by HELEN HARDT
I wanted to hear her say the words, but even more, I wanted her to feel them.
But if she didn’t? I’d said them. I’d opened myself up to another human being, something I’d never done.
It was miraculously freeing.
“What?”
I smiled. “That’s the third time you’ve said what. I’m pretty sure you don’t have a hearing problem.”
“I… I…”
“You don’t usually have a speaking problem, either.” I touched her cheek, her skin like the softest velvet.
“You… You’re…in love with me?”
“Why is that so surprising?”
She shook her head. “Only for about a dozen or more reasons, not the least of which is that you made it very clear that we didn’t have a relationship.”
“I know. I apologize. I was burying the feelings I was developing for you. They scared the shit out of me, Lace.”
“We’ve known each other a week.”
“A week and three days.” I smiled.
“Oh, okay,” she said sarcastically.
“Look. I don’t have any experience in this kind of stuff. That’s for sure. But I sure hated seeing you with both of those pretty boys. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but when I came out here this morning and saw you pick that flower and put it behind your ear, I knew. And if I had any lingering doubts at all, they were erased when I watched that bozo cuff you. I was willing to do anything to protect you. I would have shot the motherfucker dead if I’d thought he was going to harm you in any way.”
She gulped audibly. “Rock, I—”
I touched my finger to her lips to silence her. “You don’t have to say anything. But I’m glad I told you. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to utter three words in my life.”
“No,” she said, brushing my hand away. “I’m glad you said it. Surprised…but very, very glad. Because… I love you too, Rock.”
Warmth spread through me like the joy of a child on Christmas morning. I’d never known such wonder, such happiness. I wanted to shout to the world that I was in love and then take her inside and make passionate love to her for the rest of my life.
“You have the most beautiful smile,” she said. “It lights up your whole face.”
“Nothing about me is anywhere near as radiant as you are.” No truer words. She stood before me in her simple clothes, no makeup, wildflowers behind her ears.
She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I mean, you said—”
“Forget what I said. I was scared. I love you, Lacey Ward. I love you so damned much.” I pulled her to me and crushed my lips to hers.
As many times as I’d kissed her, this one was different. Different and amazing and wonderful. The soft moan from the back of her throat hummed, and I felt more than heard it. The kiss was so raw, so powerful, and my cock throbbed.
I was wearing only the jeans, so the denim rubbed against me as I hardened. I pushed into her, trying to ease the ache, but only one thing would crush this yearning.
To be inside her. Inside that hot little pussy that gripped me so tightly.
I broke the kiss abruptly. “Inside,” I said. “Now.”
Her lips, red and swollen, trembled as she nodded. Then I scooped her into my arms and carried her through the door and into the cabin.
We’d been here since last night and I hadn’t made love to her.
Something had stopped me. Worry about my sister. About my responsibilities. About everything.
Those thoughts still niggled at me, but what better way to relax than to make love with my woman?
My woman.
I stopped in the living room and laid her gently on the couch. Then, not so gently, I pulled off her jeans and inhaled. Her musk was already in the air, so fruity and feminine. As much as I wanted to dive between her legs and taste her, that would have to wait.
I needed to be inside her. Inside her warmth and sweetness.
I pulled off my jeans quickly and my cock sprang out. Her eyes widened as she licked her lips. Had I been with someone else, I’d make a smartass comment. Not now. Not with this woman who I loved.
I mounted her, rubbed my cock head between her slick folds, and then thrust into her balls deep. “Ah, God,” I groaned.
She clamped her hands onto my butt cheeks and pulled me even closer so I was so far into her we were nearly one.
Nearly one.
Why had I fought this? Everything about Lacey Ward interested me, intrigued me.
Enthralled me.
I pulled out and thrust back in. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes a soft curtain over her cheeks.
“Open your eyes, Lacey. Please. Open your eyes and look at me. Watch me making love to you.”
She obeyed, her blue eyes sparkling.
I pulled out, missing her tightness already. “Get on top of me, baby. I want to show you something.”
She got up, and I lay down on my back.
“Ride me. Sink your pussy down onto my cock.”
She obeyed, a soft sigh escaping her throat like a spring breeze.
I watched. I watched her pussy eat up my cock.
“Look down,” I said. “Watch me go into you. It’s beautiful.”
She obeyed once more. “It is. So beautiful.”
The rhythm mesmerized me. She set the pace, but soon I was rushing, couldn’t go quickly enough. I pushed my hips upward, taking over the rhythm.
“God, baby,” I said through clenched teeth. “My God. You feel so good. So fucking good.”
She whimpered, and when she trailed her right hand over the swell of her breast, down her perfectly shaped belly, and to her swollen clit, I nearly exploded.
“God, yeah. Touch yourself, baby. You’re so hot.”
She moaned as she gently rubbed at her clit, and when her nipples puckered and her pussy clamped down, I could hold out no longer.
I came.
I came harder than I ever had in my life. Shudders racked my body as my world became my cock inside her pussy, the two of us joined together.
Lacey.
Me.
Lacey and me.
I filled her with my hot come. I filled her with my everlasting love.
I filled her.
But truly? She filled me.
When we both finally slowed down our breathing, she collapsed on top of me.
My arms went around her and I held her.
Such new feelings. Such amazing feelings that I could almost forget…
I was a fucking mess.
She knew nothing about me.
Would she still love me when she finally knew everything? All my secrets?
I tightened my grip on her. Never wanted to let go.
I’d hold on to her for as long as I could.
Because eventually she would find out the truth.
Eventually she would leave.
44
Lacey
Mrs. Rock Wolfe.
Mrs. Lacey Wolfe.
Rock and Lacey Wolfe.
Rock Wolfe, CEO of Wolfe Enterprises, and his wife, Manhattan Attorney Lacey Ward Wolfe, attend a charitable gala at the Waldorf Astoria.
Rock and Lacey Ward Wolfe proudly announce the birth of…
God help me.
I’d regressed to fifth grade in my head, doodling names on the cover of my three-ring binder.
He was in love with me.
Rock Wolfe was in love with me.
Me.
He could have a beautiful supermodel. Or an exotic cosmetologist named Nieves. Or any starlet in Hollywood. They’d all be proud to be seen on his arm.
He chose me.
Me.
It was all too unreal to be true. Any minute I’d wake up. It would be all over. He’d be telling me we didn’t have a relationship.
And I’d be hauled off for questioning in his father’s murder.
An anvil hit my gut.
That la
st part—it was true.
“Baby?” He cupped my cheek. “You’re shivering. What’s wrong?”
“It just hit me. I was handcuffed and nearly arrested today.”
“Don’t worry about that. My mother was behind it.”
“Why? Why would she want me arrested? And what if she wasn’t, Rock? What if, somehow, I’ve been implicated in your father’s murder?”
“Honey, please don’t worry.” He pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I meant it when I said we could leave today. Hop on my bike and never look back.”
“Running away isn’t the answer.”
“It worked pretty well for me the first time.” His eyes took on a haunted look.
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that. Yes, I knew he’d left his family and come here to Montana, but I didn’t know why.
Something kept me from asking, though. He hadn’t been forthcoming with information in the past, and just because we’d professed our love for each other, I still didn’t feel he would be. As much as I wanted to know, this was something Rock kept private.
Very private.
I wasn’t about to push him. I had to let him go at his own pace.
I cupped his cheek, his stubble rough under my fingertips. “I can’t run away. It’s not who I am.”
“Sometimes it’s the only choice, baby. We can’t control other people or what they choose to do to us. The only thing we can control is whether we stick around to let them continue.”
I couldn’t fault his logic, but still I shook my head. “We need to go home.”
“We will. Monday evening as planned.”
I shook my head more vehemently. “No. We need to go now. I’ll never be able to relax without knowing what’s going on. An officer was ready to arrest me as an accessory to your father’s murder.”
“But he didn’t, Lacey. He didn’t because he had no grounds. I’m telling you. This is Connie’s work.”
“Why would your mother have anything against me?”
“Why do birds sing?” He shook his head. “I gave up trying to figure my mother out years ago. She made decisions I didn’t understand then, and she continues to now.”
“She’s truly that bad?”
He chuckled. “I don’t have a mommy complex, baby. I’m not looking for someone to fill her shoes.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know that. I’m just saying that I don’t see her through rose-colored glasses. She’s not a good person, Lace. I wish she were, but she’s not. I suppose she’s not as bad as my father was, but truly, is the witness to the crime just as guilty if she says nothing?”
“What are you talking about, Rock?”
“Nothing.” He clammed up and stood, replacing his jeans. “I’m going to shower, and then I’m taking you out on the bike. It’s what we came here for. I’m not letting some dirty cop or my mother or anyone else ruin this weekend for us.” He stalked off.
Rock Wolfe might think he didn’t have mommy issues, but he had some kind of issue, something he’d buried so deep that he ran all the way to Montana to escape it. He’d tell me when he was ready.
I just wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
45
Rock
My mother.
I had one good memory, and it was the earliest thing I could recall. I was barely three, and my nanny, Alexandria, brought me to the hospital to meet my new little brother. My mother smiled at me. She was beautiful when she smiled, at least when she really smiled. I climbed into her hospital bed next to her, and she let me hold baby Roy. He had a mop of black hair and his face was red, but I loved him just the same.
He was my baby.
“He’s your baby, Rock,” she said. “Yours to help and protect. He’ll always look up to you.”
Roy hadn’t needed my protection, though. He was a recluse who kept to himself. I did protect Reid from a few beatings courtesy of our father, and God knew I’d tried to protect Riley.
I’d been successful with Reid—until I was banished.
Unsuccessful with Riley.
At fourteen, I was the victim of risk-taking testosterone.
In that moment, I had truly wanted to end my father’s life.
Looking back, I was glad I’d failed. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, even though the asshole had deserved what I’d planned.
But Riley…
She didn’t deserve what had continued after I was gone. My brothers hadn’t protected her because they hadn’t known what was going on. I felt sure they would have intervened had they known.
How could they not have known?
It had been so obvious to me.
But my room was next to Riley’s. We had the two biggest bedrooms, next to our father’s. Mom and Dad had separate rooms. Mom gave Riley the second largest room in our new mansion. Reid and Roy had grumbled, but she’d said a girl needed more space. As the oldest, I still got the biggest room. I wasn’t sure why, and I didn’t ask at the time.
Riley’s was the farthest away from my mother’s.
Maybe my mother had truly thought she needed more space.
Or maybe she knew what was coming, and she didn’t want to hear it. That way, she could pretend it wasn’t happening.
Sounded like vintage Connie Wolfe to me.
On the other hand, though, why would she want her oldest son closest to her daughter? Surely she’d—
Unless…
My mother was hoping I’d do something to stop it.
That was a hell of a burden to put on a fourteen-year-old boy—a burden she herself should have borne to protect her daughter.
She just wasn’t strong enough.
Or she didn’t care enough.
Or maybe that was why my mother hated me so much. I hadn’t just failed Riley. In her mind, I’d failed her as well.
I scoffed. I’d wanted more than anything to protect my sister, but I was a kid myself. My mother had placed the burden on a kid, a rebellious kid who was likely to pull out a knife and attempt to kill his own father.
Which was exactly what I’d done.
If my father had died while my parents were still married, everything would have gone to her. Had she been hoping I’d kill him? And take the blame? She’d be off scot-free. Rich and rid of him.
And rid of me.
She and I had always been like oil and water. I wasn’t sure why, but we never did click. Not since that day when Roy came into the world. That was the fondest memory I had of Connie Wolfe.
I finished washing my hair and body and stood under the stream of hot water, letting it cleanse me of the memories of my youth. My life had been one fucked up mess, and I wasn’t going to let my mother or anyone else screw up what I could have with Lacey.
Which meant one thing.
I had to take the reins.
I had to solve my father’s murder myself, before someone could frame Lacey or anyone else I cared about.
I scoffed again. The only other three people I cared about were Reid, Roy, and Riley.
My mother hadn’t murdered my father. She wouldn’t get her manicured hands dirty. In fact, she probably hadn’t hired it out. She was too smart for that. No, Connie Wolfe was simply doing what she always did, taking advantage of the situation at hand.
She wasn’t a killer.
Neither was I, despite my rash actions as a teen.
And neither was Lacey.
Why would anyone want to implicate Lacey? Was there something I didn’t know about her?
I laughed out loud. Funny. There was a lot I didn’t know about her.
Of course, there was a lot I did know about her too. I knew she had a tiny raised mole at the top of her right thigh and an angel’s kiss birthmark on the back of her neck. I knew she had the sweetest natural fragrance. I couldn’t get enough of it when I was kissing her neck. I knew her hair smelled like pineapple and coconut, and that her nipples got hard when I so much as looked at her.
But I didn’t know her favorite ice cream. I didn’t know what she liked to read for pleasure. I didn’t know why she’d chosen to go into law as a career.
Still, there was no doubt in my mind that I loved her.
Loved her so damned much.
The thought of my life without her in it…well, it would be no life at all.
I couldn’t let my mother or anyone else drag her into this murder investigation. I’d figure it out myself. My brothers would help me. I already knew Roy was hiding something. He was going to tell me what it was, whether he wanted to or not.
The water continued to pelt me.
Wouldn’t life be so much simpler if Lacey had taken me up on my offer to ride off into the sunset? We’d have a simple life, but a good life. Only the two of us with no one to answer to. It was a life I was accustomed to, a life I loved.
A life I wished I could get back.
A life I could have gotten back. The only cost would have been my siblings.
And Lacey.
I wouldn’t have met Lacey.
Or I would have met her, but I would have told all of them to fuck off and hightailed it back here. To my home. It would have been a much simpler decision.
A soft knock on the door. “Rock?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah?”
“Everything okay? You’ve been in there a while.”
The water had indeed gone from steamy to tepid. I turned it off and wiped my face on a towel. “Yeah. I’m good.”
But was I?
I could do it. I could take off on my bike, Lacey on the back, and never return. I didn’t even have to tell her what I was up to. By the time she figured it out, we’d be across the Canadian border. I knew exactly where to cross. I even knew a guy who could get us Canadian passports.
It was tempting. So tempting.
As much as I desired it, I knew I’d never do it. I wouldn’t double-cross Lacey. I couldn’t double-cross my brothers and sister.
I wouldn’t let whoever was attempting to double-cross Lacey win.
My mother may well have implicated Lacey. She’d tried extortion with me, and I’d succumbed rather than deal with the truth coming out about my past. But Connie Wolfe hadn’t murdered my father. She was manipulative, petty, and liked to turn a blind eye to things she didn’t want to deal with, but she was not a killer.
