When his hard shaft entered her, she soared, and Primrose was forced to break the kiss. The pulses of need were so great that she wanted to be able to concentrate on the pure pleasure. Kissing him and enjoying his cock at the same time was too much.

  Rafe clasped his hands on her hips and held her still. With her hands on his shoulders, he drove up into her, catapulting her closer and closer to her climax, causing her to suck in a much-needed breath. When she leaned forward, it was just enough for him to enjoy her breasts once more. His breathing turned rapid as he plowed into her over and over again. With each thrust, she drew closer to that orgasmic precipice. Thrusting out her chest, she lifted her head and groaned so loudly it almost scared her in its intensity.

  She dug her nails into his shoulders and rode him hard. When he bit down on one nipple without piercing the skin, she screamed, her white light intensifying. Rafe dropped back his head and shot his hot seed deep into her. Reunited in passion, Primrose nearly teleported to another realm.

  He slid his hands up her arms and cupped her face. “You are remarkable.”

  His sincerity nearly caused a tear to drip down her cheek. “You are too.”

  He let go, and she collapsed onto his chest, content to just be held.

  She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes, the room was dark. As carefully as possible, she slipped off him and cleaned up. When she returned to the bed, Rafe was over on one side. She had to smile. Today had been incredibly emotional for him. It looked like she had succeeded in exorcising his demons—and she hadn’t even had to resort to magic.

  Chapter Eleven

  The ringing phone woke Primrose. She sat up in bed, a bit disoriented. Light filled the hotel room, and the shower was going full blast. Ah, that’s right. She’d spent the night with Rafe. They were in Hartford looking for his sister. Finally, she had some clarity.

  The phone trilled again. Move. Jumping out of bed, Primrose raced to find her purse that held her phone. She retrieved it and glanced at the screen. The caller ID read Logan. Thank goodness.

  “Hey, what did you find?” she asked, hoping for good news.

  “I worked most of the night, but I have to tell you, that lawyer friend is either hiding from someone, or she doesn’t have a past.”

  “Can you be more specific?” There was a big difference between the two.

  “The woman is a ghost. She must have an assumed name. I did find a birth certificate for a woman by the name of Thea Andrews, but I also found a death certificate. Something didn’t sit right with me, so I kept digging. As far as I can tell, your lawyer friend doesn’t have any family, nor did she attend any school. Basically, she didn’t exist before three years ago.”

  Relief swamped her. “Then she must be Rafe’s sister.”

  “I agree, but you said she didn’t recognize him.”

  “She didn’t, but that helps confirm a theory I have. Thank you for everything. I owe you one.”

  He chuckled. “Never in a million years could the Caspians or Sinclairs repay you and your sisters for all of your help.”

  “That’s nice of you to say. And thank you again.”

  “I’ll text you the links where I found my information. Call if you need me to search some more.”

  “Will do.”

  Rafe stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and another one in his hand that he was using to dry his hair. “Who was that?”

  “Logan.” She told him what he’d said.

  His smile lit up his face. “This woman must be my sister, only why didn’t she acknowledge me.”

  She feared he’d jump to that conclusion. “I don’t know, but in order for her to come clean, we need to prove to her that she really is Marianna Tremont.”

  He sat on the bed. “How are you going to do that?”

  “I have an idea. Let me shower first. We can then grab a bite to eat. I want to look something up at the library before I tell you my theory.”

  “You’re the goddess.”

  It didn’t take her long to clean up and change. After they ate at the hotel restaurant, they headed over to the library.

  “What are we looking for?” Rafe asked.

  “If Thea is really Marianna, what would be a good reason for her not to recognize or acknowledge you?”

  “She’s either afraid I’ll announce her identity, which could possibly put her in some kind of danger, or she has amnesia.”

  Primrose dragged him over to the bank of computers. “Yes. I’m still going for the amnesia angle. She went camping. Suppose she fell and hit her head. When she came to, she might not have remembered who she was.”

  His brows pinched. “It’s possible, but I thought amnesia didn’t last that long. Secondly, if that were true, why didn’t Marianna say something? She knew I was looking for my sister. She could have said that she has no memory prior to three years ago. The picture alone should have made her trust me.”

  “I have to admit you have a point, but the only way to know for sure is to find an article about some lost woman from three years ago. Maybe someone found her and nursed her back to health. Marianna might not even know she has a brother.”

  “Then how could she explain away the photo of the two of us?”

  “Photos can be altered. If I were her, I’d be scared if I had a traumatic brain injury. Her caution is understandable. I think we need to find some tangible proof before we talk to her again.”

  He nodded. “You’re right.”

  It didn’t take long to find an article at the time of her disappearance. “Rafe, listen to this.”

  He stopped typing and scooted his chair closer to hers. “Rescue dog does it again,” she read out loud. They both scanned the article. Apparently, someone’s husky found a woman at the bottom of a ravine, bleeding and unconscious. The dog stayed with the girl all night until the pet’s owner found them.

  “I don’t see a name of the girl,” Primrose said.

  “No, but it gives the name of the dog’s owner. An Archie Edgars.” He grabbed her hand. “We have to find this man and talk to him.” He tapped the screen. “The dates match.”

  The excitement in his voice thrilled her. Primrose hoped this man was willing to tell his story. “Let’s see if we can find an address.”

  After a quick search, Rafe learned where the man lived. “Got it.”

  They picked up their gear and headed out. Because it was mid-morning, Mr. Edgars might have left for work already, but it was a risk they had to take. Turns out, when they arrived at his place, he owned a farm. His wife told them that Archie was in the barn.

  With strong quick strides, Rafe charged across the field in back, forcing Primrose to jog to keep up with him. Please let him find the answers he wants, she prayed to Fate.

  The barn door was open, so they stepped inside, the smell of hay and animals permeating the air.

  “Mr. Edgars?” Rafe called.

  A man stepped out of the back with a rake in his hand. “Hello.” He set the rake against the wall and swiped a handkerchief across his forehead. “What can I do for you?”

  Rafe produced the photo of him and his sister. “Do you recognize this woman?”

  The man only gave a quick glance. “Sure do. That’s Thea Andrews.” He glanced from the photo back to Rafe. “That you?”

  “Yes, this woman really is my sister, Marianna Tremont, but I know she has a different name now.”

  The man smiled. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “What can you tell me about her?”

  “Not all that much, but it will be a bit more comfortable to tell the story inside the house. It’s time for my medicine anyway. And call me Archie. Everyone does.”

  The three of them traipsed back to the farmhouse. Once seated in the living room, Archie’s wife offered them some tea.

  “What do you remember about this woman?” Rafe asked. From the way his shoulders were rigid, every muscle was tied up in knots.

  “If you read about me, then you know about Rascal, my dog. He’s a wanderer.” Archie waved a hand. “When he didn’t return from one of his frequent forays during the night, I went out to look for him. It’s why I had to put a tracking device on him. The damned dog was always wandering off.”

  Archie’s wife entered from the kitchen and handed them each a mug of hot tea. “Would you like sugar in your drink?” she asked.

  Both Primrose and Rafe shook their heads, and Mrs. Edgars headed back to the kitchen.

  Primrose turned back to Archie. “Where did you find Rascal?”

  “At the bottom of a ravine.” He described the location that meant nothing to her, but Rafe seemed to know the area.

  “That’s where my sister was hiking.”

  “I’ll tell you, when I got there, she was banged up pretty bad.”

  “Did she tell you what happened?” Rafe asked.

  “Being unconscious, Thea wasn’t talking at the time. I couldn’t carry her, so I called my two nephews to help. The three of us got her back here.”

  “Did she tell you her name was Thea Andrews?” Rafe asked.

  Archie looked off to the side. “No. Poor girl was so confused, she didn’t remember anything.”

  “She didn’t have any identification on her?” Primrose asked.

  Archie shook his head. “No. I even searched through her belongings but found nothing.”

  Archie’s wife returned from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

  “You say you’re her brother?” she asked, her voice sounding strained.

  “Yes. I’ve been searching for her for three years. It was by chance that I found her here. We stopped by the law office, only she didn’t seem to recognize me.” He tapped his chest. “I’m her twin, damn it.”

  Archie’s wife winced. She looked over at her husband and then back at Rafe. She sat down on the chair across from them. “Thea stayed with us for a few weeks while her head, leg, and other injuries healed. She had no memory of anything other than she’d gone to law school.”

  Rafe’s eyes lit up. “Yes! We had just passed our exams, and Marianna wanted to go on a three-day hike before she looked for a job.”

  “How did she come up with the name of Thea Andrews?” Primrose asked. She couldn’t imagine not being able to remember her own name.

  She cast her eyes downward. “I know it was wrong, but Thea had nowhere to turn. I had a daughter by that name. She would have been Marianna’s age had she lived. Before I married Archie, my last name was Andrews. I gave her Thea’s birth certificate so she could get a driver’s license.”

  “If no one checked, Marianna would never be found out. Most people don’t go digging to see if there has been a death certificate issued,” he said.

  They talked a bit more about how Marianna landed a job, and then how she moved into her own apartment. Rafe pressed his lips together. “Thank you for your time.”

  When he stood, Primrose followed. After they shook hands goodbye, she followed him out. “What do you think?” she asked.

  “Thea, or rather Marianna, seems to be a distrustful person.” He shook his head. “The thing is, she didn’t look frightened when I showed her the picture.”

  “I agree. Maybe she’s good at hiding her emotions.”

  Rafe held open her car door. “I think we need to visit Thea Andrews again. This time, I’d like it to be outside of the office.”

  Primrose slipped into the car. “Why?”

  “Maybe she’ll be more relaxed out of the earshot of her coworkers, especially if they ever found out that she’s not who she claims to be.”

  Maybe.

  By the time they returned to Hartford, Primrose was starving. “How about we stop at a café for a late lunch?”

  “I’m sorry, Rosie. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t even think about food or that you might be hungry. Sure.”

  They parked near the law office and walked to a nearby café. Thankfully, the place wasn’t crowded so they had their choice of seats. Primrose looked over the menu. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Thea—or rather Marianna.

  “Rafe?”

  He looked up. “Yeah?”

  “Look who just walked in.” She nodded to his sister.

  He stiffened. “Excuse me.”

  As much as Primrose wanted to be by his side, she had the sense he wanted to do this himself. When he approached his long lost sister, she stiffened, but she did seem to listen to Rafe. A minute later, the two of them returned to the booth.

  “Thea has agreed to join us for lunch.”

  Primrose smiled and slid over. “Great.”

  “We met with Archie and his wife,” Rafe said.

  Thea broke eye contact. “Really? What did they say?”

  Rafe detailed where Archie found her, and how that was in the same area where his sister had planned to hike. He listed a few of the trails that Marianna had mapped out, but Thea didn’t show any sign of remembering. “Mrs. Edgars said that she’d given you her deceased daughter’s birth certificate.”

  Thea’s shoulders sagged. “Yes. I know it was wrong, but I had nowhere to turn.”

  Rafe reached across the table and took her hand. When his sister didn’t pull back, Primrose considered it as a hopeful sign.

  “I understand. You really don’t remember me?” Rafe asked.

  “No.”

  The pain in his face tore at Primrose. Shit. This was her mate, and as such, she should be able to do something to help. After all, she was a goddess of Fate for goodness, sake! Primrose wracked her brain for a spell that would help this poor woman remember but came up blank.

  “Give her back her memories,” came that voice in her head from out of nowhere.

  Primrose stilled. “Give her back her memories? How?”

  “Connect these two.”

  That sounded great, but she’d never done anything like that before. Then an idea popped into her head—or else Fate presented her with that thought. “Thea, would you mind if I try something?”

  “Try what?”

  “I know this will sound ridiculous, but I believe it’s possible for Rafe to give you back your memories.” With a little help from me, and of course, Fate.

  She laughed. “I’d like to see that happen.”

  “Me too,” Rafe said.

  Primrose wished Rafe and she could communicate telepathically so she could tell him the plan. “It will only take a minute. Could you place your hands on the side of Rafe’s face, covering his temples?”

  Marianna stilled for a moment and then glanced over at Rafe. “I’m game.”

  “Go for it,” he said.

  Marianna placed her hands on Rafe’s face. “Rafe, please do the same to…ah, Thea.”

  “Are you some kind of witch?” Marianna asked.

  “Yes. Kind of…”

  “She’s a goddess,” Rafe said with pride.

  Marianna smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

  Clearly, she didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. If she wanted to think of this as a parlor trick, that worked too.

  “Twist your back toward me so I can place my hands over Rafe’s, and then both of you close your eyes.”

  “Is that necessary?” Marianna asked.

  “Yes. We don’t need any distractions.”

  Rafe nodded and then closed his eyes. Primrose had to assume Marianna had too.

  “Now what?” Marianna asked.

  “Rafe, you will need to think of a good time the two of you had growing up in order to make the connection. That will trigger Thea’s memories. It’s kind of like you’re downloading your memories into her mind to share with her. That’s a bad analogy, but it’s all I can think of right now.”

  Marianna tensed. “And me? What should I do?”

  Primrose smiled. “Relax and enjoy the journey down memory lane.”

  “Are you sure this will work?”

  Not at all. “I’m betting it will.”

  Now it was Primrose’s turn. She could only hope the voice she’d heard had been Fate’s. “Fate, if you’re still listening, I need these two to reconnect before Rafe can truly be mine. Please help me.”

  Just in case Fate wasn’t going to become involved anymore, Primrose silently incanted several spells to help someone remember an event. Nothing seemed to be happening for a moment, but then tiny pulses radiated through Rafe’s fingers—or was the power coming from her?

  Please let this work. Primrose couldn’t connect telepathically with either of them, but she tried, urging them to open their minds and embrace each other’s thoughts.

  Marianna groaned, and her body began to shake. Did that mean it was working?

  “Hear me, Marianna. Remember,” Rafe whispered with such desperation it was almost palpable.

  Marianna sucked in a breath and then grabbed his wrists. She jerked them down to get out of his hold. Primrose opened her eyes and let go too.

  Both of them were staring at each other wide-eyed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Rafe was shaken to the core. He’d started off with remembering when he and his sister had decided to run away. They were six. Their adventure took them to the woods behind their house. Together, they’d built a lean to, hoping to live there forever. Marianna never complained, even when it started to rain and turned cold. Only when their parents’ shouts reached them, did they decide it was time to go home and try another time.

  He might not have been so freaked out if some older memories hadn’t been returned—memories he’d long ago forgotten. Like how he had wanted to do some experiments on Marianna’s doll. At the young age of ten, he had wondered if he could do a heart transplant on Sally Anne. After reliving that day now, anger and pain radiated from his sister. Only after seeing the tears streak down her ten-year old face did shame assault him from cutting open her favorite doll and ruining it forever.

  Rafe waited for his sister to say something, but she appeared frozen, as if she was trying to grapple with what just happened. Then she snapped out of it.

  “Rafe, is that really you?”

  His heart nearly burst with joy. “Yes. You remember me?”