A Sinclair Homecoming (The Sinclairs of Alaska) Read online

  Morgan flushed and took a moment to return her cup to the table before answering, and he knew she’d taken that time to formulate a perfectly safe answer to a very unsafe question so he didn’t give her the chance. “I don’t want to hear the acceptable answer to my question. We both know it’s a bad idea. But I feel something and I think you do, too. We’re both adults and we both know the risks. I’m not going to be in town for long. I’m not looking for commitment and I suspect you’re not looking for a boyfriend, right? Let’s enjoy each other and leave it at that because here’s the situation...when I say that I’m attracted to you, I don’t mean it in a passing, polite way. I mean it in a ravenous way. I’ve never felt this kind of hunger before and frankly, I’m not entirely comfortable with it but if you feel the same, let’s indulge and it’ll just be between us.”

  Had he actually said all that? Just put it out on the table like he was serving up breakfast? Judging by the two bright spots appearing in her cheeks, yes, he had said all that and either she liked his blunt assessment or she was mortified. It could go either way, and for a second he suffered the terrible feeling that he was about to get slapped. But instead, she rose and shouldered her purse and said, “My first client isn’t until ten and I just remembered that I left some paperwork at home. You recall where I live?” His pulse went bananas, but he managed to nod. She graced him with a tremulous smile and said, “Good.” Then she walked out the front door.

  He waited five minutes then followed. Within fifteen minutes, he was at her house and she was waiting for him, framed by the dancing light of the gas fireplace—wearing very little aside from a welcoming smile.

  * * *

  MORGAN PURPOSEFULLY IGNORED every voice of reason trying to force her to change her mind and rescind her offer but the minute Wade entered her house, she discarded everything but the desire to touch and feel.

  She’d made the bold decision to wait for Wade in the living room, nude, because she didn’t want to allow herself any opportunity to back out. She needed this. And not just because she needed the physical release but because she desperately needed David out of her head and out of her life forever.

  Wade’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared, his hands going to his buttons to undress. “You look amazing. More beautiful than I imagined.” He practically ripped his shirt off and tossed it, going immediately to his pants as he kicked off his shoes. “I just want you to know that I don’t do this sort of thing. I’m not the kind of guy who has random one-night stands.”

  She smiled at his nervousness, finding it endearing. Knowing that Wade was fighting his own internal demons strengthened her desire to feel him inside her.

  “Did you bring protection?” she asked, liking what she saw. His body type appealed to her, loving that it was distinctly different from David’s. Whereas Wade had a thin smattering of chest hair spread across his pectorals that narrowed to a trail to his groin, David had been covered in hair that he often shaved, which had made his skin prickly to the touch. Her question cleared some of the lustful haze from his eyes as he retrieved his discarded pants to dig around in the pocket.

  “You mean these?” He pulled three condoms free with a playful twist of his mouth. “I like to come prepared.”

  “Excellent,” she murmured, going up on her toes as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. They fit together well and it felt natural to be in his arms. Wade brushed her lips with his in an exploratory kiss that sent tingles of sweet sensation tripping down her vertebrae, and when she responded by flicking her tongue lightly against his, he deepened the kiss with the right amount of pressure.

  Morgan allowed herself to free fall into the pleasure Wade was offering and for the first time in a very long time, she remembered that sex with the right partner could change a person. Somehow they found the sofa, and she ended up on her back with Wade pressing soft, urgent kisses down her front, taking time to lave each breast with the attendant care of a man intent on wringing every last bit of pleasure from the action.

  She covered her eyes with her hand as she gasped, delirious with the sweetness of the moment. As if that wasn’t enough, Wade made his way down her belly, and she gasped in shock when his mouth touched her feminine folds. Heat raced to her cheeks as she fought the urge to cover herself. David had always believed that a woman’s genital area was dirty and anyone who put his mouth there was nuts. Plus, David had been fairly certain that no man enjoyed going down on a woman and only pretended to enjoy it. And after being under his thumb for so long, Morgan heard his sneer even though he was long gone.

  Wade sensed something was wrong and stopped, glancing up at her with a quizzical expression. “Do you not want me to...?” he asked, a subtle frown creasing his brow, as if he were disappointed at the prospect of being denied.

  “You don’t have to,” she started, shaking her head but then she’d really liked what he’d been doing. She more than liked it. The touch of his tongue against her flesh had been like the zap of a live wire—electrifying. She swallowed and ventured to admit, “But I liked it...”

  A slow grin spread across Wade’s face as if relieved, and he wasted little time in talk as he returned to business.

  Within moments, Morgan forgot all about David and his peculiar ideas about sex and how it should or should not be performed and lost herself to the pleasure Wade was creating with his clever tongue and fingers.

  Her last rational thought? From now on, this was going on her sexual menu because it was awesome.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  WADE HAD NEVER been one to lounge in the nude but doing it with Morgan seemed perfectly natural. If someone were to catch a glimpse of them, they’d assume Wade and Morgan were a long-term couple who were nudists on the side because they both seemed comfortable in their skin with one another.

  “You have a beautiful body,” he said, openly admiring Morgan as she returned to the sofa with a plate of sliced fruits. He accepted a pear and bit into it, grinning when she gave him a cheeky smile. “And no, I don’t say that to every naked girl I’m with.”

  “No?” She bit into a green apple slice. “Then thank you. The yoga is paying off, I see.”

  “From my vantage point, I would say a definite yes. You are very flexible,” he said, wiggling his brows in a comically lascivious manner that made her giggle like a young girl. “And I can see now that I should’ve sprung for the bigger condom package.”

  Morgan laughed and nodded as she finished her apple. “I should probably get back to work. In fact, Remy is probably fretting as we speak. I don’t take off like this,” she said, reaching over to grab her cell phone. Seeing how many missed calls she had, she lifted her phone as proof. “See? Remy is probably calling the National Guard. He’s a little dramatic.”

  “Remy...is that short for anything?”

  “Oh, no, his given name is Paul but he didn’t feel that had enough flair so he changed it to Remy when we were in college. College is where he discovered himself, he says.”

  “I’m going to take a leap here and guess that Remy is...”

  “Gay?” she supplied, and Wade nodded. “Yep. Out and proud. It was a mild upset in the family when he came out but now, I don’t even remember what he was like before.”

  “Are you close?”

  Morgan paused and a flicker of a shadow crossed her expression but it cleared quickly as she grabbed another pear slice. “We’re as close as we can be without being siblings, I guess. He’s a good man. Even if he does poke his nose where it doesn’t belong now and then.”

  “Isn’t that what family is for?” he asked drily. He couldn’t remember a time when his siblings weren’t offering opinions, solicited or not. “My siblings are pretty good at being bossy. I think Simone was the bossiest,” he said, recalling how his baby sister had been a pro at getting what she wanted from whoever and whenever. “Or maybe we jus
t indulged her a lot. I don’t know. But the other two are pretty bossy, too.”

  “Strong genes,” Morgan said, shifting on the sofa. “Your mother is a very strong woman. It stands to reason she’d pass on that trait to one or more of her children.”

  “That she did. I like to think of myself as pretty even-keeled but maybe I ought to ask my employees first before I own that opinion.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m the superintendent of a national park in California.”

  Her brows went up, impressed. “Really? Which park?”

  “Yosemite.”

  “Ah, beautiful country. I’d been there once before I started college. My girlfriends and I took a California road trip. We started at San Francisco and ended in San Diego. It was a wild time. We did all manner of fun, exciting, scary and sometimes boneheaded things.” She stopped and her expression softened with the memories. “Yes, those were some good times. I think everyone should take a road trip like that before starting college. Sort of like sowing your oats before you buckle down. Have you ever taken a trip like that?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not what you’d call spontaneous,” he admitted, though it seemed an incongruous statement to make when he’d just made love to a woman he barely knew. “I like to plan things out.”

  “Well, we had to plan a little bit but we wanted things to be free to flow.”

  “Are you a hippie at heart?” he teased.

  Her tone became wistful as she answered, “Maybe at one time.” She shook her head and continued, “But that was a long time ago. Now my life is very scheduled and structured.”

  “Which way do you like better?”

  His question seemed to scratch at something personal that she hadn’t meant to share and he could see her withdraw. “I’m sorry...did I say something?”

  “Of course not,” she said, trying to laugh but he sensed something there, beneath the surface. She glanced out the window and her expression changed as she rose quickly, going to the window. “Damn it,” she said under her breath, and when he followed her, he knew exactly what the problem was.

  “Guess I should’ve paid more attention to the weather conversation we had earlier,” he said, watching as the snow coming down blanketed the area, making the driveway impassable at this point. “Damn.”

  “I need to call Remy,” she said, distressed. “I have a full client load and he’ll need to cancel and reschedule for me.”

  He needed to make a few calls himself. His sister and brother were, no doubt, going to be filled with questions that he didn’t want to answer. Changing his mind about calling, he sent a quick group text to his siblings: Snowed in at a friend’s house. We’re safe. Don’t worry. Tell Mom I’ll see her tomorrow.

  Wade listened to Morgan as she talked with Remy and deduced that Remy had already rescheduled appointments and the multitude of messages he’d left were to let her know. When Morgan clicked off, she smiled ruefully and confirmed what he’d already figured out. “This is why I put up with Remy’s flamboyant nature. He’d already called my clients. So...it’s just you and me until the storm lets up and the plow comes through to clear the road. You okay with that?”

  “I only have one problem with that scenario,” he said gravely as he pulled her to him.

  Her eyes widened as he nuzzled her neck. “And that would be?”

  Wade lifted his head long enough to quip, “We’re all out of condoms.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing my sister probably has a few stashed in the spare bedroom,” she said, groaning when his tongue flicked out to taste the hollow of her neck. Wade sang Hallelujah in his head as he renewed his efforts to taste every inch of her gorgeous body. She tasted of fresh rain and sensual promise and he couldn’t get enough.

  Thankfully, she seemed to feel the same. Morgan gripped his hand and led him out of the living room toward a bedroom. He was already hard and ready to go.

  And, hot damn, more condoms were stashed in the bedside table.

  This was the best snowstorm of his life.

  * * *

  MORGAN FELL EXHAUSTED against the bed, unable to believe how many times they’d had sex. It was as if both were trying to make up for lost time and it was a sprint to the finish line. “I think I need a break or else I might never be the same,” she admitted breathlessly, rolling her head to cast Wade a silly grin. His chest rose and fell with the same harsh breathing as hers but he managed a brief nod of agreement.

  She laughed softly, deliriously sated and content. She wanted this feeling to last forever. And if wishes were snowflakes... A sigh rattled from her chest, and Wade rolled on his side to face her. He looked devastatingly handsome with his dark hair mussed and his lips red and swollen from their epic kissing bouts. And she’d been right—Wade was an excellent kisser.

  “Can I say something as cheesy as ‘penny for your thoughts?’”

  She smiled. “What if my thoughts aren’t worth that much?”

  “I’m sure they are. Tell me.”

  “It’s nothing. I was just thinking that this is so out of character for me and I should feel guilty but I don’t. I suppose I should analyze that, right?”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I think I’m supposed to feel guilty. I mean, you are the last person I should be sleeping with.”

  “We haven’t done any sleeping,” he reminded her silkily, and she laughed. Wade grinned, saying, “I’m giving you a hard time. I know what you mean. I never planned to sleep with my mother’s therapist. That sounds so sordid. And I never truly believed that line people use when they say, it just happened, but I guess that’s exactly the situation between us. Neither of us planned this but I’m not sorry, either.”

  “If I tell you that this has been the greatest sex of my life will your ego go crazy?” she asked, mildly teasing, but she wasn’t lying. She’d never known such glory in a lover’s arms and now that she’d tasted it, she wanted more. “It’s going to be a challenge to find someone else with your skill.”

  “Stop, my ego can only take so much before it hits maximum density,” he said with a chuckle that warmed her to her toes. “You’re no slouch in the bedroom. How is it that you’re still single?”

  Ah, a question that she couldn’t actually answer with any hint of honesty. She shrugged. “Just busy with work. No time to date.”

  Wade reached over and tweaked her nipple gently. “Their loss and my gain,” he said in a low, sultry tone.

  She groaned and fought the urge to lean toward him. They were officially—completely—out of condoms and as sexy as Wade was and the prospect of more sex with him was a good one, she wasn’t going to engage in unsafe sex. She made a mental note to replace her sister’s stash. “So...why are you still single?” she asked, turning it around on him. “How is it that no one has snatched you up?”

  “Same story. Too busy with work.”

  “So there’s no one waiting for you at home? No girlfriend waiting hopelessly in the wings for your proposal?”

  He hesitated for the briefest moment then said, “Well, I was seeing someone before I left for Alaska but it wasn’t working out so I ended it. Seemed like a mercy, honestly. She was looking for more than I was going to give and I didn’t want to end up hurting her.”

  “How did she take it?”

  “Um, well, she wasn’t happy about it,” he admitted, shifting in discomfort. “She thought... I don’t know. It was a hard conversation.”

  “What didn’t work for you? I mean, are you averse to all commitment or just commitment to her?”

  He chuckled as if not sure how to answer because either answer might paint him in an unflattering light, and he finally replied with a helpless shrug. “I really don’t know. I never considered myself a commitment-phobe but if I were to examine my dating track
record, it might look pretty suspect.”

  She smiled at that. For a tiny, infinitesimal second she imagined what life would be like with Wade Sinclair, which was patently ridiculous because she didn’t actually know him aside from his bedroom talents. She didn’t know if he liked ketchup on his scrambled eggs or if he flat-out hated eggs. And yet she was perfectly willing to sink into a fantasy of her own making, featuring herself and the man who could turn her to pudding with a touch.

  Wade took a moment then said, “I want to say I just haven’t found the right person.”

  “I have clients who are in love with the idea of love and they’re constantly pushing away what is real for the hope of something that only lives in fantasy,” she shared, watching him for a reaction. She hoped that wasn’t the case with Wade.

  “I’m not hoping for the perfect relationship,” he assured her. “I know people are flawed.”

  “Then what are you looking for?” she asked.

  “This going to sound stupid, given what’s going on with my family, but I want what my parents have—or had. My parents always seemed so in love with each other. It was embarrassing at times to watch them fawn all over each other like two teenagers. But as I got older I realized I wanted that. I wanted that feeling they obviously shared. I know it’s possible because my siblings have it with their significant others. I’ve never seen Miranda so happy, and Trace is finally content to live among people, rather than tucked up in a tree somewhere and it’s all because of their mates. I should’ve loved Elizabeth—she was everything I thought I’d ever want in a woman—smart, sexy, accomplished. But...”

  “But you lacked chemistry,” Morgan finished for him, and he nodded. David had been everything she thought she should want, too. And because of that, she’d been wild about him. “That pesky chemical process in the brain can be such a pain in the ass,” she said with a short smirk. Maybe if she’d been less enamored and crazy in love, she might’ve seen the warning signs.

  “It’s more than that,” he said quietly. “I know all about the science of love. I studied biochemistry in college. I’m talking about more than infatuation. Up until Simone died, my parents had never stopped looking at each other like they wanted to disappear in a bedroom together. The heat in their eyes was enough to scorch a room. Whether or not that’s unrealistic, I don’t care. I want it.”