Twin Seduction

He recalled that when his mother had died, Mike had brought a bottle to his father, and they’d shared a drink.

It wasn’t the same. He didn’t kid himself about that. His mother had died after a long illness. Even though her passing had been anticipated, the loss had nearly leveled him. Jordan hadn’t had time to prepare herself—not for the hit-and-run and certainly not for the probability that her mother had been murdered. Glass in hand, he strode toward her and sat down on the coffee table facing her. She still hadn’t moved. Praying it would help, he pressed the glass into her hands and said, “Drink it.”

It didn’t make him feel better when she followed his orders like a robot and shuddered.

“I’m going to be all right,” she said. Reaching for his hand, she linked her fingers with his. Who was comforting whom, he wondered.

“I’ll be fine. I just need a moment.”

“I know.”

A second tear rolled down her cheek.

“Take another sip.”

She did. “I thought my mother’s death was an accident. Inexplicable. Tragic.” Jordan sipped again. “Maddie’s so strong. I almost caved. She didn’t. For a moment after they told me, all I could think of was flying back to Manhattan to help them find whoever murdered my mother.”

Poor kid. She had to feel like Chicken Little with huge chunks of the sky falling on her head. She’d lost her mother, then discovered she’d been kept from her father and had a sister she’d never met. And now this.

“Do you think they could be wrong?” Jordan asked.

“How smart is this Jase Campbell?”

“Smart as they come.”

“Then I’m betting he’s right. Can he take care of Maddie?”

“Nobody better,” Jordan said. “I’m so glad that Maddie is with him. She can lean on him, and he’ll make sure she’s safe.”

That had been his own take on the situation. But it occurred to him that during her long ordeal, Jordan hadn’t had anyone to lean on. That much at least, he could change.

Another tear rolled down her cheek. This time she rubbed it away, then glanced down at her hand. “I never cry.”

Good, Cash thought. If he could just keep her talking, perhaps she could ride out the storm that was swirling around inside of her.

“If we go with the theory that your mother was run down on purpose, do you have any idea of who?” His own mind was racing. Her mother had been murdered before the will had been read. What if someone had not benefited as much as they’d hoped or expected? “Who in your family might have wanted her dead?”

Jordan shook her head. “No one. I mean, I told you that my cousin, Adam, always wanted to step into her shoes one day. But I can’t see him doing something like that. His own mother is always complaining that he lacks spine.” She shook her head again. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

Tears were rolling down her cheeks now. Cash doubted she was even aware of them. Taking the glass from her hand, he lifted her, then sat on the couch and settled her on his lap.

The floodgates opened. Not sure of what else to do, he kissed the top of her head and simply held her close. When he felt her relax against him and her tears began to soak his shirt, Cash realized that this was better for her than the Scotch.

JORDAN WASN’T SURE how long her little crying jag lasted. It was as if someone had turned on an inner faucet and then just as suddenly turned it off. When Cash pressed a clean hankie into her hand, she blew her nose, then settled back into the crook of his arm.

Letting a shaky sigh escape, she listened to Cash’s heartbeat sure and steady beneath her ear. He didn’t say anything, and she was grateful for that.As the seconds ticked by in silence, she knew she should move. All her life she’d stood on her own two feet. Because her mother had always been so focused on her art and her design business, Jordan had had learned to take care of herself at an early age. Oftentimes, she’d watched out for her mother, too. During the last few years when she’d worked for Eva Ware Designs, she’d done more than improve the store’s profits. She’d also insisted that she and Eva have a steady lunch date every Wednesday afternoon. After lunch, they would take in a matinee, visit a museum or simply shop. Artists needed breaks from their work to recharge and her mother seldom took one.

Toying with one of the buttons on Cash’s shirt, she thought about her relationship with Jase. She didn’t recall ever using him to lean on, either. Oh, when he’d been around, she’d used him as a sounding board, but she couldn’t recall him ever holding her like this. In fact, she couldn’t recall anyone holding her quite like this. Had she ever let her guard down quite this far? Had she ever felt quite this comforted? Or comfortable?

A trickle of unease moved through her. She had things to do. She’d made a promise to Maddie that she’d handle the jewelry show tomorrow. To do that, she needed to look at the pieces Maddie had stored in the safe, and then she wanted to go into Santa Fe and check out the venue of the jewelry show. She simply couldn’t stay here any longer.

One more minute, she promised herself. His arms were so strong. From her present position, she could see the sharp line of his jaw and his chin. Stubborn, she thought. In that sense, he was like Jase. She’d never won an argument with her apartment mate. There’d been a few draws, she recalled. She had a hunch that if she crossed swords with Cash, he would prove to be just as much of a challenge. This time, it wasn’t unease, but anticipation that moved through her.

Enough. She drew in a deep breath, intending to sit up, but his scent distracted her. Why was it that she couldn’t seem to get enough of it?

Time to move, Jordan. But first…

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“For what?”

“For falling apart on you. I never do that.”

“No problem.”

Beneath her ear, his voice was a comfortable rumble. It reminded her of her dream.

Which hadn’t been a dream at all, she reminded herself. She really, really had to get back to reality and what she still had to do today.

“You’re a kind man. I want to thank—” When she raised her head and her mouth accidentally brushed his jaw, her heart gave one good thump and then skipped a beat.

His eyes were so close she could see blue flecks in the gray, and they reminded her of a deep shade of lapis. It occurred to her for the first time how small the world became when you were looking into someone’s eyes.

There was something very important she still had to say. And to do. But for the life of her she couldn’t seem to get a handle on it. Not when his mouth was so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. Not when his earthy scent of leather and sun and soap surrounded her.

“Cash?”

His hand slipped under her chin, tipping her head up, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world when his mouth closed over hers. His lips were so soft. They didn’t demand. They merely caressed. More than anything, she wanted to sink into the comfort they offered and into that odd feeling of coming home.

Then, he suddenly changed the angle of the kiss, and Jordan felt herself swept into that same uncharted territory Cash had taken her to during the night. For a moment, she was incredibly tempted to forget everything else and to lose herself in him and what they could do to each other.

But what had happened during the night had been a fantasy, she reminded herself. And she wasn’t the woman she’d been in her dream.

She pulled back. “We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” His mouth was barely an inch away, his hand still firm on the back of her neck. Focus, Jordan. Treat this like a business decision. “I don’t have time. There are things I have to do today. Maddie’s jewelry show is tomorrow, so I have to look at her designs and then I want to go into Santa Fe and check out the hotel where the show is being held.”

“The day is still young.”

He wasn’t arguing, she noted, not in any vehement way. He was merely studying her in that intent way he had. And she was outrageously tempted to just shut up. But she had to get a grip. “My life is complicated right now. I have to focus on walking around in my sister’s life. I shouldn’t be sitting here. I should be taking her designs out of the safe and making sure that they’re ready for that show tomorrow.”

She had to get up off his lap and move. She always thought more clearly when she was pacing. But she couldn’t seem to push away. The man didn’t have to do a thing. He just had to be to seduce her.

“Look, you need to know something. What happened last night, the way I was?”

“Yes?”

“That was because of the fantasy I was weaving. I don’t leap into relationships, especially sexual ones. Normally, I’m very cautious. You assumed I was Maddie. I was imagining Gregory Peck. We should just chalk it up to some strange anomaly caused by the storm and forget it happened.”

“Now, that’s a problem.” He leaned close enough to brush his lips over hers. “I can’t seem to get what happened out of my mind. Speaking for myself, I want it to happen again.”

Jordan desperately tried to gather her thoughts. But all she could think about was that she was poised on a cliff and the plunge had never seemed so tempting. Nor so dangerous. Finally, she just went with a lie. “That’s just it. You’re only speaking for yourself.”