Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

out to her. The temptation.
    Matt lifted his head to look at her, his fingers stil buried deep inside of her. “Kate. I’m serious. Marry me. I’l make you happy.”
    “I am happy, Matthew,” she said. “I lead a relatively quiet life. I work hard, meet my deadlines, and I’m looking forward to renovating the old mil .”
    Sensing her withdrawal, he turned to lie over the top of her, his head resting on her stomach. He pressed a series of kisses along her sensitive skin and flicked her enticing navel with his tongue. “We can renovate the old mil together, Katie.”
    “You’re moving a little too fast for me, Matthew.”
    His Kate was becoming cautious again. He should have known she would. He nibbled his way down her body to her thigh. “We don’t have to move fast. We don’t have to go for the wedding and children and the entire package if that’s too much for you right now.” His teeth nipped as his fingers moved deep inside of her. He wasn’t above a little persuasion. “We can keep it to great sex. Incredible sex.”
    She heard the note of pain in his voice, and it upset her. “Matthew, I’m not normal. I’l never be normal. You think you know me, but you don’t. You can’t. My sisters and I inherited a legacy that we have no choice but to use. It comes with a price. Sarah has phenomenal athletic abilities, and she can sense things before they happen. Abigail can demand the truth. I can bring peace to people in need. Libby heals people. Joley has incredible powers, and so does Hannah. Both command the wind and the sea. And our El e.” Kate shook her head. “El e’s legacy is tremendous and important and very frightening. She has it al , along with the responsibility to bring the next generation into the world. We each have gifts, but when we’re together, we are very powerful. We try to lead our own lives, but we keep the cliff house so we always can be together.”
    He lifted his head, his silver eyes darkening to smoldering charcoal. “You think I can’t understand honor and commitment? You live by a code the same as I do. I understand codes. You have a way of life that’s important to you. Why would you think it would be any less important to me? I don’t mind sharing you with your sisters, Kate.”
    She sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Matthew. I just want you to know what we do isn’t going to go away, even if we wanted it to. And it isn’t only sharing me with my sisters, but with a lot of other people as wel .” But it was more than that. She wasn’t like her sisters, embracing life in the way they did. In the way he did.

    “I know a lot of ways to be happy with you,” he promised, dipping his head to her breasts, not wanting her to see his face. “We’l take it slow if that’s what you need, Katie. Just don’t shut me out because you’re afraid.”
    She tried not to react to his words. Of course she was afraid. She was afraid of everything, and that was exactly why she couldn’t agree to marry him.
    He kissed her ribs, her bel y button. The phone rang, startling them both. He ignored it, dropping kisses over her stomach. The shril ringing of the telephone persisted. Matthew sighed heavily and reached lazily across her smal body, deliberately brushing across her bare breasts. “Hel o.” It was the middle of the night. He didn’t have to be polite. He didn’t want to waste a single moment of his time with Kate, especial y when she needed persuasion to stay with him.
    “This is El e Drake. I need to speak with Kate.” It was Kate’s youngest sister, reputed to be traveling home for Christmas. There was anxiety in her voice. Without a word, Matt passed the phone to Kate.
    She sat up, dragging the sheet over her breasts. “El e? What’s wrong, hon?”
    “Something’s there, Kate. Something’s where you are. Below you. It’s dangerous, and it’s below you.”
    “Are you certain?” Kate leaned over the bed to examine the floor. Matt could clearly hear the terrified voice on the other end of the phone. “Calm down, El e, I’m fine. We’re both fine.”
    “Kate, I’m real y afraid for you. What’s going on? I saw you clearly. You were kissing Matthew Granite. There was mistletoe very close to you, but not directly over your head. And then something bright burst out from under you, a flash and flames and it was truly frightening. What is it?”
    “I don’t know, but we’l find out.”
    Matt was already out of the bed, pul ing