That caused her chest to feel tight. No way did she want Marlon anywhere near here. “What about Alma and Simon? Will you be questioning them again, too?”
“Oh, yeah. First thing in the morning. Alma’s at home. Raleigh called to tell me that. I don’t know about Simon. Like Marlon, he didn’t answer, but there’s no sign he’s on the run or anything.”
No, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t responsible for what was going on. Rachel had ruled out Alma as being behind this, but she certainly hadn’t ruled out Simon.
And that left her with one other suspect she wanted to ask about. “Any idea where Brad is?”
“Not missing, that’s for sure. He just stormed out of here.” Egan paused. “I’m beginning to think Brad has spies everywhere.”
Rachel made a sound of agreement. “He said he’s got someone keeping an eye on Mom.”
“Yeah, I’m fixing that. It’s a nurse, and I got her name from Brad.” He paused again. “I also got something else from Brad. He said you had a pregnancy test delivered to the ranch. Is it true?”
She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. “How did Brad know that?”
Egan groaned. “So it’s true. And as for how he knows, my guess is he’s got a spy or two here in town, as well. Are you pregnant?” He came right out and asked the question.
Rachel considered dodging it, but her brother wasn’t a fool, so he probably already knew the answer. “I don’t have test results yet, but I’m sure I am.”
He didn’t groan again, but Rachel could practically feel him scowling. “It’s Griff’s baby,” he stated. “And no, you don’t have to confirm it. Griff didn’t, by the way, when I asked him about it.”
“You what?” she snapped. “Why would you ask Griff something like that?”
“Because I told him that Brad knew about a pregnancy test being delivered to you at the ranch, and I figured Griff’s several moments of stunned silence said everything I needed to know. Do you need me to kick his butt for you?”
It was such a big-brother thing to say. “No.” But she apparently did need to talk to Griff. He was probably beating himself up right about now. “Just keep this to yourself,” she added. “Because I don’t want it getting back to Mom until I’ve had a chance to tell her.”
She ended the call with Egan and went out into the hall. She could hear her father and Ruby chatting about some food deliveries they needed to postpone because of security reasons. Since Griff didn’t seem to be in on that conversation, she went to his room, and when she knocked, it was only a few seconds before the door flew open.
And she saw Griff naked.
Well, almost naked, anyway. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and even though he was wearing jeans, they weren’t zipped all the way. Judging from his damp hair and soap scent, he’d just gotten out of the shower. Rachel hoped it’d done him more good than it had her, but his expression said otherwise.
He still had a towel in his hand, but he stepped back so she could come inside. “You talked to Egan,” he said, shutting the door.
She nodded. “He knows I’m pregnant.”
Griff’s eyebrows lifted. “Is he on his way over here to beat me to a pulp?”
Rachel couldn’t help it; she smiled. Though this definitely wasn’t a smiling situation. “Egan will accept this.” Only because he didn’t have another choice. “He just wants to make sure I’m okay.”
Griff stared at her. “Are you?”
She stared back. Which probably wasn’t a good idea because of his lack of clothes. She had some incredible memories of touching and kissing his bare chest, and seeing him like this brought all that back. Not just the memories but also the heat that went along with them.
“Are you okay?” she asked, turning the tables on him.
He gave one of those half smiles, put the towel aside and reached for his shirt, which he’d draped over the back of a chair. Part of her hated that he was covering up, but Griff must have known it wasn’t a good idea for them to be behind closed doors while one of them was half-naked.
He walked closer to her while he was still buttoning his shirt, and she took in more of his scent. The soap, yes, but Griff’s own scent was beneath that, and it gave her body another of those heated tugs that she didn’t need.
“Since Brad knows about the pregnancy test,” Griff said, “I’m sure he can guess what went on between us.”
That didn’t erase the heat she was feeling for Griff, but it did cool her down some. That’s because she followed it to an easy-to-see conclusion. Brad was already upset with her, and this definitely wouldn’t help. But would he do something stupid?
Maybe use his spies to spill the news to her mother?
“Yeah,” Griff mumbled, when she groaned. “You definitely need to keep your distance from him. And Court will make sure Brad doesn’t have any contact with your mom.”
“That’s a good start. But I should tell my mother.”
“After what happened earlier, you’re not going to the hospital.” He sounded like a lawman with that order.
“No,” she agreed. She could still hear the sound of those gunshots. “I can call her in the morning.”
Though she hated to give her mom that kind of news over the phone. At least she’d be able to tell her father and Ruby in person, and Rachel turned to go downstairs to do that. But that meant walking past Griff.
He was clothed now. For the most part, anyway. His jeans were still unzipped, and he’d missed the bottom buttons on his shirt. The opening created enough of a gap for her to see some of his stomach. And just like that, more memories came. She hadn’t been sure anything could stop the sounds of the attack in her head, but she’d been wrong. That stopped it.
Worse, Griff had followed her gaze and knew what had caught her attention.
Their eyes met, connected, and he seemed to be waiting for her to do something. Maybe for her to make the first move. Or to come to her senses and leave. He had no doubt figured that he shouldn’t be the one to start something that shouldn’t happen in the first place.
At least that’s what she thought.
But she was wrong.
Griff cursed, the profanity aimed at himself, and he reached out, sliding his hand around the back of her neck. Still cursing, he pulled her to him and kissed her.
* * *
FROM THE MOMENT that Rachel had come into his room, Griff had told himself to keep his distance from her. That hadn’t worked right from the start, because he’d seen the heated look in her eyes.
A look that he was certain was in his own eyes, too.
But with some willpower, he could have kept it at just a look. Apparently, though, he was fresh out of any shred of willpower tonight.
The kiss sure didn’t help, either. Because there was plenty of fire when he touched his mouth to hers.
Still, he could have forced himself to back away if Rachel hadn’t made that silky sound of pleasure. Along with that, she moved her body right against his. Griff knew that no amount of willpower was going to stand a chance about that.
It was Rachel who deepened the kiss, and she slipped right into his arms as if she belonged there. Certain parts of his body believed that she did belong there. But Griff tried to hang on to what little common sense he had left.
“You’re pregnant,” he reminded her, though it apparently was a dumb thing to do.
She pulled back, blinked, and even though she didn’t come out and voice it, her expression said, “So?”
She was right, of course. Pregnant women kissed and had sex. Still, most women probably didn’t do that when they were still coming to terms with their condition.
“This could be a reaction to the spent adrenaline,” he murmured, trying again.
It wasn’t any stronger an argument than the pregnancy one—even if it was a possibility. Obviously, though, Rache
l wasn’t going to let that get in the way, because she came right back to him for another kiss.
The first kiss was tame compared to this one. This was foreplay, plain and simple. And Griff knew if he was going to put a stop to this, then it had to be now. His mistake was savoring the kiss and the feel of her a little bit longer. It was just enough time for him to pass the point of no return.
Cursing himself again, he hooked his arm around her waist, snapped her to him and did his own share of deepening the kiss. Once he’d done that, he knew this would lead to only one place.
The bed.
Thankfully, they weren’t that far away from it. Judging from the sudden urgency of Rachel’s kisses, the foreplay wasn’t going to last that long. It hadn’t the other time they’d been together, either, but he intended to savor this no matter how soon it ended.
Rachel slid her hand in the opening of his shirt, her palm landing on his stomach. And she touched him. Along with that kiss, it packed a punch, and the punch got stronger when she pulled him against her so that their bodies were aligned in a perfect way. Well, it would have been perfect if she hadn’t had on so many clothes.
Griff did something about that.
Rachel was wearing a loose cotton dress, and he caught the bottom of it, pulling it off over her head. Of course, that meant breaking the kiss for a couple seconds, but they went right back to it as soon as he tossed the dress aside.
He wasn’t the only one with the notion of getting naked, because Rachel rid him of his shirt. Or rather, she did after torturing him while she unfastened the rest of his buttons. The process involved a lot of touching, and by the time she’d gotten it off him, Griff was burning for her.
The burn went up a huge notch when he unclipped her bra and her breasts spilled out into his hands. No way could he miss not kissing her there, so he lowered his head, took her nipple into his mouth and got rewarded with another of those silky sounds of pleasure.
Even though she was clearly enjoying it, Rachel didn’t let the breast kisses go on much longer. She went after his jeans, unzipping him, and slid her hand down into his boxers. That did it for foreplay, and Griff hoisted her up and carried her to the bed.
He kept kissing her when he put her on the mattress, but hadn’t planned on landing on top of her. He’d intended to drop down by her side. Rachel, however, pulled him down so they were face-to-face. There weren’t many things that could have gotten Griff to slow down, but seeing her did it.
Man, she was beautiful.
She always had been, but she seemed even more so now. Maybe because of the fire that was in her eyes. Or maybe because of the way she was looking at him. Griff reminded himself that this was about lust, but at the moment it seemed like a whole lot more.
She held the eye contact while she shoved off his boxers. Griff did the same when he rid her of her panties. He wanted to hold on to this for a long time, but that wasn’t possible. Rachel lifted her hips, taking him inside her, and Griff knew it would be over much too soon.
Because his body gave him no choice, he moved, pushing into all that tight heat. And Rachel moved, too. There was definitely no hesitation as she took everything he was giving her and gave just as much right back.
Soon, very soon, Griff’s mind went to a place where reason didn’t exist. He had to finish this. Had to finish her so they could find some kind of release.
He adjusted her enough to give her the pressure she needed. It didn’t matter that they had been together only one other time. Griff just seemed to know the rhythm of her body. And he carried her right over the edge.
Rachel made another sound. It was more of that silky pleasure mixed with relief. That was his cue to let himself go. Griff gathered her into his arms, kissed her and gave in to the fire.
Chapter Fourteen
Griff’s kiss felt a little bittersweet to Rachel. She’d known that the sex wouldn’t last, but the kiss—and his climax—were a reminder that it might be a while before this could happen again.
If ever.
Now that some of the fire had been sated, Griff might remember that this was the last thing they should be doing. After all, there was a would-be killer still out there somewhere, and Griff, she and her entire family were in danger. His sister, too, since she was in the house. Sex shouldn’t have been on the agenda, and yet it’d seemed as necessary to Rachel as taking her next breath.
When Griff lifted his head, she saw the regret that was already starting to show in his eyes. Rachel huffed and kissed him again. He tasted just as good as he looked, and at first she thought she could keep him in the moment if the kisses continued. But Griff grumbled something and rolled off her, landing on his back.
“The baby,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Oh.
Rachel certainly hadn’t forgotten about being pregnant, but she’d become so lost in the pleasure that she hadn’t considered it might not be a good idea for Griff’s weight to be on her like that. Still, she hated the fact that he was no longer inside her.
Griff helped, though, with that loss she felt. He pulled her into the crook of his arm so that their bodies were touching. It wasn’t anywhere near as intimate as sex, but it was still nice. Plus she had a great view of his naked body. There was something to be said for that.
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry for this,” he told her.
Good. That was a start. Rachel had been afraid he was going to put all the blame for this on his shoulders. If there was any blame, that is.
“There’s no reason for you to apologize. I started it,” she reminded him. “I kissed you first.”
She considered adding more to that, but it probably wasn’t a smart idea to admit to Griff that she’d been thinking about getting him naked. Not just tonight, either. She’d been thinking about it for weeks.
Heck, for years.
He leaned over, kissed her. “This should make us even then.” And he let the kiss linger for a few steamy moments.
No, it only made her want him all over again, but when Griff sat up, she figured that wasn’t going to happen. “I need to check on Thea,” he stated.
“Thea?” Rachel hadn’t expected him to bring up his sister at a time like this. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. When I checked on her about an hour ago, she was keeping watch over the backyard,” Griff explained while he put on his shoulder holster. “I just need to make sure she doesn’t need a break, because she probably won’t ask for one. And then I need to see if the San Antonio PD found anything on those traffic cameras on the street where Buddy was murdered. Plus you need to eat something, so you should come downstairs with me.”
She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but when he glanced at her stomach, she realized he was probably concerned about the baby. Or so she thought. But then he ducked his head, his mouth lingering a moment over her abdomen. He waited until he had eye contact with her before he planted a scorching kiss just below her navel.
It was a nice moment, but it didn’t last, of course. He groaned again, got up and started dressing. Rachel watched for a moment, just enjoying the view, but then got up, as well. She’d barely managed to put on her clothes when her phone rang, and when she fished it out of her pocket, she saw her mother’s name on the screen.
Her heart dropped.
It was past regular visiting hours, which meant it was too late for her mother to be making a routine call. So Rachel immediately answered.
“Mom, are you okay?” she blurted out.
That got Griff’s attention, and he hurried to her. Rachel put the call on speaker so he could hear.
“People have been keeping things from me so that it won’t upset me. I don’t like that,” her mother said.
That certainly didn’t sound like the threat Rachel had thought she might hear her say. “What kind of things?” And while she had her on the ph
one, Rachel tacked on another question. “And why did want to see Alma Lawton?”
“I, uh, just wanted to meet Alma face-to-face, to ask her...why she’d had an affair and a son with my husband. I needed to know why Warren was with her and if he loved her.”
Rachel sighed. “Mom, I understand why you’d want to talk to her about that, but I’m not sure knowing will help.”
Great. She heard her mother start to sob, and more than anything Rachel wanted to be there with her. To assure her that things were going to get better. At least she hoped they would.
“Are you in love with Griff?” Helen asked.
Rachel was certain that put a shocked look on her face, and it did the same to Griff. “Who told you that?” she pressed. “Was it Brad?”
“Brad? No, I haven’t seen or heard from him in a while now. No, this came from that other man who called me. He said his name was Marlon Stowe.”
Everything inside Rachel went still. “When did you talk to Marlon?”
“I just got off the phone with him.”
“I’ll make sure Marlon’s not at the hospital,” Griff said, taking out his phone. He moved away from her to make the call.
“Mom, what else did Marlon say?” Rachel continued.
“That you’ve been staying at the ranch with Griff. That you’ve been sleeping with him.”
Rachel couldn’t deny any of that, but she wondered if it was a guess on Marlon’s part or if he had the ranch under surveillance. If he was watching them with infrared binoculars, Marlon might be able to tell that she’d been with Griff in his guest room. The thought of him spying on them turned her stomach.
“Marlon was upset with you,” her mother went on, “because he said you lied to his girlfriend and that now she’s very angry with him. I told him you weren’t a liar, but he insisted that you were, that you’d ruined his life. He wanted me to talk to you, to convince you to go to his girlfriend and tell her that you’d made a mistake.”
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