The Renegade (The Rockwell Legacy Book 3)

by Jennifer Bernard

  “Once you find a gift,” Griffin chimed in, “You have to immediately deliver it to the person it’s meant for.”

  “But how would I know where that person—”

  “That’s where the walkie-talkies come in,” said Kai, very seriously, as if any of this made sense. “I will be distributing the comms at breakfast tomorrow.”

  “The comms?” Lyle laughed. “Never mind. You guys can show me the drill tomorrow.”

  Jake clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good sport, my friend.”

  “You sure are.” Gracie danced across the room toward him and pecked a kiss onto his cheek. “We’re really glad you’re here. Goodnight everyone!”

  She blew kisses all around, then picked her way across the floor in her stocking feet. Adorable, that was the word for Gracie, but Lyle had always picked up on a kind of hidden sadness under her breezy surface. He had a sense for that kind of thing, instilled by a lifetime of trying to sniff out hidden agendas for his own survival.

  He knew that Gracie stayed close to home, and rarely left the lodge. He had no idea what her reason was, but if anyone tried to hurt her, Lyle vowed right then and there that he would revert back to his feral boxing ring ways.

  Obviously that went for Isabelle too, but there was something about Gracie that struck him as more vulnerable.

  He left at that point, and after a few detours to hide the gift cards he’d intended to put under the tree, he made his way across the snowfield to his guesthouse. It felt chilly and lonely compared to the noisy warmth of the lounge, with its stone hearth and crackling fire. He debated making a fire in his little woodstove, with its tidy pile of kindling, but instead ditched his clothes and went to bed.

  Alone.

  Craving Isabelle.

  Would he ever get Isabelle alone in a bed again? Would he have to lure her back to Rome to make that happen? He’d never forget how beautiful she’d looked as she straddled his hips, laughing down at him in her bra and panties.

  Was that the moment he’d fallen in love with her?

  Oh hell.

  Don’t lie to yourself, man. You’re in love with her. Face it.

  Was it love at first sight? Jesus. It probably was.

  Or maybe “love at first conversation.” He’d noticed her at the airport bar, but hadn’t fallen for her until they started talking. And playing Bananagrams.

  Was that the moment he’d truly fallen in love with her?

  Or was it when he got back from his crazy walk around the streets of Rome and found her gone? When his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach and he realized he didn’t know her last name and didn’t have her number?

  He didn’t believe in miracles, but he also didn’t believe in coincidences. So how to explain that the very same woman he’d met in Rome would turn up in a completely unrelated context months later?

  He had no explanation. It defied logic. It defied common sense. And yet it was the best thing that had happened to him, and that included becoming a temporary billionaire. Definitely the best thing.

  21

  “Best thing,” he murmured into his pillow. “Best thing.”

  “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?” Isabelle’s teasing voice whispered in his ear. He came awake immediately, realizing in the same moment that he hadn’t really been asleep, that part of him had hoped she would come to him, and that he’d left his door unlocked for that reason.

  “You’re here to knife me in my sleep, aren’t you? Just like you threatened back in Rome?”

  “I did not threaten that. I asked if you were worried about it. Are you?” She bit his shoulder gently.

  “Depends. Can we have sex first?”

  “I don’t see why not. I’m here. You’re here. We’re both naked. Surprise.”

  “Then do what you want with me.” He rolled over to face her, and reached a hand to brush a strand of thick hair away from her face. “Beautiful Isabelle,” he whispered. “I was just thinking about Rome.”

  “You think about it too?”

  “Frequently. At least every day since then. Did you think about it?”

  “Well, sort of. I was furious with you at first. Then I was mad at myself because of how much I liked someone who just disappeared on me. And then I was busy with my work. And then I was worried about my father, and the future of the lodge, and so forth. But you were in the mix too.” She offered him a cheeky smile. Isabelle, always so honest.

  “In the mix. I guess that’s a start.” He smoothed a hand down the curve of her waist to her hip.

  “You’re beyond that now,” she admitted. Her eyes closed halfway as he caressed her smooth skin. She was so catlike in her sensuality, he almost expected her to start purring.

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “Are you? I keep expecting you to disappear again overnight.”

  “I haven’t thought about doing that once.”

  “Even with all this crazy Rockwell Christmas stuff?”

  “Really. I’m not leaving. Not until—” He broke off, because he wasn’t ready to tell her just how important she’d become in his life.

  “Until you’ve finished judging the eggnog challenge? Gracie’s up next,” she said lightly.

  “Exactly. My work here is nowhere near done.” He stroked up the slope of her rib cage, where he spread his hand open wide enough to brush the side of her breast with his thumb. “Where’s Tigger, by the way?”

  “Nicole and Kai asked if they could keep him tonight. Nicole gave me a whole speech about wanting to practice for when their baby comes, and it was such a crock of shit I could barely keep a straight face.”

  “They’re trying to get us together?”

  “I think they are. You know how happy couples are always conniving to get their friends together? I think that’s what’s going on.”

  “I’m not complaining. This might be the only time I haven’t been annoyed by a setup, though.”

  “Same. My family usually knows better than to interfere in my sex life.”

  Sex life. Didn’t she mean love life? His smile dropped a little bit.

  “Of course, this time they’re not really interfering. They’re enabling. They’re like love-junkies pushing romance on everyone around them.”

  Love. Romance. That was more like it.

  “Really, it ought to be illegal, like dealing drugs or—” He decided he’d had enough of this particular analogy. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, taking command of the moment. He kissed her with all the depth and passion filling his heart, taking it deep, deeper, until he felt the pulse in her neck fluttering like a trapped moth. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing fast.

  “I was trying to make a point—” she said.

  “I know. But right now, I don’t want to hear about love-drugs. I just want to be with you. To feel you. To taste every bit of your delicious body.”

  She sighed and stretched long against him. “I love it when your voice drops down like that, it’s so sexy.”

  He hadn’t even noticed, but it was true, his voice was rough and scratchy, heavy with the lust that gripped him.

  “You’re the sexy one. I’ve been staring at you all night long, wondering when I’d be able to put my hands all over you. I didn’t think you were going to come.”

  “I didn’t think I could, until Nicole snagged me. Do you know what she whispered in my ear as she took Tigger’s bassinet from me?”

  “No, what?”

  “Merry Christmas.” She giggled softly. “Apparently this is our Christmas gift from Nicole and Kai. And we didn’t even have to hunt for it.”

  “Oh, yes we did,” he corrected her. He cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples between his fingers, drawing a gasp from her. “I’ve been hunting for you since Rome.”

  “Lyle.” She hissed in a breath as he continued to caress her breasts. “Lyle, sometimes the things you say…you’re kind of a romantic, you know.”

  “No, I’m not. At least
, I never have been. It’s probably the last thing people would call me.”

  “But you say such amazingly sweet things.”

  Yes, he wanted to say. But just to you. No one else. Ever.

  “I guess I have my moments. It’s Christmas after all. And we just got our first present.” He bent down and drew one plump nipple between his lips. He circled his tongue around it, feeling it rise and harden. “I think this might be the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

  “You only say that because you haven’t seen what I got you yet.”

  “You got me something for Christmas?”

  “Of course I did. Don’t worry, it’s nothing big. And it doesn’t mean you have to get me something. You’re a guest here, and our favorite investor, and besides that, you’re super-hot.” She flashed him a sassy smile and gave him a little swat on the ass.

  “Did you just… You are in so much trouble, lady.” In a quick move, he flipped her under him and pinned her arms to the bed. She laughed up at him, breathless and so sexy it hurt.

  “Maybe I like trouble.”

  “Then you came to the right place.” He nibbled his way down her neck, basking in the scent of her skin and the rapid-fire pulse in her throat. “God, you’re beautiful.”

  She made a shrugging motion with her shoulders, since her arms were still spread wide. “I prefer to think of myself as ‘interesting.’ I’m not really the beautiful type.”

  “You’re interesting, you’re beautiful, you’re fascinating, you’re stunningly sexy, you’re all of the above.” He moved his mouth across her clavicle and nuzzled the silken skin at the crook of her neck. She arched against him, straining against his hands.

  He relaxed his grip to make sure that she wasn’t actually struggling to free herself. But she kept her arms right where they were. The trust in that gesture ripped through his heart.

  “Isabelle, I—” He broke off because he couldn’t locate the right words. He wanted her to know how much it meant that she’d come to him. That he’d never felt the kind of things whirling through his heart right now. That she mattered more than she could imagine. But the words got stuck in his throat and all he could say was, “I’m glad you’re here.”

  She hummed with agreement as he dropped more kisses onto her breasts. He slid a knee between her thighs and felt her spread them apart. “Stay right where you are,” he murmured. “You’re so perfect. Just like that.”

  After giving her nipple one last, lingering suckle, he traveled down her body, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. Her skin quivered under his lips, each little muscle twitching in reaction. When he reached the springy nest of curls covering her sex, he breathed in deeply, her intimate fragrance driving him mad with desire.

  Delicately, he parted her folds with his tongue, seeking out the point of flesh where her pleasure would be centered. She was soft and luscious, slippery with arousal, juicy as a freshly picked nectarine. Her clit plumped under his tongue, swollen and eager. He sucked at it gently and heard her cry out.

  “Oh God, Lyle. The way you do that…” She trailed off, digging her hands into his hair. He paused to catch his breath. “You aren’t stopping, are you?”

  He laughed, and dove back in. “Not even close.”

  She sighed again as he feasted on her sweet, juicy flesh. He pressed her thighs apart with his hands so he could dance his thumbs across her skin. Tangling them in her soft bush, he manipulated her folds to add to the stimulation he was offering with his tongue. When he brushed his thumbnail across the delicate underside of her clit, she nearly came off the bed.

  She clutched at his head, his shoulders, any part of him she could touch. “I can’t take this, Lyle,” she gasped. “You’re killing me.”

  He chuckled, his mouth against her mound. “Good thing there’s a doctor in the house.”

  “But I’ll be dead. Dead.” She was gasping and laughing as she said it. He stroked the tender skin of her inner thighs, so silky, like satin sliding under his fingertips.

  “Live to die again,” he murmured. He shifted his thumb to press the side of her clit and her entire body jerked in response.

  He wanted to see more of that. Her reactions drove him wild. He rubbed her, gently at first, then increasing his pace as he watched what got a response, and what made her body go slack. Her hips danced under him, pushing forward, seeking out his mouth in more and more forceful movements.

  He followed her lead wherever she wanted him to go. Harder, faster, then a pause to shift position, then more pressure, more friction, until her hands were digging into his shoulders like claws and she was letting out a series of sharp cries and then her entire body arched into a taut, perfect arc under him. The orgasm rocked her body. He felt her pulse under him, tasted the burst of juice against his tongue.

  He gripped her ass tight in both hands, the soft flesh giving under his touch. She convulsed again, thrashing from side to side, her fists dragging at the comforter, looking for purchase as if to anchor her to something in this wild climax.

  He stayed with her until the last spasms faded. His cock was so hard he could probably hammer nails with it. But he waited until she opened her eyes and focused on him, the mists of her orgasm clearing.

  “Wow, Lyle. That was…wow.”

  Her flushed face and wild hair gave him a sense of deep, deep satisfaction. “That’s what I like to see. Isabelle Rockwell at a loss for words.”

  She held up a finger. “Wrong. I have words. Just give me a second.” She lay back, her chest heaving. He touched his cock, its skin hot and swollen. Take it easy, big guy. When the time is right, my friend.

  “Condoms,” she finally said, when she’d caught her breath. “That’s the word I’m looking for. You have some that aren’t left over from health class, right? You said you did.”

  Hell, yes, he had some. He sat up on his knees and gestured toward the nightstand drawer next to the bed. She rolled over and plucked one out, then waved it at him.

  “I’m a doctor, you know, so you should really let me take care of this.” Her voice was still shaky from her climax.

  “I’m not stopping you.” He offered her a pained smile. “I always do what the doctors say.”

  “Really?” She scooted toward him on her knees, condom in hand. “I don’t know, Lyle Guero, something tells me that’s not entirely true. You seem like the renegade type, the kind who rips bandages off before they’re done healing.”

  She tore open the package and pulled out the condom.

  “Bandages?” He snorted. “Only weaklings use bandages.”

  She laughed. “See what I mean?” Wrapping one hand around the cock rearing between his legs, she stroked him softly.

  He gritted his teeth against the sharp pleasure. He didn’t want to come right away like a newbie. He wanted to make this epic. He wanted to sear the entire encounter into Isabelle’s brain so she’d never forget him.

  They kneeled facing each other on the bed, his erection surging between them. He wondered what they looked like from the outside—like two perfect and complementary opposites, probably. Her body was flushed with the aftereffects of orgasm, and his was tight from the strain of holding himself in control. He was bronze-skinned and muscular, compared to her farmer’s tan, pale where the sun didn’t touch her, tanned along her arms and neck.

  “You have no idea all the things I want to do to you,” he growled. “But I can’t do a single one of them until you get that damn thing on.”

  Smiling, she picked up her pace and fitted the condom over his cock. “You’re sounding a little impatient there, Mr. Guero.”

  “That’s one word for it.”

  She rolled the condom all the way down. “There. All set. The doctor says you’re good to go. She also says you’re wasting time.”

  He grinned. “The doctor’s kind of bossy.”

  “All the best doctors are.” She shot him a cheeky smile and a wink, and it was so saucy and delicious that he wanted to eat her up.

 
; “Come here, you.” He tugged her closer, lifting her up from her kneeling position, and cupping his hands around her ass. He buried his face in her belly, feeling the little pulse that beat beneath her skin. With one hand braced around her back, he swung her around and lowered her onto the bed, then stretched over her.

  “Now that’s more like it,” he muttered. “God, you are something to see.”

  “So are you.” She ran her hands along his upper arms, his shoulders, his chest. “I’m in awe. And of course I want to know about every little wound and scar.”

  “No you don’t.”

  “At least the medical aspect, how they were treated—”

  “No.” He claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss that had her trembling by the end. “I don’t look backwards a whole lot.”

  “Not even to Rome?”

  “That’s different.” He reached between her legs again and found the sweet cream springing to life again. “That’s a happy memory. Except for that last part when we went to sleep and never got to do this.”

  “No sleeping this time.” She arched her hips against him.

  “Nope. Not until I get my cock inside this sweetness here.” He dragged his fingers through her folds and slid a finger inside. The humid heat inside her channel sent a pulse of need through his erection. Juices gathered under his touch, and he felt a slight tremor ripple through her inner channel—maybe left from her orgasm, maybe new arousal. Either way, it made him crave more contact.

  “That happens to be right where I want you,” she whispered. “Inside.”

  That was all he needed to hear. With his muscles trembling from strain, he lifted off her and guided his cock toward her entrance. The head was so thick and swollen that he stalled there for a moment. But she wrapped one leg around his hips and urged him onward.

  She moaned loudly as he entered her, slowly and watchfully, looking for any signs that his fierce erection was too much for her.

  But he saw nothing but the same eager hunger and lust that scorched through his veins.

  Another inch, then another, the sleek hot pleasure slamming him from every side. He groaned as he pushed farther in until he was fully enveloped in heat and velvet and slipperiness. Her muscular channel clasped him like a loving hand, and he nearly lost it right then and there.