Calling His Bluff (19 page)

For the first time, she raised her voice.

“It’s not okay with me. Don’t you get it? I can’t be divorcing you and falling in
love with you at the same time!”

She squeezed her eyes shut in horror at the words that had spilled out of her mouth.
When he pulled back from her, she pushed her hands against the floor, ready to stand
up and make as graceful an exit as she could after humiliating herself so thoroughly.

Only to open her eyes and see him holding a glass of water out to her.

She grabbed it and gulped it down. Finishing, she gasped for air and found that he
was still sitting with her, still smiling at her.

“I’m not saying it won’t be an unusual beginning to a relationship.” Her short bark
of laughter gave him only a moment’s pause. He lifted his hands in a mea culpa. “Hey,
I said unusual. But those technical, legal details don’t
have
to have anything to do with us, do they?”

“I don’t see how a divorce can possibly
not
involve the husband and wife.”

“Simple. We let someone else, the lawyers, handle all that. But that doesn’t mean
we can’t at least explore this thing between us, whatever it turns out to be.”

“And you don’t think we should ‘explore it’—” she used air quotes “—over coffee, perhaps?
Instead of in bed together?”

“I could settle for coffee, but if we’re,” he seemed to struggle with the word, “married,
why take a backward step now? I’ve been connected to you and your family for years
now. This is just…a newer way to be together.”

She fisted her hands in her hair and tugged hard. Why did it sound so reasonable when
he said it? She knew there was something about what he said that was a bad, bad idea
for her, but she just couldn’t remember what it was. It probably had something to
do with her mushy brain and a long day of travel on little sleep, but arguing with
him felt like struggling through quicksand.

A wave of exhaustion rolled over her. She shook her head, lifted one hand in the air
and then dropped it. Shaking her head some more, she covered her eyes with her hands
and pressed hard.

“Arguing with yourself now?” He sounded amused.

“I’m too tired to keep coming up with reasons why this is a bad idea,” she said. Even
as she said it, she knew she was agreeing to stay.

“Good.” He pulled her by the shoulders until she sat between his raised knees, her
back against his chest, the fire in front of them. “Then my plan has worked.”

“What? The talk her to death until she can’t think straight and goes along with whatever
I say plan?” She tried to sound resentful, but couldn’t quite manage it. If she was
being honest with herself, there was nowhere else she wanted to be than right here
with J.D.

“Exactly.” He started to work on the buttons of her coat. She let him, curving her
hands around his knees to give him better access. The fire was more than halfway to
hypnotizing her when she felt soft kitty fluff brush up against her. “And look who’s
decided to join us at last.”

It was the stray cat, rubbing the top of her head against Sarah’s hand. She kept still
for a minute before sliding her hand lightly along the cat’s side, feeling the heavy
weight of the kittens through the animal’s newly healthy coat. After a few minutes
she was satisfied.

“Seems like she’s doing well. And she’s certainly friendlier, which is a good sign.
But don’t be surprised if she vanishes on you when she has the kittens. She’ll probably
hole up somewhere she feels safe.” Yawning hugely, she leaned her head back and rested
it on J.D.’s shoulder. “Make sure to keep her out of your studio, if you don’t want
to have kittens in there for months.”

“Duly noted.” His hands stroked her hair in a slow rhythm that had her sliding toward
oblivion. Her eyes had already drifted shut when he gave her shoulders a little shake
and pushed her forward.

“Come on, sleepy. Let’s put you to bed.”

“But the driver—”

“Taken care of.”

She watched him pull a metal screen in front of the fire and waited for him to turn
and steer her up the stairs. She felt as if all independent will had seeped out of
her body. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned her head against his
shoulder as they walked.

“Not very romantic. Sorry,” she said between yawns. He squeezed her shoulder and pressed
a kiss to the top of her head, keeping a hand against the small of her back as he
followed her up the stairs.

“I’m not in it just for the romance.”

“That’s good,” she managed to get out by the time they reached his bedroom. She crawled
onto the bed, kicking off her shoes on the way, and then let J.D. undress her like
a child before he turned off the lights, stripped and slid into bed next to her. Curving
his body around hers like a comma, he kissed her shoulder, cupped a possessive hand
around her breast and settled into the mattress.

“Sleep well, Sarah.”

“Mmm.”

When the ringing phone finally penetrated her sleep-fogged brain sometime in the night,
she smacked her hand around on the bedside table, groping at the flat surface. A warm,
heavy weight vaguely registered behind her.

Where was her damn phone, and who the hell was rude enough to be calling? If it was
work, she wasn’t on the clock until 8:00 a.m.

Finding something that felt like a cell phone, she pulled it under the comforter,
swiping and tapping until the ringing stopped and someone spoke far too loudly in
her ear.

“Hello?” Her voice was thick with sleep.

“Sarah?”

Her eyes shot wide open in the dark. With a sinking feeling, she pulled the phone
away from her ear.

Shit.
Not hers.

This couldn’t possibly be happening.

“Sarah?”

Even now that she was holding the phone as far as possible away from her, as if distance
would save her, she could still hear her brother’s voice shouting from the handset.

“Sarah? Why haven’t you called? You were supposed to get home tonight.” She could
hear the gears grinding in his brain as details slotted into place. Wait for it. “And
what the hell are you doing answering J.D.’s phone?”

Yup.

So much for keeping things from her brother.

Something was hissing at him.

J.D. buried his head deeper under the pillow. He felt the warm body next to him, recognized
it as Sarah’s in some corner of his brain and pulled her closer.

Took a sharp elbow to the chin for his efforts and cursed out loud.

Someone ripped the pillow off his head, flooding the room with unbearably bright light.

Shading his squinting eyes against the bedside lamp with one hand, he saw the phone
she was thrusting at him and growled at her as he snatched it from her hand. Sarah
was holding the covers over her naked torso.

He enjoyed the yelp he got when he yanked them down and rolled over to lie on top
of her.

“What?” he barked into the phone. Her muffled words were beginning to register with
him when the voice exploded out of the handset.

“J.D., what the fuck is my sister doing answering your phone at three o’clock in the
morning?” his best friend’s voice blasted in his ear. The squirming, naked woman beneath
him was distracting, but he suddenly felt wide-awake. “Don’t answer that. I’m coming
over right now to kick your ass.”

He laid the phone on the bed next to him and shifted so that Sarah’s face was visible
beneath him. Her hair spilled over the white sheets like ink and her eyes widened
as he leaned down and kissed her mouth. He took his time about it, tasting her, testing
her, with slow sleepy strokes of his tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck
and opened to him, validating his decision to talk her into staying with him the previous
night.

“Hey,” he murmured and rubbed his nose against hers. The phone was still squawking
on the bed next to them.

“Hey, yourself.” She lifted her chin and pressed a soft kiss against his mouth before
smiling. “Sorry I elbowed you.”

“I’m tough. I can take it.” He narrowed his eyes at his cell and debated ignoring
it altogether in favor of kissing his way down every inch of Sarah’s body. “I suppose
I’d better talk to him.”

“
I’m
not doing it.” She pulled her head back. “In fact, I’m moving to Costa Rica. Tomorrow.”

“Chicken.”

“You know what a pain in the ass he is.”

“It’s all in how you handle him, babe.” He snagged the phone and caught his friend
midtirade. “Tyler.” An uninterrupted flow of curses and threats. “Tyler.” No change.
“Christopher Robin! Yeah, I said it. Now shut up. We got back tonight and were too
tired to remember to call anyone,” he said into the silence of a grown man planning
how to rip his limbs off. “You can come over here right now—” he pushed a pillow at
Sarah’s face as she squeaked and spluttered “—but you’ll just be yelling at the lamppost
outside. Or you can save your temper tantrum and kick my ass tomorrow at a decent
hour over lunch. I’ll buy.”

He waited. Heard nothing but controlled breathing.

“I swear to god, man, if you are just f…fooling around with my sister, I will put
you in the hospital.”

Glancing over his shoulder at Sarah, who was still holding a pillow over her face,
he felt his stomach do the slow dip and roll he’d gotten used to feeling whenever
he looked at her. God knows, he wouldn’t have ended up in this mess over a woman he
was “fooling around” with.

“That’s not what’s happening here, bro. I promise you that.” Before Tyler could get
rolling with questions about what
was
happening, he cut him off. “Go to bed, big brother. She’s safe.”

“I seriously doubt that,” was Tyler’s comeback before he clicked off.

Pushing the phone in the general direction of the table, he winced as it missed the
edge and bounced off the floor with a sharp plastic crack. The sound must have carried
because Sarah lifted the pillow an inch off her face and peered out from under it
as if to determine whether or not the coast was clear.

“So, do I have time to put on some pants before he gets here or should I just try
to sprint for the El naked?”

He reached over her to switch off the piercing light of the lamp. Eyes relaxing as
soon as darkness swallowed the room again, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled
onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

“He’s not coming.”

“Really? How did you manage that?” Her hair waterfalled down around his face as she
leaned over him.

“It’s a guy thing. You gotta insult each other, toss out a few threats and then offer
to pick up the tab.” He skimmed a finger down the curve of her breast and felt her
stomach pull away from him as she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Well, damn. I’ll have to remember that for next time.” She shifted on top of him
until she straddled his lap, her arms braced to either side of him.

“Doesn’t work for chicks,” he threw out on purpose and then whoofed as she elbowed
him again, this time in the stomach.

“I’m not a chick.” She cuffed his wrists with her hands and pulled them over his head.
He was more than willing to cooperate. In fact, he could be even more annoying if
it would inspire her to continue in this vein.

“Whatever you say, girlie. But you sure feel like a broad to me.” He hoped she couldn’t
see his grin in the dark. When he felt her shake with silent laughter over him, he
knew she wasn’t buying it, but she surprised him by playing along.

“That’s it.” She bent down to place her teeth on his collarbone and bite, just hard
enough to spike the wave of pleasure that rolled through him. “Now you’re in trouble.
Get ready to beg for mercy.”

Her mouth trailed over his chest, awakening every nerve in his body to the slow sweep
of her warm, wet kisses and the sensual tickle of her long hair. She held his wrists
in one hand now and scraped her nails down his triceps and the sensitive skin of his
underarm, wringing a gasp from him before continuing over his ribcage, skimming past
his hip and closing her hand gently around him in a slow, deliberate gesture that
stopped his breath.

His body surged gently, rhythmically against the strength of her palm. By the time
he could breathe again, his hands were free and he filled them with her delicate breasts,
the curved rope of her hair, any piece of her he could get a hold of as she slowly
drove him mad.

The length of her was plastered to his side as she kissed him and caressed him, her
mouth on his, her hand circling him.

“I’ll beg. Whatever you want.” Sharp, urgent groans punctuated his harsh breaths.
“Just. Don’t. Stop.”

When she did, he thought the tension twisting his muscles would shatter. He reached
for her.

Only to sink into the tight, wet heat of her as she slid herself down and took him
inside her in one smooth stroke.

“I won’t.” Her whisper was a siren’s song in the dark, a silky promise that lived
in the rocking motion of her body over his. His hands slid down to her bottom and
moved with her, lifting and falling until he heard her breath grow ragged and felt
her body tighten around him. Sliding a hand in between them, he stroked her until
she stiffened and let out a sharp cry. He grabbed her hips and moved her faster above
him as he pushed into her with a few final of sharp thrusts. The spill of his release
was a lightning bolt that electrified his entire body.

Sweaty flesh slid against the same as she dropped on top of him. He was careful to
keep himself inside her as he rolled them both onto their sides. Her arm draped limply
over him as she lay with her eyes closed, breath easing back to normal as he trailed
fingertips up and down the length of her spine.

Every once in a while she shivered at his touch.

“Thank you for making me stay,” she whispered without opening her eyes.

The soft words of gratitude were a knife in the gut. It was harder to ignore the guilt
with her curled up quietly next to him, their bodies still warm and connected in the
aftermath of their lovemaking.