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  He seized my wrist and trailed kisses down my arm. Then his tongued lapped my nipple several times until he raked his teeth across the tip. I gasped as he flipped me onto my back. Spencer licked, kissed, and nibbled his way down my sternum until his wet, warm tongue slid up my slit, and his mouth latched onto my clit.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  I stopped moaning and looked toward the door. Spencer’s pleasure-bringing tongue never let up, and he even slipped fingers inside me, finger-fucking fast and deep.

  “Ah,” I said, breathing heavily while tipping my hips toward his stimulation.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  The electric sensation of a burgeoning orgasm went away. When I opened my eyes, Spencer’s face was moving toward mine.

  “Tell them to wait,” he said.

  I nodded rapidly. It took all my self-control to steady myself enough to call, “Wait a minute.”

  He winked. “Good job.”

  “You’re not done yet, big brother?” a woman said from behind the door.

  Spencer jerked his head back. “Bryn!”

  The door opened, and a beautiful woman was standing there. She had fine blond hair with beach waves and wore a long skirt with a kaleidoscope pattern and blousy tube top that showed off her toned midriff. She smirked and leaned against the doorjamb.

  “Hi, Jada Forte. I’m Bryn,” she said, grinning at me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Talk about not understanding boundaries!

  Bronwyn Christmas had no concept of them, which was exactly how she’d been portrayed in the book. She stood in the doorway while her brother was still between my legs.

  “Get the hell out of here!” he shouted. “And close the door.”

  “Oh, come on, Spence. It’s me.”

  “Out!” he shouted.

  She hadn’t budged an inch. “I’ve seen you do this before, although you seem”—she rolled her hand—“more comfortable with it somehow.”

  Her words gave him a sort of super strength, and he seemed to float backward off the bed and stand.

  “Please leave,” I said before Spencer could say anything else.

  Bryn cocked her head, watching me curiously. But Spencer was approaching her quickly. She took a step back, away from the doorjamb, and he slammed the door and locked it.

  Spencer then went into the bathroom, wet a towel with warm water, and wiped my pussy as he normally did.

  “Did you know she was coming?” I asked.

  “No,” he snapped.

  By the wrinkling of his eyebrows, I knew he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. The last thing he said before putting on his dark-blue loose-fitting sweatpants was, “I planned to fuck you all night long.” Then he walked to the door, telling me to join them for dinner in half an hour, and left my room.

  I had no idea how he did it, but I wanted to follow Spencer Christmas’s every order. I also wanted to look pretty before arriving to the table. However, Carol’s warning remained stuck in my mind as I studied myself in the mirror. She was a sexy woman—sort of a vixen. I was… I blinked at the image staring back at me. I was certainly pretty. I’d been told that my whole life. Lots of men called me hot, but I never accepted that definition or considered it a compliment. Dogs were in heat, not people and certainly not me. It was my mom who’d taught me to see compliments that way. She had a lot to do with how I perceived myself.

  “Jada, in this world you’ll have beauty capital, but only a weak woman relies on that to get whatever the hell she wants.” She would take me by the chin and look me in the eye. “Your father and I gave you a beautiful face, but we also blessed you with intellect, killer instincts, and self-control. Remember that.”

  I had no doubt my mom was the reason I’d been a virgin for most of my twenties, and that wasn’t a bad thing, especially considering how pleasurable my first time was. Everything about that first night with Spencer was right. The stars had aligned. We were both exactly where we needed to be in life to make our connection that much stronger.

  “So fuck Carol,” I said to the image in the mirror. And by the way my reflection looked at me, she agreed.

  Spencer wouldn’t just leave me. He wasn’t the same man for me that he’d been to her. And I no longer cared what Spencer was hiding, though I was sure that he was hiding something—not just from me but from everybody, including the townspeople, which was why everyone I encountered was from out of town.

  I had on my tight black, mid-length skirt with a matching deep V-neck camisole that showed just how naturally fantastic my tits were. That was something else I could thank my mother for. I’d fortunately packed party clothes in the mistaken belief that there would be a place in Jackson Hole where I could go out and do some socializing.

  I gave myself one more long study in the mirror. I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

  My nerves were tightening and twisting into knots as I walked down to the dining room. Spencer’s sister was what I considered a radical element. She seemed unpredictable and unable to respect boundaries. After the last two days of making love to Spencer more times than I could have dreamed of, I felt as if her showing up unannounced had thrust me into a whole new aspect of being with Spencer that I wasn’t ready for.

  As I walked down the stairs, I wondered what we were to each other. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Boss and employee? Fuck buddies? Friends? All the above? I hoped Bryn wasn’t cruel enough to put us in the position to have to verbally define our relationship.

  “Good evening, Miss Forte,” Felix said once I’d made it to the bottom of the stairs.

  I jumped, startled, and turned toward him. “Good evening, Felix.”

  I heard voices and turned in that direction. Spencer said something, and even though I couldn’t make out the words, his tone indicated that he wasn’t happy. Then Bryn spoke. She sounded lively.

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. She was purposely pushing his buttons—that was for sure. I recalled the emails she’d sent Spencer. In them, she sounded contrite and evolved, nothing like the rabid little witch who would barge in on her brother while he was having sex.

  “Are you ready to be escorted to dinner, Miss Forte?” Felix said.

  I whipped my attention back to him. “Um, no, thank you, Felix. I’ll just follow the noise.”

  He bowed. “As you wish.”

  I watched Felix walk off to wherever he spent most of his waking hours. That was still a mystery. Spencer was speaking again and sounded just as annoyed as he’d been before.

  There was no more time to delay. I stepped off toward the dining room, chin up, back straight. It was time to face the sister from hell.

  “Good evening,” I said as I entered the dining room.

  Spencer, who was sitting at the head of the table, stood. Bryn watched him with wide, amused eyes and a wicked smirk.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he said, still gazing at me as if I were all lit up.

  My head felt as if it was detached from my neck as I stood, captured by his insistent gaze.

  “Wow, the first and only woman who’s ever caught the slipperiest fish in the ocean,” Bryn said.

  Only then did he release me from his intent stare to frown at her. “All right, Bryn. We have company. Give it a break.”

  She scoffed. “How soon we forget how you always treated my guests.”

  Spencer pointed to the place setting to his left, across the table from where Bryn was sitting. “Jada, sit here.” His cold, controlling tone and deep frown were back with a vengeance.

  “Sure.” I walked happily to my seat and made myself comfortable. My goal was to inject a different sort of energy into the air.

  Bryn studied my every move with that amused look in her eyes. “So, Jada…” Her mouth remained stuck open as Spencer reached out for my hand. I relished the contact of our skin as our fingers entwined. Never in a million years would I ever get enough of Spencer Christmas.

  “Yes, Bronwyn?” I said, my attention sti
ll mostly on Spencer.

  She grunted, intrigued. “My brother seems to think people can’t change. However, it appears that doesn’t apply to him.”

  “That’s not what I’m insinuating.” Spencer released my hand to shake both of his in front of his face. “Now you’re a fucking hippie? Get out of here, Bryn. I don’t buy your peace, love, and niceness. What the hell do you want? Why the hell are you here?”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. “I’m a work in progress, big brother. I know I behaved like a fucking cunt earlier. I shouldn’t have walked in on you and Jada,”—she nodded at me—“while you were, to my pleasant surprise, actually enjoying yourself. I mean, good for you.”

  “Fuck you, Bryn,” he spat.

  She threw her hands up as she sighed. “That was a fucking compliment, Spence. Jeez, I can’t win for losing.” Then she set her attention on me. “Wasn’t that a compliment, Jada? Oh, and only assholes who I no longer associate with call me Bronwyn. Call me Bryn.”

  “Well, Bryn,” I began, realizing she had put me between a rock and a hard place. Spencer wanted me to be on his side, but I sort of got where she was coming from in regards to respecting the idea that people could change. “Listen, I understand what you’re trying to convey, but you probably should work on your delivery.”

  Bryn’s smile broadened as she shifted her gaze between Spencer and me. “You and Jasper are attracted to the same kind of person.”

  Now I was confused. Bryn pinched her thumb and forefinger together on both hands, closed her eyes, and took in a loud, deep breath. Spencer and I widened our eyes at each other as she moaned, releasing the air from her lungs.

  “Sorry, Spence,” she said, eyes still closed. “This is not how I pictured this going.” Finally, her lids lifted, and she had a totally different look on her face—a more open one. “I didn’t mean to come here and insult you at every turn. I’m better than that—at least I am now.” Then she turned to me. “You must think I am totally off my rocker. And I am, or at least I was raised to be. But I’m freeing myself from that, and I’m so glad you’re here while my brother is doing the same.” She swept her attention back to Spencer. “And shit, we’re freed Christmases. And by the way, your girl is lovely, Spence.”

  The way she said it left me pondering where she’d gotten that phrase.

  “Bryn,” Spencer said, glaring at her with laser focus. “What do you want? And why are you here?” He shook his head briskly. “And you never answered how in the hell you found me in the first place.”

  She spread her hand on her chest. “And that’s your response to me baring my soul?”

  “I’ve heard your words. But your actions say something different.”

  Bryn shook her head. “There’s nothing I can do, is there, Spence?” Her voice cracked.

  “Yeah. You can call before you come.”

  “I tried,” she blared, her voice echoing in the room. “I’ve been sending you emails for almost a year. I miss you. I love you. I’m your sister.”

  I sat immobilized, feeling every bit of her plea for her brother’s love. But Spencer only stared at her as if searching for something deep inside her, something he couldn’t find. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wanting to get involved and be a mediator between the two of them but knowing that it behooved me to stay out of their family business. Plus, I was still trying to place Bryn’s quote.

  “Listen, Spence,” she finally said, taking the extreme emotion out of her voice. “I’m hosting a real Christmas dinner at the Christmas mansion this year. Why don’t you come?”

  Spencer’s glare gave way to a boisterous laugh. “Are you fucking crazy? The mansion? I’m never going back to that fucking place, and you shouldn’t either.”

  “But you’re here,” Bryn said.

  Spencer’s laugh stopped immediately. He glanced at me as if looking right through me. When I reached out for his hand, it took him a few seconds to latch on.

  “I know I’m here.” He sounded as if he was restraining a wall of thunder.

  Bryn’s gaze roamed the room and then she hugged herself. “This place is just as creepy as that place,” she whispered.

  The siblings stared at each other as if silently communicating. Finally, Spencer cleared his throat. “I can’t have Christmas with you.” He had to clear his throat again. “I promised Jada I’d spend it with her and her family.”

  I worked like crazy to control my surprise, but I wasn’t sure my initial widening of the eyes hadn’t gone unnoticed by Bryn.

  “I don’t want us to keep falling apart, Spence.” She sounded so sad that I almost pulled the covers off Spencer’s lie. Thank goodness, at that moment the servers entered the dining room with dinner, which was puffy fried soufflé potatoes with blackened shrimp on a bed of roasted zucchini. The break in their deeply emotional conversation was a welcome blessing, especially since I could tell Spencer was digging in and not letting go.

  “Your girl is lovely, Hubbell,” I said, smirking at Bryn as we were all served and the wine was being poured.

  Her eyes smiled more than her lips. “The Way We Were.”

  “But I’m nothing like Hubbell’s new girl.”

  Spencer watched our interaction like an eagle.

  She sniffed. “In relation to the women in Spence’s past, you are.”

  I grunted thoughtfully as, once again, Carol popped into my mind. “So, Bryn, what do you do for a living?”

  Her smile wavered. “I’m in between professions.”

  “You’re out of the movie business?” Spencer asked.

  She took a deep breath and picked up her knife and fork. “It seems our rendition of the Christmases’ story couldn’t compete with Holly’s.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ve read the book, haven’t you?”

  I glanced at Spencer and then set my focus back on Bryn. “Yes.”

  “Well…” She sawed through the shrimp as if envisioning someone’s head on her plate. “Holly used to be a good friend of mine, and her unforgiving rendition of me seems to be what the people want to believe. So what do you think?” She popped half a shrimp into her mouth.

  “What do I think?” I asked, needing clarification.

  “Yes, about the book. What do you think?”

  I paused and then shrugged indifferently. “Most families have deep dark secrets.”

  Bryn grunted as she raised her eyebrows. “Are you confessing something about the great Patricia Forte?”

  I let out a snort of dismissive laughter. “Oh, no. My family’s the opposite. We tell each other too much shit.”

  “Humph,” Spencer grunted and continued eating.

  “By the way, Jada, your mother is how I found Spencer,” Bryn said.

  My mouth dropped. “What?”

  She explained how my mother had gotten in contact with her after having my phone call traced to a cell tower near the ranch. Somehow, my mom had gotten Jasper Christmas’s name through the transfer of cash into my banking account, which had been made by Pete Sykes. She first contacted Jasper but hit a brick wall when he wouldn’t take her calls, even when she tried to throw her weight around.

  “Then she called me. When she mentioned Spencer and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I put one and one together and came up with this place.” Her gaze rolled around the room in the same way it had earlier. “I don’t know why you bought the ranch and why you’re here. But I bet there’s a reason, and it’s a good one.” She looked at Spencer as if expecting him to ease her curiosity.

  I had to force the tension out of my lips. “That sounds like my mother.”

  “Yeah?” Bryn said, sounding highly inquisitive. “She’s creepily controlling, then.”

  I snorted. “Very.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “And you don’t know why?”

  I shrugged, annoyed by her question. “Because she’s a mother.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head adamantly. “Not all mothers are that pathologically controlling. Only the ones wh
o need to be.”

  It felt as if cement raced through my body, collecting in my brain, which made it very hard to process what she was alluding to. I continued to eat in silence, allowing the icky feelings stirring inside me to resolve as Bryn continued her plea for Spencer to allow her to be in his life more than he had recently.

  “Neither of us ever see Jasper anymore. He’s married to Holly and has his brand-new family, and we’re only a second thought to him.”

  “That’s not true,” Spencer said.

  “You say that because you’re fine with being lonely.” Bryn slapped herself on the chest. “I’m not. And, Jada…” she said, making me sit up straight. “That’s the thing about having brothers, right?”

  I jerked my neck. “I don’t have a brother. I’m an only child.”

  “Oh,” she said, surprised, and narrowed her eyes at Spencer. “I see.”

  I sat up straight. “You see what?”

  “I just thought…” She pushed a hand toward me dismissively. “Never mind.”

  “If I had a brother, then I would tell you, but I don’t,” I said, feeling as if I had to defend myself.

  “I just… maybe I got you mixed up with another one of my brother’s girlfriends. Have you heard from Ash?” she asked, looking at Spencer.

  They continued a conversation about Bryn’s twin and how she felt he’d fallen deeper into despair. Again, Spencer disagreed with her. I listened to them, stewing in my own discomfort and mild anger. I didn’t like Bryn’s attempt to converse about my family and all the false insinuations she’d made. Sure, my mother was controlling, but to insinuate that she was because she had secrets was just not true. I’d been intrigued by Bryn and thought I liked her, but suddenly, I wasn’t so sure. There was something inherently cruel about her. She talked as if she didn’t understand the things she said, but I knew her words had been carefully crafted and spoken with intent.

  I remained virtually silent for the rest of dinner, smiling on cue. She was having a high time discussing Asher’s misfortune. Apparently, the woman he used to be involved with was a hooker. Bryn had to point out that if I’d gotten far enough in the book, I would have known that. I showed her my phony smile. Then she went on to say they had broken up and Asher had fallen off the face of the earth.