Rowdy (Marked Men #5)(49)
Sex was nothing new to me. I thought I had seen and done it all. I mean there were only so many ways two people could come together. But every single time I was with her I felt like I was experiencing something brand new. Every touch, every kiss, every breathless sigh or guttural groan, every shimmery orgasm, the kind that made my spine feel like it would snap in half from pleasure . . . all felt new and overwhelming. I was having a hard time processing what that meant and I worried if what was happening between us felt the same to her. It was just another bunch of firsts I could attribute to the raven-haired beauty.
I was walking out the front door and double-checking that it was locked behind me since the shop was closed Sunday and Monday when a soft female voice interrupted me.
“Working late?”
I looked over my shoulder after pocketing the keys and gave half of a grin to Sayer as I recognized her in all of her elegantly cool glory—even at almost nine on a Saturday night she seemed regal and refined. She looked like she had just left high tea or court.
“Yep. You, too?”
I had no problem being friendly even if once again I felt like she was standing on the sidewalk in front of the shop specifically for me. Salem had mentioned running into the pretty lawyer once or twice while getting coffee and she seemed to think the woman was harmless. I wasn’t so sure I agreed.
She shook her head in the negative. “No. I was actually headed this way and noticed you were still working and I finally worked up the courage to approach you for the real reason I’ve been lurking around. I was waiting for you to finish your appointment and come out. I was hoping you had a free minute to talk with me. Maybe we could grab a coffee or a drink?”
I blinked at her in shock. First, I had serious doubts I was even slightly her type if her reaction to being in the shop the first time was anything to go by. Second, she knew Salem, so she had to know we had something going on between the two of us, and if she was ignoring that, then all the class she exuded had to be for show. Third, I didn’t think I wanted to have anything to do with her real reason for semistalking me.
“Uh—no. I’m sort of seeing someone. I’m not interested.” I generally had more tact than that but I was still slightly dumbfounded by her and the moment.
She smiled at me sadly and shook her head again. “Not a date, Rowdy. Not even close.” She heaved a deep sigh and I saw something working in her very blue eyes. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot. She blurted out like the words had been trapped inside of her for a long time, “I’m your sister . . . well, half sister, but still we’re related.”
All I could do was stare at her while she stared back at me. I was sure she had to be joking. Finally, after what felt like five solid minutes of silence, I threw my head back and laughed. I laughed so hard tears collected in my eyes and my ab muscles started to hurt. It took me another minute to catch my breath and I told her, “That’s a f**ked-up joke, lady. I don’t know what kind of game you think you’re playing at but it isn’t funny, and I am beyond not interested.”
I went to walk around her when she stuck out a manicured hand and latched on to my elbow.
“I’m serious, Rowdy. My dad—our dad—passed away last year from a massive heart attack. I was finalizing his will with the estate lawyer when I was stunned to realize he wanted me to split everything in half with someone I had never heard of before . . . his son.” Her eyes were pleading with me. “You.”
I shook her off and took a step away from her. She had to be out of her ever-loving mind, but as I narrowed my eyes at her I couldn’t help but notice her eyes looked awfully similar to the ones that stared back at me in the mirror every morning.
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now.” I had spent my entire life alone. I had been thrown into an overcrowded system because there was no family to claim me, and now this woman was trying to tell me there had been someone out there all along with my blood in their veins. I couldn’t believe it—or her.
“He was married to my mom when you were born.” She bit her lip so hard a bead of blood pooled up under the pressure. “He was a very hard man with a lot of secrets. It took months to track you down. Texas has far too many children in the system. When I finally did locate you I couldn’t figure out a way to tell you. I actually pictured it going exactly like this. When my company offered me a transfer to Denver, I thought moving here and settling in would give me some time to work up to breaking the news, figure out a way to approach you and get to know you. I just kept chickening out.”
I shoved my hands through my hair, messing up the slicked-back style and causing the blond strands to stick up all over the place.
“This is crazy. You’re crazy. I don’t need to listen to this.”
I turned my back on her and started to walk away, when her sad voice stopped me.
“I grew up in a sterile household that never saw an ounce of joy or love. My mom took her own life when I was a teenager because she had had enough of my dad and his cruel and thoughtless ways. I can’t tell you how many hours, how many times in my bleak and endless days, I wished for a little brother or sister. I used to dream about you, Rowdy.”
She sounded really sad but she also sounded really insane. I didn’t want anything to do with someone that had known I was out there on my own and had left me to fend for myself, even if that person was dead and his daughter was here in his stead.