by Lisa Childs
“Reed…”
He kissed her pouting lips as his hands cupped her breasts. Her nipples teased his palms. So he teased back, rubbing his palms across the hard peaks. Then he rolled them between his thumbs.
Sasha’s moan vibrated against his lips. He moved his mouth, sliding it across her cheek, down her silky throat to the soft, delicate skin of her full breasts. Then he lapped at her nipples, laving his tongue over the hard, rosy tips.
“Reed…” She pushed at his shoulders so that he raised his head, meeting her gaze. “Do you need me?”
“How can you doubt what I’m feeling for you?”
“For me. Or for my sister?”
Chapter Nine
Sasha propped her back against the brass headboard of Nadine’s bed. She couldn’t sleep, and with the night almost gone, she’d given up trying. For once the house was quiet. But her mind wasn’t.
For a short time yesterday she’d felt safe in Reed’s strong arms, pressed tight to his bare, muscular chest. Then she realized she had put herself in a far more dangerous position than walking alone in a dark house full of resentful people.
She had risked her heart.
And now her body resented how quickly she’d come to her senses. It tingled still from Reed’s sensual touch and ached for more.
After what she’d seen on the beach, an image of herself in death, Sasha had needed to feel alive. And nobody, not even Charles, had ever inspired her to feel as much as she did when she was in Reed’s arms.
He probably resented her as much as her body did for calling a halt to their lovemaking. But doubts had assailed her. The last man she had been with— Charles—had found her inadequate in comparison to Nadine and left her for her sister. So might Reed.
Had he been Nadine’s lover? Sasha still did not know. Was that the reason for his attraction to her? Because she was Nadine’s identical twin?
If not, then why had he apologized when she’d asked him if he wanted her…or Nadine?
Between deep breaths he’d said something about taking advantage of her. But it had been the other way around. She’d been the one to kiss him…first.
And then he’d kissed her back.
Oh, damn, how he’d kissed her back.
Her breasts tingled, reminding her of what else he’d kissed. Heat pooled between her legs.
Reed may once have had something going with Nadine, but Nadine was gone. Tears burned Sasha’s eyes at the truth of that. But a man wasn’t like a nightgown or a sweater. He wasn’t a hand-me-down passed from one sister to another. Well, except for Charles, and he shouldn’t have been.
It was better that she and Reed had stopped before things had gone any further between them. Her head accepted that. Her body called her a liar.
Dawn lightened the dark clouds that had hung over the island since her arrival but for that brief sunshine yesterday when she’d gone for her walk…and found her sister’s body.
She shuddered at the horrific memory. Who would have done that to Nadine? Why?
To get the house? Sasha was the one who’d inher ited it. Killing Nadine had accomplished nothing except to leave a little girl without a mother. And Sasha without her sister.
“I’m so sorry, Nadine,” she whispered, mourning not only her sister but all the hurt that had festered between them over the years.
If only she could change the past….
But she couldn’t. As she told the kids she counseled, she needed to focus on improving the future…for herself and for Annie.
And leaving the island, leaving the scene of Nadine’s murder, would be the easiest way to do that. Though she couldn’t trust Reed with her heart, she knew she could trust him to find her sister’s killer. He wanted justice at least as much as she did. But was it because he was a lawman or because he’d been Nadine’s lover? The question still haunted her, and jealousy churned her stomach. But she had no right to those emotions, no claim on Reed. And since she had her sister’s body, she could leave Sunset Island.
She was going to leave.
Wasn’t she?
TENSION TIGHTENED the muscles in Reed’s neck as he passed his hand over it and headed up the brick porch steps of the Scott Mansion.
He hadn’t come here to see Sasha. After last night, he didn’t know what to say to her. He’d taken advantage of her vulnerability, not once but twice, and he wasn’t proud of himself because of that. But most damning was that he was sorriest that they had stopped. His body ached to make love to her, to claim her as his. But she wasn’t his.
And she never would be…because he’d been right. She was leaving.
He ducked as he passed under the hanging pots of flowers, blossoms dropping on his shoulders. He brushed off the battered petals, knocking them to the painted boards of the porch. If only he could get rid of his guilt that easily…and his attraction to Sasha.
He’d never been so drawn to a woman, not even Laurie, and he’d been married to her until her lies and betrayals had destroyed them. He couldn’t risk that kind of pain again. If the attraction to Sasha were stronger than anything he’d ever experienced, such would be the heartache when she left.
He had come to see the lawyer. When he’d reached the man on his cell, he’d been told he was at the mansion in a meeting with Sasha.
No doubt she was settling the estate…and packing. She had her sister’s body. All he had to do was find her killer and bring him to justice. Justice. Nadine deserved that.
He nodded at Tommy, the deputy he’d posted at the door. “Sheriff Blakeslee, I let the lawyer inside. Nobody else has come or gone.”
Not yet. But Sasha would be leaving…soon.
“Good work, Tommy,” he offered, working some enthusiasm into his voice.
The young officer grinned, barely able to contain his excitement. Had Reed ever been that young, that green? If so, he couldn’t remember. And today he felt very old.
Dampness from yesterday’s storm clung to the air, and the dark clouds hanging overhead threatened more rain. He couldn’t remember so dismal a spring since he’d moved to Sunset Island. But then, a lot of things had happened that he never thought he’d see on the island.
He preferred the rain.
“I wished I’d been here yesterday,” Tommy said, disappointment dimming his smile. “How do you figure she turned up?”
“The storm. Someone dumped her body in the lake or anchored it just offshore. The storm churned up the water, releasing her,” Reed explained. “I’m going inside now. You can kick off for a while. Get some lunch at the inn.”
The young deputy nodded. “I can keep an eye on the stranger, if you want.”
Reed wanted Charles Norder behind bars, but he didn’t have any evidence to warrant it. All he had was a feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he accepted was probably more jealousy than instinct.
“It’s under control, Tommy. Just get some lunch and get back here.”
He had someone else on Norder, but it didn’t look like the guy was going anywhere. Maybe he hoped to rekindle something with Sasha?
And what did Sasha want?
Last night, it had been Reed…until she’d come to her senses. Or had she simply gotten scared? Had she been afraid that he would reject her as Norder, the fool, had?
Stopping had been the smartest thing for both of them. She wasn’t the only one who was too vulnerable.
After seeing the deputy off, Reed opened the perpetually unlocked door and stepped inside the quiet house. Nobody locked their doors on the island. It had never been necessary…until now, until a killer roamed free.
Sasha and Annie would be safer away from the island. But the thought of them leaving had his heart clenched so tight in his chest it struggled to beat.
Then Annie peeked around the pocket doors of the dining room. Her bright eyes lit up at the sight of him and she toddled forward, arms outstretched. “Wed, pway with me.”
He crouched to scoop her up and hold her close. For the last time?
Strawberry jam left a trail from the corner of her mouth across her cheek. A lock of curly black hair stuck in the residue of her lunch. He tousled the rest of her soft hair. “Hi, gorgeous.”
She giggled and patted his cheek, her fingers leaving a sticky trail on his unshaven jaw. “Ow, pwicky,” she said, pulling her fingers back.
Reed chuckled, then soft laughter echoed his. Over her niece’s head, he met Sasha’s gaze. “I’ve been called worse,” he admitted.
Although her cheeks colored, her eyes sparkled with humor. “I bet you have.”
“Wed’s gonna pway with me,” Annie told her.
“I came to see Jorgen. Tommy said he’s still here.” And for the moment, so was she. He ignored the curious feeling in his chest, the tightness replaced by a flood of something else…something he refused to name.
“I was just on my way out, Sheriff,” the lawyer said with a long-suffering sigh as he joined Sasha in the doorway. Papers protruded from the clasp of his bulging briefcase. Had she just signed away her inheritance? Did she want to leave that badly? Did she want to get away from him as much as she did the killer?
“Are you on your way to the mainland?” And was Sasha riding with him?
“Not just yet. Why, did you want to see me, Sheriff?” Jorgen asked.
Reed struggled to remember why, barely able to drag his gaze from Sasha’s flushed face. “I wanted to know if you’d found out about Nadine’s financials. But we can talk outside.”
All humor left Sasha’s eyes. “You can talk in front of me. I’m—she was my sister. It’s now my house, my missing money.”
He turned his attention back to the sticky toddler in his arms. He wasn’t comfortable talking about Nadine in front of Annie, no matter how little she probably understood of the whole situation. She wiggled down as her nanny came down the hall from the back of the house.
“There she is,” Barbie said, touching a wet towel to the child’s face. “I think I’ll take her outside for a little walk now…if that’s all right with you?”
Sasha paused, studying the nanny.
The young woman lifted her chin, obviously taking offense at Sasha’s reluctance. “I took her for walks all the time when your sister was…”
Alive. But Nadine wasn’t alive. And Sasha probably remembered where Annie was the day her mother had died, on a walk with the nanny.
Barbie swallowed hard. “Sorry. It’s just that we should try to keep things as normal as we can. Shouldn’t we? For Annie’s sake?”
Sasha nodded. “You’re right, Barbie. We should.”
Reed resisted the urge to argue her decision to leave the island and take the child from the only home she’d ever known. Sasha was Annie’s guardian, and it was up to her to decide what was best for the child.
Sasha dropped a kiss on the little girl’s head. “Go ahead. Just…”
“What?” Barbie asked, impatient to leave.
“Be careful.”
“I always keep Annie safe.”
“Both of you. Be careful,” Sasha said.
The young woman’s eyes widened, the resentment leaving them. “I—yes, we will. Thanks.”
Sasha had just overcome another person’s unfounded resentment of her. All this in a matter of days when her sister hadn’t managed it during the years she’d lived on Sunset Island. It probably would be safer for Reed if she left.
“Now should we go back to the dining room?” she asked after the door closed behind the nanny and the little girl.
The lawyer shook his head. “Nothing much to tell. Nadine was draining all the cash from the estate. I already told you both that. But it was cash, Sheriff. No checks made out to anyone. She was spending it.”
“What was she using it for?” Reed asked. “She stayed on the island. She didn’t travel. She didn’t shop. Where’d she spend the money? And for what?” Blackmail. That was what he’d suspected all along. Someone from her past had been blackmailing Nadine, and when she’d run out of money, had killed her.
“She was giving the money to someone,” Sasha said, and he was surprised that she agreed with him. “But why? And who?”
“There’s no way to trace cash. As I said, all the money Nadine withdrew from the estate, she withdrew as cash. If she’d lived, she probably would have been forced to sell the house. She didn’t have enough left to keep it going.” The lawyer repeated what he had told them the first day she’d arrived on the island.
This time, Reed realized that Sasha wouldn’t be able to stay on Sunset Island even if she wanted to. As a high school counselor, she probably didn’t earn enough to pay for the upkeep of a house the size of the Scott Mansion.
“I’m going to repeat my advice,” the lawyer said. “Either sign off on it or sell it. Now.”
Sasha shook her head. “I’m still not ready to make a decision. I want to talk to my parents, and they won’t be calling until Sunday.”
So, Reed had a couple more days.
But for what?
He couldn’t ask Sasha to stay. He had nothing to offer her. His ex-wife had taken something infinitely more important than his money in their divorce. She’d taken his ability to trust.
SASHA TURNED FROM THE DOOR she’d closed behind the lawyer’s stiff back. He wasn’t happy. But then neither was she. She hadn’t asked him to come.
She knew it was inevitable that she’d have to either sign off on the inheritance or sell. But she wasn’t ready yet.
And it had far less to do with getting her parents’ input than with the man standing behind her. Reed. She wasn’t ready to leave Sunset Island yet. She wasn’t ready to leave him.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
This was about something deeper than interrupting her meeting with the lawyer or even last night. This was something infinitely more important to her.
He was sorry he couldn’t offer her more.
Why couldn’t he?
Because of Nadine?
Had she claimed his heart so thoroughly that even after her death he wasn’t free to offer it to another?
And after her humiliation at the altar, Sasha had no desire to ever approach it again…with anyone. Maybe that was the problem with them. Maybe they each were looking for something from the other that they themselves weren’t willing to give. How selfish was that?
“I’m sorry, too,” she said with a sigh, meeting his troubled gaze.
He shook his head and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Sasha, don’t. You have no reason to apologize…for anything.”
She lifted her fingers to his face, running them along the hard ridge of his clenched jaw. “Sticky,” she said, trying to defuse the tension between them.
“Better than pricky, I guess,” he said, his chuckle sounding forced.
“You’re not.” No matter what he’d been called, she knew he was a good man. Maybe one of the last.
She licked her fingertips, tasting the sweetness of strawberry. Then she stroked those wet fingers across his cheek, in a gesture that was hardly as innocent as a mother wiping food from her child’s face.
And there was nothing innocent about the way he caught her fingers and drew them to his lips, suckling the sticky tips into his mouth.
Desire burned hot inside her, melting the muscles in her legs so they felt weak and rubbery. “Reed…”
His green eyes darkened, pupils dilating as his gaze swept over her. “Sweet. So damned sweet…”
She shivered at the sensation of his lips and tongue caressing her skin and the sound of her name spoken in his voice, raw with desire.
For her?
“I won’t be her substitute,” she said, pulling her hand away from his mouth as she tried to stiffen her spine and her self-respect.
“Substitute? For who?”
She laughed with no humor and gestured toward her face. “My twin. Nadine. Your lover.”
His handsome face sobered, his jaw tautening as he succinctly replied, “No.”
Had he answered
her? Had he finally answered her question?
“No? No what?” she probed, sick of everything she hadn’t known about her sister…and Reed.
“No, Nadine was never my lover.”
Had he lied to her? Just like Charles had? Her heart sank with uncertainty, but she laughed off the pain of his possible deceit.
“Nadine was my sister, my twin. I may not have seen her in the past five years but I knew her well. I find it hard to believe that you and she were close but never had that kind of relationship.”
“We were friends. Just friends.”
“My sister was never just friends with a man.” Not even Sasha’s fiancé.
Reed’s green eyes glittered with gold flecks as his intense stare bored into her. “I’m not Charles Norder.”
“I know—”
“No, you don’t,” he said, his voice tight with frustration. “It’s been what? Five years? And you have no other man in your life? You’ve let no one else close. You think all men are Norder.”
“That’s not—” She couldn’t utter the lie. It was true, very true.
She couldn’t defend herself, couldn’t defend her cowardice, so she just wrapped her arms around her midriff for comfort. The silence, broken only by the creaking of the old house, stretched between them.
Reed sighed, a ragged expulsion of breath. “I know how it is, Sasha. I was married once.”
She turned toward him as shock rippled through her. He’d been married. And she’d been jealous of whatever feelings he’d had for Nadine? Her stomach churned with what she now recognized as a petty emotion.
She waited for him to continue, resisting the urge to reach out to him. She could tell his marriage, if it had started happy, had not ended that way.
“That’s part of why nothing happened between me and your sister,” he said. He ran his hand over the back of his neck again. “Maybe Roger Scott had something, with what he said about Sunset Island.”
“That people come here to run away from their problems,” she remembered. She had wondered what Reed had been running from. Now she knew.
“I’d had the cottage here for years. But I didn’t move here until after the divorce. A very bitter divorce.”
