by Adam (lit)
Without answering, he kissed her, taking his time to let her part her lips for his entry into her mouth. Instead, she refused to open her mouth, kept her lips pressed firmly together.
“It won’t work,” he murmured and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, forcing her to part them. Her head jerked back, and caused his teeth to catch on her lip. He tasted blood and immediately drew back. Her eyes were closed, the long lashes curled like thick brushes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” He brushed his mouth over hers, taking the blood with him. She didn’t answer, so he continued his quest over her cheeks, nibbled his way down her chin to her throat. His mouth lingered over the strong pulse and continued on to the low neck of the gown. One hand came up and he fooled with the tiny buttons until they opened, and he could slide long fingers over her firm breasts.
Her eyes opened and she drew in a sharp breath. She didn’t want to respond, didn’t want her body to react to his caresses that had become more tender than before.
“You like that?” He raised his head to look at her.
“If I said no?”
“You’d be lying, Kara.”
Kara probably would be lying. Lyn closed her eyes and willed herself not to think, not to feel, not to fight as she wanted to do.
Adam continued exploring with mouth, teeth, and hands, rubbing his hard body against the softness of hers. His breath caught just before his lips closed over one nipple and his tongue wrapped around it. She shivered and felt a responding shudder go through him. He moved to the other breast and kissed his way around it before sucking it into his mouth. He fought to control the fire consuming him, struggled to tamp down an overpowering wish to eat her alive, to feast on every part of her body, to own her completely.
The gown came off and was thrown into the floor. His hands moved to the juncture of her thighs and eased them apart. He followed her as he turned her body and lay on her, staring down into the pale oval of her face.
“So lovely. So treacherous.” He soothed her lips with his, gently probed her mouth with his tongue. At the same time, he guided himself into her, pushing until he was to the hilt. “Move with me, Kara.”
She didn’t answer. Her eyes were closed, her lips pressed together until only a small amount of pink showed. He expected to see tears, but there were none. The thick lashes remained shadows on her cheeks.
“Damn you.” He plunged once, twice and on the third stroke, he buried his face at her throat to muffle his shout and emptied himself into her. He lay a long time before he rolled away from her. Neither spoke. A few moments later, he went to the bathroom. He was back shortly, picked up her gown from the floor, handed it to her, and waited until she slipped it over her head before he lay beside her.
They lay quietly until he turned and placed his arm beneath her head to pull her closer.
“Tell me where Aaron is, and you’ll be free to go.”
“I don’t know where Aaron and Kara are. If I did, I’d certainly tell you in order to go home.”
“All right.” He wrapped both arms around her.
She lay still and stared at the ceiling she was beginning to know as well as her own face. Before many days, she’d be able to count the ridges in the sculptured surface. Adam’s hand rested on her hip, his fingers spread as though measuring her. How could she sleep with thoughts wheeling through her mind, her nerves alive and hammering with every breath? Her body hummed with Adam’s remembered possession. In spite of trying hard not to, she kept thinking of the way he made her feel, the strong thrusts of his powerful body, and the orgasm that seemed to shatter him.
She wondered if she would ever know the complete satisfaction of someone making love to her because he loved her, not because he despised her. Her ex-husband had loved her for the support she gave him unstintingly, and the money supplied to finish his education. And then he’d left her.
* * * *
Adam’s thoughts were tangled around the woman in his arms, a woman who belonged to his brother, and now she belonged to him. As much as Kara would ever belong to one person, he imagined. Resentment flared. Behind the resentment was disgust with himself, searing anger that he would let himself make love to Kara with the excuse it would force her to tell him where Aaron was. Beside him, the woman sighed, and his arms tightened. He pressed a kiss to her neck just below her ear, closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.
* * * *
She was awake when Adam left the bed, but she didn’t move or open her eyes. He didn’t dress but took his clothing with him. The door opened, closed and the lock clicked into place. A bitter smile touched her lips. He was through with her – for now. She glanced at the radio clock by the bed. Five-thirty. Where is he going at this hour of the morning? What would she do until he came back?
The bookshelves in the sitting room of the suite held bestsellers, fiction and non-fiction, cookbooks – any kind of reading material one could want. She was too restless, too worried to concentrate enough to enjoy reading. There was a television. Would she be reported missing? No, Adam had taken special pains to make sure she was signed out as both Kara and Lyn. He’d covered all bases. How had he known to do that, to cover for two rather than one? Because he knew Kara and her many ways of duplicity.
The knock on the door startled her.
“Kara?”
She didn’t answer.
“Kara?”
This could go on all day if the person on the opposite side of the door was as obstinate as she was.
“You have a key if you want to come in.”
There was a short pause, and then the sound of a key turning. The door opened to reveal Garth. “Would you like coffee? I know it’s early, but Adam said you were awake.”
But he hadn’t spoken or indicated he knew she wasn’t asleep. Perhaps because he didn’t want to talk to her. Well, that made two of them who didn’t want to carry on a conversation, one of those ‘after the intimacy’ talks. There wasn’t anything either of them could say to rationalize the situation.
“Yes. I’ll be up in a few moments.”
“We’ll be in the breakfast room.” He retreated without locking the door.
She showered, brushed her hair, found a gray fleece warm up suit that suited her mood. Gray. Without life. Without color. Oh, come on, Lyn, this ‘poor me’ stuff won’t get you anything, perhaps not even a cup of coffee.
And she needed the caffeine.
She wandered down the long hall to the kitchen. Hana was at the counter putting French toast on three plates. She gave Lyn an unfriendly look and went back to her task. Adam and Garth were seated at the pedestal table by the bay window in the breakfast nook. Adam wore a dark blue business suit, white shirt, blue tie with white arrows on it. He didn’t look like the man who had made rough, passionate love to her a few hours ago.
Garth, like Lyn, was dressed in a gray fleece warm-up suit.
Adam looked up, pushed back his chair, and waited until she approached him. He pulled out the chair next to him and indicated she was to sit. She sat.
“I didn’t know if you wanted to get up this early.”
“I’m an early riser.” She smiled at Hana as she placed a cup of coffee in front of her. Hana sniffed. “Thank you anyway,” Lyn said and figured the woman wouldn’t recognize the sarcasm she intended. But Adam would. She glanced at him to see a half smile curve his firm lips.
“I have to leave shortly and will be gone all day, perhaps overnight. Garth will be here to walk with you if you’d like to get outside during the day.” He indicated the window. “It’s snowing although you can’t really see it right now.”
She looked anyway, able to see huge white flakes drifting down in the outside deck lights.
“You have boots in the mud room if the snow gets heavier. I’m not sure how much we’re supposed to get.”
“Four to six inches today, but there’s another front moving in. Could be more.” Garth had turned his chair so he could look out the window. �
��Better take the SUVwith the all wheel drive, Boss, or you might get stuck off in the wilds.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Sure you don’t want me to drive?” Garth glanced at Lyn, and she returned his look without speaking. He was her bodyguard, therefore he couldn’t chauffeur Adam around and keep an eye on her, too.
“No. I need you here.” Adam stood, stared down at Lyn for a moment. “If you decide to give us the information we need, Garth has my cell phone.” She didn’t answer, and he shoved the chair back to the table. “I’ll see all of you later.”
Lyn finished her coffee and stood. “Can I help you with anything, Hana?”
“Hmph.” Hana’s head came up and she would have looked down her nose at Lyn had she been taller. “You don’t look like you know how to do anything.”
“Looks can certainly be deceiving, as you well know.”
“I don’t need help.” The woman stomped off into the pantry adjacent to the kitchen.
So be it. Lyn turned and started from the room.
“If you want to go outside, just let me know. Hana will know where I am.”
She smiled over her shoulder. “But will she tell me? She seems to have developed a total dislike for me, aided no doubt by the fact that your boss feels the same way.”
“She’ll do it because she always does what the boss says do.” He stood. “And so do I.”
She’d been warned: No one was going to help her. And from all she’d observed, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Chapter Nine
She read until her eyes blurred. She worked her way around every wall in the suite, touching spots she thought might contain a mechanism that would open a secret panel. She even climbed on the vanity stool and tried to reach the light fixture, but she wasn’t tall enough. The table drawers and the heavy lamps held no hidden electronics as they did on television. Finally, she sat in the big club chair by the sliding doors and watched the snow swirl outside. Not one to sit around and do nothing, she was becoming bored out of her skull.
How could Garth and Hana stand living here with nothing to do? Oh, she guessed Hana cooked and cleaned. Garth took care of cars and she supposed the yards in better weather. Oh, yes, Adam said Hana had family, children and grandchildren. He didn’t mention any family for Garth.
Not her problem. Hers was to get by today and the days to come without going stark raving mad.
She went in search of Garth, not even attempting to ask Hana where he was. She found him in the garage. He looked around in surprise when she opened the door leading from the mud room.
“If I can find boots to fit me, would you walk with me around outside just for a bit? If you’re too busy, it’s all right, but I would like to get outside if only for a few minutes.”
“Sure. You’ll find some of your boots right there on that shelf.”
“No, I won’t.” She kept her voice mild. Why she kept trying to convince them she wasn’t Kara, she wasn’t sure. Some perverse side to her, she supposed. “I don’t have any here, but I’ll try these on.”
There were at least half a dozen pairs of boots. “I didn’t think Kara liked to stay here,” she said. “Adam said she seldom visited.”
Garth chuckled. “Well, you didn’t used to like to visit, but when you did, you had to have boots to match every outfit.”
Lyn eyed the selection of boots doubtfully. Red, navy, taupe, black, and two white pairs. The red ones were her size, so she selected them to go with her gray outfit. At least, it would brighten it up a bit.
“They fit,” she said.
“I was sure they would.”
His voice was dry, and she was sure he spoke with tongue in cheek. Let him. And damn him for it. He’d been around Adam too long.
“She won’t mind if I get them wet? Anyone as particular about their boots as she appears to be might not want someone else wearing them.”
Garth regarded her with a strange expression. “You could tell Adam where Aaron is and get out of here by tomorrow.”
“No, I can’t tell him,” she said. “Because I don’t know.”
“Kara.” He hesitated and waited for her to object to the name.
She didn’t, because it wouldn’t make any difference. She’d scream it to high heaven if she thought anyone would listen. But who, out here in the wilds of New Mexico, is going to hear a scream. The coyotes, jackrabbits and rattlesnakes. She didn’t care to encounter any of them.
She held up her hand. “Never mind. Just walk with me for a while. I’m going stir crazy. It’s a nice enough prison, but a prison just the same.”
Garth opened the garage doors, and they stared out at mounds of fluffy snow, some of which blew right into the garage.
“Not sure we can navigate in this, Kara.” He looked at her from head to toe, taking in the red boots along with everything else. He held out his arm. “Hang onto me and we’ll walk along the eve of the house where some of the snow has melted. We might can make it around the house a few times.”
Once outside, Lyn looked around. It was a white, white world with trees a stark outline against a gray sky. It didn’t seem so cold, but then, she had put on the insulated jacket hanging near the boots. Her hair blew every which way and she used both hands to hold it away from her face. A snowflake landed on her eyelash, and she laughed.
Garth looked at her, but she merely shrugged. At least, something of nature was touching her, and she wasn’t looking at four walls and a ceiling. As attractive as they were, she was sick to death of them.
“What day is it?”
Garth looked down at her and grinned. “Don’t you have a calendar?”
“Haven’t seen one since I’ve been here. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here.”
“Today is the tenth of December. You arrived here on the eighth.”
“Almost Christmas. Will Adam let me go home for Christmas?”
“Tell him where Aaron is staying, and he’ll let you go home tomorrow.”
“I wish I could, Garth, but I don’t know.” She sighed. “I don’t know how to convince you that I’m Lyn, I live at 1002 Earthington in Albuquerque. I work at Lovelace Hospital and often have private duty for patients who can afford me. I’m 29 years old, divorced lo these many years, and still live alone.” She looked up at him. “Anything else you want to know about me?”
“Yeah. When will you tell us the truth?”
“Do you know a psychic, Garth? Perhaps Adam could engage one to tell him where Aaron and Kara are right at this moment. I certainly can’t help you.” She turned. “I’m ready to go back inside.”
In the suite once again, Lyn paced. The fresh air outside, even as cold as it was, had given her renewed energy, but she didn’t know what to do with it. She stalked over to the sliding doors and drew back the wooden blinds. Without thinking, she pressed the heavy handle on the door and heard a solid click. Puzzled, she leaned closer and pushed at the lever once more. It stayed up as long as she kept her thumb on it. Holding her breath, she pulled back on the handle and watched, amazed, as the door opened. Any minute she expected to hear deafening sirens and whistles and other loud noises to indicate she’d opened an outside door.
Nothing. No sounds from anywhere, no rushing footsteps or shouts for her to stay away from the opening.
Amazed at her discovery, she wondered how she’d missed this. Hadn’t she touched everything there was to touch that would give her a means of escape? Hadn’t she tried to open every door, every window she could reach? A trap. It must be a trap. But how or why? Adam was away doing whatever Adam wanted to do. Garth was in the garage, and Hana was busy cooking or cleaning or thinking of ways to let Lyn know she was a thorn in her side.
So. Here’s an escape route. She pulled the door back slowly so as to not make any noise. Ah. There’s a screen. Suppose it has the wire on it that will let loose a shrill blast to deafen everyone without miles. Taking a chance the storm screen opened in a similar way to hers at h
ome, she lifted the small latch that locked it, and it moved easily. She stopped to listen, but heard nothing. Pulling the screen back, she leaned out. There was a deck, loaded with snow, but there was about a foot of empty space near the door and around the deck near the house.
Lyn stepped out onto the deck and studied her surroundings.
Well, now that you’re outside, how far can you go in waist deep snow? You have no idea where you are, no idea if there are any neighbors around, other than Hana’s kin. It will be dark in a couple of hours. Well, Lyn, what now?
“Going somewhere?”
Adam’s voice startled her, and she swung around to see him standing just inside the door. He had removed the black all-weather coat and had slung it over his arm. The black silk wool suit he wore increased the dangerous look. The white shirt and black tie decorated with tiny red bows set off the gray eyes and tanned skin.
“Well? Where are you headed, Kara?”
She shrugged. “Nowhere, it seems. I don’t fancy freezing to death even to get away from you.”
He pushed the door open further. “Come inside.”
She moved past him and left it to him to close both doors. He caught up with her in the living room, threw the coat over the chair arm, and yanked her into his arms. His cold mouth fastened over hers, and his arms locked around her.
Lyn went up on tiptoes and slid her arms around his neck. Her lips moved and opened beneath the onslaught of his kiss, and she eased her tongue into his mouth. His body jerked in surprise. He would have lifted his head, but she had one hand behind it and held him to her. Her heartbeat shot into overtime as she rocked against him. Desires she’d never felt wheeled through her system.
* * * *
Adam stiffened only an instant, and then his mouth cruised over her face and back to crush the soft lips opened to him. He couldn’t think for the furious trip-hammer of his own pulse. The reckless demand of her unexpected kiss drove him insane. He had never expected a voluntary response from her, and now she was willing, edgy with need. This was what he had expected from Kara, and she had finally given in to her baser instincts, her desire to have any and every man she could, even her brother-in-law.