Trouble In Triplicate

by Barbara Boswell

Caine stiffened and drew in a sharp breath. "Juliet!" He grabbed both of her hands, shackled her wrists with one big hand, and held her away from him.

  "Didn't you like it?" she asked with beguiling innocence. "Don't you want me to touch you?" Her hands might be manacled, but her feet were free. She began to stroke his calf with her toes.

  He looked down into her wide eyes. "There's a word for a sexy little tease like you," he said through clenched teeth. "And it isn't virgin."

  "That's all right, because after tonight I'm not going to be one." She smiled up at him, and Caine felt his willpower fading fast. Her smile captivated him, excited him, aroused him. And it was only one of the many potent weapons in her feminine arsenal.

  "Aren't you?" he murmured huskily.

  Their eyes met and locked for a timeless moment. Juliet felt a sharp stab of sensation deep in her abdomen. It was suddenly quite difficult to breathe.

  "Juliet." He whispered her name as he lowered his head to hers.

  She raised her face to him, wanting his kiss with every fiber of her being. Their lips touched. The kiss was gentle at first. Caine's lips brushed hers almost tentatively, until she sighed and opened her mouth under his. Their tongues touched and teased and stroked as the kiss deepened and their mouths fused hotly.

  Her arms twined around his neck and her fingers explored the springy thickness of the hair at his nape. She slid her palms over the brawny muscles of his shoulders and back. "Caine! Oh, Caine ..." Her head fell back over his arm when he lifted his mouth from hers. He buried his lips in the sensitive hollow of her throat. Her knees felt shaky and her legs seemed to have turned to rubber. It was becoming exceedingly difficult to stand, and she clung to him to bolster her weak limbs. She felt the strongest urge to lie down. . . .

  "I don't want you to be afraid, sweetheart." Caine's voice was low and gentle against her ear. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise I'll take care of you."

  Juliet cuddled closer. His words were superfluous. She had no fears. She knew he would never hurt her. She trusted him completely, she realized a little dizzily. She felt as if she had known him forever, as if she'd been waiting her whole life for him to finally come and claim her.

  He scooped her up in his arms as easily as he would lift a doll and carried her to the bed. His lips quirked at the sight of the covers so carefully folded down. "You know you're really shattering the old myth of the cringing, reluctant virgin, Juliet."

  "I've never been cringing or reluctant." She rubbed her cheek against the curve of his shoulder. "I've just been waiting for you, Saxon."

  "My own personal Waterloo," he said wryly. He laid her down on the pale blue sheets.

  "You're much too big to be Napoleon," she said. "But it's a nice change from your usual football metaphors."

  He chuckled. "A very feisty virgin." He sat down on the edge of the bed.

  Juliet lay still, waiting for him to lie down beside her. The dim light from the lamp on the bedside table cast shadows throughout the room, and the rain continued to pound against the window. She drank in the impressions, knowing that she would always remember them, as she would always remember this night.

  Caine remained sitting on the edge of the bed, close beside her, the towel still fastened securely around him. Her gaze was drawn to his face. He was watching her intently, his expression thoughtful. With one long finger he reached down to flick the bright blue and silver earring that dangled against the curve of her neck.

  "How long have you had your ears pierced, Juliet?"

  She gaped at him. It was, most assuredly, the last thing in the world she'd expected him to say. Here they were, scantily dressed in a canopied bed in a cozy, darkened bedroom, and he casually asked when she'd had her ears pierced!

  "I had them pierced during my last year in junior high," she managed to reply. "About twelve years ago."

  "And did your sisters have their ears pierced at the same time?"

  She nodded. "I was dying to have it done. Randi was deathly afraid of the needle and Liwy was pretty much indifferent to the whole thing." What a bizarre conversation this was, she thought, and her eyes mirrored her confusion.

  "But once you had your ears pierced Olivia and Miranda went ahead and had it done too." It was a statement, not a question. Caine was watching her closely, his amber eyes never leaving her face.

  "Yes. Randi actually fainted when they did her first ear. So they did the other one before they revived her." Juliet grinned at the memory.

  "And your hair." He idly stroked the soft dark strands. "I remember going to some high-school function of Sophia's and seeing you triplets there. All three of you wore your hair long then, almost to your waist. When did you decide to cut it?"

  "I decided that the style was too schoolgirlish for an eighteen-year-old," she said. "I had my hair cut for the first time the month before we left for college." She stared at him, clearly baffled by the odd questions. "Are you brushing up on the Post family history or something? It's not necessary, you know. I'm not going to quiz you."

  "Can I safely assume that Olivia and Miranda had their long hair cut in a similar fashion shortly after you did?" Caine persisted.

  "Yes, within a week. Liwy decided that long hair was too much trouble when she saw how easy my short style was. Randi hated the idea, but she made an appointment anyway. She cried the whole time the hairdresser was cutting."

  "I see."

  Caine's enigmatic gaze perplexed Juliet further. She sat up a little, supporting herself on her elbows. "What do you mean, 'I see'?" she demanded.

  His big hands cupped her shoulders. "Just verifying a hunch, sweetheart." He shifted his weight, turning toward her and pushing her back down against the pillows. "I've always been adept at picking up nuances and subtle trends in the pregame films."

  "What?"

  "Another one of my atrocious football metaphors, sweet. Lie down, Juliet." With one lithe movement, he was in bed beside her. He pulled up the covers before switching off the bedside lamp. "Tonight we're going to pretend we're married."

  Juliet's heart began to thunder against her ribs. His phrasing was a little odd, but she decided that it was rather nice. She heard him fumbling in the dark and felt the mattress springs bounce as he moved about. What on earth was he doing? She didn't dare ask. Growing more nervous by the moment, she lay on her side of the bed, flat and still, her breathing shallow and her pulses racing as she waited for him to reach for her.

  He didn't! The minutes passed. The waiting was interminable. She shifted slightly. Her eyes had gradually become accustomed to the darkness and she cast a covert glance at Caine, lying beside her. They were not touching, though Caine dwarfed the bed. He had tucked the top sheet and blanket between them, creating a definite barrier.

  "Caine?"

  "Go to sleep, Juliet."

  She sat up abruptly. "But we—you—you said ..."

  "I said we were going to pretend we're married, Juliet. And we are. We're in bed strictly to sleep. Now. lie back down and go to sleep."

  She didn't move. "You're not serious! Are you?" she added uncertainly.

  "I'm quite serious, Juliet."

  "But I thought—" She paused, caught her breath, and swallowed hard. "Don't you . . . want me, Caine?"

  "I want you very much, Juliet." His voice was low and lilting in the darkness. "But when we make love—and we will make love, Juliet, I have no doubt of that—it will be because you want me as much as I want you."

  "But I do!"

  "You want to lose your virginity, sweetheart," he said a little roughly. "This seems to be the year for it. After all, both your sisters have. You've always been the leader, done things first, but this time your sisters beat you to it, didn't they? And now you're presented with a convenient time, place, and man, and you've decided to play catchup."

  "Oh! That's not true at all, Caine Saxon!" She leaned across him to switch the lamp back on, then sat up and glared at him indignantly.

  He sat up too. "Think about it
, Juliet. You and your sisters have observed all the milestones together over the years. Some didn't involve a choice. You probably walked and talked around the same time, you got and lost your teeth about the same time, you graduated from school at the same time. But you've done everything that involved a choice around the same times too. Like getting your ears pierced and having your hair cut. And now you're determined to follow your sisters' lead and sleep with a man."

  Juliet flushed with anger. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You couldn't be more wrong, Caine Saxon! I'm insulted that you think I'd hop into bed with any available male simply to—to equal some nonexistent record with my sisters."

  "Are you saying that I'm the only man you want? The only man you would allow to make love to you, Juliet?" He studied her with piercing dark eyes.

  He knew what answer he wanted to hear, of course. Somewhere during the course of the evening his feelings about Juliet had crystallized. He wanted her physically, yes, but he wanted something more from her as well. Something much more. Being her first lover wasn't enough for him. He wanted to be her only lover.

  "I—I—" Juliet stammered then lapsed into silence. She hadn't fully realized it until Caine himself had put it into words. He ujcis the only man she wanted, the only man she could ever conceive making love to her. But to blatantly admit it to him? She felt the hypnotizing pull of his gaze, drawing her to him, making her feel helpless in his power. And if she were to admit how much she wanted him, that he was the only man she wanted . . .

  "Not going to answer?" he asked, then shrugged. "Then I'll answer for you, Juliet. I am the only man for you and you do want me, but nevertheless, I intend to wait."

  The arrogance of the man! she thought, incensed. If Caine Saxon believed he could dictate to her and expect docile submission, he was in for quite a surprise!

  "Oh, do you?" Her temper ignited like a match-stick on flint. "Well, you're going to have a long wait, Caine Saxon. A lifetime wait, because if you think that I'm ever going to let an—an arrogant beast like you touch me, you're sadly deluded!"

  His lips curved into a wry smile. "Let me get this straight, Juliet. If I don't perform on demand tonight, you'll never grant me another opportunity."

  Put like that, it sounded so crass, so . . . unfair, she thought. But he was the one who was unfair. She felt confused and disappointed and more than a little embarrassed. And wildly, passionately angry. And it was all his fault! "You'll never have another chance with me, Caine Saxon, because after tonight I'm never going to see you again!" She flung the words at him.

  "You'll see me."

  The calm assertion enraged her further. "I won't. And don't think you can drag me into any more of your stupid reconciliation plots for Randi and Grant. She's moved into a new militant phase. My sister doesn't want or need your brother anymore, and I don't want or need you!"

  "Are you challenging me to prove you wrong, Juliet?" Caine's voice was so calm that she failed to note the fire in his eyes.

  "I don't care to talk to you anymore." Juliet flipped dramatically over on her side and pulled all the covers around her. "Turn out the light, please. I'm going to sleep now."

  "You're used to calling all the shots, aren't you, Juliet?" He sounded amused. "If you're tired of talking, the talking has to stop. I'll bet your sisters would obediently turn out the light and go to sleep, just like you told them to." With one easy movement, he lifted her out of her cocoon of covers and laid her on her back, anchoring her in place with one incredibly strong leg. A leg that was encased in blue jeans. So that's what all the thrashing about had been, she realized. He had been getting dressed! "Let me go!" Her eyes were glittering with fury.

  "I thought you wanted me to make love to you. In fact, you ordered me to do it."

  "I did not! Anyway, I've changed my mind. You can just take your magic hands off me, Caine Saxon!"

  She'd meant to annihilate him with her sarcasm, but Caine wasn't annihilated. He laughed instead. "Sorry, honey, your days of ruling the roost are over. I don't take orders very well." His lips caressed the curve of her ear and moved tenderly along her jawline, her throat. "But I'm very good at giving lessons." One large hand traveled over her rib cage to rest just below her breast. "And there are a few that you need to learn."

  Juliet swallowed. She was suddenly very aware of the acute vulnerability of her position. Caine Saxon was big and strong. Perhaps it had been a mistake to antagonize him.

  "Lesson number one." His hand slid over her stomach and down to her bare thighs. "You're not in command any longer. I'll never blindly follow your lead like your sisters have done in the past."

  "I never expected you to!" she insisted, but her voice was weak. His hand slipped under the camisole and stroked her abdomen. His fingertips stretched higher to brush the undersides of her breasts with tantalizing, feather-light caresses.

  Juliet felt an almost overwhelming urge to press herself into his hands. She arched a little and tried to stifle the moan welling up in her throat.

  "Good," he said. "I'm glad we've straightened that out. Now, on to lesson number two." His hands curved over her breasts and he began to fondle the milky white softness until both sensitive mounds swelled and tautened under his touch. "You're going to belong to me," he said huskily. "Only to me."

  He continued to caress her with maddening, rhythmic urgency, and Juliet drew in her breath as waves of heat stormed through her body. "Do you understand, Juliet?" He leaned over her, watching her mindless response to his sensual touch. "You're mine."

  She closed her eyes, filled with a previously unknown hunger. The whole world had narrowed to this room, this bed. She twisted restlessly beneath his hands, still confined by the powerful strength of his thigh. "Caine." She whimpered his name in a wild little cry of need.

  "It's all right, baby," he said soothingly, slipping the camisole from her with one deft motion. "I just want to see you, to look at you. ..." His voice trailed off as he gazed down at her bare breasts. "You're beautiful, Juliet," he breathed. One long finger traced the outline of her taut nipple. "So pink and white, so hard and tight. And ... all for me?"

  She trembled with the force of the emotion rushing through her. "Yes, Caine," she whispered. "Yes." She reached out her arms and he crushed her to him. His mouth covered hers, demanding an impassioned response that she was only too eager to give. She wanted to give everything to him, to please him, to bind him to her with a kind of primitive, elemental pleasure that he would never find with anyone else.

  When he lifted his mouth from hers she felt bereft. Then his lips closed over her nipple and sent shock waves of sensuous delight rolling over her. "So sweet," he murmured. "My lovely Juliet."

  She couldn't suppress a moan.

  "Yes, darling," he whispered. "Let me hear what I'm making you feel." He nibbled and sucked on the rosy peaks until her whole body was one aching throb.

  "Do you want me, Juliet?" His voice was low and deep against her ear. He inserted his tongue inside the delicate pink shell, and she squirmed as a piercing dart of sexual excitement hit its target in her very core.

  "Do you need me, Juliet?" he continued softly. "I want to hear you say it, love. I want to hear the words from you." His hands left her breasts to caress her stomach, her hips and thighs. They moved slowly, methodically, with mind-shattering sensual pressure. Up and down, over and over again.

  "Yes, Caine," she cried. She felt as if every single inch of her body was sensitized and aching for him. When his hand slipped inside her panties she held her breath, and a hot flood of anticipation swept through her. "I want you. I need you!"

  Her words seemed to reverberate in her head. Her blood was pounding so loudly in her ears that she could hear nothing but the primitive rhythm that was echoing in her brain..The intensity of the sensations sweeping through her was unlike anything she'd ever felt, ever imagined.

  He slipped off her panties and she arched toward his hand. His magic hands, she thought dizzily, which were introduci
ng her to a heady world of sensuous, magical delight. She uttered a wild cry as the tension built and built within her.

  "It's all right, sweetheart." Caine's voice penetrated the sensual fog that enveloped her. "Just let go, love. Don't fight it, just go with it."

  She did, and waves of the sweetest sort engulfed her, making her feel as if her whole body had turned to warm honey. Caine picked her up in his arms and held her against his chest, murmuring things to her, sexy words, love words, and she snuggled against him, filled with a delicious contentment.

  Slowly, gradually, she began to surface. She cast a quick peek up at Caine and found his amber eyes upon her, watching her. He always seemed to be watching her, she thought dimly. He smiled at her, and she blushed. She nestled closer, turning her face into the curve of his shoulder.

  "Juliet?" He cupped her chin with his fingers and tilted her head up, forcing her to meet his steady gaze. "There's no reason to feel shy with me, honey."

  She stirred a little and was suddenly very aware that he was still wearing his jeans. And the undeniable evidence of his arousal was hard against her. "Aren't you—" She paused and blushed again. "You're still dressed."

  "Which is the way I intend to stay. I don't dare spend a night in the same bed with you any other way. And before you ask me if I want you"—he caught her hand and pressed it against him— "here's your answer."

  She felt the virile force of him and stared up into his eyes. "Then why—"

  "You ask too many questions, lady." he interrupted in a mock-tough tone.

  "Then why not shut me up?" she suggested, and he obliged by kissing her passionately. "Now put these on," he ordered, handing her her chemise and panties. "And don't ask me why!"

  She was asking him to explain what he scarcely understood himself, he thought wryly. It was all tied up in his feelings for her, and those were evoking strange new emotions within him. He felt possessive and protective. She was so special to him that he was willing to sacrifice his own physical release until he knew that she was emotionally ready for him. He wanted to be more to her than a convenient relief of her virginity, he realized. He was hooked. He realized that too.