Inseparable (23 page)

“I was never in any real danger, Reese. I freaked out when
it got dark and got paranoid thinking about the possibility of becoming the serial killer’s next victim. I just overreacted.”

His arms tightened around her waist as he turned her to face him. “No you didn’t. Your mind was dealing with reality. There is a killer out there, and you need to take every precaution.”

He paused for a moment. “In fact, I just finished talking to Clayton, and he’s calling a family meeting.”

Kenna lifted her brow. “A family meeting?”

“Yes, with the Madaris women. Considering what’s going on, he thinks we need to make sure that everyone’s safe.”

She nodded. That was only one of the things she liked about Reese’s family. They were extremely close-knit and looked out for each other. The men were especially protective of the women they loved.

“I’m working in town again tomorrow, so we can ride in together and afterward we’ll swing by Uncle Jonathan’s. That’s where everyone is meeting.”

“You want me to go?”

Reese’s brow arched as if her question was odd. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I? I think whatever is being said will be beneficial to you as well.”

She chuckled softly. “Probably especially beneficial to me, since I acted like an idiot tonight. I know I have to take every precaution, but I don’t want to start being afraid of my own shadow.”

“And you won’t. You should feel safe on the ranch. You’ve known most of the guys for a while, except for the new one, and Joe had him checked out real good before bringing him on. But I do want you to promise me that you won’t go riding alone. Either wait for me, so we can ride together, or let Joe know so he’ll send one of the men with you.”

She didn’t think his request was unreasonable. “All right.”

“So, are you hungry? I’ve put dinner on the table.”

She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

She’d expected him to pull his arms from around her waist, but he didn’t. Instead he leaned in closer toward her mouth and she parted her lips for him. The moment his tongue mated with hers, a silky warmth and sultry pleasure seeped deep into her bones. His tongue roamed all over her mouth and seemed to grow thicker with every place it touched.

She felt his erection pressing hard against the juncture of her thighs, and placed her hands on his shoulders more for her sake than his. At any moment she felt her knees would weaken and eventually buckle.

“Lord, give me strength,” she murmured when he finally released her mouth. She quickly concluded that Reese’s tongue was dangerous. It was as if he’d tried absorbing her taste with it.

She suddenly arched her brow when she thought of something. “You never did say how you knew I was at the condo site.”

He nuzzled her neck with his lips. “You never asked.”

Her mouth curled into a smile. “Very well, now I’m asking.”

Instead of answering, he kept right on doing what he had been doing, but now he’d taken the tip of his tongue and was licking the underside of her chin, leaving a hot, wet trail in its wake and sending jolts of electricity to her core.

She had never considered herself a sexually passionate woman until Reese. She could barely remember the last time she’d slept in her bed alone. It seemed the most natural thing for them to be together throughout the night, and she had gotten used to the hard, masculine body snuggled against hers. It was as if they’d made the transition from friends to lovers with ease.

“Umm, if you keep this up,” she murmured when he started nibbling on her earlobe, “I might have to make you sleep alone in your own bed tonight.”

He suddenly stopped and straightened and met her gaze. “Why?”

“…because we wouldn’t be doing much sleeping tonight.”

He grinned. The look on his lips was so sexy it sent a jolt of desire rushing through her. “But we don’t do much sleeping most nights anyway,” he countered.

“I know, but there’s always a first time,” she said softly.

“True. But not for us, and definitely not tonight. Come on and let’s go eat, so we can make love on a full stomach.”

Kenna glanced across the table at Reese and thought he certainly had a hearty appetite. She blushed when she remembered what he’d said about making love on a full stomach. Just the thought that he apparently enjoyed making love to her filled her with desire.

“Umm, what are you thinking about over there that has you smiling and blushing all over the place?”

“I just realize you haven’t answered my question.”

“And what question is that?”

“How did you know where to find me this evening?” she asked.

He took a sip of his tea and then leaned back in his chair. “What will I get if I tell you?”

She tilted her head back. “I can tell you what you won’t be getting if you don’t tell me.”

His lips curved into a smile. “Sounds like blackmail to me.”

“Call it whatever you like,” she answered.

“Blackmail.”

She laughed and it felt good. She needed that.

“You sound good,” he said in a throaty whisper. “You smell good, too. And to answer your question, your coworker Lynette told me. But only after she was convinced I was okay and wasn’t some stalker.”

“Oh.”

Without warning he reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Ready for dessert?”

She glanced around the kitchen. “I didn’t know you prepared dessert.”

“I didn’t.”

His gaze held hers as sexual awareness passed between them. The chemistry was so thick you could not only cut it with a knife, you could probably butter bread with it.

“What are you thinking?” she found herself asking him.

A seductive smile touched his lips. “I’m thinking of the best place to make love to you.”

She swallowed deeply. “Oh, I see.”

“No, I don’t think you do. But if you close your eyes I’ll paint a vivid picture for you. And you have to keep them closed until I tell you to open them.”

Kenna tried to resist the urge to do what he’d asked but couldn’t, so she slowly closed her eyes.

“Envision this,” he said huskily and the deep sound of his voice seemed to travel across the room and touch her intimately. “The two of us on a tropical island after being shipwrecked. There’s no one else on the island but us. Not another living soul. It’s our island to do with as we please, and the only thing I want us to do for starters is get naked.”

Typical man,
she thought as she leaned back against her chair. Relaxed and feeling like she was on a tropical island with the sun overhead as a breeze floated through the air, she could almost feel the wind caressing her bare skin. And yes, she was naked, as naked as a jaybird, but then so was Reese.

“What’s next?” she asked. Now that he’d gotten her into this little game of his, she found that she was rather enjoying it. She was convinced that if she wiggled her toes, she would feel sand beneath her feet.

“Shh,” he whispered, as the sound came closer.

She heard the chair scraping across the floor at the same time
she felt it being moved backward. Then she was scooped up into Reese’s strong arms. “Keep your eyes closed,” Reese instructed within inches of her lips.

Kenna smiled softly, thinking he was getting bossier. “Where are you taking me?”

“Not far.”

She groaned. That wasn’t saying a lot.

“Let’s get back to your vision. We were on an island lounging under a huge palm tree,” he whispered. “But there’s too much sun for our naked bodies.”

“Speak for yourself. I was enjoying it.”

“But not as much as you’re going to enjoy this.”

“What?”

“Open your eyes.”

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She blinked, not recognizing where she was at first. “Hey, wait a minute. Wasn’t this a storage room—the one off the downstairs hallway?”

“Yes, and see what I’ve done with it.”

Reese had installed a huge hot tub.

She grinned. “When did you do this?”

“Last month.”

She scowled playfully. “And you didn’t tell me. How could you? I’ve been here almost four weeks already.”

“I wanted to surprise you. Besides, I’ve been waiting for a missing part to come in. They installed it today.”

“So you haven’t tried it out yet?” she said, kicking her sandals off.

“No, I thought we would try it out together.”

Kenna shrieked with happiness and threw her arms around Reese before turning back to look at the huge hot tub. It took up nearly the entire room. “What made you decide to get a hot tub?”

“Umm, over the years I’ve heard just how much fun Uncle
Jake has in his. Clayton and Syneda installed one in their home last year, and rumor has it that’s where she got pregnant,” Reese leaned over and whispered.

Kenna chuckled. She already knew what he was thinking. He hadn’t brought her in here to show her how the jets worked. “Do you mind if we try it out now?” she asked, wiggling out of her skirt.

“If you want to…”

Kenna chuckled and shook her head.
Like it’s not what you really want to do right now,
she thought.

Her pulse raced just looking at the way Reese watched her, so she decided she might as well make it worth his while. She didn’t have a body like Alyson Richards, but she was in pretty good shape. “Are you going to just stand there and watch me or do you plan to take off your clothes?”

The sexiest mouth she’d ever seen spread into a half mocking smile. “I plan to watch.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, tossing off her blouse, followed by her bra.

She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, especially the way he was looking at her. He’d seen her body before, but it was as if he was still entranced by what he saw. She figured he liked her breasts since he would kiss them every chance he got and use his tongue to torture her nipples, which were getting hard the more he stared.

She drew in a deep breath. There was only one thing left covering her body, and she watched him lick his lips as she eased her fingers under the waistband of her panties, slowly sliding the scrap of silk down her thighs.

He groaned deep in his throat. She heard it and then she felt heat emanating from his body, making her striptease more daring and provocative. This was Reese. He was her best-friend-turned-lover and with him she could always be herself. At that moment she was standing in front of him without a stitch of
clothing on. And he was definitely taking it all in. The way his gaze was roaming all over her body suggested he wasn’t missing a thing.

“When you get bored watching, let me know,” she said.

He chuckled as he kicked off his own shoes. “I could never get bored looking at you, sweetheart.”

Reese meant every single word he’d said. He doubted Kenna knew just how beautiful she was. Whenever he buried his hard length between that pair of luscious thighs—heaven help him. He was a goner for sure. And on those nights that she rode him…

He pulled in a heated breath just thinking about it. “I hope the water is warm enough,” he said, tossing off his shirt. “If it’s not, I’m sure we’ll heat it up pretty quickly.”

“Probably.”

As far as he was concerned there was no
probably
to it. He needed to make love to her. He needed to know that she was out of danger, because whether she knew it or not, she had been in danger tonight. Any woman on the streets of Houston was at risk. But he would never let anyone harm a single hair on her beautiful head.

“Now I see you’re watching,” he said, easing off his belt.

“Surely you didn’t expect me not to.”

He smiled as he worked his fingers under the waistband of his jeans after unzipping them. Then he slowly eased them down his thighs, over his huge erection that was straining for release. “You know when you asked me about dessert earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Making love to you tonight will be all the sweets I need,” he said huskily in a deep baritone as he reached out and pulled her toward him.

She rubbed her finger tip across his jawline. “Thanks for coming to my rescue tonight,” she said softly.

“You’ve already thanked me more times tonight than you need to. I will always protect you, Kenna. You know that.”
And
although you have absolutely no idea, I will always love you. But I intend to show you and eventually you will.

“Yes, I know.”

Although they hadn’t discussed it, Reese knew she assumed that they had reached some sort of understanding about their relationship. She thought they would do this
lovers thing
for a while and then go back to being friends again. He intended to show her they could be best friends
and
lovers, and that they would never be one or the other.

He started backing her up toward the hot tub while slowly running his hands over her waist. “Did you notice that table over there?”

She glanced behind her. She hadn’t. It was a massage table.

“Today left you tense. I want to massage your body first.” He scooped her into his arms, took her over to the table and placed her on her stomach.

After rubbing warm massage oil into his hands, he went to work, kneading the tension out of her shoulders while thinking her skin was so beautiful and soft. He enjoyed rubbing his hands over her, and of their own volition they would slide below her waist, stroking the firm cheeks of her bottom. It was the very curviest backside he’d ever seen, he thought. He leaned forward and placed a kiss in the center of her back and heard her breathe in a ragged breath.

“You take such good care of me,” he heard her murmur softly.

He smiled, thinking she hadn’t seen anything yet. After massaging her legs all the way down to the calves he worked his way up her body again, and the way she moaned only hardened his erection.

“Let me turn you over, baby,” he said, easing her onto her back.

She stared up at him, met his gaze and felt his heat. If only she knew just how hot he was for her she wouldn’t be looking
at him that way, he thought, squirting more of the massage oil into his palms.

He started with her breasts and saw how they responded to his touch. How her nipples swelled under the palms of his hand. Unable to resist, he leaned down and sucked a hardened tip into his mouth and began laving it with his tongue.