IrresistibleSin Page 7

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like smiling.”

  “I know.” She cradled his face in her hands. “You can talk to me anytime, about anything. Please remember that.”

  A tightness formed in the center of Griff’s chest. Emma had so many good qualities, the kind that a man wanted in a woman. But no matter how much he liked her and desired her, he wouldn’t fall in love with her. He couldn’t, not when his heart had been buried with his wife.

  “Talking is highly overrated, especially in bed. Don’t you think?”

  A slow grin spread across her lips. “Do you have a better idea for what to do in bed?”

  He pressed his hardening cock against her pussy. “I’m sure I can think of something.”

  Chapter Eight

  A delicious nibbling on her neck lured Emma from dreams to reality. Smiling, she rolled to her back to see Griff leaning over her. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” He dropped a kiss on the upper curve of her breast. “Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to tell you I’m leaving. I have some errands to run.”

  She remembered him telling her that last night after dinner, before he’d asked her to stay with him. “Okay. I’ll get dressed and leave.”

  “Take your time. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Shower if you want to, or soak in the hot tub.”

  “You have a hot tub?”

  “Yeah, off the laundry room.”

  Letting all those jets caress her sounded wonderful. It would be even more wonderful if Griff was with her. “Maybe we can try it out together tonight?”

  Griff smiled. “Sounds good to me.” He touched her cheek while he kissed her. “See you later.”

  She watched him cross the floor, waving to him when he winked at her from the doorway. A few moments later, she heard the garage door open and his van start.

  That’s when she realized she had a silly smile on her face.

  The smile didn’t surprise her. Good sex always made her happy. Great sex made her ecstatic. Last night—and early this morning—had definitely been great sex.

  Emma sat up, leaned against the headboard and let her gaze slowly sweep the room. It was a nice bedroom with its double bed, chest of drawers and silk flower arrangements hanging on the walls, but not nearly large enough to be a master bedroom in a two-thousand-square-feet house. It was more the size of a guest bedroom, or an office.

  Curious, she climbed from the bed and went to the closet. A brown terrycloth robe hung on a hook inside the door. After slipping it on, Emma examined the closet. Griff’s clothes hung on one side of the small walk-in, shelves holding various boxes filled the other side. She curled her hands into fists to keep from exploring the boxes. She had no problem opening a closet door, but looking in boxes would be invading Griff’s privacy.

  Another thing that made her believe this couldn’t be the master bedroom was the lack of a private bathroom. Griff’s house was beautiful and obviously only a few years old. It would definitely have a private bath off the master bedroom.

  She thought back to the white door at the end of the hall she’d seen last night. Following a hunch, she left the bedroom and walked down the hall.

  One look at the spacious room and she knew she’d been right. The master bedroom was decorated in muted tones of blue, gray and ivory. An ivory chenille bedspread covered the queen-size bed. A huge dresser sat across from the bed, a small sitting area complete with wing-back chairs filled the space before the large windows. The chairs were pale blue with gray and ivory throw pillows. More small pillows in the same muted colors were propped on the bed. Silk flower arrangements hung on the walls, the same as in the bedroom she’d shared with Griff.

  She wrinkled her nose. How boring. The room needed more color, more pizzazz. Maybe some jewel tones. Griff looked gorgeous in brown. Perhaps dark earth tones would be better in here. And metalwork or paintings on the walls to replace the silk flowers.

  Shaking off the decorating pest nagging at her, Emma opened the door to her left. A light automatically came on inside the huge walk-in closet. One side held women’s clothes and shoes. The other side held nothing.

  Her chest tightened at the thought that Griff had moved from this room into that small bedroom when his wife died.

  She touched a pale blue dress on a satin hanger. It appeared Griff hadn’t disturbed one item of Jana’s. Ten months had passed since her death, yet all her clothes still hung in the closet. Her shoes still lined the floor. If she opened those drawers at the end of the closet, she had no doubt she’d find more of Jana’s things.

  Emma closed the closet door and leaned against it for several moments. Several pictures on the dresser drew her attention. She crossed to the dresser and picked up a silver-framed photograph. The dark-haired couple smiled at the camera, both with their mouths and their eyes. They looked happy and completely in love.

  “Hello,” a feminine voice said from the doorway.

  Emma jumped and caught herself before she screamed. She juggled the frame in her hands, but managed to right it before it crashed to the dresser. A lovely redhead in her mid-fifties stood in the doorway, a curious smile on her face.

  “You must be Emma.”

  “I, uh…” Emma cleared her throat. “Yes.”

  The woman’s smile brightened. “I’m Beverly Coleman, Griff’s mother.”

  Griff’s mother? Oh great. Beverly Coleman had not only caught Emma snooping, but wearing nothing but his robe. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She carefully set the photograph back on the dresser. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you.”

  A hint of teasing filled Beverly’s eyes and her lips twitched. “I doubt that, at least right now. My timing could have been better.”

  Emma touched her hair by her ears. Talk about an understatement.

  “I saw your car out front and knocked on the back door before I came in, but no one answered.”

  “I guess I didn’t hear your knock.” Because I was snooping. Okay, the floor can open up and swallow me now.

  “Why don’t I start a pot of coffee while you get dressed?” Beverly asked. “Have you had breakfast yet? I could cook something for you.”

  “No, please don’t go to any trouble. The coffee will be fine.”

  Beverly’s warm smile made the skin at her eyes crinkle. Emma noticed Beverly had the same deep brown eyes that Griff possessed. The triplets were almost carbon copies of their father, yet had inherited their mother’s eyes. How lucky for them.

  “I’ll start the coffee. Take your time.”

  Once Beverly left the room, Emma almost sagged to the floor. Griff’s mother hadn’t seemed upset to have caught a strange woman in the master bedroom, but Emma was mortified. She had no idea what to say to Beverly Coleman.

  She’d better think fast, because she could already smell the coffee brewing. She hurried back down the hall to the bedroom she’d shared with Griff to dress.

  *

  A container of liquid creamer and a sugar bowl sat in the middle of the kitchen table. Emma noticed Beverly had set cups and saucers on the table too, along with small plates, forks and napkins. A ding from the microwave signaled something had been warmed or cooked.

  Beverly glanced at her as Emma stepped farther into the kitchen. She smiled. “Right on time. I picked up some apple fritters at the donut shop, so I warmed two for us.” She took a plate from the microwave. The smell of apples and cinnamon made Emma’s stomach growl. “Griff loves these. I keep some in his freezer all the time so he can pop one in the microwave when he’s in a hurry. That’s why I came by, to restock his supply.”

  Emma didn’t know how to respond. Beverly Coleman seemed like an incredibly nice woman, yet Emma couldn’t help feeling embarrassed to be caught in Griff’s robe. She’d never encountered a mother of a lover “the morning after”.

  “Sit, please.” Beverly brought the coffeepot to the table and filled both cups as Emma slid into one of the chairs. “I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Alaina.�
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  “Alaina is a good friend.”

  “She’s a good person. I’m so glad she and Rye are in love. She’s perfect for him.”

  Emma added a generous splash of liquid creamer to her coffee. This not knowing what to say was so strange to her. Emma had never had a problem talking to someone. But then, she’d never had the mother of a lover catch her in her lover’s robe.

  Beverly pinched off a generous bite of her fritter. “Kenneth worked most of the evening on the plans for your restaurant. I think you’ll be pleased.”

  The mention of her restaurant pushed aside Emma’s embarrassment. “Are they finished?”

  “Almost. He said he wanted to go over some things with our boys before he shows them to you and Alaina.” She popped the bite of fritter into her mouth and chewed slowly. “I still think of them as our boys, even though I know they’re grown men. The time whooshed by much too quickly. They should all still be teenagers.” She shuddered. “Forget that last comment. I don’t want to go through puberty again.”

  Emma laughed. “Three boys at one time couldn’t have been easy.”

  “It wasn’t. Being triplets, they were alike in many ways, but also so different. Rye was the take-charge brother right from the start. His brothers always deferred to whatever Rye wanted. Griff was the quiet, emotional one. He wore his feelings on his sleeve. Dax was the hellion. That boy could get in trouble several times a day and still look for more.”

  “Sounds like they haven’t changed much as they’ve grown.”

  Beverly shook her head. “No, they haven’t. Griff is still the emotional one.”

  Here it comes. She’s going to pump me about my relationship with Griff. “Mrs. Coleman, I—”

  “Please call me Beverly.”

  Emma cleared her throat. “I know how badly Griff is still hurting over losing his wife. We aren’t… I mean, there’s nothing serious…”

  Beverly held up one hand to stop Emma’s rambling. “It’s too soon for anything serious with Griff. I know that. And there might never be anything serious between y’all. I know that too. But the fact that he’s finally having sex again makes me happy.”

  Emma was glad she’d swallowed her bite of fritter or she would’ve choked.

  Griff’s mother smiled. “I can tell by your expression I’ve shocked you by talking about sex.”

  “Maybe surprised me.”

  Propping her elbow on the table, Beverly rested her chin on her fist. “My boys are very close. Rye and Dax told me Griff hasn’t been with a woman since Jana died. Until you.”

  “He’s still grieving.”

  “I know that. We all are. We all loved Jana very much. My heart broke when she died, especially since she was pregnant.”

  Once again, Beverly had surprised Emma. “You knew?”

  Beverly nodded. “Jana confided in me a couple of weeks before she died. She was scared since she’d had a miscarriage and needed to be assured she wouldn’t lose another baby. She swore me to secrecy, so I never told Griff I knew about the baby. It was so important to him for them to announce her pregnancy at Thanksgiving.” She blinked her eyes, as if she was fighting back tears. “Instead of the big family dinner we usually have at Thanksgiving, we planned a funeral.”

  A lump formed in Emma’s throat. How tragic to spend a time that should be joyous doing something so sad.

  “I’m not a meddling mother.” Beverly flashed Emma a crooked smile. “Well, not much of one.”

  Emma chuckled.

  “I’m not suggesting anything will develop between you and Griff. But I’m pleased he’s healed enough to spend time with another woman. That’s a huge step for him.”

  “I like Griff. He’s charming and polite and fun.”

  “And handsome,” Beverly said, grinning.

  “That too.”

  Beverly pinched off another bite of fritter. “Okay, enough about that. I know you’re a chef. Do you have a good recipe for baked potato soup?”

  Emma smiled. She liked Griff’s mother a lot. “Oh definitely.”

  *

  Griff took a final sniff of the white roses he held before he laid them next to Jana’s headstone. White roses had been her favorite. He always brought them when he came to the cemetery to visit her.

  “Hey, pretty lady.” He knelt on the ground next to the marker. “Gonna be another hot one today. Summer doesn’t want to let go, even though it’s almost October.”

  He stared at the headstone, slowly reading Jana’s name, the dates of her birth and death, and the special words he’d had inscribed—You Will Be Loved Forever.

  “I lost you and our baby ten months ago today. Sometimes it seems as if it just happened, and sometimes it seems as if it happened years ago.”

  He ran his fingertip over each letter of her name—Jana Elizabeth Coleman. “We didn’t get to talk about names, but I was determined to name the baby after you if we had a girl. I would’ve called her Lizzie, at least until she was older and rolled her eyes at the childish nickname.”

  He smiled at the thought. He could picture his daughter so clearly in his mind. “She would’ve had your eyes and your smile, and your sweet personality. She would’ve been mischievous too, especially if she spent a lot of time with her Uncle Dax.” His smile disappeared. “I wish I’d had the chance to see you hold her for the first time. I wish I’d had the chance to see her grow up.” He sighed heavily. “I wish so many things, Jana.”

  A sudden breeze blew sprigs of grass and weeds over the headstone. “I was with a woman yesterday. Emma.” He brushed away the sprigs from Jana’s name. “She’s a good friend of Alaina’s. It was the first time I’ve had sex since you died.” Sitting on the ground, he drew his knees to his chest. “It felt good. Really good. I’ve missed sex a lot.” He rubbed a hand over his face, unsure how to say the next words. “I thought of you at first, but then I decided that wasn’t fair to Emma and I…pushed you out of my mind.”

  The tightness in his chest made it difficult to talk. “I’m sorry. I promised I’d be faithful to you forever and I broke that promise. But…” He sighed again. “You’re gone and I’m here. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without a woman’s company.”

  He touched the headstone again, softly caressing her name. “It’s just sex, Jana. That’s all Emma wants and that’s okay with me. I love you and I’ll always love you. Emma will be in my bed, but there could never be another woman in my heart.”

  Chapter Nine

  Griff stepped into Rye’s kitchen and watched Alaina and Emma moving about the room, much as he had Tuesday evening. This time, a third woman moved along with them as they prepared supper. He assumed the woman was Kelcey Ewing, Emma’s housemate.

  He knew Emma and Alaina had gone to Dallas today to have lunch with Kelcey and shop for appliances. Kelcey must have come to Lanville directly from work since she wore pleated navy slacks and a loose white top with a droopy cowl neck. His gaze quickly skimmed over her body. Taller than Alaina and Emma, Kelcey was also much slimmer than her friends, with small breasts and narrow hips. Her light ash blonde hair fell straight to her shoulders and curled under to caress her chin. Wispy bangs covered her forehead. She was very pretty, but not in-your-face sexy like Emma.

  He looked at Emma. Sex with her had been hot and passionate and exhausting. He’d awakened shortly after one to her mouth on his cock. She hadn’t stopped licking and sucking until he’d exploded in her mouth. After that, she’d been content to curl up against his side and fall back asleep, even though he’d offered to return what she’d done to him.

  Griff had awakened again about five with a raging hard-on. He’d slipped his rod into Emma’s pussy from behind, the way he had the first time they’d had sex. This time, though, he didn’t come until after she did.

  He had all kinds of ideas of the things he wanted to do to her.

  Emma turned from the stove. Her movement stilled when she saw him, then she gave him a flirtatious smile. “Hi.”

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sp; “Hi.”

  Alaina also turned and smiled when she saw him. “Hey, Griff. Come meet Kelcey.”

  Griff stepped closer to the cluster of women. Kelcey wiped her hands on a dishcloth, then offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Griff. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “All good, I hope,” he said, taking her warm hand in his.

  Kelcey smiled. “All good, I promise.”

  “Rye and Dax are in the game room,” Alaina said. “I heard Dax curse a short time ago, so Rye must be winning.”

  “I’ll check it out.”

  He looked back at Emma to see her gaze focused on his fly. She shifted her attention back to his face and slowly licked her bottom lip. His dick immediately responded to the invitation in her eyes.

  Before he developed a full-fledged hard-on and embarrassed himself in front of Alaina and Kelcey, he left the kitchen. He heard the clatter of billiard balls hitting each other as he walked toward the game room.

  “Shit, man,” Dax said, “you’re getting almost as good as Griff.”

  “No way that’s ever gonna happen,” Griff said, stepping into the room.

  Both his brothers looked his way. “About time you got here.” Dax nodded toward the cue sticks rack on the wall. “Grab a stick. You get to play the winner. Which will probably be Rye, damn it.”

  “I’ve been practicing with Alaina.”

  “Then you’re an idiot. There are a lot more fun things to do with a hot woman than play pool. Unless it’s strip pool.”

  Rye grinned wickedly. “No comment.”

  Chuckling, Griff went to the small refrigerator and removed a bottle of beer. He took a long sip while Dax lined up his shot. It banked off the side and sailed into the corner pocket.

  “Hot damn! Maybe you won’t win after all, big brother.” He rounded the table, examining where all the balls were positioned. “Speaking of winning, I heard Emma spent the night with you, Griff.”

  It didn’t take news or gossip long to travel in his family. Especially gossip. “Yeah. So?”

  “So nothing. I’m just making conversation.” Dax took his shot, which missed the pocket by an inch.