by Julie Kenner
He wasn’t going to, either. He’d come over here to see that she was safe. And she was. So he was going to pick her up and carry her into her bed. Then he was going to bed down himself in the guest room.
Still, Cash hesitated for a moment, wishing he had more of a handle on what was going on. Finally he moved toward her and lifted her up off the couch.
JORDAN WILLED HERSELF to sink deeper into the dream. In it, she was with Gregory Peck, the tall, quiet tenderfoot who’d just fought a duel to save her life. They’d ridden back to her place, both knowing that all the obstacles between them had been removed. After they’d climbed the porch steps, he’d lifted her to carry her through the front door and across the room.
She heard the sound of his footsteps, felt the strength in his arms. It was the first time he’d touched her, and her head spun a bit as sensations arrowed through her with such clarity. She was intensely aware of the hardness of his chest and the heat from the press of his fingers on her stomach. Flames licked outward from that spot until her whole body burned.
Every detail was so real. The collar of his shirt was rough beneath her palm, the skin on his neck damp. And he smelled simply wonderful—a mix of leather and horses and soap. She nuzzled closer. She had to get closer. When he stopped, she lifted a hand to his face, absorbed the sensation of that firm chin, the sharply angled cheekbone. Then unable to resist, she ran kisses along the line of his jaw. She wanted to taste him. She had to taste him.
As if he’d read her mind, he turned his head until his lips were just brushing hers. For a moment, she hesitated, and she sensed that he was hesitating, too. She was tempted to open her eyes, to try to see what he was thinking. But she knew, didn’t she? And if she opened her eyes, he might disappear.
She couldn’t let that happen. She had to keep him here. Tightening her fingers on his face, she drew him closer and whispered, “It’s all right. I want you to kiss me.”
When he did, she pushed everything else out of her mind and let herself plunge into the pleasure. His mouth was so soft. Different than she’d imagined. His flavors were different, too. Dark and hot and dangerous, they exploded on her tongue, shooting through her with such force that she was suddenly filled with him. Everything inside her sped up.
Never had a dream seemed so real. But reality had never brought this kind of pleasure before.
When he drew away, she knew a moment of pure panic. Of aching loss.
“Maddie, I—”
She felt the name whisper across her skin. It registered for a fleeting moment, but her desperation to taste him again shoved any thought ruthlessly aside. “I want more.” She needed more. “Make love with me.”
As he lowered her to the bed and joined her, he kissed her again. She nipped his bottom lip and threw herself fully into the dream. This time, beneath the flavors she’d sampled before, she tasted hunger. Was it his or hers?
They had to break off the kiss again and again as they rid themselves of clothes. Each time their lips rejoined, they demanded more. Received more. Their hands, desperate now, touched, tormented and took. Pleasure escalated, and the fire between them blazed more fiercely.
In some dim, recessed corner of his mind, Cash knew that he shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be in Maddie’s bed making love to her. She’d had some wine. He’d seen the half-empty bottle. And she’d been frightened by a storm.
He’d never been an impulsive man. It wasn’t in his nature to throw caution to the wind. But this was different. She was different. And his grip on anything rational had begun to slip the moment he’d stood at the foot of her couch and felt that first incredible punch of heat.
No woman had ever aroused him that quickly or that fully.
When he’d kissed her, his system had been totally shocked. Never in his life had he imagined that her flavor would be this exotic, this addictive. Each time he sampled, he seemed to find something new. And now he couldn’t stop himself from wanting more. Or from taking more.
His hands had taken on a will of their own, racing over her, touching, tempting, claiming. Hers were no less busy, and each place her fingers pressed or her nails scraped, he felt twin ribbons of fire and ice race along his skin.
Speed seemed to be a necessity for both of them as if, like greedy children, they had to grab all the pleasure they could before someone snatched it away. Desire hammered at him with sharp, piercing blows until the pain of not having her became so intense that he rolled her beneath him and drove himself into her.
She wrapped herself around him, matching his rhythm so perfectly that they moved as one, driving each other higher and higher. Even when they reached the peak, they paused as if to keep themselves there. As if they had to keep themselves there so that they wouldn’t lose each other. Finally, sharp explosions of pleasure shot through them and pushed them over the edge.
3
AS CASH drifted up through layers of sleep, he was sure he heard a phone ringing. From far away. Gradually, bits and pieces of reality settled into his mind. But the biggest one was the fact that there was a woman in his bed. She was pressed against him like a spoon, her back to his front. Her hair tickled his chin, and each time he took a breath, he inhaled that wild exotic scent.
Maddie?
Everything that had happened the night before flooded his mind. This was not his bed. It was Maddie’s, and he’d never expected to be in it.
Opening his eyes, Cash became aware of several things. He could tell by her even breathing that she was still asleep. He was used to rising at dawn, but the strength of the sun pouring through the window told him that the day had a couple of hours’ head start on him.
Gradually, as his senses became more alert, he realized that his arm was still around Maddie, holding her close almost as if he’d been afraid that she’d leave at some point during the night.
Cash frowned. Could that have been the reason for the very odd dream he’d had? In it, he’d been standing at an altar watching Maddie as she walked toward him in a white dress.
No. The dream had to have been triggered by the fact that he’d spent the last few days deciding that he and Maddie should announce their pretend engagement.
And now that they’d become lovers, well, the fake engagement plan held even more appeal. It had become more logical, he told himself. But there was a little voice in the back of his head that told him he wanted an engagement ring on Maddie’s finger because he didn’t want her to walk away. Ever.
Which was ridiculous. He and Maddie had been friends since childhood. Cash could hardly recall a time that she hadn’t been a part of his life. She would always be there for him, just as he’d always be there for her. Not that he was going to delude himself into thinking that their relationship hadn’t changed. Drastically.
She stirred.
Cash lay perfectly still as she sighed and snuggled even more closely to him. He caught her scent again—exotic, different. Odd that he couldn’t remember Maddie ever smelling quite this way. One of his hands still covered her breast, and he became aware of her nipple pressing into his palm. His body hardened and he realized he wanted her again with the same sharp hunger that had consumed him last night.
What he’d experienced had been unprecedented, and it had been with Maddie. Shouldn’t there have been some sign that their relationship was going to change this way? For the life of him, Cash hadn’t seen one indication.
For a moment he was tempted to lift her hair and wake her by nibbling on her neck. But he knew that anything he started he would finish. He’d already experienced firsthand her ability to destroy his control. And before they made love again, they had to talk. He needed to know that she wanted that to happen as much as he did.
For now, he’d content himself with just holding her.
JORDAN ALWAYS woke quickly, as if someone had thrown a switch. So she was immediately aware that she was not alone in the bed.
Very much not alone. A man’s hand covered her breast and his erection was pressed f
irmly against her backside. Her naked backside. Ignoring the panic that was bubbling in her stomach, she kicked her mind into overdrive. The last thing she remembered was lying on the couch and watching one of her all-time favorite movie couples—Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons and the wonderful romance that had blossomed between them in The Big Country.
But the hand on her breast was very real, and it was currently causing her whole system to go into a meltdown. She’d never experienced anything like what she’d felt during the night with another man. Was that why she’d let herself believe that it was a dream?
Jordan prided herself on not being prone to self-deception. And the hardening erection at her backside was knocking the dream theory out of the ballpark.
For a moment, she closed her eyes. Okay, somehow on her first night in Maddie’s house, she’d slept with a stranger. Mentally, she ticked off the reasons why that might have happened—she was under stress, she’d always had secret fantasies about cowboys and ranches and she’d had some wine.
Maybe years from now when she was one hundred, she would be able to look back on this and laugh. Right now, she had to get through this the best way she could and that meant finding out just who the man behind her was.
Removing his hand from her breast, she wiggled forward enough to put some distance between them before she turned and found herself looking into a pair of gray eyes gazing at her intently. Panic bubbled up again. He definitely wasn’t Gregory Peck. But he was dark-haired and not just a little handsome. His face was just the way her hands remembered—lean, with sharp cheekbones and a firm chin. And if the rest of what she’d touched ran true to memory, he was definitely a hunk.
And there was that scent—dark, irresistible, with just a hint of danger.
“Maddie, are you all right?”
Maddie? For a moment, Jordan was too shocked to think or speak. She had to jump-start her mind.
Maddie? Of course, he thought she was Maddie. She’d been on Maddie’s couch, wearing Maddie’s robe. Drinking perhaps a bit too much of Maddie’s wine. But who—
“Do you want an apology?”
“No,” she managed. Maybe Maddie would, she thought giddily.
“Are you protected? I didn’t use any—”
“I’m on the pill.” Thank heavens.
He narrowed his eyes. “And you’re sure you’re all right?” All right? Oh, she was fine. She was lying in bed with a man she didn’t know, a man she’d had hot, sweaty sex with, and she wanted to do it again in spite of the fact that he obviously thought he’d just made love to her sister. Jordan managed a nod.
“Good. Because I’ve got something to say.”
“Wait.” She pressed her fingers against his lips, intending to set him straight about who she was. The sharp heat that arrowed through her froze her.
He took her hand away from his mouth. “I’ve spent a lot of time since I last saw you thinking about this. And I believe that the best way to deal with the vandalism problem you’re having is for the two of us to get engaged.”
“No.” Jordan snatched her hand away, scrambled out of the bed and raced for the closet to grab a pair of jeans. “We can’t get engaged.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not Maddie.” Hopping on one foot and then the other, she struggled into the denim.
Seconds ticked by, and Jordan felt his eyes searing into her skin for every single one of them. She’d never been this intensely aware of a man before. Why did it have to be this man? She snatched a T-shirt out of a drawer and pulled it on. If he was waiting for more info, so be it. This was not a conversation she wanted to have while she was stark naked.
“Then who are you?” His tone was patient, even.
Turning from the dresser, she met his eyes and said, “I’m Jordan Ware, Maddie’s identical twin.”
He was looking at her in an intent way that made her think he could see right through her. Nerves jittered in her stomach.
“Maddie’s twin.”
“That’s right.”
His eyes narrowed. “Maddie doesn’t have an identical twin.”
Jordan planted her hands on her hips. “Yes, she does. We just found out about each other a few days ago. And as far as being identical goes, I certainly fooled you.”
There was another stretch of silence, and Jordan could have sworn she saw something flash in his eyes. Acceptance? Amusement? Both? Whatever it was, he was taking this a lot more calmly than she was.
“I knew there was something different about you.” Narrowing her eyes, she watched him adjust a pillow against the headboard and settle himself against it.
“Turnabout’s fair play. Who are you?” But even as she phrased the question, Jordan suddenly knew. He had to be—
“Cash Landry.”
“The neighbor.” Her heart plummeted. Her knees would have buckled if a sudden spurt of anger hadn’t stiffened her spine. “Maddie told me you were just friends.”
“We were. We are.”
Jordan waved a hand at the bed. “What we did last night goes beyond the parameters of simple friendship.”
“I agree.”
Unable to contain herself, she began to pace between the bed and the dresser. “She said that she thinks of you as her big brother. I thought your relationship was just like the one I have with Jase.”
“Who’s Jase?”
Though he hadn’t moved a muscle, Jordan sensed danger. “Jase Campbell is my apartment mate. We’ve been friends since we first shared an apartment in college. But there’s nothing…” She waved a hand again at the bed. “We’ve never slept together.”
“Neither have Maddie and I.”
“Until last night,” she shot at him.
“But it turns out that I wasn’t making love to Maddie. I was making love to you. And I want to do it again.”
There was a note of determination in his tone that had Jordan throwing her hands out in front of her. “No way.” She might have been more successful in keeping the panic at bay if she wasn’t right on the same page that he was. And the way he was looking at her, she bet he was reading her like a book.
“You thought you were making love to Maddie, and then you asked her to marry you.
“No, I asked her to get engaged to me.”
“Whatever!” Jordan waved a hand. “The proposal makes this whole situation even worse. I just met my sister a few days ago and since then I’ve slept with the man who wants to get engaged to her. Way to go, Jordan.”
“Where is Maddie?”
“She’s in New York City. We’ve changed places. It’s a long story.”
“I’ve always liked stories.”
When Cash moved as if to get out of bed, Jordan’s panic grew, and she started toward the bedroom door. “You stay right there. I’m going into the kitchen and I’m going to make some coffee. Then you’ll have your story.”
Cash rose from the bed and reached down to scoop up his jeans. “Sounds good.”
Keep your eyes straight ahead. But before she made it out of the room, Jordan caught a good glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. It was enough to trigger a barrage of sensations. Heat. Lust. Longing.
She could feel him grinning at her as she hot-footed it through the door.
CASH TWISTED the faucets to the off position and reached for a towel. After a ten-minute cold shower, his mind had cleared a bit. While he’d been in the same room with her, fantasies had pushed and then lingered at the edge of his mind. More than once, he’d been sorely tempted to scoop her up and tumble her back into bed.
After hanging up the towel, he pulled on his clothes and shoved his feet into his boots. He’d used the bathroom off what had been Mike Farrell’s room so that he wouldn’t run into her. And so he could think.
He had a lot of questions about the things Jordan Ware hadn’t yet told him. Like who exactly she was, why she and Maddie had changed places and why they hadn’t known about each other for twenty-six years.
It surprised
him a little that he was leaning toward accepting that she was indeed Maddie’s identical twin. It would certainly explain his response to her, but not once in all the years he’d known Mike and Maddie Farrell had he heard a hint of a sister. The story he’d been told was that her mother had died when she was an infant.
He had to wonder if his parents had known about a twin. His mother had passed on when he was twelve, but he figured she must have been aware of the situation. So must his father. But there’d never been a word spoken.
If Jordan Ware was telling the truth, why all the secrecy? Who had finally revealed the secret and why?
Exiting the bathroom, he heard the faint sound of running water from the direction of Maddie’s bathroom. So he had a short reprieve before he saw her again. Good.
Cash strolled into the large, open space that housed both the living room of the ranch and the kitchen and headed straight for the coffeemaker. The carafe was still half-full, and Jordan had been thoughtful enough to set out a mug for him. Grateful, he filled it to the brim and took a long swallow.
He should have known that she wasn’t Maddie. Why hadn’t the change in hairstyle tipped him off? As long as he’d known her, Maddie had worn her hair long and in a braid. Either that or she’d twist it up into some kind of knot at the back of her head. She didn’t like to fuss much about her appearance, perhaps a result of being raised surrounded by males. No manicures and pedicures for her.
Jordan looked as if she took quite a bit of time with her appearance. Probably had regular appointments for those nails. Had he simply not questioned the differences because of the way that Jordan had blindsided his senses last night?
Maybe. It was hard to be sure because he’d never experienced anything like Jordan Ware before. Her effect on him was baffling. But he was going to figure it out.
At the sound of a door closing, he took another quick swallow of coffee, then turned and leaned his hip against the counter. To brace himself? If he’d had any question about how she’d affect his senses this morning, it was more than answered when she stepped into view and strode toward him. He felt an immediate snap and sizzle in his blood, and a hard tug of desire. Basic. Elemental.