Chapter 11
"Too hot?" he asked softly as she settled back against him.
"Just right. It smells heavenly."
"Kathy's always experimenting with different scents." He used the sponge to slowly roll over the side of her neck. When she twisted her head to stare at him, he smiled quizzically.
"Something wrong?"
"No." Shaking her head, she tried to catch her breath.
"Does it surprise you that I would want you again?"
"We cannot continue this way," she muttered. "We're going to kill each other."
"What a way to go." He gave in to the impulse and started nibbling on the side of her neck.
"I like the design of the bathroom." She was trying desperately to distract herself from the heat rising up inside her. "It reminds me of the ocean."
"That was the idea." His hands drifted down to cup her breasts, fingers rubbing over the rigid nipples.
"You had a say in the design?"
"Hmm." He was amused at what she was trying to accomplish. But it wasn't working. In a few minutes, he was going to end the conversation between them.
"The shower is one of the largest I've ever seen outside of a magazine. It's... Oh!" She had to bite down on her lip to stop the scream as his hand parted her thigh and started an intimate stroking of her sex.
"You were saying?" Curving a hand around her neck, he turned her face towards his.
"What?"
He grinned at the dazed expression on her face.
"You were saying something about the shower?"
"I was?" she asked bemusedly. He was doing something wonderfully sinful to the core of her. The man had such clever fingers.
"Hmm. Obviously, it was not important." He brushed his lips against hers, nibbling and savoring, before using his tongue to soothe the sting.
"Obviously," she agreed breathlessly.
"You smell good enough to eat. I think I might just indulge." He drew her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it. Sparks slammed into her body with the speed of lightning and had her arching against his fingers.
"Landry." His name was desperately torn from her mouth in a helpless cry.
"Come for me." His tone was no longer mild but had thickened with passion. "Now." As soon as he said the word, she erupted, her body heaving and vibrating, sending bubbles splashing over the lip of the tub.
Before she had a chance to recover, he was lifting her and turning her around so she could straddle him.
His groan echoed around the room as she closed around him like a vise. Bending her backwards, he clamped his mouth on her nipple and started suckling hungrily. This time, the climax had her bucking against him, fingers digging into his shoulders, leaving her weak.
He didn't last long. How could he, when he was already on the brink of a shattering release!
***
He was dreading the end of the day and wondering if he could persuade her to spend another night. Or even better, move in with him. He was also avoiding having a discussion that involved an explanation of the past. An explanation he was not at liberty to give her.
He made love to her again, after the shattering experience in the bathtub, and wondered if he would ever get enough of her. He seriously doubted it.
He ordered takeout from a French restaurant a few blocks away and they ate the meal in bed.
Now they were just curled up against each other, watching the rain sliding on the window panes. He had lit a fire, and the flames cast a rosy glow around the room, making her drowsy. She really should go, but felt so contented and so sated, it was difficult to stir herself.
The outfit he had brought for her to put on was still on the sofa at the foot of the bed, untouched, because they had not bothered with getting dressed. What would be the point anyway?
He wanted to talk about the future, one where he would ask her to marry him. But in order to do that, they would have to talk about the past. And he did not want to rush her. He was also not free to ask her to share her life with him.
There were so many things to tie up. The family was still in danger. The man who had engineered the kidnapping scheme was still at large. He could not in all honesty put her in danger.
But oh Christ! He wanted to start their lives together. There was no use her denying that she was in love with him. Last night and today had proven that she felt the same way he did. Or almost. He loved her completely, irrevocably. There was no turning back for him.
He wanted her in his life, wanted to marry her and give her children.
He was going to build a home for them. And he was desperate to start.
It frustrated him that that son of a bitch tied his hands.
He knew their security team was doing their best to hunt down the bastard, but the wait was getting to him, especially now.
He wanted it over and done with, so that he could begin his life with her.
He was so deep in thought that it took him a minute to realize that the hand she had thrown over his waist had slipped further down and she was fast asleep.
With a smile touching his lips, he carefully reached for the sheets to cover them.
Tipping his chin down, he studied the spectacular face, his heart stirring inside his chest. She had scooped her hair up into a messy bun and there were tendrils floating on her cheek.
Her lips were slightly parted, lashes making shadows on her cheeks.
Love, intense and powerful, washed through him, leaving him breathless.
"If you think you're going to shake me, think again," he murmured, stroking a hand down her back. "I'm never letting you go again."
***
"I want you to come to me tonight." He was taking her home. In the early hours of the Monday morning, it was still dark enough for the street lights to be on and traffic a slow trickle.
"No."
His hand tightened on the wheel, and he had to take several breaths to calm himself.
"Why not?" he managed to ask quietly. She had awoken with his mouth on her flesh and flew immediately into desire. It had been very difficult for her to leave his arms. It was happening again and she could not stop it.
"I spent two nights with you, two nights I'd not planned on.
" She turned her head towards the window, staring out at the darkness.
They were moving away from the urban area, going into the city and soon they would arrive at her apartment building.
She was disturbed that her heart felt as if it was breaking.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." She turned to face him as he braked at the lights. "We cannot simply pretend that everything is all right between us. It's not. The fact still remains that you left me. And you still have not said anything to me about that abrupt leaving."
"We need each other."
Ignoring the jolt at the words and his tone, she shrugged. "Need is a strong word."
"We need each other," he repeated more forcefully. "The two nights we spent with each other have proven that much."
"It's proven that we have a strong sexual attraction and nothing more." She jolted when he slammed a balled fist on the dashboard.
"Are you intent on being cruel?"
"Landry..."
"Damn you! How can you belittle what we have? Sex? You bloody well know that it's more than that."
He swung into the parking lot of her building and slid to a hard stop. Shutting off the engine, he unhooked his belt and turned to face her, his face hard and taut with temper.
Unhooking her own belt, she faced him mutinously, arms folded under her breasts. "I won't have you bullying me," she warned, eyes flashing. "I have the right to want answers to what happened all those years ago and a right to refuse to allow this to go anywhere without an explanation."
"I cannot tell you that." The anger left as quickly as it came and had him feeling weary. "I will one day, hopefully, but for now, I cannot and I would like you to trust me."
Her brows lifted. "Just like that?"
"Yes," he said quietly. When he reached for her hands, she did not resist. Something in his tone had her senses on the alert.
There was something here, something significant, but she still could not simply fall back into a relationship with him.
He had hurt her tremendously when she was a teenager and it had almost destroyed her.
Linking his fingers with hers, he lifted their hands and placed the back of hers against his cheek.
Tenderness at the gesture warred with the wariness inside her.
She loved him. It was that simple. She could fly to the ends of the earth and protest all she wanted, but the fact remained that she loved him and always would.
It was just him, had been just him back then, and it was the same thing now.
No, she thought wryly. It was much more now.
"I'm not making any promises, and we still need to talk."
Hope flared inside him and had his head going light. "How about dinner tonight?"
"Landry..."
"Or we could dine in, if you prefer."
She nodded, not sure she was ready for the publicity. "All right."
"Shall I pick you up?"
"No. I'll come by when I get off. Landry?"
"Yes?"
"We really need to talk."
"And we will," he promised. His hand squeezed hers, before he lifted it to his lips. "Hopefully very soon." Letting go of her hand, he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her against him for a smoldering kiss that had her toes curling.
"God!" she whispered, her fingers gripping his sweater. "That was... hmm." Words failed her and she had to take deep breaths to steady herself. "I really have to go." Tugging at his arms, she scrambled to get the door open, so she could escape. She had some thinking to do.
Touching the button, he leaned forward just as she was about to walk away. "I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight."
With a wave, she hurried towards the entrance, her knees almost buckling. The man was decidedly potent.
***
"We can't keep doing this," Kyle muttered. Swinging his legs off the bed, he reached for his slacks and hauled them on. He was exhausted. Having spent sixteen hours at the hospital, half the time doing back-to-back surgeries, he was ready to tumble into sleep.