She struggled weakly, halfheartedly, until he pressed her arms down at her sides, their fingers linking in a tight grip as he took her mouth in a wild, stormy kiss. Her lips opened, allowing him entrance with a soft, welcoming moan, and she was undone by his taste. “Garrett.”
Not even thinking what she was doing, Kate clung to him and curled one leg around his hips, her skirt hiking up as she nestled his hardness between her open thighs.
He curled a hand around the back of her knee to keep her leg up, and he rocked his hips and pulled back to stare into her wide, sparkling eyes. He bent down to take her lips softly. “You want that, Katie? You want that from me?”
The feel of him, the reminder of what it felt like to have him, hot and hard, inside her, made her feverish.
She wanted to nod, to say yes, to tell him not to ask and just take her, but instead she wedged a hand between their burning bodies and palmed his erection. He hissed out a breath and nipped her earlobe, the closest thing to his mouth, then swept down to devour one aching nipple again.
She moaned feebly and began to pant. Arching her back, she pushed her breast up, as if craving a deeper kiss, so he opened wide around her flesh and sucked hard. “Garrett!” she cried.
A groan rumbled up in his chest as he seized her hands and pinned them over her head, trapping her as he looked at her with wild, hungry eyes.
“I want this so much.” He ducked his head and his lips brushed the tip of her breast, his hand tightening on her wrists.
She felt a new surge of dampness in her panties, her breasts weighing heavily with the need to be cupped by his palms. Kate couldn’t believe how many times she’d dreamed of this, wanted it. She moaned softly and arched her back in invitation once more.
“Garrett...” She pressed herself up to his mouth, and his lips returned to her nipple. Fire swept through her.
Fisting her flowing, flaming hair in his hands, he pulled her face back to look at him. “Tell me you want me.” He spoke in a dangerous tone as his hands slid downward to unzip her skirt.
“I want you,” she gasped.
He kissed her hard, blindingly, as he shoved the material down her hips, then slid her clinging halter top off, as well.
His lips softened on a groan as he cupped her sex in his big palm. His voice was but a breath in her ear, shaking her world like a cannon blast. “I want you, too. I can’t stop wanting you.”
He pressed the heel of his palm to the bundle of nerves hidden at her core, and she released a soft cry.
He dipped his hand into her panties, then watched her as he parted her folds with his fingers and pushed the middle one inside. Her hips rolled while her eyes searched his face and he pushed her arousal even higher.
“Does one feel good? Or would you rather have two?” he rasped.
He watched her expression dissolve as he added a second finger into her snug grip. A surge of moisture drenched his hand, and he bent his head and prodded a taut nipple with his tongue.
That’s when he heard voices out in the living room.
* * *
Kate snapped out of her daze and stiffened when she heard the front door slam shut. She practically flew away from Garrett, jumping as the voices became clear and the two figures appeared in the living room—which adjoined the kitchen.
“—so just be quiet and let me get it real qui...”
Molly and Julian froze in their tracks.
Molly’s eyes flared in mute shock as Kate struggled to right her bra and panties and used the vegetable chopping block to cover what she could. Julian’s eyes widened like saucers as he took in Garrett’s bare-chested state and Kate trying her damnedest to hide behind one miserable little cutting board.
“Okay, I’d rather not have seen that. What about you, Molls?” Julian smirked.
Molly blinked, her cheeks about as red as her hair, but Kate was sure she wasn’t nearly as red as Kate. “Seen what? I didn’t see anything. I think I’ll come visit with Kate another day.”
They shuffled backward through the living room, and even after the front door slammed shut behind them, Kate just couldn’t look at Garrett. Her face burned in embarrassment. They were panting, the sounds of their haggard breaths echoing in the silence. Slowly, he reached out, but she stepped back and shook her head.
“What is it you want from me, Garrett?” she asked brokenly.
His voice was low and textured with wanting. “I want you to stay in the city, Kate.”
“Is that all?”
“For now, yes.” His face tightened with emotion as he watched her slip back into her skirt, and his eyes flashed as he saw her reach for her discarded clothing. “Fine, no.”
“Then what?” Her arms shook as she shoved them back into the arm holes.
“I want you in bed with me.” His eyes raked down her body almost desperately, and she hated how easily her blood bubbled again when he grabbed her hands to stop her from dressing. “Please. Kate. Don’t.”
“So this is about sex,” she said. She pushed his hands away.
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing. Katie, I know you want me, too. You were just trembling in my arms.”
“For how long do you want me in bed? A week? Two?” she dared, her heart twisting in her chest when she tried to recall if Garrett had ever really even been with anyone for that long. “What about Cassandra? Don’t you think she’d like to know about your little side plan here?”
His mouth dipped into an even deeper scowl than usual, then he restlessly raked his fingers through his hair. “Damn, Katie, I keep feeling like I’m falling short here. What the hell is it that you want from me?”
“You’re talking about marriage with another woman, Garrett! And you stand here telling me you fall short? You damned well do fall short! If I’d wanted an affair, I’d have it with someone other than you. I want a shot at having the family I’ve never had, that’s what I want!”
In the instant she spoke those last words, Kate wished she could take them back. It was as though she’d slapped him; Garrett suddenly looked like that young boy, that dark, tormented young boy, so forlorn after what had happened the night of the murders.
“Well, then you were right about one thing,” he said, a tinge of angry frustration in his voice. “I can definitely not give you back what you want.”
“Garrett, you misunderstood me—”
But he was gone, the bang of the door that followed his departure making her wince.
Garrett knew that their half brother, Emerson Wells, harbored no love for the Gages. Even though the Gage patriarch had apparently been screwing Emerson’s mother for years, he’d refused to recognize Emerson as his son and bought the woman off to stay quiet and away from them—something the family had discovered when their father’s lawyer, upon his death, disclosed the existence of another heir who could contest part of the inheritance.
He never did, though Eleanor Gage had thought it wise to pay him a few million dollars to go away for good.
Naturally, if Emerson had half the clout and pride of a Gage—which he apparently did—he would have no intention of ever catering to a Gage’s wishes. So he’d denied Landon’s summons six times during the past several weeks, something that didn’t surprise Garrett. But now, they were running out of time