by Francis Ray
Sabra smiled at Pierce. “Your mother thinks you’re the most stubborn of her children. It’s what you want that counts, and I’m to tell you good night.” By the time she finished, she was inside with her arms around his neck.
He frowned. “Mama doesn’t give up that easy.”
Proudly, Sabra showed him the bracelet. “Isn’t it beautiful? She really likes me.”
The awe in her voice caused him to stop thinking about his mother’s easy capitulation. “Of course she does. So do I. Let me put it on.”
Once it was fastened on her wrist, she twisted her hand, obviously pleased. “I’ve never had a charm bracelet before.”
Amazing. Sabra, who had diamonds, traveled the world, had a movie mogul at her beck and call, was giddy over a bracelet. But Pierce sensed it was more than that. It was what the bracelet represented. He pulled her to him. “I told you she likes you.”
“Yes, you did.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you.”
Pierce feigned insult. “You call that a kiss?”
She narrowed her eyes, then kissed him until his knees shook. “How was that?”
For an answer, Pierce picked her up and hurried to the bedroom. He fell onto the bed. “Now, let’s try that again.”
Sabra eagerly obliged, not stopping with his lips but moving to the smooth curve of his jaw, his flat nipple. Pierce’s groan of pleasure pleased and excited her, urged her on. At his waist, she wrestled with the buckle of his belt.
Pierce helped, but instead of reclining again, he quickly undressed her; then it was his turn. Sabra clutched the sheets as Pierce took her taut nipple in his mouth, dipped his tongue in the indentation of her navel, then moved lower still. Sensations exploded inside her. Before she came down completely, he pushed into her, taking her back up again. She clutched him, her nails digging into his muscled shoulders.
Passion consumed her. She hadn’t thought their lovemaking could get any better. She’d been wrong. The reason came to her the moment her body yielded to his in a firestorm of pleasure.
She loved him.
“Sabra!” Her name was a hoarse shout of ecstasy as Pierce gave one last thrust of his hips. Sabra’s clamped and quivered around him. Shaken to the very core, he felt his body tremble in the aftermath. His head tucked between her head and shoulder, his breathing labored; he knew he’d never experienced anything more powerful or moving.
Even as he shied away from the reason, he gathered Sabra closer. He wanted to say something but didn’t know the words.
“Pierce.” Her voice sounded hesitant.
His head lifted. “Yes?”
Her fingertips traced his lower lip. “I . . . nothing.”
Her hand was trembling. Something was worrying her, or perhaps she’d felt the same incredible emotions he had. He hoped he wasn’t in this alone.
His arms tightened even as he hardened inside her. “I’ll never stop wanting you.” He frowned on hearing the words but accepted them as the truth. He didn’t want to think of a time they wouldn’t be together.
“Does that make you unhappy?” she asked.
Again he told the truth. “No. Surprised, yes.”
“Good, because I feel the same way.” She brushed her lips across his. “Now, where were we?”
He eagerly showed her.
THE SJC AUDITORIUM WAS FILLED TO CAPACITY. Seats were added on the aisle and they still had to turn people away. The numerous articles had increased interest in the play. Several people from Hollywood were there, including Britt Powell, Marcus Nelson, and the director hired for Sacred Passion.
Onstage, Sabra peeked around the curtain and didn’t see the man she sought. Disappointment hit her.
“Looking for someone?”
She whirled around and almost threw herself into his arms. “Pierce.”
His eyes said he wanted to hold her as well. “I wanted to give you this before you went onstage.” He pulled a square jewelry box from his pocket. Her heart thudded before she realized it was too small for a ring. She was still getting used to the idea that she loved Pierce. She wished she could tell him, shout it to the world.
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
With unsteady hands she took the black velvet box and lifted the lid. She gasped in surprise and pleasure. Inside was a small circle of diamonds on sterling silver.
“Wherever your path leads you’ll always come back here.”
To me was left unsaid but implicit in his eyes. “I’ll treasure it always. Can you put it on?”
He unhooked the charm bracelet and slid the diamond circle on, then reclamped it around her wrist. “That will do until we can have it done properly.”
“Ten minutes until curtain time. Ten minutes.”
People scrambled. Pierce brushed his hand tenderly down her cheek. “Break a leg.”
“Thanks.” Sabra stared at him a few moments longer, then turned away. She had a play to put on.
SABRA TOOK THREE CURTAIN CALLS AND COULD have taken more. For the fourth one, she insisted every person who had anything to do with the production take their turn onstage for an introduction. It took her and Theo both to bring a reluctant Ruth on the stage. Her children and daughters-in-law whistled and stomped their feet, oblivious to her trying to shush them.
Onstage, Sabra laughed. “As you can tell, her family is well aware of her generous nature and loving spirit.” She winked. “I’m told she speaks softly but carries a very big stick.” Laughter erupted.
“Before I get into more trouble, will the president of this great college, the teachers of these talented young people, and the board of regents please stand? Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible.” Sabra was the first to applaud. “Good night, everyone, and thank you again for coming tonight.”
Pierce came onstage before the students completely dispersed. “In view of your hard work, my brothers, their wives, and my sister wanted to give you a little party. So grab your date or your best bud, and meet us at Casa de Serenidad in the Conquistador ballroom.” He turned when he felt a tug on his coat.
“You said to grab your date,” Sabra said with a smile.
He wanted to smile but couldn’t quite manage. “You leave in the morning.” The thought was never far from his mind lately.
“But I’m here now.”
No longer caring who might see them, he curved his arms around her waist. “And you’re going to be in my arms for the rest of the night.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and they walked off the stage.
In the front row of the auditorium, Sierra stood alone and looked at Pierce and Sabra, then at her mother and her aunt Felicia on the other side of the stage. Sierra’s aunt and her uncle, John Henry, Ruth’s brother, had come down from their ranch in Oklahoma for the play. Now the two women were huddled in deep conversation. Grinning broadly, they watched Pierce and Sabra.
Their mother had struck again.
Raven had been a smoke screen. Sierra’s mother was as crafty as ever. Sierra shook her head and followed the crowd out the door. Her family had already left for the party. She wasn’t so sure she still felt like celebrating.
Depending on how long it took Pierce to realize he’d fallen in love, her time was drawing to a close. Of course, the way Pierce mulled things over, that could be weeks or months. But eventually he would, and when he did, she’d have to watch her step.
She was next on her mother’s hit list.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BEFORE DAWN ON SUNDAY MORNING, SABRA WOKE slowly. She frowned, sensing something wasn’t right, then realized it was because she wasn’t wrapped in Pierce’s arms, his body cradling her.
Then it hit her. Today she was leaving. She almost cried out as she came fully awake and sat up. Pierce’s broad back filled her vision. He sat on the side of her bed, his head bowed.
He hated the coming separation as much as she did. They’d stayed only a short while at the party before she�
��d used the excuse that she had to pack to leave. Ruth had quickly agreed, hugged her, and said that since Pierce was driving her to the airport they’d say good-bye now. Sabra had bid all the Graysons good-bye, except Sierra, who had already left.
Sabra and Pierce had gone to her condo and directly to her bed. He had undressed her, kissing her as he did, then made love to her. The sweetness of it made tears crest in her eyes. She didn’t want to leave him, either.
She touched his back. He swung around. The coldness in his gaze struck her like a fist; then she noticed the photograph clutched in his hand. The family photograph was always the last thing she packed. Her stomach knotted. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his furious face.
“Who is this man?” he demanded.
“My father,” she whispered.
Pierce’s hand clenched on the sterling silver frame. He looked back at the picture as if trying to reconcile what she had just said. “I see.” He came to his feet and picked up his pants. “There’s something I need to take care of at my place.”
She watched his agitated movements as he jerked on his pants. Her heart sank. Anger shimmered from him. If she let it go, it would come between them. She wanted forever with Pierce. “You knew my father?”
“Yeah.” He shoved his arms into the sleeves of his shirt, jammed his feet into his loafers. “I’ll call you later.”
“Were you the one?”
He went still, then slowly turned. The look in his eyes made her shrink back on the bed. “You know what he did?”
“He intended to pay you back. He did it for his family, for me,” she cried.
“The people he swindled from have families as well. He was a thief.”
The word slapped her in the face. “He did what he felt he had to do,” she defended. “He didn’t think he had any choice. He’d lost heavily in the stock market. My mother wasn’t very strong, and my sister and I were trying to get our careers off the ground.”
“So was I,” Pierce snapped. “I’d been in business less than a year. I’d done pretty well with the help of Daniel Falcon, my cousin. He warned me against your father’s talk of buying oil leases, but I believed the smooth-talking man. He looked honest.” Pierce snorted.
Sabra drew on the short robe she’d left on the bed. “He regretted that he had to borrow from you the most. He left a letter in his personal effects.” She went to her dresser and came back with an envelope. “This is yours, compounded interest. A cashier’s check.”
He stepped back. “I don’t want your money.”
“Without my father’s faith in me, I wouldn’t have made it as an actress.” She extended the envelope. “He planned all along to pay you back and would have if . . . if he hadn’t had the heart attack. Please take the money.”
“Is that why you came here?”
She had to be honest. “Initially, I accepted your mother’s proposal so I could find out who Daddy had obtained the money from. But as I got to know Ruth, the students, and all of you, I was happy I was here.”
“You used her just as your father used me.”
“No. Never.” She reached for him, but he stepped back.
“Your father almost ruined me.”
“He was sorry. Please take the check.”
He didn’t even glance toward the envelope. “I need to think.” He turned to go.
“Pierce, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.”
She swallowed the painful lump in her throat. “I’ll get a cab to the airport.”
He nodded and left the bedroom. Hearing the front door close, she sank heavily on the bed. She had lost him.
“WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND SABRA?” Sierra asked, stalking inside the condo. “She called me on the way to the airport to say good-bye. She’s not coming back.”
Pierce didn’t want to talk. “Sierra, please let it go.”
She studied him. “You don’t look so good. Have you had any sleep?”
He walked to the window and looked out. Instead of the mountains, he saw Sabra with tears on her cheeks. “You know I don’t need much sleep.”
“I also know when you’re being evasive.” She crossed the room, took a seat on the sofa, then placed her arms on the back. “She asked me not to think harshly of her.”
That got his attention. “She tell you about her father?”
“Yes.”
Pierce jammed his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Mama and the students didn’t mean anything to her.” He meant nothing to her.
“You don’t believe that.”
“I can’t believe you’re on her side after she duped us.”
“Exactly how did she do this?”
He was incredulous. “She came here under false pretenses.”
“And honorable ones. To repay a debt by her father that she had no legal obligation to do.”
“Her father defrauded me and my clients out of nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He could have ruined me.”
“It made you stronger and more leery of the next man with a line that was too good to be true. In a roundabout way, he did you a favor.”
“What!” Pierce spluttered.
“If you weren’t so scared, you’d see that.”
“Scared? That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed.
“Will you stop reacting and think this through?” Sierra came to her feet. “You liked her father. Maybe looked up to him a bit, and he let you down. You’re scared Sabra will do the same thing.”
“You’re reaching.”
“You’re scared because you love her, and you want it to be for real.”
“You’re really reaching now, and I have work to do.” He went to his desk in his office and took his seat.
Sierra slapped one hand on the folder he picked up. “You can’t rationalize love. You can’t plot a chart or project when it takes you.”
“Like you’re an expert,” he chided, drawing his folder from under her hand.
“After watching four brothers take the fall, it’s not so hard to figure out.” Straightening, she folded her arms. “In a way, you should be grateful to her father. If he hadn’t swindled you, Sabra wouldn’t have accepted Mama’s invitation.”
“And I’d be better off.”
“It’s not like you to lie, especially to yourself.”
His eyes narrowed. “Sierra, you’re pushing it.”
“All right, be stubborn. Just remember, we might belong to the wolf clan, but a trapped wolf will gnaw off its own paw to free itself from a trap. Don’t make the same mistake.”
She was headed for the door when the phone rang. They both turned toward it. “Tell me you don’t want that to be Sabra.”
He picked up the phone without answering. “Hello. . . . Brandon. What? . . . No! No!”
Sierra rushed to him. “What is it?”
“Turn on the TV. Hurry!” He quickly followed her into the living area.
Sierra ran to do as she was told. The thirty-two-inch screen filled with an aerial view of an airplane. “Is it—” Sierra couldn’t make herself finish the question.
“We’re not sure.” Pierce’s hand clenched and un-clenched on the portable phone. His chest stung. He realized he was holding his breath. Air shuddered out of his lungs.
“If you’re just joining us, that’s Flight 341 out of Albuquerque International Sunport with a final destination of LAX in Los Angeles, circling the field trying to burn off fuel before attempting to make a landing after one of the rear wheels wouldn’t retract. There are 176 passengers and crew aboard the crippled aircraft.”
Sierra looked at Pierce with fear in her eyes. “Was that her flight number?”
His hand ran savagely through his hair. “I don’t know, dammit. I wouldn’t listen, and now it may be—”
“Don’t say it.” Sierra clamped down on his arm. “You didn’t find her to lose her.”
He tried not to think of his mother waiting for word about her husband, their father. It was useless. It h
ad been a routine international flight. He was an experienced pilot and captain for ten years with the airline. He’d left home and never come back.
“Mama would know.” Sierra pulled her cell phone from her purse.
Pierce stayed her hand. “What if it brings back too many memories?”
“Mama is stronger than that, and we both know it.”
Pierce nodded and let his hand fall to his side.
The doorbell rang and both ignored it, waiting for his mother to pick up. He grew tenser with each ring. “She and Aunt Felicia might have gone to breakfast.
“She should have—” He broke off at the sound of a familiar bark. He stared at Sierra as if to determine that he wasn’t imagining things.
“Isabella.”
They both lunged for the door at the same time. Sabra stood in the hallway.
“I know you don’t want to listen. You believe the worst of me. But it occurred to me that if I left now you’d never believe that I love you.” Her chin lifted. “I love you, and it has nothing to do with what my father did.” She looked from one to the other. “One of you say something. Tell me I haven’t made a fool out of myself.”
Pierce pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, her face pressed against the hard wall of his chest. She couldn’t breathe, then she felt him tremble, and that scared her. “Pierce.”
Then his mouth was on hers, hot and avid. She welcomed the mindless rush of pleasure, the sweet homecoming.
He lifted his head and framed her face. “I love you, too.”
Tears crested in her eyes. “I was so afraid you might never forgive me.”
“I was a fool, but after watching the plane on television, I realized how much I loved you,” he told her.
“What plane?”
His arms circling her waist, he drew her inside. Isabella trotted in behind them. “It’s Flight 341.”
“That was my flight.” She looked up at Pierce. “I got all the way to the airport, but Isabella wouldn’t go in. I realized I didn’t want to go, either. I got a cab and came back here.”
There was another knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” Sierra opened the door to Ruth, Luke, Catherine, Morgan, Phoenix, Brandon, Faith, and her aunt Felicia and uncle John Henry.