Indulgence (251 page)

“I’m going to follow you and this discussion is over,”
Michael said, with uncharacteristic heat.

Jolynn looked as if she was about to argue more, but Michael
raised a hand to stop her. “If you want to leave, I will follow, otherwise you
stay. Once you reach the interstate safely, I’ll turn around and come back.
It’s the middle of the day, and Graeme and Liz will be going out, too. He needs
her to make a formal statement, and they are going to do a little shopping.” He
grinned. “By the way, thank you for sending along the clothes, they were
perfect.”

“You’re the one who gave me all the right information about
what the two of you would need. You know, bro, you’ve got a great eye for
sizes, styles, and colors.” She grinned mischievously at him, and he braced
himself for whatever zinger she was going to toss his way.

“You’re going to make Graeme a good little wife someday.”

Groaning, he threw a book at her head, which she neatly
avoided.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked, her face suddenly gone
serious.

He shook his head. “I don’t know what there is to say. It
never bothered me, you know. I mean, I think I just always knew that you liked
both women and men, and I never thought anything about it. Never once did I
worry whether my sister was gay or straight. You were just my sister. Then when
you wanted to tell Mom and Dad, I realized it probably hadn’t been as easy for
you as I thought. I’m sorry. I should have been more thoughtful.”

“Idiot!” Jolynn said with a grin on her face. “Don’t you
know that’s one of the things I love best about you? Your feelings about me
didn’t change. Now think about this. You have a great capacity to love, brother
dear. You love people for who they are, not for their labels.

“Anyone with half a brain can see you have strong feelings
for Elizabeth. And why not? She’s beautiful, funny, and despite the competent
business woman façade, there is a hint of vulnerability about her. I know
you’re falling for her.

“But I can see you have strong feelings for Graeme, too, and
that scares the shit out of you. You don’t know what to do with your feelings,
but you don’t know how to stop what’s growing between you, either. What you
told me before we spoke to Mom and Dad holds true for you, too. Don’t worry
about what society thinks. Don’t worry about the labels. So what if you’ve only
been attracted to women before? This time you’re attracted to a woman and a
man. Follow your heart.

“From the looks Graeme and Liz both shoot you when you’re
not looking, I think they’re both half in love with you already.”

He felt the flush creep up his neck, but he couldn’t keep
from asking, “You think so?”

“Idiot, “ Jolynn said again and laughed. “Come on. Let’s go,
so you can get back before nightfall.”

*****

Everything was perfect. He had all his supplies in place, no
one knew where to find him and he’d managed to get the three of them separated.
It was exactly the way he wanted it.

Humming to himself, Barry put a little water on his whet
stone and began to sharpen his blade. The guns were fine for impersonal jobs,
but this one required a knife. This one was personal.

*****

“Enwright.”

“Michael?” Lizzie said, relief flooding through her at the
sound of his voice.

“What’s wrong, Liz?” he asked, his voice sharp.

“I…uh…oh hell! Nothing’s wrong, I just was worried about
you, okay?” she said. She felt foolish. She’d spent the afternoon at the
sheriff’s office, hidden away in a back room while Graeme fended off everyone
that was looking for the elusive Michael Enwright.

Since there was a computer in the room, she’d surfed and
done some research of her own. Michael Enwright was one of the most competent
men on the planet, if even a third of what they said about him was true. Touted
as a boy genius, Michael had made his fortune building high-tech security
solutions for problems the world hadn’t seen coming. He had a reputation as a
heck of a geek, a sharp businessman, and a loyal if demanding employer. He’d
also been listed on the “Phoenix Best Catch” list for the past six years. After
his reported kidnapping the other night, the press rehashed every news story
ever aired or printed about Michael.

It was clear that someone from the state police was feeding
them information. The first articles reported that Michael had been
inadvertently involved in breaking up a domestic dispute. The story grew when
it was reported that he’d saved the woman’s life. When Michael hadn’t been seen
after the incident and, with a little prompting from the FBI, the kidnapping
story began to make the rounds. Now the reporters were in the front office,
making Graeme’s life miserable, demanding the full story.

“I’m sorry, you’re probably busy. I just wanted to hear your
voice. Poor Graeme’s under siege at the moment.” She caught him up on the
reporter’s questions. “Just a little while ago the state police called and
they’re sending an investigator up here from Phoenix to review Graeme’s
handling of the incident. As if he wasn’t feeling harassed enough. I don’t know
when we’ll get home.”

There was a brief pause, and then Michael’s voice was
suddenly all business. “I’ll be there to get you shortly. You are about to
become the official client of Enwright Security, under the personal care of the
owner himself. I’ll answer a few brief questions, and then we’ll leave the
sheriff to handle the rest. My appearance should take some of the pressure off
Graeme, and it’ll get you out of there much earlier than if you have to wait
for him.”

His next words had her insides clenching down hard in
anticipation.

“We’ll have a couple of hours alone at the cabin together,
Liz. Think we can find something to do?” he asked and then laughed, a rich,
rolling sound that sent shivers along her spine.

*****

It was nicely played, Graeme thought. He stood watching
impassively as Michael worked his charm over the press, lightly teasing them
out of the outrageous suppositions they’d begun to report.

“The news of my kidnapping were an exaggeration at best,
malicious rumor at worst. I have no idea why the FBI would jump to such an
erroneous conclusion on so few facts. I was taking a few days of vacation and
stopped at a rest area. I saw a woman being chased by a man into the
surrounding wilderness. I followed, and the man shot at the windows of my
vehicle. I managed to escape before my vehicle went into the ravine. I fired my
own weapon in the general direction of the man, and he ran off. My first
concern was for the safety of the victim, so I did not pursue.

“At this point, I have taken Ms. Ashford as a client on a
pro bono basis. I have an aversion to having my windows shot out and an even
stronger one to men who hurt women. Once the sheriff captures her husband, the
law will provide my client with all the protection she needs.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you my word. I was not
kidnapped nor am I near death in a secret location. I never met Ms. Ashford,
her husband, or Sheriff Graeme Kennedy prior to the incident at the rest area.
I will answer your questions more fully once the situation is resolved. Thank
you.”

Shit, Graeme thought. He’d never be that smooth in front of
a camera. He watched as Michael shepherded Lizzie into the backseat of his new
Tahoe, got in the driver’s side and sped off, leaving him to answer more
questions and distract the press so they didn’t try to follow.

Stepping forward, Graeme asked, “Are there any further
questions?”

*****

Standing close, Michael pressed his lips to the top of
Lizzie’s head. She sighed in contentment. “Does this mean you’ll try, Michael?”
she asked, hope welling inside of her.

“Come sit with me,” he said, pulling her to the couch. “I
wish I could tell both of you together, but I think it might be a while before
Graeme makes it home. Especially if he has to wait for the state investigator.

“I want to share something Jo said. She told me not to worry
about what society thinks, not to worry about labels. She thinks I should
follow my heart.” He looked at her with clear blue eyes, and she found herself
holding her breath, waiting.

“I’ve never imagined anything like this for myself. I
suppose if pressed I would have answered I want the whole wife, kids, picket
fence thing. But really, I’ve just been too busy to worry about it. These past
few days have changed me. Have made me aware of feelings I didn’t know I could
have.

With a small smile, he continued, “Graeme drew me in from
the first night. I could see how much he cared for you. He was so intense, but
there was something about him that he was holding back. I wanted to know what
made him tick. Did he tell you I undressed in front of him?”

“No! How’d he take it?” she asked, on the verge of laughter.

Michael smiled. “Like a man. Better than I’ve taken my
growing attraction to him. What am I going to do, Liz? What are we going to
do?”

“Love each other, I suppose. What choice do we have? It
might be different if Graeme and I had been an established couple and invited
you to join us. I think this only works if we all three commit to making the
effort.” She waited a beat, letting her words sink in.

“Michael, will you make love to me?” she asked, unsure of
herself, unsure of him.

“Isn’t that like cheating on Graeme?” he asked with a smile.

“We could call and ask him,” she countered. “Besides, for
this to work between the three of us we can’t spend time being jealous of the
others. It works if we’re free to love in any grouping between the three of us.
You know someday, you and Graeme may want to have a go without me.” She winked
and reached for the phone to call Graeme. She tried not to laugh as Michael
raised his eyebrows.

“Lizzie?” Graeme answered. “Everything all right?”

Michael was watching her now with amusement crinkling the
corners of his eyes.

“Everything’s fine. Actually, better than fine. Seems
Michael is considering his sister’s advice to forget about society and follow
his heart. So we were wondering if you’d mind if we, you know…fooled around a
little bit before you got here?” she asked, barely able to hold back the
laughter.

“Hell’s bells, little bit, go love on our boy.” Then he
lowered his voice. “I’ll be home soon. You two take care of each other. I love
you both.” He ended the connection before she could tell him she loved him too.

“What did he say?” Michael asked.

With a tight throat, she said, “He said to take care of each
other, and he loves us both.”

Michael thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
And for the next little while, he was going to love her and make her forget the
bad times she’d suffered at the hands of her rat bastard husband.

“I want to see you naked,” he said as he unbuttoned her
blouse and let it slip to the floor. He unhooked her bra and tossed it aside.
Then, kneeling in front of her, he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them from
her hips, taking her panties with them. He looked at her, running his hands
over her soft skin, memorizing the perfection of her curves.

He realized she had a light sprinkling of freckles on her
shoulders, her chest, across her cheeks. He vowed to kiss every one of them
someday. Maybe with Graeme’s help. He lowered his face to the light triangle of
hair and took in the scent of her. He took her leg and draped it over his
shoulder and pressed his mouth intimately against her. He began to kiss her,
lap at her juices, slide his tongue along her pussy. He drove into her with his
tongue, gliding in her wetness, filled with the muskiness that was uniquely Lizzie.

“Christ, I need you now, Liz. I need to be inside you.”

“Yes,” she gasped and collapsed back on the bed then opened
her legs to him.

He swiftly rolled on a condom and plunged inside, driving in
deep on a single thrust. The silky heat of her surrounded him. He heard her
moans, made noises deep in his own throat and when she went, he let her,
refusing to follow.

His own need was great, but he stilled, savoring the feeling
as her pussy clenched tightly, spasm after spasm ripping through her. Even as
she shuddered around him, he began to move again, slowly now, back in control.
Time spun out as he pushed deep. He needed to be deeper still, to imprint
himself on this woman, to touch her soul.

He hooked her knees over his forearms and thrust. He closed
his eyes and thought of Graeme, of Lizzie, of what they might make together.
And then he didn’t think…he felt. He drove into her, slick and hot, and he took
her over the edge once more, coming with her, becoming part of her.

*****

Graeme combed his fingers through his hair and took another
sip of coffee. Christ, would this day never end? Knowing that Michael and
Lizzie were home making love both pleased and irritated him. He wondered if
Michael would be ready to take the next step in their relationship. Would Michael
be a bottom or a top? He’d always preferred to top, but the thought of
Michael’s cock shoved deep in his ass was intoxicating. Guiltily pushing away
the intimate images, Graeme turned his tired eyes back to the computer.

He’d spent the last two hours scouring property records for
northern Arizona, looking for any connection to Ashford. He had uncovered five
possible locations, if the cabin was indeed a recent purchase. All he had to go
on were Lizzie’s sketchy memories of Ashford’s mutterings.

He’d verified Michael’s information about the lack of a
military record, including no record of any treatment at the VA hospital in
Phoenix. The deployments, the tumor—it had all been bullshit. He’d run into a
brick wall at the State Department and decided to ask Michael to pursue that
angle using his connections.