What Belongs to Her (Harlequin Superromance) (13 page)

“What do you mean
everything?
”

“I don’t know. Not yet. But I know there’s more.”

She shook her head, hating that tears burned her eyes. “This is madness.” She drew her hands from his. “The Kyle I knew practically spat in the face of anyone who dared judge him. Why worry about my reaction to his misdemeanors?”

“The circumstances have changed forever for Kyle. He knows that and for the first time ever, he’s scared.”

“Why? What are you talking about?”

“He’s dying.”

She stiffened. “What?”

He shrugged. “It seems even the invincible Kyle Jordon quakes at the thought of facing his maker after everything he’s done. Maybe he liked you more than you realize and the prospect of you finding out what he did to take the fair is more than he’s prepared to face.”

“He’s dying?”

He nodded.

Sasha closed her eyes. How could she scream and shout when John was facing the loss of a parent—no matter how wrong or bad that parent was?

“Oh, God. What a mess. I’m sorry your dad—” She opened her eyes.

“Don’t be. I’m not.” He lifted his shoulders, looked above her head toward the door.

He said the words, but the flicker of sad confusion in his gaze belied the casual dismissal of Kyle’s plight. She shook her head. “How will we work this out?” she whispered. “How can you possibly go against a dying man’s wishes? I want the fair and you’re the one with the power.”

“None of this is about power.”

Sadness enveloped her. “Of course it is.”

“It’s not.”

“Then let me undo everything that has gone on here and make things good again. If Kyle cared about me at all, he’d understand giving me the fair is the right thing to do.”

His gaze wandered over her face once more. “Once I’m sure—”

Anger caught behind her rib cage and burst into flame. She leaped to her feet, shoving her chair backward. “Stop saying that. You don’t know me. You have no obligation to protect me. I can handle—”

“Why do you want Funland if your mother hated it so much? Was willing to sell it to the devil? Don’t you wonder what was going on with her before and after she coerced your grandfather into signing it over to Kyle? Everything feels tainted. Maybe it would be better for both of us to forget this place ever existed and get on with our lives. Kyle wasn’t a good man...despite Inspector Garrett saying she saw good in him.”

Sasha stared, confusion marring her emotion. “She said that?”

“Yes.”

Images of Kyle smiling in that disconcerting and friendly way of his floated through her mind; the times she caught him staring fondly at a child with dark hair and blue eyes—not unlike John’s—when he thought no one was looking.

“You have to sell it to me.” Her heart beat like a hammer as she looked into his handsome face. Into blue eyes darkened with concern and care. “You
have
to.”

“Why?”

“John, please—”

“Talk to me.” He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Let me in. What is it about this place that
really
has such a hold on you?”

He moved closer.

Sasha’s heart picked up speed as his gaze intensely searched hers. She tried and failed to drag some words into her mouth. He moved a little closer and laid his hands at her waist. She knew what was coming but made no move to stop him and instead, leaned closer and smoothed her hands to his rock-hard biceps. He eased her mouth open with lips tender and soft against hers.

His tongue was pliant and enraptured her with the perfect assertion of masculine power she’d failed to accept in any man before. The contact was a spark to a smoldering fire and she met his provocation with ardent fervor as she hungrily kissed him back, a whimper escaping her. Lust that had been building since she set eyes on him fanned to a frenzy by the hurt confusion burning inside and the rightness of being in his arms.

He slipped one hand to the back of her neck and gently tugged her closer with the other. She slid her hands down his arms to grip his strong, sinewy forearms—the part of him she’d wanted to touch in what felt like forever. They didn’t disappoint and all the horror of her memories slipped away. She’d embrace these moments of liberty for as long as they lasted.

Her breasts pressed deliciously against the flat plane of his chest as she and John kissed and tussled, discovered and devoured. Her arousal turned feral and lust ripped through every cell in her body. She didn’t step back and she didn’t slow down. She’d only think when he stopped taking her and they had to face the reality that the fair separated their individual needs, yet it was the catalyst that brought them together.

Control. She had to have control. This was her decision. Not his. She chose when to have sex and with whom. Not the man. Never the man.

So why, for the first time in forever, did she feel John Jordon was the one stripping her of the basic instinct to breathe? Why did the prospect of him taking her feel so exciting, instead of terrifying? Her heart raced with anticipation; her body screamed for his touch. She wanted to have sex with this man. Now. Feel him deep inside her...

Deeper and deeper he kissed her before easing back. She stared at him, silently begging for more. She’d surrender to this moment rather than regret it forever. She felt his pain and heard his plea. She knew this man and, God help her, she really wanted to trust him with all her heart.

“This is crazy, but I want to do this, John. I want to be with you. All of you.”

A low guttural moan escaped him before he whispered her name and dropped his lips to the side of her neck.

CHAPTER TWELVE

J
OHN
’
S
HEART
HAMMERED
as he sucked and nipped at her neck. Her hands moved silkily like brushed velvet over the exposed skin of his arms, driving him insane with the need to have her. He lifted his head. Her dark eyes bored into his, her mouth swollen red and ridiculously inviting. He swallowed. “Are you sure? This feels insane, but I want you. I care about you, Sasha. I care what happens to you.”

Her body trembled in his grasp. “Let’s go in the kitchen.”

He froze, his body wired with tension.

Her cheeks flushed as she took his hand. Silently, she led him toward the office kitchen. Once inside, she dropped his hand and closed the door. The key clicked in the lock.

She turned and they faced each other. John’s mind raced and his libido soared. He lifted an eyebrow at the sexy, fiery intention in her eyes. “You want to do this now? In here?”

She nodded.

Indecision battled inside him. Lust versus gallantry battered his conscience. He swallowed. “We don’t have to—”

“Yes, we do.” She lunged forward and gripped his jaw in her strong fingers, before pulling him forward and hungrily closing her mouth over his.

His mind emptied of consideration as he yanked her shirt from her jeans. Their lips separated for the briefest of seconds as he pulled the shirt over her head, and then she went for his T-shirt. He glanced at her breasts, encased in black satin. The sun-kissed orbs showed above their tantalizing constraint. Christ, he longed to touch her, kiss her and take one sweet nipple deep into his mouth.

He pulled her to him and the cushion of her full breasts pressed against his chest. He smoothed his hand over her back, lower to grip her butt and press her fully against his erection. She whispered his name into his mouth before clawing cruel fingernails over his biceps, higher into the hair at the nape of his neck. Lust, disbelief and yearning rushed and battled through him as they kissed harder and deeper.

This woman was a hot, passionate dynamo who made him feel like everything and nothing at the same time. The delight in her eyes when she laughed made him want her. The sadness, when it came, even more so. He wanted to protect her, lift her, make her laugh and scream and shout and cuss. Time after time, women had come into his life and he’d easily let them go. Sasha Todd was different. He was in the deepest shit possible, but no way could he turn away from her now.

She eased him backward until his butt hit something solid. Her black eyes roamed over his face, his shoulders and the expanse of his chest until he felt about seven feet tall. Pure hunger glinted in the dark depths of her gaze. He’d never seen a woman look more beautiful or sexy in his damn life.

“Christ, who are you?” The question slipped from between his clenched teeth, and he gripped the counter, lest he lunge for her and devour every inch of her golden skin.

She smiled and released her belt buckle and the buttons on her jeans. “I’m the woman you’re going to make love to. Right here, right now.”

With his gaze locked on hers, he followed suit. She kicked off her shoes and he toed off his boots. Their jeans simultaneously fell to the tiled kitchen floor. Dragging his gaze from hers, he took in the sight of her.

Her panties were little more than a scrap of satin. Pink with black polka dots and cut high on her petite hips. His mouth went dry. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to give her pleasure; had to know her inside and out. He reached for her and smoothed his hands to her waist, kissing her forehead, her nose, her cheeks and finally her lips. Her face was hot, her body even more so.

He lifted her into his arms and she locked her legs around his waist, her mouth dropping to his neck and shoulders as he carried her across the room to the counter. He eased her onto the surface and stepped between her legs—at last, he allowed himself to feel her breasts. With his mouth still on hers, he slowly pulled one cup away from her breast and thumbed the hard pebble of her nipple, their tongues fighting for supremacy.

Pulling back, he had to see her, had to be sure this was what she wanted. She leaned back on her hands wantonly and watched him from beneath heavy lids. The desire in her gaze was all the permission he needed.

“You are...” He shook his head and leaned down to take her coffee-colored nipple into his mouth.

She groaned above him, her legs sliding farther apart as her fingers wove into his hair. He sucked and fed as his cock ached with need. The euphoria of being with her this way drove him nearly mad with desire.

“Touch me, John.”

He lifted his head and stared deep into her eyes. Passion and yearning shone back at him as she exhaled against his face, soft and sexy. Unable to take his eyes off her, he slid his hand across her thighs and down behind her knees. He jerked her closer. Her gasp ignited a burst of male pride and he grinned, scoring his fingers to her hip. He gripped the string of her panties and snapped them off, tossing them behind him in one fluid motion.

Another gasp.

Then she smiled so widely, his heart damn near left his chest.

She reached for his face and held his jaw, plunging her tongue deep into his mouth. His fingers moved down her body, inching toward her most intimate place. When he reached it, she was hot, wet and ready. John pressed his thumb firmly against her clitoris.

“Oh, God. Yes.” She pulled her mouth from his and closed her eyes. She dropped her head back.

John savored the look of her throat as the skin shifted and jerked. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as he massaged her and coaxed her forward to slide his fingers inside. God, he had to have her. He couldn’t wait. As if reading his thoughts, she snapped open her eyes. “I need my bag.” She groaned and writhed against his hand, her breaths short. “It’s in the office.”

He swallowed. How had he not thought of protection? He squeezed his eyes shut. “I forgot.” He eased his fingers from inside her and dropped his forehead to hers.

She laughed. “So did I. It doesn’t matter. What matters is which of us is going to go out and get it.”

He lifted his head. Her eyes twinkled and her mouth was stretched into a grin. He smiled. “I guess that would be me then.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Bugger.”

She gave him a little shove. “Be quick.”

He snatched up his boxers and, using them to cover his manhood, strode toward the door. He unlocked it and peered into the office. Not a sound came from within and he made a mad dash for Sasha’s bag, slung over the back of her chair. Gripping it tightly, his entire body humming with tension and sexual need, he ran back into the kitchen. Relocking the door, he turned and froze. She’d removed her bra and now sat naked and wanting on the countertop. He drew in a breath. God, he didn’t know if he deserved to make love to a woman so stunningly beautiful, but he had to. If Sasha wanted him, he’d take her.

She held out her hand. “Give it to me.”

Relief shuddered through him that the moment apart hadn’t brought her to her senses; he didn’t know how he’d walk away now. As she opened the bag, he eased her legs apart and stood between them once more. He softly caressed her shoulders and upper arms as she fumbled in her bag. After far too long a moment, she produced a silver packet.

“Yes.” She whispered and tore it open.

She kissed him, her tongue urgently seeking his. He met her need, his penis and balls aching with desire. She reached between them and slid her hand around his erection and moaned into his mouth. She massaged him, her fingers as smooth as silk, teasing as they inched lower to cup his balls. He slid his hands over her body and down between her legs. He pushed two fingers deep inside and she whimpered and trembled against him.

They touched and caressed a little longer until they were back to the frenzied heat they’d basked in before. Reluctantly, he slid his fingers from her soft, sexy warmth and plucked the condom from her hand. He smoothed on the protection and met her eyes. All humor had vanished, leaving only pure need in its wake.

Holding the back of her knees, John yanked her forward, and she opened her legs wide. He guided himself inside her, and her breath left her lungs on a rush of warm air against his ear. She clung to him, her nails digging into his shoulders. He thrust deep and groaned aloud as the sensation of finding the pleasure he sought crashed down around him.

He held her tiny frame against his body and drove into her. She met him thrust for thrust. Her whispered whimpers and pleas fueled his passion as he waited for her to chase her climax first. His balls ached and his heart raced as he willed her on. Deeper and deeper, higher and higher they climbed until she stiffened in his arms. Satisfaction burst like a fireball in his chest and he leaned back to watch her climax. Her mouth dropped open and her cheeks flushed deep red as she stared blindly into his eyes.

“God, Sasha.” He drove into her again.

The world exploded as he came and, in that moment, John knew he’d never be the same again. He wanted this woman. He needed her. Wanted to make her happy. The problem was...would she ever feel the same way about him? About Kyle Jordon’s son?

* * *

S
ASHA
STRUGGLED
TO
get her breathing back to normal. Her cheek lay on the hard ridge of his shoulder as he smoothed gentle circles over her spine. A stupid smile she couldn’t fight played at her lips as she listened to his heart slow from its rapid hammer to a steady, strong beat. She didn’t want to pull away, didn’t want to look in his eyes and see embarrassment, or worse, regret, lingering in their deep-blue depths.

Any minute now he’d move. Any minute now Freddy could try the kitchen door and find it locked....

She jerked up straight. His mouth was curved into a smile, too. His was wide, his teeth shining bright under the overhead lights. Heat warmed her cheeks as he stared at her, his eyes dancing with almost boyish delight. She laughed and prodded a finger into his chest. “What?”

He shook his head and ran his hand over her shoulder and down her upper arm. “Nothing.”

Her stomach executed an alien and worryingly girlish loop-the-loop. God, she liked him so much. But she had to keep her head in the game...and her heart under control. Feeling more than a little rattled, she pushed him back and smiled. “Stop looking at me like that. We have to get dressed and out of here before Freddy comes searching for one of us.”

He groaned and tipped his head back. “Can’t we hide in here awhile longer?”

She grinned. “No.”

Sliding from the countertop, her body hummed with nerves as she walked around the small space and grabbed her clothes. She snatched up what was left of her panties and screwed them tightly into her hand. Her lingering smile dissolved. What had they done? What would happen next? Emotions were high and her lust even more so. She wouldn’t regret their lovemaking because it was entirely what she wanted, but now what? What did they say to each other? Feel for one another?

His feet sounded against the tiles behind her, followed by the rustle and swish of clothes. She swallowed her nerves and dressed with her back to him, as self-consciousness skimmed her body.

Once she was fully clothed, she inhaled a strengthening breath and turned.

He quirked an eyebrow. “So...what now?”

She stared. That was the big question. “I don’t know.”

His smile faltered and his shoulders slumped. “No regrets?”

She forced a smile. “No regrets.”

Yet, the enormity of what they’d just done crashed into her heart and mind. The fair still hovered between them like an unwavering and dangerous boulder. Nothing had changed. One premature shove from either of them could send the whole thing over the cliff, crushing her beneath its weight.

If he found out about her past, would he think sex was how she got her way? Would he believe her when she said she wanted him because of him and the way he made her feel? That she’d risen above her molestation and used her pain as strength? The world was hers for the taking. Life was there to be discovered, enjoyed and grasped at every opportunity.

She wasn’t ignoring the fact that the sexy confidence and intelligence that lingered in his cool blue eyes had pricked at her heart from the first moment he looked at her. Her passion for him wasn’t about insecurity or what she had to gain. It was something so primal it pulled at her, making her yearn for his hands to touch her, his lips to kiss her and his penis to push deep inside her until nothing else mattered but how he made her want to climb into the sky and pluck out the sun.

Her heart shuddered. Why would he believe that when she scarcely could?

She tilted her chin and dragged her strength up from her toes. “We’ll put what happened here on the back burner for a while. We have to deal with the revelation you suspect my mum had dealings with Kyle. That’s the most important thing right now.”

He stared at her, and a flash of something—maybe disbelief—or hurt—filled his gaze before he blinked and it was gone. He nodded, his face impassive. “Absolutely.”

He brushed past her, and Sasha stood stock-still. She closed her eyes when the door clicked open behind her. She wanted to move, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to chase after him and tell him she didn’t do what they’d done for anything but the desire to be intimate with him...for a few blessed moments. She didn’t lay herself wide open to anyone, and her every truth had been there for him to take or reject whenever she kissed or touched him.

Forcing herself to move, she stuffed her panties into her bag before hurrying to the sink. She quickly washed her hands, gratefully splashing cold water over her hot face and neck. Her body yearned for John’s from the moment she saw him and her desire was as confusing as it was exhilarating. Did he feel their connection as she did? Or was she alone in the mess of her runaway emotions? She cursed. She didn’t want to feel this way about him. She wanted him to stay in the safety of enemy camp and not blur the battle lines.

Turning off the faucet, she grabbed her bag, left the kitchen. She wouldn’t hide or run away. She would face whatever they decided to do next. One thing was certain, whether either of them liked it or not, from now on they both had to work out the problem of what happened next. It was the only way they could move past the mistakes and selfishness of their parents.