Reunited in Love

Chapter Twenty-Three

THE PARTY WOUND DOWN QUICKLY. After the scene in the front yard, no one was in the mood to be cheery, and some people had long drives home.

“Jacob,” one woman said disgustedly as she left. “Plop him down in a candy store and five minutes later all the kids would be crying.”

Ethan was quiet on the way home. He was leaning in his seat, but there was tension in the way he gripped the steering wheel, the flatness of his mouth.

Kerri wished she could read his mind. Should she tell him about her family? Jacob had already made the ugly accusation—so maybe it was too late—but she had nothing to be ashamed of. She’d done her best for The Lloyds Development. Though Jacob had called her the enemy, she’d never considered Ethan or his family her enemies. People who mattered to Ethan mattered to her, too. How could she make him see that?

The drive was spent in silence. As they went up to the penthouse the tension was about to kill her. She rubbed the back of her neck and would have given anything for a big glass of Merlot to ease the tightness. When the door closed behind them, she turned to Ethan and blurted, “Are you angry with me?”

“No.”

Could he be any more terse? “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“I’m Barron Sterling’s granddaughter. David Wilson was my father.”

He didn’t even blink. “Yeah, I know.”

“Because Jacob told you. But—”

“No. Gavin found out first and told me several days ago.”

So that was why Gavin had been so cold to her. “I see. Why didn’t you say something?”

“What could I have said?” he asked mildly, as though he was talking about tomorrow’s weather or what to wear to work.

“Didn’t you wonder about what Jacob accused me of?”

“Not really.”

She blinked, suddenly deflated. All the arguments she’d been prepared to deliver vanished at his flat answer.

He spread his hands. “Look Kerri, this isn’t an issue for me. I have no reason to suspect you of anything. Whatever problems TLD has are due to Jacob, and probably the Board of Directors, but not you.”

The burning sensation in her stomach eased. “Thank you for trusting me. I just… I didn’t know what to do at your mother’s, especially when Meredith asked me to be her advisor.”

Ethan finally looked like he was starting to relax. “Yeah, I’m sure it really put you on the spot. But look, I don’t want you to feel like you have to tiptoe around me or my family. If they don’t like you because of who you’re related to, it’s their problem, not yours.” He plopped down on the couch, and she joined him. He toyed with her hair. “Natalie told me you never said a word about your family to her.”

“Never. Um…did you tell her?”

“No. I didn’t know at the time.”

She snuggled into his warm, strong frame. “It’s not that I really want to hide anything from her. It wasn’t relevant. My family and I are completely estranged.” Except that Barron wants to see me all of a sudden.

“Some people might still have used the connection to further their career. You worked in finance.”

She shrugged. “Not much point when I couldn’t have brought in a single account using the family ties. It was easier to pretend I was just some ambitious young thing. Which, actually, I was.”

His fingers wrapped around the wavy end of her hair and tickled her bare shoulders. “Still… Seems like kind of a waste.”

She smiled. “If I’d let everyone know who my family was, you might not have hired me.”

At first she’d thought the job was a terrible idea, but accepted because she thought the position and the affair were temporary. Now she was glad she’d taken his offer. It was helping her overcome her fear and loneliness. She appreciated Ethan making her stronger and more sure of herself. Not in a professional capacity—she’d always known she was good—but in more personal and intimate relationships, where she used to wonder if she could measure up to some impossible standard she’d unconsciously set for herself to fit in and belong.

They hadn’t been together that long—only a few months—but whenever she thought of him her mind seemed clearer, her heart warmer and her insides more relaxed…albeit still hot with need. She didn’t know how long the sexual desire would last—maybe forever—but more importantly, sometimes she could see herself still feeling the way she did with Ethan twenty years down the road.

Was this love?

She’d always thought she’d know when she was in the throes of feverish passion. But now, sitting on the couch with their clothes on and their bodies flush against each other, she couldn’t help but think that this was the real thing, the kind of intimacy that wouldn’t vanish once the heated moment had passed. That they would endure all the endless trials of life, whether the two of them were sick or poor or old.

She wished she could tell if Ethan felt the same love, but a teeny voice of doubt in her mind said probably not. He was used to affection, unconditional acceptance and knowledge of where he fit in the world. He probably wasn’t overwhelmed by their relationship the way she was, and it was pretty clear that women falling in love with him was nothing unusual.

Well, it didn’t matter. So long as she had this moment with him.

“I’m sorry that the job caused you problems, though,” he said. “I’m really pissed off at Jacob.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Not an option. And I promise you, it won’t happen again.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

Somewhere inside her, rivers of feeling that had been icebound and stagnant cracked, broke into pieces, started flowing again. She turned in his arms and straddled him, pushing him back against the couch. His eyes darkened. He looked so masculine and beautiful in the sunlight, filtered through the pale curtains, and she kissed him deeply.

He was all hers.

His fingers let go of her hair and gripped her pelvis as she probed his lips, then boldly pushed into his mouth. The taste of champagne lingered there; she melted into him, one broad shoulder gripped in each hand. He seemed impossibly solid to her, a granite slab of strength and constancy.


The sun brightened his golden hair until it looked like he was on fire. She fitted herself more closely against him, her skin sensitive and tingling. Still holding the kiss, they undressed each other, rocking back and forth on the couch to get the clothes off. Every time Ethan shifted it sent a jolt of pleasure shooting up from between her legs.

He unzipped her dress and pulled it over her head. Then the panties were gone, leaving her bare to his gaze. Yet it was her heart that seemed open and vulnerable now, without the usual shield to keep it safe.

“You’re stunning,” he whispered. He reached for her breasts, cupping the soft mounds in his warm, large hands. He flicked his thumbs against the pointed tips, and she bit her lower lip to contain a moan.

One hand left to travel downward, fingertips running down her ribs and belly in a tortuously slow tour to where she was wet and quivering. He seemed to know her every secret, her every sensitive spot.

And for once she didn’t mind that the man she was involved with knew so much about her.

He wrapped his hand around her ass, while pulling on her nipple. She slowly moved her pelvis against his, wanting him deep inside. But she didn’t want the moment to end too soon.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. His were slitted, his blue gaze brilliant and dark. Passion had flushed his cheeks, and their earlier kiss had turned his lips swollen.

She studied every line of his face, listened to every breath he drew. She wanted to etch this moment forever onto her brain, so she’d never forget it.

After putting a condom on him, she slid onto him, completely ready, and found him so big it was slightly difficult to get him in.

She moved up and down, slowly and deliberately at first, then faster as the heat built. His breathing grew labored, his hands firmer and rougher on her body, marking her. She loved the possessiveness of his touch.

Yes, yes, I’m yours. Do whatever you will with me.

Tension coiled inside her, her muscles tightening more and more as he thrust harder, his hips surging upward.

She screamed her pleasure as he gritted his teeth and emptied himself. She slid forward and wrapped her arms around him, sated and happy.

*



Ethan felt Kerri go limp with sleep in his lap. Normally he would have given in to the urge to snooze a bit, too, but now he brooded.

She always responded so passionately, so openly…but was that the same as emotional openness and love?

The physical bond between them was fine, but without the heart it wouldn’t be enough to sustain a long-term relationship. Kerri had a habit of running away from pain. No one had to spell it out for him. It was obvious from what he’d been able to piece together.

Would she consider staying with him worth whatever pain her family would inevitably inflict on her when they found out about the two of them? Or would she vanish without a word? Ethan was certain they wanted her back in the fold. Pattington had ascertained that Kerri left Hong Kong around the same time Barron Sterling had left for Asia. Too much of a coincidence, especially combined with her discomfort at being in Houston.

His plan to show Kerri that she could be happy and content with him and the people around him had imploded. Damn Gavin and Jacob.

Ethan closed his eyes briefly, not wanting to get angry all over again. Kerri needed to see that what the two of them had was worth staying put for, that they could deal with her family as a team. She had to feel safe, and understand that he’d never let anyone hurt her.

But it was entirely possible that he could fail and Kerri would slip away again, this time forever. Icy fingers of dread took hold of his heart, because he was no longer certain he could do enough to hold on to her.

*



Later that evening, Kerri watched Ethan moving around the kitchen, a sharp knife in his hand. The black apron looked good on him, the first time she’d thought that about a man and an apron. He’d put on a black polo shirt and faded jeans to work behind the island counter. The smells of chicken Parmesan coming together were tantalizing.

Already her mouth was watering. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs, she thought. Just seeing Ethan in the kitchen is enough to do it. She’d gain weight at the rate things were going, and would no longer be able to fit into her clothes.

The doorbell rang. Kerri rose. “You want me to get it?”

“Please,” Ethan said over a sizzling pan.

She opened the door to find a small, well-proportioned brunette with sharp eyes on the other side. High heels didn’t quite manage to bring her up to Kerri’s height, but a fashionable black raw-silk dress hugged the other woman’s hourglass body, and her posture was imperious. She tossed long curls over a shoulder and stared at Kerri like she would a bug.

Kerri straightened and put a hand on her hip.

“Who are you?” the woman said.

“Well, at the moment I’m the woman who’s going to decide whether or not to shut the door in your fa—”

Ethan appeared by Kerri’s side. “Catherine! What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” She started marching into the penthouse. “I had to come here to see you. It’s not like my entire future is something we can talk about over the phone.”

Kerri stepped aside as the other woman swept past. So this was Catherine Fairchild Lloyd, member of the TLD Board and Ethan’s sister-in-law. Given Jacob’s bigamy, Kerri assumed the woman would be more…subdued. But no, she was strikingly good looking and obviously hyped up about something. Her golden brown eyes glittered like lasers, her cheeks flushed to a dark pink—and not from artful makeup.

The second the door closed Catherine wheeled around and said, “How could you, Ethan?” The fact that Kerri was standing there didn’t seem to faze her. “How could you tell everyone I’m an embezzler?”

Ethan sighed. “I guess Simon ran to you.”

“No. Jacob told me everything.”

He scowled. “You’re still talking to Jacob?”

“He called me this morning to rail at me about all the accounts and credit cards I closed. It’s the least he deserved considering what he’s done. But he had the last laugh in our little conversation, oh yes he did. He said you told everyone I stole from the company, and that’s why it’s doing so badly. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard it.”

“I said no such thing. The official audit isn’t finished yet, and there are quite a few other people who had access to the company’s funds besides you.”

“He said I was going to jail to pay for it.” Her lower lip trembled slightly.

Kerri winced. Jacob was the biggest ass ever.

“Catherine, listen to me. We don’t know what happened to the money yet,” Ethan said. “It might just not have been properly accounted for…which wouldn’t surprise me, given how sloppily the rest of the company has been run lately. So long as you aren’t responsible for the missing funds, you aren’t going to jail.”

“But he said—”

“Don’t you know your husband well enough to disregar—”

“He’s not my husband!”

“Okay, okay. The point is, you should know how Jacob can be when he’s angry.”

“I didn’t steal anything from the company. Or from Jacob.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

“You think?” Catherine didn’t seem sure. “Sometimes truth has nothing to do with how life turns out.” She turned to Kerri, studying her from head to toes.


Kerri arched an eyebrow and returned the favor. She wouldn’t let Catherine intimidate her.

“I suppose this is the Kerri who found the problems?” Catherine said finally.

“One and the same,” Kerri said.

“You really trust this woman?” Catherine said to Ethan. “Everyone knows she’s Barron Sterling’s granddaughter. Born right in the middle of the enemy camp.”

He took a step forward, invading Catherine’s personal space. She flinched, but didn’t back down. Her head tilted back and her chest thrust out like a rooster ready for a fight.

“Let me be perfectly—perfectly—clear. You have no right to question Kerri. She is superbly qualified to look at the books and help me,” Ethan said, eyes boring into Catherine’s. “Unlike, I might add, some other people who apparently didn’t see anything going wrong at the company even though they sat on the board and attended every meeting.”

Catherine paled. “You’re on the board too.”

“Some of us were never able to go to any of the meetings due to scheduling conflicts, which in retrospect seem rather convenient. Kerri’s a Yale graduate, and received an MBA from Wharton. Was a VP at Goldreich Stanley. International experience. The Lloyds Development is lucky to have someone with her qualifications looking over the mess that Jacob’s left behind. If you and the others hadn’t been so busy spending Lloyd money, you might’ve realized the company wasn’t doing so well or that Jacob was mismanaging everything, and I might not have had to hire her in the first place.”

Catherine’s face was crimson. “How was I to know that? He did everything.”

“You’ve been on the board ever since you got married. Your husband is the CEO. How could you not know?”

Kerri cringed. Ethan was obviously furious, but he wasn’t being entirely fair. If Catherine didn’t have any training or experience reading financial reports and so on, she wouldn’t have known what to look for. It had nothing to do with her seat on the board. In fact, it was likely that Jacob had chosen Catherine for the board specifically because she wouldn’t know enough to challenge him. “Ethan, maybe Catherine really didn’t—”

“Stay out of this,” Catherine snapped, then turned back to Ethan. “For your information, Jacob never shared anything meaningful about the business with me.” Despite the cold disdain on her face, her voice started shaking. “And if you think I buy your whole ‘I’ll take care of everyone’ routine, you’re mistaken. I know what you’re doing, Ethan. You’re trying to get rid of me, cut me off, and indulge in your twisted kink.”

Twisted kink?

“Jacob told me all about you. You like them weak, needy and just slightly messed up so you can swoop in and fix everything for them.” Catherine glanced at Kerri. “Sound about right? You know Jacob said Ethan only dates two types of women? Ones who are just like Lisa, or the exact opposite. Guess which one you are.”

It was Ethan’s turn to pale. His hands clenched into fists so tight they shook. He looked furious enough to strike Catherine.

“See, I’m right.” She tossed a cruel smirk at Kerri. “You’re such an idiot, thinking you’re special, when what you really are is just a chance to undo his f*ckup.”

“Drop it, Catherine.” Ethan’s voice lowered to a register Kerri hadn’t heard before. “Before I cut you off for real.”

“Wasn’t that your plan from the very beginning? Get rid of the grasping, fake in-law? Isn’t that why you hired this, this surrogate to go throu—”

“Enough!” Ethan roared. “Get out!”

“You never liked me. Just because I don’t have a fancy degree doesn’t mean I’m stupid!”

Kerri took Catherine’s arm and dragged her out of the penthouse. Cripes, the woman had a death wish. Or maybe she just didn’t care what happened any longer.

“Come on.” Kerri half-pushed, half-escorted Catherine to the elevator. Despite everything that had been said, she found herself feeling sorry for the woman. Catherine had discovered the man she thought she was married to wasn’t really her husband, the lifestyle she obviously enjoyed was probably going to be radically downsized in the very near future, and to top it all off, there was a very real possibility she might go to jail. It was a lot to deal with.

“You shouldn’t bait him.” Kerri pressed the button for the elevator.

“What the hell do you mean?”

“I think you know.”

Catherine’s jaw tensed, as though she was bracing for a fight, then moisture appeared in her eyes. Her hands shook. Panic and humiliation flashed in her gaze before she yanked her arm out of Kerri’s grip.

Kerri suppressed a sigh. Under the killer looks and haughty veneer, this woman was obviously hurting so badly that Kerri couldn’t help but wonder if she really loved Jacob. It would explain a lot.

“You need to go,” Kerri said. “But just so you know, I don’t think Ethan’s going to cut you out. He’s way too devoted to his family.”

“Yeah, great, except I’m not his family. Never was.” Catherine’s voice was bitter. “God, it wasn’t supposed to end up like this. Four damned years, and I’m left with nothing.” She looked at Kerri levelly. “They always hated me, you know. The whole Lloyd clan. I wasn’t what they wanted for Jacob. They’ve got to be thrilled I was never his lawfully wedded wife.”

Yeah, Kerri thought. I’m sure they’re much happier that he’s really married to a stripper.

Catherine pulled out a silk handkerchief and carefully blotted her tears away. “Well, good luck with Ethan. I hope you know what you’re doing. But if you want my advice, go find someone else. When he’s done playing with you, he’ll toss you out like so much stale bread.”

She disappeared into the elevator.