“I’m not talking about money, and you know it. What about relatives?”
“I told you that my parents were much older when they had me. So by the time I was in grade school, I had lost all four of my grandparents.”
“Aunts…uncles?”
“My mom and dad were only children. I’ve always suspected that was what brought them together. Even when I was an older teenager, before they were killed, I didn’t have the impression that their relationship was particularly passionate. They were more like friends who had never had siblings, so they found something valuable in their working collaboration.”
“And your friends?”
“You tell me. Aren’t your siblings and cousins your best friends?”
He frowned. “Yes. So what?”
“I wasn’t lucky enough to have such a band of brothers. And I was much like you in that I had tutors at home. College was not a great experience, because I was too gawky and shy to be comfortable with the students who came from backgrounds like mine and too wealthy to fit in with kids who were living on ramen noodles. I’ve always kept to myself. I do have women who mean something to me and whom I trust, but our connection is more about the work we do than anything personal. But it’s okay. I don’t mind taking care of myself. That was a lesson I learned early.”
Something moved inside him, an inescapable emotion that tightened his throat and made him want to give her everything she had missed. Even strong people needed a human connection to sustain them. Winnie cared for so many, but it wasn’t the type of equal relationship that offered something to her, as well.
He shifted her and twined his hand in her ponytail, pulling back her head for a long, lazy kiss. Gradually he was learning what she liked, what made her sigh, what made her melt. “Trust me now, Winnie.” Without waiting for permission, he unfastened her bra and stripped it and her top over her head.
“Larkin,” she objected. “What are you doing?”
“Relax,” he said, palming her breasts and bouncing them lightly. “No one can see us.” It was true. The spring foliage was already dense, so no one could spot them from the ground. And if anyone started up the lowest ladder, the noise would give Larkin and Winnie plenty of time to compose themselves.
Winnie closed her eyes, her breath coming in jerky pants. Her breasts were beautiful, full and ripe and delicious. He bent his head to kiss one raspberry nipple. Last night he’d barely caught a glimpse of her. This afternoon, in the unforgiving light of day, she was impossibly alluring. His hands shook and his mouth dried.
“Stand up, honey.”
With Winnie looking at him, big-eyed, he removed her socks and shoes and then gently stripped her shorts and underwear down slim, firm legs. Leaving her to her own devices a moment, he pulled his shirt over his head, unzipped his jeans and pushed his pants and boxers to his knees. His erection sprang forth, hungry and tall.
Winnie’s mesmerized stare did wonders for his ego. He grabbed a condom from his pocket and rolled it on. “Come here, Jane,” he said with a grin. That was something new. Humor and lust all in one moment. Winnie made him smile, even when he was so damned aroused, he ached from head to toe.
She raised an eyebrow. “There’s no room to lie down.”
“We’re not going to lie down.” Her look of dawning surprise swamped him with tenderness. He took her wrist and pulled her forward to straddle his hips. The sun-warmed cushion at his back felt welcoming. But when Winnie lowered herself onto him, hands braced on his shoulders, he felt at home. As though every dark shadow that had ever cloaked Wolff Mountain suddenly floated away on the breeze.