Chapter 13
When Taylor woke the next morning, it was with a feeling that, for the first time in a long time the world was at last the right way up.
Great sex—and lots of it—the night before had helped, but there was more to it than that. The denial of and battle with her feelings for the man in whose arms she lay was categorically over. She loved Rhys. And how Charity, happily married to her handsome Englishman, would laugh when she found out.
Taylor’s lips curved up in a spontaneous smile as she recalled how Rhys had schooled her about the difference between him and Nick about four hours earlier.
That callused finger on her clit had delivered wave upon wave of ecstasy when she’d called him Welsh, while brutally denying her when she’d teased him by saying he was as English as Nick Blackmore.
More heat rose to her cheeks when she remembered him teaching her how to ask him to fuck her in his first language.
“You’re blushing—what are you thinking?”
His words, spoken in the accent she’d now decided was the sexiest turn-on on the planet, wrapped her in warmth and intimacy. “I’m thinking about the first Welsh words you’ve taught me, and how I would like to learn a few more… orthodox phrases.”
He laughed and hugged her tightly. “Such as? What would you like to learn?”
“Everything.”
And she didn’t just mean the language. Taylor wanted to learn everything about the man who now held her heart in the palm of his strong, capable hand.
“That could take a lifetime,” he warned.
So much the better. “I’m willing to put the work in.”
“Fair enough. How about if we schedule the first lesson for after we find out what’s happening with your father?”
She liked the sound of that—a promise for the future. “Might be best. I think I’m going to need a lot of time to get my head around all things Welsh.”
“Not a problem. If we want it, we have all the time in the world.”
Something fluttered in her belly. What Rhys had said was open to interpretation—whatever way he’d meant it, it didn’t scare her. “I wish we had all the time in the world right now, but Wolf will be here soon.”
“We could save some time by showering together.”
Taylor couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion. “Seriously? If I have to share a shower with you, I can promise you, it will not save time. If anything, it’ll take much, much longer.”
Rhys grinned in a way that made him look carefree and years younger. “Okay, you have a point, because there’s no way I would be able to keep my hands off you. You go first, and I’ll make a start on breakfast. But remember this—sharing the shower is only postponed, not cancelled.”
She was looking forward to it already.
After the fastest shower of her life, Taylor dressed quickly and threw some clothes and other essentials into a bag, ready for their side trip to Las Vegas.
In the kitchen, she finished off what Rhys had started, and timed the completion of breakfast perfectly for his return to the kitchen.
His dark hair was still damp, and a perfect match with his black t-shirt and combat pants.
Boots on and bag deposited beside hers by the doorway, he was ready to go.
Taylor watched him fill two glasses with orange juice and bring them back to the counter just as she set the two plates of food down.
They made a great team.
“Sure you’ve got everything you need?” Rhys asked between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.
Taylor sipped her juice. “I think so. We won’t be gone long, will we?”
“It’s difficult to say. What if you find you want to spend some time with him?”
The quiet question gave her pause for thought. A round-trip traveling time in excess of ten hours wouldn’t allow for a long visit; the truth was, Taylor hadn’t given much consideration to anything beyond an opportunity to find out what was going on, and she kind of knew why.
“I guess the priority has to be finding out what made him send the flash drive and the documents, and why he’s held onto everything for so long. If he cooperates, it’s a five, ten-minute conversation. Whether I stay longer or not depends on those answers.”
“Whether we stay or not,” Rhys countered. “Where you go, I go. Where you stay, I stay.”
“Is that the bodyguard thing?”
He mock-scowled at her. “It’s the bodyguard/lover thing.”
A delicious shiver raced down her spine. “Is that what we are now? Lovers?”
He arched an eyebrow. “I damn well hope so. Boyfriend-girlfriend is a little… immature once you’re no longer a teenager.”
“True. I’ll go with that.”
While they took care of the dishes, Taylor’s mind replayed her memories of the previous night. She couldn’t help but smile. “Last night was amazing. I can’t wait until we can do it again.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips, fast and hard. “You’re not the only one. We need to stock up, though.”
Taylor knew exactly what he was referring to—she’d been both relieved and thankful that he’d been able to produce a condom out of thin air, or so it had seemed. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities to do that on the way, and even if there aren’t, I have no doubt Vegas won’t come up short.”
“Fair enough. Point me in the right direction, and I’ll make sure we have enough for me to keep you in bed for the next six months.”
Taylor spluttered. “Seriously?”
“You think I’m joking? Fy nghariad, there are some things about which I never joke, and making love to you is one of them. You have a lot to learn about me.”
Taylor lifted her chin. “As do you about me, stud.”
He shot her a look, and then laughed out loud. “This is going to be fun.”
“Oh, I hope so,” Taylor responded. Then she sobered. “I’ll be glad when I know what’s happening with Pops. Whatever the truth is, even if it’s not what I want to hear, it’s what I need.”
Rhys took her hand and gathered her in his arms. “I promise you—whatever it takes, we will find out the truth. And whatever it is, I’m right here for you.”
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“Turns out, Charles Markham and an unknown female aged around twenty to thirty—also resident at the house—left three days ago, accompanied by at least a half dozen individuals dressed in black. They were put into separate vehicles in a three-vehicle convoy, and no one has seen them since.”
When the neighbor had approached them from one of the impressive houses opposite, none of them had been prepared for the information he’d provided. Taylor had, unsurprisingly, been devastated.
Now back in San Diego, having made the ten-hour round trip in one day, Rhys had lost no time in calling Nick to bring him up to speed, while Taylor had taken refuge in her bedroom.
They’d made every effort to trace the kidnappers—unfortunately, the neighbor hadn’t been able to give them even partial plates, and there was nothing even Tex could do, given they appeared to have been treated so that the characters were blurred out on the recordings he’d accessed when he’d hacked into the security systems again.
“You checked with other neighbors?” Nick asked.
“As many as we could, before they started to get suspicious,” Rhys confirmed. “We left when one of them started making noises about checking with the gate guards that we had a genuine reason to be there.”
“Good move. I think the next thing you need to do is pack up and come back here.”
Rhys frowned. “Say again.”
“Our inquiries at this end have come back with some disquieting news. In the light of that and what you’ve just told me, I think it would be advisable for you both to return here as quickly as possible. Can you leave tomorrow and make it back in two days rather than three?”