Sex and the Sleepwalker

by Donna Sterling

  A tortured groan escaped her, and she caught his hands in her own. “Cade, I…I have to think about this.”

  Think about this, she’d said. Not get a condom. Surprise made Cade pull back to read her face. “Think about what?”

  “This. Us.” Her expression was troubled as she squirmed from beneath him and sat up. “Having sex.”

  “Don’t think so much.” He levered himself up on one arm and hijacked her mouth in another kiss—a little more urgent than the ones they’d been sharing. A little more impatient.

  She matched his impatience with a roughness of her own, an exhilarating thrust and parry that roused him all the more.

  But then she broke away, panting as if she’d been wrestling rather than kissing. “I know you’re right. I do think too much. And you’re right about our kisses, too.” She paused to catch her breath, her eyes luminous, her color high, her hair tousled and sexy. “Just kissing you makes me hotter than…than…oh, never mind.”

  She initiated the kiss this time.

  Fire leaped within him, and his next kiss pressed her back against the pillows. She groaned, wrapped an arm around his neck and arched against him. He rubbed a greedy hand over her breast until the tender peak stood high and tight and scraped across his palm.

  She gasped, writhed and ran her silky knee up his thigh…up, up, up, to the tip of his erection, sending shards of heat through his groin.

  With a sharp hiss of breath, he plunged his hand in a downward path toward the dark curls glistening between her thighs.

  She caught his hand again, though, just shy of his destination, and held it. “This is wrong. I can’t let myself do this.” She pulled away from him and scooted to the side of the bed.

  Dazed and shaken, Cade watched in disbelief as she rose and pulled up her panties. “I’m sorry, Cade.”

  Sorry. Which meant she was doing it again! Just as she had in college—leaving him all hot and bothered and half-crazed. “Brynn,” he said, his voice inhumanly gruff, “what the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m going back to my room.” She found her rumpled nightgown on the floor, slipped the filmy fabric over her head and smoothed it down her maddening body.

  “Why?”

  “Because I can’t jump into bed with you without even thinking about it.”

  He sprang from the bed, crossed the room in two long strides and trapped her against the dresser, anchoring his arms on either side of her. “In case you don’t remember, you did jump into bed with me without even thinking about it. You also stripped off your clothes, kissed me into a goddamn fever—”

  “I know, I know!” She glanced at the erection straining beneath his briefs, and looked away with a guilty wince. “I’m sorry about that, but—”

  “What are you afraid of, Brynn?”

  “I’m not afraid.”

  “Then what is it?” A thought hit him, and he asked with a curious tightness in his jaw, “Are you in love with someone else?” The tightness spread to his chest. “The guy who makes you think you’re frigid?”

  “No!” She frowned at him, and relief rushed through his veins. “I’m not in love with anyone. And don’t talk about Antoine that way.”

  “Antoine? He’s French?”

  She nodded, and Cade scowled. There was something about Frenchmen that drove women a little crazy. “If you’re not in love with this Antoine, then what’s stopping you from having sex with me? If you think you don’t want to, you’re lying to yourself.”

  “Oh, I know I want to.” Her voice had gone all throaty and her gaze warmed. “There’s always been sexual chemistry between us. I’ve never denied that.”

  Cade pressed closer, longing for the taste of her mouth, the feel of her body moving beneath his.

  Her gaze grew apologetic, though, and he had to hold back a curse. “But…well…” She searched for words that clearly evaded her.

  “But what, damn it?”

  “You’re…Cade Hunter.”

  He stared at her, nonplussed. What the hell did she mean by that? Before he was able to decipher the statement in any rational way, she ducked under his arm and fled across the room, her sheer gown billowing out behind her.

  “That’s no answer,” he called, bewildered, riled and more sexually frustrated than he’d thought humanly possible.

  She didn’t reply, stopping only to scoop up the keys she’d dropped when she first entered the room.

  He fisted his hands to keep from grabbing her and carrying her back to bed. “If you walk out that door, Brynn,” he warned, his voice harsh and uncompromising, “don’t—”

  He stopped, precariously on the verge of saying, Don’t come back to my room unless you’re ready to make love.

  As if she heard what he’d left unsaid, she froze on the way to the door and turned a forbidding frown on him. “Don’t…what?”

  “Don’t…forget that you…said you were going to think about it—about…finishing what we started.” He forced the impromptu words through a throat severely constricted by pent-up pressure. “So, do that. Think about it.”

  She regarded him in clear surprise, then slowly nodded. “I will.” Bowing her head, she hurried out of his room.

  Cade released an explosive breath, feeling as if he’d stopped just short of driving blindly off a cliff. He’d come close to giving her the same ultimatum he’d been cursing himself over for nine long years.

  At least he’d learned from his mistake.

  And that just might have earned him what he now wanted more than anything—one more chance with her.

  4

  THE FIRST THING BRYNN DID the next morning was to order from a local health-food store a special combination of herbs she’d taken back in college to help stop her sleepwalking. She wasn’t sure if the herbs had worked, but she had eventually stopped the disturbing habit, so it seemed worth taking the concoction again.

  She also dug through the crate of papers, letters and mementos she’d kept from her college days until she found the meditation cassettes that might have helped, as well. Again, she wasn’t sure that they had, but they certainly hadn’t hurt.

  She then called the nearest security company and ordered a computerized lock for her bedroom door that required fairly complex steps to open. Steps she couldn’t possibly follow in her sleep. Hoping the new lock would keep her in her own bedroom at night, she paid an exorbitant fee to have it installed that day.

  At least she would have control of her whereabouts at night. Any amount of money was worth ensuring that.

  A workman arrived that morning. As Brynn watched him install the lock, she thought about last night’s debacle. She couldn’t believe she’d gone to Cade’s room, stripped off her gown and climbed into bed with him. As humiliating as that loss of self-control had been, she’d learned something she’d wanted to know. Time had not glorified her memories of Cade. He still kindled an awesome heat in her that no one else ever had.

  Should she explore that heat and see how far it could take her toward the bliss she remembered from long ago? Or should she forget about the utterly thrilling moments she’d spent in his bed, and keep him at a distance?

  It had taken her years to get over the emotional damage he’d done to her, to forget her feelings for him, to convince herself she was better off without him. Now was not the time to backslide. And after being kissed into a sensual heat that still simmered in her blood, she was afraid she could easily do so.

  She wished she didn’t have to see Cade until she had decided what to do. Her duties, however, called for her to put in an appearance at the Friday lunch buffet.

  She didn’t stay long. Uncertain about her plans regarding him and feeling guilty for interrupting his sleep, then leaving him unsatisfied, she barely risked a glance at him while she chatted with the other guests. She escaped to her private suite as soon as possible with a sandwich and cup of cappuccino.

  That was why she missed his startling revelation about himself, which sent Trish and Lexi scurr
ying to her sitting room immediately after lunch for an emergency meeting.

  “A travel journalist?” Brynn frowned at her business partners as if they’d been lacing their coffee with too much Irish Cream again. “Cade told you he’s a journalist?”

  “An author of four travel books.” Trish tossed a business card into Brynn’s lap, on top of a stack of paperwork. Brynn set her work aside, curled her legs beside her on the armchair and read Cade’s card, while Lexi sank down onto the sofa and watched her face for a reaction.

  Brynn’s incredulity grew. “I had no idea. Cade majored in criminal justice in college.” She glanced at her friends in wonder. “Who knew that he’d end up a writer?”

  “And a photographer,” Lexi said. “He showed me the photos he took of the lakes and rivers around here, and they’re all gorgeous. He’s doing a series of books about his travels through the Southeast.”

  Brynn could barely believe it. The Cade she’d known had shown very little interest in writing. “He never mentioned this to me,” she murmured, feeling as if she didn’t know him at all. “He always wanted to be a cop.”

  “Guess he came to his senses,” Trish theorized, her eyes brimming with excitement. Brynn hadn’t seen her this interested in anything since their sorority days. “You do realize what this means, don’t you, Brynn?”

  “What?”

  “If he’s impressed enough with our inn, he’ll put us in his book.”

  “He includes all his favorite spots and experiences.” Lexi sounded as excited at the prospect as Trish did. “Restaurants, beaches, parks, gardens…historic inns.”

  “I’ve already given him a printout of our inn’s history from the 1870s,” Trish said. “And, of course, he knows that Georgia has the oldest state-chartered university in America.”

  “He’s been taking pictures of the house,” Lexi said. “He even had us pose with our guests at breakfast on the sunporch. I made sure he had a menu of my specialties, too, in case he wants to include it in his new book.”

  Trish dropped down onto the couch beside Lexi, and they beamed at each other in rare camaraderie. Brynn wasn’t sure why she felt a twinge of foreboding at their excitement.

  “Anyway, Brynn,” said Trish, “we felt we’d better talk to you about this so you can change your attitude.”

  “My attitude?”

  “Toward Cade. We think it’s important that you make him feel at home here. Welcomed. Pampered.”

  Brynn stared at her, aghast. Trish had no idea what she was asking.

  “He’s really not a bad guy, Brynnie. I know your relationship with him ended badly, and any time you want to talk about that, hon, you know I’m here for you.” Trish paused, looking both sympathetic and avidly curious. She clearly couldn’t remember the details from nine years ago, and Brynn was glad. When she didn’t avail herself of the opportunity to rehash her humiliation and heartbreak, Trish sighed in disappointment and went on. “He’s a paying customer now, and he writes travel books. We have to treat him cordially.”

  Brynn wondered if climbing into bed with him last night could be considered cordial. And if he’d add it to his list of favorite experiences. Highly doubtful. She forced back a hysterical giggle. “I thought I was treating him cordially.”

  Trish and Lexi exchanged glances. “Mrs. Hornsby told me that you nearly threw him out of the inn yesterday at tea,” Trish said.

  “At the time I didn’t know he was a registered guest.”

  “And I saw for myself the way you were glaring at him in the foyer before I left for the evening. And today at lunch you greeted everyone except him. It was painfully obvious you were dissing him. I’m sure he was humiliated.”

  Although he had sent her a searching stare, he hadn’t looked humiliated at all to Brynn. He’d looked as if he might pull her aside and demand to know if she intended to sleep with him. She’d gathered that from one quick, sidelong glance that had left her uncomfortably warm and shaken. “If I didn’t greet him, it was just an oversight.”

  “Oh, come on, Brynn. It’s us you’re talking to,” Lexi chided, propping her sandaled feet with their toe rings and chain anklets on the ottoman of Brynn’s armchair.

  It wasn’t like Lexi to side with Trish against her, and Brynn felt betrayed. After all the conflicts she’d resolved between these two, how dare they gang up on her?

  Trish went on to remind Brynn that they were trying to generate a buzz about the Three Sisters, and how devastating a bad report in a travel book could be. Lexi sat there nodding at every word Trish said.

  Trish then rose from the far end of the sofa with regal poise, her flawless face adopting its executive-at-work look. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want to alienate a customer. So try a little harder to make Cade feel welcome, hmm? I’d be so unhappy if he were to check out early or leave with a bad taste in his mouth.” Glancing at her delicate gold Rolex watch and murmuring something about an appointment at the spa, she left Brynn’s office.

  “Traitor,” Brynn said with a glare as soon as she and Lexi were alone.

  “We’re only thinking of the business, Brynnie,” she said, using Trish’s pet name for her with mischief in her dark eyes. “And Trish might be thinking of the fringe benefits of having a hunk like Cade sleeping beneath her roof—which is something maybe you should think about.”

  Brynn wasn’t ready to talk about Cade yet. Even with Lexi. She answered with a disinterested smile and shifted her attention to her cup of cappuccino.

  “You’re passing up a monumental opportunity here, Brynn.”

  “For what?”

  “To broaden your sexual horizons. Just the thought of Cade worked you up enough to make you sleepwalk into a closet. And you have been looking for a red-hot lover.”

  “No, you’ve been looking for a red-hot lover for me. I’m perfectly satisfied as I am.”

  “That’s not what you said the other day. Have you even talked to Cade alone?”

  “Some.”

  “Well, that’s a start. I myself found him perfectly charming. I didn’t know him very well in school, but this morning he helped me set up tables and chairs in the yard for tonight’s party.”

  Brynn had noticed from the upstairs window that Cade had spent a considerable amount of time with Lexi this morning, and that he’d obviously charmed her. They’d had a high old time laughing, talking and teasing each other. “Well, we’ll have to put a star next to his name for helping,” she responded lightly, “and give him an extra cookie at playtime.”

  Lexi nudged Brynn’s knee with her foot in protest of the sarcasm. “I really appreciated his help. He didn’t have to do it, you know. But now that I think about it, he probably did have an ulterior motive.”

  Brynn hoped her friend wasn’t about to tell her that Cade had come on to her. For some reason, the thought bothered her way too much.

  “I think he still has a thing for you.”

  Her heart contracted, but she merely raised her brows in a silent invitation for her friend to elaborate.

  “He kept bringing the conversation back to you. He seemed especially interested in the men in your life. I’m thinking he’s sizing up the competition,” Lexi said.

  “Or trying to find more ammunition to annoy me with. Did you tell him anything about Antoine?”

  “Not really. I don’t know Antoine very well. He seems to always drop by after my shift is over. But what I saw of him I liked, and I told Cade as much. Six-foot-something, hunky build. Tawny hair streaked blond from the sun. Continental charm. Sexy accent. Old family money. What’s not to like?”

  Brynn nodded absently. Cade was learning far too much about her private business. You’re not in love with the guy who makes you think you’re frigid, are you? She had to learn to sleep with her mouth firmly shut!

  “Then again,” Lexi continued, “Cade isn’t exactly dog food. If a guy like him showed interest in me, I’d give serious thought to seeing if he’s changed since his wild youth. I know he hurt you, Brynn, b
ut we’ve all done some stupid things in our past that we regret.”

  She couldn’t argue there. Her own regret kept her up some nights.

  But she couldn’t take much more of Lexi’s endorsement of Cade. Brynn was already too preoccupied with thoughts of him, and felt as if a battle were being fought inside her head, with both sides taking a beating. “It’s not just a matter of him hurting me. There was also that thing with Rhiannon.”

  “Rhiannon Jeffries, our sorority sister?”

  Brynn bit her lip, immediately regretting the slip. She hadn’t meant to share her suspicion with anyone. It was, after all, just a suspicion.

  “She’s the one he started dating after he broke up with you, isn’t she?”

  “I broke up with him,” Brynn said, hoping to distract Lexi from that train of thought. “Don’t you remember? I—”

  “Rhiannon left school in the middle of that semester because she was pregnant,” Lexi interrupted, too immersed in her musing to be distracted.

  Brynn’s lips tightened. This was much too painful a subject to talk about.

  “Do you think Cade was the father?” Lexi asked, her eyes growing round.

  “I’m really not sure,” Brynn admitted in an attempt to be fair, “so I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Didn’t Rhiannon say that the father of her baby refused to take responsibility?”

  Brynn focused on the far wall, hating to discuss the subject. It still brought a lump to her throat and a pain to her heart. Which, if she was smart, should solve the dilemma of whether or not to sleep with Cade. If unproved suspicions from nine years ago had the power to hurt her, she definitely should not sleep with him.

  Lexi absorbed the implications in silence, flopped back against the couch and shook her head. “We can’t make assumptions like that. It’s unfair to Cade. I don’t believe he’d act that way if he’d fathered a child.”