His attention to detail continued as they moved around to the side of the bed. They slowly removed each other’s clothing, caressing and kissing the bare skin as they exposed it. Then he picked her up around the waist and lifted her onto the high mattress. She scooted back as he advanced, covering her body with his until his warm skin chased away the cool conditioned air being circulated by the ceiling fan overhead.
Sawyer propped himself on his elbows, looking down at her. Kat wished she knew what he was thinking, but she was too afraid to ask. Knowing the truth would only make things harder.
He slipped between her thighs, rubbing his hands over the outside of her legs and hips until she nearly purred from the caress. He dipped his head, drawing one of her nipples into his mouth. Sawyer teased it, tugging hard on her flesh until her back arched up off the bed.
Kat dug her heels into the mattress, lifting her hips and seeking him out. He didn’t disappoint, moving forward into her without much effort. She was ready for him, welcoming him inside with a hiss of satisfaction.
From there, he took his time. He wanted a night to remember and they would have it. Every inch of her skin was caressed and kissed. Every sound she made he seemed to memorize. When he moved inside her with more urgency, Kat fought to keep her eyes open so she, too, could remember every moment.
Eventually, she lost that battle. Her release exploded inside her just as his mouth clamped down onto hers. He swallowed her cries, taking them into himself for safekeeping and mingling them with his own low groans as he poured himself into her.
It was a leisurely, but emotionally exhausting, lovemaking session. And when Sawyer collapsed at her side, he was curled up next to her with his hand protectively resting on her belly.
Kat knew it then. If she was being honest with herself, she’d known it before. She’d known it the first night they spent together, but she’d been too stubborn to believe it. It wasn’t a part of her plan. It wasn’t the way she wanted things to turn out. But that didn’t make it any less true.
Kat was in love with Sawyer.
She could tell herself that she wanted to marry Finn, but that was just her own head getting in the way of what her heart wanted. She hardly knew Finn. But what she did know was that there was no way he could compete with Sawyer. His twin had already taken his place in her heart and no matter how hard she tried to push him out, Sawyer was still there.
She closed her eyes tightly and cursed herself. She was an idiot. She’d gone and fallen in love with the wrong Steele twin.
Turning her head, she looked over at him. His eyes were closed, his golden lashes resting on his cheeks. He’d already fallen fast asleep, thanks to the combined sedative effects of good sex and strong whiskey. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but seeing him asleep was enough to give her pause.
Sawyer was a good man. He was as stubborn as she was, for sure, but he had a very strong compass when it came to right and wrong. That he’d given in to his desire for her, even knowing it wasn’t right, had to mean something. It meant he cared for her, too, no matter if he knew or understood that himself.
But that moral compass wasn’t going anywhere. He’d asked her for one last night and that’s all he would take. Once Finn was back in Charleston, he would step aside just as he’d said he would. Even if it hurt him. Even if it broke his heart to do it. And telling him that she loved him wouldn’t help. It would only make it harder on both of them. She knew he would put the baby’s needs first, just like she had.
And nothing short of a time machine would change the fact that Finn was her baby’s father.
Ten
“Ni hao. Wo huíláile!”
Sawyer looked up from his computer and inwardly cringed at the sound of his brother’s voice and his massacred attempt at speaking Mandarin as he came down the hallway.
Finn stopped in Sawyer’s doorway. He was wearing his usual suit, but instead of a tie, his shirt collar was unbuttoned to show a gold necklace with a jade medallion he’d picked up overseas. “I have returned, twin of mine. Did you miss me?”
“Not particularly,” Sawyer said flatly.
Finn smiled and continued down the hall without missing a beat. Sawyer didn’t really want to follow, but he wanted to know how things had gone in China, and his father would probably be demanding a full report immediately.
Pushing up from his chair, he went out and followed Finn to the big corner office where Trevor Steele held court. His brother was already in there by the time he reached the assistant’s desk.
“Sawyer, come in and shut the door,” Trevor said.
Finn was grinning from ear to ear in one of the two guest chairs across from their father. Things must have gone well in Beijing. Or his brother was too busy doing other things to notice that it hadn’t.
“The manufacturing plant is complete and operational. I returned home for a few weeks while the staffing team works on hiring from the local area and getting the team trained. I think we will have them punching out hammers and sockets within a month, conservatively.”
Both brothers turned to Trevor for his reaction and Sawyer wasn’t disappointed.
“Thanks for the update,” Trevor retorted, “but I know exactly what’s going on over there. Do you really think I’d send you halfway across the world to manage a multi-million-dollar operation and not know what was going on every second of the day?”
Finn’s smile faded. “Of course you would keep abreast. You’re the president of the company. I just wanted to share the good news with you and Sawyer.”
Trevor sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his chest. “You did fine, son. Better than I expected, really. But it’s hard for me to focus on that considering the mess you left behind at home.”
“Mess?”