No Holds Barred Page 14

  Closing her eyes, she pictured the bottle. Then she imagined the words that described what she’d been feeling in the library. Fear. That funny kind of emptiness. That incredible and scary yearning. And…she felt her heart take a little bounce. Okay—panic, too. Those were the emotions that she could put a name to when she’d woken up alone. In her mind, she did what she could to separate each word into letters and imagined them disappearing into the bottle. Then she jammed the cork in.

  “There.” She opened her eyes and looked into Alba’s. Leaning forward, she hugged the dog. “You’re a good listener.” She rose to her feet and reached for the door handle. “And now that I’ve sorted everything out, I’m in the mood for some sex on demand.”

  Thunder rumbled again.

  11

  DUNCAN HAD SPENT MOST OF HIS adult career getting into other people’s heads. He was good at it. He enjoyed it. But he didn’t think he’d ever looked forward to doing it quite this much. The metal box had been right where Cam had said it would be—a couple of feet into the stone arch on the right. No CIA or FBI skills involved. The stones were loose, as if they’d been recently replaced in a hurry.

  Had Piper dug out the box? Was that why she’d paid that early morning visit to the stone arch?

  It was the size of a cigar box, but sturdy. The small padlock hadn’t even been fully closed. The compartments inside were filled with scraps of paper in three colors, just as Cam had said, and they all seemed to be folded. That argued that, in spite of the fact the sisters had shared the box, they’d valued each other’s privacy.

  A pang of guilt assaulted him, but it wasn’t enough to make him close the box. If Piper had a fantasy that she’d buried in the stones, he wanted to know what it was. More, he wanted to fulfill it.

  He took Cam’s word that the yellow paper was Adair’s. And pink seemed to fit Nell with her blond curls and blue eyes. She’d even worn a pink dress on the day that their parents had wed.

  And Piper was the middle sister; logically, she would choose or be assigned the middle section of the box. He assumed the fantasies the girls had penned were on the larger sheets of paper that lay on the top of the compartments. To test his theory, he lifted the blue one and selected one of the smaller scraps of folded paper beneath it.

  I want to win the spelling bee on Friday.

  A noble ambition, but not telling. He could imagine any one of the MacPherson girls being that competitive. Digging deeper, he selected another one.

  One day I want to clerk on the Supreme Court.

  Bingo, he thought. That could only be Piper. Then because he couldn’t help himself, he opened a few more. The wish to master long division made him smile. The wish that she would one day become a black belt fascinated him. Had she achieved it? And how many other things didn’t he know about her dreams and ambitions?

  A lot, he thought as he stared at how crammed her compartment was. Not that her sisters were slackers. His admiration for the MacPherson sisters grew. There was a lot of academic research to support the fact that simply writing down one’s goals dramatically increased the odds of achieving them. Kudos to the girls for tapping into that power, as well as whatever extra power the stone arch possessed because of the legend.

  Inspired, he pulled out a pen, and using the back of Piper’s wish to win a spelling bee, he wrote: “Keep Piper and the other MacPhersons safe.” Then he folded it and buried the slip of paper beneath the others.

  Only then did he pick up the folded blue sheets of paper on the top of the center compartment. “My Sexual Fantasy: Sex on Demand.”

  He skimmed the first page. It presented various settings and scenarios for making love, each one spur of the moment. On a deserted beach with the waves pounding on the shore, in a limo, on a coffee table, on a bathroom counter. There were more on the second page—some of which went beyond his own experience. He had to admit, he’d never made love to a woman in a phone booth—but then seven years had passed since this had been written and phone booths were hard to find. By the time he’d finished the last one, he’d had to use the sheets of paper to fan himself.

  Each scene illustrated the excitement and convenience of sex on demand with someone you trusted. A buddy. At least one could even have been “monkey sex,” he supposed. But the writer hadn’t used those specific words. Still, they all fit the description she’d given him when she’d made her argument in the library.

  Besides making him want to go back to the library and wake her up, reading the pages had also left a bitter coppery taste in his mouth. Who had she imagined doing all these things with?

  As he’d read them, he’d thought only of her. And he wanted her again. Right now.

  “You…you jerk.”

  He turned and found himself staring at Piper. Her image was blurred because of his reading glasses. And it wasn’t Diana he thought of as he removed the glasses and set them aside. She looked like one of the Furies from one of those Greek tragedies that always ended badly.

  The flash of lightning over the lake strengthened the illusion.

  “You broke into our box.”

  He was surprised that more lightning didn’t shoot out from the accusing finger she pointed at him.

  “And you read them?”

  Not only read them, but he’d been too caught up in them to hear her approach.

  “You read them.” It wasn’t a question this time. And the tone was enough to have him getting to his feet. Growing up with three brothers, he’d learned there were serious disadvantages to being a sitting target.

  “How did you know about them? Who told you?”

  “Cam.” He hated to betray a brother, but Cam was an ocean away and desperate situations called for desperate measures. He took a cautious step forward.

  “Not so fast,” she said. “You…you just put them all back where you found them. Right now.”

  Without another word, Duncan did as she asked. Keeping quiet had gotten him out of plenty of scrapes as a child. Letting Reid and Cam do all the talking had focused his mother’s attention on them. Not that he’d gotten off scot-free—but a strategic silence had often lessened the punishment his mother had meted out.

  He took his time, sliding the metal box back into its niche, then shoving the stones back in place. He figured that with each passing second her temper had to be cooling. That was what had happened with his mother.

  “Now, step out here and fight like a man.”

  One look told him her temper hadn’t cooled one degree. She was crouched, arms bent, hands flexed in a stance that he knew all too well. As she stood there waiting, several things flashed into his mind—I don’t want to hurt you being the first. He rejected it. Being condescending and sexist was only going to dig him deeper into the hole he’d dug.

  Besides, he always liked to err on the side of caution. “What degree of black belt?” he asked.

  “Fourth.” The fact that she smiled when she said it sent a shaft of fire straight to his loins.

  Still, his rational side kept him standing where he was. Now was the time to offer excuses, explanations. Except that he had none.

  “I’d apologize,” he said. “But it would be a lie.” The temptation to read her fantasy had been irresistible. Every bit as irresistible as the outrageous temptation to take her on in a fight.

  He sprang out of the arch to land lightly on his feet in a stance that matched hers. Clouds had rolled in overhead, darkening the sky, but he saw the excitement in her eyes—not fear or panic but an excitement that fueled his own.

  “What degree are you?” she asked.

  “We should be evenly matched.” He partially blocked the first blow. Still, it sang up his arm to resonate in his shoulder. Then he had to shift quickly to prevent a well-aimed kick from connecting with his chin.

  She was fast and agile. He kept his moves defensive as he tried to assess her strengths and weaknesses. Which were damned few, he decided, as her foot connected solidly enough with his hip to send him stumbling bac
k a few steps. Admiration streamed through him along with the zing of pain.

  Overhead, the thunder clapped loudly.

  He was going to have to go on the offensive. Or he might just end up on his back with her foot on his throat. The next kick, which sailed past his guard and into his rib cage, confirmed his decision.

  After five sweaty minutes, he was breathing hard and she seemed to be just hitting her stride. The rain had begun to fall in needlelike pellets. They ignored it. He’d been absolutely correct in his prediction that they’d be evenly matched. Except that he was taller, heavier, and his reach was longer. He might even have used one of his advantages if he hadn’t decided that fighting with her was almost as absorbing and enjoyable as making love with her. Then without warning, she slipped close enough to hook her foot behind his and flip him to the ground. He landed hard on his backside just inside the stone arch.

  The instant before her foot came down on his throat, he grabbed her ankle and jerked her down on top of him. Then he rolled so that she was trapped beneath him. To his surprise, he found the struggle wasn’t over. He had to use his full weight to keep her there as he pinned her hands above her head. And thanks to a bright flash of lightning, he read the intent in those golden eyes and shifted out of the way just in time to prevent her knee from connecting with his groin.

  For seconds, neither of them moved. He was winded. A first for him. And she wasn’t done. The heat of battle was still strong in her eyes. In the dim light, they gleamed at him as tawny and challenging as those of Alice’s Cheshire cat. Duncan felt his heart go into free fall, and it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world to lower his mouth to hers. The instant their lips met, he felt what he’d known from the first. She was right for him. Just simply right.

  He wanted to show her that there was lovemaking beyond what she’d described in her fantasies. And he wanted more from her than convenient buddy sex. So for both of them, he kept the pressure of the kiss light, letting his lips toy with hers, then drawing back just far enough to feather kisses along her jaw to her ear. The rain was loud now, pounding on the stones overhead and pouring in a thick sheet over both entrances to the arch. He couldn’t hear her sigh above the noise, but he felt the quick expulsion of breath against his cheek and the beat of her pulse beneath his lips.

  Then he returned to her mouth, nibbling first, then slipping his tongue in to taste. Her flavor was different, warm instead of hot, and as sweet as melting ice cream on a hot summer day. Unable to resist, he deepened the kiss, degree by degree, pulling them both under. His reward came slowly as he felt the tension drain slowly out of her. She gave him what she hadn’t offered, even at the end of their fight. Pliancy and surrender. And he was utterly seduced.

  * * *

  DUNCAN. THAT WAS THE ONLY WORD she could form in her mind as his mouth toyed with hers. Her mind had emptied and filled with him. No one had ever kissed her like this, as if he had hours and hours to spend and intended to do just that. With his mouth alone, he weakened her, drained her and sent her floating. Pleasure ran through her like a slow-moving river that penetrated deeper and deeper into her system with each passing second.

  He spoke at her ear. “Let go, Piper. Let go.”

  The echo of the words whispered through her head, and she did just what he asked. How could she not?

  He released her wrists and began to touch her then, skimming his fingers down her arms, lingering at the curve of her elbow, then tracing her shoulders. He undressed her slowly, too, easing her shirt off, then drawing her shorts down, touching and tasting each inch of her that he uncovered. No part of her was ignored. Her nipples tingled from the brush of his fingers, the nip of his teeth. The back of her knees ached and the curve of her ankles throbbed with the memory of his caresses.

  While the storm raged outside, she could focus on nothing but the slow, powerful one that he was so intent on building in her body. Each press of his fingers, each stroke of his tongue left a bright foreshadowing of the flash of lightning and the outrageous heat to come. But for the moment, his tenderness forestalled it, invading her, consuming her.

  She was his. Only his.

  The words swirled in a thick mist in her brain and hammered in her heart. It was as if he was trying to keep her just this way, trapped in pleasure. But he seemed to want to give her more, take more using his mouth and tongue alone to drive her to a climax.

  The pleasure slammed into her like a bare-knuckled punch, going beyond anything she’d ever imagined, anything she’d thought she could endure. Shuddering, she hungered for more.

  He gave her more. And took more. In the arch of the stone walls, she knew only him—the taste, the scent, the feel of him. She would have given him anything he asked. Each time she thought he would have to end it, he found a new way to send her up and over a new crest.

  “More.”

  He drew her up then so that they were kneeling, body to body, eye to eye. Still gripping her shoulders, he mouthed the words, “I want more. I want everything.”

  The sound was inaudible above the noise of the storm. But her eyes flashed as brilliant as the lightning, in triumph, in need. They worked together then to get rid of the barrier his clothes presented. Once he’d dealt with the condom, she eased him back onto the stones and straddled him. He reached for her to grip her hips, but she forestalled him by capturing his hands.

  “Take more,” she said as she straddled him, then lifted her hips and took him inside. “Take all of me.”

  His fingers gripped her hips, but trembled as she began to move. “Take everything.”

  Eyes locked, hands linked, they rode the storm.

  * * *

  AFTERWARD, THEY LAY TOGETHER beneath the stones. The fury of the storm had passed, but the rain continued to pour in sheets off both ends of the short tunnel. There was a part of Piper that wished they could stay right where they were, tucked away from the world. She knew that was a dangerous thought. It was always a mistake to wish for more than you could have.

  But she was pretty sure the mistake had already been made.

  Reality check, she lectured herself. And it was then that she remembered just how she and Duncan had ended up naked beneath the stone arch.

  He’d invaded not only her privacy, but the privacy of her sisters, as well.

  Raising her head, she looked him dead in the eye. “If you think that counts for make-up sex, you’re wrong.”

  His burst of laughter filled the space.

  She frowned and poked him in the shoulder. “Not funny.”

  “I know. Sorry.” More laughter bubbled up. “I’ve just never tried to sort sex into so many different categories. Maybe it’s a difference between the male and the female brain. I’m still trying to sort out buddy sex and monkey sex.”

  “Right. Now it’s my turn to laugh.”

  To Duncan it sounded more like a snort.

  “They’ve done studies on how many times men think about sex during the average day. With all the time your brains spend on it, don’t tell me you don’t sort the experience into categories.”

  He grinned at her. “I can’t speak for all men, but I usually think along the lines of good, better, best.” She was lying half on top of him, her arms folded. He took a lock of her hair and twisted it around his finger. “At this very minute, I’m thinking now or later.”

  “Later.” She shoved herself to her knees, intending to start searching for clothes, but she cracked her head on the side of the stone arch.

  And that was when reality hit her. “No. Oh, no.”

  Something in her tone had him sitting up and reaching for her. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”

  “No.” She pushed his hands away, picked up his shirt and shoved it at him. “My head’s fine. Or I thought it was. But I can’t seem to think straight when I’m around you. I definitely wasn’t thinking.” She waved a hand. “Do you have any idea what we just did?”

  “I have a pretty good idea.”

  “You never sho
uld have come out here to read my fantasy. I never should have followed you. This was not supposed to happen. What we’ve been doing can’t work. We have to stop right now.”

  Her voice was rising. She was rattled and he realized it was the first time he’d seen her that way. He put his hands on her shoulders, but she twisted out of his grip. “Why don’t you explain what the problem is—and fill in the details?”

  She waved a hand. “You kissed me and I kissed you back.”

  “I’ve kissed you before.”

  “Not here. We just kissed under the stones. We made love here. That was not supposed to happen. A sexual fantasy is one thing. A great thing. But I don’t want to have anything to do with the legend and its power. And I certainly don’t want to fall in love with someone. Do you?”

  “No.” The answer came out quickly. It was the truth. He didn’t want to fall in love with anyone. Something tightened around his heart.

  “Good.” She placed a hand against her heart and rubbed it. “We’re in agreement. What we’re doing. It has to stop now.”

  And what if they couldn’t stop it? What if it was already too late? What if he’d already fallen in love with her? There were things he wanted to say. But before he did, Duncan had to work them out in his own mind. What he said was what he knew for sure. “We’ll figure out a solution, Piper. You’re good at that, and so am I.”

  But Duncan was careful not to touch her as they gathered up their clothes and dressed. And when she handed him the reading glasses he’d set aside, she was careful that her hand didn’t come in contact with his.

  The rain had slowed, and while they’d been safe enough in the stone arch during the Adirondack monsoon they’d just experienced, he wanted to get her back in the castle. He had to agree with her insistence that they put a halt to what was happening between them—because he’d lost track of everything while they’d been making love.

  And Piper’s life was in danger.

  When they were ready to leave the stone arch, the rain had stopped completely, and the early-evening sun was throwing long shadows across the garden. He figured that Daryl and Vi would be arriving soon.