Growling, he thrust into her one final time, and she felt him let go then. Jerking and heaving, his entire body shook as he came deep inside her.
Erin slumped forward, snuggling against his chest. Abel raised his knees higher and wrapped his arms around her, unwilling to let her go. The long, tiring day caught up to her and she drifted off to sleep with him still locked deep inside her. She could feel him playing with her hair, his long fingers sifting through the tangled mass. Totally contented and relaxed, she drifted off to sleep. Her final thought as she drifted off was that she loved him.
Abel froze, unable to believe his ears. “What did you say?” His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears. Erin remained silent, so he tilted her head gently to look at her. He couldn’t believe she would tease him like this.
But Erin was sound asleep, her mouth slightly parted as little puffs of breath caressed his skin. Had he really heard what he’d thought he had? He was sure that she’d whispered that she loved him. Or maybe, he was so tired himself, that he’d only imagined it, his fertile writer’s mind creating the words he longed to hear from this beautiful woman curled in his embrace.
Although he wanted to shake her awake and demand that she repeat what she’d said, he sat there with her cradled in his arms knowing that he would never be able to let her go. No woman had ever fit him as well as she did. She seemed to understand his moods and not hold them against him. He’d been surly and angry when she’d arrived under cover of darkness, but Erin had managed to put him back in good humor within a matter of minutes. The woman was truly a wonder.
He’d expected more of an argument with her over making their relationship public, but instead of a fight, she had calmly agreed with him. He knew it wasn’t because she particularly wanted to tell her brothers, but because she sensed that he needed to. Sexually, she pleased him in every way. She was totally open and giving when it came to their sex life, but he felt as if she was holding back a part of herself from him. But he was determined to have all of her, and he was patient enough to wait.
Carefully, he eased her onto her side and pulled out of her. She muttered in her sleep, but didn’t wake. He’d been keeping her busy this last week and it seemed as if he’d finally worn her out. He was glad she was asleep and couldn’t see the satisfied male smile that covered his face. The sight of her lush curves and long limbs had his cock stirring once again. Amazing. He hadn’t gotten it up this fast or this quick since his teens.
But she needed some sleep. He consoled himself with the fact that he could always wake her later. Drawing the sheet up over her naked flesh, he draped it so that she was totally covered, her gorgeous form outlined against it. She sighed and snuggled into his pillow. Doing his best not to jiggle the bed, he rolled off the mattress and headed to the bathroom.
He was energized now and decided to work for a few hours. Some information had come in via e-mail earlier, and he had plans to do a little bit more digging tonight. It was amazing what information a man could dig up with a little bit of perseverance and a bit of charm. Call in a few favors that were owed him by certain people in privileged positions, and Abel was sure he’d had located his brother within a day or two, tops. He wasn’t an award-winning investigative writer for nothing.
After a quick shower, he checked in on Erin before padding down the stairs to make a pot of coffee. She was curled on her side with her hands tucked under her chin, snoring softly. He’d have to tease her about that tomorrow.
While the coffee perked, he leaned against the countertop wondering how long it would take Erin to put together a wedding. There was no way that they could live together. Her brothers would kill him for defiling their baby sister, and rightly so. But, he wanted her by his side each day and in his bed every night, and he wasn’t willing to wait much longer to make that happen. He could manage it for a couple of weeks. That would give him time to sort out this whole mess with his newly discovered brother. If he was truthful with himself, he wanted to tie Erin to him in every way possible. Dealing with all the big changes in his life would be much easier with her beside him.
Yeah, a couple of weeks sounded about right. Filling his mug with coffee, he carried it to the study where the computer was humming patiently in wait for him. Abel put his coffee on the desk and promptly forgot about it as he pulled up his chair to the screen and noted that he had several e-mails. Taking a deep breath, he clicked open the first one and started to read.
Chapter Sixteen
When Erin awoke she was alone. She knew it was still night, as the room was dark. The digital clock radio by the bed told her that it was just after four in the morning, but Abel was nowhere to be found. Crawling out of bed, Erin stretched as she went to Abel’s closet and pulled out one of his soft, cotton shirts. Slipping it on, she rubbed her face against the material, and breathed in his unique scent that still clung to the fabric as she did up four of the buttons before going in search of him.
He wasn’t in the bathroom, so she crept down the stairs. There was a light on in the study, so she headed in that direction. Her bare feet were silent on the hardwood floor, and she stood in the doorway to the study and observed as he worked in the glow of his computer screen. His entire concentration was focused on whatever he was reading. She propped herself up against the doorframe and waited. Five minutes later, he sat back with a satisfied smile on his face. As if sensing her presence, he turned to her and his smile deepened.
He beckoned her in with a wave of his hand. “How long have you been standing there?”
She pushed away from the doorframe and ambled across the room towards his open arms. “Only a couple minutes.” He tugged her into his lap and she went easily, relaxing against his chest. “I woke up and you were gone.”
“Miss me?” he teased.
“Yes.” She was in no mood to play games. “I’m getting used to having you sleep next to me.”
“Good.” He brushed a lock of hair back from her sleepy face and kissed her lips softly.
“Mmm,” she moaned and opened her mouth to admit him. The kiss was long and leisurely and Erin gave herself over to the rising passion. Abel slipped one of his hands inside her shirt to fondle her breast as he continued to plunder her mouth. She was breathless when he finally pulled away. “Let’s go back to bed.” Slipping out of his arms, she stood beside the desk and waited for him to join her.
“Just let me close this down for the night.” Swiveling the chair back around, he started closing down files.
“Did you find out anything yet?” Erin admitted to herself that she was too curious to wait for him to volunteer the information. Leaning forward, she glanced at the screen and then at Abel.
Abel stopped what he was doing and sat back in the chair, clasping his hands behind his head. “I found him.” His simple words belied the enormity of what he had done.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course she was happy that he’d found his brother, but that meant that he would be leaving her. And soon. “How?”
“It was easier than I imagined. I did a bit more digging through Mom and Dad’s files and found my original birth certificate. With that, I traced my birth parents’ address and found that the property was up for sale. I checked with the real estate company and they told me the property is being sold by a company called E. S. Investors.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I researched the company on the net and found that it is owned and operated by one Cain Benjamin.”