Is that what happened in Cali? Had it all become too much to handle? She thought she’d behaved very maturely when he told her he suddenly had to go.
She’d been cool and unaffected enough when she told him they could pick up where they left off once he got back.
What else was she going to do? Tie him to her bed and make him stay? She smiled and went back to stir the soup while thinking what an enticing idea that was.
It was clear though that something had him on edge. She certainly hadn’t wanted to leave him with the idea that she needed him to stay. Once he left, though, she found that the relaxation she often enjoyed in Pacifica wasn’t working its usual magic. She headed north.
Brody and the guys were understandably concerned. They knew she only headed for the Dakotas when she was in need of complete seclusion. While the time away had its merits, a woman with her condition couldn’t afford to be too cut off from the civilized world.
Regardless, her time there so far had been well spent. It kept the one week from feeling like three. She’d spent an ample amount of time finding out as much as she could about Therin Darius Rucker—only child of U.S. diplomat Farris Rucker and his wife, Denise. The couple had been killed in an automobile accident two years after Therin accepted the U.S. Ambassador’s post. He resigned from the appointment three months later.
She’d studied every picture memorizing the lines and angles of his incredible face. In the midst of that, she wondered exactly when it was that she’d fallen in love with him.
Kianti shook off the silent admission and found a bowl for her soup. God, she hoped she’d done nothing to clue him in to that fact. She’d scare him away for sure.
But he hadn’t been scared yet, she pondered, spoon poised over the pot. He’d actually surprised her by how well he’d dealt with what she’d told him about her health. Even so, she’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop wondering when it would all become too much for him to handle.
She settled down to the gold tweed sofa in the mini living area in a far corner of the kitchen. She warmed her hands around the soup bowl and inhaled its aroma when she blew softly across the surface.
It’s been over a week and he hasn’t called your cell once. It took effort to swallow the soup then with that in mind. If he didn’t call by week’s end, would she do the deed? After all, hadn’t she boasted about being a woman who didn’t beat around the bush when it came to getting what she wanted?
Focused on that line of thought, she was halfway through her soup when a sound thundered somewhere in the distance.
“Jeez!” she hissed, and her heart lurched painfully as her hands tightened on the bowl. Gradually, she acknowledged that the sound radiated from the front. She took her time in making her way to answer and received another shock when she pulled open the door.
Therin bounded inside, not stopping until he’d gathered her tight against the silver-toned bomber jacket he wore.
Kianti only shivered a moment next to the jacket slick with melting snow. “Therin—”
He pulled away suddenly and gave her a tiny jerk. “What are you doing? What the hell did you think you were doing scaring me that way?” His face was dark with anger and a fair amount of concern.
“Scaring you?” she whispered only to have him tug her close again.
“Don’t ever do that to me again.” The command was muffled as his face was hidden in her neck.
He was kissing her before she could say anything and Kianti forgot all else. He lifted her higher against him, kicking the heavy door shut and carrying her into the house.
Chapter 11
A series of hushed directions whispered against Therin’s shoulder led him to Kianti’s bedroom.
“How’d you find me?” she asked once he’d set her to her feet and proceeded to undress her.
“Casey told me after I went to your place and found you gone,” he grumbled while tugging the sweater from her shoulders. A sunflower-yellow tank top followed.
“Why didn’t you try my cell?” She shivered as more of her body was bared to his sights and touch.
“Wanted to surprise you.” He squeezed her calf, silently urging her from the sweats and panties he’d tugged down to her feet. “Wasn’t until I came all the way out here that I got pissed as hell.”
“Why?” she whispered even as he lifted her bare form and settled her to the middle of the bed.
“What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere with a snowstorm barreling down on you?”
“I…” Kianti found she couldn’t lock in on the words she needed. She could only stare in awe as he stood over her, rugged and pissed off while shrugging out of his boots, jacket and toboggan.
“I have neighbors.” The words were slow in coming. She wanted to moan instead when he tugged the sweater over his head to reveal his muscle-cut abdomen. He was half-undressed, garbed only in the dark low-rise jeans.
Kianti left her explanations and snuggled into him when he covered her on the bed. She shivered anew at the sensation of his toned chest against her. The friction of the rough denim next to her bare thighs only enhanced her pleasure.
Their kissing resumed deep and heated. Therin cupped her neck in his hand to hold her still while he rotated his tongue around hers. She locked her legs high about his back and ground down on the delicious bulge straining behind the zipper of his jeans. Tingles riddled her body, but she reached down to help him out of the confinements.
Therin refused her assistance, preferring to drive her insane with his hands and mouth. He left no part of her untouched, raking his nose over and under her breasts. He paid extra attention to the dark firm nipples and inhaled her scent when his nose dipped into her belly-button. When she’d orgasmed twice, and believed she could stand no more, he proved her wrong.
Jerkily, he came out of the denims, grabbing a pack of condoms from one of the back pockets before he cast them aside.
Therin pressed a packet into her palm and indulged in more kissing and caressing.
It was no easy task, considering his every brush to her skin had her aching and moaning open-mouthed into the air. She emerged victorious, however. Once protection was in its place, she guided him inside her. A trembling sound filtered past her lips when he thrust long and deep.
No thoughts of going slow occurred to either of them. The room was illuminated by the falling snow and by the robust sounds of their impassioned voices.
“This is incredible.” Therin admitted to the beauty beyond the tall paned windows in Kianti’s bedroom. It was much later and they lay cuddled there watching the snow continue its descent. His arms tightened about her and he hid his face in her hair to inhale the fragrance.
“I don’t see how they can leave you out here alone, though,” he murmured.
“Remember the neighbors I told you about?” Kianti’s voice sounded slow and sleepy as she savored her contentment. “It was the only way I could convince the guys to give me time out here.”
“Still…”
“Therin, I’m pretty sure the guys have already been aggravating Wren and Vern like crazy—asking if they can see any lights burning over here and crap like that.”
Therin couldn’t help but give in to laughter.
“I don’t know what all they can see two miles up the road anyway but…” She yawned.
“Two miles.” Therin tensed.
“They’re the best neighbors anyone could ask for.” She nudged his abs with her elbow and smiled. “Wren’s a nurse and Vern’s a veterinarian. I’d say that covers me on the healthcare end, wouldn’t you?”
He gathered her closer. “What do you do out here?” His voice vibrated against the back of her neck.
She laughed. “Therin, I’m not on the moon! We do the same things as everyone else—shopping, movies… We just have to travel a bit farther to do it. Chicago’s not far, then there’s Winnipeg.”
“Guess I never thought there were black people in North Dakota—or South, for that matt
er.”
“We’re very, very few and far between. Closest I’ve come to finding another person of color is Wren. She’s Native American—Chippewa.”
“And Vern the vet?” Therin teased, grunting playfully when her elbow poked him again.
“He’s a regular white guy and they’re two of my best friends.”
“I’d like to meet them.” He felt her cringe. “What?”
“Just that you being here won’t be a secret for long if they find out, and once the guys call…”
“You want us to be a secret?” His light eyes narrowed.
She sighed, turning her face into a pillow. “There’s little I can claim for my own, you know? A private life is one of those things. Even if it’s only a few stolen moments, I’ll take ’em.”
Therin kissed her cheek. “I can accept that, ’specially if it gives me more time to have you to myself.”
A naughty smile curved her mouth as she bumped her bottom against his firming sex. “And what will you do with me now that you’ve got me all to yourself?” Wild laughter flew from her throat when he flipped her to her back.
“Shall I tell you or show you?”
“Both,” she gasped, and giggled only a moment before his kiss silenced her.
Therin pushed up amidst the covers. He frowned into the darkened room while rubbing fingers through the wavy hair covering his head. He didn’t bother calling out for Kianti. He already sensed she wasn’t there next to him in the huge bed. Pushing back the covers, he left the bed and padded naked through the dark silence.
He heard her breathing when he stepped into the den. Her wheezing caught his ears. She was lying on the sofa covered by an afghan. A kiss pressed to her temple told him she was shivering. Something told Therin that it wasn’t because she was cold.
Without hesitation, he checked her pulse and hissed an obscenity. Bounding from the den, he returned less than a minute later with a glass of water…and a pill. Gently, he eased her into a sitting position.
“Take it.” He pressed the medication to her palm.
“No.” She grimaced weakly and tried to push it back to him. “Therin, no…” She made a pitiful attempt at twisting out of his embrace.
“Take it on your own or I put it down your throat myself.” His voice was sweet but no less firm.
“Damn you.” She coughed and closed her eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve gone without—?”
“Forget it.”
When she opened her eyes, they were swimming in tears.
Therin braced one hand to the arm of the sofa and the other along the back, effectively trapping her. “Forget it.” He persisted.
Kianti threw the pill into her mouth and glared defiantly as she swallowed. She would have settled back to the sofa, but Therin took her up in his arms. He put her back to bed, but didn’t join her. He watched her until she drifted back into sleep.
Late the next morning, Kianti walked into the kitchen wearing a foul expression that grew fouler when she spotted Therin enjoying coffee in the mini living area.
“Feeling better?” he asked, his gaze hooded as it raked her from head to toe.
“You don’t know what you’ve done.” Her voice came out as a hiss.
Therin shrugged. “I thought I understood Brody’s instructions pretty well.” He blew across the surface of the creamy coffee. “Oh, he gave me a new bottle of your prescription,” Therin explained when he saw her mouth fall open at his mention of Brody’s name. “He figured you wouldn’t tell me where to find them if it turned out you’d need them…”
“Sons of bitches,” she murmured, raking all ten fingers through her hair. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“The man sharing your bed,” he spoke without hesitation.
“That doesn’t give you the right—”
“It gives me every right.”
She rolled her eyes and sauntered toward the kitchen. “Don’t flatter yourself, Therin. I’ve got four like you back home. I’m not in the mood to collect another.”
He bolted to his feet and caught her halfway across the kitchen. “You don’t have any like me.”
She blinked, the nasty flip mood that’d been building depleted like a popped balloon. She knew further arguments would be unwise. Besides, he was right. She didn’t have any like him. She never had.
“Go back to bed.” He brushed past her. “I’ll bring your breakfast and wake you in time for dinner with the Shays. Yeah, I’ve already met them.” He went to collect his coffee cup and didn’t bother to turn and witness her stunned expression. “Wren already rushed home to make a pot of her special stew. We can make your last night here a memorable one—nicely memorable, that is.”
“Last night?” She watched him calmly rubbing a hand across his carved abs as he drained his coffee cup.
“We’re going to Canada in the morning.”
“Canada? But I can’t just—”
“Already forgotten your commitment to my event, I guess?” He propped a hand to the waistband of his sleep pants and waited.
Kianti opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Right.” He strolled into the kitchen to start her breakfast. “Besides, you’re out of your mind if you think I’ll leave you alone here after—” He stopped himself, not wanting to remember the fear that had gripped him the night before. “Go to bed, Kia,” he ordered in the softest tone he could muster.
Vernon and Wren Shay’s home was the epitome of Southwestern motif. The beauty of Wren’s previous native Arizona life was apparent in every room of the house in such a way that the warmth of the area radiated from every space.
The two couples enjoyed hot cocoa and coffee from the deck overlooking the Western portion of the expansive property. From there, the group had an unforgettable view of the setting sun at the snowy horizon. The abundance of conversation settled as well. The foursome soaked in the late-afternoon coziness, which was enhanced by the fragrance of the simmering stew and baking bread from indoors.
Therin appreciated solitude as much as anyone but couldn’t for the life of him understand how two city kids could make a life where the market was fifteen miles away.
“Sounds crazy, we know,” Vernon said when the high volume of laughter lowered a few decibels. “But you know things can happen in a person’s life that make one decision appear like the only sane choice.” He settled down deeper into the cushioned wood chair he occupied and smiled as a quick chilly wind ruffled his thick brown hair.
“I can’t speak for Wren—” he gave his wife an adoring wink “—but being out here for the past ten of our sixteen years of marriage, I’ve never felt more able to think and to feel like my thoughts have a clarity.” He warmed his hands about a mug of black coffee and shrugged. “Now, one could argue that those thoughts were there even when we lived in L.A., but I’ll be damned if I could find ’em.”
“I’m guessing Therin can relate to us on that, hon.” Wren spoke to her husband but her wide dark stare was trained on Therin. “There’s a solitary beauty to Vancouver. Sure, it’s a bit more…busy than the Dakotas, but it’s similar.”
Therin was already nodding. His light eyes slid from Wren’s face to the unending view. “There’ve definitely been times in my life when that solitude was what I needed.”
Kianti had been relatively silent while nursing her cocoa. She studied Therin closely, wondering at what he was thinking of. What had those times in his life entailed? She didn’t have long to wonder, for soon Vernon was probing a bit deeper into Therin’s response.
“I guess an ambassador’s life isn’t all fancy parties and glamour, huh?”
Therin laughed, stroking his index finger along a sideburn as he sobered. “Those fancy parties and glamour have their price, man. There’re a lot of sacrifices I had to make during the course of my post.” He frowned a little then. “I guess if I hadn’t taken my duty so seriously, the sacrifices may not have been so costly.” Again, he laughed and put a rather sheepish smile in pla
ce.
“Now that I’ve put a cloud over the evening…”
The Shays joined Therin in hearty laughter.
“Well, you know out here we’re used to clouds,” Vern said and leaned over to clink his coffee mug against Therin’s.
New discussion began. Kianti maintained her quiet, preferring to spend her time studying Therin.
Chapter 12
The trip to Vancouver from Neche wasn’t a straight shot. Therin wanted to take his time with the trip. Instead of calling for the plane that brought him to Kianti in North Dakota, he decided on driving part of the way.
They took advantage of that, making frequent stops along the way. There was the International Peace Garden in Manitoba, Canada. Unfortunately, because of the time of year, it was impossible to take a look at the Floral Clock. Still, the time was well spent and the couple enjoyed sharing stories of their past visits to the incredible site.
Later, there was lunch at a greasy spoon café that they both adored. Conversation revolved around Therin’s high-powered friends and Kianti’s fans—what would those folks think if they saw them there?
Despite the informality of the day, Kianti felt a bit taken aback. She grew more silent the closer they came to Vancouver. Therin was being recognized a bit more frequently by then. This posed no problem. Kianti was captivated by the ease with which he greeted the average joes who wanted to talk politics or even hockey. He possessed a definite charm that wasn’t some trick that he’d picked up from the campaign trails he’d traveled as a politician. His charm was natural and easy. Kianti could almost feel it and she relished the warmth.
Kianti’s observance of Therin switched to an even higher gear with they arrived at the penthouse apartment he kept at a Vancouver hotel.
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