All That I Desire (14 page)

“So talk.”

If he told her, she’d start thinking about marriage. It wasn’t going to happen. “Just
trying to figure out something in my head.” He kissed her, then got to his feet with
her in his arms. “You want to go for a walk?”

“If you make it worth my while.” Her head lowered, her mouth teased his, nipping,
sucking, until he palmed the back of her head and kept her mouth on his. Then, with
his other arm, he slowly let her slide down the front of his body, the friction highly
charged and erotic.

He gathered the dress in his hands, the urge to peel it off her body throbbing with
every beat of his heart. If he did, if he saw her in her lingerie, he wasn’t sure
he’d be able to leave without making her his. Once he took that irrevocable step,
he somehow knew it would change everything for him.

His hands unclamped, his mouth nuzzled her neck, kissed her fragrant skin, skin that
was softer than velvet. Skylar might be the one thing in his life that made him second-guess
himself.

His head lifted. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Resisting the urge to kiss her again, he left. He’d willingly crossed another line.
Skylar Dupree pulled at emotions he’d thought long buried. The need to see her happy
overruled his own credo of self-preservation. She was important to him. He was in
danger of losing something more important than his life … his heart.

*   *   *

Skylar was waiting on the bottom stair when Rio returned. She’d been too excited to
wait in her room. She jumped up and hurried to him. “I promise to be good until we’re
out of sight.”

“There are cameras everywhere.”

“And you know exactly where they are to avoid them.” She batted her eyelashes at him.
“Don’t you?”

Rio opened the door. “Let’s go.”

Her hands behind her back to keep them out of trouble, she walked through the door
and waited for Rio. She practically skipped down the steps, waving and speaking to
his men as they passed. None of the men she’d seen was under five foot eleven. Some
were broad, some lean, but she knew each was skilled or Rio wouldn’t have had him
on his team.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes.” He headed down a paved path past the compound.

She glanced over. “You know you’re tempting me.”

He kept walking. The path widened.

“Oh, my!” Skylar palmed her face, then grabbed Rio’s hand and pulled him toward the
small lake. Two swans and their goslings swam on the placid water. She leaned against
Rio. “Did you know swans mate for life?” She didn’t expect an answer. “If only people
could be that same way.”

His arm went around her. “Your parents?”

She nodded. “I always thought their love was forever. I … I think—” She hesitated.

“What?”

She straightened and gazed up at him. “That they might still love each other, but
each is too proud and too stubborn to admit it. They’d rather be miserable than risk
being vulnerable.”

“So what makes you so courageous?”

She glanced toward the swans. She wasn’t sure how he’d react.

His finger and thumb turned her face toward his. “I’m waiting.”

And he didn’t like waiting or asking a question twice. “You. It was you.”

Lines she’d never seen before formed across his smooth forehead. His hand lowered.
“How?”

He certainly liked answers. She just hoped he liked hers. “I thought you needed me.
I saw you with Blade and Shane and their wives. You were walking by yourself. You
seemed not to need anyone or anything.”

“You felt sorry for me,” he said, words devoid of warmth.

“Only a fool would feel sorry for you, and I’m not one,” she came back. “Seeing you
gave me the courage to finally stop looking and test the waters, so to speak. I had
some bad moments because, if you weren’t interested, not only would I make a fool
of myself, but you’d have every right to have Blade fire me for sexual harassment.
And I really like my job.”

“Yet you went after me anyway,” he said as if trying to understand.

She curved her arms around his neck. “You snapped out
Ms. Dupree
once too often and it ticked me off. I was determined you’d call me Skylar.”

“You risked a lot.”

“But look what I gained.”

“Skylar.” His mouth took hers. He savored her taste, the swipe of her tongue against
his, the little sounds in the back of her throat. Each time they kissed was more exciting
than the last. Each time tempting him to strip them both naked and make love to her
until time faded away.

His head lifted.

“No,” Skylar protested, trying to pull his mouth back to hers.

He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

She stepped back. “Why?”

“It’s going to rain,” he answered and watched her face light up.

“Really?” She looked up at the clear sky.

“Really. Come on.” He started walking and felt her resistance. She was still looking
upward with her free hand cupped as if waiting to catch raindrops. “You’re going to
get wet.”

She threw her free arm around his neck and grinned up at him. “Haven’t you ever wanted
to walk in the rain with someone special?”

He lifted a brow at the silliness of the question.

She wrinkled her nose. “I forgot. Well, I have, and you can’t tell me that you haven’t
seen other couples walking in the rain and enjoying it.”

“They had umbrellas.”

Her eyes narrowed. “We’re really are going to have to work on your romantic side.”

Overhead, blue sky had turned to gray. “You have two more days of deliveries. You
don’t want to be sick.”

She looked up at the sky again. “I’m stronger and healthier than that. I’m from Boston,
remember, and I know you’ve been in the rain, probably with little more than what
you have on now.”

He had. “Why do you say that?”

She sent him a droll look. “Rio.” She said his name with a mixture of annoyance and
affection. “You said you were in the army. I’m thinking Army Rangers. Your men are
military, too.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance. “You think?”

“I know. It stands to reason Shane and Blade were in the same unit. My uncle said
bonds are formed for life in combat.” She briefly scanned the sky. “You’d want men
as quick thinking, as skilled, and as resourceful as you. Although I’m not sure that’s
possible. There’s only one you. In any case, when you stopped the Jeep the other day,
they didn’t hesitate to come out with guns drawn.”

He’d always known she was smart. “You’re going to get soaked. Jeans are a bear to
get off when they’re wet.”

She pressed against him. “You could always help.”

His heart pounded. He’d liked the idea more than he wanted to admit of sliding those
jeans down her long legs, his lips following. “You’ll track water from the front door
to your room.”

“I’ll mop it up.”

“That’s a lot to mop.”

“It will be wor—” She laughed as the first raindrops hit her, then lifted both hands
and smiled at him. “It’s raining.”

Skylar embraced life. He realized that at times, he had just gone through the motions.

She caught his hand, then rose onto her tiptoes to kiss him as the rain began to come
down harder. “Thank you.”

“You didn’t give me a choice.”

“We both know that’s not completely true.” She leaned her head back for a moment.
“Kiss me, Rio.”

He pulled her closer with the first word she uttered. By the time
Rio
came out, his tongue was searching the sweet recesses of her mouth. She wrapped her
long legs around him and kissed him until he wasn’t quite steady. With the rain beating
down on them, her wrapped around him, his mind was centered only on one thing—pleasing
his woman.

His woman. The thought caught him off guard, shocked him, but not enough to release
the woman who had come to mean so much to him.

Thunder rumbled again. He lifted his head. Her eyes slowly opened. She looked a little
dazed with the rain running over her face. It didn’t seem to matter to her. He knew
why—because she was with him. Just as it didn’t matter to him because he was with
her. He swung her up in his arms and began to walk slowly back to the castle.

She kissed the side of his neck and snuggled closer. “Nice.”

They hadn’t made it to the cameras yet. Sierra had wanted some privacy for her and
Blade. Rio kept walking. The men who had met Skylar liked her even before she started
feeding them. In the military, you learned to size people up quickly or you suffered
the consequences.

“Please put me down.”

He set her on her feet. As soon as he did, she took his hand and stared up at him,
rain drizzling over her face. “How much farther before your men can see us?”

“About ten yards.”

“Since I’m not as good as you, just give my hand a little squeeze and I’ll let it
go.” She started walking before he could answer.

Despite the rain, he felt the warmth of her small hand in his, the trust. Walking
in the rain wasn’t so bad after all.

*   *   *

Rio was a resourceful man, Skylar thought as she stepped out of the shower twenty
minutes later. When they’d walked in the front door, there had been large bath towels
waiting for them to dry off. He’d radioed ahead.

Skylar grinned wickedly as she slipped on her gossamer-thin lingerie. Although he’d
declined to help her pull off her jeans, he had agreed to meet her for dinner later
on that evening.

Skylar quickly dressed and went to the kitchen, thinking she’d like to nibble on Rio.
The refrigerator and freezer were as well stocked as she’d imagined. She decided on
shrimp and chicken quesadillas, mini peach trifles, and nonalcoholic sangria. Finished
preparing, she placed everything on the cart and rolled it into the great room by
the fireplace.

She stared at the rug in front and decided it wouldn’t be right for her and Rio to
roll around on Blade and Sierra’s rug or pull the cushions off the sofa. But they
could sit on the floor with their backs to the sofa so they faced the fireplace. With
the lights dimmed, it would be just as romantic.

She heard the front door open and felt her heart leap. In seconds, Rio was walking
in, his intense eyes on her. “If I kiss you, the food will get cold.” Her voice trembled.
There was no sense hoping he hadn’t heard it. She just hoped he didn’t guess how deeply
she loved him. “I thought we’d sit on the floor with our backs to the sofa and enjoy
the fire and each other.”

“The floor?”

“Do you mind?” It had sounded like a good idea to her, but with Rio looking at her
she wasn’t sure.

He glanced from the floor to her. “You need a pillow or something?”

She relaxed. He’d been concerned about her. “Told you I’m tough. Have a seat and I’ll
fix our plates.”

He sank gracefully to the floor and stretched out his long legs.

Skylar quickly put their food and drinks on a tray and handed it to Rio. She picked
up the control to start the fireplace and dimmed the lights. Finished, she sat as
close to him as possible, took the tray, and placed it in her lap. “You get everything
done?”

“Yes.”

She gave him his glass. “Chicken and shrimp quesadillas, and a surprise dessert.”

He picked up a quesadilla and offered her a bite. “First and last.”

Smiling, she bit into his quesadilla, then picked up her own. He was learning.

“Where did you learn to cook?” he asked once he’d swallowed.

“My mother and my grandmothers.” She sipped her drink. “Being a good hostess meant
also being a great cook, knowing how to arrange flowers, proper etiquette, and too
many other things to count.”

He placed his food on his plate. “Sounds as if they wanted you to marry in their circle.”

She looked him in the eyes. “They also wanted me to be a lawyer and stay in Boston.
I did neither. I’m my own woman and I make my own decisions. You should know that.”

“You can trace your family on both sides to before Lincoln was president,” he persisted.

And he was an orphan. “And some of them we’d rather forget. Like Grandfather Carrington
always said, every man or woman has to make his or her own mark, stand on his or her
own two feet. Family can be a help or a hindrance.” She nodded toward his plate. “You
need me to feed you?”

He picked up his quesadilla. They ate in silence. Skylar sensed there had been a shift
in their relationship, but she wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.

She didn’t try to fill the silence as they finished their meal and ate dessert. She
placed everything back on the cart. If he was thinking of dumping her, she might as
well do something she had longed to do almost from the first.

She sat in his lap, put her arms around his neck, and rested her head against his
broad shoulder. A second later his arms closed around her. She was so relieved she
trembled.

“You all right?”

She didn’t even think of evading. “You were thinking of dumping me.”

His hand tunneled though her hair. “Most people can’t read me.”

I love you.
“I’ve been watching and studying you for two years. Remember.”

“Still.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not all the time,” she admitted truthfully. “You can be pretty
intimidating.”

His lips brushed against her hair. “Apparently not intimidating enough.”

“You shouldn’t be so tempting. I’ve seen you send woman after woman running.”

“Not you.”

Her head angled up, she kissed him. “Told you, Boston-tough. Plus, as I said, I was
ready to do a little touching.”

“So you did.” His head angled down and their lips met. His phone rang. Quickly he
sat her up and answered. “Rio.”

“Intruder. Section four.”

“I’m on my way. Yellow alert. Code Red Sky.” He came to his feet with her. “Someone
is coming to stay with you. I need to go.”

She clutched his hand, then released it. “Be careful.”

Touching her face, he was gone.

Chapter 10

One of Rio’s men was there before he reached the front door. Rio jumped in the golf
cart waiting for him, and the driver took off.