by Sheila Kell
An inkling of suspicion that her husband said it just to make her relax struck her. She’d learned to figure him out. He was just as worried about his brother as she was.
They spoke for a few more minutes before she called AJ and Jake and got them up to speed on her hunch. Unfortunately, they agreed with her husband that she shouldn’t worry. Yet, they didn’t know about the marriage.
THE CAMPFIRE CRACKLED, the sound mixing with the chirping of crickets and the hushed whispers of other wildlife. The firelight stood bold in the darkness, its illumination dancing off the cabin and surrounding woods and giving them a fiery gold glow for the briefest of moments before it flickered shadowing an area then relighting it.
Calm and peace surrounded Devon, and he wanted to grab it and hold on to it, allow it to absorb within and retain itself there, but the spirited woman sharing this retreat kept the blood pumping hot through his veins with nothing more than her being in the vicinity.
What to do in a relationship with a woman had never been this difficult to decide. He’d never wanted anything serious despite the fact he’d dated a few women for brief periods. But with Rylee Hawkins—no, Rylee Hamilton—something was different, and it wasn’t just his not wanting to have an annulment behind him.
Devon stared into the small fire they’d created in the outdoor patio steel fire pit, wondering if he was doing the right thing trying to salvage something of their marriage. As far as he knew, it could be just lust and burn itself out within months… weeks… or even, heaven forbid, days. Then they’d be stuck together and probably come to despise each other. He expected she’d then ask for a divorce. He definitely didn’t wish that for himself.
He wanted… craved with everything he was, to have what his brothers had found with their wives. That level of head over heels in love that lasts a lifetime. Like many, he hadn’t believed in such a love that encompassed his whole heart and beat with a soul mate. Yet, he’d witnessed it come to life with Jess and Kate, AJ and Megan, and Jake and Em.
He had to believe that he’d married Rylee for more than lust. The question that still rattled around his mind was had he been in love with her when they’d wed, and if so, why didn’t he have that same feeling now? He didn’t have that answer just yet, but without hesitation, he wanted to be with her, and deep down he knew it wasn’t just lust. There was something else there. Yet, it wasn’t full-blown love either.
Convincing her they should try wasn’t going to be easy. Sure, she’d agreed that she would but he hadn’t believed she really wanted to give it any effort. In fact, he expected she’d pull out another copy of the annulment papers as soon as they found the girls. Something just drove her to not want to be married. He had to find out why… and soon.
He wouldn’t allow her to shut them down too early though. He’d show her they had something, and together, they’d figure it out.
“You’ve burned that almost beyond recognition.”
So lost in his thoughts, Devon started at the sound of Rylee’s voice. Sitting on a blanket on the ground with his knees pulled up and his back leaning against a yellow Adirondack chair, he held the wire hanger toward the fire. A black object that was once a white marshmallow rested in the flames on the hanger’s tip. He jerked the inedible item back and blew on it to extinguish the flames that ate through the mushy treat.
Rylee’s melodic laughter drew his attention. Her face shone in the light, and the reds in her hair almost looked aflame. She had donned a navy-blue jacket to ward against the evening chill, but his mind still pictured how enticing her chest had been in her snug flannel shirt. All day he’d wanted to reach out and rip the buttons off the shirt, spread it open wide and bury his head between her glorious breasts.
His groin tightened, and he shifted to disguise his thickening need for her. Christ, he was nearly thirty-two years old. He should be able to control his libido better than this. Not that he didn’t desire her all of the time since he’d been here, but his body chose certain times—like now—to put it on full display.
Always rationalizing things, his mind reminded him that she was his wife and there was nothing wrong with seducing her. She’d been putty after their kiss earlier.
Rylee cocked her head in question and a stroke of concern wove into her voice. “Devon?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but those damn eyes of hers held him captive. They stared deep into each other’s gaze, and their breaths rasped loudly in the night air. He searched the depths of her eyes looking for something he couldn’t name, and his heart pulsed with the flickering golds and browns that made up the whiskey shade of them. As he pulled himself out of the depth of their fiery beauty, her eyes began to change… to darken… to dilate… and he knew why. She wants me.
A tiny smile curved the corners of his lips and satisfaction settled in his being. Although he wanted to snake his arms out around her, he told himself to be patient. To lighten the mood, he laughed at himself. “Wow, I guess I cooked this one a bit too much.” Not wanting Angel to burn herself on the hot inside, he chucked the ruined food into the fire, grabbed a fresh marshmallow from the bag on the blanket between him and Rylee, and tossed it to the mutt who’d been lying patiently to the side.
“Uh, okay. I was worried for a second.”
If she’d known what he’d been thinking, she probably would’ve bolted. “I was just thinking how great these will be when we pick up the stuff to make S’Mores. Just think of the gooey, chocolaty goodness.” That only incited visions of licking her fingers with the tip of his tongue, then sucking it off her lips, tasting her succulent sweetness.
He had to reach down and adjust himself regardless if she observed it or not. His dick was painfully hard thinking of her tongue doing the same to him. Dammit!
Rylee cleared her throat. “Since we’re getting to know each other, tell me, what was it like growing up with so many brothers?” Her nervousness should’ve surprised him, but she’d seen him make himself more comfortable in his jeans so he gave her that emotion.
“Hmm.” His eyebrows dove into an inverted arch. “I’d have to say mostly it was great. I mean there were times when not getting a moment to yourself became a problem. Usually though, I could slip away without anyone noticing. Since our dad worked so much, Jess took responsibility for all of us. The twins kept his hands full. They fought like cats and dogs one minute, then were conspiring together the next.”
She twirled her marshmallow. “What did you do when you were alone?”
“Read. Mess around with programming. I knew pretty early that while my brothers were very hands-on with things, I was more comfortable behind a keyboard.”
“Jess used to rave about you and the work you did for HIS.” She looked at him quickly. “I didn’t know then.”
He shrugged, ignoring her added statement. “When we were in high school, Jess tried to get me to try out for a sport. I did eventually—track, but he didn’t consider that manly enough for a Hamilton. He didn’t understand what I could do with a computer, so I hacked into his e-mail one day—right in front of his eyes—and explained how I planned to make my mark on the world, and he never bothered me about it again.”
She raised and lowered her eyebrows playfully. “Anything juicy in the e-mails?”
Devon chuckled. “I didn’t read them, although most were from girls. Anyhow, when I wanted to join the CIA and do computer instead of fieldwork, he didn’t bat an eye. He even told me he was proud of me.”
“That sounds like Jesse.”
He wanted her to have that much satisfaction… no, pride… no, confidence in him that she had in his brother.
After removing his marshmallow from the fire, he blew on it to cool it off. He split it open and continued to let it chill. Just when he got it to a manageable temperature, Angel bounded over, pushing on his chest to get to the treat. Instead, she knocked him askew and the marshmallow smeared on the side of his face.
Settling the dog off him, he sat back up and began to wipe at his
cheek noting Rylee bouncing with laughter. “It’s not that funny,” he growled.
Surprising him, she moved closer and softly pushed his hand away. “Here, let me.” She proceeded to gently pick marshmallow from his cheek and hair. Her touch didn’t ignite the fire he’d been feeling. Instead, it touched his heart, made him have that warm and fuzzy feeling he’d heard people talk about. She had a loving touch.
“Did Angel hurt you?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “No.”
She pulled back. “Stay still so I can get this all out. You’re lucky it wasn’t still hot. All the gooeyness—as you called it—would’ve burned you. As it is, you’re a bit red, but not anything that’s permanent.”
The fire lit up her face. Damn, she was beautiful. And this caring and affectionate side of her, that she’d been trying so hard to hide, only made him realize even more that she was meant for him.
Continuing the cleaning, she sighed. “She’s really a good dog. I think you’re giving her that marshmallow may have spoiled her.”
He didn’t care if that was the case since it resulted in Rylee taking care of him. He’d suffer through anything for that to happen.
After she finished, she graced him with a brilliant smile. “All done.” Before he could reach for her, she moved back to her position and placed her marshmallow back in the fire.
“Thank you,” he managed to say around a dry throat.
“You’re welcome.”
Heaving a heavy sigh, Rylee pulled her marshmallow out of the fire and blew on it. “I thought we’d go check on the girls tomorrow.”
His heart sank with the switch in topic. “We will, but first I need to go to town and pick up my equipment. While we’re there, more food would be good since I don’t know how long we’ll be here, and we’re going camping.”
“The stuff you had sent?”
Proving the girls were here, or not, was important to him, but he couldn’t do anything tonight. He wanted to put this time to good use getting her to open up to him. “I’ll show you tomorrow. Now,” he stated and reached for another marshmallow, “let’s see if I can make one of these for my woman.”
The change in the body beside him couldn’t be missed. She tensed, her body visibly snapping straight, her jaw tightening.
He fought not to laugh. “Don’t go getting all crazy on me. I was just joking with you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and relaxed, somewhat, but didn’t smile. “It’s not funny. I don’t think….” She swallowed, the lump visibly sliding down her long, creamy throat. “I don’t think….”
He wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless, but knew he couldn’t yet. He had one trick up his sleeve that he prayed helped, and that—the tape of them—could wait until tomorrow. “Then don’t think.” He laid down the marshmallow and holder and leaned in to her. His prior notion of not kissing gone. “Rylee,” he rasped and reached up with one hand and touched her cheek.
THE TENSE SILENCE filling the car was heavy enough to all but smother Rylee’s air passages as she sat in the passenger seat on their drive into town. Devon hadn’t spoken to her since she’d walked away from him the night before. Okay, she’d fled after she said she wouldn’t do it again.
Initially, when he’d put his hand on her cheek, she’d turned into it, attempting to regulate her heavy breathing. It had been surprising he couldn’t hear the thumping of her heart over the crackle of the fire. Damn, but it taxed her to fight her growing attraction to the man.
Then, his eyes had darkened and darted to her lips.
For one breathless moment, she’d thought he’d been about to kiss her, and she hadn’t planned to stop him. She’d wanted his lips touching hers again, his mouth covering hers, and his tongue stroking inside her mouth. A delicious shiver had made its way through her at the thought, and she’d wet her lips in anticipation.
Then he’d gone and broken the spell. Ruining it all.
“Rylee, I know you said you’d give us a try, but what’s holding you back?”
At the question, her heart had plummeted to her toes. There was only one thing to do and that was to tell him the truth. Maybe after hearing it, he’d understand and give her the annulment. Maneuvering her face free of his magical hold, she responded in as firm a voice as she could. Hell, she’d just been ready to kiss him so it didn’t sound too strong to her. “When I marry, I want to marry for love. I don’t want to be like my mother who married and divorced six times because she thought she was in love when it was just intense lust that burned out in no time. I want the love you see where couples are in their nineties still as enamored with each other as the day they met.”
He took a deep breath, held it and exhaled slowly before speaking. “You do realize you have already married. And, since we don’t know for sure, it could’ve been for love.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It was a drunken mistake.”
Narrowing his eyes, he spoke with a tight jaw and what appeared to be extreme control. “I think you know better than that. You didn’t look drunk in the tapes, and the preacher and his wife didn’t say you were.”
“Then why did I blackout?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have that answer. But, I do know that by getting this annulment, you’re starting off in your mother’s footsteps.”
“Don’t say such a thing! The annulment wipes out my poor lack of judgment. It doesn’t count as a divorce.” She surged to her feet and raced to the cabin, slamming the bedroom door behind her like a child. He was wrong. She wouldn’t be like her mother. An annulment didn’t count.
He’s right. Maybe you should try, a voice whispered in her mind. No. I don’t love him. I want to marry for love.
After that, she’d remained awake, listening for Devon’s return to the cabin. He hadn’t even slowed his footsteps when he’d walked past her door.
This morning, he’d only said what was necessary, and it’d been clipped words.
It had taken her time to realize that she’d called marrying him “a mistake” and “poor judgment.” Of course she needed to apologize, but the words remained lodged in her throat. She had to try. “Devon—”
“We’ll hit the UPS store first. Before we pick up groceries, I need a few electronics. Do you know anywhere to go?”
She hadn’t been in town except to grab the food on her way through it. “No.” She also didn’t want to stay out in public for long. No one may have seen her at the accident, but the two goons knew she’d been there. And who knew if they blamed her for their boss’s death. Preferring to remain careful, she’d not returned to the quaint little town.
She wasn’t stupid enough to disregard that if Robert Carver had the girls, he might also have the name of whomever Dave and his asshole father had planned to sell her to. She had to be careful, that was for damn sure.
She’d get with Arthur after this was over to see if he could resolve that issue for her so she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder. She wasn’t one of his agents any longer, but he’d been kind to her and she knew he’d help. Besides, he wouldn’t want her sold. She shuddered at the thought. It wouldn’t happen.
“Kate called me last night. She found out Mrs. K. sent you stuff. I can’t believe you used her.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have much choice. Had I known she’d get caught….” He shook his head. “Jess called me, and I think he knows about you and me. He didn’t say it, but he was too pissed off for my just staying up here with you for no real reason.”
“Are they coming?” Part of her wanted them to, while the other begged for them to stay away… for now. She was responsible for those girls, at least that was how she saw it. And, her gut told her a bunch of people creeping around the woods would scare this man off. If they’re there, her mind tried to remind her.
She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed they were. She couldn’t take not finding them.
He glanced at her and back to the front, but not before she noticed his fr
own. “No, they aren’t coming.”
She nodded. Satisfied. “I promise we can tell them if the girls are there.”
“Oh, my dear Rylee,” he bit out. “We’ll tell them then, or if I decide things are too dangerous, whether you like it or not. We can locate the girls, but it’ll take more than both of us to rescue them. And I think you know that.”
That stilted conversation again. She had to think of something to help get them back on civil footing. “What was it like growing up as a senator’s son?”
He looked at her, then back to the road. “When we were young, it sucked. Our dad worked so much and we couldn’t participate when he entertained. However, in my teens, I rather enjoyed it.” A smile crossed his lips. “I met some very interesting people. I actually met the French Ambassador.”
“You didn’t mention that when I told you my dream of living in France when I was young.”
A quick glance at her, and he focused his gaze forward. “I hadn’t thought about it until now. He’s not the ambassador any longer. In fact, I’m not even sure he’s alive. But, he did make France sound like a great place.”
“I knew it,” she said confidentially.
Laughter bubbled out of him. “I said we’d visit, but we’re not living there.”
That wasn’t the first time he’d said “we” when referring to future plans, but it stopped her from speaking more on the subject.
“So, your sister is Madison Maxwell. I have a brother who drools over her. Do you think she can visit sometime? I’d love to see him fall all over himself.”
“Most men drool over her. She’s gorgeous. Yeah, I can invite her to visit.” She didn’t add that it would be to her home and not their home.
“Are you two close?”
She nodded. “We are pretty close for living so far away from each other. I consider her my best friend.”
They arrived in town, and at their first stop—the UPS store—Devon turned to her. “I have a very important question.”
