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Books by Brenda Jackson
1 My brother has hit gold. That thought ran through Duan Jeffries’s mind while he stood on the sidelines and watched Terrence “Holy Terror” Jeffries escort his bride, Sherri Griffin Jeffries, around the huge ballroom as they thanked the numerous guests for attending their wedding. From the moment Duan had met Sherri, he’d known she was the one woman who could make his younger brother happy. Just being in their presence was to feel the love radiating between them. And even though he was a downright cynical bastard when it came to the notion of true love, the two of them had made him somewhat of a believer. The same held true for his sister, Olivia, and the man she’d married last year, Senator Reggie Westmoreland. That was definitely another love match. So okay, two cases weren’t bad. He shifted his glance across the room to his father and the woman by his side and chuckled inwardly. All right, he would make that three cases. His father had finally married his devoted administrative assi
2 DUAN OPENED HIS EYES and squinted against the bright sunlight flowing in through the hotel-room window. It was at that moment he felt the soft feminine naked body resting against him, his front spooning her backside. A shiver of pleasure flowed through him when he remembered everything that had happened—all he’d done over the past fourteen-plus hours. And he wasn’t feeling one moment of regret. In fact, he felt electrified in a way he’d never felt before. Kim had satisfied a fierce need inside him. Making love to her had been everything he’d wanted, and more. She had met him on every level and together they had shared climax after magnificent climax. But for some reason what they’d shared was a lot more than sex. She had managed to tap into a Duan Jeffries few people saw. The one who longed not to be so disciplined. The one who didn’t necessarily want to be a good guy all the time. Growing up he’d had no choice. He was the oldest and was expected to set a good example for Terrence an
3 DUAN WASN’T SURE he’d heard her correctly. “Your mother has been married four times?” “Yes.” He found that simply incredible since his own mother had been married that many times, as well. He shifted in his seat and Kim’s body automatically moved with his. He’d done one-night stands before but none had stretched into breakfast the next morning or a cab ride to the airport the next day. When it was over, it was over. There hadn’t been any exchange of business cards or promises to follow up. But he knew that he and Kim would see each other again. This weekend hadn’t been enough. “I told you a little about my father being the ugly in my life this morning and how he abused my mother. What I didn’t tell you was that they split while I was in high school. I counted it as one of the happiest days of my life. He was a bully of the worse kind.” “And your mom stayed with him all those years?” “Yes. She was always convinced he would get better. He was smart enough to move us to New Orleans, awa
4 KIM WOKE UP MONDAY morning in her own bed with her hormones overacting. And all because of last night’s dream, which basically reenacted those moments she’d spent in bed with Duan over the weekend. There had been something about his touch that was different from any other man’s. She chuckled when she recalled Dr. Allen Perry, one of the hospital’s prized surgeons, who thought his hands, both in and out of the operating room, were extraordinary. But those hands had nothing on Duan’s. The way his fingers had glided across her skin, stroking her in certain areas, especially between her legs, stirring longings in her that she’d never felt before. She squeezed her eyes shut. Since she was off work today, she could grab another hour or so of sleep, to relive those naughty moments in Duan’s arms. She wasn’t due back at the hospital until tomorrow, and then she needed to clear her calendar for next week to go home to Shreveport. She smiled as she remembered growing up in Shreveport among fam
5 LIKE CLOCKWORK KIM’S doorbell rang at eight o’clock on Saturday morning. She glanced down at herself as she headed for the door. The weather forecast indicated it would be a beautiful day for boating and she was wearing a new outfit for the occasion. She opened the door and a blade of sunlight came through, nearly blinding her, but not before she took stock of the man standing on her doorstep. She angled her head and squinted to look up at him. He flashed a sexy smile and immediately she felt weak in the knees. It was going to be one of those days when she would find it almost impossible to keep her hands off him. He had just that kind of an effect on women. Her in particular. Standing there in a pair of jeans that tapered down muscular thighs, a T-shirt covering his broad shoulders, he looked every bit of sexy and that wasn’t helping matters any. For a split second, all she could do was stand there and drool. “Good morning, Kim.” It took her a moment to find her voice and respond. B
6 DUAN PULLED INTO the airport parking lot and then into the space his car would occupy for the next ten days. He patted the pocket of his shirt to make sure the ring he’d slid inside was still there. He had volunteered to come up with an engagement ring and thought the one he already had in his possession was perfect. It was the ring his grandmother had left him to present to the woman he would one day marry. When he’d mentioned it to Kim, she’d thought using that ring was a good idea, as well. He had to remind himself that the ring’s purpose was twofold. First, it was personal since he was helping out a woman he’d come to consider a friend. It was also business, in that he hoped to determine if Edward Villarosas was guilty of murder. The Atlanta police department had agreed to reopen the two cases and was putting together a list of family and friends that would be interviewed again. According to the cold case file, wife number one hadn’t returned home from what should have been a wee
7 “DUAN, I’D LIKE YOU to meet my mother, Wynona Cannon-Longleaf-Higgins-Gunter. Mom, this is Duan Jeffries, my fiancé.” Duan kept his mouth from dropping completely open. Kim’s mother was a very attractive woman. Kim had said she was fifty-five, but to his way of thinking, she looked a lot younger. He offered the older woman his hand. “How do you do, Mrs….” Already he’d forgotten her names. She beamed happily. “Just call me Wynona. I don’t know why Kim insisted on saying all those names.” Kim smiled. “Because they’re yours. All four of them.” She glanced around. “And where is the man who might be number five?” Wynona gave her daughter a frown. “Edward will be here any minute. He’s probably stuck in traffic since he lives on the other side of town.” She returned her attention to Duan. “Your last name is Jeffries?” “Yes, ma’am.” “And before you ask, Mom, the answer is yes,” Kim said. “He’s Terrence’s older brother.” “Best friends marrying brothers. How nice.” She studied his features for
8 “OH, MY GOD.” Kim closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She felt her body trembling at the same time she felt Duan’s strong hands gently stroking her back. “It’s okay, Kim. Nothing is going to happen to your mother,” he whispered in a deep, husky voice close to her ear. “I give you my word on that.” She shook her head. She heard his words but didn’t fully understand how he could say them. In fact, a part of her brain refused to comprehend any of what he’d said. She was imagining things—yes, that had to be it. There was no way Duan had insinuated that the man her mother planned to marry could be responsible for the deaths of his previous two wives. She opened her eyes and stared up into Duan’s face, and knew from his expression that she hadn’t imagined anything. It was true. She wrenched away from him as anger consumed her. “And you’ve known this since that Sunday in Chicago when we shared a cab ride to the airport?” she asked in an accusing tone. “You knew what Edward Villarosas
9 KIM PUT DOWN the documents she’d been reading for the past hour and rubbed her eyes. As a nurse she was used to reports, some even thicker than the three-hundred-page document Duan had given her. However, most of them were medical in nature and reached a conclusion at the end, a diagnosis. Although a lot of information was documented from various sources in this investigative report, there was no definite finding. “Here, looks like you can use this.” She smiled when Duan placed a cup of coffee in front of her. “Thanks.” He eased into the chair beside her. After she’d started to read the report he had pulled out a laptop. For the past hour they had worked in amiable silence, the only sounds in the room those of her turning pages and him clicking on the keyboard. But the one thing she was constantly aware of was his presence. Just knowing he was there within arm’s reach was a comforting thought. All she had to do was sniff the air to breathe in the manly scent of his aftershave. Occasi
10 KIM TRIED TO FEIGN SLEEP at the feel of a hard erection poking her in the back, dead center where her butt cheeks came together, and a hot wet tongue gliding across the skin at her nape. She closed her eyes and decided she wasn’t ready to let Duan know she was awake yet. She curled her hands into fists when he shifted and his tongue began moving down her spine. “Since you’re awake, how about flipping on your back so we can play,” a deep husky voice said, his heated breath sending sensuous sensations uncoiling in her belly. She smiled and glanced over her shoulder before turning onto her back. “How did you know I was awake?” He looked up into her face. “By the way you were breathing. I didn’t touch you until I knew I had your attention. You didn’t fool me.” And before she could make a comment to that, he shifted his body and leaned down to kiss her. The first thing that came to her mind was that his tongue was full of energy this morning, and the second was that she didn’t have one s
11 “SO, HOW DID YOU AND Kim meet?” Duan smiled down at Aunt Gert, who appeared to be in her early sixties. Kim had warned him that her aunt would ask a lot of questions. And she was right. Breakfast had become a Saturday-morning brunch outside on the terrace. Wynona and Aunt Gert had done most of the cooking, and Duan had to agree the women were great cooks. He couldn’t help noticing that Edward had avoided him most of the morning, but was in Kim’s face every chance he got. “Kim and I met when her best friend Sherri, whom I’m sure you know, became engaged to my brother Terrence,” he answered truthfully. “So, was it love at first sight?” Aunt Gert asked with a hopeful look on her face. He was inclined to agree with her on that. “Let’s just say there were a lot of things about Kim that drew me to her. Things I definitely liked and admired.” He took a sip of iced tea. Kim had said her Aunt Gert was a die-hard romantic and she was right. The woman was really taking this all in. He glanced
12 “YOU DO KNOW this is the third weekend straight that we’ve shared Sunday-morning breakfast in bed,” Duan said, glancing over at Kim as he took a sip of his coffee. Wearing a bathrobe, Kim sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed. She smiled over at him. “If we keep this up it might become one of those hard habits to break.” Duan placed his cup aside and leaned over to kiss her with a passion that Kim felt all the way to her toes. After he pulled away she stared at him for long moments before saying, “Mom is going to call us when she and Edward are ready to head over to the county fair. In the meantime, what do you think we should do while we’re waiting?” He shook his head and chuckled. “Get the hell out of this room before we kill ourselves. I’ve had more sex with you in the past twenty-four hours than I’ve had all year.” She glanced away, nervously fiddling with the belt around her bathrobe. There was that word again. Sex. Was that all they’d been sharing for the past three weeks?
13 DUAN EASED OUT OF BED when he heard his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. He picked it up and quickly moved toward the bathroom. Kim was still asleep, lying naked on top of the covers. He felt his shaft get hard as he entered the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it as he flipped on his phone. “Kind of late for you, isn’t it, Landon?” he asked, wiping a hand down his face. It was just past midnight. “Sorry about that. I’m still at the office.” Duan wasn’t surprised. It had been that way for Landon ever since he’d lost Simone, just two days before their wedding day. She and two of her bridesmaids had shared a ride from the bachelorette party. A drunk driver had run a traffic light and the impact had been so great both vehicles had burst into flames, killing everyone involved. That had been close to four years ago and Duan knew Landon was still grieving. “I’m wondering about you not having a life, Lan.” Landon’s chuckle came across the line. “Don’t wonder
14 “DID LANDON HAVE any updates?” The bedcovers rustled as Kim shifted position to ease off him. Duan lay on his side to face her, missing the feel of her warm body on top of his. He’d hoped she had forgotten about Landon’s midnight call. He glanced down and saw the damage done to the condom. They weren’t cheap, which presented proof of the intensity of their lovemaking. He needed to go into the bathroom, but first he would answer her, not sure how much he would tell her. Already the thought of her mother spending any time with Villarosas bothered her. If he were to level with Kim that he had reason to believe the man had a jealous streak, there was no telling what she might say or do. But still, he knew he had to tell her. She deserved to know. She had every right to know. “Landon spent most of the day surfing the Net and got some information on Villarosas that he figured we should know.” She lifted a brow. “What kind of information?” “About twenty years ago, Villarosas and his girlfr
15 KIM TRIED TO KEEP BUSY while Duan talked on the phone. The call had come early Thursday morning, waking them up at seven. At first she’d thought he was talking to Landon, but after a while it became obvious a conference call was taking place and he was conversing with several people. She had showered and had taken care of her hair but he was still on the phone. The expression on his face looked serious. She tried to remain calm and not jump to any conclusions. To kill time, she walked around the room, tidying up a little bit. Although the hotel had someone to come in and clean their room every day, there was no need for the person to think they were slobs. Although she would have to admit the only untidy spot was the bed. Bedcovers were strewn all over the floor, the sheets were all twisted and a couple of pillows were at the foot of the bed. She didn’t have to figure out how that happened. Last night she and Duan had tried several new positions, and one required her at one end of t
16 KIM WAS PACING the floor and so was Mr. Bennie. They both had worried looks on their faces. Kim had tried a number of times to reach her mother by phone but was unsuccessful. Duan had contacted the Shreveport police and then placed a call to the airlines to check flights for Vegas. He’d been able to find out Wynona and Edward’s flight number, and according to the airline, the flight had landed in Vegas over an hour ago. So why wasn’t Wynona answering her phone? The Vegas police had been contacted and a warrant had been issued for Villarosas’s arrest. The one good thing was that Wynona wasn’t taken by force, which meant she still didn’t know the type of man Villarosas really was. Duan was of the opinion that Villarosas had no reason to harm Wynona since he probably felt secure in their relationship. At least for now. He looked over at Kim and she gave him a faint smile. A part of him realized why he loved her so much. She cared about her family. She was loyal. And she was nothing lik
17 “DUAN? WHY AREN’T YOU going to Sherri’s birthday party in the Keys next weekend?” For a long time Duan didn’t say anything. He just stared across his office at his sister, wishing he could ignore the question. But he knew Olivia well enough to know she would hound him until he came up with what she considered a good answer. Married life had definitely made her bossier. “I’m working on a case that requires my full concentration, Libby,” he said, knowing that wasn’t true. The case he was working on wasn’t going to be that difficult to solve. What was difficult was giving it his full concentration. “And before you ask, the answer is no,” he said. “I haven’t told Terrence I won’t be coming, but I will. In fact I plan to call him later today.” He knew Libby’s concern. As kids growing up they’d always shared their birthdays together and had made them special. Even when Libby lived in Paris, it was easy to do since she came home for the holidays and her birthday was two days before Christm
18 DUAN RECALLED the conversation he’d had with Terrence before leaving the office. Maybe his brother was right and he should let Kim know how he felt. To anyone who didn’t know Duan, he probably appeared to be a calm, cool and collected guy. A man defined by his achievements, someone who knew what he wanted and was proud of what he had. A man not willing to show his emotions to too many people. A private person. Definitely not a man who would bare his soul to anyone. And Duan could admit that before he’d met Kim, that image was probably right on the money. But now he was also a man who knew how it felt to love a woman, truly love a woman. Now he understood his father’s tears that day. He understood the pain of loving someone and not having that love returned. Although he was certain the depth of his father’s misery was deeper than his because of his wife’s betrayal, the bottom line was that love was love no matter how you looked at it. And he could admit that he was a man in love. And
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