by Kate Pearce
“Not happening.” He deliberately rolled his hips, and her eyes flew open. “We’ve only just begun.”
He began to move, savoring the way her flesh clasped and released him with every stroke. He cupped her breast, and she gasped his name, her fingers digging into his shoulder as she rocked with him in perfect harmony. He could keep this rhythm up all night, but his body had other ideas and was way too excited to last much longer.
Pressure built at the base of his spine, and he increased his pace, his breath shortening as Yvonne grabbed hold, and held on with a strength that surprised and humbled him. He shifted positions slightly, coming higher up on his knees so her back was against the headboard, and rocked into her.
“Louvado seja Deus,” Rio gasped as he came hard, and collapsed over Yvonne, face-planting into the pillow beside hers, his body suddenly a dead weight.
Eventually, she stroked his shoulder.
“What did you just say?”
He was still trying to remember who he was, let alone what he’d shouted out in his moment of release.
“It was in Portuguese,” she said helpfully.
“Praise God,” he managed to mumble into the pillow.
“Well, that’s a new one on me.”
He rolled off and gave her the eye. “What did your Frenchman say then?”
“Mon Dieu, of course.”
“Same thing then.”
“I suppose so.”
He eyed her cautiously. “Are you always this chatty right after sex?”
“I suppose I am. Why?”
“Because maybe next time I’ll try harder to reduce you to adoring, exhausted silence.”
She snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“Well, at least you stayed awake this time.”
“And you stuck around.”
They smiled at each other. He had a desperate sense that if they could just keep it light, happy, and friendly, then nothing bad would ever happen to him again.
“Aurelio, eh?”
Some of his happy disappeared. “Who told you that?”
“Your father. He said he doesn’t approve of nicknames. Does it mean anything?”
“Gold, I think.”
She stroked his cheek. “That’s lovely, and very accurate for you.”
“Yeah? Because I’m solid?” He winked at her.
Her voice softened. “No, because you’re good, and pure, and precious.”
Not so light either then . . .
He rolled away from her. “I have to use the bathroom. You okay if I go first?”
* * *
What had she said to send him running for the hills? Yvonne studied the bathroom door, her sense of unease growing. He’d made love to her like a dream, and had been everything she’d imagined he’d be times ten. Strength, elegance, and power, all captured in one adorable, sexy man.
Maybe he’d panicked because she’d said something nice about him . . . something that had come from her heart.
Was he afraid she was going to get all clingy and ruin everything between them? Did she want to get clingy with everything going on in her life at the moment? After her parents had died so suddenly, she’d done that with Paul, and it hadn’t ended well. They really did need to talk. She was quite prepared to lock the door and swallow the key to make sure that happened.
He came back into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his lean waist, water dripping down his torso. He hesitated, and she pointed silently at the bed.
“You promised you’d talk to me.”
“I will, but maybe we should get dressed first?”
“You’re done having sex with me?” For some reason, that hurt.
“I’m trying to be sensible here.”
“Okay.” She held up her hands. “I’ll take a quick shower, and you’d better still be here when I get out.”
* * *
True to her word, she was back ten minutes later, wrapped in her dressing gown, her wet hair in a high ponytail. She’d given herself a stern talking-to in the bathroom mirror, and was resolved to remain calm and pleasant regardless of what happened. Had she let herself give in to lust again just like she had with Paul? Ten years on, hadn’t she learned anything?
Rio was sitting on the only chair, fully dressed apart from his boots and jacket. He’d also made more coffee, which mellowed her a little. He poured her a cup and pushed it across the coffee table to her.
“Thanks.” She cuddled up on the couch, drawing her feet up under her, and wrapped her hands around the mug.
“I’m sorry.” Rio looked down at his linked hands. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have talked you into bed. I used your concern for me as a lever, and that wasn’t fair.”
She took a moment to digest what he was saying. Had she really been that obvious? It felt more like a slap in the face than she had anticipated.
“So you think I’m a pushover, right?”
“No!” He looked up. “Not at all. This is on me.”
“Because you’re that irresistible?” Yvonne nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Not that either.” He held her gaze. “Come on, you know that’s not what I meant.”
“Okay, so let’s just say we both made a mistake and move on.” Wow, she sounded so calm and mature. And everything she’d said made perfect sense for both of them. She offered him a bright smile. “Not that it wasn’t lovely, but we can still be friends and business partners, right?”
He studied her for a long moment. “You sure you’re okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she said airily. “Neither of us is in the right place for a relationship right now. Let’s just chalk this one up to mutual lust and hope we’ve got it out of our systems.”
Like she’d ever get the best sex of her life out of her system, but sometimes you just had to fake it until you made it.
He still looked worried, which she supposed was better than him grinning with relief and high-fiving her as he disappeared never to be seen again.
“Yvonne—”
She ruthlessly interrupted him, not sure if she could keep on adulting for much longer. “So are you going to tell me why you considered accepting a job from your father?”
His eyebrows shot up. “You really want to talk about that right now?”
“Sure! Why not?” She shrugged. “We’re supposed to be friends.” And it gave her time to recover from the unexpected pang of hurt his agreement to go back to just being friends caused her. But that was what she’d asked for, so she could hardly fault him for going along with it.
His pause before replying this time was even longer than the first.
“Okay, I’ve been trying to buy my mom’s ranch property from my father for the last three years. He’s refused to even discuss it until now.”
“So he used it as a bribe to get you back working for him?”
“Kind of. I agreed to read a proposal as to my potential role in the company, and the benefits I’d accrue if I take the job. In return, he’ll consider a bid for the ranch from me.” He shoved a hand through his still-damp hair. “It was my stupid fault he even came up with the idea. I mentioned buying the ranch, and he was all over me.”
“Your mom is very important to you, isn’t she?” Yvonne asked.
“Yeah, and she deserves to live the rest of her life without worrying about being beholden to my father.”
“Excuse me if this sounds rude, but Josie suggested that your mother is quite wealthy in her own right,” Yvonne asked tentatively. “Why hasn’t she bought the ranch back herself?”
“Because my father’s lawyers tied it up too tight, which meant she’d have to take him back to court, and potentially lose the whole place paying the legal fees.”
Yvonne nodded. “Then I take it back. You obviously did the right thing.”
“Thank you.” His smile emerged for the first time since they’d made love. “This sharing stuff is hard, isn’t it?”
She hid a yawn behind her hand, and finished her coffee. “It
has its moments.”
“I should go. You look worn out.” He rose to his feet, and took both the cups back to the coffee maker.
She got up as well and waited until he collected his hat and jacket and put on his boots before walking him to the door.
“Thanks for all your help today.” Yvonne managed another chirpy smile, but it was getting harder every time.
He hesitated and looked down at her. “I still feel like I’ve messed up somewhere, and I’m not sure how to fix it.”
“You haven’t.” Damn, there was a catch in her voice he was bound to notice. “Tell your mom I’ll see her at ten in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, okay?” Then she wouldn’t have to go up to the suite and see Rio at all. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”
He put on his hat, and she opened the door and practically pushed him out, her throat aching with unshed tears.
“Night then, Rio.”
In his usual stubborn-ass way, he refused to budge an inch, and now her hand was pressed against his chest, and that wasn’t good. He took her fingers and gently kissed them before returning her hand to her.
“I want you to know that making love to you wasn’t a mistake. It was both an honor and a privilege. I’ll never regret it.”
“Great, thanks for the input.” Was she babbling now? She didn’t want to be that person, that stupid girl with her ridiculous need to be loved. Paul had fought to escape that need, and she didn’t want to have to watch Rio do the same thing. Why was she so bad at relationships even when she wasn’t in one? “See you Thursday on the ride back to Morgantown.”
This time, she shoved harder and managed to catch him off balance. Stepping smartly back, she shut the door in his face and locked it. Holding her breath, she waited to see if he’d try and reconnect with her. There was a very long silence, and then the sound of his boots walking away.
She went back to the couch and sat down, wrapping her arms around herself. Okay, it could have gone better at the end, but she’d done a pretty good job of refusing to be clingy or demanding. Common sense said that she’d made a sensible decision, and that Rio was happy to go along with it. It really was for the best. Because she did like him—as a friend.
She raised her head to stare out over the city, and took a deep, steadying breath.
“Hell.”
There was no point denying it. She wanted him back in her bed right now, wanted to share herself with him and revel in his frank appreciation of her charms. But he’d agreed with her that it was a bad idea, had willingly allowed her to reinstate the walls between them, but oh, somewhere deep inside her, she really wished that he hadn’t. . . .
* * *
Rio had reached the hotel lobby before he stopped walking and just stared into space. What the hell had just happened? Why wasn’t he still in bed with the most beautiful woman he’d ever met?
“Excuse me, sir, do you want me to call a taxi for you?”
Actually, he needed someone to slap him silly, but he doubted the concierge would be up for that.
“No, thanks. I’m walking.”
He went out into the street and took another long moment getting his bearings before turning left. It wasn’t even that late. His mother and sister might still be with Graham.
He’d just had the best sex of his life and he was walking away. Yvonne had made it pretty damn clear she was happy to revert to being friends again.
“But only after you bolted from her bed when she got too personal,” Rio muttered.
He checked to see that no one had heard him talking to himself and realized that, in such a big city, he probably wasn’t going to stand out much.
The question was why had he bolted?
“Wrong time, wrong place, right woman.”
It was a cliché, but it was still true. Rio crossed the street, avoiding an oncoming trolley, and turned up the hill. What else was there to say? They’d both given in to the moment. There was nothing wrong with that.
He reached the Ritz-Carlton, went into the lobby and up in the elevator to the penthouse suite. Josie was sitting on the couch in her dressing gown, typing. She held a finger to her lips and pointed at the bedrooms.
“Mom’s gone to bed. She had a few too many cocktails.”
Rio contemplated keeping on walking into his room, but instead threw himself down beside Josie on the couch.
“How did the rest of dinner go?”
“It was great. Jenny went to bed just after you left. Graham stayed and entertained us for another hour. He was really nice.”
Rio snorted. “Right.”
“No, he really was, bro. Even Mom said so on the way home. She said he’d mellowed and matured.”
“Because she always thinks the best of everyone.”
“Well, everyone except him usually, so this was something of a big deal. Why are you still so hard on him?”
“Because this is what he does. He charms the pants off people, and makes them think he’s this harmless guy. Then, when he’s got you all acquiescent, he turns into a fricking shark.”
“He’s a businessman.” Josie shrugged. “That’s what they do.”
Rio met her gaze. “He’s not a good person, Josie.”
“Maybe not to you, but that doesn’t make him evil personified.”
He flung his arms wide. “So basically everyone likes my father, and I’m the problem? Muito obrigado.”
“People do change, Rio. You weren’t that nice when you first came back to Mom’s ranch, but we all gave you the time and space to find yourself again.”
“You could give my father the whole universe and he’d still need more,” Rio grumbled. “And now he wants me to come and work for him again.”
“What?” Josie sat up. “But you’ve got a world championship to defend!”
At least, being a PBR fan, Josie got that.
“Yeah, and a life of my own.”
“I suppose one day everything he has could belong to you. . . .” Josie shook her head. “All those people and companies depending on you for their living.”
“Exactly. Who’d want that?”
She frowned. “What would happen to all Graham’s charitable stuff?”
“What charitable stuff?” Rio asked.
Josie showed him her laptop screen. “I was just looking it up. He suggested there might be a job there somewhere for me.”
Rio studied the web page and shrugged even as he mentally memorized the URL. “It’s a tax write-off for him, Josie. That’s all it is.”
“It didn’t sound like that when he talked about what he was trying to accomplish. You’re determined not to allow the man a single redeeming feature, are you?” Josie said.
“Not if I can help it.” Rio grinned at his sister, who didn’t look impressed.
She sniffed the air. “Did I mention that you smell like a bunch of flowers?”
“Don’t I always?”
“I hate to tell you, but that’s not your normal aroma. Usually it’s a mix of horse and leather.” She looked up from her laptop. “Whose shower gel did you borrow?”
“None of your business.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not five anymore. Anyone with a lick of sense can see that you’ve got the hots for Yvonne, which, by the way, I totally approve of because she’s lovely.”
“Yvonne is . . .” Rio leaned his head back against the couch. “Complicated.”
“You mean she doesn’t like you back?”
“She . . . we’ve both got too much on our plates at the moment to get involved with each other.”
“Yeah, right,” Josie scoffed.
The thing was, the more he said it, the lamer that excuse felt, and the more he agreed with his sister.
“I’ve got another season of bull riding ahead of me, so I’ll be touring the country. Yvonne’s got the café to run, and other business interests.”
“So?” Josie looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Make it work!”
“It’s not tha
t easy.”
“Only if you don’t really want to try.”
Rio gave her his best side eye. “You’ll fit into my father’s company so well. Sometimes things don’t work out. That’s just the way life goes.”
“Only if you give up,” Josie repeated stubbornly. “And don’t tell me I’m too young to know what I’m talking about. That’s infuriating.”
Rio wisely held his tongue and waited to see where she would go next.
“You’ve always been like this.”
“Like what?” Rio asked.
“Like this with women. You always give up too easily. Why is that?”
“Because I’m not a fool?”
She met his gaze; hers was unusually serious for a change. “Or because you’re afraid of intimacy?”
“For God’s sake, Josie, don’t start that crap with me.”
She poked him in the leg. “See? I know I’m right because you’re getting antsy.”
“Because you’re way off target. When I find the right woman, I’ll know what to do, and I’ll do it.”
“So Yvonne isn’t the right woman?”
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. “She’s potentially the right woman, but at the wrong time in my life.”
“Well, I suppose that’s something.” Josie closed her laptop. “For some reason, she seems to like you, so my advice, big brother, would be to get your shit together and close her down before some other guy comes along.”
“Wow, thanks for the dating assistance.”
She frowned at him. “This isn’t about dating—you date all the time. This is about being in love with someone and wanting to be with them for the rest of your life.”
“Like Mom and Graham? That worked out just great.”
Josie raised her chin. “Sometimes things don’t work out, but at least they went with their feelings.”
“And damaged countless people around them, including me.”
“Jeez, Rio, just let it go, okay? Stop using your parents’ stupid marriage to justify not committing to anyone in your own life. It’s totally lame.” She stood up and tucked her laptop under her arm. “I’m going to bed. What time is Yvonne coming over?”
“Around ten. She’ll call from the lobby.”
“Great.” Josie blew him a kiss. “Good night, my idiot brother who can’t see a gift horse staring him right in the face.”