A Sinclair Homecoming (The Sinclairs of Alaska) (12 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

W
ADE
HAD
NEVER
been one to lounge in the nude but doing it with Morgan seemed perfectly natural. If someone were to catch a glimpse of them, they’d assume Wade and Morgan were a long-term couple who were nudists on the side because they both seemed comfortable in their skin with one another.

“You have a beautiful body,” he said, openly admiring Morgan as she returned to the sofa with a plate of sliced fruits. He accepted a pear and bit into it, grinning when she gave him a cheeky smile. “And no, I don’t say that to every naked girl I’m with.”

“No?” She bit into a green apple slice. “Then thank you. The yoga is paying off, I see.”

“From my vantage point, I would say a definite yes. You are very flexible,” he said, wiggling his brows in a comically lascivious manner that made her giggle like a young girl. “And I can see now that I should’ve sprung for the bigger condom package.”

Morgan laughed and nodded as she finished her apple. “I should probably get back to work. In fact, Remy is probably fretting as we speak. I don’t take off like this,” she said, reaching over to grab her cell phone. Seeing how many missed calls she had, she lifted her phone as proof. “See? Remy is probably calling the National Guard. He’s a little dramatic.”

“Remy...is that short for anything?”

“Oh, no, his given name is Paul but he didn’t feel that had enough flair so he changed it to Remy when we were in college. College is where he discovered himself, he says.”

“I’m going to take a leap here and guess that Remy is...”

“Gay?” she supplied, and Wade nodded. “Yep. Out and proud. It was a mild upset in the family when he came out but now, I don’t even remember what he was like before.”

“Are you close?”

Morgan paused and a flicker of a shadow crossed her expression but it cleared quickly as she grabbed another pear slice. “We’re as close as we can be without being siblings, I guess. He’s a good man. Even if he does poke his nose where it doesn’t belong now and then.”

“Isn’t that what family is for?” he asked drily. He couldn’t remember a time when his siblings weren’t offering opinions, solicited or not. “My siblings are pretty good at being bossy. I think Simone was the bossiest,” he said, recalling how his baby sister had been a pro at getting what she wanted from whoever and whenever. “Or maybe we just indulged her a lot. I don’t know. But the other two are pretty bossy, too.”

“Strong genes,” Morgan said, shifting on the sofa. “Your mother is a very strong woman. It stands to reason she’d pass on that trait to one or more of her children.”

“That she did. I like to think of myself as pretty even-keeled but maybe I ought to ask my employees first before I own that opinion.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m the superintendent of a national park in California.”

Her brows went up, impressed. “Really? Which park?”

“Yosemite.”

“Ah, beautiful country. I’d been there once before I started college. My girlfriends and I took a California road trip. We started at San Francisco and ended in San Diego. It was a wild time. We did all manner of fun, exciting, scary and sometimes boneheaded things.” She stopped and her expression softened with the memories. “Yes, those were some good times. I think everyone should take a road trip like that before starting college. Sort of like sowing your oats before you buckle down. Have you ever taken a trip like that?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not what you’d call spontaneous,” he admitted, though it seemed an incongruous statement to make when he’d just made love to a woman he barely knew. “I like to plan things out.”

“Well, we had to plan a little bit but we wanted things to be free to flow.”

“Are you a hippie at heart?” he teased.

Her tone became wistful as she answered, “Maybe at one time.” She shook her head and continued, “But that was a long time ago. Now my life is very scheduled and structured.”

“Which way do you like better?”

His question seemed to scratch at something personal that she hadn’t meant to share and he could see her withdraw. “I’m sorry...did I say something?”

“Of course not,” she said, trying to laugh but he sensed something there, beneath the surface. She glanced out the window and her expression changed as she rose quickly, going to the window. “Damn it,” she said under her breath, and when he followed her, he knew exactly what the problem was.

“Guess I should’ve paid more attention to the weather conversation we had earlier,” he said, watching as the snow coming down blanketed the area, making the driveway impassable at this point. “Damn.”

“I need to call Remy,” she said, distressed. “I have a full client load and he’ll need to cancel and reschedule for me.”

He needed to make a few calls himself. His sister and brother were, no doubt, going to be filled with questions that he didn’t want to answer. Changing his mind about calling, he sent a quick group text to his siblings:
Snowed in at a friend’s house. We’re safe. Don’t worry. Tell Mom I’ll see her tomorrow.

Wade listened to Morgan as she talked with Remy and deduced that Remy had already rescheduled appointments and the multitude of messages he’d left were to let her know. When Morgan clicked off, she smiled ruefully and confirmed what he’d already figured out. “This is why I put up with Remy’s flamboyant nature. He’d already called my clients. So...it’s just you and me until the storm lets up and the plow comes through to clear the road. You okay with that?”

“I only have one problem with that scenario,” he said gravely as he pulled her to him.

Her eyes widened as he nuzzled her neck. “And that would be?”

Wade lifted his head long enough to quip, “We’re all out of condoms.”

“Well, it’s a good thing my sister probably has a few stashed in the spare bedroom,” she said, groaning when his tongue flicked out to taste the hollow of her neck. Wade sang
Hallelujah
in his head as he renewed his efforts to taste every inch of her gorgeous body. She tasted of fresh rain and sensual promise and he couldn’t get enough.

Thankfully, she seemed to feel the same. Morgan gripped his hand and led him out of the living room toward a bedroom. He was already hard and ready to go.

And, hot damn, more condoms were stashed in the bedside table.

This was the best snowstorm of his life.

* * *

M
ORGAN
FELL
EXHAUSTED
against the bed, unable to believe how many times they’d had sex. It was as if both were trying to make up for lost time and it was a sprint to the finish line. “I think I need a break or else I might never be the same,” she admitted breathlessly, rolling her head to cast Wade a silly grin. His chest rose and fell with the same harsh breathing as hers but he managed a brief nod of agreement.

She laughed softly, deliriously sated and content. She wanted this feeling to last forever. And if wishes were snowflakes... A sigh rattled from her chest, and Wade rolled on his side to face her. He looked devastatingly handsome with his dark hair mussed and his lips red and swollen from their epic kissing bouts. And she’d been right—Wade was an excellent kisser.

“Can I say something as cheesy as ‘penny for your thoughts?’”

She smiled. “What if my thoughts aren’t worth that much?”

“I’m sure they are. Tell me.”

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking that this is so out of character for me and I should feel guilty but I don’t. I suppose I should analyze that, right?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I think I’m supposed to feel guilty. I mean, you are the last person I should be sleeping with.”

“We haven’t done any sleeping,” he reminded her silkily, and she laughed. Wade grinned, saying, “I’m giving you a hard time. I know what you mean. I never planned to sleep with my mother’s therapist. That sounds so sordid. And I never truly believed that line people use when they say,
it just happened,
but I guess that’s exactly the situation between us. Neither of us planned this but I’m not sorry, either.”

“If I tell you that this has been the greatest sex of my life will your ego go crazy?” she asked, mildly teasing, but she wasn’t lying. She’d never known such glory in a lover’s arms and now that she’d tasted it, she wanted more. “It’s going to be a challenge to find someone else with your skill.”

“Stop, my ego can only take so much before it hits maximum density,” he said with a chuckle that warmed her to her toes. “You’re no slouch in the bedroom. How is it that you’re still single?”

Ah, a question that she couldn’t actually answer with any hint of honesty. She shrugged. “Just busy with work. No time to date.”

Wade reached over and tweaked her nipple gently. “Their loss and my gain,” he said in a low, sultry tone.

She groaned and fought the urge to lean toward him. They were officially—
completely
—out of condoms and as sexy as Wade was and the prospect of more sex with him was a good one, she wasn’t going to engage in unsafe sex. She made a mental note to replace her sister’s stash. “So...why are you still single?” she asked, turning it around on him. “How is it that no one has snatched you up?”

“Same story. Too busy with work.”

“So there’s no one waiting for you at home? No girlfriend waiting hopelessly in the wings for your proposal?”

He hesitated for the briefest moment then said, “Well, I was seeing someone before I left for Alaska but it wasn’t working out so I ended it. Seemed like a mercy, honestly. She was looking for more than I was going to give and I didn’t want to end up hurting her.”

“How did she take it?”

“Um, well, she wasn’t happy about it,” he admitted, shifting in discomfort. “She thought... I don’t know. It was a hard conversation.”

“What didn’t work for you? I mean, are you averse to all commitment or just commitment to her?”

He chuckled as if not sure how to answer because either answer might paint him in an unflattering light, and he finally replied with a helpless shrug. “I really don’t know. I never considered myself a commitment-phobe but if I were to examine my dating track record, it might look pretty suspect.”

She smiled at that. For a tiny, infinitesimal second she imagined what life would be like with Wade Sinclair, which was patently ridiculous because she didn’t actually know him aside from his bedroom talents. She didn’t know if he liked ketchup on his scrambled eggs or if he flat-out hated eggs. And yet she was perfectly willing to sink into a fantasy of her own making, featuring herself and the man who could turn her to pudding with a touch.

Wade took a moment then said, “I want to say I just haven’t found the right person.”

“I have clients who are in love with the idea of love and they’re constantly pushing away what is real for the hope of something that only lives in fantasy,” she shared, watching him for a reaction. She hoped that wasn’t the case with Wade.

“I’m not hoping for the perfect relationship,” he assured her. “I know people are flawed.”

“Then what are you looking for?” she asked.

“This going to sound stupid, given what’s going on with my family, but I want what my parents have—or had. My parents always seemed so in love with each other. It was embarrassing at times to watch them fawn all over each other like two teenagers. But as I got older I realized I wanted that. I wanted that
feeling
they obviously shared. I know it’s possible because my siblings have it with their significant others. I’ve never seen Miranda so happy, and Trace is finally content to live among people, rather than tucked up in a tree somewhere and it’s all because of their mates. I should’ve loved Elizabeth—she was everything I thought I’d ever want in a woman—smart, sexy, accomplished. But...”

“But you lacked chemistry,” Morgan finished for him, and he nodded. David had been everything she thought she should want, too. And because of that, she’d been wild about him. “That pesky chemical process in the brain can be such a pain in the ass,” she said with a short smirk. Maybe if she’d been less enamored and crazy in love, she might’ve seen the warning signs.

“It’s more than that,” he said quietly. “I know all about the science of
love.
I studied biochemistry in college. I’m talking about more than infatuation. Up until Simone died, my parents had never stopped looking at each other like they wanted to disappear in a bedroom together. The heat in their eyes was enough to scorch a room. Whether or not that’s unrealistic, I don’t care. I want it.”

Morgan swallowed the lump that had risen. She admired his courage, his determination not to settle. Someday he would make some lucky woman very happy. “I hope you find it,” she murmured, hating that she was so damaged inside that she always drew parallels to her life with David. David wasn’t normal, by any stretch of the imagination, and if she was going to move beyond the past, she had to stop making connections to it.

As if zeroing in on her private thoughts, he asked, “What was your husband like?” startling her with the innocent question. Instantly, her throat went dry and her smile froze. Wade noticed her stiffen inadvertently and frowned. “Are you okay? I’m sorry if I overstepped. I was just curious. Forget I asked.” He reached out to rub her shoulder and then gestured for her to come to him, murmuring, “Come here, sweetheart,” and she scooted closer, turning so that her backside pressed against him. His arms closed around her, and she smiled, but the tension remained in her body. She wanted to tell Wade about David, but why? She didn’t want to burden him with the knowledge that she’d been living a lie in her marriage and that her husband had died in this very house. But there was something so honest and open about Wade that called to her battered heart and she had to consciously fight the urge to lay it all at his feet.

“Tell me about Simone,” Morgan ventured, needing to change the subject before she embarrassed herself. “My sister isn’t a very good source of information. What was she really like?”

He sighed, and she bit her lip, hating that she’d used a very painful subject as a diversion but she couldn’t share with Wade what had happened in her marriage to David. How would it look if it was discovered that a therapist had been locked into an abusive marriage? The knowledge could wreck her career. Who would trust her to help them through their crises if she hadn’t been able to help herself?