by Anne, Melody
“Do you remember the way to my house?” he asked as he buckled his seat belt. He wasn’t comfortable having her as the one driving, but he’d keep his mouth shut.
“Yes.”
His heartbeat accelerated slightly at her quick response. She wasn’t as over him as she wanted him to believe. He wondered if she’d ever driven by his house during the night. Had he ever stood at his window as she was passing?
No. He surely would have felt it to his very soul.
The two of them had a connection, a bond that couldn’t be broken. The ties might have been loosened, but every moment they were together, the bonds were growing strong again. It was only a matter of time before she realized this and let him back into her life. They needed each other. It was as simple as that.
“You do realize that red means stop, right?”
Ari slammed on her breaks, obviously flustered. The flush in her cheeks made him want to lean over and kiss her. Damn, he wanted to touch her like nothing else. He wanted to run his hand up the lean muscles of her legs, and not stop. Next, he wanted to lean over and slide his tongue along the silky skin of her neck before pulling her against him and kissing her the way a woman should be kissed.
He was making her nervous. It was time to see how in control she really was. He leaned over, which wasn’t very far in her compact Toyota.
“Green means go,” he whispered in her ear, delight filling him as an army of goose bumps appeared on her flesh where his breath had danced across her skin.
She slammed her foot against the accelerator, throwing him back and causing him to fight the laughter that wanted to spill forth. Knowing it would have her hackles up, he held it in, but the more she fought her attraction, the harder it was for him to hide his joy. She brought him so much pleasure, from the smallest things she did to the little quirks that belonged to only her.
What a fool he’d been ever to want to tame her, ever to want to extinguish even the smallest flame from her eyes. No. He would embrace her passion, stoke the flames of her desire, and together the two of them would soar to new heights.
The breath she let out as they arrived at his home was filled with relief, and he couldn’t hold back a light chuckle, though he was quick to cover it up with a cough. She looked at him with suspicion, but didn’t say anything.
His body was hard and aching, but she seemed to be in even worse shape. He would have enjoyed riding around in her tiny car for much, much longer. He’d thought the ride would be miserable, but he’d been very wrong.
Ari jumped from the car before he could say anything.
“I can’t stay long, so let’s do this,” she said briskly as she moved toward his front door as he was struggling to pull himself from her car. It was much harder crawling out of the small thing than it had been for him to get in. He just didn’t fit.
Rafe took his time walking up behind her, enjoying the view of her hips swaying as she marched up the front steps. He wished she were wearing a skirt so he could see the muscles flexing in her toned calves. Why a woman’s calves were sexy, he didn’t know, but everything about Ari was sexy — absolutely everything.
“I have all night,” he said, standing only an inch behind her and one step below, aligning the two of them perfectly. Her body jerked, and for a moment the back of her pressed against him, her delicate behind rubbing against his hardness.
The satisfaction of her quickly indrawn breath wasn’t enough to relieve the ache. What he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and pull her tightly against him, while his hands moved up her flat stomach and caressed her impressive breasts.
He had to get some control over himself. He wasn’t a horny teenager.
“No touching,” she snapped, but it came out too breathy to have any effect.
“You did that; I didn’t,” he said as he stepped around her with his arms raised in innocence and proceeded to unlock his door.
She didn’t say anything as he opened the door wide for her to go in ahead of him. This night might test the very limits of what he could handle, but he didn’t care. The torture was worth it just to be close to her.
“Would you like a drink?”
“Yes. A glass of wine…please,” she said with a hint of desperation. He was sure her nerves were raw.
Rafe led her into the parlor and poured her a glass of red, then waited for her reaction.
“This is fantastic,” she said as she took a sip, then placed her beautiful lips on the rim of the glass and sampled more.
“I hope so. That’s a 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild. I’ve been waiting to open the bottle until the day I could drink it with you.”
Ari’s eyes widened as she looked at him, and then moved closer to examine the venerable old bottle. He’d taken her by surprise, which pleased him greatly.
“Rafe…”
“No. Don’t say it. Let’s just enjoy the moment.”
“I didn’t mean to mislead you, Rafe, but I only came here to look through the journal. I’m not interested in resuming our relationship.”
She wouldn’t look him in the eyes while she spoke. She just wasn’t the type of person who told a lie very easily. He could call her on it, but he knew that would cause more harm than good. He was much better off to just ignore the statement — get her mind occupied on something else for a while.
“Please get comfortable while I find the journal.”
He didn’t want to hear her tell him all the reasons this was impossible. They would be together; it was only a matter of time. It wasn’t easy for Rafe not to push her, but if it meant that he got to be with her for the long haul, he would put his immediate needs on hold even if that meant his body was on fire 24-7.
Returning to the room with the carefully preserved journal, he felt a thrill at the rapture on Ari’s face. He could even overlook that he might as well have been invisible at that moment. She had eyes only for the journal. Never had he been so happy to own a piece of leather and a bunch of yellowed paper.
This was a beginning and he was taking full advantage of it. Thank you for my in, Great-Great-Whatever-Grandpa, he thought silently.
Chapter Eight
Rachel
Rachel Palazzo dived into the water, reaching down farther and farther until her fingers touched the silken sand on the bottom. She’d been practically born in the water and had frightened her family many times over by showing off how long she could hold her breath.
Rafe had accused her on more than one occasion of being a mermaid, more suited for living underneath the sea than on dry land. Yes, she liked the sea, and she’d never had a problem before, so she would allow herself to indulge in her mermaid fantasies now.
Just as she was feeling the first stirrings of discomfort in her lungs, and she changed direction to begin her ascent, she suddenly felt thick arms wrap around her waist and torpedo her body to the surface of the water.
Her surprised gasp allowed water to enter her lungs, making her begin to choke as they reached air. The person gripping her didn’t let go, but swam strong and sure toward the beach.
Too shocked to think about screaming or trying to fight the man, Rachel was stuck being pulled to shore. As soon as they reached dry land, he gently laid her on the sun-warmed sand, and then his head was descending.
She had about one second to choose whether to allow him to attempt CPR on her when she clearly didn’t need it. Just as his mouth reached hers, she began laughing. Yes, she could see why he’d thought she’d been drowning. If he’d seen her go in, he would think she was hurt, since a normal person couldn’t last so long beneath the ocean waves.
“I’m fine, really,” she managed to gasp as the man pulled back.
That was when she got her first good glimpse of her rescuer. Damn! Her breath was knocked out of her again as she gazed into his nearly black eyes. Looking at his soaked black hair, and tanned olive complexion, chiseled cheekbones, and full mouth had her body instantly responding.
“You were under too long…�
��
Oh, his voice matched his features to perfection. Deep baritone with a slight accent. Rachel was in instant lust.
“Yeah, I’ve been swimming since before I could walk. Thanks for the rescue, though,” she said, giving him her most flirtatious smile. “Now, about that CPR…” she added, then giggled when his eyes widened.
She could see that he was trying to figure out whether to be incredulous or laugh with her. Finally, his eyes crinkled at the corners, and a beautiful, deep-throated chuckle emerged. Yes, she was definitely in lust!
“I guess I reacted too hastily,” he admitted as he placed his strong hand beneath her shoulders and helped her up.
Dang! She’d been hoping for some lip action first. She shouldn’t have stopped him from his attempted resuscitation.
“Nah. I’ve always wanted Prince Charming to rescue me from certain death. Isn’t that the fantasy of most girls?”
For just the briefest of moments, he tensed while looking around. “What is your name?”
“Rachel.”
“Do you have a last name?”
She almost answered his commanding voice before she stopped herself.
“Nope. Just Rachel for now.” She felt bold and daring, and decided she needed a vacation, and she could certainly see herself having a great time with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. Never before had she even thought of having a fling with a stranger, but as she looked into his intense gaze, it was all she could think about. She wanted to be lying beneath this man in the worst possible way. Or the best possible way…
“Well, Just Rachel, my name is...Ian.”
“And do you have a last name?” she asked, hoping his answer would be the same as hers.
He gazed at her for several heart-stopping moments before his full lips turned up. “No. Not today.”
This was good, so very good. It seemed he wanted to play just as much as she did. “How long are you here for, Ian?” Please don’t say you’re leaving today, she added silently.
“Only a week. Then I must return home.” He didn’t seem happy about that.
“And where is home?”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to forget about duty for the moment. Since I did ‘rescue’ you, may I escort you to dinner?”
“Yes.” Rachel didn’t even pretend to hesitate. She was on vacation in Florida, renting a perfect little beach house, and if she was lucky, having a weeklong affair. She needed this badly, because next week she began employment back home in Italy.
It was time for her to grow up, and to do that, she needed to work. She now had a great internship at the American embassy in Rome. It was boring, but she didn’t want to work for her big brother. She was too much under his thumb as it was. She had to prove that she was capable of making it on her own — though she had doubts that she could actually do it.
Being the baby of the family, she knew she was spoiled and had never before thought that was a bad thing. But Lia was now working for Rafe and Shane and was out of the country for a while. Rachel’s parents were on a six-month cruise around the world, and even Ari was teaching at a community college.
Rachel felt like a spoiled brat for the first time ever, and she’d decided that it was time she proved herself. However, she didn’t see anything wrong with having a smoking-hot affair before she became distressingly responsible. This man seemed the perfect person to devour for an entire week.
“Good. May I escort you home to change?”
Whoa! She didn’t think that was a great idea. An affair was one thing, but she didn’t need to lead this guy to her place, where she was staying all by herself. Hot men could certainly be killers, too.
“No. You name the place and I’ll meet you there,” she suggested.
Assessing her for a minute, he turned up the corners of his mouth as he leaned back, pulling that delectable body farther from her gasp. She barely held in her groan of disapproval. Too many years with her siblings had taught her to be cautious, but she didn’t want to be cautious right now. Still, she had her mother’s voice in her head telling her to tread carefully.
Rachel didn’t get any “serial killer” vibes off the man, but still…
“You are a smart woman, Rachel, but I assure you I mean no harm.”
“I’m sure that’s what all the nice womanizing murderers say before they cut their victims’ hearts out and boil them up,” she said with a grin. When he burst out laughing, she felt her thighs quiver. To hell with her last vestiges of caution. She wanted this man.
“Ah, then. I guess you will never know if I’m a hunter or a lover…”
Oh, my goodness, his accent was melting her. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t join you for dinner. I simply said I don’t want to bring you to my place,” she replied as she leaned toward him and ran her short fingernail down his arm.
Feeling like a sex goddess when he shivered, Rachel licked her lips as she gazed at his full mouth. She had a feeling the man could take her to the farthest reaches of heaven and then back over and over again. Maybe she’d never drop back down to earth after a night, or hopefully a week, with the man.
“Let’s have dinner at my hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. Do you know how to get there? I would feel better to send my driver for you.”
As Rachel tore her gaze from his lips up to his eyes, she decided in a split second to be a fool. “Yes, I know where the hotel is located, and I will arrive on my own.”
His eyes narrowed the slightest bit. She had a feeling that Ian was rarely refused. The added danger brought on more excitement for her. What was she thinking?
“Fine. I hope to see you tonight, then,” he said and held out his hand.
Rachel took his offered hand, only to find her breath forced from her lungs as he pulled her against his chest. Without pausing, he bent down and captured her lips, barely giving her a chance to inhale a bit of needed oxygen.
She should be furious at his assumption, but since she’d been flirting openly, that would be hypocritical. Besides, who was she fooling? She wanted his kiss from the second she’d opened her eyes.
As flashes of heat invaded her core, her shock wore off; Rachel was consumed by pleasure as he teased her willing lips. His tongue quickly pushed past the barrier of her teeth and she sucked him deep inside her mouth to taste his exotic flavor.
Just when she was ready to wrap herself fully around him, he pulled back, his dark eyes black with hunger. “Until tonight,” he whispered before turning and walking down the beach.
Unable to move, Rachel stood, shivering on the warm sand. There was nothing cold about her; she was just in terrible need of what she knew he could give. OK, maybe she didn’t know, but from that kiss, she was pretty dang sure.
When he was out of sight, Rachel was finally able to pull herself together. Desperate to expend some of the energy built up inside her, she began jogging toward the trail that led to her rented home.
The jog didn’t help. She was still agitated as she threw off her skimpy bikini and jumped into the shower. Only then did she realize that they’d never set a time for dinner. Well, she didn’t want to wait too long.
Even knowing a lady should make a man wait didn’t help her to slow down. They both knew how this night would end, and she was in a hurry to get it started.
Chapter Nine
Lia
It was just too hot.
Lia nearly panicked as she woke, burning up. She started moving around, her hands flinging the covers away, when she came into contact with virtually smoldering flesh. Her legs were wrapped around solid calf muscles that were lighting her toes on fire. Her stomach trembled, and her body turned stiff as reality came crashing into her conscious brain.
“Good morning.”
She froze once her hand came into contact with something delectably hard. Only her neck moved, barely, and she found herself looking into Shane’s dark chocolate eyes.
With a gasp she realized she was holding onto his thick manhood, and it took a second before she was able t
o get her fist to unclench and then she released him while she quickly tried to scoot backward.
“Where are you going? I thought things were just starting to heat up,” he said lazily as he turned, not releasing her from his arms.
“Uh, sorry about that,” she muttered, not daring to connect their eyes again. It wouldn’t take much to send her over the ledge she was on. They were lying nearly naked together and she was one second away from saying to hell with it and climbing on top of him.
She couldn’t do that.
They’d never crawl from the tent if that were to happen.
“No need to apologize. I love your hands on me. I can remember your touch like it was yesterday,” he said in a low, smooth voice that was melting her from the inside out.
“I need to go outside.”
“No need. We have all we could ever want right in here,” he told her as his lips nuzzled her neck. Oh, that was good, very, very good.
“No. I really need to go outside,” she said and wiggled uncomfortably.
Shane finally realized what she needed and chuckled.
“Well, that will dampen the mood. I guess I need to find a bush myself, now that you’ve put the thought in my mind.”
Lia was horrified that he would say such a thing. It was just something you didn’t talk about — not ever.
Shane lay back and looked at her; she clutched the thin blanket to her chest and wondered how the heck it had not only kept them warm, but also overheated her. Well, it wasn’t the blanket; it was his scorching body that was turning up the temperature in the tiny tent.
“You can at least be a gentleman and turn around,” she snapped when he didn’t appear to have the slightest inclination to do so.