by Jenna Jacob
He cleared his throat to disguise a groan as Katie turned to face him. His stare settled once more on her breasts. Straining beneath her white T-shirt, her nipples were as hard as BBs. Sky’s mouth watered for a taste of the hard berries he used to nip and suck. He could see her so clearly beneath him…feel the mind-bending pressure of his cock wedged deep in her hot, sucking center. His heart raced. Tingles of demand pinged up and down his spine.
Dream on, fucker, because wet dreams are all you’re getting from her.
Yes. Katie had taken back both her body and heart—a fact that grew increasingly hard to remember the longer she stood in front of him. Sky had to find a way to rein in his lust. He was only torturing himself. Dammit. Why the hell did she have to come back and churn up this brutal ache inside him? Agitation simmered. Still, it wasn’t enough to put out the need to reclaim her and slay the demons she was trying to hide.
Timid and tense, Katie stood as if pondering his offer. She wore all the markings of a spooked colt. The stranger standing before him was definitely not the woman who’d left Connor…left him. Everything about her screamed for Sky to tread lightly. One wrong move and she’d bolt back inside her car and drive away. Since that was the last thing he wanted to happen, Sky simply opened his arms inviting a hug.
Katie’s eyes held his for a long moment before inching a slow, thorough gaze down his body. When her sexy eyes stalled on his erection, Sky couldn’t help but arch his hips, letting her know she’d been caught. He met her with a smirk as she jerked her head up. Embarrassment tinted her cheeks, and Katie stutter-stepped closer, awkwardly accepting his embrace.
The feel of her in his arms again was both heaven and hell. Sky closed his eyes to savor the sensation of her petite body contoured against his, but something was off. She was tense and unyielding, light years away from the soft, supple woman he’d held so long ago. He didn’t like this version of Katie or the foreign, cold chasm between them.
Without warning, the anger and pain he’d felt when he’d discovered she’d left him reared their ugly head. Like a devil’s tongue, rejection and pain licked up his spine. The gullible eighteen-year-old inside wanted to hate her, but when Katie relaxed and melted against his chest, the man within kicked the foolish boy aside. As he inhaled her erotic, taunting scent, Sky’s cells sizzled in a blistering conflagration of need. It seemed like a million lifetimes since he’d felt this fucking alive.
He opened his eyes but didn’t release her. “Why were you crying?” he asked, testing the waters.
Katie bristled and tensed before wiggling from his grasp. She stepped back. The physical distance drove home the emotional gap between them.
“It’s not important,” she murmured as she pressed her lips into a tight, thin line.
If she thought this conversation was over, Katie was out of her damn mind. “Kind of like how I wasn’t important enough for you to even bother saying good-bye before you left?” Sky arched his brow.
While they’d never candy coated their feelings in the past, Sky wasn’t completely sure why he wanted to bait her. Maybe subconsciously he hoped to see if any of the old Katie was left inside the stranger in front of him.
“Really?” she spat. “I don’t have the time or energy to rehash the past with you. I have to go. I need to see Gran.” With a huff, Katie turned on her heel and stomped toward her car.
Her hair swirled and flipped over her shoulder. A line of bruises trailed along the column of her neck. Bruises shaped like fingers. Like lightning, a blast of rage engulfed him, making his blood boil and thunder through him. Doug, you motherfucking douchebag, I’m going to rip out your spine with my bare hands.
“Katie. Wait,” Sky ordered as she slid behind the wheel.
With an unsettled shake of her head, she slammed the car door and started the engine. As she stomped on the accelerator, the Jag lurched backward, sending gravel to spew in all directions and a cloud of dust to sail into the air. Sky raised his hands, shielding his face, as he heard a string of curses roll off Katie’s tongue. He lowered his hands. Her face was red, her movements clipped and flustered. With an angry growl, she shoved the car into gear.
Though rage still streaked within, Sky wanted to give Katie compassion like a wounded baby bird. He couldn’t help but grin at her disconcerted mien.
“Um, Gran’s house is that way,” he replied, pointing toward the driveway.
“I know that, you asshole,” she spat.
His grin grew even wider knowing a part of his feisty woman still existed in that unfamiliar shell. The sound of Katie hissing like a bobcat with a sore tooth brought him tremendous joy.
Once again, a cloud of gravel and dust spewed in the air, as Katie zipped into Gran’s driveway. Sky stood in the middle of the road trying to sort out the tumultuous emotions swirling within. Unbeknownst to Doug, he was now in Sky’s crosshairs. If the son of a bitch showed his face in Connor, Sky had every intention of taking the scumbag out. While he had no idea how long Katie intended to stay, Sky was prepared to do everything in his power to keep her from going back to that abusive fuck-nut. Of course, she’d have to let Sky in before he could shelter her the way he longed to. Turning, he gazed up at Katie as she stepped from the car and stomped toward the trunk.
“Daddy. Daddy,” Nina cried from behind him.
Sky whipped his head around and grinned as his daughter ran across the lawn in her pink princess pajamas and matching fuzzy slippers. “Gramma says to come in. It’s time for my night-night kisses.”
~*~
Still fuming, Kaitlin felt her throat constrict as a little girl with long black hair and dark skin ran toward Sky.
“Daddy? You’ve got to be shitting me,” Kaitlin whispered out loud. Sky had a daughter? Well, wasn’t that just peachy? No doubt he had a beautiful wife and fucking perfect life, too.
Burning knives of jealousy sliced through her. Sky had found his happy ever after…without her. She’d suspected as much over the years, but her assumption had been easier to accept three hundred miles away. Thinking about Sky’s bliss and hearing Daddy with her two ears felt as if his wonderful, perfect life were being crammed down her throat.
With a scowl, Kaitlin watched Sky’s long strides eat up the distance between them before he hoisted the little pink pixie into his muscular arms. The same steely, warm arms that had held her moments ago. And god above if he didn’t feel amazing. But then he had to go and ruin it all with his pointed jab about her leaving him. The bastard had tossed more guilt in her face and had actually laughed at her when she couldn’t get the damn car in gear. Why the hell did I ever think that coming home was what I needed? Goddammit!
Kaitlin knew she’d never be able to erase the sight of Sky standing outside her car from her mind. His chiseled features and all those thick, decadent muscles stretched tight beneath his russet flesh had taken her breath away. His long, blue-black hair billowing in the breeze had Kaitlin physically fighting the urge to thread her fingers through the inky strands like she used to. And those dark, dissecting eyes of his had seemed as though he were trying to peel her wide open. It had only taken one whiff of his heady, erotic scent and memories of the passion they’d shared had lit up inside her like the Fourth of July. Kaitlin couldn’t remember the last time her body had actually trembled with feral sexual desire.
Sky had definitely grown up and filled out…mouthwateringly so. The handsome, gangly young man she’d left was long gone, along with any hint of the little boy who’d refused to play house or dress-up with her…the one who’d stick out his tongue just to make her scream in anger. Though they’d sometimes needed Brooke’s or Gran’s intervention, Kaitlin and Sky had never stayed mad at each other for long. They’d been best friends and treasured confidants. She was seven years old when she’d vowed to marry Sky. Too bad her eighteen-year-old heart hadn’t kept that promise. She never would have left him, and some other woman wouldn’t have taken Kaitlin’s place.
She’d stared at him like he was a slab
of prime-cut beef, but she couldn’t stop herself…couldn’t help drinking in his erotic features or his full tawny lips. The memory of how they felt on hers and against her sex made her weak in the knees. She had to force her gaze away from his wide, naked chest and tempting brown, flat nipples. The longer she stared at his copious muscles, the more she wanted to glide her tongue over every rippling ridge and plane until Sky slammed her up against the car and sank deep inside her. Of course he’d had to go and bust her, big-time, when she couldn’t peel her eyes off his crotch. God, how embarrassing.
Even now as she watched him cradle the little girl in his arms, Kaitlin couldn’t take her eyes off him. The wind whispered through his hair, sending it to swirl in the breeze. The muscles in his arms and back flexed, bulged, and bunched with his movements. She ached to feel every inch of him naked and pressed against her, driving himself deep inside her, and come like a friggin’ runaway freight train.
I bet Sky’s wifey-pooh would have something to say about that wicked little fantasy.
Dammit. Why did Sky have to look so freakin’ amazing? Why couldn’t she have come back to find him balding or with a giant beer belly and a bunch of missing teeth? Even the tiny lines at the corners of his eyes when he smiled turned her on. And when she’d caught him looking at her with that same sexual sparkle, Kaitlin had practically melted into a sticky puddle of goo. But there had been something else…something that lay just beneath his surface. A dark and almost haunted feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Maybe it was anger and the grudge he held against her. After all, she wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d simply forgive her.
Still, her body throbbed, primed and ready. Her sore nipples were as hard as cherry pits and aching incessantly. Warm honey seeped between her swollen folds. Her body’s reaction served as startling evidence that Kaitlin had never erased Sky from her soul.
A melancholy sadness settled deep. Everything had changed between them. Sky had a wife and family, and Kaitlin was a mess. But even that reality didn’t keep her from zeroing in on the way his faded jeans hugged his tapered waist, or the way those tempting muscles flexed as he tossed the little girl into the air.
Her high-pitched squeals and infectious giggle floated on the wind, and a pang of resentment burned low in Kaitlin’s belly. She’d always wanted children, but Doug had balked at the idea, delivering promises that after the company grew more profitable, they’d talk about starting a family. She was thankful now that had never come to pass. Starting life over was challenge enough for her without tossing a child into the tempest.
More laughter carried on the wind, only this time the sound of Sky’s deep, silky baritone slid over her flesh like thick, hot wax. With a scowl, Kaitlin turned away. She didn’t want to be reminded of what she’d foolishly thrown away…didn’t need the validation that his life was perfect while hers was nothing but a clusterfuck. But most of all, she didn’t want to think about Sky’s using his capable hands or his spine-melting sexual skills on another woman.
“You had your chance and blew it,” she reminded herself bitterly. “You knew he wasn’t going to curl up and stop living without you, and he didn’t.”
With a heavy sigh, Kaitlin opened the trunk and began lifting out her luggage when the familiar sound of the screen door slamming snagged her attention. Turning, she saw Gran, standing on the porch. Her pale yellow housedress and snow-white hair ruffled in the breeze. Her pale blue eyes sparkled in a combination of love, joy, and safety. With one look, Kaitlin’s defenses were stripped to the bone. With a strangled sob, she left her luggage on the ground and sprinted as fast as she could to Gran’s open arms.
Enveloped in the safety she so desperately needed, Kaitlin fell apart once again. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and sobs tore from her throat. Every emotion she’d stuffed inside ripped at the seams and clawed to freedom.
“There, there, Katie-girl,” Gran whispered, softly patting her back. “It’s all right. Whatever’s happened, we’ll work it out. It’ll be okay. Everything’s all right. I’ve got you, sweetheart.”
Kaitlin didn’t deserve Gran’s unconditional love yet couldn’t keep from clambering for the anchor the old woman provided. All the chaos inside her poured out, and even though the fiery tongue of failure lashed at her pride, Kaitlin surrendered to the purge and let it swallow her whole.
After several long minutes, Gran gently coaxed her to the porch swing, helping her sit on the thick padded seat. Wailing as if she were being torn in two, she buried her face against Gran’s chest as the onslaught of fear Kaitlin had hidden within spilled out. Gran simply rocked and patted her, as she’d done when Kaitlin was small, while the tears kept coming.
“That’s fine. Thank you, honey. No, I don’t know what’s happened yet. But we’ll be fine.”
She realized Gran was talking to someone but not Kaitlin. Slammed with a wave of horror, she wiped her face, pretending she was fine before raising her head. Sky stood on the porch wearing equal parts confusion and concern on his face. Kaitlin didn’t miss the way his gaze drifted to her throat and stilled while his brows slashed and his nostrils flared in anger. Without warning, he leaned in and brushed the hair away.
“Did Doug put these bruises on your neck, Katie?” Sky asked softly. His protective tone touched the recesses of her soul, bathing her in forgotten warmth. When he reached up and brushed his fingers down her flesh, she jerked and floated back to the surface.
Bruises? Doug left bruises? Oh, god. No. No. No.
Gran shifted, twisting to stare at Kaitlin’s throat, as a gasp quickly morphed into a sigh of pity. Kaitlin tensed and sat upright, slapping a hand over the evidence. She pinned Sky with a glare as panic and shame exploded through her veins.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she shouted at him. “My life is none of your concern. Do me a favor… Leave me alone. Go back to your happy little family.”
Sky blinked in surprise at her outburst before clenching his jaw so tightly the muscles ticked. A glint of rejection danced over his stare as his expression turned artic. “No problem,” he bit out angrily, then turned and stormed down the driveway and across the road.
Kaitlin closed her eyes and counted to ten. She hadn’t meant to unleash her inner bitch on him that way, but dammit, he’d ratted her out in front of Gran like he used to when they were kids. If he wanted to know how she’d gotten the bruises, he should have asked her privately—not that she would have told him a goddamn thing, but he had no right to draw Gran’s attention to the evidence Doug had obviously left on her. Now Kaitlin wouldn’t be able to buy the time needed to sort her shit out before Gran began demanding answers.
“I know you’re upset, Katie-girl, but biting Sky’s head off isn’t going to fix a thing. He’s only trying to help,” Gran scolded in her familiar gentle way. “He still cares about you… deeply.”
“Cares about me?” she barked in disbelief. “He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me. Why would he? He’s married and has a daughter…I saw her with my own eyes.”
“Oh, Katie. You’ve got it all wrong. Yes, he has a daughter. Her name is Nina, but Sky’s not married, honey. In fact, I’m not sure he ever was,” Gran explained, her expression sad and sympathetic.
“Oh, lord, I bet the gossip mill’s having a field day with that. The bastard son has a bastard daughter,” Kaitlin mocked with a humorless laugh.
Even though the Whitefeathers had lived in Connor for years, there were a few prejudiced people who couldn’t find room in their narrow minds to accept Brooke, the Native American single mother, or Sky, her bastard son. Adults like Hazel Johnson at the bank, who looked past Brooke as if she didn’t exist, and kids like Mitchell Walker, who’d teased and taunted Sky unmercifully. What the hell had Sky been thinking…raising a daughter without a mother…willingly subjecting poor little Nina to the things he and Brooke still had to endure?
“Where’s the—?”
“Nina’s mother is dead, Katie.”
“Dead
?” she gasped. “How did she die?”
“Sky’s never said…. In fact, he won’t discuss the mother at all. Not even with Brooke. All he’s ever told us is that Nina’s mother is dead.”
“Well, somebody has to know what happened. There had to be a death certificate filed.”
“I don’t know, honey. Evidently she died in Iraq. That’s where Sky met her,” Gran explained.
“Oh, my god. Was she an American soldier?”
Gran simply shrugged. “All we know is what Sky has told us. He won’t talk about anything that happened in the desert, at least not to Brooke.” Gran patted Kaitlin’s hand. “Go easy on him, honey. It’s taken a long time for us to get our old Sky back.”
Hearing that Sky had dealt with his own demons, ghosts probably a lot worse than hers, filled Kaitlin with remorse. “I’m sorry, Gran. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own…troubles. I’ll apologize to him as soon as I can.”
“He’ll appreciate that, honey.” Gran’s expression deepened. “Now tell me about these bruises. Is this the first time that little twit, Doug, has hurt you?”
Using the hem of her T-shirt, Kaitlin wiped her eyes. “I can’t talk about it yet, Gran. I need time to sort it out first. All right?”
Gran gave Kaitlin’s shoulder a tight squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I’ll fix us some spiced tea. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll always be here.”
Kaitlin sniffed, then nodded. “You always are. That’s why I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, honey,” Gran assured her. “I’m just glad you came back home and didn’t try to tackle things on your own.”
“This is where my heart needed to be…with you.”
“Good.” Gran smiled as they stood from the swing. “Don’t worry. I still have Gramps’ shotgun. I know how to use it, too. If Doug shows up here, I’ll blow that little peckerwood and his other little pecker clean off. Don’t think I won’t.”
Kaitlin snorted and wiped her eyes. “You’ll have to aim small,” she replied with a watery laugh. As she turned toward the door, she noticed her luggage lined up in a neat row on the stoop. “Sky brought those up, didn’t he?”