“Ah, you like that?” he murmured as his tongue made arousing circles.
She liked him. She almost said so—almost blurted out that these sensations would be meaningless to her if he were anyone else. But she knew that would make him uncomfortable. It’s impossible not to love him, his mother had said. That was true—but it was equally true that he’d never commit.
He spent considerable time on her other breast, the sensitive skin on the inside of her arms and her neck before releasing her wrists. Then she was free to touch him wherever she wanted, and she took full advantage of it—until his mouth returned to hers and his fingers found the part of her that wanted him most.
“Brandon...” Her voice caught on his name.
He was so engrossed it took him a second to respond. “What, sweetheart?”
He sounded dazed. She knew she probably sounded the same. Or maybe she sounded desperate. She was certainly feeling desperate, craved nothing more than the completion he promised.
“Do you have birth control?” she asked. “Because I...I have nothing.”
“I bought some condoms this morning.” His mouth was at her breast again but his fingers...they were torturing her even more sweetly.
“This morning?” she repeated.
He lifted his head long enough to grin at her. “I was thinking positive.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, you were.”
“Couldn’t help hoping.”
Catching handfuls of his hair, she laughed as he settled himself between her legs.
“Do it now,” she whispered.
He kissed her tenderly. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”
She liked that they’d left the lights on, that she could see him. He was male beauty and athletic grace. “God, I love—”
He hesitated. “What?” he whispered when she stopped.
She’d been about to say, “Everything about you.” Those exact words almost came out despite her efforts to hold them back, but she managed a more acceptable substitution. “The way you make love.”
He stared down at her. “Thank you. I love the way you make love, too.”
That was nice of him, she thought. He sounded so sincere. Then she locked her legs around his hips, drawing him as deep as possible.
Chapter 11
BRANDON REACHED FOR OLIVIA BEFORE he even opened his eyes, but she was no longer in his bed. His hands met with cool, crisp sheets instead. Only a hint of her perfume remained.
He rolled toward the scent, breathing it in, remembering. Then he shoved himself up on his elbows to listen.
Silence. She wasn’t showering. She wasn’t moving around in the kitchen.
She was gone from more than just his bed.
“Damn,” he muttered, disappointed. But at least his leg wasn’t painful. The terrible ache that was becoming such a part of his life had disappeared as completely as Olivia had. Of course, given how often they’d made love in the past three or four hours, he had too many biochemicals flowing through his bloodstream to feel anything unpleasant. Still, these days he checked for pain every time he woke up because he never knew when just walking was going to be a battle.
Today was a good day. He was exhausted after being up so much of the night, but it was the kind of exhaustion that comes with complete satisfaction. The only thing better would to be to feel her bare skin under his hands one more time.
He almost drifted back to sleep. But then he began to wonder if she was gone until she ran some errands, until after the wedding, or for good.
Dragging himself out of bed, he tested his leg to see if it would complain when he put pressure on it, breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t and went to check the other bedroom.
“Already?” he grumbled when he saw it.
She’d taken her suitcase with her.
* * *
“Are you really with Kyle’s brother?” Nancy asked.
Olivia had been so busy this morning pulling together the last-minute details of the wedding that she’d managed to avoid spending any time alone with her mother or her sister. To get everything done, she’d had to stay focused. When Nancy and Noelle stopped for lunch, Olivia grabbed a sandwich and moved gratefully on without them to get the right colored candy for the reception.
Fortunately the jars she’d ordered online had arrived. That meant she didn’t have to use the less attractive ones she’d bought yesterday. But now that the chairs, tables and decorations were in place, and the caterers, minister and disc jockey were primed and ready, she only had to make sure everyone was prepared for the photographer at three. So she and her mother were getting a manicure while Noelle was having her hair curled and stacked in an arrangement that could’ve been featured in Bride Magazine.
“No. Brandon and I are just friends,” she said, pretending to be preoccupied with her nails so she wouldn’t have to look up.
“You’re staying with him,” her mother pointed out. “You’re staying with him instead of us.”
The nail tech left to see to a walk-in customer. Olivia wished she’d come back. “He has an extra room, Mom.”
“You’re saying you slept in it last night?”
Olivia wished she could insist she had. She should’ve stayed in her own bed. She’d been a fool to get up and go find him, a fool to allow herself to get in so far over her head.
Did she want to be mooning over Kyle’s stepbrother for the rest of her life?
Definitely not—but she had a feeling it might go that way. She’d never had such a strong reaction to any man. Since they’d been together, she hadn’t been able to think of anything besides the tender way he’d held her and the feel of his mouth on hers—not to mention the many intimate places he’d put his hands.
She’d come to Whiskey Creek brokenhearted over Kyle and would be leaving brokenhearted over Brandon. That shouldn’t have been possible in such a short time. But it was her own fault. She hadn’t given herself a chance to recover from Kyle before taking on an even bigger threat to her peace of mind.
“More or less,” she muttered when her mother leaned forward, demanding an answer to where she’d slept.
“More or less?” Nancy echoed. “Oh, no! Noelle was right. She told me the two of you are sleeping together, but I didn’t want to believe it. I don’t know what’s wrong with you girls. First her, and now you! You’ll do anything to hurt each other.”
“What’s happened between Brandon and me has nothing to do with her or Kyle. We aren’t trying to hurt anyone.”
“Then why are you getting involved with someone so close to both of them?”
“Brandon has never been close to Noelle. He hasn’t even been close to Kyle. And I’m not ‘getting involved’ with him. I admit things got out of hand this weekend. I...I haven’t been myself, wasn’t prepared to deal with...temptation.” Or not in such a potent form, she added silently. “It’s not every day that your sister gets pregnant by the man you thought you’d marry yourself,” she went on. “Don’t you think that could throw a girl off track?”
Her mother winced, but Olivia could see the nail tech finishing with the other client and wanted to wrap up the conversation before she returned.
“Anyway, it’s over,” she continued. “I’m heading home after the wedding and trying to forget this weekend ever happened.”
“So it’s not an ongoing relationship.”
She pasted a pleasant expression on her face because the nail tech was walking toward them. “Of course not. Brandon’s going backpacking across Nicaragua in two weeks. Then he’s got the ski season. Who knows when he’ll be back in Whiskey Creek? And I’ve already moved my business to Sacramento, just like I planned.” A plan that had sounded so ideal in the beginning but had, in the end, cost her so much.
The worry lines o
n her mother’s face softened. “That’s a relief.”
“Why would it matter to you?” Olivia asked.
“Our lives are complicated enough at the moment. I don’t like what Noelle has done, but I can’t change it, either. At least I know Kyle will make a good husband. That gives me hope that we can all get past the rough start. I’m not sure I’m convinced of Brandon’s integrity.”
“Maybe he has more integrity than you think.”
Her mother had no chance to reply because Noelle suddenly appeared from the other side of the salon. “Well?”
Even Olivia had to admit she looked beautiful. “Kyle will love it,” she said.
* * *
Pictures seemed to take forever. Noelle had decreed that Kyle was not to see her before the ceremony, so the groom and his men were sequestered in a different area of the mansion than the bride and her ladies. Callie Vanetta, one of Kyle’s best friends and part of the group he’d grown up with, owned a photography studio on Sutter Street, near the center of town, and was handling the pictures like the pro she was. First, she photographed Kyle, his best man and other groomsmen while Noelle did her makeup. Then Callie came to the bridal suite, where she snapped shots of Noelle getting ready with her maid of honor and bridesmaids.
Feeling more like a robot than a human being, Olivia smiled and nodded and offered her fair share of compliments. They toasted the wedding with delicate flutes of champagne, and took pictures of the process. They admired Noelle’s veil and jewelry and hair, and took pictures of that. They hugged and laughed and watched Noelle gaze into a giant mirror, and took even more pictures.
As soon as possible, Olivia faded into the background. She wanted this part, which required so much pretending, to be over. But she didn’t want the next part—the wedding—to begin. Then she’d have to face Brandon. Although she’d been able to avoid him so far, that wouldn’t be the case much longer.
“Olivia, I...”
Olivia turned from the window overlooking the patio where the ceremony would take place to see Callie standing at her elbow.
“I just... I wanted to say I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For...what’s happened.”
Olivia managed a brief smile, but then Noelle, who’d gone into the bathroom, returned and asked if they should take a picture of her by the window, looking down at the altar below.
“Good idea.” Olivia squeezed Callie’s arm as she moved past, to let her know she was okay. But she felt a little guilty accepting Callie’s sympathy, or anyone else’s. She knew Callie would be surprised to learn she wasn’t brooding over Kyle.
* * *
Brandon didn’t get to escort Olivia. Noah Rackham was her partner and had been from the beginning. But she was right in front of him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He kept hoping she’d turn and acknowledge him in some way, maybe give him a smile that indicated she’d enjoyed last night as much as he had. But ever since she’d entered the room she’d kept her eyes averted and her attention on what was going on around them—on everything but him. He hoped it was because she was under pressure to make sure this wedding was a success.
The music swelled as Kyle, followed by the first of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, walked down the aisle. Riley and Olivia were after Eve and Baxter, two more of Kyle’s friends. Brandon watched as they moved into the dazzling sunshine, and waited several beats before stepping “on deck” with Cheyenne Christensen.
“I can’t believe he’s going through with this,” his partner muttered as she slipped a hand through the crook of his arm.
Her words surprised him. Kyle’s friends were so loyal to him that they generally ignored Brandon when he was at home.
“What did you say?” he asked.
She turned distressed eyes on him. “I feel like someone should stop the wedding.”
“And that someone should be...”
“How about you?” she responded, but she grinned when she said it and he couldn’t help chuckling.
“It’s too late to save him now,” he said.
She ducked her head, presumably so that the guests twisting around in their seats, trying to catch a glimpse of the rest of the wedding party, wouldn’t see her disapproval. “I know.” Then they stepped into the sunlight, too, and pandered to the crowd and Callie’s camera as they approached the minister, where they separated.
Brandon thought he saw Olivia looking at him as he released Cheyenne. He smiled to see if he could get her to smile back, but she glanced away so quickly he wasn’t sure she’d really seen him. He caught Kyle glaring at him a second later so he moved on without missing a beat.
Once the line was assembled, the traditional wedding march blasted from the speakers and Noelle appeared on her father’s arm. As she glided toward her waiting groom, Brandon thought maybe he should speak up. He would have, if he’d believed it might make a difference.
But Kyle wouldn’t thank him for it. His stepbrother was determined to go to the guillotine, so Brandon kept his mouth shut as the two repeated their vows, kissed and exchanged rings.
The congratulations came next but, in Brandon’s opinion, they were rather subdued. Does anyone think this marriage has a chance?
Kyle held his bride’s hand, but his gaze strayed almost immediately to Olivia, who seemed determined not to look in his direction, either.
As soon as Callie Vanetta had finished taking pictures now that the men and women were together, Brandon made his way over to Olivia. “Everything’s working out perfectly,” he said. “You’ve done a great job.”
When she turned to face him, he again tried to get a read on what she was feeling. But she didn’t give him the opportunity. “Thanks,” she said and moved away.
* * *
Olivia knew people were keeping a close eye on her, wondering if it was breaking her heart to see Kyle marry her sister. She could hear them murmuring. “Poor thing... Can you believe he went through with it?” and “She even planned the whole wedding!”
She did her best to bear up under the scrutiny. Their pity humiliated her. But she’d expected as much and couldn’t focus on it. Not with Brandon in the room. It was all she could do not to head straight over to him, especially since he seemed so confused by her withdrawal. He’d tried, several times, to approach her.
He was kind to show his support. She appreciated his attempts to make this god-awful night a bit better. But she feared that if she spent even two seconds in his company he’d realize he’d been right all along—she wasn’t cut out for casual sex. She couldn’t say how it had happened, but she’d somehow lost a piece of her heart in that encounter, which was definitely information she didn’t want him to have.
So she avoided him at all costs.
“Are you seeing Brandon?”
Cheyenne stood at the candy table next to her. Olivia had been so busy refilling the jars she hadn’t noticed her. “No. Of course not.” She cleared her throat. “We’re just friends.”
“Does he know that?”
She swallowed. “Pardon?”
“I’ve never seen him look at a friend the way he looks at you.”
Following Cheyenne’s line of sight, she saw Brandon leaning against the wall with a drink in one hand. He had a frown on his face and that didn’t change when their eyes met.
She nodded politely, but this time he didn’t respond. “He’s been very...supportive,” she said, forcing herself to turn away.
“I’ve always thought he’s not as bad as people make him sound,” Cheyenne said. “A lot of that criticism stems from jealousy, don’t you agree? People have a hard time accepting someone who soars so high. Someone who dares to break all the rules.”
Olivia wondered why Brandon was on his feet and wished he’d sit down and give his leg a rest. “It’s great how much he enjoys the things he loves.”
&n
bsp; “I think he’d like to enjoy you, too.” Her lips curved in a conspirator’s grin, but before Olivia could say anything, the toasts started and Cheyenne moved back to her table.
The best man, Noah Rackham, spoke first. He talked about the length of his friendship with Kyle and how Kyle’s marriage would make their group of friends larger.
Olivia flinched at that. She’d always thought she’d be the next official member of their clique. Then Nancy got up—Ham wasn’t the type—and told her new son-in-law how excited she was to have him as part of the family. She related a cute story about Kyle coming to her rescue once when her car wouldn’t start. Everyone smiled because it was endearing, and they’d expect nothing less from Kyle, but Nancy didn’t add that he’d done it when he was her boyfriend, not Noelle’s.
Kyle’s father got up after Nancy and said he’d always been able to depend on Kyle and how proud of him he was.
As the toasts wore on, Olivia began to see a pattern. Everyone had praise for Kyle, but no one had much to say about Noelle.
Determined to be big enough to overlook the circumstances that had brought them to this point, Olivia retrieved her glass from the dessert table, where she’d left it when she restocked the candy, and lifted it high. “I’d also like to offer a toast.”
She regretted her impulsiveness when everyone looked at her. A sudden hush swept through the room, attaching more weight to what she was about to say than she wanted. She got the impression that there were people who hoped to see her break down in public, or perhaps berate her sister as Noelle deserved. But Olivia merely wanted everyone to know that she supported the union and was no longer bitter about how this wedding had come to pass.
Stubbornly maintaining a congenial smile, she turned toward the new couple. She wished she could extol her sister’s many virtues, but...she couldn’t. So she settled for a few simple words to show everyone that she harbored no animosity. “To the bride and groom. I wish you health, happiness, prosperity and...abiding love.”
Although everyone else applauded, the despair on Kyle’s face made it difficult to drink to her own toast. His expression told her he knew what her words really meant. She’d cut him loose. She’d stopped carrying a torch for him. She thought Noelle would appreciate that, but her sister seemed as crestfallen as Kyle. Maybe, now that Olivia no longer wanted Kyle, Noelle wasn’t sure she wanted him, either. Noelle couldn’t even console herself with the fact that she’d soon be living in a mansion. From Noelle’s grumblings while they were at the salon earlier, Kyle hadn’t relented and agreed to build her the house of her dreams.
Together for Christmas: 5-B Poppy LaneWhen We TouchWelcome to Icicle FallsStarstruck Page 19
