Follow the Sun by Deborah Smith Read Free Book Online

against him and he put both arms around her. They rocked back and forth, gasping for breath.
    Tess finally slumped in his embrace, wiping her eyes and reaching up to wipe his. They shared a droll look.
    “I really think it’s fascinating that my
great-farmor
was a madam,” Tess admitted. “She may have done it out of desperation—she was only twenty-two when Silas took her away from her business. It’s obvious that the Civil War devastated the Oklahoma Cherokees, and she probably had lost her family. Silas seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t care if he scandalized society, as long as he married the woman he loved. He sounds rather wonderful.”
    “See? No need to hyperventilate. And think of the other tidbits you picked up.”
    “It means a lot to me to know that the three goldmedallions were willed to Silas and his brothers by their parents. It’s a starting point.”
    “Katherine Blue Song. Now you know your great-great-grandmother’s maiden name.”
    “Katlanicha Blue Song. Katherine was her white name,” Tess reminded him. “I can’t wait to call my cousin Kat. She’s named after her—Katherine. I’m sure she’ll want to know that her name has a fascinating background.”
    “We should fly up to San Francisco this week and find your great-great-grandparents’ graves.”
    Tess grasped his hand excitedly. “I can’t believe they spent their last years in California. Right in my home state! And I have to call my cousin Erica and tell her that Justis Gallatin was described as having ‘burnt-red hair, like a chestnut horse.’ That’s the color of Erica’s hair!”
    She shut her eyes. “Oh, I don’t mind hyperventilating over this. I feel like Sherlock Holmes after a successful case.”
    “Without the pipe and tweed hat, thank God.”
    Jeopard stroked her back and laughed with her again.
    “Jep, I’m very glad you’re sharing this with me.”
    He looked down at her laugh-flushed skin and happy blue eyes for several long seconds.
Jep
. She had unknowingly chosen the nickname used by his brother and sister, the only two people who loved him and kept him from losing his humanity. Maybe it was a good sign. “I’m glad too,” he murmured.
    He kissed her, kissed her hard, and felt light-headed when she kissed him back with a skill and passion that matched his own. He kept kissing her until a group of students strolled by and hooted at them cheerfully.
    “We can’t get kicked out of a park for smooching,” Tess told him when he scowled after the group.
    He looked at her, frowning. “I’d like an older audience, at least. How about dinner?”
    She was trembling desperately in his embrace. “Ifwe do this in a restaurant, we’ll get kicked out for certain.”
    “Very funny. How about dinner aboard my yacht?”
    “Can you cook?”
    His heart was pounding in his chest. This was stupid, dangerous, and he was in way over his head. He pulled her more tightly against him. “Does it matter?”
    She shut her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were peaceful. “No. Not at all.”

CHAPTER 4
     
    J EOPARD KNEW THAT she wanted him badly, and his intuition told him that there was something special in the wanting, something that made him unique. His age, he assumed grimly. She was accustomed to kids. Bedding a full-grown man would seem like a novelty to her.
    That thought, that he might be nothing more than a change of pace for her, didn’t stop him from needing her more than he’d ever needed a woman in his life. Whatever her ugly truths—and he would learn them all before he was through—she hypnotized him with her trusting eagerness.
    For another thing, he couldn’t resist her cheerfulness. Lord, how many boys had lost their hearts while she perfected her innocent charm?
    Nor could he resist her gentle sophistication. No matter how promiscuous she was, there was nothing coy or cynical about her intention to go to bed with him; just a sweet, silent admission in every touch,