Renegade Millionaire (13 page)

As she inched lower, Joanna watched his face for his reaction. His expression remained almost detached, as solid as stone, until she took matters completely into her hands. His eyes narrowed and his chest rose with a sharp intake of breath when she caressed him, learned the differing textures with curious fingers. His flesh was hot, rigid and totally tempting, bringing her to the verge of complete meltdown. That didn't stop her from studying the length and breadth of him—until Rio's hand circled her wrist, halting her exploration.

“I'm convinced.”

Joanna sent him a sinister grin. “But I'm not quite done.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“No, I'm not.” Before he could deliver another protest, Joanna lowered her head and took him into her mouth. She felt the change in him immediately as his fingers entwined in her hair. Yet he only allowed her the
pleasure for a moment before he stopped her by pulling her head up to deliver an earth-tilting kiss.

Yet the kiss didn't last long before he broke the contact. Then, as she had, he conducted his own expedition over her body with a fervent touch that left her winded and hot and aching. He fondled her breasts, graced her nipples with soft, circular movements, ran his thumbs along her sides, slipped his hand between her thighs to touch her with a gentle yet insistent sweep of his fingertips, bringing her close to a climax. But right before she shattered, he took his hand away.

Joanna released a groan of protest that brought about Rio's own devilish smile. “Do you want more?”

“Yes,” she said in a pleading tone.

“How much more?”

“Everything, dammit.”

He nipped at her bottom lip and soothed it with his tongue. “I like it when you're tough. It excites me.”

She kissed his left ear and flicked the gold loop with her tongue. “When I want something badly enough, I've been known to drive a hard bargain.”

He held her hand against his erection. “So do I.”

“Convince me,” she said, throwing his own words back at him.

“My pleasure.”

Rio nudged her onto her back then fumbled for a condom from the nightstand. As he sheathed himself, Joanna clawed his back, desperate to have him immediately. He responded by holding her hands at bay over her head as he uttered one harsh oath in English, a word that Joanna had no trouble understanding. Slang for the act, crude in any language, yet it sent potent shudders down Joanna's spine to think that she had driven him to the sudden loss of control. But his lack of control was short-lived as he
entered her in a slow, steady glide then pulled away until she lifted her hips to urge him into her needy body.

The mood quickly changed from fast and furious to slow and sultry when Rio continued in an easy rhythm, allowing Joanna to take the moments to memory, to absorb the sensations as he buried his face in her neck and whispered wonderful endearments. When he finally released her hands, she stroked his damp, silky hair, breathed in his scent, savored the feel of him so intimately connected to her.

In those quiet moments, she realized they were making love, at least she was, because despite her determination not to love him, she did. With all of her wounded heart, she loved him. And for a split second as he held her securely against his heart, she allowed herself to imagine that he loved her too.

With gentle, questing fingertips, he touched her above the place where they were joined, bringing her to another astounding climax while he moved inside her. A keening sound crept up her throat and slipped between her parted lips. Never before had she known such incredible pleasure. Never before had she felt so close to coming apart, so close to feeling wholly joined to another's soul, so hopelessly lost to a man who had completely captivated her, body, heart and soul.

“Do you know what you're doing to me,
mi amante?
” Rio said in a strained voice as he battled to hold on a little longer. “Do you know how incredible you feel?”

Joanna answered with another tilt of her hips to take him deeper inside. The movement drove his body to make demands he couldn't disregard. He surrendered with a wilder, more reckless tempo, bringing on a climax that arrived with the force of an explosion, making him
shake from the power of the release. Making him feel things he'd never felt before.

He drifted back to consciousness in slow increments, well aware that something phenomenal had happened again, and it still had little to do with sex. The woman in his arms, joined to his body, had totally worked her way beneath his skin, invaded his soul, claimed his heart.

Joanna shifted and although he didn't want to let her go, he tried to move enough to lessen his weight.

“Don't leave,” she said. “I want to remember this.”

Rio would never forget this moment, this act, this woman, and he couldn't seem to get close enough to her. The connection to Joanna went beyond the bounds of their physical union, as if everything suddenly made sense.

When Rio rolled to his back, taking her with him, Joanna nestled her warm cheek against his shoulder and sighed.

Rio stroked the dip at her spine and lingered there. The prospect of sending his hand lower to explore made his body stir once more. No doubt, he wanted to make love to her again—and again—as soon as he'd had enough time to recover. First, he needed to say something, and he began with an idea that had come to him earlier in the day. “I've been thinking.”

Joanna brushed a tender kiss across his neck. “About what?”

“About this summer. I was thinking maybe we could take a couple of months off and travel the country. You, me and Joseph, and your mom if you'd like.”

Joanna tensed in his arms. “I can't just take off, Rio. I have responsibilities and debts. A good job, and so do you.”

“My job will be here when we return. I'll pay your debts.”

“In exchange for what?”

“To keep you here. We can fix up a room for Joseph and one for your mother if she wants to come and stay for a while.”

She moved onto her back, breaking the intimate contact, raising an intangible wall. “That's not possible. Joseph is already too enamored of you. I don't want him to think that this arrangement is permanent.”

Anger threatened Rio's euphoric mood. “Arrangement?”

“Our living together.”

An illogical stab of desperation impaled him. “Are you saying that you're not willing to see if this will work out between us?”

“What happened to no ties, no commitment?”

“I don't know. Being around you and Joseph this weekend made me realize that something's been missing from my life.”

She sighed. “That was only two days, Rio. Are you really being honest with yourself? Are you really willing to commit to more than an occasional weekend?”

“I'm willing to try, Joanna. See where it goes from here.”

“Call me old-fashioned, but I can't just live with you, especially with Joseph under the same roof.”

“I don't know what you want from me.”

She sat up and ran a hand through her tangled hair. “I don't want anything from you, Rio. Not beyond what happened tonight. I know how much you enjoy your freedom except when it comes to your work. But I guess I was wrong about that, too.”

“Why? Because I want to take some time off?”

“Because it seems so easy for you to leave everything behind. I'm worried you'll eventually do the same to us. I don't want to get left behind again, and I definitely don't want that for my son. It scares me to think that might happen.”

Rio pushed himself up and leaned back against the headboard. “You think this is easy for me? I've never had a real relationship with a woman, Joanna. I've never wanted one until now. You're responsible for that. You've changed me.”

She leveled her gaze on him. “I'd love to believe that but I'm afraid I've heard it all before.”

“I'm not your ex-husband. I have more honor than that.”

She clutched the comforter to her breasts as if the intimacy between them was too much to bear. “You are an honorable man, Rio. I know that better than anyone, and that's one of the things I love about you.”

Rio wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. “What did you say?”

“I said I love you, and I do. Believe me, that's the last thing I wanted, but I can't help the way I feel.”

“If that's true, then why not stay with me?”

“I'm afraid that you won't be satisfied with some mundane existence, and I can't stay knowing we're not completely committed to each other.”

“Are you talking about marriage?” The word tasted bitter, sounded harsh, brought back recollections of his mother's less-than-happy union with his stepfather. “I've never understood why having a piece of paper is so important if two people really care about each other. And I do care about you.”

Tossing back the covers, Joanna came to her feet and retrieved her gown from the end of the bed. She slipped
it on in silence then said, “You're right. Marriage is the last thing that either one of us needs. Good night, Rio.”

Her good-night sounded a lot like goodbye to Rio. Before she could leave the room, he bolted from the bed, clasped her arm and turned her around. “Stay with me, Joanna.”

“We both need to get some sleep.”

He took a chance and pulled her against him. “Not only tonight. Stay with me beyond the summer.”

Even in the muted light, he could see the indecision in her eyes as well as a trace of pain. “I have to do what's best for me, Rio. For my son. Please understand.”

After she walked away, Rio took his fury out on the dying fire, grabbing up the poker and jabbing what was left of the logs. He'd known all along what Joanna needed, someone she could trust to stay by her side, through thick and thin. She also needed to hear the words that he'd been too much of a coward to say—that he loved her, too, and he was beginning to believe he did love her. More than he could express.

He also recognized that he needed to convince Joanna that he intended to be there for her and Joseph whether they had a license or not. To convince her that once he made a commitment, he would stick to it, the same as he had with his goals to become a doctor.

Rio had a lot to consider, and not much time left at all. Deep in his soul, he knew that Joanna would be gone long before the arrival of summer, unless he persuaded her to stay. If only he knew how to do that.

T
he following afternoon at his office, Rio received a message from Joanna asking him to meet her at the hospital. Allison Cartwright was in trouble.

Minutes later, Rio rushed out of the elevator and onto the labor and delivery floor, practically running into Joanna head-on. She looked worried and tired but he didn't have time to dwell on anything but Allison's complications.

“Where is she?” he asked.

Joanna pointed toward the corridor. “In 502. She's got an elevated pressure and she's dumping protein in her urine.”

“She's preeclamptic,” Rio stated with certainty.

“Looks like it, but her pressure was only slightly outside the norm when I saw her last week. I put her on bed rest but it hasn't helped. That's why I brought her here.”

“You did the right thing,” he assured her. “She's what, about thirty-five weeks gestation?”

“Thirty-six.”

“Then the baby's viable, so induction is probably the best option. Do you agree?”

Joanna frowned. “Of course, but it's your decision since she's your patient.”

“She's
our
patient, and I want you with me.” Today. Next week. Forever.

The thoughts vaulted into Rio's brain, sharp as a switchblade, but now wasn't the time to discuss what he wanted from Joanna. Later, he decided. He'd tell her later, after they took care of Allison.

“I'll be with you every step of the way, at least through Allison's labor,” Joanna said. There was a finality to her words, and Rio fought an odd panic that she was already planning to leave, that he was already too late.

Rio turned away from her and strode down the hallway before he gave in to the urge to pull her into his arms. Before he told her all the things that had haunted him through the night as well as today, things he should have told her last night. He didn't have time to make any revelations. He couldn't be the man when he was expected to be the doctor.

Joanna followed him into Allison's room where Rio forced himself into medical mode, immediately noting the fear in Allison's expression.

“Hey, Allison,” he said in his well-practiced calm voice despite his growing concern.

She drew in a long breath and released it slowly. “Hi, Dr. Madrid. Glad you could join us for the party.” Her attempt at wry humor didn't mask her anxiety.

Rio walked to the head of the bed and studied the tape
spilling from the monitor that registered the baby's heartbeat. Thank God everything looked fine in that department. Unfortunately, Allison's blood pressure didn't. “I guess Joanna told you about your preeclampsia.”

Allison nodded. “Yes, and what do we do now?”

Rio hid his apprehension behind a smile. “In light of your condition, Joanna and I have decided we need to go ahead and induce your labor and watch you carefully.”

Allison turned frightened eyes to him and then to Joanna. “But I still have a month to go.”

“The risk to you and the baby will increase if you don't deliver now,” Joanna said. “This is for the best.”

Tears drifted down Allison's cheeks and she quickly swiped them away with one trembling hand. “Okay, then. If there aren't any other options, then I guess I'll have a baby.”

Joanna offered a gentle smile aimed at Allison but it impacted Rio clear down to his soul. He couldn't imagine not seeing that smile on a daily basis. Seeing her on a daily basis.

“It's going to be okay, Allison,” Joanna said. “We'll have the neonatology team standing by.”

Allison tipped her chin up in a show of bravado. “Then let's get this show on the road. I'm ready.”

After Rio ordered the meds to begin Allison's labor, a passing nurse stuck her head in the door and announced that he had an unexpected admit nearing delivery.

“I'll stay here,” Joanna said when the nurse departed. “You go ahead and take care of your other patient. I'm sure you'll be back in plenty of time.”

Rio was reluctant to leave but recognized that Joanna was more than capable of handling the situation until his
return. “Okay, but keep me informed. If anything happens, page me—”

“I will. I promise.”

As it turned out, by the time Rio's patient delivered and he completed his afternoon rounds, four hours had passed before he made it back to Allison's room.

Joanna greeted him immediately outside the door. “It's happening fast,” she said. “Her water broke and she's completely dilated. She's been pushing for a while now. The charge nurse, Sara Gilmore, is going to assist.”

At least that was good news. “Why didn't you page me?”

“It wasn't necessary. I knew you'd be back soon.”

Rio ran a hand over his scalp. “Her pressure?”

“Still high but not in the danger zone. Yet.”

“We both know that the only cure for preeclampsia is delivering the baby, so let's get going.”

Joanna stopped him by clasping his arm. “I just wanted to thank you, Rio.”

“What for?”

She looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “For trusting me.”

He wanted to ask her to trust him, trust that he would do right by her but instead he said, “You're a great midwife, Joanna.” An extraordinary mother. An incredible lover. A fantastic friend. “You'd make a great doctor.”

She grinned. “You think so?”

His smile surfaced in response. “I know so. Now let's go deliver a baby. Together.” As if everything was okay between them, he couldn't resist giving her a playful swat on the bottom as she entered the room.

All playfulness disappeared when Sara reported, “Her
pressure's at 160/110. The good news is the baby's head is starting to crown.”

As Rio viewed Allison's pale, sweat-drenched face and the monitor that revealed her pressure hovering in a precariously high range, he was abruptly thrust back to another time, another place with another young woman he hadn't been able to save. For a brief moment, he became the teenage boy once more, the one who had been inadequate, helpless to do anything but stand by and watch a young mother die.

He reminded himself that he wasn't that boy. He was a doctor. He had acquired knowledge and skills. Although he recognized some situations were out of his control, he'd be damned if he'd let anything happen to Allison Cartwright or her baby. Better still, he had Joanna on his side and that alone provided him with much-needed determination.

Forcing himself into action, Rio barked an order for magnesium sulfate to prevent the possibility of seizures. “Allison, Sara's going to give you some medicine in your IV so we don't have any additional problems. You might feel flushed and drowsy, but that's normal.”

“The baby?” Allison croaked, followed by a strained breath.

“You're almost there but we're going to need your help.”

The door opened and neonatologist Brendan O'Connor walked in with a nurse pushing a portable warmer trailing behind him.

“Just in time, Dr. O'Connor,” Joanna said.

“Good to see you again, Brendan,” Rio added.

“Same here.” Brendan approached Allison. “Ms. Cartwright, I'm Dr. O'Connor, the neonatologist on duty. I'll be taking care of your baby as a precaution.
Considering you're relatively close to term, hopefully your baby won't be needing my services long term.”

“I hope so…too.” Allison grimaced and cried, “Here it comes…again!”

Rio took his place at the end of the bed with Joanna as Brendan stood to one side to await the baby's arrival. While Joanna and Sara offered encouragement, Rio asked Allison to push again.

Allison collapsed against the bed before any progress had been made and Rio realized that her strength was waning. “I know you're tired, Allison, but I need a little more from you.”

“I'm trying,” she said, followed by a sob. “But I don't have anything left.”

“Come on, Allison,” Joanna coaxed. “You can't give up now.”

Rio glanced at the monitor, checking Allison's vitals and realizing all too well that time was of the essence. His options were limited if Allison wasn't able to cooperate and he had no choice but to be prepared for that instance. “Notify staff and tell them to ready for a C-section just in case,” he said to Sara.

Allison showed amazing strength at that moment as she sat up and glared at him. “No C-section. I can do this.”

“Okay,” Rio said. “Give it all you've got.”

Joanna urged Allison to bear down, harder this time. As Rio offered his own verbal prodding, he marveled at Joanna's unrelenting fortitude in the face of adversity. Together they worked as a team, totally in sync, completely in tune with each other. Allison finally gave one more push, allowing Rio to deliver the baby's head.

Joanna gave Rio a thumbs-up and Rio gave the order for one more gentle push from Allison.

Finally, the child slid completely into Rio's waiting hands. “You've got a girl, Allison,” he said as the baby let loose a resounding cry. “A beautiful baby girl.”

As Rio cradled the infant in one arm, it occurred to him how at times he had taken this process for granted. But with Joanna by his side, he saw a glimpse of the future, the possibility that maybe one day he would be a father holding his own child. His and Joanna's child.

He clamped the cord and held it up. “Joanna, will you do the honors?”

With a satisfied expression, Joanna complied. Rio handed the baby off to Brendan O'Connor, relieved that the infant's color looked good.

“Is she okay?” Allison asked in a tear-filled voice.

Brendan spoke without turning from the newborn. “She looks great so far and she's breathing on her own, but I need to take her to the NICU and observe her for at least twenty-four hours.”

“Can I see her first?” Allison asked.

“Sure.” Brendan placed the baby in her mother's arms and stepped away from the bed.

Rio noticed that the exhaustion on Allison's face disappeared with the first glimpse of her daughter. “You were supposed to be a boy, little one.” She brushed a kiss across the baby's cheek. “But you're still my miracle.”

As far as Rio was concerned, every birth, every baby was indeed a miracle, and so was the fact that he had found Joanna. He wanted to tell her right then, but he didn't want an audience playing witness when he spilled his guts.

After he finished his final doctor duties and the baby had been whisked away in the care of Brendan O'Connor, Rio looked up to see Allison reclined on the
bed, her eyes closed against the fluorescent lights. He searched the room for Joanna only to discover she was missing. That sure as hell wouldn't do. He had to find her and fast, before he lost his nerve. Before another minute passed when he could say what was on his mind, in his heart.

Quietly he turned to leave Allison in Sara's care until “Dr. Madrid” came from behind him.

He faced the bed to find Allison now looking wide awake. “I thought you were asleep,” he said.

“I'm not sure how much I'll be able to sleep until I know the baby's okay.”

“You need to try and rest. Once you have her home, sleep might be at a premium.”

“Since I doubt I still have a job, I'll have plenty of time for that.”

Rio moved back to her side and sent her a sympathetic look. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”

She shook her head. “I'll phone my dad in a while, but he's in New Jersey with my sister.”

“Anyone else that might want to know?” Rio realized he was fishing, but he hated to see Allison go through this alone.

She turned away from him and focused on the window but not before he saw a few latent tears. “No.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind.”

Allison met his gaze. “Thanks for everything. And you know something? You two were amazing.”

“Excuse me?”

“You and Joanna. The way you both worked together to deliver my baby was absolutely incredible, as if you were practically one person. Most people live all their lives hoping for that kind of synchronicity in a relationship.”

He had hoped for the same though he'd never realized it until now. Until Joanna. “We work well together.”

Allison afforded him a grin. “It goes way beyond your working relationship. Anyone with half a brain can tell that you two love each other.”

He shot a glance in Sara's direction. She appeared to be paying more attention to the cleanup than the conversation, but Rio knew better. “Get some sleep,” he said to Allison in a mock-firm tone to cover his sudden self-consciousness.

“I promise I'll try. As long as you promise to hang on to what you and Joanna have found together.”

Exactly what Rio had planned. “I'll see what I can do. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Sara said, her back turned to him and a smile in her voice.

“You don't need any luck,” Allison said. “Not as long as you have each other.”

If he could just be assured that he would have Joanna. Only one way to find out.

After Rio told Allison and Sara goodbye, a deep-seated longing followed him all the way down the hall while determination quickened his steps in his search for Joanna.

She was very much a part of him now, as his mother had told him it would be with the special woman destined to change his life. He hadn't believed her, hadn't believed that he would ever be capable of loving someone as much as he loved Joanna, or that he would hurt so badly over the prospect of losing her.

To hell with his old ideas about marriage. He wasn't his stepfather, and she wasn't his mother. Commitment was no longer an unpalatable prospect. He valued all that
Joanna was as a person, valued her love, and if he had to get a license to prove it, then so be it.

Rio experienced a sudden sense of liberation as he acknowledged that he had finally found true freedom through his love for Joanna Blake.