle glass. S
he sat up straight, her body going rigid. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an iron fist.
What a fool she had been to think he was different. She should have known. Turning her head away, she stared blindly out the window and pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to cry. "No. How could I?"
"I thought there might be some clue among his things. I assume when he left town for his bogus meeting with the mining company he left most of his belongings behind. He wouldn't have wanted to arouse suspicion."
"He did, but the FBI went through everything," she replied in a flat voice, but J.T. didn't seem to notice her coolness. "They found nothing. After Bob was convicted and sent to prison, I burned all his things to get them out of the house."
He grimaced. "Too bad. Oh, well, it was just a shot in the dark. If we could locate that money and return it to the investors, you and Zach would no longer be under a cloud of suspicion."
Kate's head snapped around. She stared at him through the darkness. "You mean if you found the money you would give it back?"
"Sure. It isn't my money." He slanted her a glance that appeared to be part surprise and part disappointment when he saw her expression in the dim glow from the dashboard. "Don't tell me you wouldn't?"
At first she was so overwhelmed with emotion the question didn't register. She gazed at him, her heart swelling with elation and pride, and a rush of love so strong it made her chest hurt.
Her prolonged silence deepened J.T.'s scowl. "Aw, c'mon, Kate. Don't tell me you'd keep the money?"
"What? Oh! No, of course I wouldn't. It's just that… I thought you… that is…"
"Oh, I see." He cast another glance her way, but this time his face looked as though it were carved from stone. "You thought I'd take the money and disappear, didn't you? That I was no better than Bob Sweet. Thanks a lot, Kate." He gave a bark of mirthless laughter. "That pretty much tells me what you think of me."
"No, J.T., I didn't mean that. I—"
"Forget it. It's not important."
Kate opened her mouth to say more, but he reached over and cranked up the volume on the CD player, making conversation impossible.
In only minutes they arrived at the Alpine Rose. To Kate it seemed like hours. She spent the whole time berating herself.
J.T. was angry—angrier than she had ever seen him, and who could blame him? How could she have doubted him? Lumped him in with Bob Sweet and Kurt?
Over and over these past weeks J.T. had shown himself to be an honorable man, but she had been so filled with bitterness and suspicion she had not been able to fully accept that.
And now she'd hurt him. Insulted him. Somehow she had to put things right.
Even as angry as he was, when he parked the Jeep under the port cochere, J.T. behaved with rigid politeness, assisting her out of the vehicle and unlocking the door for her, then stepping back to let her precede him inside. However, as soon as he closed and locked the door behind them he bade her a curt good-night before she could apologize.
"J.T., wait! Please, I have to talk to you," she cried, but he headed for the stairs with a tight jaw and long angry strides.
"J.T.! Please, don't be this way! J.T., wait!"
Catching up with him at the top of the stairs she grabbed his arm before he could storm away to his room. Her eyes pleaded with him. "I'm sorry, J.T. I'm so sorry. I know you're not like Bob Sweet or Kurt. It's just that … well … except for my family, everyone I've ever known and trusted has betrayed me. I guess I've come to expect it."
"Dammit, Kate, I told you I wasn't Kurt Hattleman. I would never lie to you. Never use you. I love you! Haven't you figured that out yet?"
"You … you love me?" Kate stared up at him, her heart swelling with hope and burgeoning happiness.
"Ah, hell." He grimaced when he realized what he'd blurted out. "Look, I didn't mean to say that. Not yet, anyway. The last thing I want is to rush you or scare you, so just forget I said it, okay."
"But I don't want to forget it. Not if you mean it."
J.T. went absolutely still, not quite able to believe he'd heard her right. "What?"
"I know, it's crazy. We haven't known each other long enough, but that doesn't seem to matter, because I do lov—"
Employing his favorite method of shushing her, he swooped like an eagle before she could finish and covered her mouth with his.
As he snatched her into his arms and brought her tight against him, Kate went up on tiptoe and locked her arms around his neck, giving in to the kiss with an eagerness that brought a low growl from J.T.'s throat.
At first touch, the hungry kiss exploded into a red-hot passion that threatened to consume them. Mouths rocked and hands clutched and groped, bodies strained, but still they could not get close enough.
Their breathing grew rough and rapid. Their hearts pounded. Small, desperate sounds of frustration and want escaped them. Emotions and desires that had been building for weeks burst free. Frantic, they strained together, wanting more, much more, but their hunger for each other was so great they were loath to part.
Suddenly J.T. broke off the kiss, drawing a moan of protest from Kate. Breathing heavily, he stared down at her flushed face, at the passion swirling in her eyes, and a hard shudder ripped through him as he fought to hold in check the fierce need raging inside him. "Kate, are you sure? Are you very sure?" he gasped between ragged breaths. "This is your last chance. We either stop now, while I still can, or not at all."
His whole body clenched as he waited for her reply and he watched each nuance of her expression.
Her eyes had a dazed look, and it took a moment for his words to penetrate, a moment that seemed like forever to J.T.
Finally a smile curved her mouth and she reached up and bracketed his face between her palms. "I'm sure. I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she whispered. "Make love to me, J.T."
It was all he needed to hear. J.T. bent and scooped her up, and as Kate looped her arms around his neck he fastened his mouth to hers and carried her down the hall toward her room, his long strides eating up the distance.
The kiss continued even as he opened her door and strode with her across the oriental carpet to her four-poster bed. There he paused before setting her down. "I do love you, Kate. Believe that."
"Oh, J.T." Her chin quivered as emotion overwhelmed her. Threading the fingers of both hands through his hair, she gave him a wobbly smile.
The mattress gave beneath his bent knee as their mouths fused again. Then they were stretched out on the bed together, legs entwined, hands exploring in constant, restless motion.
As they kissed, Kate snatched his shirttails from the waistband of his slacks, slipped her hands underneath and frantically ran her palms over his back, her fingers digging into the firm flesh, her nails lightly scoring. When her fingertip danced down his spine and delved beneath the waistband of his slacks, J.T. could stand no more.
He sat up, pulling her to a sitting position, too. In one desperate motion he grabbed the hem of her sweater and snatched it off over her head.
The garment and the delicate, antique necklace went flying as he eased her back down onto the pillow and pressed his face to the swell of pale flesh above her lacy bra. He strung kisses over the satiny softness, reveling in the low moans that puffed from Kate's throat, loving the feel of her, the scent of her.
With the tip of his tongue, J.T. traced a line of fire along the top edge of the black lace.
"Oh, J.T." Kate's spine arched, and she clutched both fists in his hair, urging him closer, her head thrashing from side to side on the pillow.
When he reached the shadowy cleft between her breasts, his tongued plunged, but instead of smooth warm flesh, he encountered something hard-edged and cool hanging from the fine chain around her neck.
"Mmm, what's this?" He raised his head lazily to examine the object, then froze and stared down in horror at the jagged piece of silver that lay nestled between her breasts.
The size and shape exac
tly matched the missing section of the medallion. If put together with the pieces he and Matt wore, the three would form a whole.
* * *
Chapter 9
« ^ »
"No. No!" J.T. stared in horror at the medallion piece lying against Kate's creamy skin and felt a gorge rise in his throat.
"J.T.? Darling, what is it? What's wrong?" Concern marked Kate's face. She raised her hand and touched his cheek, and he jerked back as though he'd been scalded.
Scrambling to his knees, he scooted back until they were no longer touching.
His gaze shot to Kate's face, then back at the medallion piece, then to Kate's face again, panic and revulsion roiling through him. Distantly he registered the confusion in her eyes, the rising hurt, but he couldn't think beyond the nightmare that was staring him in the face.
His head moved from side to side. "This isn't right… I can't … we can't… Oh, God!"
"J.T., what is it? Are you ill?"
Kate sat up, and J.T. shot off the bed.
He retreated to the middle of the room, and stood shaking his head and raking his hands through his hair. He stared at Kate and fought to control the bubble of hysteria that was swelling in his chest
He wanted to go to her, to hold her close and wipe away that stricken look, but he couldn't. He didn't dare touch her. Not now. Not ever again.
The thought brought a moan from deep in his soul. He closed his eyes and pressed the heels of both hands against his temples. Oh, Lord, this couldn't be happening!
"J.T., please. You're scaring me. Why are you acting this way?"
His eyes popped open. He looked at Kate's pleading face, her kiss-swollen lips, the flush of passion still on her face, and felt his stomach turn over. Shaking his head slowly, he backed away. "I—I'm sorry, Kate… I… this isn't… we can't… I've got to get out of here. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
"J.T., wait! Where are you going?" Kate cried, but he was already out the door.
Stunned, she sat in the middle of the bed with her arms crossed over her breasts and listened to his footsteps pounding away down the hall. Seconds later his door slammed.