Rook leaned on the doorway, his expression soft. It was the hint of playfulness she saw in his amber eyes that had her dark ones narrowing from curiosity and relief that the tension between them might be easing.
“It just occurred to me that I haven’t spent this much time in the house since I brought you here.” He inhaled and gave the room a speculative appraisal. “Had no idea how quiet it gets around here.”
Viva smiled and waved the script. “I’m gonna know my part and everyone else’s by the time we start filming. The quiet really is great for concentration.” Her smile widened at his theatrical sigh.
“It’s been less than forty-eight hours and I’m about to go into noise withdrawal.”
Enjoying his mood, Viva laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Don’t know... I’ve never experienced it before, but I don’t think I want to take any chances.”
Rook lifted a finger as if to excuse an interruption. Viva watched him take the mobile from his back jeans pocket.
“So are you hinting that we need to make some noise?” she asked once he was done reading the screen.
“I think it can be arranged.” He pushed off the doorway and left the parlor.
Curiosity at its height, Viva followed and drew to a tentative stop when she found him relaxed against the wall beside the front door.
“Rook—”
“I think our noise is here.” He hiked a thumb toward the door.
Steps still uncertain, Viva moved to the door, opened it a crack and stepped out to the wide entryway.
At first, she saw nothing to indicate the noise Rook had promised. Then, rising snow in the distance brought a suspicious flash to her face. Three SUVs approached.
“What’d you do?” she breathed.
“Not a thing.” Rook came out to watch the SUVs roll foward. “I’m totally innocent. Ask the cops if you don’t believe me.”
Viva laughed when she looked to the stopped SUVs and saw the cop in question step out the back of one. Laughter then mingled with happy tears as Viva raced from the chalet’s entrance to throw herself against her sister in a stifling hug.
Chapter 13
The promised noise had been delivered on once the guests exchanged the plush warmth of the SUVs that had transported them from the airport for the plush warmth of the chalet set amid a landscape of wintry white.
On hand were Tigo and Sophia, along with Linus as well as Elias Joss and his love match, Clarissa David. Rounding out the guest list was Sophia’s longtime friend and Philadelphia’s DA, Paula Starker.
Viva hadn’t realized how starved she was for a bit of noise until she was in the middle of hearty conversation and laughter.
“I can promise you that he had no idea.” Sophia confirmed Rook’s plea of innocence. “We’ve been planning this for weeks. Everyone’s had their schedules cleared—even Paula. Rook didn’t know a thing until we called before leaving for the airport.”
Viva squeezed a pillow to her chest and beamed at her sister from the bed. The chalet’s six bedrooms were all claimed. Rook had taken the guys out to walk the property before dinner, leaving the girls to get settled in.
“Was it our conversation?” Viva asked.
“Mmm...that’s what made us up our plans.” Sophia hung up the last sweater from her garment bag and then rested against the entryway of the walk-in closet she would share with her fiancé. “I didn’t like the way you sounded, but...” Slyness crept into her gray eyes. “Was it my imagination or did you and Rook look like you’d worked things out on that end?”
“For the most part.” Viva tried, failed to keep the light bright in her gaze. “Like everything else between us, it’s all extraordinarily complicated.”
“Care to share any details?” Sophia moved toward the bed.
Viva obliged, taking advantage of the chance to vent to her sister face-to-face. “You can save yourself the trouble of telling me that you see Rook’s point,” she said upon completing her explanation.
“You know, I really do get it. Your loyalty to Murray. He was there for you at a time when the rest of us couldn’t be.”
“Is there any more news about him?”
“Not a peep.” Sophia unwound a gray cashmere scarf from her neck and let it pool on the edge of the bed once she’d taken a seat on the corner. “Guess he was serious when he told you he was putting things to bed—including himself.”
“Is your case still strong without him?” Viva sat up, folded her legs beneath her while keeping possession of the pillow.
“Having him, having him talking, may’ve given us access to who’s at the head of this thing. Your identification of the Greenways strengthens the connection between Murray and my colleagues currently cooling their heels in a cell.” Sophia gave an exaggerated shrug while rubbing her hands one inside the other.
“We’ve managed to pull a few dirty cops off the streets, but the real endgamers...chances are they’ll be in the wind if we can’t turn Murray. Gotta catch him first, though.”
“I’m sorry, Soap.”
“Don’t be.” Sophia gave a contented grin and reached over to squeeze Viva’s ankle. “We got a lot of good work done. I only hate it’s put you and Rook back in a bad spot.”
“A bad spot...” Viva spoke the phrase in a whimsical manner. “That’s a spot we’re both familiar with.”
“I’d hoped the time away would give you a chance...a real one.”
“I think it has.”
“But Murray’s still between you?”
Viva relaxed back onto the bed, her whimsical smile merging with something more stoic. “You know what, Sophia? I’ve got a feeling he always will be.”
* * *
“I’d never even think about the office if it meant leaving this place.”
Rook raised a long, sleek brow toward Elias and then traded looks with Linus and Santigo. Coming from the workaholic construction entrepreneur, the statement was very much out of character.
“Tell me when your true self decides to make an appearance,” Rook urged Eli.
There was a round of laughter then. The guys had returned from their trek about the snowy grounds, but opted for a bit of conversation. The fire pit built into the back deck served as the perfect location.
“Rook, my friend, this is Eli Joss after a dose of Clarissa David.”
Grinning, Rook settled back on the thick cushions of the wood-framed deck chair he’d selected. “So, what’s up, E? Is love to blame?”
“Not a bit.” Eli gave a defiant shake of his head, then caving, shrugged. “Maybe...partly to blame.”
“So how are things goin’ here?” Linus asked Rook once waves of the serious had seeped in amid the rousing laughter that had followed Eli’s admission. “I thought Viva would be looking more pissed off about being babysat.”
One corner of Rook’s mouth lifted in a rueful smile. “We’ve had some breakthroughs...and some setbacks. I told her I knew about Vossler.”
There was no need for further details on that score. The guys knew of their friend’s struggles following Viva’s departure.
“Even after I told her about that, I still think she refuses to see Murray for what he is.”
“Sophia says no one’s heard a thing from him,” Tigo offered.
“Maybe just as well.” Rook leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and warm his hands near the fire. “But as long as that joker’s in the wind...”
“You really think he’d kill her to shut her up?” Eli asked, disbelief in his every word.
Rook let his sigh serve as his initial response. “The angry ex-boyfriend says yes.” He participated when his friends laughed.
“And what does the security expert who Italy’s willing to shell out a small fortune to think?” Lin
us asked.
“That guy...” Rook rubbed a warmed hand across his jaw. “That guy thinks she’s still in trouble too.”
“But not from Murray?” Tigo asked as though he’d already mapped his friend’s thoughts.
Again, Rook shook his head. “No, not from Murray, but possibly from people who want to shut him up tight as they do everyone he knows.”
* * *
Dinner was a hilarious and lively event. Rook had passed off his chef’s cap to Sophia and Paula who whipped up a veritable feast. Conversation ran high with compliments and a fair amount of amused surprise over the culinary talents of the DA and chief of Ds. Afterward, it was a game of pool for the guys, while the girls made their way to the cozy parlor for drinks and more talking.
“Linus?” Viva called as she saw the man about to take the corridor to the billiards room. She moved close to squeeze one of his hands into both of hers. “I just wanted to thank you for coming.”
“Are you kidding?” Linus’s dark eyes sparkled with playful devilment and accentuated his features. “There was nothing Eli could’ve said, done or threatened to do that would’ve kept me away!” He laughed along with the women and then tugged the fitted sleeve of Clarissa’s casual navy jumper. “Tell Eli I said that and I’ll deny every word.”
Clarissa pressed a hand over her heart. “He won’t hear it from me.” She laughed out the promise.
“I especially wanted to thank you for everything you did for Rook...before.” Viva’s eyes were soft, her gaze appreciative.
Linus nodded slowly while a shadow ghosted across his dark face. His gaze moved to Paula then and the woman’s intake of breath was overheard by everyone nearby. Apparently, satisfied by the reaction he got, Linus looked to Viva again.
“I know what it’s like to let rage take you somewhere you never meant to go. I wasn’t about to let my boy experience that if I could help it.” He squeezed Viva’s elbow, shifted a last quick look to Paula and then continued on his path down the hall.
* * *
The satisfying meal had not only filled their stomachs, it had spurred on the need for sleep of the deepest variety.
Viva was true to her duties as hostess once everyone had turned in for the night. She made sure everything was in its place downstairs before she headed up. The parlor was her last stop. She tossed a few pillows back to their places on the love seats and was turning for the door when she saw the shadow filling the entryway.
“It’s me.” Rook heard her muffled curse of surprise. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I forgot how quiet you can be.” Viva coughed to relieve her voice of its quivering.
“Habit of the job,” he said.
Viva could only nod as she was unable to form words with her heart lodged as it was against her larynx. In the dark, she could see Rook move steadily closer. He took her hand, squeezing it when but an inch separated them.
“I’m sorry about what happened, after your call about the movie,” he was saying. “You’ve got a right to your opinion of Murray.”
“So do you.” Her heart stuttered when she felt him squeeze her hand again.
“Think we could leave this discussion alone?”
The request opened a floodgate of relief. “I’d like that,” she said.
“On your way to bed?” Rook asked once silence carried between them for scarcely a second.
Viva took the olive branch to shift the conversation. “Yes, I’m beat,” she sighed.
“Where’re you sleeping?”
“Wherever you are.” The response rushed out before she could stop it.
Rook felt the grin spread across his face when her muffled curse followed the unintended reply. “That’s too bad.” Playful regret hugged his words.
Again, Viva cursed herself for speaking her mind. In no mood for further humiliation, she tugged her hand free of his and moved to inch by him.
“That’s too bad,” he repeated, curbing the rest of his statement until he saw her steps slow and halt. “Because I’m not really sleepy right now.”
Viva turned then, tilting her head and trying to gauge his expression in the dark. “I, um... I’d hate to leave you up by yourself.”
“I’d hate it if you did that too.”
“Guess we should go on up?” Slowly, she shaved off the distance she had put between them.
“No need to go up.”
Viva’s heart was then swan-diving to her stomach when she felt herself being hoisted up. The night was especially black. Even with the open floor plan and tall windows filling the space, the area remained in shadow that evening. Something about that played at the edges of her arousal. The feeling wasn’t unnerving. It was electric.
The simple lounge dress she’d worn that evening was soon pooled around her feet in waves of violet cotton. Rook’s every move was as enticing as it was unexpected. No chair or sofa in the parlor could comfortably accommodate his height, so he took them to the floor.
Her heart was promising to beat out of her chest as anticipation had its way with her. It was a dual assault, what with Rook plying every inch of skin he uncovered with lazy, openmouthed kisses. Just when she thought she’d predicted the path of his moves, he’d switch gears on her.
The rug offered more than enough cushion for her back and was a soothing pallet for her bare skin once he’d stripped her of every stitch. The lazy kisses resumed their travels, adoring the firm, plump breasts he cupped while his nose skimmed the satiny tops and sides.
Viva sucked in a breath when his tongue encircled a nipple that he drew into a hard suckle. The move sent her hips bucking against the pressure of a ruthless need. Her hands moved up to his and she whimpered over the heat blooming where his thumb teased the nipple he’d yet to take into his mouth.
Her whimpers gained volume when he moved on, his sculpted mouth brushing her rib cage. He made a brief, but memorable stop to tongue her belly button and Viva couldn’t smother the tiny cry that escaped into the air. Her breath hitched when his big hands slipped under her thighs and up to cradle her bottom in his palms.
Aching, Viva offered herself before she even felt him claim her, which he did with a plundering, exploring kiss that pulled a sound that was half cry, half moan from her throat. Tremors and goose bumps riddled her body in unison. His breath was lilting across her skin when he shushed her resulting outbursts. It was useless on Rook’s part, especially when he began to feast on the heart of her.
Being quiet was out of the question. Viva tried, but it was pointless to try when his tongue was capable of such incredible things. Her next uninhibited cry had Rook blindly searching for one of the throw pillows she’d moved during her earlier tidy-up session in the room.
He grabbed the small accent pillow and used it to drop a few playful slaps to the side of Viva’s head. Laughter mixed with her pleasure-induced sobs then. Still, she complied with his request and turned her approving cries into the pillow instead of letting them fill the guest-packed house.
Rook’s feasting showed no signs of curbing. He was truly hungry for her and knew the insatiable craving wouldn’t be soothed until he’d claimed her with a more potent part of his anatomy.
Viva could hear the faint crinkle of packaging and, still breathless from his handling, moved the pillow aside. She inched up on her elbows to see that he held a condom, one of several that had fallen from the jeans he’d doffed, while she was still writhing with the memory of his enthusiastic kiss. She pushed up until she was sitting and reached out to offer her assistance with their protection.
The sweetness in the gesture was more than Rook could stand. With lust and love taking over, he took possession of Viva’s hips and all but yanked her to straddle his lap. He kissed her with a hunger that had her gasping when he finally let her gulp in air.
He took her in one sw
ift stroke, bringing her down over the wide length of his erection. Viva had the foresight to know her cries would wake the house. She’d already turned her face into his neck, using the area to absorb the volume of the screams that flooded forth when he filled her.
They were entwined with each other, curled in a lover’s embrace that sent low moans and hushed cries into the darkened room. Time lost all relevance as the giving and receiving of pleasure took precedence.
* * *
“I really think we should go on up now,” Viva was saying later as she and Rook lay in a tangle of limbs and clothes. She joined in when he began to laugh.
“It’d be pretty inhospitable for our guests to find us sprawled out naked in the parlor,” she managed to say once she’d recovered from the bout of amusement.
There was more laughter in the dark and then Rook was rolling over. Viva couldn’t see him very well, but she felt his touch strongly enough. His fingertips glided across her brow and seemed more perfectly amplified in light of the fact.
“Our guests.” His mouth followed the trail of his fingers across her skin. “I like the sound of that.”
“You do?” Viva could barely form the words as elation squeezed her heart.
“Very much.” He rested his forehead to hers, sighed. “V, about Murray—”
“Wait.” She caught his hand and brought his fingers to her mouth. “Didn’t we say we’d forget that and just accept each other’s opinion?”
“What if I told you I thought your opinion was more right than I let on?”
“You—you do?” She cleared her throat at the repeat of her earlier words.
Rook felt the grin spread over his face. “I think maybe you had the chance to know Murray better than I ever did. I’ve been in this business of mine long enough to know there’s always another side to the situation. Not to say the other side is right—only that it bears looking into.”
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