by Ginna Gray
"Thank God." J.T.'s shoulders slumped as his breath rushed out in a long gust.
"However," Kate added, drawing his attention again. "Apparently Zach is your brother."
"Yeah, apparently so. And I'm sure I'm going to be really happy about that later, but right now all I can think about is how wonderful it feels to know that I don't have to let you go."
Freeing one of his hands, he cupped her cheek. "Ah, Katy, I know I hurt you, but believe me, these last two weeks I've suffered pure living hell thinking you were my sister." He shook his head, his adoring gaze wandering over her face, touching each feature. "Because, no matter how many times I told myself it was wrong, I couldn't stop loving you."
"Oh, J.T. I love you, too." she whispered, giving him a melting look. She cupped her hand over his and nuzzled her cheek more firmly against his palm. Her misty eyes glinted like liquid silver, and her smile wobbled. "I've been so miserable. I thought you didn't want me anymore."
"Didn't want you?" He pulled her up and into his lap, looped his arms around her hips and looked deep into her eyes. "That will never happen," he declared fiercely. "I'll still want you when I'm ninety."
"Oh, J.T." His name came out on a sigh, and her eyes fluttered shut as their lips met in a long, smoldering kiss.
Kate's heart soared. Joy overwhelmed her, filling her being until every cell in her body tingled. After the past two weeks of misery and heartache, she never expected to be in J.T.'s arms again, to kiss him again, to experience the pleasure of his touch.
And the pleasure was exquisite.
She went limp in his arms, melting into the kiss with an abandon she had never dared before, holding nothing back. Clutching his hair with both hands, she gave herself up to the moment, luxuriated in the voluptuousness of it.
When at last their lips parted, J.T. strung a line of nibbling kisses over her cheek, her chin, the tender underside of her jaw. Eyes closed, Kate sighed and let her head loll back to give him better access to her neck.
As his lips explored that long, graceful arch, one by one, he opened the buttons on her shirt.
The draft of cooler air against her heated skin brought a flash of sanity. Even so, as J.T. dipped his head to nuzzle the soft swells of flesh above her bra, her thoughts threatened to scatter, and she had to struggle to focus.
"Mmm?"
A low moan purred from Kate's throat as the tip of his tongue drew a moist line along the lacy edge of her bra. A delicious shiver followed, and her fingers dug into his shoulders when he delved into the cleft between her breasts.
"We're in the kitchen," she gasped. "Sit-sitting on … a chair."
At first she thought he wasn't listening, but then he slowly raised his head. His face was flushed, his hair disheveled, his eyes hot and slightly out of focus. Nevertheless he looked around, and after a moment he smiled and nodded. "So we are."
"Oh! What're you doing?" she squeaked when, in one fluid motion, he rose with her in his arms and started toward the door.
"I'm taking you upstairs to bed. You're right. While I have no problem with being innovative or adventurous, I want our first time together to be in a comfortable bed. Besides, I'd like to finish what we started. We're going to take up where we left off."
"Ah, I see. Well that's fine with me, but I can walk, you know," she said, smiling seductively as he swept up the stairs, carrying her as though she weighed no more than a down pillow.
"Uh-uh. Not on your life. This time I'm not letting you go until I've had my way with you, woman."
"Ohhh. I do love a masterful man," she puffed. She traced the swirls in his ear with her forefinger and had the pleasure of feeling him shudder and almost stumble.
"You're gonna pay for that, woman," he growled, and strode purposefully down the second-floor hallway and shouldered open the door to her room.
J.T. crossed the room to her four-poster, and without any hesitation or hint of what he intended, he tossed her up in the air.
Kate screamed as she felt herself falling through space, but the sound cut off as her back hit the mattress and she bounced. "Gotcha, now," he crowed, pouncing on top of her before the second bounce was over.
"J.T., you devil!" They rolled together across the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. "Fiend!" Kate cried, giggling helplessly and slapping at his busy fingers, which were already working on the snap on her jeans. "Sex maniac!"
J.T. scrambled to his knees. "Damned right!" he responded gleefully as he peeled off her jeans and tossed them over his shoulder.
"Well there's no game that two can't play," she gasped, climbing to her knees, as well, and going to work on his jeans.
In record time, amid much tugging and wrestling and laughter and occasional pauses to kiss and caress, they were both naked. Gasping for breath and still chuckling, they fell together onto the pillows. Stretching out beside Kate, J.T. hooked his leg over hers to anchor her in place.
Then their gazes met and locked, and the time for laughter ended.
They went absolutely still, staring into each other's eyes, their hearts pounding in the thick silence that suddenly surrounded them.
"Kate," J.T. whispered. His hand trembled ever so slightly as he touched her cheek, and the look of awe and love in his eyes made Kate's heart tremble. "Ah, Katy, mine, I do love you so."
And then he kissed her with such exquisite tenderness she thought surely she would shatter. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, running her palms over the muscles that banded his broad back and shoulders as hot tears seeped from the corners of her eyes and dripped into the hair at her temples.
Here was the one, perfect love she had been waiting for all of her life. Joyous, intense, all consuming. And completely unconditional.
If she ever had any doubts about the depth of J.T.'s feelings for her, he banished them in the moments that followed. With excruciating tenderness, he explored every inch of her, worshiping her with his eyes, his hands, his lips.
He lavished attention on her breasts, kissing and nuzzling them, laying the rosy nipples into aching pebbles with his tongue, nipping and suckling them until she writhed and burned with need. Arching her back, Kate clutched his shoulders, her head thrashing from side to side on the pillow. "Please, J.T. Oh, please," she sobbed.
"Oh, no. Not yet, sweetheart. I've been waiting for this for weeks. We're not going to rush."
Ignoring her pleas, he continued his silent adoration. Taking his time, J.T. touched, tasted and kissed every inch of her, from her hairline to her toes. He explored her abdomen, her ribs, her tender underarms and the backs of her knees, all the while inhaling her scent deep into his lungs, as though imprinting the very essence of her on his psyche.
Kate tried to do some exploring of her own, but he wasn't through with her yet. "Relax, sweetheart," he murmured, and he rolled her over and started the process again. In the end she was so weak with desire all she could do was surrender and let herself be swept along on the delicious tide of passion and pleasure.
J.T. kissed her nape, her shoulders, her shoulder blades. He trailed his fingers down the shallow trench that marked her spine, lingering over each tiny knob. He kneaded and nipped the rounded flesh of her bottom, the backs of her thighs. He kissed her ankles, the soles of her feet and each individual toe.
Just when she thought she would go mad, he rolled her to her back once again and worked his way back up her body, paying homage all along the way with murmured words of praise and lingering kisses.
Then at last he was there, braced above her, kissing her mouth again, this time with a hungry demand that she answered eagerly, instinctively parting her thighs. He shifted into position and entered her with a slow, smooth stroke that drew a moan of pleasure from the core of her being.
Outside the windowpanes the blizzard raged in swirls of icy white. Inside all was warm and cozy. A cheery fire burned in the fireplace, illuminating the room with a soft glow and painting the entwined couple's bodies golden as they moved together in the
age-old rhythm.
For a time the sounds of rustling sheets, long, pleasured sighs and moans and murmured endearments whispered through the stillness as they loved each other. Then their breathing grew more rapid, their moans more desperate until finally their hoarse cries rang out.
Then a hush fell, and the only sounds in the room were the rasp of labored breathing, the crackle of the fire, wind howling around the eaves, and the erratic screech and thump of a bare tree branch scraping a windowpane.
* * *
Chapter 10
« ^ »
Replete, Kate lay in J.T.'s embrace, her arm draped across his chest and one leg hooked over his. Wit a contented sigh, she snuggled her cheek more comfortably on his shoulder, wound a curl of his chest hair around her forefinger—and yanked.
"Ow!" He jerked and grabbed her wrist. "What was that for?"
"For deceiving me." She tipped her head back so she could look into his eyes. Several pieces of hair had come loose from her French braid, and the long, curling locks floated around her face, giving her the look of a wanton angel. "I don't know how you knew where to look, but I don't believe for a moment that coming here was just a lucky stroke of fate. I'm not that dumb or that naive. You came here looking for Zach, didn't you?"
He winced. "Not entirely. I am a writer. And I am writing a book set in this area."
Two books, he amended silently, but he thought it wise to keep that to himself, at least for now. There was no point in telling Kate about the second one until he finished it. If he finished it. At this point that was by no means a certainty.
In the beginning the story had gone along great, but he was now totally blocked. What he needed was a satisfying resolution, not the limbo the story was in real life.
What he really needed was to find that money and prove that Kate and Zach had nothing to do with Bob Sweet's scam.
"As for Zach, I admit that I wanted to find out if he was my brother, but I didn't know when I came here if he was or not, I was just following up a lead I'd gotten." He explained about the message he'd posted on the Internet bulletin board and the flood of responses it had brought, and how the one about Zach had been the most promising.
"So, you didn't know about the swindle and the missing money before you came here?"
"Not exactly."
Her eyes became mere slits. "What does that mean?"
"The message hinted that Zach was under suspicion in a criminal investigation, but didn't give specifics. Here, I'll let you read it."
Releasing Kate, he rolled to the side of the bed and groped for his pants, which lay in a heap on the floor. He fished his wallet out of the back pocket, removed the paper and handed it to her. "This is all I had to go on. It's not much, but I figured since I needed to do research, anyway, I could check out Zach while I was here."
Sitting up, Kate modestly pulled the top sheet up over her breasts, anchored it under her arms, and unfolded the paper. Grinning, J.T. leaned back against the pillows with his fingers laced behind his head and enjoyed the view from behind.
"There's no name on this."
"Yeah, I know. My guess is it was sent by someone local. Probably someone hoping to get the whole thing stirred up again."
When she finished reading, Kate looked at him over her shoulder. Her eyes had softened and a smile curved her mouth. "You really didn't know about the money."
"No, but I'll tell you, that message gave me a few uneasy moments. The idea of a brother of mine being involved in a crime didn't sit well."
"No, I don't imagine it did." She studied him in silence, her gray eyes direct and serious. "And how do you feel now?"
"Now?" He gave her a smoldering look and trailed his forefinger down her spine, all the way to the shadowy cleft at its base. Her delicate shiver brought a slow smile to his lips. "Now I know you and love you, and I know damned well that neither you nor Zach had anything to do with Bob Sweet's scheme."
"Oh, J.T."
Modesty forgotten, Kate dropped the sheet, flung herself at his chest and twined her arms so tight around his neck she nearly choked him. The feel of her soft breasts pressed against his chest made him catch his breath.
"Thank you, my darling. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that." When she drew back her smile was wobbly, her eyes swimming with emotion. "It's been so long since anyone has believed in Zach and me."
"That's all changed now," J.T. vowed. Cupping his hand against her cheek, he looked deep into her eyes. "I'll always be here for you, sweetheart. You can count on it."
She settled against him again and nuzzled her cheek against his chest, sighing as J.T. absently ran his fingers up and down her arm from her shoulder to her wrist and back.
"How do you think Zach is going to react when we tell him?" he asked after a while.
"With a go-to-hell stare and stony silence."
"Great. Another hard-nose like Matt. Just what I need."
Kate chuckled. "He's not that, exactly. Zach is just intense and private. He doesn't allow many people to get close to him. Even as a boy he was the strong, silent type, and since the scandal he's turned into even more of a loner. Now he's also suspicious and slow to trust."
"That's understandable, given what's happened to the two of you. But, whether Zach likes it or not, he has two brothers, and he needs to know that. Maybe he won't be interested in developing any family ties with Matt and me, but one way or the other, the three of us need to make contact. If for no other reason than to learn what's etched on the medallion. Matt and I hope that it will help clear up some questions about our mother and perhaps our family history, as well. Which is why I think you and I should go to wherever Zach is and break the news to him."
"Both of us?"
J.T. grinned and gave her arm a squeeze. "Yeah. He'll probably take the news better coming from you. And I figure, if you're there, he's less liable to punch my lights out when he finds out how things are between us."
"Coward," she teased.
"Damned straight." J.T. rubbed the spot on his ribs where she'd poked him, then he lifted her hand and nibbled the end of her fingers, watching with satisfaction as her gaze went slightly out of focus and her breathing became choppy. "I'm a lover, not a fighter," he murmured in a seductive voice.
"Mmm, you are that. But I wouldn't count on my presence saving you from Zach if I were you," she teased. "Where his little sister is concerned, he's very protective."
"Oh terrific. I'm going to track down my long-lost brother so he can take a swing at me."
"Actually, you don't have to go anywhere. Zach will be coming here in a few weeks. He always tries to make it home for his birthday."
"February sixth, right? He'll be thirty-five."
"How did you— Oh! Of course! It's your birthday, too."
"Yeah. And Matt's."
"The other brother. Tell me about him."
J.T. made a sound something between a snort and a chuckle and stared into the distance, absently stroking Kate's arm. "We have the same build and are the same height, but he has black hair and blue eyes. He's tough as nails, but to his credit, he's madly in love with his wife, Maude Ann.
"They married just three months ago. She's a psychiatrist who runs a foster home for abused and neglected children. Matt fell in love with the whole brood, and at his insistence they've filed to adopt the five kids who are living there now."
"He sounds like a wonderful man."
"Yeah, I guess he is … in his own way. He's a bit crusty and abrupt, but he's okay.
"Right after graduating from college Matt joined the Houston Police Department and quickly worked his way up to detective. Then, a few months ago, he got shot in the line of duty. Six months earlier he'd been wounded in the same leg. He recovered fully that time, but the last shooting did some major damage and left him with a permanent limp. After almost thirteen years on the force he had to retire."
"How awful for him."
"Yeah, I thought so, too, at first, but he see
ms to have adjusted. He enjoys helping Maude Ann operate the foster home, and he's nuts about those kids."
"Did you search for Matt, too, the way you did for Zach? Or did he find you?"
"Neither. We discovered we were brothers purely by accident. Matt and I had known each other for over eleven years, but we had no idea we were related. For that matter, neither of us had any idea we had siblings."
"You were friends? How wonderful."
"Whoa, wait a minute. I said we knew each other. We weren't exactly what you'd call friends."
Kate looked horrified. "You didn't like each other?"
J.T. grimaced and groped for an explanation. "We weren't enemies. To tell the truth, I've always liked and admired Matt. He's tough, but he's as straight and honest as they come, and he was one helluva cop. But he and I have always been … I guess you'd call it friendly adversaries.
"A few months ago we accidentally discovered that we both wore similar pieces of silver on chains around our necks. When we put them together they fit like pieces of a puzzle and formed two-thirds of a medallion. The missing third told us we had another sibling somewhere.
"The writing on the back and the symbol on the front of each piece matched up exactly—but two thirds wasn't enough to decipher the whole message. However, it did convince us that we were brothers. That was a shock for both of us, I can tell you."
"But surely your relationship changed once you knew."
"Some, I guess, but … well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure Matt and I will ever be close. We're too different. We have different personalities, come from different backgrounds, had different upbringings, different life experiences."
Kate was silent for a moment, and he could tell that she was troubled. Finally, in a subdued voice she said, "The same will be true with Zach, you know."
She tipped her head up to look at him, her eyes brimming with concern. "Oh, J.T., it breaks my heart to think that you and Matt and Zach might end up as strangers to each other. Brothers should be share a bond. Especially triplets."