Chasing Strength: A Harper Family Romance

by Stopper, Nancy

  With the dark surrounding them, it was as though they were the only two people in the world. “Robin suggested I add the fire pit. Right now, I wish she were here so I could thank her.”

  “Tell me about her.” Alexis’s voice was almost a whisper, as if she was afraid to fracture the quiet.

  He chuckled. “You know how you didn’t tell me right away that you had a twin sister?”

  “Are you upset about that? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, it was just—”

  He pressed two fingers to her lips. “I understand exactly why you didn’t tell me…” Damn, this shouldn’t be so hard, but ever since Robin had died, he hadn’t talked about her except when he was discussing her case. The pain was too much to bear otherwise. “… because I’m a twin, too.”

  Alexis bolted upright. “Robin was your twin?”

  “I know. What are the chances? She was born three minutes after me, so I liked to tease her that she was the younger sister.”

  “I did, and still do, the same with Serena.” She settled back into his lap, her head on his chest and the heat of her hand over his heart warming his entire body. Could she feel his pulse racing? Did she realize that she did that to him?

  “Robin was so full of life. She was always smiling, always willing to go out of her way to help someone. I, uh…” The words stuck in his throat, but it was important that he force them to his lips. “There are some days I miss her so much that I don’t think I can breathe.”

  Alexis’s arms tightened around him. If anyone understood what he was going through, it was her. His friends told him it was time to move forward with his life, but they didn’t understand the hole in his soul that would never heal. The irony wasn’t lost on him that the first woman who tempted him to get serious after Robin’s death was another twin.

  “How long has she been gone?”

  “Nearly a year… since she was killed.” There. He’d said it. And his heart didn’t up and stop beating in his chest. But he couldn’t mistake Alexis’s deep, drawn in breath and the way every muscle in her body stiffened. But she didn’t let go of him. If anything, she burrowed further into his chest, so close it was almost as if she could climb into his skin.

  Even after all this time, his memories were as fresh as the day she’d died. “I was on the other side of Philadelphia when the call came over the scanner about a body being found behind FitzGeralds. Normally that would be my story, but Zach headed to the scene since he was closer. When I arrived, I expected it to be like any other crime scene, but Zach…” He sucked in a breath and swallowed past the lump in his throat. Damn, this was hard. It was like ripping a hole in his gut all over again. “Zach wouldn’t let me near the scene. And he wouldn’t tell me why. He finally explained that it was Robin they found.”

  Alexis’s presence, the two of them surrounded by darkness and the gentle sound of the trees swaying in the wind helped him choke out the words that he’d bottled up since that day. “I was hysterical. Tried to break through the police line. Zach and a deputy had to restrain me. Zach tried to get me to leave. But I wouldn’t move, refused to budge until they let me see her.”

  “That had to be so hard for you.”

  “Hardest thing I’ve ever done. Harder than burying our parents ten years ago.” Tears stung his eyes and he bit them back. He refused to cry until Robin’s killer was brought to justice. Only then could he find peace. “She looked so little, so innocent when they strapped her onto the gurney. I brushed her hair off of her face and saw the bruises. I wanted to curl up and die right beside her. Zach basically picked me up off the ground and took care of me for the next few days.”

  Alexis didn’t say anything. What was there to say? Before Robin had died, he was always at a loss for what someone might want to hear when faced with that kind of horror. In his role as a reporter, he’d had the opportunity to interview many families impacted by tragedy, but that still hadn’t provided him the words.

  For him… the only word that would soothe the ache in his chest was guilty.

  “I haven’t told many people about the specifics of that day. People who didn’t know Robin before she died don’t even know that I had a sister.” He wished he could share her with others, but he couldn’t stand the pitying stares.

  “I can’t imagine your pain. Especially with Robin being your twin. Serena’s a part of me and I’d be lost without her.”

  He nodded and tightened his grip around Alexis’s body. She understood. “My meeting today was with the detective on her case. He wouldn’t tell me outright, but I feel as though there could be a break in the case soon. They received the DNA results from the state crime lab, and they’re hoping for a match in the system.”

  Her hand brushed across his chest and then grabbed tight to his shoulder. “So, they haven’t found the person who, uh… was responsible?”

  Chris couldn’t blame her for tripping over her words. It had been months before he could say killed or murdered. But it helped him maintain a healthy level of rage when he assigned those ugly words to his anger. “No. Nuh-uh. I think they’re getting closer. I won’t rest until I see whoever did this to her behind bars for the rest of his life.” Anger coursed through his blood, his pulse racing and his vision blurring. All he wanted was five minutes with the bastard to do just a part of what he’d done to Robin.

  Alexis’s hand stroking his chest soothed his raw nerves, and for a long time, she didn’t say anything else, the circular caress of her fingers the only clue that she hadn’t fallen asleep.

  “That’s why you did it?” she finally asked.

  “Did what?”

  “Stopped that guy from taking me home that night? When I was drunk.”

  He was no hero. He did what should have been done, that’s all. And what he wished someone had done for Robin. “Yeah. I couldn’t bear if that happened to someone else.”

  “Was Robin drunk?”

  Every muscle in his body tightened. “It doesn’t matter if she’d had soda all night or was drunk out of her mind. Nothing gives someone else the right to treat her—treat anyone—that way.”

  Alexis shifted and looked at him, the waning flames of the fire reflecting in her eyes. “I know it doesn’t. I just wondered if that’s why you stopped me that night.”

  He brushed his hands down her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry at you. I just can’t stand it when people talk about what she could have done to prevent it. How about they focus on how wrong the guy was no matter what? They said someone gave her GHB. The date rape drug. She wouldn’t have been able to stop him after that, drunk or sober.”

  Alexis swept her fingers down his cheek. Her next words were quiet, so soft, he almost didn’t hear them. “Thank you.”

  She pressed her lips to his and the tenuous hold he had on his emotions broke free, every bit of anger and passion pouring into kissing her. She shifted so her knees straddled his lap, her core settling onto his crotch and teasing his cock back to life.

  He shifted his hands, his fingers threading into her hair and pulling her head back, exposing her long neck. Damn, that was sexy. He sprinkled kisses down her cheek, licking and nipping until he reached the hollow of her throat. He sucked at the salty skin, a smile breaking when she gasped, and her ass dug into his crotch further.

  Her hands slid to his waist and slipped under his T-shirt, the soft skin on her palms brushing across his abs. He sucked in a breath. Too much. Get control.

  He wanted this to be good for Alexis. He traced a path up her belly and around her ribs until his hand rested beneath her breast. His fingers whispered over the soft fabric of her bra, sliding up until he found her nipple, erect and begging for his touch. With his other hand, he cupped her other breast through her shirt, teasing until Alexis let out a moan.

  “Oh, God. That feels amazing.”

  His mouth found hers in the dark and he whispered against her lips. “You like that, huh? There’s more where that came from.”

  Her ha
nds dropped to his waist and he thought she was headed for his zipper when she grasped at the tails of her shirt. “Off. Off. I want to feel your hands on me, the cool air on my body.”

  He scanned his yard. The fence was high enough that nosy neighbors couldn’t see, and the fire had died to the point that they were bathed only in light from the nearly-full moon high overhead.

  He could work with that.

  He reached for the hem of her shirt, her hands reaching above her head to help him remove the fabric. He tucked it beside him and held Alexis away from him, wanting a moment to appreciate the willing woman in front of him. She shivered.

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Are you chilly?”

  “No. I’ve just never had anyone look at me like you did.”

  “How did I look at you?”

  “Like you want me.”

  He pressed his groin into her crotch as confirmation. “I’ve wanted you since the day we met. But I couldn’t be with you—not like this—until I told you everything.”

  With her hands on his chest, she rested her forehead on his. “Thank you for trusting me with Robin. I know she wasn’t easy to share.”

  He kissed her while his hands cupped her breasts, a finger slipping beneath the lace edge of her bra to trace the supple skin hidden from view. He wasn’t bold enough to go any further in his back yard, but he could appreciate what he had for a few minutes longer.

  But Alexis had other ideas. Her hands slid to his waist, and this time she popped the button on his jeans, tugging the sides open and stroking his sensitive skin.

  He sucked in a breath.

  “I want to feel you, too. All of you.”

  He kissed her again, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and tasting the flavor he was coming to know as Alexis. “How about we take this somewhere more private?”

  Chapter 13

  Alexis couldn’t have hopped off Chris’s lap any faster if she were on fire. Actually, she was… for him. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt this way about a man. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, practically dragging him toward the house… and the first soft surface they could find.

  He chuckled and tugged her to a stop. “Hold on a minute. Let me cover the fire pit.”

  He flung her shirt at her and made quick work of smothering the scarlet embers at the bottom of the fire pit. A minute later, he gathered her to his side, needing the feel of her body against his, and led her into the house. He locked the door like his body wasn’t begging for release like hers was.

  Damn, could he move any slower?

  She couldn’t wait any longer. She threw herself into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her entire body was one live nerve ending, and his erection tormenting her core was stoking the flames. This could work—a shift here, a turn there, and he could ease the ache that had been building inside her all night.

  No, that wasn’t right. Not just tonight but since that first lunch date.

  If she had any doubts about pursuing an actual relationship with him before, Chris had blown through them all when he’d opened up about his sister—his twin sister. Chris was the one she was meant to be with.

  His arms came around her, his finger digging into her ass and holding her up. He stumbled once, and then again as he kicked off his shoes. She threaded her fingers into his hair, the soft strands tickling her skin as she held him close while her mouth searched for his. He tilted his head and captured her lips. Her body shifted and she realized he was carrying her down the hall.

  He came to a stop so quickly that she almost fell out of his arms. He leaned his head back so he could look her in the eye, a concerned expression on his face. “Bandit?”

  She couldn’t quite process what he was saying through the fog of desire that clouded her mind. “What? He’s not here.”

  Chris groaned and flopped his head onto her shoulder. “I was just asking if you needed to go take care of Bandit.”

  God, she loved how considerate he was. In fact, she lo—

  What the hell was she thinking? There was no way she was in love with Chris, but she did love that he cared enough to ask about Bandit. Little did he know that she’d planned ahead in hopes that tonight ended exactly like this. “Serena is going to stop by. He’s taken care of until tomorrow morning.”

  Chris’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? We have all night?” She nodded and he let out a huge sigh. “Thank God.”

  He pressed his lips to hers and strode with sure steps through a doorway to what she presumed was his bedroom, crossing the floor in a few easy strides and lowering her gently onto his bed. The only illumination in the room was a faint night light against the wall. She flung her shirt somewhere over her head and fumbled to reach his jeans, to finish what she’d started outside. But he scooted out of her reach, and she heard his chuckle in the dark.

  Suddenly, soft, yellow light illuminated the room and she covered herself.

  He gently took her hands, bringing one, then the other, to his lips, before placing them at her sides. “I want to see you.”

  She was normally a lights-off kind of girl, but there was something trustworthy about Chris. His gaze deepened, desire flooding his hazel depths, as it slowly traveled down her body. She shivered from the intensity of his gaze on her. He grabbed one foot, slipped her sneaker off, and tossed it behind him. He pressed his thumbs to the balls of her feet and a moan pushed from her lips.

  “Oh, God, that feels good. But at this rate, it’s going to take you all night,” she said on a huff, every touch fanning the flames deep inside her.

  “That’s my plan.” He smirked as he switched to her other foot.

  Two could play at this game. As he was dropping her shoe on the floor, she sat upright, her hands sliding under his shirt. She traced his delicious abs, inching his shirt up… one excruciating inch at a time. He grumbled and reached behind his head to snatch the shirt off.

  She caught her first glimpse of his glorious body, and heat flooded her core. She’d felt every muscle when she’d ridden behind him on his motorcycle, but the image in her mind had nothing on seeing him in person. She stroked his ripped abs, tight pecs, and then ran her fingers through the sprinkling of chest hair that traveled down his body and disappeared beneath the waist of his jeans.

  But that wasn’t enough. She wanted him to feel for her what she did for him. She pressed her lips to his abs, and her tongue darted out and traced the ridges. She sprinkled kisses upward but couldn’t reach his nipples. This just wouldn’t do.

  She rose to her knees. “Much better. See, now I can reach.”

  He let his head fall back as she circled his nipple with her tongue, the skin puckering and twitching as she sucked it between her lips. She loved each little moan that rumbled deep in his chest. Then his hands were on her, behind her back, and her bra went the way of her shirt.

  Cool air blew across her nipples, and they perked almost painfully. Her body sought out his naked skin against hers. She wiggled, trying to satisfy the ache in her breasts, but he was having none of it.

  He eased her down until her back was on the bed, her legs hanging off the edge. She reached for him and this time he came to her, his mouth descending over hers as his delicious weight pressed her into the mattress.

  His arms framed her head, the warmth of his body surrounding her, seeping into her soul. He tilted his head, deepening the kiss and consuming her until she broke away to suck in a breath. But he didn’t stop his assault as his lips trailed down her neck and across her chest. He cupped her breast and fastened his lips around her nipple.

  Her eyes snapped shut. She wanted to watch him, but she couldn’t keep them open against the whirlwind of sensations overwhelming her. While he licked and sucked one nipple, he brushed his thumb over the other, teasing it to a stiff, painful peak. She arched her back, begging for something, anything, to relieve the ache flooding her body. But he merely stoked the fire, releasing her first nipple with a pop and blowing cool air over it.

/>   She squirmed, not sure if she was trying to get away from the overwhelming feelings or to get closer, her body a war of emotions.

  Chris stopped, and his hand slipped behind her head. “Alexis, look at me.”

  She forced her eyes open, her gaze locking on his.

  “Are you all right? Is this okay?”

  She arched her core into him. “It’s all okay. It’s too much and not enough all at the same time.”

  His brows raised slightly, and he dipped his head, returning to what he had so rudely interrupted. But she had had enough of this one-sided torture. He deserved some of his own.

  She pushed him off her and rolled him to his side, following him over so she faced him. Her fingers fumbled with his jeans, finally easing the zipper apart. His thickness strained against the opening, the cotton of his boxer briefs doing nothing to hide his attraction.

  She brushed her finger over his cock through his briefs and was rewarded with a twitch in return.

  Everything moved at lightning speed after that. He hopped to his feet and ripped his jeans down his legs, snatching his wallet out of the back pocket and tossing it on the bed before reaching for her. Together they shucked her jeans until she laid before him in only her panties. Good thing she’d worn the lacy ones.

  He ran a finger along the frilly edge, sneaking beneath and teasing the part of her that was begging for his attention. “Pretty.” He then hooked his fingers in her panties and ripped them down her legs. “But they have to go.”

  She reached for him, trying to even the score, but he grabbed her hands and moved them to her sides. “Leave them there. I have some exploring to do.”

  In a flash, he was on his knees at the side of the bed, lifting her legs to his shoulders. She wanted to squirm, to hide herself from him again, but she didn’t want to at the same time. She drew in a slow, deep breath and relaxed.

  He huffed a single warm breath over her, and she sank into the soft mattress, her fingers grasping for anything to hold on to. And then his mouth was on her, licking and sucking. A moan pushed through her gritted teeth. Overwhelming sensations surged through her body, every cell was on alert, every nerve ending fired. He completely annihilated her, shoving every thought out of her mind until all she could do was focus on the building pleasure within her.