by Mary Eason
Best to be overly cautious than to wind up dead.
Midways through the afternoon, Riley finally heard back from his father.
“Son, I reached David Enfield.” There was no denying the urgency in his tone.
“Please tell me you have some good news?”
“Riley, David needs some time to get you two out safely. Something’s up there, but he wouldn’t tell me what. He told me to tell you to hang tight. He’ll call you tomorrow at the latest. I had to give him your number.”
Riley closed his eyes. Dammit. “It’s okay, Dad.”
“I’m sorry, Son. I didn’t have a choice.”
“I know. It’s okay. You trust David, right?”
The lengthy pause before his father’s answer did little to reassure Riley. “I’ve known David for a long time. You can trust him. He’d never steer you wrong.”
***
By the end of the day, Jordan’s nerves had stretched to the breaking point. Every little noise sent her jumping. Every stranger that walked into the hospital had her wondering if this would be the day Caesar exacted his revenge. But what troubled her the most was the way she couldn’t get Riley Donovan out of her head.
And it didn’t help that Momma Lizbeth had been witness to them watching each other all day long. Her curious gaze bounced from Jordan and Riley. Momma Lizbeth raised eyebrow left Jordan with little doubt where her imagination had gone.
“Anything else before I leave?” Jordan asked as she watched Riley slouched in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the small waiting area and pick up an out-of-date magazine then toss it back onto the table.
“Nuh uh. No you don’t, child. You’re not getting off that easy. You’ve been avoiding my questions all day long. You gonna tell me who’s that man with you or not?”
Jordan rehearsed her answer a thousand times in her head, and yet faced now with the shrewd assessment in Momma Lizbeth’s eyes, all of her excuses flew out the window.
“He’s just a friend.”
“Nuh uh. That’s no friend. Men who look like that they aren’t just friends. Not if a woman has any life left in her body. And you, child definitely have life right there.” She pointed to Jordan’s heart. “No, that boy, the way he looks at you. The way you look at him. Mum uh. That’s no friend.”
“Momma, there’s nothing going on between—“
“Maybe not yet. But there will be. You mark my words. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it because I can see it on your face. You’re as red as a beet. ”
Great. Just as she was getting ready to walk out into a night that had to be tailor-made for seduction, with ‘that boy’ who she’d been trying to shut out of her head all day long, Momma Lizbeth had to go and remind her of what had kept her up half the night.
Chapter Thirteen
“You’re awfully quiet…” The husky sound of his voice slipped into her thoughts unwelcome.
They’d walked in silence along the sandy beachfront since leaving the hospital.
Jordan swallowed hard, determined to keep her voice steady. “Really? I guess I’m just tired.”
In the darkness, she felt his nod. After a moment he said, “Tomorrow may be difficult. Once we hear from David, things will happen quickly. You should try and get some rest.”
Sleep. If only it were that easy.
The cottage came into view, she’d left most of the lights on. Jordan headed toward it like a beacon in a storm tossed night, determined to put him out of her head until Riley stopped her.
“Wait here. Let me check it out first.”
She did as he asked because she needed time to think. It felt as if she’d already lost so much of the control of her life to this thing. To him.
“It’s clear.” He was too close. She could feel him trying to read her.
“Want some coffee?” Jordan followed him inside and moved into the kitchen and away from Riley’s presence.
Please let him say no.
She didn’t wait for Riley’s answer and hoped he’d get the message. After a moment, he trailed her into the kitchen and stood in the doorway silently watching as she stared out the window.
“Sure, coffee sounds good.” He said at last, giving in for the moment.
Jordan forced herself to go through the motions. Her hand shook as she poured water into the coffeemaker. Shock.
“Here.” Riley materialized next to her and took the coffee. “You’d better let me do that. Why don’t you sit down? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
Jordan did as he said because he was right. She watched him finish making the brew and tried to control the tremors in her hands.
“Jordan?” It was still a shock hearing her name coming from Riley. He was part of the past. He didn’t belong here in her island paradise.
“I’m sorry?”
“Cream or sugar?” He held a cup out to her. She took it gratefully.
“Oh. No. Thank you. I got used to drinking it black as an intern.”
Riley pulled out the chair across from her. The clean masculine scent of him mingled with the newly perked coffee. Some familiar impression reminded her of Jeremy. It took only a second to figure it out. It was the soap he used. Jeremy used that same brand. The realization hit her with the force of a freight train.
“Same hospital?”
It took all of her willpower not to fall apart at that memory. She forced it back. “Yes.”
“That must have been hard. You were taking care of Jeremy alone, going to school and then working long hours.”
“It was.” She blinked back tears. It had been impossible. It was during that particularly dark period in her life that Caesar came along and suddenly not everything seemed so difficult any longer. He’d seemed too good to be true.
“How did you meet him?” The question appeared so innocent. Jordan’s gaze slid from the coffee cup to Riley’s. There was just enough sincerity in his tone to make her believe he actually cared.
He was good. “Does that usually work?”
His smile froze. “I beg your pardon?”
“The tone. The sincerity. The come on. I almost believe you care. Does that whole—“she waved her hand up and down his body. “package usually work?”
Riley lowered his gaze, but the smile had disappeared. “Sure. But then most of the people I deal with aren’t like you.”
“Like me? What do you mean?”
“Most of the people I talk to are guilty of a crime. You’re not.”
It was back again. The tension she’d felt every single time she was alone with him. It had everything to do with the attraction she could no longer deny she felt for the man seated across from her.
The last thing she could allow herself now was to act on that attraction. Riley Donovan was part of the past she desperately needed to survive.
She fought to keep her equilibrium. The man was doing dangerous things to her concentration. She forced herself to remember her enemy. And the anger that had kept her going all these long days. “He’s like vapor, isn’t he?”
That he felt it too was easy to read in his eyes. He swallowed hard. “Who?”
“Caesar. He‘s life a vapor. You’ll never catch him. And I’ll never survive if you don’t.”
All of his doubts were right there in his eyes for her to see. “We’ll get him. It will just take time. Tomorrow we’ll get you out of here and someplace safe until he’s brought up on charges. ”
She toyed with her empty coffee cup for a long time. “And I don’t have a choice?”
He held her gaze. “Not if you want to live.”
She propelled herself unsteadily to her feet. He did the same. “Thanks. That should definitely help me sleep better.” She brushed past him but he caught her. “Don’t.” She dragged in an unsteady breath. “Let me go.”
He didn’t. Slowly, carefully he brought her close. “I can’t. Because I need you.” His confession took her by surprise. She stopped struggling. Her body softening against his.
The air between them crackled and sparked with emotions neither expected. She closed her eyes and stopped fighting him. He pulled her into his arms. His lips grazing hers.
“This is crazy. I don’t understand any of this.” Her breath came in short gasps. She pulled away. “I don’t even know you. I don’t even trust you.”
He touched her face. “You can trust me. I promise you can trust me.” For a moment his eyes held hers and she did. She trusted him with her life. Her future. Maybe even her heart.
He smiled and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. She gave herself over to his touch.
“Riley.” His name drove from her lips as a shaky sigh.
Something shifted in his eyes, his breathing quickened. His strong arms circled her body and lifted her. She closed her eyes and willed the doubts away. She wanted this. If she were being honest, from the moment they’d met she’d wanted him.
He shouldered open her bedroom open, moving inside he sat her down but didn’t let her go.
“Riley.” For the life of her, his name sounded like an invitation.
“I’ve been going out of my mind thinking about you.” He told her, his voice rough with desire.
She had too. Jordan turned away.
Riley stepped closer. She could feel the heat from his body. His hands slipped around her body bringing her close.
She leaned against him and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as his fingers slipped under the band of her scrubs and touched her stomach, then moved lower, beneath the silk of her panties to stroke her soft mound.
“God, you feel good.” He said in a voice was heavy with passion. His free hand caressed her breast. Her body responded to his touch as if they’d made love a thousand times before. Her nipples grew hard against the rough material of shirt. Her breath caught her throat when one finger slipped inside her body. She pressed closer. She could feel his arousal against her bottom.
“I’ve wanted you for a long time. I know that you want this too, Jordan.”
What was the point in denying it or herself any longer? She’d wanted Riley from the beginning. Whether or not they would last beyond this moment, didn’t matter.
“Yes. Yes, I want you Riley. I want you so much.”
He turned her in his arms and his lips took hers. Riley kissed her like none other. His lips were gentle but demanding. He parted hers, his tongue tasting her. Jordan met him touch for touch. His lips left hers to trail hot kisses across her cheek down to her throat. Jordan’s head rolled back. Riley’s lips ravaged her throat.
“God, Riley, I can’t wait any longer,” He lifted her up in his arms once more and carried her to the bed. His fingers slipping beneath the hem of her blouse, he lifted it up over her head and then stopped.
“What is it?” She asked as her eyes locked with his.
“I just want to look at you. Before things get carried away, I want to look at every inch of you.”
Jordan couldn’t hold his gaze. Not when Riley looked at her like he was at that moment.
He slowly unclasped the bra. It landed on the heap with her top. She felt his fingers reach out to touch her for the first time without the encumbrance of the bra and she drew in a sharp breath. His fingers trailed across her breast and to underneath. To the sensitive skin beneath. Jordan shuddered.
“Your eyes are so sexy. When I touch you like this, they are so damn sexy. You’re so damn sexy.”
When he slid the scrubs slowly down her hips and away from her body followed by the panties, she lay naked and vulnerable beneath his gaze. Shivering from sheer reaction to what she saw within his hungry eyes.
***
She moaned softly as his lips moved down her neck to nibble at the base of her throat. His breath caught in his throat. She was so beautiful.
Just looking at her made him hard. She was so sexy and so vulnerable and he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted another woman before her.
“Oh God,” he groaned when her fingers slipped beneath his tee shirt to stroke his skin.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He yanked the shirt off and quickly removed the rest of his clothing. Then he pulled her close, loving the feel of her skin against his. His hands moved freely, exploring every inch of her, loving at the little noises she made in response to his kisses, the way her body responded beneath his touch. He moved his hand over her private place. She took a deep startled breath and clutched his shoulders.
He hesitated, a sliver of sanity returning. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, please, Riley, don’t stop.” The need within him had reached the point of no return. He pulled her legs around his waist buried his face in her neck and eased himself inside of her.
The rush of air leaving her body sounded more like a frantic whisper. Slowly he began to move within her. Her warm velvety softness encased him. He plunged deep inside her. She clung to him.
“God, you feel so good.” He groaned and felt his control slipping away.
She was close. He could feel her teetering on the edge. He took a difficult breath, and drove deep, harder thrust. She drew a shaky breath, as her body tightened, then released around his. She arched her body and met his final thrust and just like that, he slipped over the edge with her.
An eternity passed before he could breathe normal again. “That was amazing. Out of this world. Unbelievable.”
With their bodies still joined, he looked down at her and felt his heart contract.
“You’re crying?” He asked in amazement. “Did I hurt you?”
Jordan couldn’t speak. She only shook her head. He wondered if she’d even been aware of the tears.
He kissed her long and hard. Jordan returned his kiss with the same eagerness. He couldn’t get enough of tasting her. His body grew hard again at their closeness. She shivered, her muscles contracted around him as he begin to move again within her. It was even better than before. It was one long slowly climax that left them both breathless and spent.
“I can’t believe that just happened.” He managed to say only a little unsteadily and heard her draw in an equally unsteady breath.
He lifted his head and swept a glance over her face. She wasn’t crying any longer. Riley pulled her back into his arms and planted warm kisses against her throat.
“Are you okay?” He asked and prayed she wouldn’t have regrets.
After a moment, she smiled and all of his worries just seemed to melt away in warmth of it.
***
Waking to the first soft rays or morning, Jordan believed there was hope for her yet. After leaving New York, she didn’t think it would be possible to ever sleep through the night undisturbed again. But she’d been wrong.
She glanced at the man who slept next to her, oblivious to the world around them. The small clock next to the bed told her she still had plenty of time before her next shift at the hospital. Slowly she began to untangle his arms while trying not to wake him.
“Where are you going?”
“Riley.” Her started eyes met his. Sleep mixed desire made them appear almost black in the filmy light. “I didn’t mean to disturb you…”
He pulled her down next to him. “You do more than disturb me. You make me burn for you.”
She moved closer, her arms going around his waist. She began with kissing his chest, before moving slowly up to his throat and then his lips. For a moment, Riley’s resolve held. His arms tightened around her before he hauled her closer. His lips meeting hers filled with a need.
With each touch, each stroke his hands and his lips showered her with love. And her response was just as unpredictable as his. She didn’t understand the change in him. But she loved it.
She came against his gentle stroking begging him to enter her, but he took his time. He let her body relax while holding her closer. When she was still in his arms, Riley moved over her once more and slid into her body watching her arch against him and move closer. She felt familiar and yet looking at her through the eyes of love, he’d nev
er noticed the little things about her that now, drove him close to the edge. Her sultry eyes were half closed she looked like a dream come true. He’d never wanted her move. He moved within her slowly, rhythmically and then stopped to watch her reaction. She was begging for more.
He gave it to her. Riley untangled her hands from his neck and held them above her head. She opened her eyes. She looked so vulnerable beneath him. He heard her whisper his name and then he begin to move once more, driving harder, deeper into her soft warmth. He felt her body tense once more, her muscles contracting around him as she succumbed to her passions once more.
The sight of her body moving against his was too much. Riley drove hard into her once more then captured her lips as he released inside of her.
Chapter Fourteen
Somehow, Jordan must have slept. When she awoke, the sun was glaring through the thin curtains and she was alone in bed.
Oh God. She’d overslept. She glanced at the clock. She was already an hour late for work.
She showered and dressed in record time but still no Riley. Fear and adrenalin pumped through her body at the possibilities. Had Caesar showed up while she was sleeping? Had Riley tried to protect her by steering Caesar away from the cottage and Jordan?
She could smell the fragrant scent of coffee. She hurried through the tiny cottage to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted him, elbows propped against the worn kitchen table staring out the window.
“Hi.” Jordan figured they really couldn’t get much more intimate than it had last night – at least not for a while, so she might as well take the bull by the horn’s and face Riley again.
“Hi yourself.” He got to his feet and came to her. Her breath lodged in her throat when he held out his coffee for her. She took it gratefully. “You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
Jordan swallowed hard then took a much-needed sip of the coffee. “I-I should go. Momma Lizbeth will be beside herself with worry by now.”