Harlequin Kimani Romance September 2014 Bundle: Seduced by the HeirSecret Silver NightsSomeone Like YouIndulge Me Tonight

by Pamela Yaye

  “Since when do you give up so easy?”

  Tielle had turned before Grae had gotten halfway through his query. “We didn’t think you were home.”

  “‘We’?”

  “Your family’s very worried, Grae. They haven’t heard from you in two—”

  “You’re running errands for my family now.”

  “No, I—”

  “They came to you?” The barest hint of a smile curved his mouth. “They must be desperate.”

  “They love you, Grae.”

  “Damn right they do. They love me so much they couldn’t bear to tell me who I really was.”

  “Could you blame them when the circumstances were a—” Tielle stopped herself, bowed her head.

  “Were a what, Tel? A disgrace?”

  She shook her head. “You can’t believe that!”

  “And what would you know about it?” His tone was a soft roar. “Your family didn’t lie to you your whole life—pity you because of how you came to be.”

  “They love you, Grae.”

  He rolled his eyes. “There’s a very thin line between love and pity. Have you ever noticed that?”

  “No, Grae. I never have.”

  “Never, huh?” Grae stroked his beard. The silken whiskers had grown out noticeably over the past couple of weeks, giving him a more dangerous look than usual.

  Tielle wouldn’t let herself be unnerved by the fierceness she saw in his bronze stare or by the way his body heaved with barely harnessed rage.

  It was difficult to see the full scope of the condo, what with the overhead track lighting over the bar counter being the only source of illumination. Clearly, that area of the condo had been receiving the most use.

  “What?” Tielle queried in a sudden manner, having caught the tail end of the question he’d just muttered.

  Grae rubbed at his jaw, trapping Tielle in the line of a repetitious raking stare. Then, turning his back on her, he went to the bar.

  “Tell me about Brunch and Memories,” he repeated while pouring a straight shot of gin.

  “Brunch and...Memories?” She was stumped. “What about it?”

  “Well—” he paused to swallow the gin in one gulp “—you were...encouraged to get me there, right?”

  “What the hell are you talking—”

  “Des. She told you to make yourself available to me, didn’t she?”

  The way he phrased the question had Tielle’s cheeks burning with the images of all the ways she’d made herself available to Grae during their stay at the cozy B and B.

  Grae stood stroking his beard again while observing his emptied glass. “Guess you just had to offer your help.”

  Despite his muted tone, Tielle understood what he’d said. “Grae, I did it because—”

  “No need to explain, I get it. Can’t go against who you really are.”

  “Grae, I’m here now to check on you.” Heated by his insinuation, she jerked out of her coat and threw it aside, not caring where it landed. “It must’ve been devastating to hear what you did, but I can’t see that shutting everybody out is what’s best.” She moved closer. “It’s all right to rage in private, but there’s nothing wrong with letting everyone know it upset you. It’s the only way healing and forgiveness can begin.”

  “Forgiveness.” Grae pushed the glass aside. “Has it been so easy for you to get around to that with Faro?”

  “I haven’t seen him.”

  “I don’t mean since the retreat.” He leaned back, folding his arms across his stunning chest. “Have you forgiven him, Tel? Forgiven him for making you waste all that time pleading his case to me when I knew all along that he had no interest in a loving, brotherly relationship?” He settled back more comfortably and cocked his head at a curious angle. “Or maybe he’d already told you that? He always seemed to be able to confide in you.”

  “You can’t think...?” Tielle couldn’t force herself to finish the question. Jaw dropping, she gaped at him.

  “Did he tell you? Did he tell you what he knew about me?”

  “I hope you’re drunk because otherwise that’d mean you’re just an idiot!” she hissed.

  Grae pushed off the counter and didn’t appear to be offended. “It’s a fair question.”

  “Fair in what way?” She watched him coolly reaching for the gin and shook her head dazedly. “Unbelievable. You know, Grae, with every other insane thing going on between us, I don’t have time for anything more.” She turned. “Call me when you sober up. I’ll be in Vancouver.” She was plucked off her feet before she got within touching distance of the doorknob.

  “Grae—” Her breath caught when he wouldn’t budge. He crowded her against the door, and she shook her head and bristled. “You’re drunk. Get off me.”

  He stepped back, giving her some space. “I’m not drunk. I’m not drunk. Just don’t leave.” He felt her breathing slow, and he glanced back at the bar. “That was my first drink today.”

  “Today?” she blurted.

  He produced a weary smile and set his forehead to the door.

  “Grae.” Tielle turned to him, smoothing the back of her hand down his cheek. “Come on. Let’s sit in the living room.”

  He waved her off halfheartedly. “That’ll put me to sleep.”

  “All right, here.” She clutched his arm and maneuvered them back to the bar area. She got him seated, intending to prepare him a cup of black coffee from the personal coffeemaker on the counter.

  Grae stopped her before she could move too far. “Thanks, Tel. I’m sorry I, um, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “Stop,” she soothed. “You’ve just had the biggest shock of your life, and the two people best equipped to help you deal with it aren’t here anymore.” She was referring to his parents.

  Grae had no comeback, and he could only prop his elbow on the bar while he mulled over her words.

  Tielle squeezed his shoulder and made another move for the coffeemaker. Again, she found herself ensnared in his grasp.

  “Grae, this won’t solve the problem. You don’t need this.” Tielle bit her lip when a moan suddenly pressured the back of her throat. Grae was treating her earlobe to slow, wet nibbles.

  “I always need this,” he said. “Always need it from you.”

  “Coffee would probably suit you better,” she argued weakly.

  “So you say.” He didn’t sound at all convinced.

  His nibbles gained heat and moisture. Big hands spanned up from Tielle’s waist, massaging her spine and shoulder blades before easing around to cup her breasts. Repeatedly, he flicked his thumbs across the buds imprinted beneath the material of her cotton top. Tielle gasped something needy and unrecognizable.

  Grae left off his torture of her lobe to glide his nose across the silken skin below, traveling the elegant curve of her jaw down to her throat, where he began a faint suckle of her collarbone. Suddenly, he left the bar chair and took her with him. They were in the midst of a full-blown kiss by then.

  Tielle clutched the neckline of his T-shirt while losing herself in the kiss that grew deeper. She wasn’t sure how long they had been moving, but soon she was enjoying the feel of plush firmness of an enormous bed beneath her back. Grae’s earlier fondling of her breasts had succeeded in parting the short, upturned collar of her top where the neckline already dipped into an alluring V. She squirmed, eager to be free of the shirt’s confines.

  Grae eased back, allowing her room to shed the top and bra. He pounced then. Hungrily, he feasted on the delicate undersides of her breasts. He divided his attention equally between the firm peaks, emitting rough sounds of satisfaction each time he drew her into his mouth.

  Tielle felt his fingers skim the waistband of her panties and only then realized he’d already undone he
r jeans.

  “Grae.” She felt that she should at least put up a little professional effort to assist him in handling the devastating blow he’d just experienced. “Wait...”

  “Okay.” He made no attempt to cease his sinful handling of her body.

  Tielle melted into the luxurious fabric of the walnut-brown comforter. Giving in to abandon, she arched into the exquisite tugs of his lips and fingers to her nipples. His free hand moved, vanishing beneath the scrap of lace spanning her hips. Delight sent her body into a sharp spasm.

  Grae only toyed with her at first, just lightly grazing his middle finger across the bud of sensitive flesh at the apex of her thighs. Then he was tormenting her with strokes to her intimate folds.

  “Stop teasing,” she panted, lifting her hips from the bed when he thrust the digit inside.

  Weakened, Grae rested his head on her shoulder. Creamy sensation pampered his finger where it eased into her tight well, stirring and thrusting in leisurely succession. The moves had his healthy erection throbbing in anticipation of taking the place of his finger and journeying deeper.

  Just then, however, he was content letting his fingers be his guide. His hips nudged hers while his imagination had its way. He ignored what sounded like the doorbell even after it had chimed through the condo one, twice, three times...

  When a quiet respite was followed by what could be mistaken for nothing other than a fist pounding on a door, Grae raised his head.

  “What the hell...?”

  “Sounds important,” Tielle whispered.

  Grae emitted a rough purr. “It can wait.”

  Another booming series of knocks cascaded upon the door to punctuate his decision. Tielle felt a growl vibrate from Grae’s chest and through hers. Then he was bolting from the bed. Tielle pushed herself up, fixing her clothes as she sat.

  “Don’t even think about it, Tel,” Grae ordered over his shoulder as he left the room.

  The command was one she had no trouble adhering to. Content, she settled down to the massive and obscenely comfortable bed. The central heating activated, and the calming sounds of rushing air filled the room. The lullaby set in motion by the warm air might have put Tielle to sleep were it not for the voices. They were low, but stirring, at first before rising in volume with clipped edges signifying tension...or anger.

  Tielle perked her ears, hoping to catch more specifics amidst the rumble. Eventually, she made out two male voices—one belonging to Grae, the other to Leo.

  She closed her eyes to offer a prayer for a quick end to the increasingly hostile conversation. An end didn’t appear to be on the horizon. Tielle decided to fix her clothes, her movements gaining speed as the argument’s volume surged. Her fingers stilled on the waistband of her jeans when she heard a door boom shut. Scrambling off the bed, she stumbled from the room and sprinted for the front of the condo.

  The living room appeared in a worse state than it had when she had first arrived. Tielle saw Leo standing in the middle of the overturned chairs.

  Grae was gone.

  Chapter 15

  “What happened?” Tielle looked from Leo to the door and back again.

  “Ever heard that line about shooting the messenger?” Leo asked. “Thankfully, Grae doesn’t subscribe to it. He’d rather shoot the topic of the message.”

  “Where is he?”

  “My guess is he’s gone to have a little heart-to-heart with his brother.”

  Tielle accepted defeat for only a second before snapping her fingers. “I may be able to catch up—”

  “Ti,” Leo said, getting between her and the front door, “let him go. You’ll just prolong the inevitable.”

  “Are you serious?” She was, for a moment, speechless. “He’ll kill him.”

  “I don’t think so. Grae didn’t get as far as he has by letting rage dictate his moves.”

  “Leo, this isn’t business, it’s very personal, and it has been for years.” She stilled. “What’d you say to him?”

  “Faro went to the press about this after all. I’ve been here every day hoping he’d open the door and talk to me about it. He finally did. Do I have you to thank for that?” He watched Tielle take a seat on the nearest sofa arm.

  “Faro knows Grae’s been...absent going on two weeks. He’s demanding the top spot at Clegg and says he’s willing to take it to court,” Leo shared. “If he wins, and chances are pretty strong that he could, he’s already threatened to toss every one of us out on our asses.”

  Tielle couldn’t stop herself from dwelling on the inevitable. If Grae was on the way to see his brother, he’d surely kill the man.

  “I need to find him.” She shoved an overturned chair out of the way.

  “Honey, haven’t you had enough of coming between those two?”

  Tielle whirled around as though a physical force had directed her. “So you’re finally around to blaming me too, huh?”

  “Honey, no.” Leo moved to draw her close and drop a kiss to her forehead. “You’re the last person who deserves any blame for the fallout between those two, and what good has it done you? Maybe it’s time to let the chips fall where they may. Only way there will be any progress, right?”

  “Humph.” Tielle recalled saying something similar to Grae and shrugged. “Right.”

  * * *

  Tielle stepped out onto the porch clutching a hot ceramic mug between her hands. Inhaling, she smiled as serenity claimed her, which it had consistently and appreciatively done over the past three days.

  It was hard not to feel secure. Especially then. She loved the retreat the closer the year churned toward its end. The parties had all cleared out, hopefully healed or, at the very least, no worse than they’d been before arriving.

  She bowed her head, sipping at the soothing rose petal and chamomile blend inside the mug. She’d been on her own going on three days. Her live-in staff had all headed off to their well-deserved vacations or to visit with friends and family for the holidays. But for her skeleton security staff, she alone remained.

  There was nothing unsettling about it. Turner Estates had been home to her in one manner or another pretty much her entire life. She inhaled again, finding rejuvenation in the crisp chill. Virtually no remnants remained of the snowfall three weeks prior. The lingering chill, however, warned that it would not be the last dusting of the season.

  Sipping more deeply from the mug, Tielle looked toward the dirt road cutting into the hill. She’d come out to the main porch two minutes after the call from the security booth. She’d hoped the tea would perform its usual wonders at soothing frazzled nerves. Its potency hadn’t kicked in yet, and that didn’t surprise her.

  Despite it all, she put a shaky welcoming smile in place. She watched as Grae curved around the horseshoe drive and parked his olive-green truck at a slant.

  “No police escort?” She attempted teasing, feeling her apprehension lift when he smiled.

  “Don’t celebrate too fast.” Grae rounded the hulking vehicle he’d driven up from Oregon. “There may be some knocking on your door tonight.”

  “Tonight? You plan to stay that long?”

  A sturdy shoulder rose on a lazy shrug before he went to the truck’s flatbed and retrieved two duffel bags. “I plan to stay as long as you’ll let me.”

  Tielle’s hold on the mug tightened. She worked up another shaky smile. “You packed pretty light for a lengthy stay.” She nodded toward the twin duffels.

  His sly, adorable grin returned. “It’s never good to assume. I figure I’ll go back when I’m out of underwear.” He shook one of the bulging bags for emphasis.

  “Then by all means.” She tucked a coarse lock behind her ear and turned. Opening one of the front double doors, she waved for him to precede her.

  Grae met her on the porch and nodded. �
�After you,” he insisted.

  * * *

  “I was sure you’d gone to kill him.”

  “You would’ve been right.” Grae nodded.

  He’d insisted on putting his bags away, knowing that once he’d taken a seat that wasn’t behind the wheel of his truck, he wouldn’t move for at least two hours.

  “Then a good dose of common sense kicked in and I walked to the bar on the corner. Planned to get drunk instead.”

  “That’s good...I guess.” She leaned to top off their coffees.

  He grunted. “It was on the way to being good—and then Leo found me.”

  “Grae...” She set down the coffeepot. “You can’t hate him for keeping your parents’ confidence. They’ve passed on, but those loyalties don’t just disappear. Even if I didn’t have a love for helping people, I think I’d try to carry on the retreat for my family anyway.”

  His attractive features clenched. “Not the same.”

  “It is.” She added cream to her coffee. “It could be. My grandparents—my parents, for that matter—would never tell me I wasn’t theirs.”

  Grae took his coffee bitter and black. He tossed down some of the fragrant brew and he approved of the the piping hotness burning its way down his gullet.

  “Are you trying to tell me I’m lucky to have a brother—” he grimaced “—half brother who hates me?”

  “I don’t know.” Idly Tielle went about sweetening her coffee. “I guess that’d depend on whether this is something you’re glad to know or wish you didn’t.”

  “Remember what you asked me in Portland?” she said after several moments of silence. “If Faro told me?”

  Grae set down his mug with a clatter. “I’m sorry, Tel, for the question and the insult.”

  “It was a fair question.”

  “It wasn’t.”

  “We were close, Faro and me.”

  Grae settled back to the chair he occupied near the library fireplace. “You were close to him because you’re a decent person who can see goodness in the worst people.”