Page 32 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

Well, damn. The last time Rob had left a woman unsatisfied was when he was too new at the sex thing to take his time.

Now feeling a woman’s muscles tighten around him and her hands dig in to his back or claw at the sheets when she came was an aphrodisiac.

Wendy hadn’t been faking her passion. She had crossed the brink to blind instinct when she had pulled back.

He kissed her, long and hard and deep, trailing his hand down the smooth skin of her belly, alongside her hip, and then up to her breast. He used his thumb over her nipple until it tightened.

She rested her hand on top of his.

If her communication was any clearer, it would be vodka. He tucked his hands under the pillow to keep from touching her again. “Next time,” he said. “You go first.”

“I did. Against the wall, remember?”

Like he could forget her dripping on his hand. That wasn’t what he meant. He opened his mouth to respond, but she sat up in one fluid movement, presenting Rob with her back.

“I think your underwear is over there somewhere.” She nodded toward a corner of her room .

Ouch. “Yeah.” He kissed her shoulder and inhaled her peach scent one last time before shuffling around to get his clothes. She pulled on her pink shirt and waited by the door.

She gave him no other opportunity to talk. He had barely finished zipping his pants when she poked her head into the hallway. “All clear.”

He stepped out of the room. Before he could tell her goodnight, the door closed with a definite click.

And that, apparently, was that. For now, anyway. He shook his head at the unfamiliar weight in his stomach. Something had happened to her. He’d have to wait until tomorrow to figure out what, but one thing he did know. One night with Wendy was never going to be enough.

A soft scratching noise sounded at the door to the stairwell, like a cat wanting to get inside. Rob waited it out. It matched the pattern his family had established for convert communications. What could his brother possibly want with him at one in the morning?

He eyed the servants staircase at other end of the hall. If he went that way, he could avoid Hal. Maybe even leave him in the stairwell overnight. With a sigh of regret, he opened the door for his brother.

“Took you long enough.” Hal kept his voice low. “I’ve been scratching for two hours.”

“I’ve been busy.”

Hal gave him a slap on the back. “So. Got laid, did you?”

Rob said nothing.

“Dude, you smell like sex and you think I’m not going to ask?”

“What are you doing here? I mean, aside from stalking me.”

“Fine, don’t share.” Hal paced slowly down the hallway, inspecting the first door he came to. “You know I’d tell you all the salacious details if I had scored.”

Whether Rob wanted to hear them or not. “That’s because you’re an asshole.”

“Yeah, true.” Hal grinned, then his face turned serious. “Uncle Louis mentioned the third floor and the attic in his journals. He was here much longer than his job should have required, actually, and was treated almost like family.”

His confidence surprised Rob. “When did you figure all this out?”

“Anita helped me. And you’ve done a good job keeping everyone out of my way. It gave me time to go exploring and follow up on what we’ve found. I swear, I’ve gotten more done on this trip than we usually do. This ploy of seduction is really working for us. Though not how I expected it to.”

Rob clenched his hands for moment, then let them go. It wasn’t a ploy. His attraction to Wendy started when he first saw her in the kitchen, even with her no nonsense glare and shuttered reactions.

Rob’s chest tightened when he looked at his brother. “Wendy said you told her the reason we’re here. So, thanks for that.”

Hal flinched as if expecting retribution, but then relaxed and smirked. “I thought it might put you in a better light if she heard it from someone else.” He crept to the next door. “I hope everyone’s sleeping.”

Something about Hal’s tone didn’t sit right. Rob poked at it. “It was a thoughtful and self-sacrificing thing to do, not knowing how she’d react to us lying to her.”

“That’s me. Thoughtful and self-sacrificing.” Hal’s eyes were wide with an innocence that put up Rob’s defenses. “And just you remember it.”

“Why did you change your mind?”

Hal’s eyes flicked away before he answered. “I thought it would be a better way to go. Trying honesty for a change.”

Rob gave him a curt nod. Honesty and integrity had never been his brother’s forte. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch, Rob. Only the fact that it brought you and Wendy Marsh closer together.” Hal raked his gaze over his brother, the smirk returning. “Which I’m assuming it did.”

“None of your damn business.” Rob’s gut churned when they passed Wendy’s door. “Look, now that she knows, why are you sneaking around? We can just ask her to show us tomorrow. ”

“That’s an idea.” Hal rubbed the back of his neck. “I think seeing us in action is different than hearing about it. She might not like us picking apart her family history.”

But that history is what brought them together. “One conversation and you know her that well?”

“One night and you do, too?”

But he did. Wendy’s scent was all over him and he replayed the evening.

She had been right there with him, almost over the edge.

Her hips moved in a perfect rhythm with his own, arching against him so he could go deeper into her.

Taut nipples welcomed his mouth. Her gasps for breath got faster and faster.

Right as she was about to come for the second time, she shut down. Dismissed him.

He’d get it right next time. If she let him have a next time. Wendy was a contradiction in herself. Strong but scared, unguarded but careful. In control.

Always in control.

Son of a bitch. He could have smacked his head against the wall for not connecting that dot earlier. He was such an idiot. No wonder she freaked.

“I hear footsteps. We’ll have to come back later.” Hal grabbed Rob’s arm and dragged him to the stairs. Once inside, they waited on the wooden steps, listening to the faint patter of feet.

“This is ridiculous, you know,” Rob said. He took one last glance at the closed door, then crept down the stairs to the second floor. After a moment, his brother followed.

There was too much pent-up energy flowing through Rob’s body for him to go to his room. Plus he needed to plan his next action with the woman upstairs. “I’m going to wander for a bit downstairs.”

“It’s past one.”

“That didn’t seem to bother you five minutes ago.” Rob left his brother and headed downstairs and got some bottled water out of the mini-fridge in the parlor. The cool liquid helped calm the blood still thrumming through his veins.

Portraits of the Clayton ancestors decorated the cream colored walls of the lobby, from Fountenoy Hall patriarch Fenwick Clayton to Wendy’s grandmother Maybelle.

He stopped in front of Caroline Clayton of the mismatched eyes, writer of journals, aficionado of pink lipstick, possible bootlegger.

Her blonde hair and charming smile reminded him of Brandi.

“And what secrets did you keep out of your journals, hmmm?” he asked.

Maybe something would click in the picture with Uncle Louis in the dining room. Scant light from outside illuminated the normally boisterous area and reflected off the silver coffee server. Tomorrow would be time enough to have the lights on. For now, the silence brought peace.

He hadn’t studied the pictures since Hal had mentioned seeing Uncle Louis in them.

He peered at the one of the man and young woman.

Definitely Isaac Clayton and his daughter Caroline.

And yes, Uncle Louis lurked in the background, fuzzy and out of focus.

Based on the style of clothes, it had been taken around 1930. Perfect timing.

The other photos weren’t as helpful. Several standard pictures of a frowning patriarch surrounded by his serious family.

Old slave cabins. A woman in front of a magnolia tree, several large limbs strewn on the ground.

One of a younger Miss Eulalee and Maybelle with an older woman sitting in the cradle of branches of Fenwick’s oak, flanked by Wendy’s mom and a woman he didn’t recognize, each holding a baby.

He examined every photograph. No more Uncle Louis, but Caroline made another appearance, sitting by the base of a tree and staring off in the distance, a book in her hand.

“Well, Uncle Louis,” he muttered. “I hope you knew more about women than I do.”

He took another sip of water, then went still as he heard a soft click. Like a door closing.

At least this time he didn’t need to run like a frightened rabbit, since unlike the office, the dining room was open to the guests at any time.

He stepped to the pass-through window and peeked into the kitchen.

Streaks of moonlight shone in through the slats in the blinds and showed the backdoor was firmly locked.

Maybe it was an echo from the servants staircase.

He was about to turn around when Brandi came out of the butler’s pantry.

She froze when she saw him in the dining room, her different-colored eyes wide in the pale shadow of her face.

“Brandi?”

“What are you doing here?” She waved her hands.

“Don’t tell Wendy I asked that. Fountenoy Hall is all about customer service.

” She came through the door. Her green polo shirt with the peach logo wasn’t the standard uniform.

Her blonde hair was tied in a messy bun atop her head, and the strong scent of bread wafted over to him. “Dr. Rob. May I be of any assistance?”

“I was just getting some water.” Rob held up the bottle and hoped he looked presentable. “Were you in the butler’s pantry this whole time?”

“I was getting a serving tray.”

He took in her empty hands. “Did you forget it?”