Claimed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 2): Duke Ryder

by Melissa Foster

  **

  THEY DROVE BACK toward the resort in silence. Gabriella was lost in thought. Her grandfather had been happy to see her, but he’d seemed as distracted as Gabriella felt. She hadn’t realized just how deeply Duke had gotten under her skin until she caught sight of him standing outside the window of her grandfather’s den. It had been too dark to make out his features, but she’d felt his gaze boring through her. His silhouette emphasized his squared shoulders, slim waist, and powerful legs, displaying his confident attitude and somehow just as clearly conveying an air of studied relaxation. The energy between them had shifted from friendly to sizzling, and it was those sparks that had her thinking…wondering…if she should allow herself to discover what else she might like about him.

  When they arrived at the resort, she directed Duke to the covered parking area around back. It was dark, save for the moonlight streaking over the inky water. The sounds of the ocean mingled with the piercing chirping of crickets and the distant cries of tree frogs and other insects. These were the sounds that usually calmed her, but sitting with Duke, Gabriella was aware of more than the sounds of nature. The energy vibrating between them heightened the internal symphony of blood rushing in her ears, accompanying the thundering of her heart.

  “We’ll leave the cart here,” she said, in an effort to distract herself from her desires. “I’ll show you to your villa.”

  Duke covered her hand with his before she could step from the cart. When he’d held her hand earlier, it had taken all her focus not to pay attention to the wanton thoughts he stirred in her. Now, in the darkness of the night, with the end of their time together nearing, she didn’t want to fight the heat simmering inside her.

  “Why don’t you give me directions? I’m sure I can find it on my own.”

  It had been a really long time since she’d been with a man, but was she that out of practice? Had he not been flirting with her over dinner? Treating her like she was the only person he saw, listening to every word she’d said? Was his hand on her back really just a habit? She’d thought it was at first, but then, as the afternoon had worn on, hadn’t she felt the press of his fingers a little more firmly? When he’d touched her hip, hadn’t he gripped it tightly, like a man who wanted more?

  He gently squeezed her hand, bringing her focus back to the moment.

  “Gabriella.”

  Her name rolled from his tongue laden with desire. She hadn’t misread his signals after all. The darkening of his eyes and the tension rolling off of him were confirmation that he was fighting the same internal battle she was. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted from him, but she knew she wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

  He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. “Let me get you home safely, and then I’ll find my way.”

  Her pulse raced at the idea of him taking her home, then sank at the thought of him leaving and finding his own way to his villa. Not that she was ready to jump into bed with him. Was she? Her mind raced in directions she hadn’t anticipated.

  He brushed his thumb lightly over her knuckle, sending a shiver of heat up her arm and forcing her lungs to work. “My villa is down that path.”

  He seemed to mull that over for a minute, nodding slightly before releasing her hand and holding up the keys. She instantly missed his touch.

  “Do you take these with you tonight?” he asked. “Or leave them here?”

  “The key to your villa is the blue one. If you take that off, you can leave the other here.”

  He separated the keys and slid the blue key into his pocket, then set the other key on the dashboard.

  “I guess there’s no place for thieves to hide on the island,” he said as he stepped from the cart and retrieved his jacket and luggage.

  They made their way along the narrow footpath. Gabriella longed for his hand on her lower back, but he was carrying his suitcase and jacket, and he had to follow a step or two behind her. Tall trees blocked the moonlight, and plants buffered them from the sounds of the sea, amplifying the cacophony of the forest.

  “Do you ever get frightened staying out here alone?” His mouth was so close to her ear, when she slowed to listen, he bumped into her back. His hand landed on her waist as she turned to tell him she was sorry. Their bodies aligned, his hand searing her skin right through the thin fabric of her dress.

  “Sorry,” he said in a low voice. “I shouldn’t follow so closely.”

  It took all of her focus not go up on her toes and kiss him. Just one blessed kiss. One taste.

  She must be losing her mind. She wanted to make out with a guy she’d known less than a day. An incredibly handsome, charming gentleman who wanted a family of his own and smelled of musk and something spicy and hot and who was more masculine than any man she’d ever known. A man who was looking at her like he wanted to devour her—and was taking a step backward.

  His hand slipped from her waist. “Sorry, Gabriella. I’ll try to keep my distance.”

  “Why?” The word came without thought, and she pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything more. Embarrassed, she turned and walked quickly down the path, hoping he hadn’t heard her. A minute later, she sighed with release. If he’d heard her, at least he wasn’t calling her on it.

  When they reached the end of the secluded path, her villa came into view.

  “That’s my villa.” She turned, and he was right there again, towering over her, smelling like sinful seduction and making her knees weak without saying a word.

  “And mine?”

  His voice was tense with restraint, and it took her a moment to realize what he was asking.

  “I’ll walk you to yours.” She took a step, and he gently wrapped his hand around her upper arm and drew her back, close enough that she could smell the wine on his breath.

  “I said I’ll get you home safely and then find my own way.”

  His tone was possessive, his gaze penetrating, as if he could see right through her efforts to hide the lust coiling deep inside her. He ran his hand gently up the length of her arm and brushed his thumb over her heated skin.

  “Your…your villa is over there.” She pointed up a path that led up a hill. “In daylight you can see it from here.”

  “I’m sure I can find it.” He picked up his suitcase and then placed his hand on her back as they crossed the grass toward her villa.

  She stepped beneath the trellis over the front door, reveling in his touch, memorizing the feel of it as she fought the urge to throw caution to the wind, turn around, and kiss him.

  “Do you have your key?” he asked, breaking her from her fantasy.

  She wondered where he thought she’d keep a key in her dress with no pockets. She turned, and Lord have mercy, he’d done it again. Her hands landed on his firm abs. She swallowed a noise that threatened to give her desires away.

  “No key,” she answered.

  “Right. Because it’s better here.” He glanced at the door. “I know you feel safe, but I’ve never been here before, and leaving you to enter a home that has been unlocked all day feels wrong. Would you mind if I come in long enough to make sure there aren’t any creepers waiting for you?”

  Would she mind? She didn’t have time to process the many ways she most definitely wouldn’t mind him checking out her house, her bed, before he added, “I promise to behave,” stopping her fantasies cold.

  “Sure,” she said.

  He walked inside, and she closed her eyes for a split second to remember why she shouldn’t want to kiss him. If she didn’t want him to buy the island, why was she even considering kissing him? There were so many things wrong with her desires right now that she couldn’t think straight.

  He flicked on the lights and walked through the foyer of her cozy villa. His formidable presence made the villa feel much smaller. His eyes rolled over the stone floors, sofa, coffee table, and corner fireplace. She wondered what he was thinking as he turned and took in the bar dividing the kitchen from the living room, where
her legal case files were stacked in a neat pile beside her laptop.

  “This is lovely,” he said. “Do you mind checking your bedroom for me? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me poking through your things. Check the closets, and I’ll be right here.”

  “Sure.” Her vocabulary had suddenly diminished. He was gentlemanly enough not to check her bedroom? Wow, she should be ashamed of the images she had running through her mind, of him trapping her beneath him in the bedroom and keeping her up all night as he made passionate lo—

  “Everything okay?” He was leaning on the doorframe, his feet crossed at the ankle, looking devastatingly handsome. His body filled the doorway, and her mind jumped back to his body filling her.

  “Uh, yeah,” she said nervously. “No creepers.”

  “Can’t ask for more than that.”

  Obviously he didn’t realize how long it had been since she’d kissed a man. She could ask for a hell of a lot more than that.

  “Thank you again for taking your whole day to show me around,” he said as she walked him out front again.

  “It was nothing.”

  “It was a whole hell of a lot of something.” He cupped her face and stroked his thumb over her cheek. “You are truly a beautiful woman, Gabriella.”

  Her fingers curled with the need to touch him.

  “I know you don’t want anyone to buy this island,” he said as his eyes drifted over hers, to her mouth, lingering there before meeting her gaze again. “I also know that you’re smart enough to understand what will happen if someone doesn’t step in to help. I’d like to be that person, so maybe tomorrow if you have time before or after picking up Vivi and working at the welcome center, you can show me the most important parts of the island that you want to preserve.”

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday. There’s no school, so I don’t have to pick up Vivi.” She tried to focus on what he’d said about showing him around, but her mind clung to one thought, and it wasn’t the one she would have liked. “So, you’re definitely interested in the island?”

  She’d known it would eventually come down to selling, hadn’t she?

  “Yes, very much so. Why else would I want to keep my distance from you?”

  Why else? Her head spun. “You heard that, huh?”

  He leaned in closer, and she thought he might kiss her. She licked her lips, readying for it, wanting it.

  “I heard everything you said.” His breath ghosted over her lips. “And everything you didn’t say.”

  Gabriella had never been spoken to with innuendos like that before. He had noticed her, all of her. She swallowed hard.

  “I have to keep my distance,” he explained with a wanting look in his eyes, “because every time you’re near, I want to kiss you. And I have a feeling that one taste of you would never be enough.”

  His words slithered inside her, burning a path south. If he had that power with only words, what would it be like if he ever kissed her? Touched her?

  As he disappeared into the night she played his words over and over in her mind, knowing he was right. Acting on such an attraction would be perilous for both of them. She fell into bed, hot and bothered and in need of release, fighting the urge to recall his face, to recall the deep seduction of his words. But when she closed her eyes, there was only him. His scent had seeped into her senses. It was his hands slipping beneath her panties, his voice whispering in her ear, his fingers giving her pleasure as she gave into her desperation and spiraled, blissfully, into oblivion.

  Chapter Five

  AFTER A FITFUL night’s sleep, where Gabriella starred in every dream, every fantasy, every wakeful thought, Duke called Pierce and filled him in on the details of yesterday’s tour, hoping that might keep him from thinking of Gabriella every single second.

  “Entrenched doesn’t begin to describe the families here.” His mind turned to his time with Gabriella yesterday, their walk, their talks, dinner with her family and friends. “They’re practically sprouting roots from the sand, but I think we can work with them.” Duke had never met a business owner he didn’t like. He might not like their attitudes, or what it was they were selling, but when it came to people, Duke looked deeper than what people wanted him to see. Most people wore their insecurities on their sleeves despite trying so desperately not to. Gabriella’s emotions were present in everything she did, everything she said—and more loudly, everything she kept trapped inside.

  “It’s clear that the residents are either older families who put down roots generations ago, or younger generations of the Liakos family. There’s almost no one between eighteen and thirty left on the island. When the economy tanked, the younger residents fled. Of the ones who are still here, if they aren’t part of the Liakos family, then they’re leftovers who were too set in their ways to move off the island when hard times hit.”

  “And Mr. Liakos? When are you meeting with him and feeling him out on his intent to sell?” Pierce asked.

  “I’m on my way in to meet with him now. I met his granddaughter Gabriella yesterday, and she does not want to sell.”

  Pierce laughed. “That’s never stopped us before. You’ll find a way to ease her into it.”

  “Easing her into the sale is the least of my problems. She’s smart. She knows they need help.” And I want her so badly I can’t see straight. He’d gone down to the beach for a run this morning just to keep from watching her villa in hopes of seeing her.

  “But?” Pierce asked. When Duke didn’t respond, he said, “Duke, clue me in, buddy. Otherwise I’m going to jump to a conclusion here about you and the granddaughter of the man we’re trying to make a deal with.”

  Duke ran his hand through his hair and looked out over the Atlantic. He tried to quell the smile that tugged at his lips, but he was a terrible liar—even to himself.

  “You wouldn’t have to jump far. But I didn’t…I’m not going there.”

  “You don’t sound very confident about that, and that doesn’t sound like you. You never cross the line between business and pleasure.”

  “Nope.” Duke was just as baffled by his desires as Pierce was. Never in all the years he’d been investing had he crossed those lines. “I’m not sure why the line’s gone blurry, but I didn’t act on it, and it’s not like I don’t know the risks of getting involved with her. I’ll keep it together.”

  “Uh-huh. Maybe you should let me handle this one.”

  “Don’t be silly. You’ve got a wedding to plan, and I can handle this.” Or at least he’d try. What he wasn’t telling Pierce was that their previous plan of bulldozing the existing structures and creating a consistent Southern feel for the resort had already begun to change. The mix of cultures here was unique. He could see that being part of the allure of the island, and after getting to know Gabriella and learning how much she truly loved everything about the island, he couldn’t fathom the idea of tearing it all down. But he didn’t have the solution, or even know if it was possible to change directions and still get a solid return on their investment. So he kept those thoughts to himself.

  “Listen, I’ll do my best. Anything new you want me to bring up with Mr. Liakos?”

  After they discussed their strategy and ended the call, Duke headed into the resort for his meeting.

  “Y’all set, Mr. Ryder?” Dreama Beaumont greeted him when he arrived at the resort. She was a sweet, stout woman with thick blond hair and a friendly demeanor. She had offered Duke coffee earlier when he’d been sitting on the patio, and now she stood before him with a welcoming smile, ready to take him to meet Mr. Liakos.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Mr. Liakos is eager to meet with you,” she said as she led him into an office with a large conference table and windows overlooking the water. “Can I get you some more coffee or sweet tea?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  Before she could close the door all the way behind her, it pushed open again and Mr. Liakos walked in, holding a cane in one hand. His receding h
airline was surrounded by thick tufts of silver hair that looked finger-brushed. The silver made his bushy dark brows seem even darker, and the combination made his eyes appear squinty far beyond the deep crow’s-feet fanning out from them. His silver mustache was full, curling over his upper lip and curving up at the ends. His shirt was unbuttoned nearly to the center of his chest, exposing silver curls of chest hair and sun-drenched, wrinkled skin.

  Duke offered a hand in greeting. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.”

  The old man looked at Duke’s hand and smiled before shaking it. Still holding his hand, Mr. Liakos leaned in and embraced Duke. “In my family, we greet as if you are part of our family.” He spoke English, though the accent of his ancestors couldn’t be missed.

  Duke laughed. “What if you don’t like the person you’re greeting?”

  The old man motioned for Duke to sit. “What makes you think we like all our family members? We are either loving, yelling, or eating. Love? Like? Dislike? It’s all the same.” He set his cane beside him and relaxed into the leather chair, folding his hands over his slightly rounded belly. For a moment he nodded silently, as if answering a question or, Duke thought, assessing Duke just as Gabriella had.

  “You met my sweet Gabrielaki, yes?”

  “Yes, sir.” And sweet she is. “May I ask about the way you said her name? I’m trying to learn about the culture of the island and its residents, and of course learning the Greek language is part of that. I’m working on my Southern-speak as well. I’ve got y’all down pretty well.”

  Those bushy brows lifted in surprise. “You’re interested in learning about the culture of the island?”

  “Yes, of course. Gabriella introduced me to a number of the residents. My intent is not to wipe out the very roots that sustained the area for all these years.”

  “I see. I like your philosophy, Duke.” He leaned forward, and his voice turned serious. “You asked about my granddaughter’s name. My people are all about love. The use of diminutives is one form of love. We add aki or mou. Gabrielaki mou, or my little Gabriella. Gabriella is not a traditional Greek name, but we are not in Greece, are we?”