Identity Crisis(95)

‘And Wade,’ Dee said. ‘We called Wade. He’ll be out in the morning to check out the woods, and he may want to check your house too, Garrett. If the security people miss anything, Wade’s the one to find it.’

Ellis glanced from one of them to the other. ‘You both need to get some sleep. We all do. Dee and I have rescheduled our meetings and arranged things so we can work from home tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it’s a good time to leave the two of you.’ The look he shot both of them made it clear there was no need arguing with him, that the decision was final. ‘There’s nothing that can be done right now, and the bastard’s not likely to come back tonight. Though if he does he won’t find the house nearly as accessible as the woods.’

A dream of falling from a high place woke Kendra with a start. With her heart racing, she reached for Garrett, called his name. But she was alone in a huge bed in the strange room. It took her a second to remember that she was at Ellis’s home in his palatial guest suite. As the nightmare of the past 12 hours came back to her, she sat up in the bed, chafing her bare arms from something far more than cold.

That the first thing she had done when she woke up was reach for Garrett meant nothing, she assured herself. After what had happened tonight, after the discovery of what had happened when she was in the shower, of course she would reach for him, for comfort. That was all. For comfort. Nothing more. Her stomach felt like it turned to stone every time she thought about what could have happened in the shower, and her all the time thinking it was Garrett come to join her, and her feeling hurt and angry when he didn’t. She shivered again and looked around. It didn’t matter if it was just for comfort. She still didn’t want to be alone. Not just that, but she knew how Garrett blamed himself for what had happened. It wasn’t his fault. She wished she could convince him of that, but knowing how well Garrett did guilt, she didn’t much want him to be alone either.

She found his shirt still lying at the foot of the bed where he’d shed it when he had tucked her in and crawled in next to her. She had pulled him as close to her as she could get him, then she had climbed on top of him, to find him ready for her, needing the comfort of her as badly as she needed the comfort of him. His touch was tender as he explored her, caressed her, and yet it was possessive in a way it hadn’t been before. That should have disturbed her, but they both needed comfort, she told herself. Tonight they both needed to possess each other.

And when they had both come, and as their breathing slowed and their bodies dozed, she’d fallen asleep there on top of him, with him still nestled inside her body, with her feeling the rise and fall of his chest against hers, feeling the press of his belly making her certain that when she woke up again she’d want more of him. So much more.

She slipped into his shirt and followed the anemic trail of light to the spacious study that was more like a small library just off the sitting room. He sat at the big oak desk, hunched over his laptop, tapping away on the keyboard. For a second, she stood at the door just watching. This was Garrett Thorne in Tess Delaney mode. He sat with no shirt. He wore only his boxers. His always mussed hair was more mussed than usual, like he’d just left the bed. She smiled when she thought of what had happened in the bed he’d just left.

His fingers flew over the keys. His face was a study in concentration. She wondered what he was writing, what Tess was writing. She pulled his shirt tight across her breasts, taking in the scent of him, wrapped around her so tightly. A lump rose in her throat, and she saw him through a soft mist. He was Tess Delaney. There was no jinx in that at all. Without Tess, he wouldn’t be the man she couldn’t stop thinking about, the man who had barged his way into her life and left his mark on her, the man, the only man other than Harris, who had seen her at her worst and stayed by her anyway.

A wave of panic washed over her. This was too much. This was way more than she’d bargained for. She should have never said yes to him. He frightened her like she’d never been frightened before. She was just ready to run back to the bedroom, maybe even move to the bedroom next door, to try to re-establish a little professional space when Garrett turned and saw her. And the smile he offered made her completely forget to run.

‘You all right?’ he said, pushing back the office chair and reaching out a hand to her.

‘Fine. I’m fine.’ She came into his arms and curled up on his lap. ‘I woke up and you were gone.’

‘Tess is a hard taskmaster,’ he said. ‘When she wants to write, there’s no arguing with her.’