Free In His Brother's Place by Elizabeth Lane Page A

sucked her. She came within seconds, spasms of pleasure shuddering through her body. Moisture slicked her thighs. She was ready for him—aching to feel him inside her.
    His deft fingers paused to add protection. Then, shifting forward, he entered her in one gliding thrust. As his length and bulk filled her she forgot to breathe, struck by the wonder of what was happening—and the irony of it. This was Jordan inside her, her longtime foe; Jordan loving her—except that it wasn’t love. She had no illusions about that. He might care for her more than she’d previously suspected, but this had nothing to do with care. It was pure, unbridled lust.
    Her thoughts dissolved as he began to move, the gliding friction of his sex awakening freshets of sensation. Her hands clawed at his back as he drove into her harder and faster. She felt herself clench around him in rhythmic spasms that exploded through her body as she met his thrusts. Her lips formed his name silently. Jordan...Jordan...
    He groaned, burying himself deep as he climaxed. Overcome by an unexpected tenderness, Angie cradled him between her thighs, rocking him gently as they floated back to Earth.
    There were no words between them. He chuckled softly, grinning down at her in the darkness. Then, brushing a kiss on her lips, he rolled to one side and fell asleep.

Six
    A ngie lay in the dark, listening to the sounds of Jordan sleeping beside her. The easy flow of his breathing was broken by an occasional snore. She might have found it sweetly comforting—if she hadn’t just made one of the worst mistakes of her life.
    She’d agreed to a platonic arrangement for Lucas’s sake. But tonight, in Jordan’s arms, her good intentions had melted like pine pitch in a raging bonfire.
    Now what? Jordan might expect more of the same. But there was no way she could remain here as his live-in lover—especially not with Lucas. Children lost their naïveté early these days. If this became a regular thing, the boy was bound to discover that his mother was sneaking off to Uncle Jordan’s bed.
    Could the man be thinking of marriage for Lucas’s sake? But that idea was a joke. Four years ago Jordan had come up with a plethora of reasons why Justin shouldn’t wed her—her family background, her poverty, even her ambition. None of those reasons had changed. Jordan might care for her, might show protectiveness and concern, might even be willing to have an ongoing sexual relationship with her. But marriage would never be possible. The Coopers were Santa Fe royalty. They would always look down on her—and they would never forgive her part in Justin’s death.
    Rising onto one elbow, she studied Jordan’s face. In sleep he looked nothing like the cynical, hard-driving man she knew during his waking hours. She had to struggle to remember that even now, she couldn’t completely trust him. And the longer she stayed in his bed, the more tempting it would be to forget. For her own peace of mind, she had to get away from him. Right now.
    Inching toward the side of the bed, she lowered her feet to the floor and fumbled for her clothes. Her panties were lost in the bed but she found her bra. Hooking the back and pulling on her rumpled dress, she tiptoed down the hall and up the stairs.
    Back in her room, she opened the connecting door to check on Lucas. Rudy lay sprawled on the rug. He raised his head, thumped his tail and went back to sleep.
    Bathed in the glow of the night-light, Lucas slumbered in the bed that had been his father’s. Justin’s love-worn, one-eyed teddy bear was clutched under one arm. A knot tightened around Angie’s heart. Her little boy was so happy here, as if he’d sensed from the first day that he belonged. This life of privilege was his legacy from the father he’d never known.
    Her gaze lingered on Justin’s photograph. Justin had been the easy-going twin, happy and fun-loving, charming everyone who knew him. Angie’s world had shattered when he died. And