“How old were you
Russ had to think. “Nineteen? Something like that.”
“Okay, let me see if I understand. Your mom’s quality of life is much higher when she doesn’t have access to wads of cash. But the inheritance would be strictly yours. Winnie isn’t mentioned in the will.”
“So you think I could inherit ten million dollars and not share? I shudder to think what my life would be like. Winnie would see an endless supply of cash-and her son, standing in the way. Try to imagine it. She would be pestering me constantly, just like she did Sammy. She’d want a new car, a mink coat, a vacation. And if I didn’t give it to her, I’d be a selfish pig. Even if I gave it all away to charity, she would be furious that I couldn’t spare her a measly million or two. But I believe a million dollars would kill her. Hell, twenty thousand nearly did.”
Russ shook his head. “We’ve built a great life in Linhart, but it wouldn’t take much to ruin that forever. I won’t do that, not to myself, not to Winnie.”
Finally, Sydney understood. Russ was protecting his mother, the only real family he had. Just as Sydney was trying to save her father. The same money that could put her father’s life back together could very well destroy Winnie’s-and Russ’s.
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Okay.”
With that one word, she conveyed her total understanding and acceptance of his situation. And everything changed between them-everything. Gone were the suspicions, the antagonism, the frustrations that had marred their earlier encounters, leaving nothing but the desire that had been simmering beneath the surface from the moment they’d laid eyes on each other.
“You’re, uh, soup’s getting cold,” he said, his voice a little rough.
She hadn’t taken a single bite, she’d been so focused on Russ’s story. “I’m not really that hungry.” Not for food, anyway. She was hungry for connection. Now that they’d forged this thread of understanding, she longed for more. Clearing the air between them had cleared the way for true intimacy.
Provided Russ felt the same way.
He released her hand and stood suddenly, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. His gaze never left hers as he walked around the table. She quaked at the intensity of his gaze, the purpose in his movements as he pulled her chair out, with her still in it, and helped her stand.
“Thank you for understanding,” he said.
“Thank you for telling me. I know it can’t be easy, delving into such painful memories.”
“No, I’ll tell you what’s not easy. Standing here and refraining from ripping your clothes off.”
Okay, he got points for honesty. She straightened the collar of his shirt. “So why are you refraining? Yesterday you took off my shoe. In some countries, that means we’re married.”
He grinned, but only for a moment, because he soon had her in his arms and was kissing her with an intensity that literally stole her breath. She was light-headed and she clung to him to keep from falling. He smelled faintly of smoke from the fire and it was sexier than any high-priced designer cologne.
He broke the kiss and froze, looking off into space. “There’s a problem.”
“What?” No, no problems. Please. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with those.
“Birth control.”
“Don’t you have something here?” she asked, slightly desperate.
“Never brought a woman here. But maybe…” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and opened it. “Yes.”
Oh, thank goodness.
Without further ado he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
Russ couldn’t believe this was happening. How had a woman he’d tricked and lied to transformed into a willing lover? He didn’t deserve any consideration from her, but he wasn’t stopping to question it, not aloud. He just wanted her naked.
The cabin had warmed up during the day, thanks to a lot of winter sun. So though the bedroom was the coldest room in the cabin, it wasn’t nearly as inhospitable as it had been yesterday-and he wanted to make love to Sydney in a real bed.
The bed was unmade; neither of them had touched it since Russ had carried Sydney to the sofa the previous night. He set Sydney on it then found the light in the dark room and turned it on. He wanted to see her when he made love to her.
When he turned back to her, she was working on the buttons of her faded flannel shirt-an old shirt of his, actually, but it looked a helluva lot better on her.
“I thought you wanted me to undress you,” he teased, taking over the job of removing her shirt. Underneath she wore a silky bra the color of the inside of a shell, with lacy half cups that allowed her shadowy nipples to peek through.
She looked so pretty in the sexy garment, he almost didn’t want to take it off. But before he could even figure out how it fastened, she unclasped the front hook and shrugged out of it.
“Too slow.” Then she surprised him by reaching for his jeans and unfastening the buttons with unwavering purpose. No hesitation there.
Lord, he loved a woman who knew her mind, who craved sex and enjoyed it as much as he did.
Given the layers of clothes they’d been wearing for warmth, they undressed in record time. Russ fluffed the covers up and urged Sydney to climb under where they could be warm and cozy, and he followed her.
For a few moments he just held her, letting her get accustomed to his body next to hers, enjoying every inch of her soft skin pressed against his. He soon couldn’t resist kissing her again. She was responsive to his every touch and he explored her curves with his hands and mouth, pressing his face against her belly, blowing on her nipples, feeling her every shiver and sigh down to his marrow.
Sydney had never been made love to like this before. Though obviously fully aroused, Russ seemed in no hurry to get anyplace special. He explored her the way she might take in the sights, sounds and smells of an outdoor market, darting from booth to booth, tasting a sample of an orange here, a cantaloupe there, delighting in a pyramid of shiny red apples, feeling the texture of an avocado skin.
She got into the spirit of his style of lovemaking. She nibbled his earlobe and buried her fingers in his hair, pressed her nose against his neck and smelled the down-to-earth scents of soap, shaving cream and smoke.
Just when she thought she might explode with the fury of her desire for him, for every part of him, he dipped his finger inside her.
“Oh,” she said, as if she’d just made a discovery, for in a way she had. Nothing had ever felt quite like this before. “What are you doing?”
“Having fun.”
“I know, but…ohhh. Do you want me to…aren’t we…” Her body tensed as her climax hit her full force, with swirling colors and a swooshing in her ears, and for a moment she thought she’d had a stroke or something because she went away for a bit, but if this was dying, she was all for it.
“That’s it,” Russ soothed, “let it go, don’t hold back.”
“Trust me,” she gasped, “I’m not.” He hadn’t left her with enough control to do anything but accept what he was doing to her.
As the ripples of pleasure slowed and her body relaxed, she realized Russ was just holding her.
“That was hardly fair.”
“No?” He raised up on one elbow and looked at her curiously.
“You took advantage.”
“You’re right, that’s not fair. So I’ll let you take advantage of me now.”
“I can’t move.”
“I bet you can.”
And sure enough, he was right. He started playing with her hair, then kissing her and in a few short minutes she was writhing beneath him as if she hadn’t been so recently and so incredibly satisfied.
He pulled away only long enough to take care of protection. When he finally entered her she was crazy with passion for him, and she surprised herself by reaching another peak just as he did, as if somehow their minds had merged along with their bodies and all sensations were shared.
Finally they fell into an exhausted heap and slept like hibernating bears, but early in the morning, long before sunrise, they woke and did it all over again.
