04 Naked Games (3 page)
4
D
ean didn’t want to be attracted to Catherine, but damn if that wasn’t exactly what was going on. Her Southern accent was sexy as hell, but she had a slightly snooty attitude, as if he didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. The thought pissed him off. If anyone should be grateful, it should be her. He didn’t trust her. Didn’t believe for a second that she was only here to visit her long-lost sister. There was more to it, and he intended to find out what it was.
ean didn’t want to be attracted to Catherine, but damn if that wasn’t exactly what was going on. Her Southern accent was sexy as hell, but she had a slightly snooty attitude, as if he didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. The thought pissed him off. If anyone should be grateful, it should be her. He didn’t trust her. Didn’t believe for a second that she was only here to visit her long-lost sister. There was more to it, and he intended to find out what it was.
The instant he’d seen her picture on Gracie’s computer he’d been intrigued by her. She had an innocent look to her. As if she’d been sheltered from life’s dirtier side. But Dean knew that looks could be deceiving. He’d expressed his concern to Wade, but his brother wouldn’t listen to reason. As far as he was concerned, Catherine was who she claimed to be, Gracie’s sister and nothing more. Jonas had even done a search on her. Nothing had come back save for an article about Catherine’s prizewinning roses. She had no criminal record. She lived with her parents in Atlanta, Georgia, until her parents had died in a car accident. That’s when she’d found the letters about her biological mother. It was only then that she’d learned she had a sister living in Ohio. All of it sounded great. But Dean still felt there was something Catherine wasn’t telling. He knew too well that a woman could put on a facade to get what she wanted. The question was, what did Catherine want?
When Catherine brought up the subject of her adoption, Dean spoke up. “Speaking of your parents, you told Gracie that your parents never revealed to you that you were adopted, is that right?”
She swallowed several times before answering. “Yes. I think Mama was going to tell me, but she never found the right time. I’m still trying to deal with that.”
“You learned the news through a friend?” he prompted her. Dean could see it was a sore spot for Catherine, but there were too many questions and not enough answers.
She nodded. “Our family doctor. He was a friend of my parents for years.”
“A very good friend if your parents trusted him with such a big secret.”
“No, like me, he was never told the truth. He was Mama’s doctor, so he knew she’d never given birth to a child. He’d examined her, you see.”
Dean frowned. “And that sort of thing can’t be misjudged? He’s absolutely sure she never gave birth?”
“Dean, enough with the questions,” Wade growled.
Catherine held up a hand. “No, please, it’s fine. Keeping these things in the dark is what caused all this to begin with. Gracie and I missed out on a lifetime of memories because of this secret. It’s high time it’s brought to the light.”
“But we’re going to make up for that,” Gracie said, adding her weight to Team Catherine.
She smiled at Gracie. “Exactly.” Catherine turned her attention back to him, the smile disappearing in an instant, and said, “Even if Doctor Cabel had made a mistake, the letters from Gracie and my biological mother are proof, don’t you think?”
“And why didn’t Gracie’s father know about you?”
Gracie glared at Dean. “I told you about that, Dean. Catherine explained that the letters indicate we have different fathers. It’s not so unusual for a woman to have children with two different men.”
“Of course not, but—”
“No buts, Dean,” Wade said, his voice brooking no argument. “Enough with the interrogation. There will be plenty of time to go over all the facts later. For now, let Gracie and Catherine have some time to visit.”
Dean looked over at Gracie and saw the worry on her face. He felt like an ass. “Sorry, Gracie. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain.”
Gracie went to him and pulled him in for a hug. “I know you’re concerned,” she whispered for his ears alone, “but it’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”
He nodded and patted her on the back. “Of course it will be.”
As she pulled away he was pleased to see a smile on her face. She was going to be his sister when Wade married her. He wanted to see her happy, always. In the meantime, he intended to see that Catherine didn’t do anything to dampen that happiness.
“Anyone want a refill on the coffee?” Gracie asked.
“Did someone mention coffee?” a female voice asked from the doorway. Dean turned to see his sister, Deanna, and Jonas striding in. Dean watched as Jonas helped Deanna off with her coat. Christ, it was still weird to see the two of them together. Jonas had been friends with Wade for years, ever since their military days, but he’d only recently gotten together with Deanna. Jonas seemed to make her happy though, and as long as that never changed Dean was fine with it.
“Damn, it’s cold out,” Jonas grumbled. “Spring is definitely in hiding.”
Wade turned to Catherine and said, “In early April, Ohio can be pretty cold still. It warms up, though, by the middle of the month.”
“Don’t worry, I came prepared.” She plucked at her top and said, “I brought along lots of sweaters.”
“Two cups of coffee coming right up, guys,” Gracie said, “but first I’d like you both to meet Catherine,” Gracie said, her voice all but brimming with happiness.
Catherine got out of the chair and moved forward to accept a handshake from Jonas and a hug from Deanna. Dean’s gaze unerringly went to Catherine’s ass. She wore a pair of skin-tight jeans and a loose, fuzzy black sweater. The high-heeled boots didn’t escape his notice either. She was all sexy hills and valleys. Dean had the overpowering need to reach out and grab her, to pull her against him and feel how well she fit. He tamped down on it and glanced over to see Wade watching him and frowning. Shit.
“So, who here is hungry?” Gracie said as she clapped her hands together in front of her. Jonas said he could eat a horse, and Deanna and Catherine both mentioned that they could eat a few bites. When Wade offered to cook, everyone sent up their agreements. Wade was a damn good cook.
Dean didn’t speak, because all his concentration was focused on his baffling reaction to Catherine. She turned to him and her eyebrows rose. “Aren’t you hungry?”
He thought of just how easily he could devour
her
and replied, “Famished.”
her
and replied, “Famished.”
“You didn’t say anything.”
He let a grin slip across his face. “I was distracted.”
Her cheeks heated as if she could read his dirty thoughts as clear as day. “Oh,” she murmured.
Wade slapped a hand on the counter, effectively pulling Dean’s attention away from Catherine’s alluring green eyes. “How about chicken Parmesan.”
Dean was about to agree, but he remembered they were still missing a member of their little clan. “Shouldn’t we wait for Mom?”
“She’s on her way,” Deanna offered. “She called and said she was running late from work.”
Catherine moved back to her seat and wrapped her hands around her mug, then tapped out a little rhythm on the side. Dean had noticed her doing it before. There was something about the gesture that captured and held his attention. “I can’t wait to meet her,” Catherine said. “I’ve heard so much about her from Gracie.”
“Are you sure it’s not too much your first day here? I mean, everyone would’ve been content to wait a day or so. To give you time to adjust.”
“Gracie’s right,” Jonas said with a grin. “We can be a lot to take in all at once. We’re better in small doses.”
Catherine laughed, and Dean’s heart sped up at the sweet sound. “It’s fine, really. I love it that you all came to meet me. I’m honored.”
Deanna went to the coffeemaker and started brewing another pot, while Wade started preparing dinner. Gracie asked Catherine a question about some book that was recently released, and soon the pair was lost in a conversation about some author’s hot heroes. Dean looked over at Jonas and caught the man staring at him. He made a motion with his head before heading into the other room. Dean stood and followed.
Once alone, Jonas whispered, “You satisfied that she’s who she says she is?”
Dean tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I believe she’s Catherine Michaels. I believe she was adopted and that Gracie is her sister. They look too much alike not to be related.”
Jonas quirked a brow. “Then what’s with the looks you keep sending her when you think no one is watching?”
“I just don’t trust her,” he gritted out. “I won’t rest easy until I know for certain that she wants nothing from Gracie except some sisterly bonding time.”
“What the hell else could it be?”
“I don’t know, but aren’t you the least bit suspicious? Hell, she comes out of nowhere and drops this bomb on Gracie and we’re all supposed to just embrace her?”
“We ran a check on her, Dean. She came back clean. She doesn’t even have an outstanding parking ticket.”
Dean ran a hand through his hair. “I know, I know. It’s just a feeling. Something about her puts me on edge.”
Jonas rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, I noticed. However, maybe this has nothing to do with her being some sort of con artist.”
Dean stiffened and stepped closer to Jonas. “What do you mean?”
“Hell, man, you’re attracted to her. You’ve been watching her like a hawk that just spotted a field mouse.”
Christ, he’d been that transparent? “Look, I won’t deny she can fill out a pair of jeans. So what’s your point?”
Jonas shook his head. “Whatever. All I’m saying is that you need to chill.” He pointed a finger in the direction of the kitchen. “Wade’s about half a step from kicking your ass. This reunion is important to Gracie. She’s been looking forward to it since she first spoke to Catherine.”
“You’re right.” Dean sighed. “Damn it.”
Jonas grinned, which made Dean want to punch him. “I usually am, buddy.”
Dean shoved at his shoulder. “You’re also a pain in the ass.”
Jonas laughed as he headed back into the kitchen. When Dean followed, he purposely kept his gaze away from the delectable Catherine Michaels. She was going to be visiting all week. Surely he could keep himself in check that long. How hard could it possibly be?
5
C
atherine had been curious about Dean from the moment she’d met him the night before. At Gracie and Wade’s, he’d seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to her and she wanted to know why. She’d even told Mary all about him when she’d called her to tell her how her first face-to-face with Gracie had gone. Now, as she stood on his front walk in the bright noonday sun, she had to wonder if her curiosity would get her into a world of trouble. Unfortunately, there was no going back now. She was already here. Besides, he wasn’t an ogre. Hadn’t Gracie said he was a sweet guy? Surely they could come to some sort of understanding.
atherine had been curious about Dean from the moment she’d met him the night before. At Gracie and Wade’s, he’d seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to her and she wanted to know why. She’d even told Mary all about him when she’d called her to tell her how her first face-to-face with Gracie had gone. Now, as she stood on his front walk in the bright noonday sun, she had to wonder if her curiosity would get her into a world of trouble. Unfortunately, there was no going back now. She was already here. Besides, he wasn’t an ogre. Hadn’t Gracie said he was a sweet guy? Surely they could come to some sort of understanding.
Catherine wanted things to work with her sister and that meant that Gracie’s family needed to accept her. Even though Gracie hadn’t married Wade yet, his family had made it clear that Gracie was indeed one of them. Besides, the only other alternative was to ignore the man for the duration of her stay. She couldn’t very well do that without coming off as rude. A little voice inside her head said there were other, more intimate reasons for not wishing to ignore the sexy man, but Catherine squashed that little voice into oblivion.
As she strode forward and stepped onto the front porch, Catherine began to have second thoughts all the same. Maybe he would tell her to go fly a kite. Maybe he’d resent her for showing up unannounced. When Catherine had talked to Gracie about Dean’s obvious animosity toward her, Gracie had come up with the plan for Catherine to meet him one-on-one. On his own turf. It was Saturday, and Gracie had sworn he’d be home, but what if he was busy? Or worse, busy with a woman?
“Oh, God,” she mumbled. For all she knew he’d greet her with a shotgun. “Maybe I’ll just call. We can have a nice, safe chat over the phone.”
As she turned around to leave, she heard the door creak open behind her. Catherine froze in place. Her feet simply refused to move. Okay, she had two options. Run full steam ahead back to the safety of her rental car, or face the man. When she heard a low, deep voice whisper something from behind, Catherine screwed up her courage and turned around. Dean stood there, leaning against the door frame, an annoying frown marring his handsome expression. He had comfortably worn jeans and a loose, heather gray T-shirt. And he was barefoot. Dang, the man was delish.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
Catherine had the sense that she was facing down her executioner. She held on to her purse tighter, as if for self-defense, and forced herself to look him in the eye. “Hi. Um, I hope I’m not interrupting you.”
“Nope.” He stepped back and asked, “Do you want to come in?”
“Thank you.” Catherine stepped around him and entered the house. It was a pretty ranch style. The interior wasn’t as interesting as Wade’s, but it was spacious and comfortable. Lots of windows and a cathedral ceiling made the room appear larger than it actually was. The big, brown suede couch facing a large flat-screen television looked inviting. The kitchen was at the back of the house but it was open to the living area, and she could see something cooking on the stove. She looked up at him and asked, “Were you having lunch?”
“Yeah.”
That one word and nothing more. Catherine slumped, as it became crystal clear that Dean wasn’t going to be in an understanding and compromising mood. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”
When she turned to go, a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm, effectively halting her in her tracks. “I don’t mind sharing lunch with you. You like chicken and noodles?”
His tone was as unyielding as the hand holding her in place, but the fact he was willing to be at least a tiny bit civilized gave her hope. Catherine smiled. “I love it. But only if you have plenty, of course.”
Dean snorted and released her. “My mom made a ton of it. It’ll take me a week to eat it all.”
Catherine unzipped her black wool coat and laid it over the back of a brown, leather recliner sitting near the door. “Mama used to make enough food for an army.” Her heart squeezed at the memory. “Daddy was always getting on her about making him fat, even though he barely had an inch of fat on him.”
“You miss them,” he stated as he moved toward the kitchen.
It wasn’t a question, simply an observation. Catherine felt compelled to respond anyway. “Every day.” She put her purse on the chair and followed him. “At first the grief swamps you. It gets easier as time goes on, but not by much.”
He nodded as he spooned up a good portion of the steaming soup into a round, white stoneware bowl. He placed it on the square oak table and waved a hand toward her. “I lost my dad a few years ago. It’s tough.”
Catherine pulled out a chair and sat, but she was too interested in the conversation to care about the food. He was opening up a little. She decided to see it as a good sign. “I’m sorry. How did he die?”
He placed a napkin and spoon on the table next to her bowl. “Heart attack. None of us saw it coming.”
“When it’s sudden, comes out of nowhere, it makes you feel as if you’ve been cheated. There’s no chance to say good-bye.”
“Yeah,” he growled as he turned back to the stove to ladle up a helping for himself. As he moved to sit in the seat across from her and picked up his spoon, his dark chocolate gaze caught and held hers. “So, did you come here to talk about the death of a loved one?”
She squinted at him. “You like to get right to the point, don’t you?”
“Usually, yeah. And right now you’re stalling.”
She watched him eat. He didn’t wolf down the food, but ate each bite slowly, as if he wanted to savor it. “I thought we were having a nice conversation,” she said, distracted by the way his tongue darted out to lick up a bit of broth. “You know, two adults enjoying each other’s company.”
He placed the spoon on the table and swiped a napkin over his mouth. “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t trust you. That’s not likely to change just because you want it to. So, if that’s the reason you’re here, then you might as well leave.”
She dropped her spoon, and it hit the bowl with a clang, bounced off, and landed on the table. “What’s your deal?” she shouted as she lost her grip on her temper. “Everyone else seems okay with my presence here. Everyone except you. Why?”
“You came out of nowhere and insinuated yourself into Gracie’s life. Maybe all you want is some bonding time with her, but I can’t help but feel there’s more to it than that.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “What more could there possibly be?”
“You tell me, Catherine.”
“All I want is to spend time with her. I didn’t have the luxury you had growing up.”
He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what luxury might that be?”
“The luxury of growing up with your siblings. You got to see Wade graduate from high school. You watched Deanna go from a little girl to a beautiful, intelligent woman.” Her throat closed up for a second and she had to swallow hard before she could say the rest. “Gracie’s childhood was stolen from me, Dean. We never got to talk about boys late into the night. She and I never swapped clothes and makeup. Even arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes was lost to us. All the things sisters do, she and I missed out on that.”
He cocked his head to the side, his expression as unreadable as ever. “And that’s all there is to it?”
“Oh, my Lord, what is it with you?” she said, her voice rising even more as anger began to take the place of common sense. “Do you think I’m after her money? Because I can tell you that I have plenty of my own. Not only did my parents have a nice-sized insurance policy, but I’m a website designer. I do just fine, trust me.”
“See? That’s just it, Catherine, I don’t trust you. I thought we already established that.”
Frustrated and ready to commit cold-blooded murder, Catherine shot out of her chair. “Obviously this was a huge mistake. I never should have come here. I’m sorry I bothered you.” But before she could take more than a few steps, Dean was there, holding her still with one arm wrapped around her middle from behind. She stiffened. “Let me go,” she bit out from between clenched teeth.
He tsked. “Nope, I’m not through with you yet.”
“I don’t give a damn.” She tried to pry him loose, but he wouldn’t budge. “Let me go, or I start screaming.”
He chuckled and whispered close to her ear, “You’re awfully damn naive, do you know that?”
She grasped onto his hand and tried to remove it, but the man must have been made of steel. “What do you mean by that?”
“You’re in a strange man’s home, sweetheart. I’m bigger, stronger, and I could do anything I wanted to you right now. Screaming wouldn’t do a damn bit of good, because the nearest neighbor is half an acre away.”
Yeah, okay, that was a scary thought. “B-but Gracie trusts you.”
He pulled his arm away, but before she could run to the front door he was spinning her around to face him. “And that’s enough for you? How do you know that I’m not some rapist or murderer?”
His brown eyes weren’t filled with menace. In fact, unless she missed her guess, Dean looked concerned. “You wouldn’t hurt me,” she shot right back. It was a leap of faith, but Catherine had always had good instincts. She had no reason to stop trusting them now.
“If you hurt my family, I’ll do that and more,” he murmured. “Make no mistake, Catherine, I protect my own.”
“Gracie is my family too, Dean.” She swatted his chest. “Get that through your thick head.”
“She’s your biological
half sister.
Practically a stranger to you.”
half sister.
Practically a stranger to you.”
“I know what she is, thank you very much.” Her eyes narrowed. “Boy, you don’t have any faith in your brother’s opinion or his abilities, do you?”
His head shot back as if he’d been slapped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your brother trusts me. He ran a check on me. Don’t you think he knows what he’s doing? He is a private investigator, after all.”
“Of course Wade’s good at his job, but his first priority is to see Gracie happy. Finding out about you sent her over the moon. Love is clouding his judgment of you right now.”
It hurt to think that Wade was only being kind to her for Gracie’s sake. She’d thought his feelings toward her were genuine. “I see,” she said in a low voice as she looked down at the hardwood floor. “I didn’t realize.”
Dean took her chin in his palm and tugged until she was looking into his gaze once more. “Look, Wade does like you. Hell, everyone thinks you’re terrific. I’m the only paranoid one in this outfit. Okay?”
She nodded. “The thing you need to remember is that I know how Gracie grew up. We’ve talked about her dad. His alcoholism and neglect. She had it rough. I don’t want to add to Gracie’s pain, Dean. I only want to get to know her. To be a part of her life. Is that so bad?”
He was quiet for several seconds, but finally he released her and stated, “I can live with that.”
Catherine couldn’t believe her own ears. “So you trust me?” She held her breath, afraid of his answer.
He shoved his hands in his front pockets. “Let’s just say I’m willing to play nice and leave it at that, shall we?”
It was more than she’d had when she’d come over here, but it still hurt to think he didn’t trust her. It shouldn’t bother her so much, but instead of letting her disappointment show, she nodded. “Works for me.”
“Now, since you didn’t get to finish your lunch, how about we skip right to dessert.”
The fact that he wasn’t shoving her out the door sent a little thrill through her bloodstream. “Dessert?”
He bobbed his eyebrows. “Mom made chocolate cake. You in?”
Catherine forgot everything else at the mention of chocolate. It was her one guilty pleasure in life. “Oh, I’m definitely in.”
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